TO:
NC Public School Teachers
FROM: State Superintendent June Atkinson
DATE: Feb. 13, 2014
Concerns about teacher pay, working conditions and the teaching profession in general
are the focus of many this week. The Emerging Issues Forum held earlier this week in
Raleigh brought hundreds of people together to hear from national and state experts on
these issues. The Raleigh News & Observer on Sunday published an article that gave
voice to the concerns that many of you have on these issues, and General Assembly
leaders and Gov. Pat McCrory announced a proposal on Monday to begin to address
teacher pay. It is hard to predict exactly how North Carolina’s lawmakers will meet these
challenges, but at least the challenges are being acknowledged. As I told the News &
Observer, it is not in our best interest to have a teacher workforce that is a revolving
door. Students need stability in the classroom, and teachers deserve North Carolinians’
respect and support, both financially and in many other ways.
Regards,
June Atkinson
In this Biweekly Teachers’ Message:
1. State Board of Education Meeting Highlights
2. Read to Achieve Advisory Committee Recommendations
3. Home Base Weekly Webinars Reminder
4. North Carolina Teacher Standards and Evaluation Process: Facilitated Course for
Educators
5. Arts Education, ESL, Student Support Services (Counseling) and World Languages
Regional Training Opportunities
6. Arts and the Common Core: Integrating with Common Core State Standards for ELA
7. NC Reading Conference Set for March
8. Governor Proclaims February Black History Month
9. Schools and Districts to Recognize Drivers and Love the Bus in February
10. Mathematics Conference Accepting Speaker Proposals
1. State Board of Education Meeting Highlights - At last week’s State Board of
Education meeting, members approved the staff recommendation that schools continue
to use current state tests for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years, and that they
establish an advisory group to help determine testing in future years. Board members
also approved locally developed alternative tests for the General Assembly’s Read to
Achieve law with the stipulations that the requests be approved by the local board of
education and contain a statement verifying that the local board has determined that the
alternative assessments are valid and reliable. A summary of Board actions is posted
online at http://stateboard.ncpublicschools.gov/minutes-actions/sbe-actions/2014actions.
2. Read to Achieve Advisory Committee Recommendations – In late January, State
Superintendent June Atkinson and two local superintendents presented to the General
Assembly’s Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations Committee on
what the Department and local districts were doing to implement its Read to Achieve
law. On Friday, Jan. 31, the State Superintendent’s Read to Achieve Advisory Group
met and received information about the law and its requirements, discussed concerns
about the impact of the law on the classroom and agreed to several recommendations
to the General Assembly to improve the law. Among the recommendations: reduce the
number of required passages in the portfolio option, provide flexibility to local school
districts regarding details of the summer reading camps, allow school districts to have
balanced school calendars to avoid summer reading losses, treat charter schools and
non-charter public schools equitably, and count the 2013-14 school year as a trial run
year only for Read to Achieve.
3. Home Base Weekly Webinars Reminder - Following are the Home Base and
Instructional Improvement System online professional development opportunities for
teachers.
On Tuesday, Feb. 25, from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.-5 p.m., staff will provide
opportunities to explore the Online Evaluation Tool: Getting Started for New Teachers.
Webinar topics include learning targets, reviewing the new NCEES platform and
terminology, reviewing professional development plan types and teacher plan types,
and demonstrations on how to complete the teacher self-assessment, initial
professional development plan and formal observation. To register for this webinar,
please visit http://ncees.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/Upcoming+Webinars.
4. North Carolina Teacher Standards and Evaluation Process: Facilitated Course
for Educators - Due to continuing demand, NCDPI’s Educator Effectiveness staff will
offer two additional sessions of the six-week, facilitator-led online course: North Carolina
Teacher Standards and the Evaluation Process. This course, provides an in-depth look
at the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards and will help
educators understand their role in the new evaluation process as well as deepen their
understanding of the six professional teaching standards.
