Race to the Top (RttT) Monthly Report for US Department of Education (USED)
NC RttT
October 2011
Please provide information in the following areas:
 Activities completed this month
 Activities projected for the month ahead
 Changes requested to plan or timelines outlined in state scope of work
 Changes being considered to key project personnel
 Areas in which Technical Assistance/USED support could be used
Activities Completed this Month
RttT Management (includes Project Management, Budget, Communications):

Provided monthly RttT status report to State Board of Education, 10/6

Provided RttT update to Governor’s Education Transformation Commission (GETC)
Subcommittee on RttT Program Management, 10/6

Continued developing (and processing with USED) amendments to State Detailed Scope of
Work (DSW) and budget to submit to USED; began developing Amendment to “true up”
DSW and Budget

Continued approval of LEA/Charter School DSW submitted on 8/3; continued posting Local
Education Agency (LEA)/Charter School approved, fully completed DSWs to the website
(127 posted as of 10/28)

Worked to finalize RttT Annual Performance Report based on feedback from USED

Continued planning for building a cadre of teacher and principal ambassadors in each
school to help communicate the reasons and mechanisms for the changes under way in
curriculum, accountability and educator evaluation; participants will include at least one
teacher per school, each school principal and superintendent
o Continued preparations for the regional meetings for statewide rollout of the new
accountability program (meeting dates and locations finalized for March 2012)
o Continued developing promotional materials (videos and slide presentations) for
use at the statewide regional meetings and toolkits to distribute at the meetings
(toolkits will include practical information about the new Common Core and
Essential Standards, and the new accountability program) to be completed by
February 2012

Continued creating parent resource podcasts about new standards, new student
assessments and new accountability model to distribute online and via social media fall of
2011 along with an online guide for parents (to be posted by 12/31/2011)

Continued distributing RttT Weekly Update to more than 1,000 LEA and charter officials
involved with Race to the Top
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12/22/2011

Continued Staffing for RttT Implementation (cumulative as of 10/25):
o Total positions to be filled: 115
o Total positions filled: 91 (including 1 accepted offer/not yet started)
o Total positions with offers made (waiting on acceptance): 0
o Total applicants for RttT positions: 6,116
Standards & Assessments:
Standards

Continued development of Unpacking Social Studies elective courses (delayed due to
contractual approval, 2/29/12 is the new date for completion)

Released Developing Local Curricula module on 10/14

Continued working on Graphic Organizer tool; Plan to post drafts of Graphic Organizer tool
on website for external feedback by December 2011 (to be completed 2/12; delayed from
original due date to allow for preparation of summer institute, reduction in consultants,
and more comprehensive approach to development)

Planned (Curriculum and Instruction Director and RttT Coordinator) structure of template
for classroom assessment Exemplars based upon Standards of Quality (Exemplars to be
completed by 5/12; delayed due to more time needed for comprehensive approach)

Refined the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (RBT) module (module to be released by 11/30)

Continued design discussion for data literacy guide (See Data Systems to Improve
Instruction section below)

Developed and posted Professional Development (PD) Map (ongoing updates as needed)

Continued Common Core and Essential Standards training for Principals and Assistant
Principals (see also Great Teachers and Principals section below)

Conducted Common Core and Essential Standards training for Institutes of Higher
Education (IHEs) - 10/7, 10/10, 10/13 (see also Great Teachers and Principals section
below)

Continued work to embed content classroom examples and video vignettes within NC
FALCON (to be completed 5/12)

Continued curriculum and instruction content-specific "live chats" to provide support and
fidelity checks to district-teams, Educator Recruitment and Development (ERD), and DST
(held quarterly)

Continued on-going conference calls with Dr. Jan Sheinker, Appalachian Regional
Comprehensive Center (ARCC), and Edvantia to discuss Learning Maps (10/18)
Assessments

Provided additional resources for LEAs/charters through the online assessment website

Continued with communication efforts around new state assessments and Smarter Balance
Assessment Consortium (SBAC) assessments
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12/22/2011
Data Systems to Improve Instruction:

