May 29, 2013 NEW THIS WEEK • Dr. Atkinson Sets Stage for Fall Test Score Release • RttT Funds Cleared for Use in Home Base Expenditures • Transition to Principals’ Online Evaluation IN CASE YOU MISSED IT • Assessment Period Under Way for NC Public Schools • Public Reports on Educator Effectiveness Released • Mini-­‐Grants for Partnership Efforts among IHEs and LEAs Available NEW THIS WEEK Dr. Atkinson Sets Stage for Fall Test Score Release In her latest blog entry, State Superintendent June Atkinson sets the stage for what educators, parents and community supporters can expect when scores from the new assessments are released this fall. As we know from past experience, raising the bar on standards and issuing new assessments for them will most likely result in lower scores after the first administration. Read Dr. Atkinson’s blog entry at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/statesuperintendent/blog/ RttT Funds Cleared for Use in Home Base Expenditures LEAs and charter schools have been given the green light to use 2013-­‐14 Race to the Top funds to apply toward the $4 per student expenditure required to opt-­‐in to Home Base optional resources for the following (2014-­‐15) school year. Here’s why: NCDPI must remit the Home Base fees for 2014-­‐15 to Pearson, one of the project vendors, in advance – that is, by June 30, 2014. As such, the agency will be gathering funds from any LEAs opting in for 2014-­‐15 before the end of the 2013-­‐14 fiscal year. If an LEA or charter school, therefore, chooses to use their RttT funds in FY 2013-­‐14 to pay the 2014-­‐15 Home Base $4/student opt-­‐
in fee, they simply need to document that expenditure in their approved RttT Detailed Scope of Work (DSW). If LEAs or charters would like to reprogram funds currently slated in their DSW for other purposes to use for this purpose, they simply need to amend their DSW through the standard process. MORE INFO: Eric Thanos, Policy and Planning, eric.thanos@dpi.nc.gov Transition to Principals’ Online Evaluation As we move to launch the online teacher evaluation on July 1, please note that the online evaluation for principals will open on Oct. 1. We are meeting with the vendor daily, holding “User Acceptance Testing Sessions,” and moving ahead with summer training schedules for the teacher evaluation. We plan to hold similar sessions for the principal evaluation and will update you as we move forward. The Oct. 1 launch will provide plenty of time prior to the mid-­‐term inputs. If you want to begin earlier with a principal using some of the optional planning forms please feel free to do so. These are provided for you online at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/effectiveness-­‐model/ncees/principals/. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Assessment Period Under Way for NC Public Schools Students in grades 3 through high school have begun the assessment period to measure their learning from this school year. This is a well-­‐known routine for public school teachers and students, reaching back to 1993 for end-­‐of-­‐grade assessments and even further for high school end-­‐of-­‐course assessments, but this year, assessments are new to match the new Standard Course of Study that teachers began implementing last fall. NCDPI anticipates that state test scores will drop this year for two reasons. The new Standard Course of Study in all subjects is more rigorous and challenging and the new assessments are more difficult than prior years’ assessments. “We know from our own history that every time we raise expectations, there is a dip in student scores and school performance. But, over time, students rise to expectations and schools perform at higher levels,” said State Superintendent June Atkinson. “Higher standards for our students provide a better foundation for their success in college and careers. It’s the right move to make, even if scores drop in the first year.” Read the full news release regarding assessments by visiting www.ncpublicschools.org and selecting the appropriate link under News. Public Reports on Educator Effectiveness Released The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction today has made available to the public the summary results of teacher and administrator evaluation systems for the 2010-­‐11 and 2011-­‐12 school years. These data can be accessed at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/effectiveness-­‐model/data/. The online data display is intended to provide a resource that is user-­‐friendly and easily accessible so that parents, educators and other community members can see data reflecting the effectiveness of instruction in their child’s school. This information also can illustrate how their schools and districts are using evaluation data to ensure a stronger teaching and administrative staff. Summary evaluation reports from the past two years are now online, and the NCDPI will post such data for the current and subsequent school years as the information becomes available. Read the full news release regarding assessments by visiting www.ncpublicschools.org and selecting the appropriate link under News. Mini-­‐Grants for Partnership Efforts among IHEs and LEAs Available The NC Ready for Success initiative and the state’s Core to College Steering Committee has released a Request for Proposals for a series of SASS (Supporting Alignment for Student Success) Mini-­‐
Grants. These grants aim to foster greater collaboration and alignment across all of North Carolina’s educational sectors. Mini-­‐grants will be awarded to proposals to promote greater student success through explicit partnership efforts with other institutions of higher education and at least one local K-­‐12 school district. All eligible NC institutions of higher education are welcome to apply. Funds are to be used during the 2013-­‐14 academic calendar year. All proposals must include development of an NC Ready for Success Team, comprising representation of faculty from secondary and postsecondary ranks, as well as a clear plan for accomplishing stated outcomes as required by either Tier I or Tier II levels of proposals. The deadline for submitting proposals is 5 pm on June 26. Please note under the description of eligible grantees that while local K-­‐12 LEA districts are absolutely encouraged to work with their IHE partners in developing these proposals, grant funds will be awarded to the IHE serving as the fiscal agent supporting these activities. MORE INFO: John D. Denning, State Director, K-­‐12 and Postsecondary Alignment Initiatives at JDenning@NCReadyforSuccess.com, or minigrants@NCReadyforSuccess.com. 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. ***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: 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/updates/