Wednesday, May 16, 2012 RttT Weekly Update will be on vacation next week! Next Edition: May 30 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 WEEK  READY Outreach Meeting Posted Online  Education Evaluation System Lockdown  Teacher Evaluation Training Alert  Race to the Top: Taking Stock of North Carolina’s Progress IN CASE YOU MISSED IT  NC FALCON Webinar: Common Core State Standards as Learning Targets  NC FALCON Formative Assessment Series Webinar Now Online  Webinar: RttT Procurement and Contracting  NC Educator Evaluation Assistance Wiki and Webinars  UPDATED Professional Development Dates and Locations for May NEW THIS WEEK READY Outreach Meeting Posted Online NCDPI hosted READY Regional Outreach meetings across the state in February and March, as part of the READY Initiative to ensure that educators are prepared for the many changes coming to NC’s public schools this fall. These meetings were attended mostly by principals and lead teachers, along with superintendents and communications directors. The Regional 3 meeting at NC State University’s McKimmon Center on March 12 was recorded to give everyone a chance to have access to the information that was shared. This is now available on iTunesU. The video is segmented according to topics covered, and can be accessed at http://itunes.apple.com/itunes‐u/ready/id415314572. MORE INFO: Michael Yarbrough, michael.yarbrough@dpi.nc.gov Education Evaluation System Lockdown The online Educator Evaluation System will close for the 2011‐12 school year on June 30 for all teacher, assistant principal and principal evaluations. Note: This is a change from last year. The system must be locked down at this time in order to compile the data for state and federal reporting requirements. All aspects of the evaluation process must be completed in the online tool prior to June 30. It is important for all educators to be aware of this deadline. Please remind them of this deadline. MORE INFO: Lynne Johnson, lynne.johnson@dpi.nc.gov. Teacher Evaluation Training Alert Kim Simmons, kimberly.simmons@dpi.nc.gov, has joined the Educator Recruitment and Development staff as the North Carolina Educator Evaluation Consultant to lead our team in the training process. Kim has experience as a principal and professional development leader. All LEAs have FREE access to Kim Simmons, Eliz Colbert, Robert Sox and the PD Leads in your district. Training by these individual is free; at no cost to you. PD Leads are identified here at this link: www.ncpublicschools.org/profdev/directory. Face‐to‐face and online training occurs frequently in your region, and you have the option to customize your training. It has come to our attention at the agency that outside vendors are hired to assist you with your training. Please be advised that many of these vendors are neither trained on our current online system nor the inclusion of Standards 6 and 8. Please take advantage of ensuring you are observing and evaluating your teachers in with accuracy and fidelity. MORE INFO: Lynne C. Johnson, lynne.johnson@dpi.nc.gov Race to the Top: Taking Stock of North Carolina’s Progress State Superintendent June Atkinson and other state education leaders attended North Carolina's annual “stock‐take” meeting with US Department of Education (USED) Secretary Arne Duncan on May 7 in Washington, DC. This meeting focused on the progress the department has made toward the implementation of new standards, assessments and more in North Carolina public schools this fall. All of this work is supported by North Carolina’s Race to the Top grant, which provides $400 million to support school improvement and was awarded by the USED in 2010. Secretary Duncan and his team commended the state for taking the lead in reaching educators across North Carolina with information concerning the new Common Core State Standards and Essential Standards, a new accountability model and a refined Educator Effectiveness System. Secretary Duncan and his team also noted: • A major boost in professional development for educators around the new standards. Summer Institutes held in 2011 and scheduled for this summer have reached thousands of principals and lead teachers. The NCDPI is providing support to local school districts to ensure that this is replicated at the individual school level. In addition, multiple online modules are in place to help teachers prepare for the new Common Core. • Progress toward the development of new assessments. North Carolina is on track to have online tools that will simplify how students are tested and produce data that will determine areas for improvement much more quickly. • Thoughtful planning of a new Instructional Improvement System. The NCDPI is working with a number of partners to create a new data system that measures student success and informs teachers, principals and policymakers about how they can improve the delivery of educational services to students. Proposals for building this system are being reviewed, and vendor selections are expected in the next several months. • Building support for a new educator evaluation system. A new evaluation system for educators that incorporates student growth as one of six factors and involved input from teachers and principals will give a more accurate view of classroom effectiveness. