April 16, 2014
NEW THIS WEEK
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Governor’s Teacher Network Application Deadline Extended
Local RttT No-Cost Extension/Close Out Webinars Now Online
Spring 2014 READY Outreach Materials
NCSSM Provides STEM Resource in Animal Life Cycles and Nutrition
K-3 Formative Assessment - 5 Domains of Development Matter, Part 2
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
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US Department of Education Cites NC as National Leader via RttT Work
Professional Development System Update
One-Stop NCDPI Resource for All Educators
Principal READY Spring Initiative: Coaching Conversations Successful
NEW THIS WEEK
Governor’s Teacher Network Application Deadline Extended
Due to a high level of interest, plus spring breaks and holidays occurring during this month,
the deadline for application to the Governor’s Teacher Network has been extended to
Wednesday, April 30.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The training dates for those selected to participate will be two or three
days during the window of June 30-July 2 and will take place in Raleigh. Interested applicants
should leave those dates open, and information on the two dates of those three selected will
be forthcoming.
The GTN, funded by the state’s Race to the Top grant, will provide a statewide platform for
teachers to share their best work around instruction and professional development and to
help advance Race to the Top (RttT) funded educational remodeling efforts across the state.
Through the GTN, approximately 450 outstanding teachers from across North Carolina will be
selected to serve for one year as instructional and professional development experts and
facilitators. Visit www.ncpublicschools.org/rttt/gtn for details.
MORE INFO: Theresa Perry, Educator Effectiveness, theresa.perry@dpi.nc.gov
Local RttT No-Cost Extension/Close Out Webinars Now Online
The NCDPI hosted two webinars, “RttT LEA/Charter School No-Cost Extension and Close Out
Procedures,” on April 4. The webinars reviewed two topics that affect all LEAs and charter
schools participating in RttT: 1) the process for LEAs/Charter Schools to submit and receive
approval for using any remaining RttT funds from the LEA/Charter School’s original RttT
allocation for the 2014-15 school year, and 2) the closeout process for LEAs and charter
schools which choose not to apply for a no-cost extension.
The webinar discussed three possible end dates for the RttT activities in the DSW for LEAs and
charter schools: June 30, 2014 (Option 1), September 23, 2014 (Option 2), or June 30, 2015
(Option 3). LEAs or charter schools must notify NCDPI of the choice for their end date by May
5, and those choosing Options 2 or 3 must submit their amended DSW or no-cost extension
request to NCDPI, also by May 5.
LEAs/Charter Schools that missed the webinar should listen to the webinar session recording
and review the presentation slides for detailed instructions for submitting no-cost extension
requests and amended DSWs at the following web link:
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/rttt/webinars/.
MORE INFO: Eric Thanos, Race to the Top Project Coordinator, eric.thanos@dpi.nc.gov
Spring 2014 READY Outreach Materials
The NCDPI would like to thank the Superintendents and senior central office staff who
attended “Round 4” of the READY Regional Outreach Meetings in March or April. Hundreds of
these officials received updates on Home Base, Educator Effectiveness and the latest on the
General Assembly’s new Accountability Model, which will go into effect this fall.
The PowerPoint presentation presented at these meetings is now available online. For those
of you who were not able to attend, and for those of you who were and would like to use it as
a reference resource, it can be found at
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/ready/resources/outreach/spring2014/.
MORE INFO: Michael Yarbrough, Communication and Information Services,
michael.yarbrough@dpi.nc.gov
NCSSM Provides STEM Resource in Animal Life Cycles and Nutrition
Teachers at the NC School of Science and Mathematics have leveraged the state’s investment
in STEM education and digital content to create unique content for high schools in the fields
of Agriscience and Biotechnology, Aerospace and Automation, Biomedical Health Science and
Energy & Sustainability. The curriculum is designed so a teacher can download
content for a four-year long course, or select and adapt individual units to use in existing
STEM courses.
This week’s featured content comes from the Year 1 course in Agriscience and Biotechnology
and can be used in face-to-face teaching or in 1:1 or blended classroom settings. In this unit,
students learn to design and build a chick incubator, compare and contrast life cycles and
reproductive systems of birds and mammals, dissect a cow ovary and develop a simple animal
management plan. The unit contains labs, projects, videos and interactive images of animal
skulls that can be examined by students online.
The unit can be found at: http://bit.ly/ab_unit5.
All other NCSSM Race to the Top material can be found at: http://bit.ly/rtttstem
or http://box.com/rttt.
MORE INFO: Rob Caldwell, NCSSM, caldwell@ncssm.edu
K-3 Formative Assessment - 5 Domains of Development Matter, Part 2
The North Carolina K-3 Formative Assessment process currently in development will support
teachers in assessing the five domains of learning and development identified by North
Carolina’s definition of school readiness and aligned with North Carolina’s Foundations for
Early Learning and Development. We identified and defined each of these in last month’s
article. This month we will borrow some examples from the North Carolina Foundations for
Early Learning and Development to demonstrate how each domain may look in a typical K-3
classroom.
