December
5,
2012
NEW
THIS
WEEK
•
IIS
Becomes
Home
Base
•
Home
Base
Resource
Consortium
•
Student
Ownership
of
Learning
Pilot
Announced
•
NC
Education
Online
Modules
•
Speak
Up
2012
Survey
Reminder
•
New
and
Improved
ELA
Newsletter
IN
CASE
YOU
MISSED
IT
•
Reminder:
Assessment
Specifications
for
Common
Exams
Posted
to
Web
•
Mid‐Year
Mathematics
Benchmark
Assessments
and
Administration
Manual
•
Leadership
Academy
Members
Present
at
National
Conference
•
Chief
Technology
Officer
Certification
Program
NEW
THIS
WEEK
IIS
Becomes
Home
Base
Imagine
that
you
come
to
work
each
day,
go
to
your
computer
or
other
device
and
log
in
one
time
to
access
all
of
the
technology‐based
tools
that
you
need
in
your
work
for
and
with
students
each
day.
That
would
be
one
log‐in
for
tasks
such
as
attendance
and
grades,
instructional
resources,
digital
textbooks
and
digital
storage
for
student
work
and
other
items.
Imagine
that
the
data
side
of
your
technology
tools
would
connect
to
the
instructional
side
of
your
tools,
better
enabling
you
to
target
materials
to
meet
the
specific
needs
of
each
student.
That
is
the
goal
of
Home
Base,
North
Carolina's
comprehensive
instructional
improvement
system
that
will
include
both
instructional
resources
and
also
PowerSchool,
the
replacement
for
NC
WISE.
Home
Base
is
the
new
name
for
what
was
formerly
known
as
the
Instructional
Improvement
System
(IIS).
The
Home
Base
website
is
now
available
at
www.ncpublicschools.org/homebase.
Please
register
at
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/311685824
to
attend
the
Dec.
11
Home
Base
Introductory
Teacher
Webinar
from
3:30
to
4:30
p.m.
MORE
INFO:
Please
send
questions
to
Home_Base_Ready@dpi.nc.gov.
Home
Base
Resource
Consortium
NCDPI’s
Learning
Systems
Division
hosted
a
day‐and‐a‐half
rubric
training
on
Oct.
30
and
31
as
part
of
the
overall
plan
to
leverage
existing
resources
in
local
districts
and
schools.
Twenty‐five
participants
from
11
LEAs
and
schools,
all
members
of
the
Home
Base
Resource
Consortium,
attended
the
training,
which
was
facilitated
by
members
of
the
Achieve
staff.
The
NCDPI
has
partnered
with
Achieve
in
finding
Open
Education
Resources
(OER)
for
Home
Base.
To
this
end,
we
have
adopted
the
OER
rubrics
to
identify
resources
that
are
aligned
to
the
Common
Core
State
Standards
and
the
NC
Essential
Standards.
Training
on
these
rubrics
will
ensure
that
the
resources
submitted
by
LEAs
and
schools
are
aligned
and
are
of
high
quality,
which
is
the
criterion
for
all
resources
for
Home
Base.
At
the
Home
Base
Resource
Consortium
meeting
on
Nov.
27,
participants
reported
that
they
had
begun
to
apply
what
they
learned
during
the
rubric
training
in
the
following
ways:
‐ to
review
their
resources
for
submission
to
Home
Base;
‐ to
create
future
lessons;
and
‐ to
train
other
district/school
staff
on
how
to
use
the
rubrics.
Staff
members
would
like
to
thank
the
following
counties/schools
for
their
participation
in
the
rubric
training
and
for
their
willingness
to
provide
quality
content
for
Home
Base:
Alamance‐
Burlington
Schools,
Asheboro
City
Schools,
Charlotte‐Mecklenburg
Schools,
Cleveland
County
Schools,
Guilford
County
Schools,
Hoke
County
Schools,
Jones
County
Schools,
Union
County
Schools,
Wake
County
Schools,
Wayne
County
Schools
and
the
NC
School
of
Science
and
Mathematics.
MORE
INFO:
Sarah
McManus,
Learning
Systems,
sarah.mcmanus@dpi.nc.gov
Student
Ownership
of
Learning
Pilot
Announced
More
than
80
NC
FALCON
Coordinators
attended
a
webinar
on
Wednesday,
Nov.
14,
where
the
Student
Ownership
of
Learning
Module
was
one
of
the
items
discussed.
The
module
was
developed
for
students
as
a
way
to
help
them
understand
the
formative
assessment
process
and
how
they
can
take
responsibility
for
their
own
learning.
