(D)(3) Part B Narrative, North Carolina, July 2013
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Race to the Top Progress Update
Sub-criterion (D)(3)
Part B: In preparation for monthly calls, States must submit written responses to the following
questions for two application sub-criteria (e.g. (A)(2) and (D)(4)). 1 All responses in this section
should be tailored to the goals and projects associated with this sub-criterion.
Application sub-criterion:2
(D)(3): Ensuring equitable distribution of effective teachers and principals

Ensure the equitable distribution of teachers and principals by developing a plan,
informed by reviews of prior actions and data, to ensure that students in high-poverty
and/or high-minority schools (both as defined in this notice) have equitable access to
highly effective teachers and principals (both as defined in this notice) and are not
served by ineffective teachers and principals at higher rates than other students; and

Increase the number and percentage of effective teachers (as defined in this notice)
teaching hard-to-staff subjects and specialty areas including mathematics, science,
and special education; teaching in language instruction educational programs (as
defined under Title III of the ESEA); and teaching in other areas as identified by the
State or LEA.
STATE’s goals for this sub-criterion:
1
2

Increase the percentage (and number) of teachers in schools that are high-poverty,
high-minority, or both who are highly effective.

Increase the percentage (and number) of teachers in schools that are low-poverty,
low-minority or both who are highly effective.

Decrease the percentage (and number) of teachers in schools that are high-poverty,
high-minority, or both who are ineffective.

Decrease the percentage (and number) of teachers in schools that are low-poverty,
low-minority, or both who are ineffective.

Increase the percentage (and number) of principals leading in schools that are highpoverty, high-minority, or both who are highly effective.

Increase the percentage (and number) of principals leading in schools that are lowpoverty, low-minority or both who are highly effective.

Decrease the percentage (and number) of principals leading schools that are highpoverty, high-minority, or both who are ineffective.
On each monthly call, program officers and states should work together to select two sub-criteria for the following month.
All highlighted fields will be pre-populated by the Department Program Officer prior to State completion.
(D)(3) Part B Narrative, North Carolina, July 2013
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
Decrease the percentage (and number) of principals leading schools that are lowpoverty, low-minority, or both who are ineffective.

Increase the percentage of mathematics teachers who were evaluated as effective or
better.

Increase the percentage of science teachers who were evaluated as effective or better.

Increase the percentage of special education teachers who were evaluated as effective
or better.

Increase the percentage of teachers in language instruction educational programs who
were evaluated as effective or better.

Increase the number of highly effective teachers in low-income rural areas and lowperforming urban schools.
Relevant projects:

Continue existing and launch new Regional Leadership Academies to prepare
effective school leaders to serve in low-achieving schools.

Start an NC Teacher Corps to provide effective teachers in high-need areas to lowachieving schools.

Expand Teach for America in the rural northeastern region of the State.

Provide intensive support and mentoring for new teachers in low-achieving schools
through the New Teacher Support Program.

Assist LEAs with strategic staffing through support from an outside vendor and
recruitment vouchers to bring effective, experienced teachers to low-achieving
schools.
1. Is the State on-track to implement the activities and meet the goals and performance
measures that are included in its approved scope of work for this sub-criterion? If so,
explain why. If not, explain why not.
The State has made strong progress toward meeting the goals and performance measures listed
above and in its Race to the Top application. An update on each project within the (D)(3) subcriterion appears below.

