October 30, 2013 NEW THIS WEEK • Professional Development Initiative Provides Assistance to LEAs • Regional Principals Meetings Continue • Home Base Collaboration and Course Management Tool Is OpenClass: Sign Up! • Creating Text Sets • OpenClass Webinar Now Available Online; More Coming Up IN CASE YOU MISSED IT • C&I Discusses College, Career Readiness at STEM Conference • Common Core High School Mathematics Brochure Now Available • New EVAAS Resources Released • NELA Principal’s School Receives National Honor NEW THIS WEEK Professional Development Initiative Provides Assistance to LEAs The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Professional Development Initiative (PDI) builds on strong regional and statewide professional development programs and resources to provide a comprehensive, targeted system for all educators. In partnership with the Regional Education Service Alliances (RESAs), NCDPI can host professional development sessions in each of the eight regions of the state. Please refer to the online calendar for events in your region. http://www.ncpublicschools.org/profdev/calendar/ MORE INFO: Dr. Yvette Stewart, Educator Effectiveness, yvette.stewart@dpi.nc.gov, Regional Principals Meetings Continue Regional professional development sessions for principals are currently occurring in all 8 regions across the state. With the support of a grant from the national Cross-­‐
State Learning Collaborative, principals are developing their understanding of the NC Professional Teaching Standards and the Evaluation Rubric. Interactive sessions include video discussions, ratings activities and providing specific and constructive feedback to teachers. Resources and tools for interactive staff meetings are shared in these sessions. Human Resource Directors have also been invited to participate with principals. The second round of training in the spring will include crucial conversation coaching as requested by participants. Remaining meetings are as follows: • Region 2: Thursday, Oct. 31, Hilton Riverside 301 North Water St., Wilmington; • Region 3: Monday, Nov. 18, Sheraton Imperial, 4700 Emperor Blvd., Durham; • Region 6: Wednesday, Nov. 20, Speedway Club, 5555 Concord Parkway South, Concord; • Region 7: Friday, Nov. 15, Stone Center, Wilkes County Schools, 603 Cherry St., North Wilkesboro; • Region 8: Thursday, Nov. 14, Crowne Plaza, One Resort Drive, Asheville.
MORE INFO: Dr. Lynne Johnson, Educator Effectiveness, lynne.johnson@dpi.nc.gov, Home Base Collaboration and Course Management Tool Is OpenClass: Sign Up!
The NCDPI and Pearson started work with interested districts this month to set up OpenClass. Set-­‐up means ensuring roster syncing between PowerSchool and OpenClass, and that students and teachers can access OpenClass through the Home Base single sign-­‐on (the PowerSchool portal). OpenClass is a powerful online tool that is primarily a teacher tool — a flexible environment for collaboration, content delivery, feedback and collection of student work — many of the features that are included in most Learning Management Systems. The Sign-­‐Up Process: Because we are supporting set-­‐up at a district-­‐level based on interest, superintendents or their designees need to sign up (the sooner districts express interest, the sooner they’ll have access!). The link is included in an email that went to all superintendents. Additionally, the link has been posted on ASNN. After a district expresses interest, we’ll work with each district to set up OpenClass. MORE INFO: Cynthia Crowdus, Learning Systems, cynthia.crowdus@dpi.nc.gov Creating Text Sets The English Launguage Arts Section of DPI is conducting professional development sessions across the state. The topic is Creating Text Sets. This training focuses on how to choose a line of inquiry, an anchor text, and supporting texts. It is designed for K-­‐12 educators. The sessions last from 9 am to 4 pm. The remaining dates and locations are as follows: • Region 8: Thursday, Oct. 31, Asheville-­‐Buncombe Technical Community College, WRESA Campus, Asheville • Region 2: Wednesday, Nov. 6, River Landing Clubhouse, Wallace • Region 5: Friday, Nov. 8, Greensboro Coliseum • Region 1: Tuesday, Nov. 12, Vernon James Center, Plymouth MORE INFO: Teresa Parker, ELA, teresa.parker@dpi.nc.gov OpenClass Webinar Now Available Online; More Coming Up If you're eager to find out more about OpenClass, the Oct. 15 introductory webinar on OpenClass is now available for you to view online: https://vimeo.com/77076236 View it to find out how OpenClass can present course content, promote social learning to explore subjects, enhance project collaboration and involve users in active discussions. The next Introduction to OpenClass webinar, open to teachers, administrators and anyone interested, is Wednesday, Nov. 13 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., so mark your calendars. Here's the registration link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/253620104 For those Wave 1 participants who already attended the introductory session, a webinar focused on Q&A and Feedback from Training, is planned for Wednesday, Nov. 6 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. The same webinar will be repeated for Wave 2 participants who attended the introductory session. It's scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 19 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. All registration links are online at: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/homebase/training/schedule/openclass. MORE INFO: Cynthia Crowdus, Learning Systems, cynthia.crowdus@dpi.nc.gov. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT C&I Discusses College, Career Readiness at STEM Conference The NCDPI Curriculum and Instruction Services leaders recently presented at the state STEM conference: Bridging the Gap 2013, Uniting North Carolina K-­‐16 Education. The NCDPI participated on a panel that led a discussion on College and Career Readiness and ways to provide quality STEM education through delivery of the Common Core and NC Essential Standards from kindergarten through college and led a session on STEM Recognition Program. MORE INFO: Robin McCoy, K-­‐12 Curriculum and Instruction, robin.mccoy@dpi.nc.gov Common Core High School Mathematics Brochure Now Available The NCDPI Curriculum and Instruction Services math section created a brochure outlining Common Core high school mathematics courses. The brochure, Preparing North Carolina Students for College and Career Through the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM), describes the North Carolina math course sequence for high school students and explains the transition to the Math I, Math II and Math III progression. The brochures were printed by the NCDPI and distributed to LEAs for their use in communicating with parents and students. The brochure is also available on our website, at http://maccss.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/file/view/Math%20I%2C%20II%2C%20III%20Bro
chure.pdf/450355826/Math%20I%2C%20II%2C%20III%20Brochure.pdf. MORE INFO: Robin McCoy, K-­‐12 Curriculum and Instruction, robin.mccoy@dpi.nc.gov New EVAAS Resources Released As the release of 2012-­‐13 value-­‐added data continues, the NCDPI is responding to district needs through the creation of new resources. Please check the EVAAS Resources page for new resources (marked as new), as well as updated information (marked as updated). The NCDPI will release new resources throughout the next few weeks! MORE INFO: Email educatoreffectiveness@dpi.nc.gov NELA Principal’s School Receives National Honor Warren Early College High School was recently named a Top 10 school for black student performance by the North Carolina Campaign for Achievement Now (CarolinaCan). CarolinaCAN is a non-­‐profit, education policy and advocacy organization dedicated to fostering a 21st-­‐century vision for North Carolina's PreK-­‐12 public schools. Through best-­‐in-­‐class research, communications, and advocacy, they work to inform state policies that provide every North Carolina child with access to a great public school. Ryan Hurley, a graduate of the Northeast Leadership Academy, which is funded by Race to the Top, is the principal at Warren Early College. MORE INFO: http://www.carolinacan.org 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. ***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/reports/weekly