Number 10

NC Teacher Working Conditions (TWC) Survey - DEADLINE EXTENDED TO APRIL 5

The 2024 North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey is open and will be available to take through Friday, April 5. Teachers should have received a direct link to the survey in their school email inbox. 

If you or someone at your school did not receive the survey link on March 1 and think you or they should have, please reach out to your school's TWC Coordinator or Survey Support. 

As a reminder, we will be hosting weekly office hours throughout the month of March on Thursdays from 4-5 p.m. Additionally, the survey help desk can be reached at 888-404-9704 or surveysupport@adi.org.

Number 9

Save the Date: National Student Clearinghouse Webinar

The Office of Learning Recovery and Acceleration (OLR) at NCDPI will be hosting a second series of webinars in the spring for high school principals, district support teams and secondary counselors. This session is a continuation on how to use National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) data. As an extension of this work, NCDPI’s OLR has created an external facing dashboard that will support districts and schools in understanding their first-time enrollment outcomes using NSC data.

We are excited to share this dashboard with our district partners! The same webinar will be offered twice to accommodate your schedule. If you cannot make the webinar, it will be recorded and shared with this listserv. If you have any questions regarding this webinar, please contact: Dr. Erin W. Manuel (erin.manuel@dpi.nc.gov)

Please use this Google Form to register for either (60 minute) session: Thursday April 11th 2024, 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 16th 2024, 1:00 p.m.

Number 8

Three Ways Education Professionals Use AI to Support Learning Differences

"Artificial intelligence (AI) has a growing presence in government, businesses, and particularly schools. In January, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) released a guidebook for the use of generative AI in our public schools.

According to Merriam-Webster, artificial intelligence is defined as, 'The capability of computer systems or algorithms to imitate intelligent human behavior.' With the strides made in generative AI last year, schools are inquiring about how to incorporate it across all fronts, including with students with learning differences. In North Carolina, students with learning differences are served under the Office of Exceptional Children."

Read more here. 

Number 7

Registration Open for Growing Success for Multilingual Learners (MLs) 2024 Summer Conference

The NCDPI ML/Title III Team invites all educators to the 2024 Growing Success for MLs Conference. The 2024 summer conference will focus on empowering NC teachersand staff to create educational experiences that help multilingual students succeed academically.

The conference will be hosted in two in-person locations and one virtual setting:

• Buncombe County - June 25-27
• Pender County - July 23-25
• Virtual - July 29 - August 1

Learn more and register here.

Number 6

DPI Seeking Best Practices for Using Teacher Working Conditions (TWC) Data

DPI is looking for NC's best practices for using NC TWC data by school or district leadership as part of school improvement planning, district strategic planning or data-driven conversations. Please send any great examples of presentations, data walls/walks, reflection protocols, school improvement plans/district strategic plans, board materials, principal eval protocols, etc. to nctwc@dpi.nc.gov.

Number 5

N.C. Dual Language Immersion Program Attracts Attention of U.S. Department of Education

"East Forsyth Middle School is taking part in a program that is receiving national attention. The middle school’s Dual Language Immersion program has attracted the attention of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition and other programs, such as NCDPI.

Dual Language Immersion, or DLI, allows students to learn their dual language of Spanish while also being engulfed in different cultures.

'Our kindergartners, they come in from a two-way program where the target language of Spanish is taught to them, and it is using as much of their intelligences as possible. What they may not know in the target language through bodily kinesthetic movement, through repetition, they eventually are completely soaked in with the language as they continue with the program. The cultural piece becomes a big part of what happens in regards to what they're learning,' said Shiwanah Bangham, principal of East Forsyth Middle School.

North Carolina ranks in the top five states in the country for dual language immersion programs, according to a 2021 study by the American Councils for International Education."

Read more and watch the news clip here. 

Number 4

Johnston Community College Offering Truck Driving Program to High School Seniors

"At Johnston Community College’s truck driver training program students are learning all the tools to operate big trucks.

It’s always been a dream of student Dalton Snipes.

'Eventually I want to own my own truck one day and then go from there,' said student Dalton Snipes.

Johnston Community College is working to train more young people like him as truck drivers.

They’re now offering a new program that allows high school seniors to get hands on skills in truck driving and eventually receive their commercial driver’s license (CDL). It’s through the Career and College Promise (CCP) dual-enrollment program. They’re the first in the state to offer tuition-free training to high school seniors."

Read more and watch the news clip here. 

Number 3

Middle Schoolers Gain Career Exposure During Students@Work Month

"Gov. Roy Cooper declared March Students@Work℠ Month in North Carolina, in recognition of the career readiness initiative expected to teach 25,000 students in the state about jobs and industries in their communities.

Students@Work, a partnership between the North Carolina Business Committee for Education (NCBCE) and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI), involves on-site and virtual visits to local businesses. This is the 14th year for the project."

Read more here. 

Number 2

NC Governor's School Seeking Teachers for Summer 2024

The Governor’s School of North Carolina is seeking creative, engaging teachers to serve as instructors for the 2024 summer session. Teachers are needed for both Governor’s School East and West campuses, hosted by Greensboro College and Meredith College.

Learn more and apply here.

Number 1

Save the Date: 2024 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Teacher of the Year to be Announced Friday, April 5

Join us for a livestream of the 2024 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year Ceremony on Friday, April 5. The livestream begins with a pre-show salute to our sponsors and finalists beginning at 12 p.m., with the ceremony honoring our nine regional and charter school finalists beginning at 12:30 p.m. The event concludes with the announcement of the 2024 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year.

The event will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube. Read more about the 2024 Teacher of the Year finalists here.