Continue existing and launch new Regional Leadership Academies to prepare
effective school leaders to serve in low-achieving schools.
The Northeast Leadership Academy (NELA) is starting its fourth year of existence.
Twenty-one members of Cohort II are participating in administrative internships
throughout the State, while 16 of the 21 members of Cohort I are currently employed in
local school districts as educational leaders (assistant principals, principals, directors of
instruction, and curriculum facilitators). NELA Cohort III members are currently
participating in their Summer Community Internship. NELA staff provided orientation
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and training for two newly hired executive coaches in June and our currently preparing
for fall training for Cohort III members.
The Sandhills Leadership Academy (SLA) and Piedmont-Triad Leadership Academy
(PTLA) are each beginning their third year of operation. As of June 30, 2013, 21
executive interns in Cohort II of the Sandhills Academy had completed coursework in
school administration and administrative internships and all 20 Cohort I graduates are
employed as educational leaders (assistant principals, principals, directors of instruction,
and curriculum facilitators). The SLA is currently conducting its Cohort III Summer
Intensive Scope and Sequence (July 1-August 2) partially in Carthage, NC and partially
at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT), in Cullowhee,
NC.
In the Piedmont-Triad Academy, 20 executive interns completed coursework and
internships, while 20 of the 21 Cohort I graduates are employed as educational leaders
(assistant principals, principals, directors of instruction, and curriculum facilitators). The
PTLA is currently conducting its 2013 Summer Intensive Training (July 8-July 31) at the
Experiential Learning Campus at Piney Lake (UNC-Greensboro) for Cohort III members.
Since their inception, there have been 124 graduates of the three leadership academies,
who will be prepared to assume full-time educational leadership positions in lowachieving schools. The operators of all three academies are also working on sustainability
plans to continue the programs after the end of the RttT grant. For example, on June 28
the Piedmont-Triad Leadership Academy submitted a grant proposal to USDE’s Office of
Innovation and Improvement’s School Leadership Program to continue operation and
serve as a national model.

Start a NC Teacher Corps (NCTC) to provide effective teachers in high-need
subject areas to low-achieving schools.
The NCTC was established in January 2012 and is currently in its second year of
operation. Thirty-four applicants completed the 2012 NCTC summer training and
officially became corps members. These 24 NCTC corps members are employed as
teachers in local school systems and receiving instructional coaching from NCTC staff.
Thirteen of these teachers serve as math (7), science (4), or EC (2) teachers, both areas of
high need in low achieving schools.
As part of the recruitment process for Cohort II, staff participated in 44 college/university
recruitment fairs. Staff increased participation in recruitment fairs to increase the number
of potential applicants, as recommended in the Annual RttT Evaluation Report. There
were 225 applicants who applied for 2013 NCTC membership. NCTC staff conducted
applicant interviews in the spring of 2013 and selected 106 candidates to become 2013
NCTC members.
NCTC staff again collaborated with NCDPI District and School Transformation (DST),
Educator Effectiveness (formerly Educator Recruitment and Professional Development
(ERD)), and Teach for America (TFA) representatives to plan and conduct the summer
training experience, with select NCDPI staff members delivering the professional
development training. Of the 106 accepted 90 members are participating in the NCTC
Summer Institute being conducted in two local school systems (Cumberland and
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Durham) between July 15 and August 2. NCTC staff members continue to work with
partner districts to seek employment for corps members, and with candidates to navigate
the PRAXIS testing requirements and admission requirements for completing licensure
coursework. As of July 21, thirty of the Cohort II corps members have been hired by
local school districts.

Provide intensive support and mentoring for new teachers in low-achieving schools
through the New Teacher Support Program.
The University of North Carolina – General Administration (UNC-GA) launched the
New Teacher Support Program in August 2011. The program provides a summer
training prior to new teachers beginning work in the fall that includes sessions on setting
goals and a classroom vision, unpacking the curriculum, creating and using daily
objectives, unit planning and assessment, classroom management, discipline and behavior
management, lesson planning, communication in the school and community, professional
ethics, and time management. Participating teachers then receive support through
classroom observations, instructional coaching and debriefing meetings with mentor
teachers, and additional professional development sessions on workdays or weekends
during the ensuing school year. New teachers hired after the summer training program
join the program as they are hired.
As of June 20, 2013, the NTSP instructional coaches had provided induction support for
532 teachers in 81 schools and 20 school districts. Typically, instructional coaches meet
on-site with the new teachers once every two weeks to provide mentoring and support.
The NTSP is currently conducting eight, 2-day Regional Summer Institutes for first year
teachers enrolled in the NTSP. The institutes are being conducted in Charlotte (two
institutes), Roanoke Rapids, Durham, Greensboro, Wadesboro, Pembroke and Greenville,
NC. The Summer Institutes began July 9 and are to be completed by August 8.
There are plans to expand the NTSP during the 2013-14 school year to include the full
complement of teachers in the 38 school districts in which the 118 TALAS schools are
located. At this time, 116 schools and 29 school districts have indicated that they will
have approximately 1,200 new teachers participating in the program. Due to delays in
adopting a state budget, several school districts have postponed hiring decisions and
making commitments to participate in NTSP. It is anticipated that the number of school
districts participating will increase after the state budget is finalized.
NTSP staff are currently planning a 3-day Statewide Training Institute (September 2123, 2013) at UNC-Chapel Hill for all new beginning teachers that will be receiving
instructional support services during the upcoming school year.

