Wednesday, September 14, 2011 If you know someone who would like to be on this list, please send their email address to Michael.Yarbrough@dpi.nc.gov ***PLEASE NOTE: Each entry in this Weekly Update features the email address of at least one contact person. For questions, concerns or technical assistance, please email the appropriate contact(s) directly. Thanks! In this issue 
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Abbreviated Evaluation Option Update on RttT DSW Approval Process Online Writing Instruction NCDPI/RESA Partnership Professional Development Calendar ‐‐ September Math Unpacking Standards Updated Abbreviated Evaluation Option The State Board of Education has further clarified the requirements for an abbreviated teacher evaluation. According to Board policy approved in July, principals may decide to conduct an abbreviated evaluation of career‐status teachers who are not in their license renewal year. As part of the abbreviated evaluation, teachers complete a self‐
assessment and a professional development plan. An administrator then conducts a minimum of two informal observations and comments on the teacher’s performance on Standards One and Four during that time. An informal observation consists of a minimum of 20 minutes in the classroom. At the end of the year, the teacher and the evaluator meet for a summary evaluation conference, and the principal completes a summary rating form with ratings for Standards One, Four, and Six. The attached PDF file provides a summary of evaluation requirements. Teachers may request a formal observation if they so desire. Please note that the abbreviated evaluation is only an option. Principals may always elect to complete a full evaluation for any teacher, especially if there are existing performance concerns. McREL, a partner vendor in the evaluation project, is currently making changes to bring the abbreviated evaluation online in the next few weeks. MORE INFO: We know that there are many questions about the new evaluation, so please contact Jennifer Preston, Race to the Top Project Coordinator for Teacher and Leader Effectiveness, at Jennifer.Preston@dpi.nc.gov or (919) 807‐4187 or Dr. Liz Colbert, Lead Professional Development Consultant, at Elizabeth.Colbert@dpi.nc.gov or (919) 807‐4037. Update on RttT DSW Approval Process LEAs and charter schools are refining and submitting their Race to the Top Detailed Scopes of Work (DSWs) based on feedback provided by NCDPI. We appreciate all the hard work that each district/charter has dedicated toward strengthening and clarifying your DSW planning documents. We are confident this work will pay valuable dividends as various stakeholders – including State and Federal auditors and the media – examine all of our efforts over the next several years. Currently, 76 DSWs have been fully approved. Please be aware that the sooner you submit a DSW that appropriately addresses the comments provided by the Department, the sooner the DSW will be approved and posted, and the sooner we can then approve your corresponding detailed budget. Again, thank you for your cooperation and patience during this process. MORE INFO: Adam Levinson, Adam.Levinson@dpi.nc.gov Online Writing Instruction North Carolina has established resources for Online Writing Instruction that provide students with opportunities to have a variety of experiences with writing across curricula and throughout the school year. There are a few changes for the 2011‐12 school year. The following modifications will be incorporated between September and December:  The on‐demand tasks will be removed from the Moodle design. 
The number of content‐specific writing opportunities available to registered students will range from two to 20. This online portfolio will be available for grades 3 through 12. Currently, the NCDPI consultants in the K‐12 Curriculum and Instruction Division are developing sample content‐specific writing assignments for grades 4 and 7 (ready by early fall), and will soon be developing sample content‐specific writing assignments for grades 3, 5, 6, and 8 through 12 (ready by the end of first semester). 
Content‐specific writing assignments will align to the Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects, 6‐12, as well as each specific content area’s NC Essential Standards or the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics or English Language Arts. 
Online Writing Instruction rubrics will be modified to align with the above documents. All additional information regarding Online Writing Instruction will be posted to http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/writing/. MORE INFO: Jim Kroening, Jim.Kroening@dpi.nc.gov. NCDPI/RESA Partnership Professional Development Calendar ‐‐ September There are two ways NCDPI is delivering face‐to‐face professional development to districts and schools: Local PD Leadership Teams from the 2011 Summer Institutes will receive continuous support trainings and selected principal and teacher leaders will receive follow up support through trainings set up through the RESAs (Regional Education Service Alliances/Consortia). Below are the dates of the regional professional development offered this year for local PD Leadership Teams, principal and teacher leaders. The professional development online modules and tools created by NCDPI that will supplement your local trainings to show teachers what is “different,” how to connect the new standards directly to our evaluation processes, and tools to identify district strengths and areas of improvement are available through NC Education. The link is https://center.ncsu.edu/nc/login/index.php. September Calendar (remaining dates for September): 14‐15 – ELA CCES PD for LEA/Charter Leadership Teams, CCRESA 15 – Teacher Effectiveness Vetting/New Accountability Model Meetings, PTEC 20 – Teacher Effectiveness Vetting/New Accountability Model Meetings, Sandhills RESA 19‐20 – Math CCES PD for LEA/Charter Leadership Teams, WRESA 20 – ELA CCES PD for LEA/Charter Leadership Teams, NERESA 29 – Teacher Evaluation Training for Principals and Assistant Principals, CCRESA 26‐27 – ELA CCES PD for LEA/Charter Leadership Teams, SERESA 28 – Teacher Effectiveness Vetting/New Accountability Model Meetings, NWRESA 28 and 30 – Regional Fall Institutes for Principals/Assistant Principals, Sandhills RESA 29 – Teacher Evaluation Training for Principals and Assistant Principals, PTEC The Regional PD Leaders (http://www.ncpublicschools.org/profdev/directory), the local RttT District/Charter Coordinators (http://www.ncpublicschools.org/rttt/lea‐charter/) and the RESA Directors will coordinate this work and communicate the details to the appropriate persons directly. Please contact your RttT District/School Coordinator for specific details pertaining to your LEA/Charter school. MORE INFO: Yvette Stewart, yvette.stewart@dpi.nc.gov Math Unpacking Standards Updated Updated Math Unpacking Standards for Grades 3, 4 and 5 have been added to the Common Core Support Tools page of the Accountability and Curriculum Reform Effort (ACRE) website. The unpacked standards are documents for educators that define the knowledge and skills students must master to accomplish specific goals. They list the common core standards for each grade level and subject then provide detailed examples on how to teach a standard. To view the unpacked standards, plus standards for grades K‐12 in English Language Arts and Math, please visit http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/standards/common‐core‐tools/#unmath. MORE INFO: Kitty Rutherford, Kitty.Rutherford@dpi.nc.gov, or Barbara Bissell, Barbara.Bissell@dpi.nc.gov