Thu 4/14/2016 4:53 PM
To: Lynda Fuller <Lynda.Fuller@dpi.nc.gov>;
Biweekly message to North Carolina public school teachers from State Superintendent June Atkinson
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April 14, 2016
Although I have participated in NC Teacher of the Year luncheons and announcements for many years, the excitement is still amazing each year when we recognize our regional teachers of the year and name the North Carolina winner.
Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of announcing the 2016 NC
Burroughs Wellcome Fund Teacher of the Year, South Point High
School English and Journalism teacher Bobbie Cavnar. The Gaston
County Public Schools’ teacher succeeds Keana Triplett, an English teacher at Ashe County High School (Ashe County Schools).
Bobbie is a great example of the outstanding teachers who work across North Carolina to help our students advance. He has taught for 16 years, the last 12 at South Point High School. He currently participates in the Gaston County Teacher Induction Program for
Success where he trains incoming teachers in model classroom best practices. He also has presented at a number of workshops and has received several awards including South Point High School’s Most
Influential Educator for 2013, 2011, 2009, 2006 and 2004. This award has special meaning because it is voted on by students.
As Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year, Bobbie will spend the next school year traveling the state as an ambassador for the teaching profession. I know he will represent you well.
Congratulations to Bobbie and to all our regional winners!

The State Board of Education held a planning session last Tuesday and
Wednesday prior to Thursday’s regular monthly meeting. Issues discussed included the Board’s strategic plan implementation progress and challenges, the Every Student Succeeds Act , standards review and revisions, the state’s assessment system, criminal background checks and the Board’s legislative agenda for the General Assembly’s short session.
At Thursday’s regular Board meeting, in addition to a number of consent agenda items, members approved policies on general licensure requirements, beginning teacher support program, standards and criteria for evaluation of professional school employees and the teacher performance appraisal process; applications from reform models; and technical changes to the recurring low-performing schools’ policy.
Board members also discussed the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee Dropout
Prevention Pilot Report; Annual Measurable Objectives/Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives policy revisions; and an update on the teacher licensure system.
The complete list of this month’s Board actions is available on the Board’s website.
The first round of regional public comment sessions regarding the Every Student Succeeds Act and North Carolina’s plan that is under development began yesterday (April 13) in Wilmington.
Other dates and locations are April 21, Green Hope High
School/Wake; April 26, Mallard Creek High School/Charlotte-Mecklenburg; April 27, North Pitt High
School/Pitt; May 17, East Forsyth High School/Winston-Salem/Forsyth; and May 18, Charles D. Owen
High School/Buncombe.
All sessions will be held from 4-6 p.m. People who wish to speak during the session are asked to sign in by 4:15 p.m. Each speaker will have up to three minutes to provide comments, and written copies of comments also are welcomed.
Individuals interested in speaking may want to consider the following questions when formulating their comments:
- What do you expect from our schools?
- What school characteristics are most important?
- How should we measure school success?
- How do we ensure that all schools are successful?
- How should we celebrate school success?

As we develop our state’s plan, it is important to hear from educators, parents, business people, students and other community members.
Are you interested in the latest (and not so latest) research and non-research texts about the academic achievement gap and its attending issues (such as poverty) in North Carolina and elsewhere?
If so, then NCDPI's Division of Data, Research and Federal Policy can help. Just scroll through the summaries located in the Academic Education Research web page for relevant, interesting scholarly texts and articles.
The NC Department of Public of Instruction Champion for the
Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award was presented to the following six outstanding educators during the Collaborative
Conference for Student Achievement held in Greensboro on March 23:
* Kiera Stricklen, Instructional Support, Media/Technology Assistant,
Wellcome Middle School, Pitt County Schools
* James Johnson, Principal, Randleman Elementary School, Randolph
County Schools
* Susan Brigman, Principal, Ashley Chapel Education Center, Richmond County Schools
* Janet Delery, Math Teacher, Piedmont Middle School, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
* Ashley White, Kindergarten Teacher, Aberdeen Primary School, Moore County Schools
* Jennifer James, Business Education Teacher, Northeastern High School, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank
Schools
The purpose of the Champion Award is to celebrate the power of public education and the educators who advocate for excellence.
Teachers are asked to share this information with students who may be interested in attending.
NCDPI staff will host its fifth annual S tudent Leadership
Institute June 13-16 at Pfeiffer University. The four-day
Institute is for rising fourth through twelfth graders, and is designed to prepare students to take active roles in their schools and communities through service learning.
Institute facilitators will engage participants in active, minds-on, hands-on learning that will assist students and their adult mentors with developing the skills needed to engage in service experiences that are aligned to the curriculum.

For eligibility requirements and an application, visit the Character Matters website. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m., Friday, April 29. Questions may be directed to Bernadette Cole, Fay Gore or Nakisha
Floyd.
Did you know that, on average, students lose approximately 2.6
months of grade level equivalency in math skills over the summer months?
MetaMetrics® is trying to stop this loss in math skills by offering the Summer Math Challenge . The Summer Math Challenge is a free, six-week, email-based, math skills program for students who have finished first through seventh grades. As a part of the program, parents receive daily emails with fun, targeted activities and resources to help children retain the math skills learned during the previous school year.
The Summer Math Challenge begins Monday, June 20, and runs until Friday, July 29. For more information, including how to encourage your students to participate in the Summer Math Challenge, visit quantiles.com/summer-math or call 919.354.3475.
Did you know that the federal Every Kid in a Park initiative allows fourth graders nationwide to obtain a pass for free entry for them and their families to more than 2,000 federally managed lands and waters nationwide for an entire year?
The second year of this annual program begins Sept. 1. To find out how to get a pass, or for more information to help plan trips, check out the Every Kid in a Park website. There, educators also can find scholastic-developed activities.
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