Continued IIS Workgroup meetings

Completed, with planning vendor, draft Business Requirement and Technical Requirements
documents

Continued work with planning vendor to develop Request for Proposal (RFP), and
Comprehensive Plan (completed by 12/1; RFP release delayed to garner additional
feedback and take into account Student Information System replacement, ensure
alignment with the various national standards initiatives, and to consider how the IIS will
work with the Shared Learning Infrastructure (SLI) system architecture)

Continued work on “Vision, Goals, and Objectives,” “A Day in the Life,” “Roles Matrix” and
“Web” documents (documents to be finalized by 12/31)

Continue developing data guide (completed by 8/12, this deliverable is delayed due
decision to RFP for the Guide; see also Standards & Assessments section)

Continued development (Lead IIS Project Manager) of the master project plan document
(will complete draft by 10/31)

Drafted Preliminary IIS Staffing Plan & Organization Chart (Lead IIS Project Manager)

Continued meeting with other RttT states to determine what collaboration will be
beneficial (e.g. developing embedded curriculum performance assessments, sharing
benchmark or summative items, sharing code for system components)

Continued engaging stakeholders through presentations, focus groups, and advisory groups

Met with SLI staff to initiate discussions on how NC might use the SLI system and if so, how
it would interface with the IIS and/or affect the IIS scope of work and timelines

Developed plan for the creation of an IIS Stakeholder Advisory Committee and IIS User
Groups to have focused ongoing feedback and guidance from LEA and school staff;
Membership for each will be established by 11/9
Great Teachers & Principals:

Continued drafting working paper to guide conversations with IHE partners regarding how
to improve educator pipeline for high-need content and specialty areas (to be posted by
11/15)

Began holding teacher work group meetings (approximately 800 educators) to create
measures of student learning for untested courses (held 10/24-27)

Executed contract with WestEd and began working to select student academic growth
model

Continued Northeast RLA Cohort 1 school year administrative internships (through
6/30/12)

Continued training for Northeast RLA Cohort 2 participants (through 6/30/12)
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12/22/2011

Continued Piedmont-Triad RLA Cohort 1 participant administrative internships (through
6/30/12)

Continued Sandhills RLA Cohort 1 participant clinical residencies (through 6/30/12)

Continued to work through selection process for NC Teacher Corps positions

Continued ongoing Teach For America support for corps members as they enter classrooms
(support to occur throughout Corps member’s two-year commitment; through 6/30/13)

Continued New Teacher Induction Program in four regions with first cohort

Received re-negotiated bids for strategic staffing assistance and began review process
(select vendor by 11/15)

Completed educator preparation program report cards (presented to the SBE as an
information item in the first week of October)

Established classification-specific oversight committees and began work on new evaluation
instruments for media specialists, instructional technologists, school counselors, speech
pathologists, social workers, and psychologists (All new instruments will be ready for
implementation during the 13 – 14 school year. During the remainder of the 11 – 12 year,
the new instruments will be designed and be piloted in a small number of LEAs)

Continued compiling teacher and administrator effectiveness data to be linked to NC
School Report Cards (original October release date was delayed to allow for more data
analysis by school districts; new release date planned for 1/12 )

Continued consultation by technology team (within Professional Development Initiative –
PDI) with Project Coordinators on module development and PD System requirements

Continued fidelity support meetings across the state with local RttT Leadership Teams in
collaboration with Regional Education Service Alliances (RESA) partners to ensure
consistent and deliberate PD action planning

Continued Administrator (principal and assistant principal) trainings by PD Leads across the
state to ensure consistency with the implementation of Common Core and Essential
Standards (see also Standards and Assessments section)

Completed PD Leads’ and Curriculum and Instruction consultants’ training of IHEs across
the state to ensure consistency with the IHEs’ implementation of Common Core and
Essential Standards (held on 10/7, 10/10, 10/13; See Standards and Assessments section
above)

Posted 21 PD Contractor positions for content-specific training and coaching across state

