Race to the Top Weekly Update
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
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In this issue
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DSW Reviews Near Completion
NCDPI/RESA Partnership Professional Development Calendar
Summer Institute Evaluation Survey
New Location for NC FALCON and WIS
North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards Module Launched
Common Core State Standard and NC Essential Standards Facilitators’ Guide
Online
IIS Focus Groups Successful
Teacher/Principal Survey Extended through Labor Day
DSW Reviews Near Completion
Thanks to all who submitted their 2011-12 Detailed Scope of Work (DSW) documents on
time. Members of the Race to the Top team at NCDPI have spent much of this week and
last reviewing DSWs. Feedback from these reviews has been making its way to district
and charter school RttT contacts. Revisions based on this feedback should be submitted
to Regional Leads or Charter Consultants, who will in turn submit to NCDPI. For more
information, please contact your Regional Lead or Charter Consultant.
NCDPI/RESA Partnership Professional Development Calendar
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 will be included in the teachers’ calendar in September, and will be
listed in future Weekly Updates. 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
Summer Institute Evaluation Survey
Have you completed the Summer Institute evaluation survey? If not, please visit
https://center.ncsu.edu/nc and login to NC Education to complete the survey today. You
will then be able to access your certificate of completion to document your
attendance. Thank you for your feedback. By providing it, you are helping us improve
our processes to better serve you. Please see attached documents if you need further
assistance.
MORE INFO: Beth Ann Williams, Beth.Williams@dpi.nc.gov; NC Education
Helpdesk, ncdesk@ncsu.edu or 919-515-1320
New Location for NC FALCON and WIS
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 complete and ready for use in October. The North Carolina Writing Instructional System employs a philosophy of writing by
which children incorporate writing throughout the school day, school year, and
curriculum. The primary goals of the Writing Instruction System are:  To emphasize the importance of incorporating writing and writing instruction in
all classrooms, and
 To provide numerous opportunities for teachers to monitor students’ growth
throughout the school year.
District and charter teams also can now access the Writing Instruction System through
the NC Education site located at center.ncsu.edu/nc. MORE INFO: To read more about NC FALCON, the Writing Instructional System, and
the overall Accountability Curriculum Reform Effort (ACRE) visit
www.ncpublicschools.org/acre. You also may contact 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. If you experience difficulty logging in, contact 919-515-1320 or the Help Desk at
ncdesk@ncsu.edu MORE INFO: Tracey Greggs at Tracey.Greggs@dpi.nc.gov
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, can be located 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 IIS Regional Focus Groups Successful
NCDPI received valuable input at the four Instructional Improvement System (IIS) focus
groups conducted with the Center for Educational Leadership and Technology (CELT)
during the first week of August. With stops in Raleigh, Hampstead, Asheville, and
Charlotte, the IIS team shared the vision and gathered feedback from approximately 300
local educators, comprising:
 Classroom teachers
 NCVPS teachers
 Testing coordinators
 Instructional technology coordinators
 Professional development leads
 Guidance counselors
 Human resources staff
 Principals/assistant principals
 Higher Ed representatives
The team received meaningful insight regarding how IIS can meet local needs. Numerous
educators volunteered to participate in future webinars, to provide feedback on the
guidance documents, and to participate in the RFP evaluation and/or piloting process. If you know of other educators who would like to contribute, but did not get a chance to
attend the focus groups, please direct them to the IIS website:
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/improvement/resources/. There they will find key
documents to review, along with a survey. MORE INFO: Sarah McManus, Sarah.McManus@dpi.nc.gov, or Eric Moore,
Eric.Moore@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