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT NC FALCON Webinar: Common Core State Standards as Learning Targets Surry County teachers have written Common Core State Standards as Learning Targets based on NC FALCON principles and they want to share how they did it! Join Associate Superintendent Pat Widdowson and educators from Dobson Elementary School – Principal Jan Varney, and teachers Nicole Hazelwood and Lori Beasley – to learn more about how the entire school district in Surry County prepared for this big event. The teachers will share their experiences using learning targets and gathering evidences of success in their classrooms. Title: NC FALCON Webinar No. 3 ‐ Learning Targets for Common Core Standards Date: Thursday, May 17, 2012 Time: 3:30 pm ‐ 4:30 pm Space is limited, so please reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/241515225 After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar. System Requirements For PC‐based attendees, Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server. For Macintosh®‐based attendees, Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer. MORE INFO: Carmella Fair, Carmella.fair@dpi.nc.gov NC FALCON Formative Assessment Series Webinar Now Online A recorded version of the Collecting Evidence of Student Learning webinar, which originally aired live on April 27, has been posted in NC FALCON under additional resources. The presentation used by Amanda Horne during the webinar is also posted in this location. Go to NC FALCON through NC Education at http://center.ncsu.edu/nc MORE INFO: Carmella Fair, Carmella.fair@dpi.nc.gov Webinar: RttT Procurement and Contracting On Thursday, May 31, NCDPI will offer a webinar on RttT procurement and contracting for LEA and Charter School RttT Leads and Finance Officers. This will be an opportunity to review some of the common findings from the OSBM audits as well as answer any outstanding questions you may have. We will hold two sessions, one in the morning from 10 to 11 a.m. and one in the afternoon from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Please make arrangements to attend either session by registering at one of the links below. 
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Morning Session (10:00‐11:00 a.m.): https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/643112617 Afternoon Session (3:30‐4:30 p.m.): https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/325374128 In addition, please submit any questions related to RttT procurement and contracting to RacetotheTop@dpi.nc.gov by Monday, May 21. Please include, “RttT Procurement Webinar Question” in the subject line of the email. We will use your questions to create the agenda for the webinar. MORE INFO: Eric Thanos, eric.thanos@dpi.nc.gov NC Educator Evaluation Assistance Wiki and Webinars In an effort to provide a high degree of support for administrators and district leaders, the Educator Recruitment and Development Division has established a wiki that contains many helpful resources to address and support the various phases of the North Carolina Educator Evaluation System. You may access the wiki at the following link: http://ncees.ncdpi.wikispaces.net Please take advantage of our upcoming webinars on the North Carolina Educator Evaluation System. They are as follows: Rating Observations and Evaluations – This webinar will help users better understand the differences between the rating
on the rubric, provide some evidences to base decisions on, and offer suggestions for how to talk with teachers and administrators about their ratings. The target audience is teachers, assistant principals, principals, and their evaluators. The webinar will be held on Thursday, May 17 from 3 to 5 pm, and can be accessed at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/903519713. Creating an Effective Professional Development Plan – This webinar will review the requirements for the Professional Development Plan and discuss the three types: individual, monitored, and directed. Participants will practice writing measurable goals and the process for reviewing the PDP during the school year will be shared. The target audience is teachers, administrators, and HR staff members. The webinar will be held on Monday, May 21 from 4 to 6 pm, and can be accessed at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/629425865. Creating Effective Summary Goal Forms ‐ This webinar will review the requirements for the Summary Goal Form and the process for development. Strategies for writing measurable goals will also be discussed. The target audience is teachers, administrators, and Human Resource staff members. May 29 3:30‐5:30 PM https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/588519761
June 4 9‐11 AM https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/955848833 You may also view this information at: http://ncees.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/Upcoming+Webinars MORE INFO: Lynne Johnson, lynne.johnson@dpi.nc.gov, or Eliz Colbert, Elizabeth.Colbert@dpi.nc.gov. UPDATED Professional Development Dates and Locations for May 16 ‐ Teacher Effectiveness Vetting/New Accountability Model Meetings, Sandhills RESA (Fayetteville State University, Shaw Auditorium) 17 ‐ Teacher Effectiveness Vetting/New Accountability Model Meetings, PTEC (Room 1, Special Events Center, Greensboro Coliseum) 18 ‐ Teacher Effectiveness Vetting/New Accountability Model Meetings, WRESA 30 ‐ Teacher Effectiveness Vetting/New Accountability Model Meetings, NERESA (NC Tele Center, Williamston) MORE INFO: Yvette Stewart, yvette.stewart@dpi.nc.gov