The course is available at no cost to North Carolina educators and will be facilitated
by DPI professionals. The course is completed entirely online. Each session will start
and end on specific dates. Participants are expected to meet all weekly deadlines in
order to receive CEUs. Partial credit will not be given. Each session will take
approximately 20 hours to complete, and educators will earn 2.0 CEUs upon successful
completion. LearnNC will host the sessions. Educators should visit
www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/7698 to register for a session. (If clicking on the link does not
take you to the site, please cut and paste the URL address into the web browser
address window.) Registration is now open for the Feb. 12-March 25 session and the
Feb. 19-April 1 session. There is a limit of 35 participants per session.
5. Arts Education, ESL, Student Support Services (Counseling) and World
Languages Regional Training Opportunities - NCDPI’s K-12 Program Areas include
Arts Education (Dance, Music, Theatre Arts, Visual Arts), English as a Second
Language/Title III, Student Support Services, and World Languages. All areas will be
conducting RttT regional training February - April. Please visit
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/profdev/calendar/ to view the trainings for your region.
Registration is handled through the Regional Education Service Alliances (RESAs) and
the NCDPI Regional Professional Development Leaders. Your local contact is the RttT
Coordinator or contact person for the Summer Institute Leadership team. For more
information about the K-12 Program Areas, please contact Christie Lynch Ebert
at christie.lynchebert@dpi.nc.gov.
6. Arts and the Common Core: Integrating with Common Core State Standards
for ELA - Presented by the A+ Schools Program of the North Carolina Arts Council, this
hands-on seminar will help K-8 Educators to: Imagine the possibilities when you bring
the arts - visual arts, dance, theatre and music - together with Common Core State
Standards for English-Language Arts. Investigate strategies for engaging your students
in deep and meaningful processes as they creatively explore connections between the
arts and the non-arts content. Construct lesson plans and gather ideas and resources
for enhancing your language arts instruction. Reflect on your comfort with the arts and
build your tool box of instructional strategies that support arts integration. Since 1995,
schools in the A+ Network have been using the arts as a catalyst for creating
connections and making schools engaging, meaningful and enjoyable places to teach
and learn. This session will take place in Region 3 on Feb. 26 and in Region 7 on March
28. It is open to all K-8 grade educators (all disciplines). Registration is handled through
the Regional Education Service Alliances. For more information, contact Michelle
Burrows, director of the A+ Schools Program, at michelle.burrows@ncdcr.gov.
7. NC Reading Conference Set for March - The 45th NC Reading Conference,
“Pathways to Literacy: Looking Back to Move Forward,” will be held March 16-18 at the
Raleigh Convention Center. The conference has a strong focus on elements of the
Common Core State Standards and includes sessions by DPI staff. Teachers can earn
up to 1.5 reading CEUs for attending. Visit www.ncreading.org for details.
8. Governor Proclaims February Black History Month - Gov. Pat McCrory has
proclaimed February as Black History month in recognition of the many contributions
African Americans have made to our state and country. In addition, this year also marks
the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was signed into law by
President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964.
9. Schools and Districts to Recognize Drivers and Love the Bus in February - The
wheels on the bus could not go “round and round” without the bus drivers who navigate
North Carolina’s roads to make sure students get to and from school safely each day.
That is why State Superintendent June Atkinson is encouraging parents, teachers,
school leaders and students to recognize these drivers during the national Love the Bus
month in February. In addition, Gov. Pat McCrory has proclaimed Feb. 10-14 as “School
Bus Driver Appreciation Week” in North Carolina and he urges all school communities
and citizens to support the Love the Bus program and to recognize the excellence of the
state’s school bus drivers and their record of safety. State Superintendent June
Atkinson also is encouraging parents, teachers, school leaders and students to
recognize these drivers during the national Love the Bus month in February.
10. Mathematics Conference Accepting Speaker Proposals - Interested in
presenting at the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCCTM) 44 th
Annual State Mathematics Conference? Then hop on over to the NCCTM website at
www.tinyurl.com/NCCTM2014 for presentation information. The conference is being
held Oct. 30-31 at the Koury Convention Center, Greensboro. This year’s theme is Big
Ideas for Teaching and Learning Mathematics. The submission deadline is May 15.
If you'd like to review past Teachers’ Biweekly Messages, please visit
www.ncpublicschools.org/teachersarchive/.