June 2012 ***SPECIAL NOTE: The RttT Weekly Update has become the RttT Monthly Update for June, July and August. Next edition: July 25. Weekly publication will resume in September. If you know someone who would like to be on this listserv, 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, department or website. For questions, concerns or technical assistance, please email the appropriate contact(s) directly. Thanks! ***LINKS: Depending on your device, 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 here: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/rttt/updates/ NEW THIS MONTH  2012 Summer Institutes Off to Great Start – Certificate Info  Future‐Ready Core Course of Study Mathematics Graduation Requirements  K‐2 Mathematics Assessment  ACT/PLAN Instructional Support Workshops  North Carolina RtI Model Moves to Three‐Tier  New Quick Reference Guides Help Educators Plan for New Standards  Instructional Improvement System (IIS) Update  IIS Resource Consortium (IIS RC) IN CASE YOU MISSED IT  North Carolina Receives NCLB Waivers NEW THIS MONTH 2012 Summer Institutes Off to Great Start – Certificate Info The 2012 Summer Institutes got off to a great start at Enka High School in Buncombe County on June 21 and 22, with more than 400 participants who were fully engaged and excited about preparing for implementation in August. If you attended the 2012 Summer Institutes you should have received a brief message and link to the post‐Institute survey by email at the end of Day 2, or you may have accessed the survey through the QR codes posted around the school. In case you happened NOT to have received an email, the link to the survey is available on the NC Education site. This link allows you to submit feedback on your overall experience and gives you access to your Certificate of Completion. You may take the final survey and download your Certificate of Completion by logging on to NC Education at http://center.ncsu.edu/nc and completing Step 5 in the 2012 Summer Institutes course. Please complete the post‐Institute survey within 10 days of your attendance at the Summer Institute. Attendance is taken at every location and your initials are necessary on both days to access the certificate. Thanks for your feedback. MORE INFO: For general questions regarding the Summer Institutes, please contact you school or district’s Race to the Top coordinator, or Yvette Stewart, yvette.stewart@dpi.nc.edu. For questions regarding attendance, please contact Beth Ann Williams, beth.williams@dpi.nc.gov. For issues concerning NC Education, please contact the Help Desk, ncdesk@ncsu.edu. Future‐Ready Core Course of Study Mathematics Graduation Requirements There are a number of changes to the Future‐Ready Mathematics Graduation Requirements for the 2012‐13 school year. The document’s first page provides an overview of these changes. Of particular note is clarification of the lab requirement for MAT courses (#6) and the mathematics credit for CTE courses for students in the substitution pathway (#11). The chart may be found at http://maccss.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/Policy+Information. MORE INFO: Barbara Bissell, barbara.bissell@dpi.nc.gov. You may also share your comments at feedback@dpi.nc.gov K‐2 Mathematics Assessment In response to North Carolina legislative and State Board requirements, the NC Department of Public Instruction provides Local Education Agencies with state‐developed assessments to be implemented for kindergarten, first and second grades. These assessments include documented, ongoing individualized assessments throughout the year and a summative evaluation at the end of the year. Local Education Agencies may use these assessment instruments as presented, or use adaptations of these instruments, or they may adopt unique assessments. The newly revised K‐2 Mathematics Formative Assessment Tasks and the K‐2 Mathematics Administration Manual are available at http://maccss.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/. A mid‐year benchmark assessment and end‐of‐year summative assessment will be provided to district directors this fall. MORE INFO: Barbara Bissell, at Barbara.bissell@dpi.nc.gov, or Amy Scrinzi, amy.scrinzi@dpi.nc.gov. ACT/PLAN Instructional Support Workshops The ACT Instructional Support Workshops (ISWs) are being offered throughout North Carolina in coordination with ACT, NCDPI and the State RESAs. The workshops will be conducted by ACT staff. Target audiences include ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies teachers, curriculum specialists and school/district level administrators. The focus of these programs is to provide best practices for the use of data from PLAN and ACT assessments to improve student success through teaching and learning tied to ACT's College and Career Readiness Standards. Topics/activities include:  How to best use data from the student and school‐based PLAN and ACT reports to improve classroom instruction; • Understanding the structure and content of each assessment in PLAN and the ACT with hands‐on activities; and, • Review of resources from ACT to use in developing instructional strategies. Training schedule is as follows: ‐
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Northeast RESA (Region 1): August 10, 8:30 am to 1pm, Washington Convention Center, Washington Southeast RESA (Region 2): August 13 & 14, 8:30 am to 1 pm, Lois Britt Agricultural Service Center, Kenansville Central Carolina RESA (Region 3): August 8, 8:30 am to 1 pm, Central Carolina RESA, Raleigh Sandhills RESA (Region 4): August 15 and 16, 9 am to 1:30 pm, Cumberland County Educational Resource Center Piedmont RESA (Region 5): August 7, 8:30 am to 1 pm, Village Inn, Clemmons Southwest RESA (Region 6): August 6 and August 17, 8:30 am to 1 pm, UNC‐Charlotte Northwest RESA (Region 7): August 2, 8:30 am to 1 pm, Holiday Inn Express, Wilkesboro Western RESA (Region 8): August 1, 8:30 am to 1 pm, Western RESA, Candler, NC RESA directors will send registration information for this training soon. MORE INFO: Please contact your RESA office, or Johnny Wilson, johnny.wilson@dpi.nc.gov North Carolina RtI Model Moves to Three‐Tier As