October 2, 2013 NEW THIS WEEK • Educator Effectiveness Webinars IN CASE YOU MISSED IT • NC Schools and You UNC-­‐TV Program Now Available Online • Online Assessment Updates • Honors Webinars • NCDPI 2013 Fall School Counseling Webinar Series NEW THIS WEEK Educator Effectiveness Webinars Do you have questions about Home Base? Can you carve a few hours from your week for professional development? If so, we bring the PD to you. Join us every Tuesday for a tutorial on the Educator Effectiveness online tool. For a complete list of our Tuesday webinars visit: http://ncees.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/Upcoming+Webinars The Instructional Improvement webinars are every Thursday from 3:30 to 4:30 pm. This Thursday (Oct. 3), the webinar will highlight using the IIS to build instructional capacity through the creation of and linkage to instructional material. To register for this webinar go to: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/163326432 For a complete list of Thursday webinars please visit: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/homebase/training/schedule/iis/ MORE INFO: Cynthia Martin, Educator Effectiveness, cynthia.martin@dpi.nc.gov. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT NC Schools and You UNC-­‐TV Program Now Available Online North Carolina Schools and You: What Changes in Our Schools Mean for Parents and Students – a program co-­‐produced by the NCDPI and UNC-­‐TV – is available online, at http://video.unctv.org/video/2365082029/. North Carolina Schools and You – an hour-­‐long show in a "town hall meeting" format – offers information and discussion around recent important changes in public schools and how parents can be more productively engaged in their children’s success. Specific topics include: -­‐ Teaching and Learning: What Students Are Learning and How; -­‐ Measuring Performance: New Assessments and Accountability Model; and -­‐ Parent Engagement: How Parents Can Support Learning. We encourage principals and teachers to share this information with your parents and encourage them to watch, as it serves as a great source to help you as you explain the new Standard Course of Study, testing and other changes affecting their children. In fact, the online version makes it quite convenient to view the program at staff meetings, PLCs, PTA meetings, site-­‐based team meetings and more. This could serve to foster discussion among staff, parents and partners in individual schools. A Viewer’s Guide to accompany the show was sent to superintendents, principals, teachers and supporters last week. It also has been posted on our website, www.ncpublicschools.org/ready/resources. This, also, can serve as a great resource for hosting viewing sessions, or even reading the Guide as a standalone. MORE INFO: Michael Yarbrough, Communication and Information Services, michael.yarbrough@dpi.nc.gov. Online Assessment Updates New technical requirements for 2013-­‐14 online assessments are available at http://go.ncsu.edu/nct/ (this includes support for chromebooks and information about the secure browser and other support for online testing). Additional information about state assessments for 2013-­‐14 is also available on the website at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/. MORE INFO: Please contact your Regional Accountability Coordinator (RAC) with questions. Honors Webinars Honors Webinars are scheduled each month for the LEAs in the First Cohort of the 2013-­‐14 State-­‐Level Review. The webinar schedule and additional valuable resources may be found on the Honors Implementation Wikispace at: http://honorsimplementation.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/. MORE INFO: Linda Brannan, linda.brannan@dpi.nc.gov NCDPI 2013 Fall School Counseling Webinar Series The NCDPI Race to the Top School Counseling Webinar Series is for school counselors, principals, and supervisors of school counselors. This is a series of webinars that will focus on the implementation of the new School Counselor Evaluation Instrument, Data-­‐driven Decision Making, and other important topics. Each webinar session will cover a different topic related to the school counselor evaluation instrument and pertinent to the needs of school counselors across the state. Registration links may be found on the NCDPI School Counseling Wikispace at: http://schoolcounseling.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/2013-­‐
14+Webinar+Series+for+School+Counselors MORE INFO: Linda Brannan, linda.brannan@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. ***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