TO:
NC Public School Teachers
FROM: State Superintendent June Atkinson
DATE: Nov. 13, 2014
Teachers were slightly less likely to leave their positions in the 2013-14 school year, but
beginning teachers had a higher turnover rate than their more experienced peers. This
is according to the 2013-14 Annual Report on Teachers Leaving the Profession
presented to the State Board of Education on Wednesday. In 2013-14, 13,557 teachers
left their local school districts resulting in an overall state turnover rate of 14.12 percent.
This was down from the 14.33 percent reported in 2012-13. The turnover report reflects
the time period from March 2013 to March 2014. To see more on this topic, please visit
www.ncpublicschools.org and look under News. A link to the full report is included in the
news release.
Regards,
June Atkinson
In this Biweekly Teachers’ Message:
1. State Board of Education Meeting Highlights
2. Schoolnet Instructional Materials and Assessment Survey
3. 2014 PAEMST State Finalists Named
4. School Counselor Role
5. Ebola Virus Information Available
6. Governor Proclaims November American Indian Heritage Month
7. New Mini-Module Released: What The Best NC Teachers Do
8. Join a NCDPI Listserv
9. Speak Up North Carolina! Survey Reminder
10. Strawberry Association Sponsors Contest for Elementary Students
1. State Board of Education Meeting Highlights - At last week’s State Board of
Education meeting, members approved local options for measuring student growth for
Career and Technical Education, requests for waivers from NC Final Exams, and the
Board’s 2015-17 Biennial Budget Expansion request. They also heard a presentation on
the impact of the school calendar (year-round versus traditional/block schedule versus
traditional) on student achievement and reasons why teachers either leave the
profession or leave their district to teach elsewhere as part of the annual teacher
turnover report. A complete list of Board actions is posted online at
http://goo.gl/QZnv80.
2. Schoolnet Instructional Materials and Assessment Survey - Teachers are asked
to take a few minutes and participate in the Schoolnet Instructional Materials and
Assessment Survey. The purpose of this survey is to gather information about your
knowledge, use and perception of the quality of the instructional materials and
classroom assessment items in Schoolnet. The survey should only take 5-15 minutes to
complete, depending on your use of Schoolnet. All responses are confidential. The
survey is available online at http://survey.sedl.org/efm/wsb.dll/s/1g1b6 and will be open
through Nov. 24. For additional information, contact Sarah McManus at
sarah.mcmanus@dpi.nc.gov or 919/807-3776.
3. 2014 PAEMST State Finalists Named – Congratulations to the following educators
for recently being named 2014 North Carolina Presidential Awards for Excellence in
Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) finalists:
Mathematics:
- Heather Landreth, W.H. Robinson Elementary, Pitt County Schools
- Kayonna Pitchford, Stoney Point Elementary, Cumberland County Schools
- Meredith Stanley, Haw Creek Elementary, Buncombe County Schools
Science:
- Justin Osterstrom, Martin Middle, Wake County Schools
- Kristin Bedell, Efland Cheeks Elementary, Orange County Schools
- Wendy DiStefano, Bostian Elementary, Rowan-Salisbury Schools
This national award, which is administered by the National Science Foundation for the
White House, recognizes outstanding mathematics and science teachers for their
subject area content knowledge and their ability to motivate students. The 2014 awards
target K-6 teachers.
4. School Counselor Role - Since there seems to continue to be some confusion on
the roles of school counselors in relation to G.S. 115C-316.1, staff wanted to revisit the
information you received in the memo from Tracy Weeks, Chief Academic and Digital
Learning Officer, dated Oct. 2.
- School counselors must spend at least 80 percent of their time providing direct
counseling services, as listed in the law.
- School counselors may not coordinate testing.
- The remaining 20 percent of the school counselor’s time is for counseling program
management and system support, a portion of which may be used to assist others with
testing.