Approaches to Learning
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During a class meeting, the teacher may listen and respond to students as they share
thoughts.
Encouraging students to think about new ideas and/or approaches.
Helping students to think and talk through different approaches to problems.
Ask probing questions to help students stay focused on task.
Emotional and Social Development
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Allow students to participate in discussions related to classroom decisions and
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helping to establish rules and routines.
Read a familiar book and discuss each character’s feelings or reactions.
Cognitive Development
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Making planning a regular part of the day.
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Introduce a problem and encourage students to come up with as many solutions as
possible.
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Field trips to museums, galleries, plays, concerts and other cultural events.
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Provide opportunities for students to respond through music, movement, dance,
dramatic expression, and art.
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Involve students in school and community service projects.
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Prompt thinking and analysis by asking open-ended questions.
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Have students use the scientific method of inquiry.
Language Development and Communication
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Model good conversational skills and encourage students to use them.
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Provide and share fiction and non-fiction books that stimulate children’s curiosity.
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Give students frequent opportunities to write for a variety of purposes.
Health and Physical Development
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Several periods of active physical play each day that includes child-directed play and
adult-directed play, with the adult participating in the activities.
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Students regularly use a variety of hand-held tools and objects (pencil, crayons,
scissors, manipulatives, etc)
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Provide opportunities for students to practice self-care skills independently as they
are able (open milk carton, zipping jacket, packing up bookbag, etc)
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Practicing a fire drill and talking about the students’ responses.
For more information on the K-3 Formative Assessment please visit our wiki:
rtt-elc-k3assessment.ncdpi.wikispaces.net
You will find our April 9 webinar on the five domains of learning posted along with numerous
other presentations, webinars, FAQs and updates.
MORE INFO: Erika Beatty, Office of Early Learning, erika.beatty@dpi.nc.gov
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
US Department of Education Cites NC as National Leader via RttT Work
If you are reading this, chances are you’ve played an important role in the work of Race to the
Top, so congrats are in order! North Carolina is considered a national leader in education
reform based on the work it has done in public education via the Race to the Top grant,
according to the US Department of Education.
The Department of Education released its third-year report on Race to the Top last month. In
it, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan named North Carolina as, once again, one of the top
states making progress in serving students, supporting teachers and bolstering technology in
its remodeling efforts.
"Over the last few years, we have seen Race to the Top states build on the systems and
framework that they have been developing to lay the foundation for long-term, sustainable
progress," said Duncan. "North Carolina has made key steps in implementing its plans,
developing great teachers and leaders, and in improving students' outcomes. As North
Carolina completes the third year of implementing its Race to the Top grant, it has continued
to demonstrate leadership in education reform."
MORE INFO: Read more about this great news and link to the report here:
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/newsroom/news/2013-14/20140319-01
Professional Development System Update
We are in the final stages of preparation for the official launch of the new Home Base
Professional Development tool. You already may have noticed the addition of the
professional development tab inside the Educator Effectiveness online tool. Many of you
have taken advantage of the face-to-face overview training dates included on the RESA
partnership calendars.
The professional development catalog will go live on Tuesday, April 15. Educators will be able
to register for available professional development modules. The catalog will continue to
grow as new learning opportunities are added over time. Additional information about
navigating the PD system will be available on the regional wikis managed by the PD leads.
These wikis can be accessed at http://wikicentral.ncdpi.wikispaces.net. Regional wikis are
located on the bottom right portion of the menu page. You also can listen to a recording from
the PD System Overview webinar, at https://vimeo.com/87813848.
MORE INFO: Questions about the PD system may be directed to your Regional PD Leads.
One-Stop NCDPI Resource for All Educators
Wikicentral provides a direct point of access for NCDPI wikis that contain resources and
materials for educators of North Carolina. The wikis are managed by various divisions. They
include resources related to professional development, curriculum, policy, tools and more.
Please spread the word to your colleagues about this valuable site, which can be found at
http://wikicentral.ncdpi.wikispaces.net
MORE INFO: Dr. Lynne Johnson, Educator Effectiveness, lynne.johnson@dpi.nc.gov
Principal READY Spring Initiative: Coaching Conversations Successful
Regional professional development sessions for principals were held in all eight regions of
the state, concluding March 26. And from all accounts, principals were very pleased with their
takeaways!
The national Cross-State Learning Collaborative provided support for these sessions,
enabling the NCDPI to host all principals at these sessions. Interactive sessions included
video discussions, ratings activities, data studies and experiences providing specific and
constructive feedback to teachers. Resources and tools for interactive staff meetings were
shared to maximize the time leaders spend with teachers for continuous improvement.
Feedback from these sessions indicates that principals learned a great deal through these
activities with their peers and that they would like to see this type of professional
development to continue next year. Department staff will explore options in the coming
months that would support continuation of this type of professional development.
MORE INFO: Dr. Lynne Johnson, Educator Effectiveness, lynne.johnson@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