Posted vacancy announcements for 3 additional online module developer positions

Posted entire PD Calendar on Accountability and Curriculum Reform Effort (ACRE) and PD
website for public access

Began planning for development of Phase II modules: Data Literacy, Common Core State
Standards ELA: Content Area Literacy, Effective Use of Learning Progressions, Embracing
the Change: Embedding Digital Literacy in the Content Area (tentative titles; to be
completed by 6/12)
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NC Virtual Public Schools:

Continued determining professional development needs for project-based learning, STEM,
mobile teaching and learning, and blended teaching for all of the online and face-to-face
teachers

Posted job advertisements for the Lead Project Director, Exceptional Children’s
Coordinator, Technology Infrastructure Expert and virtual teacher positions (plan to have in
place in 12/11)

Continued development of a STEM online teacher orientation and a face-to-face teacher
orientation based on PD needs for teachers (This will include synchronous and
asynchronous instruction). Preliminary professional development workshops were held in
8/11 and will be ongoing through the entire project

Continued development of a course template and outline based on "chunking of material"
into project-based modules to align with the current Standard Course of Study and
Common Core standards

Continued to develop a promotion and marketing strategy for the RttT Blended STEM
process for community, parents, students, and staffs (to be completed by 1/12)

Continued development, design, and modification of virtual STEM core math and science
courses that provide access and targeted instruction to at-risk student populations for the
purposes of credit attainment towards graduation (Plan to release final course materials
for Earth/Environmental Science, Integrated Math I, and Forensics by fall 2012)

Continued research of blended resources and training appropriate for support of teachers
and students in using the devices for STEM courses (these resources will help train teachers
on effective teaching and learning strategies for the devices; to be completed by 12/31)

Continued developing professional development modules and training sessions for lead
teachers, face-to-face teachers and district teams (occurring throughout term of project)

Continued working to post an Invitation for Bid (IFB) for devices (plan to post in 12/11)

Continued writing criteria for the Mobile Web Application/Application development RFP
(plan to post RFP in 1/12)

Working to secure 2 LEAs to replace Charlotte and Montgomery Counties for deployment
of services. Pilot schools were originally selected in three LEAs (Person, Montgomery, and
Charlotte/Mecklenburg). Two of the partners recently dropped out of the project.
Montgomery County cited lack of teacher interest for canceling their agreement to
participate. Mecklenburg dropped out when they had leadership changes (new
superintendent, new chief technology officer, new high school principal at the participating
high school). 12 LEAs expressed interest in taking their places. We are conducting an
application process and will select replacement partners before 2012.
Turning Around the Lowest-Achieving Schools:
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12/22/2011

Completed the unpacking of a Comprehensive Needs Assessment report at Charles W.
McCrary Elementary School in Asheboro City Schools

Completed Comprehensive Needs Assessments at:
o Thomasville City district office
o Deep Branch Elementary, Fairgrove Middle, Gilbert Carroll Middle, Lumberton
Junior High, Magnolia Elementary, Rex-Rennert Elementary, Littlefield Middle, St.
Paul Middle, WH Knuckles Elementary, Fairmont High School, Long Branch
Elementary, Lumberton Senior High, Pembroke Middle, and Fairmont Middle in
Robeson County

Continued work on hiring for RttT positions:
o Hired instructional coaches hired for Mathematics and Science for Halifax County
Schools
o Continuing weekly interviews for Instructional Coaches and School Transformation
Coaches

Held monthly District Transformation Coaches meeting, School Transformation Coaches
meeting, as well as Instructional Coaches meeting

Identified interim support for selected schools/districts until hiring process is complete for
permanent position

Continued PD and Coaching for currently served schools/districts

Continued Assignment process for deployment of PD and Coaching staff in newly served
schools – includes ongoing work with Human Resources (HR) to align positions on the
organizational chart

Commenced planning for December Professional Development for School Leaders Session
#3 for all Principal in T.A.L.A.S Session #3
NC Education Cloud:

Continued to work with IIS Planning Process

Aggregated all the surveys and began in-depth analysis (initial goal was to complete by
10/11, but will be completed by mid-11/11)

