February
6,
2013
NEW
THIS
WEEK
• USED
Report:
NC
is
Ahead
in
the
Race
to
the
Top
• Field
Meetings
Offer
Updates
for
Local
Superintendents
• Regional
Convenings
Address
K‐12/College
Connections
around
New
Standards
IN
CASE
YOU
MISSED
IT
• SUMMER
INSTITUTES
2013:
Leadership
Team
Members’
Update
• Home
Base
Launches
Biweekly
Update
• NC
Teacher
Standards
and
Evaluation
Process:
Facilitated
Course
for
Teachers
• Online
Professional
Development
Modules:
Information
Page
• Phase
2
Professional
Development
Online
Modules:
Exploring
the
Possibilities
• NC
ECHO
Project
Makes
Local
History
Searchable,
Accessible
Online
NEW
THIS
WEEK
USED
Report:
NC
is
Ahead
in
the
Race
to
the
Top
Last
week,
the
U.S.
Department
of
Education
issued
the
news
that
North
Carolina
is
at
the
head
of
the
pack
at
the
halfway
point
of
our
Race
to
the
Top
initiative.
“North
Carolina
has
set
a
clear
path
forward
on
comprehensive
education
reform
that
will
better
support
teachers
and
principals
and
enable
student
growth
for
years
to
come,”
said
U.S.
Secretary
of
Education
Arne
Duncan.
“They
have
overcome
challenges
and
proved
what’s
possible
when
everyone
works
together.
We
look
forward
to
seeing
their
continued
progress
and
strong
execution
of
key
efforts
that
will
empower
educators
to
transform
their
classrooms
into
models
of
21st
century
learning.”
The
report
cites
a
number
of
areas
where
the
state
has
been
especially
successful:
∙
Transitioning
to
College
and
Career‐Ready
Standards
through
professional
development
and
diagnostic
assessments
for
teachers.
∙
Supporting
Great
Teachers
and
School
Leaders
by
adopting
a
statewide
growth
model
for
tested
subjects
and
online
evaluation
across
all
districts,
engaging
educators
in
developing
statewide
growth
measures,
training
teachers
through
the
new
Teacher
Corps
program,
and
completing
training
for
principals
in
Leadership
Academies.
∙
Turning
Around
Low‐Performing
Schools.
Since
the
beginning
of
the
grant,
84
percent
of
NC's
low‐performing
schools
have
increased
their
performance,
39
are
performing
above
the
target
of
60
percent
proficiency,
and
five
of
seven
that
had
graduation
rates
below
60
percent
are
now
above
that
mark.
This
has
been
accomplished
in
part
by
72
coaches
dispatched
to
these
schools.
∙
Building
Better
Data
Systems
through
the
design
and
shared
services
via
the
NC
Education
Cloud
and
through
the
development
of
Home
Base,
the
state's
new
technology‐based
tool
to
manage
all
professional
resources
and
student
data.
∙
Enhancing
Science,
Technology,
Engineering
and
Mathematics
(STEM)
Education
through
serving
students
in
three
anchor
and
12
affinity
STEM
schools
across
the
state,
along
with
the
development
of
new,
virtual
STEM
courses.
Visit
www.ncpublicschools.org
to
read
a
News
Release
on
the
report.
The
release
includes
a
link
to
the
report
itself.
Also,
check
out
this
article
on
the
USED’s
take
on
North
Carolina
as
a
leader
among
RttT
states.
MORE
INFO:
Michael
Yarbrough,
Communications
and
Information,
michael.yarbrough@dpi.nc.gov.
Field
Meetings
Offer
Updates
for
Local
Superintendents
State
Superintendent
June
Atkinson
and
members
of
her
senior
leadership
team
conducted
three
field
meetings
the
week
of
January
28.
They
met
with
local
superintendents
and
shared
the
latest
on
legislative
and
program
implementation
issues.
The
small
group
meetings,
held
in
Morganton,
Concord
and
Goldsboro,
gave
local
superintendents
the
opportunity
to
participate
in
discussions
and
ask
questions
about
the
latest
happenings
in
the
Legislature,
Educator
Evaluation,
the
General
Assembly’s
new
Accountability
Model,
an
update
on
Home
Base
and
PowerSchool
and
fall
administration
of
common
exams
and
their
implications
for
the
future.
