Weekly Message - State Superintendent June Atkinson
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7/30/15 10:43 AM
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Weekly Message - State Superintendent June Atkinson
North Carolina Public Schools sent this bulletin at 07/27/2015 03:19 PM EDT
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July 27, 2015
Greetings from State Superintendent June Atkinson
On Friday, we posted a news release drawing attention to the State Board of
Education and Department of Public Instruction’s plan to address the issues
of interest to Judge Manning in the Leandro court case. That plan is posted
online outlining the three tiers of service and support that we identified as
important for students and schools that are low performing. I hope that you
will take a look at this plan and note that it could not reasonably be
accomplished beyond the first Level (current state of things) without
additional resources.
The news release also links to the most recent biennial report and the State
Board of Education’s expansion budget request adopted last winter and
provided to the Governor and to lawmakers. The items in the expansion
request would assist us in meeting the goals outlined in the expanded and
extended areas of service, especially in professional development, school
turnaround and school technology and digital learning.
Clearly, in order for us to move together to remove the extensive hurdles that
many of our students face in trying to fully access the educational
opportunities in our schools, additional resources would be required. Many of you indicated that you had read press
accounts to the contrary. Those accounts reference Deputy State Superintendent Rebecca Garland’s response to
whether or not we had the resources to meet Level I services. Level I services are those services that are already
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Weekly Message - State Superintendent June Atkinson
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provided now – not the additional support and services that we all know are important to help the lowest-performing
students and schools.
I look forward to having the court transcript posted online for you all to read once it is made available.
Department Moves to New Message Delivery System
Do you like your newsletter's new look? The Department will now use the GovDelivery
system to send the Weekly Message to Superintendents along with a number of other
Department newsletters and meeting and event notices. Today’s weekly message is
the first communication sent through GovDelivery. Other divisions currently using our
old system will transition to this new service over the next six to nine months.
One GovDelivery benefit is that it enables subscribers to manage their individual subscriptions and select the public
school communications that best meet their needs and interests. As you may have already noticed, the new system
also provides us with a more visually appealing platform in which we can send communications and will offer users
the opportunity to receive information via text message and/or through an RSS feed.
It’s an exciting day and we’re glad you’re the first group to experience this with us!
Aug. 3 is Next Legislative Webinar
The next legislative webinar will be held Monday, Aug. 3, at
1 p.m. You may register online
at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8251738377502464258. 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 Affairs director.
NC Virtual Public School to Pilot Online PE This Fall;
Redesigns Website
In the digital age, you can find almost anything online, and education is no exception. But what about something like a
gym class? Most would think the course name “physical education” implies it can’t be offered virtually. But the North
Carolina Virtual Public School, an online school funded by the N.C. General Assembly, is pushing the boundaries of
online education by offering a new virtual high school PE course. Macon and New Hanover counties will pilot the
program this fall, and the course could potentially expand statewide in spring 2016. To read more,
visit www.ncpublicschools.org and select the appropriate link under “News.”
The North Carolina Virtual Public School also is excited to announce that it has redesigned its website! To better serve
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Weekly Message - State Superintendent June Atkinson
7/30/15 10:43 AM
your district, the website features user-friendly navigation, print-friendly pages, and a wealth of information and
resources. And, although the look has changed, the location remains the same: www.ncvps.org/. For more details,
please visit http://goo.gl/iF1dZW.
NC State Advisory Council on Indian Education Announces
New Instructional Resources
The North Carolina State Advisory Council on Indian Education is pleased to
announce its new online Culturally Responsive Instructional Resources. Use
of these resources by classroom teachers was the Council’s sole
recommendation in its Annual Report this year to the State Board of
Education. The goal of the recommendation is to increase graduation and
achievement rates among the state’s American Indian students and to
educate all students and teachers with accurate information about American
Indians.
As this map shows, every county in North Carolina has an American Indian
population. The figures on this map are “Indian alone” and do not take into
account Indians self-reporting as multi-racial.
These new webpages include a wide variety of accurate and appropriate
resources for teaching to and about America's first people. K-16 teachers will find many useful resources including
lesson plans and teaching suggestions, research, text lists, information on all eight state-recognized North Carolina
tribes, and contemporary background information on Indian country today.
Teachers will particularly want to note:
- Text Resources page with lists of recommended books for elementary, middle and high schools as well as a useful
guide for evaluating books;
- Teaching About Thanksgiving page with recommended books and thought-provoking teaching points;
- Teachers/Administrators page with resources listed alphabetically, including an American Indians in Children's
Literature blog link with great book reviews and information, and LearnNC's Curriculum Guide aligned to CCSS and
Essential Standards with information on all eight state-recognized North Carolina tribes; and
- Montana Office of Public Instruction Indian Education for All Companion Guides - Connections With Common Core
Standards with detailed ELA lessons aligned with the CCSS using wonderful Native-based texts.
Please make sure your fellow classroom teachers, administrators and social studies departments are aware of these
resources.
July 23 Quarterly Meeting Materials Online
Don’t forget that the materials included in your July 23 Superintendents’ Quarterly meeting packet are available online.
You also may find interesting the blog that was used by State Superintendent June Atkinson and NCDPI Data,
Research and Federal Policy Director Lou Fabrizio for their presentation on ESEA reauthorization. The blog, Revising
the No Child Left Behind Act: Issue by Issue, is available on Education Week’s website.
Latest Messages Online
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Weekly Message - State Superintendent June Atkinson
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July 23, 2015 Principals’ Biweekly Message
July 23, 2015 Home Base Biweekly Update
July 24, 2015 Finance Officers’ Newsletter
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