The
module
is
presented
in
the
context
of
a
racing
game
with
comparisons
between
learning
to
drive
a
racecar
and
learning
in
the
classroom.
NC
FALCON
Coordinators
will
select
teachers
across
the
state
to
voluntarily
pilot
the
student
module.
Support
materials
will
be
available
to
assist
teachers
during
the
pilot.
The
statewide
pilot
of
the
module
will
begin
in
January.
MORE
INFO:
Carmella
Fair,
Learning
Systems,
carmella.fair@dpi.nc.gov
NC
Education
Online
Modules
The
NCDPI
released
nine
new
online
modules
(Phase
II
Modules)
as
a
means
of
providing
professional
development
that
is
flexible
and
can
be
used
by
districts
and
charter
school
teams
in
ways
that
best
suit
their
needs
in
June
2012.
Combined
with
the
six
Phase
I
Modules
released
in
June
2011,
there
are
a
total
of
15
NCDPI
modules
available
through
NC
Education.
To
access
the
modules,
please
visit
https://center.ncsu.edu/nc/course/category.php?id=33281
and
click
on
the
links
under
Professional
Development.
Contact
your
local
data
managers
for
username
and
password
information.
First
time
users
or
non‐LEA
educators
must
first
create
an
NC
Education
account.
Click
the
“Login”
link
and
follow
the
steps.
For
additional
information
about
the
modules,
enrollment
information,
and
strategies
for
implementation,
please
refer
to
the
Phase
II
Online
Module
Implementation
Guide
at
http://rt3nc.org/pubs/implementation_guide_2012.pdf.
MORE
INFO:
Geetanjali
Soni,
RttT
Instructional
Design
Team
Lead,
geetanjali.soni@dpi.nc.gov
Speak
Up
2012
Survey
Reminder
Speak
Up
is
a
national
initiative
of
Project
Tomorrow
(formerly
known
as
NetDay).
Since
fall
2003,
the
annual
Speak
Up
project
has
collected
and
reported
on
the
views
of
2.6
million
K‐12
students,
teachers,
administrators
and
parents
representing
more
than
23,000
schools
in
all
50
states.
The
Speak
Up
National
Research
Project
dataset
represents
the
largest
collection
of
authentic,
unfiltered
stakeholder
input
on
education,
technology,
21st
century
skills,
schools
of
the
future
and
science
and
math
instruction.
Education,
business
and
policy
leaders
report
using
the
data
regularly
to
inform
federal,
state
and
local
education
programs.
Register
for
your
school's
survey
at
http://www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2012
MORE
INFO:
http://it.ncwiseowl.org/resources/speak_up2012/,
or
email
Ouida
Myers,
Instructional
Technology,
ouida.myers@dpi.nc.gov.
New
and
Improved
ELA
Newsletter
The
English
Language
Arts
Newsletter
has
a
new
look!
Check
out
the
latest
edition
on
informational
texts.
Sign
up
on
the
listserves
to
receive
future
news!
Click
here
to
view
the
ELA
Scoop:
http://simplebooklet.com/publish.php?wpKey=6qyK2QPzeroOV1v3fUfem3#wpKey=6qyK2QPzer
oOV1v3fUfem3#page=0
MORE
INFO:
Julie
Joslin,
K‐12
English
Language
Arts,
julie.joslin@dpi.nc.gov
IN
CASE
YOU
MISSED
IT
Reminder:
Assessment
Specifications
for
Common
Exams
Posted
to
Web
Teachers
can
access
the
assessment
specifications
for
the
high
school
common
exams
on
the
Educator
Effectiveness
website.
The
specifications
provide
information
on
the
standards
within
a
course,
how
heavily
each
is
weighted
on
the
common
exam
and
which
question
types
will
be
used
to
assess
each
standard.
Specifications
for
the
middle
school
and
upper
elementary
school
common
exams
will
be
posted
in
the
coming
months.
To
find
the
assessment
specifications,
please
visit
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/educatoreffect/measures/specifications/.
MORE
INFO:
educatoreffectiveness@dpi.nc.gov
Mid‐Year
Mathematics
Benchmark
Assessments
and
Administration
Manual
In
response
to
North
Carolina
Legislative
and
State
Board
requirements,
the
NCDPI
provides
Local
Education
Agencies
with
state‐developed
assessments
to
be
implemented
for
kindergarten,
first
and
second
grades.
These
state‐developed
assessment
materials
are
aligned
with
the
Common
Core
State
Standards
for
Mathematics
and
may
be
adopted
or
modified
as
appropriate,
or
local
districts
may
adopt
unique
assessments
for
individual
school
districts.
