Wednesday, February 1, 2012 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! Archived Race to the Top Weekly Updates are available here: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/rttt/updates/ NEW THIS WEEK • READY Regional Outreach Meetings for Principals, Teachers • ARRA Compliance Reminder • Regional Wikispaces • PLAN Interpreting Student Data Training • Professional Development Survey IN CASE YOU MISSED IT • Professional Development Dates for February NEW THIS WEEK READY Regional Outreach Meetings for Principals, Teachers Beginning on Feb. 28 and throughout most of March, key leaders from NCDPI will travel to all eight regions of our state to meet with principals and a teacher representative from each school in the state. The purpose is to share with them our effort to remodel NC’s system of public schools. The last time we held meetings of similar scope was during the early years of the ABCs of Public Education. Now, with the advent of a new school accountability model, a new Standard Course of Study and so many other advances for North Carolina, we feel that it is critical that principals and teachers fully understand what these changes are and how the changes will affect their work. The focus of our meetings will be around illustrating how all these components fit together to support educators as they work to promote student achievement for North Carolina students. We have invited every principal in the state, one teacher of the principal’s choosing, the local superintendents and the local communications directors to these meetings. Many of you who do not fall into one of the above categories have requested to attend. While we would very much like to accommodate everyone, the limited space in our venues prevents this. This is an effort to provide fair and equitable communication about the significant changes coming this fall to as many school-­‐level professionals as possible. There will be follow-­‐up webinars in April that will allow for greater participation (you will receive more information on this), and one of the sessions will be videotaped for posting on the website. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. MORE INFO: Vanessa Jeter, Vanessa.Jeter@dpi.nc.gov Regional Wikispaces Below are links to each regional resource page created by the NCDPI RttT PD Leads designed to share information and support the work of the district/charter PD teams. This information is shared and compiled as a result of the training sessions, individual virtual conferences, district/charter team meetings and more that are held in each region. Please take advantage of these resources and feel free to contact the RttT PD Leads for additional information. •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Region 1: http://region1rttt.ncdpi.wikispaces.net Region 2: http://NCRegion2.ncdpi.wikispaces.net Region 3: http://region3pd.ncdpi.wikispaces.net Region 4: http://rt3region4.ncdpi.wikispaces.net Region 5: http://franharrisburke.ncdpi.wikispaces.net Region 6: http://region6pd.ncdpi.wikispaces.net Region 7: http://rt3region7.ncdpi.wikispaces.net Region 8: http://region8wnc.ncdpi.wikispaces.net MORE INFO: Yvette Stewart, Yvette.Stewart@dpi.nc.gov ARRA Compliance Reminder As we continue into Year 2 Race to the Top implementation, it is important that everyone be reminded that RttT funds are American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. Therefore, NCDPI and all local school districts and charter schools receiving RttT funding must comply with ARRA requirements. The attached document is a list of ARRA requirements. We encourage you to keep these handy and share with your finance officials to ensure total compliance statewide. MORE INFO: Sam Fuller, Samiel.Fuller@dpi.nc.gov PLAN Interpreting Student Data Training Monday, February 6 kicks off the regional trainings for Interpreting Student Data on the PLAN assessment. Each district is encouraged to send representatives to this training. Please reference the attached document to see when and where your regional training will be. The training will provide guidance on how to effectively interpret the PLAN student report in order to communicate to students, teachers, and parents areas for academic improvement and career planning. To register, please contact the RESA director. MORE INFO: Tracey Greggs, Tracey.Greggs@dpi.nc.gov Professional Development Survey The Race to the Top evaluation team is interested in gathering your feedback on the online professional development learning modules and resources provided by NCDPI. The short questionnaire (8-­‐12 items) can be accessed by clicking on the following link: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22EEFUGSDH4. Thank you in advance for your participation! MORE INFO: Jeni Corn, Director of Evaluation Program, Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at NC State University, (919) 513-­‐8527 or jocorn@ncsu.edu. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Professional Development Dates for February (All sessions are 9 am to 4 pm UNLESS otherwise noted) 6 – Teacher Effectiveness Vetting/New Accountability Model Meetings, SWRESA (UNCC Barnhardt Student Activities center 334A and B) 7 – Teacher Effectiveness Vetting/New Accountability Model Meetings, Sandhills RESA (Fayetteville State University) 17 – Teacher Effectiveness Vetting/New Accountability Model Meetings, PTEC (Room 1, Special Events Center, Greensboro Coliseum) 13 – Teacher Effectiveness Vetting/New Accountability Model Meetings, SERESA (Mad Boar-­‐
Celtic Court) 16 – Sci and SS Essential Standards PD for LEA/Charter Leadership Teams, WRESA 16 – K-­‐12 Programs Arts Education (Dance, Music Theatre Arts, ESL, Healthful Living [Physical Education, Health Education] and World Languages) Essential Standards PD for LEA/Charter Leadership Teams, Sandhills RESA (Mid Pines Inn) 21 -­‐ Phase III Principal Trainings (ITES Standards), Sandhills RESA, 9 am to noon, McSwain Center, Sanford, NC 22 -­‐ Teacher Effectiveness Vetting/New Accountability Model Meetings, NERESA (Vernon James Research Center) 27 -­‐ Teacher Effectiveness Vetting/New Accountability Model Meetings, CCRESA 28 – Teacher Effectiveness Vetting/New Accountability Model Meetings, WRESA 29 – Teacher Effectiveness Vetting/New Accountability Model Meetings, NWRESA 29 -­‐ Phase III Principal Trainings (ITES Standards), Sandhills RESA, 1 to 4 pm, Cole Auditorium, Richmond Community College, Hamlet, NC