Continued meetings of the Consortium/Cooperative Purchasing LEA Advisory Working
Group, Data Collection and Analysis Working Group, Identity and Access Management
Working Group and the Shared Services Advisory Committee

Attended the Gates Shared Learning Initiative (SLI) meeting with NCDPI Personnel (10/1718)

Held first meeting of the Instructional Content Learning Systems Working Group (10/25)

Collaborated with the Consortium Buying Working Group to identify and address any
needed E-rate strategies related to NC Education Cloud in order to be ready for fall E-rate
applications

Held Cloud Team Execution Kickoff to Initiate Actions supporting the approved Cloud Plan
(10/24)
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Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM):

Began providing support for the development of the Northeast Regional School of
Biotechnology and Agriscience for five districts: Washington, Tyrell, Martin, Pitt and
Beaufort; the State Board of Education endorsed the school in October (New Schools
Project- NSP)

Continued planning to host a national STEM conference to be held April 16-18, 2012; the
call for proposals was issued in October (NSP)

Met with 10 affinity network school systems to discuss their STEM implementation plan
(NSP)

Conducted the following professional development in October: (NSP)
o Peer School Reviews for 5 schools (Teachers in each school host a Peer review;
Portfolio managers, principals and teachers are responsible for the reviews- NSP)
o Study visits – one at Wayne and one at Caldwell (Portfolio managers, principals and
teachers are responsible for the visits; STEM schools visit each in a “shadowing”
capacity to see other school operations- NSP)
o A Common Practices Symposium for STEM schools – 75 participants (NSP)

Continued Instructional and Leadership coaching and portfolio management for the 18 RttT
schools – 15 affinity schools and 3 anchor schools (NSP)

Presented STEM Strategic Plan and STEM Network to stakeholders throughout the month
of October to:
o JOBS Commission, Joint Legislative Oversight, Governor’s Innovation Council, NCDPI
Leadership and other Policy leaders,
o approximately 20 Business and Industry representatives, NC Foundation
representatives, and
o More than 20 school systems in the NC STEM Community Collaborative (NC STEM)

Developed 2 of 4 STEM community engagement modules to use as a self-assessment
evaluation tool for the schools to evaluate their community involvement (NC STEM)

Continued to develop a STEM web portal for resources and technical assistance (NC STEM)

Participated in Johnson C Smith University STEM Conference focusing on outreach, support
and the underserved, especially females, minorities and economically disadvantaged (9/2910/1)

Began planning a state STEM conference with NC Association for Biomedical Research
(10/12)

Submitted final draft of Statewide STEM Strategic Plan to State Board of Education for the
November meeting. Plan was endorsed by Lieutenant Governor’s JOBS Commission in
October

Revised STEM Attributes and Implementation Rubric to be used with STEM Schools and
Future-Ready STEM Schools/ Programs of Achievement as part of the State STEM Strategic
Plan
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Evaluation:
Cross-Cutting Evaluation Elements

Shared and discussed “lessons learned” from the Omnibus Teacher and Principal Survey
with members of the Race to the Top Evaluation Consortium in preparation for next survey
administration in Spring 2012

Continued data analysis of survey

Completed Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) reliability testing for 30+
classroom observers; Staff continued to take reliability tests for CLASS observation tool
Began classroom observations
Continued Working (Carolina Institute for Public Policy- CIPP- data administrator) with
NCDPI on data needs for fall analyses


Teacher and Leader Effectiveness

Continued literature review

Continued to use historical data to compare different Value-Added Models (VAMs) of
teacher effectiveness to share with NCDPI Teacher Effectiveness Workgroup; Designed
interview questions

Received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for classroom observations and
interviews

Contacted superintendents, RttT coordinators, and principals to request participation in
classroom observations and interviews
Distribution of Teachers and Leaders
Baseline Teacher Quality Analysis
 Continued work on report (due fall 2011)

