TO:
NC Public School Teachers
FROM: State Superintendent June Atkinson
DATE: May 14, 2015
Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week, and I hope that your students and school
community made sure that you were thanked with cards, flowers, food and other
mementoes of their appreciation. I had the opportunity to provide the commencement
address to the North Carolina State University College of Education graduates on
Saturday, and I encouraged them to relish their accomplishments and to look forward to
taking all they have learned to give important gifts to their future students – gifts such as
dreams for the future, courage to try new things, compassion to look out for others,
patience to see things through, and confidence that they have unique talents and gifts.
Some day, these newly minted teachers and principals will receive sweet notes, flowers,
and other treats from appreciative students who have benefited from their preparation.
For me, these mementoes from students are some of my most cherished possessions.
If you were to visit my home, you would find a spice rack with 10 jars of spices in my
pantry. Nothing unusual except that a closer look would show you that these spices are
really old. Why do I keep them? I certainly don’t cook with them, but I cannot bear to
throw them away because they were a gift from a 10th grade boy in my Home Room
class when I was a classroom teacher. He took the time to select something for me, and
I like to remember him and all the students of today whenever I glance at that spice
rack. We are so fortunate to have had the chance to teach and mold young people.
Thank you for everything you have done this year for your students!
As a final note, there seems to be a number of myths surrounding Standard 6 of the
Teacher Evaluation System. One myth is that EVAAS is based both on student
proficiency and student growth. In other words, teachers in schools with high-proficiency
students get better EVAAS ratings. The truth is that EVAAS does not take into account
the students’ proficiency level when determining a teacher’s effectiveness. EVAAS
looks at the impact of a teacher’s instruction on student learning regardless of where the
student is in relation to the proficiency cut score. Teachers with high-achieving students
must demonstrate the same amount of growth with their students (relative to the state
average) as teachers with lower-achieving students.
Another myth is that Standard 6 is used to fire teachers who do not meet expected
growth. From the time that the State Board of Education adopted EVAAS as the student
growth measure, the NCDPI has identified the measure as a tool for teachers to reflect
upon, and improve, their instructional practice. Currently, the State Board of Education
requires that districts and schools work to improve the practice of teachers who do not
meet proficiency standards (on any of the six standards). There is no requirement to
terminate employment for teachers who are identified as needing improvement (even
over multiple years of low growth). Because of the persistence of the myth that teachers
will be fired for poor performance on Standard 6, the NCDPI is proposing a policy to the
State Board that would expressly prevent LEAs and charter schools from firing teachers
based solely on Standard 6 ratings.
I encourage you to take a moment and review all six standards used to measure
educator effectiveness by reading The North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards
available online at www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/effectivenessmodel/ncees/standards/prof-teach-standards.pdf. In addition, staff are currently working
on a document that debunks a number of myths surrounding Standard 6. We will let you
know when this is finalized and available online.
Regards,
June Atkinson
In this Biweekly Teachers’ Message:
1. State Board of Education Meeting Highlights
2. Greetings from 2015 NC Teacher of the Year
3. Pitt County Principal Named Principal of the Year
4. Summer Opportunities 2015: Facilitated Online Courses
5. Give Five – Read Five Website Additions
6. NCCAT Fall Registration Now Open
1. State Board of Education Meeting Highlights - At last week’s State Board of
Education meeting, members approved grants that support school nutrition equipment
and existing and initial funding of math–science partnerships, the Global-Ready District
designation and rubric, the 2015 Textbook Adoption process, and waivers for LEA-wide
weather-related calendars, Analysis of Student Work and North Carolina Final Exams.
Among the Board’s discussion items were recommendations for changes to policies
governing services for children with disabilities, and revisions to the Annual
Performance Standards under the READY accountability model. A complete list of
Board actions is available online at http://stateboard.ncpublicschools.gov/minutesactions/sbe-actions/2015-actions.
2. Greetings from 2015 NC Teacher of the Year - Greetings fellow educators! It still
feels rather surreal that I greet you as the 2015 North Carolina Teacher of the Year. As
the year begins, I am most excited about meeting more of the phenomenal educators in
NC public education. I know we have the best teachers in the nation; and I am excited
to be a voice advocating for educators and students.
In my new position, I will participate in many discussions regarding the current
perspectives on North Carolina public education and our continuous need for support of
the classroom teacher and the students therein. The declining enrollment in teacher
education programs emphasizes how much our entire state must change the
perspective on the teaching profession. It is so easy to become engulfed in the negative
media pertaining to education in North Carolina and shut the doors of our classroom to
“get the job done” with little to no interference. Join me in making the 2015-16 school
year look a little different. Let’s open the doors of our classrooms to allow your
community leaders, legislators, and parents a different perspective on the incredible
learning that is taking place in our public school system. Our communities must see why
their support is vital to the success of the next generation.