announced earlier this year, North Carolina’s Responsiveness to Instruction (RtI) Model will transition from that of a four‐tier model to a three‐tier model. Training begins this summer and will place a stronger emphasis on using data within a problem‐solving model to make improved instructional decisions within the foundational core curricula at Tier I. RtI in North Carolina emphasizes a school improvement model that streamlines initiatives and ensures that students are college and career ready. MORE INFO: Visit the RtI display at the 2012 Summer Institutes, or contact Dr. Maria Pitre‐Martin, maria.pitremartin@dpi.nc.gov. For information on upcoming training, please contact Angie Parrish, angie.parrish@dpi.nc.gov. New Quick Reference Guides Help Educators Plan for New Standards The Quick Reference Guides for The North Carolina Standard Course of Study, available in sets for K‐5 or 6‐8, serve as resources for teachers as they plan instruction to implement the North Carolina Standard Course of Study across multiple disciplines. The Reference Guides contain the standards and objectives for all of the Common Core State Standards, North Carolina Essential Standards and North Carolina Extended Content Standards. The inclusion of standards for all subject areas within single, grade‐specific documents is intended to make planning for instruction more efficient. This may be particularly useful for grade‐level teachers teaching multiple disciplines or teams of teachers collaborating to plan integrated instruction. The order numbers and prices are as follows: IS175, 2012, $25 (K‐5); IS176, 2012, $15 (6‐8). You may order these publications at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/publications/ MORE INFO: Elaine Darby, elaine.darby@dpi.nc.gov Instructional Improvement System (IIS) Update To support the teaching of the new Common Core Standards, NCDPI’s goal is to provide districts with an Instructional Improvement System (IIS) that will improve and personalize student learning. The IIS will facilitate the teaching process by providing all North Carolina districts and schools with increased access to high quality resources and timely and relevant information and data to improve instruction. We have issued a request for proposal (RFP) to hire a vendor to provide an IIS technology solution that aligns to the vision, goals, and specifications that were developed and vetted with stakeholders last year. Proposals have been received and the evaluation process is under way. A pilot of the IIS is scheduled to begin in 2013 with phased rollout during the 2013‐14 school year. As a project of Race to the Top, the IIS is slated to be fully deployed by the end of the grant period in August 2014. The IIS is an exciting and innovative move for our state to a “one‐stop‐shop” solution for improving instruction. MORE INFO: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/improvement/, or send questions/comments to IIS_READY@dpi.nc.gov, or contact Dr. Sarah McManus at sarah.mcmanus@dpi.nc.gov. IIS Resource Consortium (IIS RC) To prepare for the Instructional Improvement System, LEAs/charter schools are working together in the IIS Resource Consortium (IIS RC) to gather local resources (e.g., unit plans, assessment items) that can be shared statewide through the IIS. The Consortium comprises members from all eight educational regions, representing small, medium and large LEAs/charter schools. It is focused on resources from the following areas: instruction/learning, assessment, professional development and talent management/educator evaluation. The LEA chair of the consortium is Jason Atkinson of Hoke County Schools. The LEA leads are James Overman of Wake County for Instruction/Learning, Todd Wirt of Mooresville Graded School District for Assessment and Jan Richardson of Charlotte‐MecklenburgSchools for Talent Management/Educator Evaluation. The lead for Professional Development will soon be named. The Consortium presently has an additional 25 LEA/charter school members. The IIS RC is currently in its formative stage and is addressing procedures for the group to identify and share resources across the state. Recently, the Consortium has been considering the process of how initial data will be gathered in order to inventory the resources available that might be included in the IIS. Several IIS RC members have suggested processes they follow to collect and vet materials that may be used as a beginning point for the development of procedures. The IIS RC meets monthly. MORE INFO: IIS_READY@dpi.nc.gov, or Dr. LaVerne Weldon, laverne.weldon@dpi.nc.gov. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT North Carolina Receives NCLB Waivers North Carolina is one of eight states receiving flexibility waivers from key provisions of No Child Left Behind in exchange for state‐developed plans to prepare all students for college and career, focus aid on the neediest students, and support effective teaching and leadership. US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the new round of waiver approvals on Tuesday. To date, 19 states have received waiver approval, and another 18 waiver plans are under review. This decision comes after several months of peer reviews and negotiation with the US Department of Education. Through this process, North Carolina education leaders clarified information provided in support of its waivers and adjusted some elements of the state’s plan. The waiver process allows states important flexibility that they need in order to move forward with efforts to improve schools and support opportunities to close achievement gaps and improve learning for students. North Carolina’s waivers allow the state to move away from the Adequate Yearly Progress measure that is an “all or nothing” measure. Many felt the AYP process unfairly labeled schools for missing one or two targets among many and provided disincentives to states that wanted to implement new accountability models, more rigorous standards and other improvements. You can read more about this at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/newsroom/news/2011‐12/20120530‐
01 MORE INFO: Vanessa Jeter, Vanessa.jeter@dpi.nc.gov