Continued work on VAM to be used to produce a baseline estimate of teacher quality
distribution for the initial Teacher Quality Analysis report
Regional Leadership Academies
 Visited each of the RLAs at least once in the last month

Designed a Qualtrics-based fellow update for updating basic RLA fellow data – for rollout in
the next two months (will ultimately be completed twice per year)

Drafted cost effectiveness framework and report
Teach For America (TFA)/NC Teacher Corps (NCTC)

Securely downloaded and stored historical data on past and current TFA Corps
Members

Contacted 4 TFA “pod” locations for 2011-12
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12/22/2011

Secured IRB approval for focus group protocols, survey items, and NCTC recruitment
protocols
Induction Program for Novice Teachers

Finalized recruitment of 30 treatment and 30 control schools

Submitted and gained approval for IRB modification

Began CLASS observations for both treatment and control schools
Strategic Staffing/Incentives

Secured IRB approval for all evaluation activities related to this initiative

Began the process of coding final LEA detailed scopes of work, to determine if the team’s
original list of RttT-funded local strategic staffing plans remained accurate
NCVPS




Secured IRB approval for all non-student-related protocols
Conducted formal observations of all fall 2011 course development professional
development (online and face-to-face)
Secured two course content reviewers and began discussions with potential Grand
Challenges content reviewers
Met with STEM evaluation team to discuss possible overlaps and parallels in our two
evaluation projects
Professional Development

Staff formed two workgroups for fall 2011 work:
o LEA/School Site Visit Prep Team – This Team:
• Created a standards-based rubric for reviewing online modules and
resources
• Developed teacher and district staff surveys
• Began creating teacher and district staff focus group protocols
• Defined CLASS Observation protocols
• Finalized a process for contacting and scheduling visits
• Observed Regional PD Sessions using the RttT PD Observation protocols
• Revised existing evaluation plan to reflect inclusion of Distinguished Leaders
in Practice and Online Learning Opportunities and Resources
o Report-Writing Team –
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12/22/2011
•
Worked on analysis and interpretation of omnibus survey items, Regional
Institute Survey, informal interviews, NCDPI C&I, Regional PD Leads,
Instructional Technology focus groups, Observations, and staff reflections
District and School Transformation (DST) Including STEM Schools
DST



Completed draft of qualitative and quantitative assessment of pre-RttT DST, and submitted
to NCDPI for review
Developed preliminary Year 2 Scope of Work plan
Began IRB modification process
STEM




Observed New Principal Institute and New Teacher Institute
Held focus group with NSP staff
Continued analyzing PD observations and teacher evaluations
Delivered draft baseline report on characteristics of existing STEM schools to NCDPI
Local Spending
 Began developing online survey for school finance officers (SFOs) and interview questions
for sample of SFOs
 Worked on pre-RttT assessment of school funding in NC as a baseline
Overall Impact
 Continued drafting Scope of Work
Activities Projected for the Month Ahead
RttT Management:

Provide monthly RttT status report to State Board of Education, 11/3

Provide RttT status update to GETC 11/3

Attend 11/10 RttT Leads meeting at USED

Identify and prepare additional initiative budget and/or DSW amendments, as needed;
process submitted amendments with USED, as needed

Begin preparing omnibus DSW update/budget update/amendment to reflect more detailed
plans (including spending plans) for year 2 and beyond

Finalize approval of remaining 15 LEA/Charter School DSWs submitted on 8/3; post all
LEA/Charter School approved fully completed DSWs to the website
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12/22/2011


Continue planning for building a cadre of teacher and principal ambassadors in each school
to help communicate the reasons and mechanisms for the changes under way in
curriculum, accountability and educator evaluation; participants will include at least 2
teachers per school, each school principal and superintendent
o Continue preparations for the regional meetings for statewide rollout of the new
accountability program, (meetings set for March 2012)
o Continue developing promotional materials (videos and slide presentations) for use
at the statewide regional meetings and toolkits to distribute at the meetings
(toolkits will include practical information about the new Common Core and
Essential Standards, and the new accountability program) completed by February
2012
Continue creating parent resource podcasts about new standards, new student
assessments and new accountability model to distribute online and via social media fall of
2011 along with an online guide for parents (to be posted by 12/31)