MORE
INFO:
Mike
McLaughlin,
Senior
Policy
Advisor
to
the
Superintendent,
mike.mclaughlin@dpi.nc.gov.
Regional
Convenings
Address
K‐12/College
Connections
around
New
Standards
North
Carolina’s
Core
to
College
grant
is
kicking
off
a
series
of
regional
convenings
to
bring
together
educators
from
across
all
of
North
Carolina’s
local
districts,
community
colleges,
the
UNC
system,
and
private
colleges
and
universities.
Working
together
to
foster
greater
understanding
of
the
Common
Core
State
Standards,
the
aim
of
these
convenings
is
to
begin
a
statewide
dialogue
around
the
implications
of
these
new
standards
and
expectations
for
what
happens
in
the
bridge
between
high
school
and
postsecondary.
The
first
of
these
events,
called
“An
Imagining
Conversation
about
the
21st
Century
K‐12
to
College
Experience
in
North
Carolina”
will
be
held
at
The
Harvey
Banquet
Room
of
The
Murphy
Center
from
3
to
5
pm
on
Tuesday,
Feb.
12
on
the
campus
of
East
Carolina
University
The
second
will
be
held
in
WLC
161
‐
Seminar
Room
from
3
to
5
pm
on
Tuesday,
Feb.
19
on
the
campus
of
Wayne
Community
College.
Fliers
are
attached
with
more
details,
along
with
information
about
how
to
register
at
http://go.ncsu.edu/imagining.
Future
convenings
will
be
held
in
regions
across
the
state
throughout
2013.
Details
on
those
dates
and
locations
will
be
available
soon.
MORE
INFO:
John
D.
Denning,
State
Director,
K‐12
and
Postsecondary
Alignment
Initiatives,
jdenning@ncreadyforsuccess.com.
IN
CASE
YOU
MISSED
IT
SUMMER
INSTITUTES
2013:
Leadership
Team
Members’
Update
Plans
are
under
way
for
Summer
Institutes
2013.
This
is
the
NC
Department
of
Public
Instruction’s
third
round
of
intensive,
blended
professional
development
sponsored
by
Race
to
the
Top
(RttT)
for
LEAs
and
charter
schools.
The
focus
for
this
year’s
Summer
Institutes
will
be
“Building
District
and
School‐level
Leadership
Capacity
to
Change
Teacher
Practice
and
Student
Outcomes.”
Information
for
the
RttT
Coordinator,
PD
District
Contact
or
the
2013
Summer
Institutes
Leadership
Team
Contact
is
now
available
on
the
NCDPI
Professional
Development
Webpage.
This
page
will
feature
the
most
current
information
about
Summer
Institutes
logistics
(i.e.,
dates,
locations,
registration,
team
information
and
more),
as
well
as
what
to
expect
as
a
participant
attending
the
hands‐on,
highly
engaging,
two‐day
professional
development
experience.
SI
content
will
support
the
transition
to
the
new
NC
Standard
Course
of
Study
(including
extensive
resource
overviews),
the
North
Carolina
Educator
Evaluation
System
(NCEES),
the
State
Accountability
System
and
Data
Literacy.
Summer
Institutes
2013
will
feature
an
introduction
to
Home
Base,
NC’s
statewide,
instructional
improvement
(IIS)
and
student
information
system
(SIS)
for
teachers,
students,
parents
and
administrators.
All
local
districts
and
RttT
charter
schools
should
plan
to
send
representatives.
MORE
INFO:
Yvette
Stewart,
Educator
Recruitment
and
Development,
Yvette.stewart@dpi.nc.gov
Home
Base
Launches
Biweekly
Update
One
of
the
best
ways
to
enable
great
teaching
is
to
put
powerful
tools
in
the
hands
of
teachers
and
school
leaders.
That's
the
goal
of
Home
Base.
Many
of
you
have
heard
about
this
exciting
statewide
project
that
supports
our
overall
READY
initiative,
but
to
ensure
all
NC
educators
and
the
community
at
large
know
about
Home
Base
and
are
kept
up‐to‐date
on
ongoing
developments,
the
NCDPI
has
begun
a
new
electronic
publication
called
Home
Base
Biweekly
Update.