The 20 percent of time for counseling program management and system support
includes such things as participating in professional development, data analysis for
counseling program planning and evaluation, needs assessments to identify the focus
of the comprehensive school counseling program, planning of the counseling program
services, meetings, self-evaluation, etc. It also is expected that school counselors be
team players and engage in fair-share responsibilities, the many things that are needed
for all school staff to participate in order for a school to run smoothly, such as serving on
a school committee, assisting with testing, etc. School counselors may assist with
testing as any other teacher or staff member in order to support the testing program or
the Testing Coordinator; however, this is to be a portion of the 20 percent of their time,
not the entire 20 percent.
The ultimate goal of the school counseling program is to support the school’s
academic mission through a comprehensive school counseling program. You can find
additional clarification on the roles of school counselors in supporting your school’s
success in the North Carolina Professional School Counseling Standards and Job
Description at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/studentsupport/counseling/standards/ on
which the state school counselor evaluation rubric is based.
If you need further clarification or assistance, please contact Cynthia Floyd at
cynthia.floyd@dpi.nc.gov.
5. Ebola Virus Information Available - Concerns are mounting regarding the Ebola
virus and possible impact on the United States. North Carolina at this point has no
Ebola cases, and the two active cases that are in the United States are health care
workers who cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian patient diagnosed with the
disease after he arrived in Texas. NC’s Department of Health and Human Services
(NCDHHS) and the NC Department of Public Safety have begun regular briefings and
information sharing with state and local government officials, medical personnel and
other key organizations. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI)
has been participating also. NCDHHS has launched an Ebola web page to provide the
latest information for our state. That site is at http://www.ncdhhs.gov/ebola/. As events
unfold, we will keep you informed of any news or any actions that should be taken as a
result.
6. Governor Proclaims November American Indian Heritage Month - Gov. Pat
McCrory has proclaimed November as American Indian Heritage Month to celebrate
and commemorate the culture, heritage and traditions of North Carolina’s first citizens –
American Indians. Educators are encouraged to celebrate North Carolina’s American
Indians, their tribes and cultures.
7. New Mini-Module Released: What The Best NC Teachers Do – Educator
Effectiveness staff have released a new mini-module, “What The Best North Carolina
Teachers Do,” in the Home Base online professional development system. This
informational mini-module features a series of interviews with NC Teachers of the Year
discussing what makes them successful in the classroom. This project was influenced
by the book, “What the Best College Teachers Do,” by Ken Bain (Bain, 2004). For the
video series, staff asked teachers a series of questions about effective classroom
practices. Each teacher in this series has been chosen as a district, regional or state
teacher of the year in North Carolina. The goal of this project is simple: to share the
insights, skills and advice from our state's best teachers with educators with the hope of
helping them gain insight and inspiration for their own teaching. This module is available
through the Home Base System Professional Development tab, or directly
at http://rt3nc.org/ncvideo/.
8. Join a NCDPI Science Listserv - If you are interested in learning more about state
science resources, updates, and upcoming conferences/seminars, etc., you may want
to subscribe to one of three NCDPI Science listservs that target elementary science,
middle grades science and science supervisors (includes information for high school
educators). To join, please send an email to Marilyn Johns (marilyn.johns@dpi.nc.gov)
and indicate the list(s) you would like to join. In your subject line note: Add to Listserv
9. Speak Up North Carolina! Survey Reminder - Teachers are reminded that the
deadline to participate in the Speak up North Carolina! survey is Dec. 19. By
participating in Speak Up 2014, you can share your ideas about education and
technology as well as gather information from your students, teachers, school leaders
and parents about other key educational topics, including 21st century skills and
schools of the future. Schools and districts that participate in Speak Up also receive
a free online report with all of their locally collected data and the national data findings
to use for benchmark comparison. Individual participation and responses provided in the
survey are confidential and completing the online survey takes only 20 minutes. To
participate, please visit http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/NorthCarolina.html.
10. Strawberry Association Sponsors Contest for Elementary Students - The NC
Strawberry Association is holding an Educational Innovation Contest in association with
NC Strawberry Investigations (NCSI), its new curriculum for K-5 students. Three $150
prizes will be awarded to North Carolina teachers who do the most -- or most creative
work -- with strawberries and the NCSI curriculum in their classrooms over the 2014-15
school year. Contest information and an entry form are available online at
www.ncstrawberry.com. Questions may be directed to Project Director Debby Wechsler
at 919/542-4037.