Elementary
mathematics
district
leaders
have
received
the
Mid‐Year
Mathematics
Benchmark
Assessments
and
an
Administration
Manual
for
kindergarten,
first
and
second
grades.
NCDPI
appreciates
any
suggestions
and
feedback,
which
will
help
improve
this
resource.
MORE
INFO:
Feedback
and
questions
may
be
sent
to
the
NCDPI
Mathematics
Consultant,
Kitty
Rutherford
kitty.rutherford@dpi.nc.gov
Leadership
Academy
Members
Present
at
National
Conference
A
team
representing
the
Piedmont
Triad
Leadership
Academy
attended
the
University
Council
for
Educational
Administration
(UCEA)
Conference
in
Denver,
Colorado
Nov.
15‐18.
Joining
the
Northeast
Leadership
Academy
and
the
Sandhills
Leadership
Academy,
PTLA
leaders
presented
their
principal
preparation
story
in
the
conference
session:
Just
Getting
Started:
Lessons
From
Race
to
the
Top
Funded
School
Leaders.
The
session
provided
an
opportunity
for
recent
graduates
from
North
Carolina's
three
Race
to
the
Top
funded
Regional
Leadership
Academies
to
engage
each
other
and
the
audience
in
a
guided
discussion
about
critical
issues
new
principals
in
high‐poverty
schools
face
and
how
leadership
programs
can
best
prepare
leaders.
Representing
the
Piedmont
Triad
Leadership
Academy
were
PTLA
graduates
Jusmar
Maness
and
Shadonna
Gunn,
along
with
UNC‐
Greensboro
professor
and
PTLA
Academy
Coordinator
Dr.
Craig
Peck
and
PTLA
Executive
Director
Anna
Brady.
Jusmar
Maness
is
the
assistant
principal
of
Southern
Guilford
Middle
School
in
Guilford
County
Schools.
Shadonna
Gunn
is
the
assistant
principal
of
Eastlawn
Elementary
School
in
the
Alamance‐Burlington
School
System.
MORE
INFO:
Freda
Lee,
Teacher
and
Leader
Preparation,
freda.lee@dpi.nc.gov
Chief
Technology
Officer
Certification
Program
NC
READY
relies
upon
the
strength
of
technology
to
build
a
platform
to
support
the
remodeling
of
our
state's
K‐12
public
schools.
Technology
is
an
integral
component
of
education
and
requires
district
and
school
leaders
to
possess
the
knowledge
and
skills
to
ensure
they
are
using
it
in
the
most
effective
and
productive
ways
possible.
As
our
state
makes
this
digital
transition,
superintendents,
CTOs
and
technology
directors
face
unique
challenges.
The
NC
Certified
Educational
Chief
Technology
Officer
certification
program
(CeCTO)
is
an
exciting
and
dynamic
program
that
features
two
components
–
one
for
superintendents
and
one
for
technology
directors.
Instruction
for
the
CeCTO
course
covers
topics
such
as
strategic
technology
planning,
communications,
project
management,
emerging
trends,
risk
assessment
and
management,
acquisition
management,
change
management,
leadership,
security,
legal
issues,
and
financial
trends.
More
than
82
LEAs
and
charter
schools
have
already
participated
and
have
benefited
from
the
program.
For
the
2012‐13
year,
NCDPI
will
cover
registration
costs.
Travel
costs
are
the
responsibility
of
the
LEA
or
charter
school.
The
application
process
can
be
found
online
at
the
link
below.
Please
be
sure
to
follow
the
application
directions
listed
on
the
top
right
corner
of
the
webpage.
The
application
deadline
is
Dec.
21.
If
you
have
additional
questions
please
contact
Maurice
Ferrell
at
mferrell@sog.unc.edu
or
Shannon
Tufts
at
tufts@sog.unc.edu.
Application
website:
http://www.sog.unc.edu/node/1082
MORE
INFO:
Neill
Kimrey,
Digital
Teaching
and
Learning,
neill.kimrey@dpi.nc.gov
RACE
TO
THE
TOP
WEEKLY
UPDATE
INFO
If
you
know
someone
who
would
like
to
be
on
this
list,
please
send
their
email
address(es)
to
Michael.Yarbrough@dpi.nc.gov.
***PLEASE
NOTE:
Each
entry
in
this
Weekly
Update
features
the
email
address
of
at
least
one
contact
person,
department
or
website.
For
questions,
concerns
or
technical
assistance,
please
email
the
appropriate
contact(s)
directly.
Thanks!
***LINKS:
PC
users
might
need
to
press
the
CTRL
button
when
clicking
on
a
hyperlink
in
this
document.
Archived
Race
to
the
Top
Weekly
Updates
are
available
online
at:
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/rttt/updates/