You
can
view
the
premiere
issue
online,
and
look
for
the
next
issue
on
Feb.
8:
www.ncpublicschools.org/homebase/updates
NC
Teacher
Standards
and
Evaluation
Process:
Facilitated
Course
for
Teachers
Two
sections
of
the
six‐week,
facilitator‐led
online
course
designed
for
teachers,
The
North
Carolina
Teacher
Standards
and
Evaluation
Process,
are
now
open
for
registration.
This
course
provides
an
in‐depth
look
at
the
North
Carolina
Professional
Teaching
Standards
and
helps
teachers
understand
their
role
in
the
evaluation
process
as
well
as
deepen
their
understanding
of
the
six
professional
teaching
standards.
The
course
is
available
at
no
cost
to
North
Carolina
teachers
and
is
facilitated
by
Educator
Recruitment
and
Development
staff.
It
takes
approximately
20
hours
to
complete
over
a
period
of
six
weeks,
and
teachers
will
earn
2
CEUs
upon
completion.
The
course
is
completely
online,
with
participants
having
the
ability
to
work
flexibly,
though
there
will
be
weekly
deadlines,
and
the
course
will
start
and
end
on
scheduled
dates.
The
course
is
hosted
by
LearnNC.
Teachers
can
go
to
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/7698
to
register
for
the
course.
(If
clicking
on
the
link
does
not
take
you
to
the
site,
please
cut
and
paste
the
URL
address
into
the
web
browser
address
window).
Registration
is
now
open
for
the
February
sections.
There
is
a
limit
of
35
participants
per
section.
Next
start
dates:
Feb
18,
2013
and
April
8,
2013
MORE
INFO:
Dr.
Lynne
Johnson,
Educator
Recruitment
and
Development,
lynne.johnson@dpi.nc.gov.
Online
Professional
Development
Modules:
Information
Page
There
is
now
a
single
source
for
information
about
online
professional
development
modules
created
by
NCDPI.
Visit
http://rt3nc.org
for
an
overview
of
options
for
teachers
and
administrators,
descriptions
and
links
to
modules,
and
instructions
on
registration.
You'll
also
find
an
implementation
guide
with
detailed
suggestions
for
using
these
modules
in
LEAs,
with
or
without
a
professional
learning
community,
online
or
face‐to‐face.
MORE
INFO:
Dr.
Lynne
Johnson,
Educator
Recruitment
and
Development,
lynne.johnson@dpi.nc.gov.
Phase
2
Professional
Development
Online
Modules:
Exploring
the
Possibilities
This
webinar
will
give
you
an
overview
of
the
Phase
2
online
professional
development
modules
that
were
released
by
NCDPI
last
year.
We
will
discuss
various
ways
these
modules
may
be
implemented
to
best
serve
your
needs,
at
an
individual,
school
or
district
level.
The
webinar
will
provide
an
opportunity
to:
∙
Learn
about
the
current
modules;
∙
Explore
flexible
implementation
methods;
∙
Review
strategies
to
facilitate
blended
learning;
and
∙
Ask
questions
and
provide
feedback.
The
webinar
will
be
offered
on
the
following
days:
Tuesday,
February
12,
1:30‐2:30
pm.
Reserve
your
Webinar
seat
now
at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/191274280
Wednesday,
February
20,
10‐11
am.
Reserve
your
Webinar
seat
now
at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/807763673
MORE
INFO:
Dr.
Lynne
Johnson,
Educator
Recruitment
and
Development,
lynne.johnson@dpi.nc.gov.
NC
ECHO
Project
Makes
Local
History
Searchable,
Accessible
Online
Students,
educators
and
researchers
alike
may
now
search
and
access
primary
source
materials
from
local
history
collections
across
North
Carolina
with
a
single
search
box
thanks
to
a
collaborative
project
led
by
the
North
Carolina
Digital
Heritage
Center,
NC
LIVE,
and
the
State
Library
of
North
Carolina.
NC
ECHO,
http://ncecho.org,
was
created
in
order
to
expand
access
to
unique
local
heritage
collections
previously
scattered
across
a
multitude
of
websites
and
North
Carolina
institutions.
