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Number 10
PIO Survey for Scheduling Quarterly Call
This week, Public Information Officers and Communication Leaders received a survey on scheduling for the Quarterly PIO slated for December.
Please complete the survey by Monday, November 13. If you did not receive the survey, please reach out to communications@dpi.nc.gov.
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Number 9
Feminine Hygiene Products Grant Program Applications for 2023-24 SY Now Open
The application for the Feminine Hygiene Products Grant Program for the 2023-2024 school year is now available. The Feminine Hygiene Products Grant Program provides grants of up to $5,000 per PSU to purchase feminine hygiene products. To receive this funding, your PSU will need to complete the following application in its entirety. Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. PSUs that did not receive a grant in the previous fiscal year will be given preference. Please review the allotment policy (page 70) for more information.
Click here to access the Feminine Hygiene Products Grant Program Application.
If you have questions about the application or grant award process, please reach out to Lillian Pinto, Reproductive Health Consultant at lillian.pinto@dpi.nc.gov.
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Number 8
N.C. Recovery Practitioners Network to Aid Research in Public School Districts
"The N.C. Recovery Practitioners Network, a partnership between the N.C. Department of Public Instruction and the UNC School of Education, among other institutions, hosted its first in-person workshop on Friday.
The network aims to support individual school districts across North Carolina as they advance their capacity for in-house research and evaluation.
The partnership also includes the N.C. Collaboratory, Harvard University, Georgetown University and 16 public school districts throughout the state.
Participating school districts identify a unique need in their district and are then paired with university researchers who are both experts in that specific field and geographically close to the district.
Jeni Corn, the director of research and evaluation at NCDPI, said the robust postsecondary education landscape in North Carolina provides a unique opportunity for local districts.
'We are very fortunate to have just a wealth of research resources all over North Carolina,' Corn said. 'So really the purpose of this network is to kind of be like a matchmaker to connect districts who have a desire to address a problem that they're struggling with at the local level.'"
Read the full story here.
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Number 7
Registration for NCBCE’s Annual Ready, Set, App! Competition Now Open
The North Carolina Business Committee for Education’s (NCBCE) Ready, Set, App! challenge is a mobile app development competition for high school students sponsored by Lenovo. Student groups are asked to develop a mobile app using a mobile app development platform (e.g., MIT App Inventor) to solve a problem in their school or community. Ready, Set, App! focuses on three primary pillars:
- Mobile App Development
- Professional and Personal Development
- Interpersonal and Soft Skills Development
Learn more and register here.
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Number 6
SparkNC Featured in National Report on the Future of Learning
"Written by Education Reimagined and The History Co:Lab, and commissioned by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, a new national report explores where community-based learning ecosystems are emerging, and what tools/resources contribute to their readiness.
'While there is a growing movement among school leaders to reimagine learning in ways that center the child, prioritize equity, and recognize the integrated nature of community, most public school districts today struggle to see a path to transforming themselves into a learner centered ecosystem,' finds the report.
The report goes on to say, 'Their leaders often see more barriers than opportunities and wonder if it is even possible. Much of the dynamism of ecosystems has been created and driven by individual social entrepreneurs and their teams, who have created solutions for an urgent problem they saw — usually designing, testing, and iterating the infrastructure elements by themselves over long periods of time and often outside of the constraints of the current education system.'"
Read the full story here.
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Number 5
K-12 English Language Arts (ELA) Standards Review Survey - Closes Tomorrow, Nov. 10
State Board of Education policy specifies that the NC Department of Public Instruction will formally collect feedback on the current standards from educators, administrators, parents, students, institutions of higher education, business/industry representatives, and other education agencies. The purpose of this survey is to obtain input from educators and stakeholders familiar with the English Language Arts Standard Course of Study in order to inform revision decisions, which may include changes, clarifications, additions, deletions, or replacements to the current standards.
The English Language Arts team requests your thoughtful input and comments on the current academic standards for English Language Arts to inform the review and revision process.
The surveys will close November 10.
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Number 4
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) Accepting Nominations
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) are currently accepting nominations! This award is the nation's highest honors for teachers of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM, including Computer Science).
This year's awards will honor STEM teachers working in grades K-6. Nominations will close January 8, 2024.
Learn more and submit nominations here.
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Number 3
2023 School Safety Grant Applications Close Monday, Nov. 13
The 2023 School Safety Grant application opens Friday, October 20, 2023, at noon and closes Monday, November 13, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. School districts and charter schools can access the School Safety Grant application through CCIP under “FY 2024, Funding application: Safer Schools.”
The grant categories included in this application are Safety Equipment, Services for Students in Crisis and Safety Training. Please note that funding for the hiring and training of school resource officers is not included in this application.
Before applying for this grant, make sure to read N.C. Session Law 2021-180 and Parts II and III of N.C. Session Law 2019-222. If you have questions, please email schoolsafetygrants@dpi.nc.gov.
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Number 2
Celebrating Veterans Day 2023
Saturday, November 11 is Veterans Day. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction thanks all veterans for their selfless service and commitment to our country, today and every day.
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Number 1
Pitt County, Durham County Educators Surprised with National Milken Educator Award
"Under the guise of school assemblies, two North Carolina educators were surprised on Friday when they received the national Milken Educator Award. Pitt County’s Ainsley VanBuskirk, a first grade teacher at Pactolus Global School, and Durham County’s Aisa Cunningham, principal of Pearsontown Elementary School, were named national Milken Educator Award winners, receiving a $25,000 prize.
Friday’s excitement began in Pitt County where nine-year veteran teacher, VanBuskirk, was honored as North Carolina’s first Milken Educator award winner of the day in front of Pactolus Global School students and staff.
Continuing the day’s celebrations, the Milken Educator team traveled to Durham County to honor Cunningham, a seven-year veteran administrator, in front of her students and staff at Pearsontown Elementary School. Cunningham is the first Milken Educator award winner from Durham Public Schools."
Read the full press release here. Congratulations, Ms. VanBuskirk and Ms. Cunningham!
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