Weekly Message - State Superintendent June Atkinson - Lynda Fuller
2/2/16 9:45 AM
Weekly Message + State Superintendent June Atkinson
North Carolina Public Schools <NCPublicSchools@public.govdelivery.com>
Mon 2/1/2016 3:37 PM
To: Lynda
Fuller <Lynda.Fuller@dpi.nc.gov>;
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Feb. 1, 2016
During the next eight months, the State Board of Education will
make some very important decisions about how NC will implement
ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act), including our accountability
system, testing, low-performing schools support, etc. Depending on
the State Board’s decisions, the General Assembly must be
involved too.
I want to give you every opportunity to be involved in making and
reviewing recommendations that may go to the Board. Typically,
items are presented one month for discussion and the next month
for action. I invite you to be a part of a webinar every second
Monday each month to share with us your thoughts and
recommendations about pending Board discussion and action. The
first webinar will be held on Monday, Feb. 8, at 3 p.m. Please join
us by registering online.
Also, during March and April, I will be meeting with you by region. That also will give you the chance to
give feedback. In addition, we have two superintendents' advisory committees--one for teacher
recruitment and retention/licensure policies and another for accountability and assessments.
Let me know if you have other ways you want us to involve you.
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Weekly Message - State Superintendent June Atkinson - Lynda Fuller
2/2/16 9:45 AM
State Superintendent Presents Teacher Compensation Proposal
Thanks to the eight superintendents who spoke before the General Assembly's House Select
Committee on Education: Jeff Booker, Gaston; Greg Little, Mt. Airy; Beverly Emory, WinstonSalem/Forsyth; John Parker, Roanoke Rapids; Frank Till, Cumberland; Barry Williams, Gates; and Sean
Bulson, Wilson. Please visit my blog to read the remarks that I made to the committee on teacher
compensation. Also, superintendents who attended or those listening in via audio stream heard a
presentation by NCDPI School Business Director Alexis Schauss on principal compensation.
State Board of Education Meets
This Week
The State Board of Education meets this Wednesday and Thursday,
Feb. 3-4, in the 7th Floor Board Room, Education Building, Raleigh.
Action items on the agenda include policies governing services for
children with disabilities, recommendations for charter enrollment and
grade expansion requests, recommendations for charter schools expiring in 2016, and a report to the
Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on a multi-year survey of driver education. Discussion
items include program approval modifications for Institutions of Higher Education, policy
recommendations for the teacher licensure and evaluation process, proposed student perception
surveys, reform for continually low-performing schools, and the Board’s 2016-17 Supplemental Budget
recommendations.
The complete agenda as well as supporting executive summaries are available online by clicking on the
SBE Meetings tab. The meeting is audio streamed for those who cannot attend. To listen, please visit
the above link and click on the live audio streams link to the right.
School Turnaround Update;
Grant to Evaluate Program Effectiveness
Those of you who have been in North Carolina for a while know that we have been working on school
turnaround for a number of years in one form or another, operating at least two prior rounds of
turnaround programs.
In response to the new legislated definition for low-performing districts and schools and the change in
staffing necessitated by the end of Race to the Top funding, NCDPI is recasting the turnaround program
to provide essential support resources in schools where they are most needed.
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Weekly Message - State Superintendent June Atkinson - Lynda Fuller
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As NCDPI staff implement the new turnaround approach this year, staff also will be using a grant from
the US Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences to evaluate its effectiveness. The $5
million, five-year effort includes a partnership between the State Board of Education, Vanderbilt
University, Education Policy Initiative at Carolina (EPIC) at UNC-Chapel Hill and the RAND Corporation
to investigate the implementation and impact of the new turnaround plan. The intent is to share the
findings from the evaluation regarding effective approaches that address students, schools and districts.
Additional information will soon be shared with selected participating districts. NCDPI staff look forward
to our state being able to benefit from this grant and the academic improvements it will support.
Curriculum Leaders Survey
Superintendents are asked to please complete the Curriculum Leaders
Survey regarding the curriculum leaders in your LEA. Staff are updating
various lists and need the most accurate information. The survey should be
completed by this Friday, Feb. 5.
CTE Post-Assessment Scores
Due to rescaling of CTE post-assessments to align with the State Board approved 10-point grading
scale, the required score for CTE post-assessments to count as “Met” for reporting under the Carl
Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 has been set at 70.
Data show, on average, student scores in fall 2015 dropped by about five points over the previous
testing period. However, the letter grade assigned to the student is the same as it would have been
under the old seven-point grading scale. The Proficiency Report in NCTest was revised effective Jan. 29
to reflect the new cut score.
CTE will work with EVAAS to make sure teachers are not penalized for the drop in scores due to the
rescaling. CTE administrators received a detailed document that explains this issue further. This
document may be shared with principals, teachers and other stakeholders.
Feb. 5 is Deadline to Register for NC Dual
Language/Immersion Administrator Seminar
Feb. 5 is the deadline to register for the NC Dual Language/Immersion
(DL/I) Administrator Seminar scheduled for March 9-10 on the UNCCharlotte campus.
This seminar is designed for current program administrators and
administrators exploring implementation options. Day one will begin with a keynote by Thomas and
Collier followed by breakout sessions by North Carolina practitioners. Day two will provide opportunities
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Weekly Message - State Superintendent June Atkinson - Lynda Fuller
2/2/16 9:45 AM
to visit a DL/I school.
Once you have registered and paid the registration fee of $30, you will receive a survey to sign up for a
school visit.
NCVPS Professional Development
Opportunities
The North Carolina Virtual Public School will host four webinars in February at no cost to administrators
and teachers who are interested in learning more about leading, teaching and supporting teachers in an
online and blended environment. All webinars start at 7 p.m. Dates and topics are as follows:
- Feb. 1: Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Fair Use;
- Feb. 8: Individualization in Online and Blended Learning;
- Feb. 15: Cyber Bullying; and
- Feb. 29: Assessment and Feedback for Teachers in Online and Blended Learning Environments.
Mastery Learning for First-Time Credit Pilot Program
This program gives schools the option to provide alternative scheduling to students in special
enrollment situations. NCVPS will function as an intervention for students in these situations. Program
details are available online.
Regional Principals of the Year Announced
Congratulations to the following eight outstanding public school principals who were recently selected
Regional Wells Fargo North Carolina Principals of the Year and will now compete for the state title of
2016 Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year.
The regional principals of the year are:
- Northeast: William Peele, Bertie Middle (Bertie County Schools);
- Southeast: Molly White, Lincoln Elementary (Brunswick County Schools);
- North Central: Matthew Hunt, Northern High (Durham Public Schools);
- Sandhills: Melody Chalmers, E.E. Smith High (Cumberland County Schools);
- Piedmont-Triad: Wayne Duggins, South Stokes High (Stokes County Schools);
- Southwest: Maureen Furr, South Mecklenburg High (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools);
- Northwest: Kelly Nicholson, Oxford Elementary (Catawba County Schools); and
- Western: Peggy Marshall, Sugarloaf Elementary (Henderson County Schools).
Regional winners will each receive $1,000 for personal use and $1,000 for their schools. The Wells Fargo
Principal of the Year announcement will occur May 12 during a luncheon in Cary. The winner will
succeed the 2015 recipient, Steve Lassiter Jr., principal of Pactolus School (Pitt County Schools).
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Weekly Message - State Superintendent June Atkinson - Lynda Fuller
2/2/16 9:45 AM
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