NC
ECHO
enables
users
to
search
across
thousands
of
digitized
and
“born‐digital”
historic
materials,
including
a
wide
variety
of
books,
photographs,
maps,
family
histories,
state
documents,
newspapers
and
other
materials
from
cultural
heritage
institutions
around
North
Carolina.
The
collections
available
through
NC
ECHO
include
a
diverse
array
of
materials
by
and
about
the
people,
places
and
history
of
North
Carolina.
A
previous
program
by
the
same
name
was
run
out
of
the
State
Library
of
North
Carolina
from
1999‐2012,
with
the
intent
to
identify
and
digitize
local
cultural
heritage
collections.
The
newly
revived
NC
ECHO
program
continues
with
the
same
spirit,
to
build
connections
and
improve
access
to
these
collections
of
historic
materials.
Over
the
coming
year,
the
North
Carolina
Digital
Heritage
Center
will
continue
to
work
with
cultural
institutions
across
North
Carolina
to
add
new
materials
to
this
statewide
search.
Visit
http://ncecho.org,
and
search
based
historical
interests,
places,
or
people.
All
of
the
collections
available
through
the
NC
ECHO
search
are
freely
available
online
to
all
users,
regardless
of
their
location.
MORE
INFO:
Michelle
Underhill,
NC
Department
of
Cultural
Resources,
Michelle.Underhill@ncdcr.gov
IN
CASE
YOU
MISSED
IT
Reminder:
Online
Module
for
Common
Exam
Scoring
Performance
Items
The
online
module
on
scoring
the
performance
items
on
the
Measures
of
Student
Learning:
NC’s
Common
Exams
is
now
live
in
NC
Education.
The
direct
link
to
the
module
is:
https://center.ncsu.edu/nc/course/view.php?id=167311.
Clicking
on
this
link
will
take
the
user
to
NC
Education,
but
he
or
she
will
need
to
sign
in
to
access
the
course.
Another
way
to
access
the
module
is
to
log
into
NC
Education,
then
search
using
the
title
“MSL
Grades
9
–
12.”
The
module
includes
a
general
section
that
all
teachers
should
complete,
and
then
a
specific
section
for
each
content
area:
English
Language
Arts,
Mathematics,
Science,
and
Social
Studies.
A
teacher
can
print
a
certificate
of
completion
after
each
section.
Prior
to
the
release
of
the
module,
DPI
recommends
that
districts
consider
how
teachers
should
complete
the
module.
Some
districts
may
want
teachers
to
complete
all
of
the
sections,
while
others
may
only
require
them
to
complete
the
section
on
their
own
content
area.
MORE
INFO:
Please
email
educatoreffectiveness@dpi.nc.gov
with
questions.
Digital
Learning
Day
2013
The
North
Carolina
Department
of
Public
Instruction,
the
NC
Technology
in
Education
Society
(NCTIES)
and
the
NC
School
Library
Media
Association
(NCSLMA)
–
in
partnership
with
the
Alliance
for
Excellent
Education
led
by
West
Virginia
Gov.
Bob
Wise
–
are
pleased
to
announce
the
Digital
Learning
Day
campaign.
This
national
campaign
is
designed
to
celebrate
innovative
teaching
and
highlight
practices
that
make
learning
more
personalized
and
engaging
for
students
and
explore
how
digital
learning
can
provide
all
students
with
the
opportunities
they
deserve
–
to
build
the
skills
needed
to
succeed
in
college,
career
and
life.
Through
this
campaign,
we
hope
to
build
momentum
for
a
wave
of
innovation
that
changes
policies,
shifts
attitudes
and
supports
wide‐scale
adoption
of
these
promising
instructional
practices.
This
year,
the
NCDPI
partnership
with
NCTIES
and
NCSLMA
includes
a
contest
for
submitting
videos
that
highlight
what
innovative
digital
learning
looks
like
for
North
Carolina's
students.
Please
help
us
spread
the
word!
MORE
INFO:
http://it.ncwiseowl.org/resources/digital_learning_day/,
or
Neill
Kimrey,
Digital
Teaching
and
Learning,
neill.kimrey@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.
***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/