Continue distributing RttT Weekly Update to more than 1,000 LEA and charter officials
involved with Race to the Top

Present at the NC School Public Relations Association on 11/4 to inform school public
information officers across the state about Common Core, Accountability, and other RttTrelated issues
Standards & Assessments:
Standards

Continue development of Unpacking Social Studies elective courses (to be posted 2/29/12)

Continue work on Graphic Organizer tool; Plan to post drafts of Graphic Organizer tool on
website for external feedback by 12/11 (to be completed 2/12; Delayed from original due
date to allow for preparation of summer institute, reduction in consultants, and more
comprehensive approach to development)

Release RBT module by 11/30

Begin development of Formative and Summative Exemplars (to be completed by 5/12;
delayed due to more time for comprehensive approach)

Continue plans for data guide (see also Data Systems to Improve Instruction section above)

Begin designing and developing module on data literacy (released for LEA use 5/12)

Continue work to embed content classroom examples and video vignettes within NC
FALCON (to be completed 5/12)

Begin development of Learning Map exemplars (posted for LEA use 3/16/12)

Continue curriculum and instruction content-specific "live chats" to provide support and
fidelity checks to district-teams, ERD, and DST (held quarterly)
Assessments
Data Systems to Improve Instruction:

Continue IIS Workgroup meetings
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12/22/2011

Continue work with planning vendor to develop RFP, and Comprehensive Plan (completed
by 12/1; RFP release delayed to garner additional feedback and take into account SIS
replacement)

Continue work on “Vision, Goals, and Objectives,” “A Day in the Life,” “Roles Matrix” and
“Web” documents (documents to be finalized by 12/31)

Continue developing data guide (completed by 8/12, this deliverable is delayed due
decision to RFP for the Guide; see also Standards and Assessments section above)

Complete development (Lead IIS Project Manager) of the master project plan document
based on revisions requested during review process

Develop plan to hire additional staff once staffing plan is approved

Continue meeting with other RttT states to determine what collaboration will be beneficial
(e.g. developing embedded curriculum performance assessments, sharing benchmark or
summative items, sharing code for system components)

Continue engaging stakeholders through presentations, focus groups, and advisory groups

Continue meeting with SLI staff to further define how the SLI might interface with the IIS

Meet with IIS Stakeholder Advisory Committee and IIS User Groups
Great Teachers & Principals:

Post working paper to guide conversations with IHE partners regarding how to improve
educator pipeline for high-need content and specialty areas (to be posted by 11/15)

Continue working with WestEd to select student academic growth model

Continue Northeast RLA Cohort 1 school year administrative internships (through 6/30/12)

Continue training for Northeast RLA Cohort 2 participants (through 6/30/12)

Continue Piedmont-Triad RLA Cohort 1 participant administrative internships (through
6/30/12)

Continue Sandhills RLA Cohort 1 participant clinical residencies (through 6/30/12)

Continue ongoing Teach For America support for corps members as they enter classrooms
(support to occur throughout Corps member’s two-year commitment; through 6/30/13)

Make final selections and official offers for NC Teacher Corps positions

Continue New Teacher Induction Program in four regions with first cohort

Present mock-up of improved educator preparation program report cards to Governor’s
Education Transformation Commission Teachers and Leaders subcommittee

Select vendor for strategic staffing assistance to districts

Publish guide to approval process for potential alternative licensure programs

Continue work on new evaluation instruments (All new instruments will be ready for
implementation during the 13 – 14 school year. During the remainder of the 11 –12 year,
the new instruments will be designed and be piloted in a small number of LEAs)
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12/22/2011

Continue interview process to hire PD Contractors (21 positions)

Hold two-day training session with PD Leads to assess needs of the team and to provide
professional development for the team. District data will be discussed (11/9-10)

