Weekly Message - State Superintendent June Atkinson - Lynda Fuller
1/12/16 9:25 AM
Weekly Message + State Superintendent June Atkinson
North Carolina Public Schools <NCPublicSchools@public.govdelivery.com>
Mon 1/11/2016 4:35 PM
To: Lynda
Fuller <Lynda.Fuller@dpi.nc.gov>;
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Jan. 11, 2016
The New Year transition brings with it predictions for the year
ahead, and this year, WRAL news asked me for my thoughts on the
year ahead. In case you are not a viewer of WRAL here in Raleigh or
a regular visitor to the station’s website, here is what I see ahead in
2016.
1. The General Assembly will give teachers the largest salary
increase in a decade. Rationale: this is an election year plus
teachers deserve a raise in order for education to be competitive
with other professions.
2. A new state testing pilot will be expanded so that teachers,
students and parents will receive immediate feedback after
assessments with a reduction in test taking time. Rationale:
preliminary findings reported by teachers in the pilot show very
positive results.
3. Enrollment in university teacher preparation programs will decrease for the sixth year in a
row. Rationale: young people and second career adults must be attracted to the teaching field by better
salaries and necessary resources.
4. The high school graduation rate will reach another all time high of over 86 percent while the State
Board of Education continues to have higher standards for meeting graduation requirements.
5. Investments in early reading will begin to pay off with more students able to read well by the third
grade. Rationale: investments in summer camps for 1st and 2nd graders will have a positive impact.
6. Quality preschool programs will continue to be an issue even though research clearly shows that
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Weekly Message - State Superintendent June Atkinson - Lynda Fuller
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quality early learning programs have financial benefit to society and to individuals.
I also predict that your colleagues and you will continue to provide strong educational services to
students in North Carolina, but that prediction is not unique to 2016! I hope your new year is off to a
good start, and I look forward to our continued work together.
State Board of Education Meeting Highlights
At last week’s State Board of Education meeting, members approved
new Cooperative Innovative High School program applications and
changes to the charter school policy and revocation processes. Board
members also approved reports to the General Assembly on a pilot
program to raise the dropout age to 18 and school connectivity.
Members discussed a study on charter school closure funds and
recommendations from the Charter School Advisory Board regarding amendments to fast track
replication and schools with charters expiring in 2016. The complete list of Board actions is available
online.
Multi-Tiered System of Support:
Readiness Instrument
Within the next several weeks, NCDPI staff will be sending the link
to the MTSS Readiness Instrument. This tool is designed to assist
districts in determining initial readiness for implementation of a
Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS).
The tool addresses the six critical components identified as essential to successful MTSS
implementation in North Carolina: Leadership, Building the Capacity/Infrastructure for Implementation,
Communication and Collaboration, Data-based Problem Solving, Three-Tiered Instruction/Intervention
Model and Data-Evaluation.
The MTSS Readiness Instrument is to be completed by the district level leadership team where they will
rate the district’s implementation of the six critical components of MTSS.
If you have any questions, please contact Amy Jablonski.
Register Now for NCVPS Spring
Classes
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Weekly Message - State Superintendent June Atkinson - Lynda Fuller
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NCVPS is still enrolling for spring classes. Classes begin on Jan. 19, and the last day to register
students is Feb. 1. After that date, schools still have a number of enrollment options:
- Credit recovery enrollment remains open until March 18.
- Schools can continue to add Occupational Course of Study students to their already existing OCS
sections throughout the semester.
- NCVPS will accept transfer students until March 18. This is a good solution for students who move
into the district, home-bound students, and suspended students.
District and School Transformation News
The District and School Transformation staff extend a heartfelt “Thank You!” for the work that has been
accomplished over the past three months by districts and schools identified as low performing in
accordance with G.S. 115C-105.37(a1)(5) and G.S. 115C-105.39A(b)(5).
As part of this new process, a Plan for Improvement was approved by the local school board and
submitted to the State Board of Education. A District and School Transformation coach reviewed the
plan and provided specific feedback before returning to the local board. A Final Plan for Improvement
was submitted by the school or district and published to the NCDPI and school websites.
