Race to the Top Weekly Update
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
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In this issue
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Update on RttT DSW Approval Process
IIS Team Hosts Focus Group Follow-Up Webinars
Online Writing Instruction
NCDPI/RESA Partnership Professional Development Calendar -- September
NC FALCON
Understanding the Standards Module
North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards Module
Common Core State Standard and NC Essential Standards Facilitators’ Guide
Teacher/Principal Survey Extended through Labor Day
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, 17 DSWs have been fully
approved and will be posted to the web this week. 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
IIS Team Hosts Focus Group Follow-Up Webinars
Just as August was a full month for the Instructional Improvement System (IIS) team,
September promises to be very busy as well.
The IIS team will conduct follow-up webinars next Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 6 and
7, for focus group participants who volunteered to provide more feedback as we finalize
our business requirements documents. If you know of anyone who was unable to
participate in the focus groups but would like to contribute to the project, please direct
them to the IIS Resources page, www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/improvement/resources.
The Resources page features background documents and a survey to complete by this
Friday, Sept. 2. The direct link to the survey is http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NCDPI.
The IIS team also will collaborate with the North Carolina Parent-Teacher Association
(NCPTA) to schedule several student-parent focus groups around the state. Stay tuned for
more information!
MORE INFO: And for those interested in the webinars, contact Eric Moore,
Eric.Moore@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:
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The on-demand tasks will be removed from the Moodle design.
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The number of content-specific writing opportunities available to registered
students will range from two to twenty. This online portfolio will be available for
grades three through twelve. Currently, the NCDPI consultants in the K-12
Curriculum and Instruction Division are developing sample content-specific
writing assignments for grades four and seven (ready by early fall), and will soon
be developing sample content-specific writing assignments for grades three, five,
six, eight, nine, ten, eleven, and twelve (ready by the end of first semester).
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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.
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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
LEA teams will now begin local training on the Common Core and Essential standards
for teachers, developing their implementation plans, and designing local curricula
resources. NCDPI teams have created online modules and tools 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. Additionally, face-to-face
facilitated professional development will be offered to the local PD leadership teams to
extend their training beyond the Common Core and Essential Standards Summer
Institutes.
Regional Professional Development dates for the local leadership teams who attended the
summer trainings are as follows for September:
7 – Teacher Evaluation Training for Principals and Assistant Principals, NWRESA
13 – Regional Fall Institutes for Principals/Assistant Principals, CCRESA
12-13 – Math Common Core/Essential Standards (CCES) PD for LEA/Charter
Leadership Teams, NWRESA
12 – ELA CCES PD for LEA/Charter Leadership Teams, SWRESA
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 and the RESA Directors will coordinate this work and
communicate the details to you directly.
MORE INFO: Yvette Stewart, Yvette.Stewart@dpi.nc.gov
NC FALCON
The NC Formative Assessment Learning Community Online Network (NC FALCON) is
now accessible at https://center.ncsu.edu/nc. District and charter teams who have never
implemented this formative assessment online module are encouraged to include this as a
component of your professional development. The new addition to NC FALCON,
Student Ownership, will be piloted in October 2011.
The module will be available for rollout in spring 2012.
MORE INFO: LEAs interested in piloting this module should contact Carmella Fair,
Carmella.Fair@dpi.nc.gov.
Understanding the Standards Module
The Understanding the Standards module may now be accessed for district and charter
school use. This module:
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Provides an understanding of the Common Core State and North Carolina
Essential Standards, while distinguishing what makes them new, better, and
different.
Guides educators on a tour of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
and ACRE websites identifying key locations to standards information,
instructional tools, and resources.
Provides Common Core State and North Carolina Essential Standards contentspecific sections that districts and charter schools can use during local
professional development.
To log into the Understanding the Standards module, along with additional PD modules
that are currently available, go to: https://center.ncsu.edu/nc/login/index.php.
Log in using your NC Education Username and Password. If this is your first time
visiting NC Education, follow the directions on the site to create an account. For
technical issues, contact the help desk at ncdesk@ncsu.edu or (919) 515-1320.
MORE INFO: Tracey Greggs, Tracey.Greggs@dpi.nc.gov
North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards Module
The North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards module provides an in-depth
understanding of the new standards and how they are to be demonstrated in classrooms.
This module has been launched and is ready for district and charter school
implementation. It can be accessed by logging into https://center.ncsu.edu/nc.
Use your NC Registration Username and Password (just as you did to access the Call for
Change module). First-time users should complete the steps located on the log-in page.
MORE INFO: Tracey Greggs, Tracey.Greggs@dpi.nc.gov
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE: 919-515-1320 or the Help Desk at ncdesk@ncsu.edu
Common Core State and NC Essential Standards Facilitators’ Guide
DPI has received numerous requests for the Facilitators’ Guide, which was recently
shared during the Common Core State and North Carolina Essential Standards 2011
Summer Institutes. This “blueprint,” used to assist districts and charter teams as they
transition to and implement the new standards, is available at
www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/resources.
Content specific presentations, presentations from the Transforming Professional
Development and Developing Local Curricula sessions, and sample agendas will also be
located on the ACRE site by the end of August. Information will be shared via this
newsletter to inform subscribers when the presentations are posted and ready for use.
MORE INFO: Tracey Greggs, Tracey.Greggs@dpi.nc.gov
Teacher/Principal Survey Extended through Labor Day
The RttT Teacher Principal Survey link will remain open through Labor Day (September
5). As a reminder, this survey is a joint effort among NCDPI, the Friday Institute at NC
State University, UNC Chapel Hill, and SERVE at UNC-Greensboro. We encourage all
teachers and principals who have not yet had a chance to take the survey to do so, as this
information is invaluable in our ability to better address needs in individual schools and
districts.
The survey link is https://uncg.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3a8L3orSk4BNem0. For any
questions regarding the survey or getting logged on please contact Jane Meli
jmeli@serve.org or Alexa Edwards aedwards@serve.org, and they will be happy to assist
you. All teachers and principals who participate are eligible to be entered into a drawing
to win one of 20 Amazon gift cards, each valued at $40. Your support in this important
statewide effort is greatly appreciated.
MORE INFO: Elizabeth Cunningham, Elizabeth.Cunningham@dpi.nc.gov