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Aug. 10, 2015
Last week, Dr. Gary Henry from Vanderbilt University, presented the evaluation report, Turning Around Lowest Achieving Schools
(click on the PowerPoint link under S BE Issues Session ), an initiative that greatly benefited from the state’s receipt of Race to the Top grant funds.
Dr. Henry noted that for one of the few times in his career of presenting to our Board of Education and to others, he had a resounding success story to share. In short, the turnaround e ff ort in
North Carolina worked. Schools improved their outcomes overall, and most important, more students were proficient and more students graduated from high school than would have been proficient or would have graduated if no intervention had occurred.
The most e ff ective model was district transformation plus school transformation services. In districts that received both, the improvements in proficiency and graduation rates were the most significant and noticeable.
North Carolina has been working in this arena for many years, and I’m very pleased to see that we have discovered the balance of support and leadership that makes a di ff erence. I’m proud of the Department and of the school districts and schools that participated and showed positive results as a result. Our challenge now is continuing these services so that we can continue to improve opportunities for students to succeed.

At last week’s State Board of Education meeting, members approved updates to course for credit and graduation requirements, Compliance Commission recommendations for Field
Testing and Special Studies Appeals for the 2015-16 school year, recommendations for appointments to the Extenuating
Circumstances Committee, and NC Charter Schools Advisory
Board’s recommendations. Board members also welcomed new Superintendent Advisor Rodney
Shotwell (Rockingham County Schools) and received a report on the Use of the Formative Diagnostic
Assessment System, Reading 3D. For a complete list of Board actions, visit the State Board’s website.
The next legislative webinar will be held Monday, Aug. 17, at 1 p.m. You may register online. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
If you have any questions regarding legislative activities, please email Rachel Beaulieu, NCDPI
Legislative and Community A ff airs director.
The deadline for submitting LEA Civil Rights Data to the O ffi ce of Civil Rights was Friday, Aug. 7. The extremely high volume nationally caused very poor response time from the federal CRDC system, and many LEAs were not able to complete their certification. As a result, the O ffi ce of Civil Rights has extended the deadline two weeks to Friday Aug. 21. LEAs that have yet to certify their data are urged to do so before Aug. 21 to avoid any possibility of missing the next window. Questions may be directed to
Karl Pond or Terra Dominguez.
Are you curious about how NCVPS courses work? Sta ff have a new animated video that shows how the teaching and learning process works. The video is available on YouTube for viewing.
Also note that the Summer Session 2015 ended Aug. 7. Grades will be available for schools on Aug. 13 in the NCVPS registration system.
The Preventing Substance Abuse and Underage Drinking Among K12 Students module helps educators serve as leaders to prevent and intervene for students with substance abuse and underage drinking issues. This includes empowering educators and community leaders with knowledge and action steps

to help students and young people make informed decisions and avoid the dangers of underage consumption of alcohol, abuse of prescription medications and street drugs. Available modules related to student health include:
Understanding the Role of School Resource O ffi cers in Schools. The single greatest benefit for K-12 students is to create collaborations among educators, school resource o ffi cers, school nurses, school social workers, school counselors and school psychologists. This module helps school personnel develop an awareness of the role and e ff ective utilization of School Resource O ffi cers in order to create a caring and safe educational environment that benefits learning and community.
Understanding the Schools’ Role in Suicide Prevention. Suicide attempts have increased among North
Carolina’s elementary, middle and high school students. Suicide attempts and deaths are devastating events for students, families, friends and sta ff with significant emotional consequences. This module helps educators identify when a student displays warning signs of contemplating suicide. Included are resources for assistance and recovery supports for the students, school sta ff and families.
Understanding Student Behavior in the Classroom. This module helps middle and high school teachers and school sta ff develop an enhanced awareness of behavioral health issues in the classroom which may foster academic achievement for all students, decrease dropout rates, and increase NC's graduation rates.
Understanding Young Student Behavior in The Classroom. This module assists preschool through fifth grade teachers to develop an enhanced awareness of behavioral health issues in young students and extend that knowledge to foster long-term connectivity and academic achievement for all students, decrease the dropout rates, and ultimately increase NC's graduation rates.
These online modules are five-hours in length, self-paced, and award .5 CEUs upon completion. Modules are available through the NCEES/Home Base system using your usual log in or the alternate log in. Modules also are available on the NC Education website.
Questions may be directed to NCDPI Educator E ff ectiveness Instructional Design Lead Geetanjali Soni.
Aug. 6, 2015 Principals’ Biweekly Message
Aug. 6, 2015 Home Base/RttT Biweekly Update
Aug. 7, 2015 Finance O ffi cers’ Newsletter
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