Expand Teach For America (TFA) in the rural northeastern region of the State.
Through RttT, the State’s partnership with TFA Eastern North Carolina has expanded to
include additional Corps members above what the organization would have otherwise
brought to that region of the State. TFA is using its traditional recruitment, training, and
support processes for these new corps members.
(D)(3) Part B Narrative, North Carolina, July 2013
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The TFA 2011 cohort (currently second-year corps members) has 88 members and the
2012 cohort (currently first-year corps members) has 128 members for a total of 216
corps members serving 16 school districts and charter schools in eastern North Carolina.
Prior to the partnership with RttT funds, the typical corps size for TFA in eastern NC was
between 50-60 teachers annually.
As of June 8, TFA had successfully recruited, interviewed and inducted 185 new corps
members for the 2014 cohort group. TFA conducted the 2013 summer training for the
185 new corps members (June 9-July 12) and will continue their regional orientation and
content-specific training on the Common Core and the North Carolina Standard Course
of Study through July 30.

Assist LEAs with strategic staffing through support from an outside vendor and
recruitment vouchers to bring effective, experienced teachers to low-achieving
schools.
NCDPI has contracted with MarStrats to provide intensive, customized support to the
twelve low-achieving districts in partnership with NCDPI’s District and School
Transformation Division. MarStrats has conducted economic research, analysis of
teacher recruitment and retention data, and completed interviews with local school
district superintendents, district-level human resources staff, parents, and community
stakeholders. MarStrats used these interviews to identify patterns and themes across the
school districts. The data was then used to complete district-specific recruitment and
retention plans, which were presented, to LEAs in the fall of 2012. MarStrats conducted
four, regionally based workshops focused on teacher retention and recruitment for all
school districts having one or more schools identified as TALAS schools. The workshops
were conducted in Concord, NC (March 12), Durham, NC (March 13) and Greenville,
NC (March 14). Topics included were developing recruitment plans and pools, marketing
tactics, social media use, interview protocols and learning from research.
As another part of this project, vouchers are available to highly effective teachers who relocate to low performing schools. These vouchers have been available for the past two
years, though the number of teachers qualifying to receive these vouchers has been
limited. During the 2012-13 school year seven teachers in four local school systems
(Vance, Hertford, Lenoir and Rowan-Salisbury) took advantage of the vouchers. A draft
evaluation report of the State Strategic Staffing initiative is currently being completed by
the RttT evaluation team and is under review by NCDPI.
2. Does the State have evidence indicating the quality of implementation for this subcriterion? What is/has the State doing/done as a result of this information?
After experiencing some initial delays in implementation (for the hiring of the strategic
staffing vendor, UNC-GA Teacher Support Program Director, and launch of NC Teacher
Corps), the initiatives in subsection D(3) have been implemented with high quality. The
initial evaluation reports for the D(3) initiatives cited above have been reviewed and
overall results have indicated a high level of fidelity of implementation. Where
recommendations for improvement were given, NCDPI staff members have met to
(D)(3) Part B Narrative, North Carolina, July 2013
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determine what actions need to be taken to implement the proposed recommendations.
Later evaluation reports will provide far more outcome data to evaluate the quality of
implementation and sustainability of the programs.
The State is using a number of processes to track progress. For the Regional Leadership
Academies, Teach for America expansion, NC Teacher Corps, and New Teacher Support
Program, formative data include progress toward recruitment goals, retention through the
training component of the program, movement of the participants into either a teaching or
school leadership position, and participant reflections on how well they are being
supported during the transition. All programs are also tracking progress through the
results of formal observations completed during the year, and continued participant
feedback. Summative data for these programs include the growth of students in a
teacher’s classroom or the administrator’s school. For the strategic staffing component of
D(3), the State tracks progress through recruitment and retention data.
Based on the use of such information, the programs in the initiative make adjustments to
improve implementation. For example, NCTC staff made several adjustments to their
recruitment and training programs for year two cohort members based on feedback they
collected from formal evaluation and participant reflections:

