TO:
NC Public School Principals
FROM: State Superintendent June Atkinson
DATE: Nov. 7, 2013
Accountability results for the 2012-13 school year were presented to State Board of
Education members early this afternoon. It is important to congratulate teachers and
students for a solid year of growth, and to help parents understand that the proficiency
rates reported represent a much higher standard than we have ever had. The ABCs
model focused attention on the fundamentals students needed to be successful at the
next grade or in the next course. The READY model helps us focus on ensuring that
students are career and college ready when they graduate from high school. My goal is
for every student to graduate with the skills they need to be successful in the workplace,
at a community college or at a university. The new standards take us closer to ensuring
that goal is achieved.
Regards,
June Atkinson
In this Biweekly Principals’ Message:
1. State Board of Education Meeting Highlights
2. North Carolina Fourth and Eighth Grade NAEP Scores Hold Steady in 2013
3. Credit by Demonstrated Mastery Implementation Guide and LEA Toolkit Released
4. Principal READY Initiative Update
5. Home Base Weekly Webinars Reminder
6. Professional Development Calendar
7. Why NC Teachers Should Seek National Board Certification
8. November is American Indian Heritage Month
9. American Education Week 2013
10. Northeast Leadership Academy Receives $4.7 Million Grant
11. Orange County Schools’ Principals Recognized as “Change Agent”
12. 2014 Arbor Day Photo Contest
1. State Board of Education Meeting Highlights - At today’s State Board of
Education meeting, members approved the 2012-13 READY Accountability/AMO
Report, the 2013 Career and Technical Education Textbook Adoption and Textbook
Commission Report and Digital Learning Funds. Among the Board’s discussion items
were credit by demonstrated mastery, model teacher contract, and North Carolina
grading scale and course weighting changes. Visit
http://stateboard.ncpublicschools.gov/minutes-actions/sbe-actions/2013 for a complete
list of Board actions.
2. North Carolina Fourth and Eighth Grade NAEP Scores Hold Steady in 2013 North Carolina fourth and eighth grade students’ performance on the 2013 National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) held steady according to The National
Center for Educational Statistics (NCES). The NCES found that North Carolina students
are continuing to perform at or above the national average on NAEP’s mathematics and
reading assessments. To read more, please visit www.ncpublicschools.org and click on
the appropriate link under “News.”
3. Credit by Demonstrated Mastery Implementation Guide and LEA Toolkit
Released - The Credit by Demonstrated Mastery (CDM) Working Group recently
completed its work and has released its CDM Implementation Guide to help districts
and schools implement the State Board of Education’s CDM policy (see GCS-M-001,
Section 13). The Implementation Guide and a variety of supporting resources in the
Toolkit are available on the new Credit by Demonstrated Mastery wiki site at
http://cdm.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/Home. If you have any questions or would like to offer
comments as you review the Guide and begin local implementation of the CDM policy,
please email staff at cdm@dpi.nc.gov.
4. Principal READY Initiative Update - Regional professional development sessions
for principals are currently occurring in all eight education regions of the state. Sessions
have already occurred in regions 1, 2, 4 and 5 with the remaining regions scheduled
over the next three weeks. With the support of a grant from the national Cross-State
Learning Collaborative, principals are developing their understanding of the NC
Professional Teaching Standards and the Evaluation Rubric. Interactive sessions
include video discussions, ratings activities and providing specific and constructive
feedback to teachers. Resources and tools for interactive staff meetings are shared in
these sessions. Human Resource directors also have been invited to participate. The
second round of training in the spring will include crucial conversation coaching as
requested by participants. If you have not registered, you can do so at
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1pnExRmwj_yNhLV1oYnZP1Khxqm91TdoLRGKq7ua
QWH0/viewform. For more information, please contact Lynne Johnson at
lynne.johnson@dpi.nc.gov, or visit the NC READY Initiative on Facebook.
5. Home Base Weekly Webinars Reminder - Following are the Home Base and
Instructional Improvement System online professional development opportunities for
principals for the next two weeks.
On Tuesday, Nov. 5, Nov. 12 and Nov. 19 from 1-3 p.m., staff will provide additional
opportunities to explore the Online Evaluation Tool: Mid-Year Professional Development
Plan updates. Webinar topics include review of the State Board policy on the evaluation
process; demonstration of the teacher process for accessing the existing professional
development plan, reviewing the plan at mid-year and authenticating the plan; and
demonstration of the principal process for accessing the existing professional
development plan, reviewing the plan at mid-year and authenticating the plan. To
register for this webinar, please visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/455097744
(Nov. 5), https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/196273833 (Nov. 12), or
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/562794889 (Nov. 19). For a complete list of the
Tuesday webinars, please visit http://ncees.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/Upcoming+Webinars.
