Race to the Top Weekly Update
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
In this issue:
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August 3 DSW Deadline Approaches
Wanted: Teacher Input on Student Learning Measures
IIS Planning Continues
CEU Certificates for Summer Institutes
Facilitator’s Guide Online
‘The Call for Change’ Credits and Update
Coming This Fall: Phase 2 Instructional Tools
August 3 DSW Deadline Approaches
Wednesday, Aug. 3 is the deadline for each LEA and charter school to submit a completed RttT
Detailed Scope of Work (DSW) for the 2011-12 school year. Please submit the completed RttT
DSW to RacetotheTop@dpi.nc.gov . Please be sure to copy the appropriate regional lead or
Charter School Consultant (listed below).
Note: All new activities that have been added and all changes made to the most recently
approved DSW must be identified in RED font.
Region Contact Person Email Address Region 1 Tamara Berman‐Ishee tamara.bermanishee@dpi.nc.gov Region 2 Sherry Broome sherry.broome@dpi.nc.gov Region 3 Rob Hines rob.hines@dpi.nc.gov Region 4 Priscilla Maynor priscilla.maynor@dpi.nc.gov Region 5 Michael Hickman michael.hickman@dpi.nc.gov
Region 6 Carolyn Means carolyn.means@dpi.nc.gov Region 7 & 8 Keith Eades keith.eades@dpi.nc.gov Charter Consultants: Contact Person Email Address Joel Medley joel.medley@dpi.nc.gov
Jackie Jenkins jackie.jenkins@dpi.nc.gov
Dottie Heath dottie.heath@dpi.nc.gov
More info: Adam Levinson, Adam.Levinson@dpi.nc.gov, or Eric Thanos,
Eric.Thanos@dpi.nc.gov
Wanted: Teacher Input on Student Learning Measures
As part of the Race to the Top initiative, NCDPI is bringing together teachers from across the state to
engage in a dynamic discussion around student learning in all grades and subjects. These teachers will
play a vital role in the design of measures of student learning that accurately reflect what students know
and are able to do in a broad range of classes, ranging from fourth grade social studies to high school
physics.
Educators participating in these work groups will receive training on assessment and curriculum to
prepare them for their work. Through Race to the Top, NCDPI will reimburse districts for substitute pay
for teachers participating in the work groups, and participants will receive reimbursement for travel
expenses, as well as meals and overnight accommodations. The first round of training will be held over
two days in late August or early September. It is expected that teachers will need to return to Raleigh for
two additional two-day work periods during the 2011 - 2012 school year.
Educators can register for one of the work groups by visiting http://tinyurl.com/NCDPIworkgroups.
MORE INFO: Jennifer Preston, Jennifer.Preston@dpi.nc.gov
IIS Planning Continues
The planning for North Carolina’s Instructional Improvement System (IIS) is in high gear. The IIS is an
online resource for students, parents, teachers, and administrators and will house instructional and
learning resources, technology‐based tools, and other strategies to provide meaningful support and
actionable data to make informed decisions related to improving instruction and learning.
Since early June, the IIS planning vendor, the Center for Educational Leadership and Technology (CELT)
has met with NCDPI groups as well as external partners to gather requirements and begin shaping the
Request for Proposal(s). Internal planning groups include Curriculum and Instruction, Accountability,
Technology Services, Policy and Strategic Planning, Data Management Group, Career and Technical
Education, Licensure, Educator Recruitment and Development, English as a Second Language, and
Exceptional Children.
External Groups participating are the NC Association of Educators, NC Learning Objective Repository (a
project of the NC Community College System), NCSU Technical Outreach for Public Schools (TOPS),
NCSU Friday Institute, SAS, and LearnNC.
Upcoming meetings will include reaching out to parents, schools boards and LEAs via the North Carolina
PTA and NC School Boards Association, as well as with district and school staff. We will target
principals, assistant principals, and teachers at the regional meetings, but anyone who can contribute a
local perspective to the IIS plan is welcome. Meeting dates are Aug. 2-5 in Raleigh, Charlotte, Asheville
and Hampstead. Specific times and locations are still being confirmed, so please email the IIS Project
Director, Sarah McManus (sarah.mcmanus@dpi.nc.gov) or the IIS Project Coordinator, Eric Moore
(eric.moore@dpi.nc.gov) for more information.
CEU Certificates for Summer Institutes
We have received questions regarding the receipt of CEU certificates for participation in one of the
Summer Institutes. In order to receive a certificate, we are asking participants to first complete a Summer
Institute Evaluation Survey no later than one week after the Summer Institute in which you have
participated.
Here is how it works: Each Summer Institute participant will initial the sign-in sheet at the registration
table each morning. After Day 2, your attendance will be verified by the registrar, and you will then be
able to access the evaluation survey and CEU certificate.
Only after your full participation has been verified by the attendance roster will you receive access.
Complete the survey and then you will be able to print your CEU certificate, or it will be recorded and
logged in the system. The online survey and CEU certificate can be found at https://center.ncsu.edu/nc/
under the 2011 Summer Institute tab. Please be sure your email address is accurate to ensure that you
receive future correspondence and information from the system regarding the Summer Institute training.
The remaining deadline dates for completing the survey and receiving your CEU certificate are as
follows:
Pasquotank location: July 27 (today); Catawba location: July 29; Moore location: August 3.
MORE INFO: Beth Ann Williams, Beth.Williams@dpi.nc.gov, or Yvette
Stewart, Yvette.Stewart@dpi.nc.gov.
Facilitator’s Guide Online
The Common Core State Standards and Essential Standards 2011 Summer Institute Facilitator's Guide is
now online. It also is being provided to all district team members on CD at the Summer Institute
trainings, along with a hard copy for each team lead.
The Guide is designed to assist district and charter teams in planning and facilitating the North Carolina
Department of Public Instruction's blended professional development initiatives for the new standards.
Materials and links in the guide, combined with the online learning modules and materials from the
Summer Institutes, provide a framework for locally-delivered professional development. The Guide can
be found at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/resources/.
MORE INFO: Yvette Stewart, Yvette.Stewart@dpi.nc.gov.
‘The Call for Change’ Credits and Update
To receive a Certificate of Completion for The Call for Change module, each team member must log in
on his/her own computer and begin the process. Please note that several activities intended for team
discussion and collaboration are embedded in the module. Local RttT Coordinators should identify the
time and location a team should meet to complete this portion. Once the discussion or activity is
completed as a team, each team member is to resume working individually.
To take this online module, go to https://center.ncsu.edu/nc and follow the instructions. Once you are
logged in, click on the link to New Standards, which lists all courses. Then click on The Call for Change
course and enroll. Be sure you have updated your Web Browser and have the latest version of Flash
in order to effectively view videos. ALSO, please note that the spelling of the word “enrol” is the result
of the usage of an international platform on which the modules are built and, as such, is correct.
New modules are still under development and will be accessible for LEA use by late summer. MORE
INFO: Tracey Greggs, Tracey.Greggs@dpi.nc.gov
Coming This Fall: Phase 2 Instructional Tools
You’ve seen the Common Core State and North Carolina Essential Standards Crosswalks, Understanding
Standards document (http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_ELA Standards.pdf), and of
course, The Call for Change online module mentioned above. These were Phase 1 Instructional Tools for
the new standards. The NCDPI staff now is designing and developing new Phase 2 tools to assist
educators as they transition to and implement the new standards. The new Phase 2 instructional tools will
be launched in the fall of 2011-summer of 2012. We will provide you information on these tools as they
are crafted.
MORE INFO: Tracey Greggs, Tracey.Greggs@dpi.nc.gov