Continue development of Phase II modules: Data Literacy, Common Core State Standards
ELA: Content Area Literacy, Effective Use of Learning Progressions, Embracing the Change:
Embedding Digital Literacy in the Content Area (tentative titles; to be completed by 6/12)

Deploy module design template for creating next phase of modules identified from
diagnostic needs assessment and RttT Scope of Work

Begin Phase III Administrator (principal and assistant principal) trainings on embedding the
NC ITES (Instructional Technology Essential Standards) and the Common Core and Essential
Standards across the state to ensure consistency with implementation for all LEAs and
charter schools. Trainings conducted by NCDPI’s Regional Instructional Technology
Facilitators and supported by the RttT PD Leads

Begin selection process for online module developer positions

Continue weekly meetings with PDI leadership team for pre-planning of Summer Institute
2012

Establish location sites for 6 Summer Institute trainings for 2012

Post vacancy for new Project Coordinator for Teacher and Leader Preparation (to assist
with initiatives across Section D) and Program Assistant for Educator Recruitment and
Development (to assist all areas)
NC Virtual Public Schools:

Continue determining professional development needs for project-based learning, STEM,
mobile teaching and learning, and blended teaching for all of the online and face-to-face
teachers

Finalize hiring process for the Lead Project Director, Exceptional Children’s Coordinator,
Technology Infrastructure Expert and virtual teacher positions

Finalize development of a STEM online teacher orientation and a face-to-face teacher
orientation based on PD needs for teachers (This will include synchronous and
asynchronous instruction)

Continue to develop and create a promotion and marketing strategy for the RttT Blended
STEM process for community, parents, students, and staffs (to be completed by 1/12)

Continue development, design, and modification of virtual STEM core math and science
courses that provide access and targeted instruction to at-risk student populations for the
purposes of credit attainment towards graduation (Plan to release final course materials
for Earth/Environmental Science and Integrated Math I by fall 2012)

Continue research of blended resources and training appropriate for support of teachers
and students in using the devices for STEM courses (these resources will help train teachers
on effective teaching and learning strategies for the devices) to be completed by 12/31

Continue working to post an Invitation for Bid (IFB) for devices (plan to post in December)
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
Continue writing criteria for the Mobile Web Application/Application development RFP
(plan to post RFP in January)

Continue development of a course template and outline based on "chunking of material"
into project-based modules to align with the current Standard Course of Study and
Common Core standards

Continue developing professional development modules and training sessions for lead
teachers, face-to-face teachers and district teams (occurring throughout term of project)
Turning Around the Lowest-Achieving Schools:

Conduct Comprehensive Needs Assessments scheduled for:
o Snow Hill Primary and Greene County Middle in Greene County
o East Robeson Primary, Orrum Middle School, Oxendine Elementary School, Parkton
Middle School, Pembroke Elementary School, South Robeson High School, West
Lumberton Elementary, Peterson Elementary, Piney Grove Elementary, Prospect
Elementary, Rowland Middle School, Saint Pauls High School, Tanglewood
Elementary, Union Chapel Elementary, Union Elementary, Rowland Norment
Elementary, and Purnell Swett High School in Robeson County

Continue hiring for RttT positions (interviews continuing weekly)

Deliver ongoing PD and coaching for currently served schools/districts

Continue to assign PD and coaching staff for newly served schools - working with HR to
align positions on organizational chart

Continue working on developing agenda for December Professional Development for
School Leaders
NC Education Cloud:

Finish aggregation and in-depth analysis of Site survey data (initial goal was to complete by
10/11, but will be completed by mid-11/11)

Continue to work with IIS and Shared Learning Infrastructure (SLI) Planning Process

Will review requirements for the Identity and Access Management with the K-12
community through an open webinar (11/2)

Continue meetings of the Consortium/Cooperative Purchasing LEA Advisory Working
Group, Data Collection and Analysis Working Group, Identity and Access Management
Working Group and the Shared Services Advisory Committee, and Instructional Content
Services Working Group