The goal is to have all Final Plans for Improvement for the 2015-16 school year submitted by Feb. 15.
Please continue to use the website for Low-Performing Districts and Schools to submit a Plan for
Improvement. For further questions or support, contact District and School Transformation at
919.835.6101.
On Feb. 10, District and School Transformation in partnership with NCSU Northeast Leadership
Academy (NELA) continues the Professional Development for School Leaders Series: The Connected
Educator. The featured speaker, Dr. Mike Schmoker, author of Results Now, FOCUS, his newest book
Leading with Focus, and a number of ASCD articles, will guide participants through the best practices
for using data to improve student learning and to develop focused leadership within schools.
Please join us for this exciting opportunity to connect with Dr. Schmoker and other practitioners from
across North Carolina. Registration is open and can be accessed here. The February event will be held
at the Hilton North Raleigh from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. (on-site registration begins at 8:30 a.m.). There is no
registration fee for this event; however, districts and schools are responsible for travel costs. A block of
rooms has been reserved at a discounted rate at the Hilton North Raleigh. Please contact Amelia
McLeod with questions.
Jan. 22 is Early Registration Deadline for
Home Base Symposium
The Home Base Symposium is quickly approaching, and the early registration deadline is Jan. 22.
This year's symposium will be packed with new content as well as recent and upcoming updates across
the Home Base suite. There will be presenters from the Home Base applications as well as across the
field, and so much more. All-day strands for PowerSchool, Schoolnet, Truenorthlogic and Canvas will
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Weekly Message - State Superintendent June Atkinson - Lynda Fuller
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be offered from field experts. Other sessions will address Google Apps for Education integration,
a BloomBoard & OCT overview, and what is to come with NCEdCloud and IAM.
You don't want to miss this opportunity. Plan on attending, bring a well-rounded team, cull the
information offered and return to your district bursting with fresh, new ways to utilize Home Base!
NC Dual Language/Immersion Administrator
Seminar Reminder
NCDPI staff are pleased to offer a NC Dual Language/Immersion (DL/I)
Administrator Seminar on March 9-10 on the UNC-Charlotte campus.
This seminar is designed for current program administrators and
administrators exploring implementation options. Day one begins with a
keynote address by Thomas and Collier followed by breakout sessions by NC practitioners. Day
two provides opportunities to visit a DL/I school. Once you have registered and paid the $30 registration
fee, you will receive a survey to sign up for a school visit.
Register early as space is limited for this event. The registration deadline is Feb. 5, but staff have
already received a large number of registrations.
Regional Teachers of the Year Announced
Congratulations to the following nine teachers who were selected to
represent their education districts and charter schools as the state’s
regional Teachers of the Year and will now compete for the title of
2016 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year:
- Northeast: Marie Smith, Conway Middle (Northampton County
Schools);
- Southeast: Katie Snyder, Hoggard High (New Hanover County
Schools);
- North Central: Margaret McNeill, Dunn Middle (Harnett County Schools);
- Sandhills: Olivia Hall, Roseboro-Salemburg Middle (Sampson County Schools);
- Piedmont-Triad: Kevin Scharen, Graham High (Alamance-Burlington Schools);
- Southwest: Bobbie Cavnar, South Point High (Gaston County Schools);
- Northwest: Leah Hayes, South Newton Elementary (Newton-Conover City Schools);
- Western: Angel Ledbetter, Rutherford Early College High (Rutherford County Schools); and
- Charter Schools: Brandon Brown, Lake Norman Charter (Mecklenburg County).
The 2016 North Carolina Teacher of the Year will be announced April 7 at an awards ceremony in Cary.
Feb. 8-12 is School Bus Driver Appreciation Week
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Weekly Message - State Superintendent June Atkinson - Lynda Fuller
1/12/16 9:25 AM
Feb. 8-12 is School Bus Driver Appreciation Week, and also the
week when schools are encouraged to celebrate LOVE THE
BUS and talk with students about school bus safety.
This is an excellent opportunity to generate positive media
attention on the safe transportation of students to and from
school. More information is available on the NC School Bus
Safety website.
Latest Messages Online
Jan. 8, 2016 Finance Officers’ Newsletter
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