The Instructional Improvement webinars are every Thursday from 3:30-4:30 p.m. The
next IIS webinar for administrators will be held Thursday, Nov. 21, and will focus on
Creating Student Groups and Analysis Spreadsheets. This will include selecting
students for differentiated instruction and analyzing student data. To register for this
webinar, please visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/724760688. For a
complete list of the Thursday webinars for teachers and administrators, please visit
www.ncpublicschools.org/homebase/training/schedule/iis. If you have additional
questions, please contact Cynthia Martin at cynthia.martin@dpi.nc.gov.
6. Professional Development Calendar - The NCDPI’s Professional Development
Initiative (PDI) builds on strong regional and statewide professional development
programs and resources to provide a comprehensive, targeted system for all educators.
In partnership with the Regional Education Service Alliances (RESAs), the NCDPI is
hosting professional development sessions in each of the eight regions of the state.
Please visit the online calendar at www.ncpublicschools.org/profdev/calendar for events
in your region. For more information, please contact Yvette Stewart at
Yvette.steward@dpi.nc.gov.
7. Why NC Teachers Should Seek National Board Certification - NC is very proud
of leading the nation in National Board certified teachers. Among the benefits, National
Board Certification offers higher salary potential, strengthens teaching practice and
impacts student instruction. Some of the highlights of North Carolina’s program include
- Over 20,000 North Carolina teachers are National Board certified
- 17 percent of all North Carolina teachers are National Board certified
- National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) embody teaching excellence
- NBCTs are leaders in our schools and our districts – grade level chairs, PLC leaders,
mentors, School Improvement Team Leaders, PTA reps, curriculum leaders
- Commitment to the National Board process parallels commitment to students
- NBCTs model effective teaching practices
- National Board Certification is a reflective process for growth
Due to the new National Board process, submitting during the 2013-14 cycle is the last
opportunity to become National Board certified until November 2017. The next cycle will
take three years to complete. The deadline to apply is Dec. 31. For more information,
please visit www.ncpublicschools.org/educatoreffectiveness/nationalboardcertification.
Questions may be directed to Sonja Brown at sonja.brown@dpi.nc.gov.
8. November is American Indian Heritage Month - Gov. Pat McCrory has proclaimed
November as American Indian Heritage Month in celebration of the rich heritage and
myriad contributions of American Indians. Educators are encouraged to commemorate
this month with appropriate programs honoring the state’s rich American Indian
population.
9. American Education Week 2013 - The National Education Association has
designated Nov. 18-22 as American Education Week in recognition of the fact that
public schools are the “backbone of our democracy, providing young people with the
tools they need to maintain our nation’s precious values of freedom, civility and
equality.”
10. Northeast Leadership Academy Receives $4.7 Million Grant - The Northeast
Leadership Academy was awarded a 5-year, $4.7 million grant from the US Department
of Education to continue its principal leadership efforts. The grant funds two additional
cohorts of 15 Fellows each to earn MSA degrees and principal licenses. It will also fund
a week-long summer intensive professional development academy for current principals
(20 principals each summer) to help them build instructional leadership skills for digital
learning environments. The principal leadership program also includes individual
coaching across the next academic year to help principals apply their learning at their
school site. Additional information is available online at http://t.co/640YKGNaYp. For
more information, contact Lynne Johnson at lynne.johnson@dpi.nc.gov or Bonnie
Fusarelli at bcjohns2@ncsu.edu.
11. Orange County Schools’ Principal Recognized as “Change Agent” Congratulations to Hillsborough Elementary School (Orange County Schools) Principal
Steven Weber for recently being named a PDK Emerging Leader and a member of the
2013-14 Class of PDK International Emerging Leaders. Weber was recognized for his
work in curriculum leadership and development. He will join 25 other education change
agents at a weekend networking event in December sponsored by PDK International.
12. 2014 Arbor Day Photo Contest - The North Carolina Forest Service’s Urban &
Community Forestry Program is again sponsoring its annual Arbor Day Photo Contest.
The contest is open to all students in the 5th through 12th grades. Students are
encouraged to submit photographs of trees in or around urban areas, depicting this
year’s contest theme, “Young and Old.” The contest is designed to engage students’
critical thinking skills by having them submit a photographer’s statement discussing the
contest theme and their interpretation of how their photo relates to the contest theme.
The deadline for entries is Feb. 28. Prizes will be awarded to the top three photos. For
more information on the contest, and to download an entry form, please visit
www.ncforestservice.gov/Urban/arbor_day_photo_contest.htm. Questions may be
directed to Jennifer Rall at jennifer.rall@ncagr.gov or 919/857-4849.
Previous Principals’ Biweekly Messages are posted online at
www.ncpublicschools.org/principalsarchive/