Prepare requirements for the Identity and Access Management for RFP Process

Work on requirements for LEA / Charter School Enterprise as a service to identify the
opportunities to assist LEAs in moving strategic Enterprise solutions to Cloud providers
(Initiate Formal Enterprise as a Service Project, form Team and Assemble LEA Working
Group
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
Begin development of detailed implementation plans for all projects
Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM):

Continue Peer School Reviews (NSP)

Organize study visits at Hillside and Cross Creek (NSP)

Continue coaching and portfolio management (NSP)

Provide opportunities for districts and schools to convene with state/national leaders in
STEM revolving around STEM initiatives (NC STEM)

Share priority projects with state and national resource partners to increase or improve
programs/schools (NC STEM)

Convene public/private advisory team for review of STEM Operational Plan (NC STEM)

Present STEM Strategic Plan to the Board of Education in November ( NCDPI)
Evaluation:
Cross-Cutting Evaluation Elements

Continue to analyze data from Omnibus Teacher and Principal Survey

Continue taking reliability tests for CLASS observation tool

Continue classroom observations

Grant (CIPP data administrator) data access to relevant Evaluation Team members
Teacher and Leader Effectiveness

Continue analysis – Use of historical data to compare different VAM of teacher
effectiveness to share with NCDPI

Continue classroom observations and interviews

Brief NCDPI on findings of VAM
Distribution of Teachers and Leaders
Baseline Teacher Quality Analysis

Complete draft report due in November
Regional Leadership Academies

Conduct additional site visits as needed

Distribute and ensure completion of RLA Fellows updates

Update Quality Assurance Committee (11/1)
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TFA/NCTC

Finalize site visit arrangements in October

Make initial fall field visits

Administer 1st TFA survey
Induction Program for Novice Teachers

Finish all baseline teacher observations

Finalize mentor and PD fidelity measures

Decide on New Teacher survey and interview for spring

Finalize survey of existing induction programs at the LEA/School/Teacher levels
Strategic Staffing/Incentives

Complete review of final LEA-level Scopes of Work

Make initial contacts with three sample LEAs (Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Pitt, and RowanSalisbury)

Possibly contact all other target LEAs (Craven, Winston-Salem/Forsyth, New Hanover, and
any additional LEAs that appear to be pursuing RttT-funded local-level strategic staffing, as
described in their final DSWs)

Possibly expand our list of all such LEAs by at least 3 or 4, based on initial reviews of the
first 100 completed detailed scopes of work
NCVPS

Identify and receive commitments from remaining content-area specialists to review
course content this fall and next spring

Meet to discuss plans for conducting formal observations of Person County teachers who
are likely to be involved in NCVPS face-to-face course elements next fall (tentative)

Submit remaining IRB modifications for all work with students, even though such work may
not take place until fall 2012
Professional Development

Complete baseline report

Brief NCDPI on report

Collect data including site visits and surveys for longitudinal descriptive study

Contact case study principals and make appointments for data collection

Collect data between 10/17 and 11/30
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
Revise logic model and external scope of work to reflect updates

Create detailed 2011-12 School Year (SY) Plan of Work
District and School Transformation Including STEM Schools
DST

Develop protocol for interview with DST directors to inform selection of districts and
secure background on DST work this year

Finalize Year 2 Scope of Work and district choices

Develop interview protocols for DST district coaches and top officials

Meet with Overall Impact working group to discuss plans for tracking PD within DST

Submit IRB modifications
STEM

Conduct more observations of PD

Analyze data analyses

Begin draft of report
Local Spending

Complete baseline analysis of NC school funding

Begin analysis of 2010-2011 finance data for RttT impact

Continue to develop online survey for SFOs for pilot

Work with Cloud initiative leads to understand potential Cloud impact on district and
school spending
Overall Impact

Continue drafting Scope of Work
Changes Requested to Plan or Timelines Outlined in State Detailed Scope of Work (DSW)

Submitted to USED
o Baseline data for performance measures

In development
o Changes to STEM timelines/performance measures
o Changes to Evaluation report timelines
o Annual “true up” of DSW and Budget
Changes Being Considered to Key Project Personnel
None
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