Number 10

Office of School Improvement Tip Tuesdays

The Office of School Improvement is pleased to offer SIP Tip Tuesdays each month. These 30-minute sessions provide principals, process managers, and district NCStar contacts with an opportunity to deepen their understanding of the NCStar platform. In addition to the instructional content, participants will have dedicated time to ask questions specific to their individual NCStar needs.

To register for the sessions that align with your interests and school’s needs, please click here. Should you have any questions or require assistance with NCStar, please reach out to Suzanne Owen at suzanne.owen@dpi.nc.gov or Natalie Sasser at natalie.sasser@dpi.nc.gov.

Number 9

2024-25 NCVPS Edvantage Tutoring

Edvantage Tutoring, as part of North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS), is in the midst of accepting school enrollments for the 2024-25 school year! Edvantage is growing, and we are excited to continue tutoring students across NC.

Edvantage Tutoring will be offered in the following curriculum areas:

• 6th, 7th & 8th Grade ELA
• Middle School ELA: Writing Lab (asynchronous assistance in ELA)
• 6th, 7th & 8th Grade Math
• 6th, 7th & 8th Grade Science
• 8th Grade Math I
• High School Math I, II and III
• High School Biology
• High School Chemistry
• High School English: Writing Lab (asynchronous assistance in English)
• Spanish I-IV
• General MS/HS Asynchronous Support (asynchronous assistance in all curriculum areas)

Tutoring will be available Monday-Thursday, 4-7:30 p.m. nightly September 23, 2024 through May 22, 2025. Daytime tutoring is also available per school/district request and may be utilized for students who are in ISS, suspended, homebound, absent, and/or working from home, McKinney-Vento, athletes needing extra support, etc.

There is a flat fee of $35/hour for tutoring, and all tutoring slots are available in 30-minute increments. Please keep in mind that any unused purchased minutes automatically roll over to the next school year!

Enroll today or send an email to learn more!

Number 8

EducationWeek: "How Peer Mentors Can Ease the Transitions to Middle and High School"

"Going from being among the oldest, most 'senior' students to landing at the proverbial bottom rung of the academic and social ladder can feel like a swift and startling descent for even the most self-assured student. Tack on adolescents’ frequently awkward and turbulent physical transitions and surging hormones, plus the increased academic expectations in middle or high school, and the experience can quickly become overwhelming.

Acclimating can be slow, and for those who fail to find their way that first year, rebounding can prove difficult. Students who struggle in 9th grade and receive poor grades are at far greater risk than their peers of eventually dropping out of school altogether, according to research. Even the most well-adjusted students could use additional support—especially initially."

Read the full article.

Number 7

Reminder: Quarterly PIO Call Wednesday, September 11

As a reminder, Public Information Officers and Charter School Communications Leaders are invited to join the quarterly PIO call next week on Wednesday, September 11.

Please reach out to communications@dpi.nc.gov if you did not receive the meeting information and Zoom link.

Number 6

Civic Education Resources - Constitution Day, Guest Speakers and More

NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby is inviting NC public school units to join in celebrating Constitution Day on September 17, the anniversary of the formation and signing of the US Constitution. Resources for Constitution Day are available for schools, including speaker material, lesson plans and more. Constitution Day resources can be found here.

Additional instructional materials about our state’s Judicial Branch, including PowerPoint presentations, videos, fact sheets, word searches, coloring sheets and more, can be found here.

Guest speakers are also available to visit schools. These speakers include justices, judges, clerks of court, attorneys and other members of the statewide judicial community. The Judicial Branch Speakers Bureau is a free public service and speakers are available to speak to school classes and assemblies throughout the year. Visit the Judicial Branch Speakers Bureau to learn how to book a speaker.

Number 5

Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund (NBPSCF) Grant Applications Due September 13

Applications are now being accepted for new FY24-25 NBPSCF Capital Facility Grants. Program guidance and application materials are available on the Capital Funding page of the School Planning website. The deadline for submitting applications and supporting materials is September 13, 2024.

Questions about the NBPSCF Grant program should be directed to Nathan Maune, AIA, via email at nathan.maune@dpi.nc.gov.

Number 4

EdNC: "The People Behind the ‘Best Practices’ We Report On"

"In June 2024, at a convening of our board, strategic council, team, and external stakeholders, EdNC held a conversation about 'best practices' and what that term actually means to different people, including us.

This is the framework EdNC uses to think about the categories of best practices, which comes from a 2006 report funded in part by the MacArthur Foundation.

'This question is not new,' said Kelley O’Brien, who consults with EdNC and facilitated the conversation. 'How to define, lift up and share, and then determine when to scale best practices.'

EdNC sees all of the categories of best practices in our travels across North Carolina. One recent example of scaling a policy principle is the implementation of the science of reading in elementary schools statewide."

Read the full story here.

Number 3

2024-25 Purple Star Award Submissions Now Open

The submission period for the 2024-25 Purple Star Award is now open through February 1. The Purple Star designation is awarded to schools that demonstrate military-friendly practices and a commitment to military students and families.

Check out the webinar for 2023-24 Purple Star Award, which provides overview of the application process, and learn more about NC's efforts to celebrate schools that support military-connected students and families: Purple Star Award information

Number 2

"2023-24 Accountability Report Shows Continued Academic Growth for North Carolina Students"

"North Carolina students continue to see gains in most grades and subjects, according to the 2023-24 state test results presented to the State Board of Education today. Schools also showed progress on accountability measures.

For the second year in a row, North Carolina students performed well in math, seeing an increase in students performing at both college-and-career readiness (CCR) and grade-level proficiency (GLP) in all grades from third to eighth, as well as in both NC Math 1 offerings. For students achieving grade-level proficiency in math, these areas saw increases up to 2.1 percentage points from the 2022-23 school year. There was a decrease in NC Math 3 scores, from 58.3% to 57.6% this year."

Read the full press release.

Number 1

"New Pilot Program – NC College Connect – Launches to Increase College Access for North Carolina Students"

Today, the University of North Carolina System introduced NC College Connect, a simplified college application process for North Carolina public high school students in their senior year. The new program will enable qualifying students to bypass the traditional application process into participating colleges.

NC College Connect creates a simple, easy way for students to apply to participating UNC System and North Carolina Community College System institutions across the state. North Carolina public high school students who close their junior year with a weighted GPA of 2.8 or above will qualify for the pilot program. Qualifying students must maintain a weighted GPA of 2.8 or above throughout their senior year, in addition to meeting the state’s graduation requirements as set by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and UNC System minimum requirements. ...

'It’s well known that one of the major barriers to students pursuing college is the application process,' said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt. 'NC College Connect removes this hurdle, offering a streamlined and simplified way for our state’s future workforce to pursue their degree.'”

Read the full press release to learn more.