Finally, I want to encourage each of you to stay positive in the coming year. There are
so many wonderful things you do every day to inspire the lives of your students. Those
relationships you are building in your classrooms are the most important part of our
educational system. Keep doing a fantastic job and flood social media with the great
things going on in your classroom! I am honored to serve you in the coming year. Here’s
to NC public education and the fantastic educators who make this state great! Please
follow my journey on Twitter: @teachtrip and Facebook: Keana Triplett. I also would
love to hear from my fellow educators. Feel free to share your thoughts via email me at
keana.triplett@ashe.k12.nc.us.
3. Pitt County Principal Named Principal of the Year - Congratulations to Pactolus
School Principal Steve Lassiter who recently was named the 2015 Wells Fargo North
Carolina Principal of the Year. State Superintendent June Atkinson commended
Lassiter on his selection saying, “Steve makes a special effort to celebrate all of his
teachers’ accomplishments and consistently provides positive affirmation to students so
that they make good choices and work hard toward academic success. As a result,
students and teachers look forward to coming to school each day.” As Wells Fargo
Principal of the Year, Lassiter will receive $3,000 for personal use and $3,000 for his
school. He also will receive a scholarship for a 10-day educational tour of China thanks
to Education First Tours, and a custom-made NC Principal of the Year signet ring and
pendent thanks to Jostens, Inc. For the next year, he will serve as a member of the
State Superintendent’s Principals’ Advisory Committee, and as an advisor to the State
Board of Education and the Board of Directors for the NC Public School Forum. The Pitt
County Schools’ principal succeeds Mooresville Middle School (Mooresville Graded
Schools) Principal Carrie Tulbert.
4. Summer Opportunities 2015: Facilitated Online Courses - Looking for highquality professional development and the opportunity to interact with peers? Summer is
a great time to take online courses at your own pace. Below is a list of facilitated online
courses offered this summer. Registration opens June 1. Courses start June 22. For a
full description of the courses and associated CEUs visit https://rt3nc.org/.
- Digital Literacies in the Classroom (seven weeks) 1.5 CEUs
- Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects: Part 1 (five
weeks) 0.5 CEU
- Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects: Part 2 (seven
weeks) 1.5 CEUs
- Introduction to Data Literacy (five weeks) 1 CEU
- Data Literacy in Action (six weeks) 1.5 CEU
- Introduction to Universal Design for Learning (four weeks) 1 CEU
- Universal Design for Learning: Part 2 (four weeks) 1 CEU
- Connecting with our 21st Century Learners (five weeks) 1 CEU
- North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards (six weeks) 2 CEUs
- Building and sustaining PD (six weeks) 1 CEU
- Responsibilities of the 21st Century Educator (seven weeks) 1 CEU
These courses are available at no cost to North Carolina educators and will be
facilitated by DPI professionals. The courses are completed entirely online. Participants
are expected to meet all weekly deadlines in order to receive CEUs. Partial credit will
not be given. Registration is limited to 35 participants per course. To register, follow
the instructions below to log into Home Base to self-register for a course.
 Log in to the NCEES system using your usual PowerSchool log in or the alternate
log in https://ncees.homebase.ncpublicschools.gov/alternateLogin.html
 Click the Professional Development tab.

You can search for the course, or list all opportunities to find the course for which
you wish to register.
 Click on the course title, you are then presented with the course screen. Click on the
section.
 Click on the register button.
 Directions on how to register are available at
https://ncees.homebase.ncpublicschools.gov/content/Searching%20and%20Registe
ring%20for%20Courses.mp4
Contact Geetanjali Soni at geetanjali.soni@dpi.nc.gov if you have any questions.
5. Give Five – Read Five Website Additions - Have you been conducting a Give Five
– Read Five book drive in your classroom or school? Tell us about it and you could get
a shout out on the new High Fives section on the Give Five – Read Five website! Visit
www.ncpublicschools.org/give5read5/highfives/ to see if your school is in the spotlight
yet. If you have received media coverage of your campaign, we want to add it to our
Give Five Media Clips page online at www.ncpublicschools.org/give5read5/media/. You
can still send information about your school’s collection efforts, media clips and book
collection totals to sara.clark@dpi.nc.gov. Schools have until June 15 to report final
book collection totals and compete for great school-wide prizes!
6. NCCAT Fall Registration Now Open - Registration for fall professional
development programs at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching
(NCCAT) is now open. A variety of programs will be offered, including Digital Learning,
Early Grades Literacy, Beginning Teachers and Research and Development Teams. To
view the calendar of programs please visit www.nccat.org/programs/calendar-seminars
or www.nccat.org/2015-fall-programming-list. Lodging and meals are provided.
Participants are responsible for travel cost and substitute teaching fees. For more
information on how to apply, visit www.nccat.org/programs/application-instructions.