NCTC now requires that applicants pass the PRAXIS exam prior to attending the
summer training in order to make it easier for cohort members to seek
employment.

Staff created a Handbook, Field Guide, and Field Guide Activities to guide NCTC
candidates through their student teaching experience.

NCTC staff better publicized the program by speaking to all LEA personnel
administrators at the Personnel Administrators of North Carolina (PANC)
conference and creating a one-page sheet explaining the program to principals
that cohort members can attach to their application.

NCTC made sure to have some kind of recruiting presence at all universities,
whether at recruitment fairs, holding information sessions, or online postings on
university websites.

NCTC staff also provided trainings for new cohort members to prepare them for
interviews with school systems.
As another example, NCTC staff have also made adjustments to their programming based
on feedback they have received:

NTSP staff regularly communicate with staff from DST to share information and
reduce overlap in their work.

NTSP staff modified their training locations and timing to reduce travel and cost
for participants
3. What obstacles and/or risks could impact the State’s ability to meet its goals and
performance measures related to this sub-criterion?
(D)(3) Part B Narrative, North Carolina, July 2013
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With the later than expected launch, the staff of the NC Teacher Corps faced a challenge
in successfully recruiting and matriculating the desired number of new corps members in
Cohort I. While the staff members had an aggressive recruitment plan and schedule of
events, the Cohort I recruitment goal of 100 candidates was not met. NCTC accepted 106
members for Cohort II. Of the 106 applicants accepted for Cohort II, 90 have completed
requirements and become corps members. It will be challenging to find partner school
districts to hire each of the candidates prior to the beginning of the 2013-14 school year
though NCTC staff have worked hard to improve this process (see the response to
question two for more detail).
The New Teacher Support Program has made progress and the program appears to be on
track and implementing with fidelity. Local school superintendents have projected 1,200
possible new teachers that will need support. It will be a challenge making sure all
coaches are in place and ready to provide support when school reconvenes in the fall of
2013.
Sustainability will be an issue for each of the RLAs due to cutbacks in state education
funding by the NC General Assembly. Each of the RLAs is governed and operated
differently (IHE/LEA-based, RESA/IHE/LEA Consortium and IHE/LEAConsortium).
The new General Assembly budget did not include funding to expand or sustain the
RLAs. The staff of the RLAs are meeting regularly with LEA stakeholders, legislative
leaders and writing grants to sustain their programs.
In contrast, the General Assembly did allocate funding to contract with TFA to operate
the NCTC under a new name. The smooth transition of the NCTC from a state agency to
a private entity following conclusion of the 2013-14 fiscal year will present many
challenges as it must be done while simultaneously recruiting a new cohort group and
coaching existing corps members from prior cohorts.
Evaluation: Based on the responses to the previous question, evaluate the State’s
performance and progress to date for this sub-criterion (choose one)
Red (1)
3
Orange (2)
Yellow (3)
Green (4)3
Red – substantially off-track and/or has significant quality concerns; urgent and decisive action is required; Orange –off-track
and/or there are quality concerns; many aspects require significant attention; Yellow –generally on-track and of high or good
quality; only a few aspects require additional attention; Green – on-track with high quality.