April 2, 2014
NEW THIS WEEK
● US Department of Education Cites NC as National Leader via RttT Work
● Professional Development System Update
● Governor’s Teacher Network Kicks Off
● One-Stop NCDPI Resource for All Educators
● Teacher Working Conditions Survey Deadline Friday
● Principal READY Spring Initiative: Coaching Conversations Successful
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
● USED Office of Inspector General Audit
● LEA/Charter School RttT No-Cost Extension Webinars
● Five Domains of Learning and Development
● Professional Development for TALAS Schools
● READY IV in Full Swing
NEW THIS WEEK
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.
Governor’s Teacher Network Kicks Off
Good teaching motivates students to learn. Good teachers inspire each other when they share their most innovative and creative practices.
With this in mind, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, in partnership with the NC Department of
Public Instruction (NCDPI) has established the Governor's Teacher Network (GTN). This initiative, 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.
There also will be a GTN informational webinar for principals and another for teachers on
Thursday, April 3. Times and registration information are as follows:
Governor's Teacher Network Info Session for Principals
Thursday, April 3, 1:30 to 3 p.m.
Registration Web Link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/399649368
Governor's Teacher Network Info Session for Teachers
Thursday, April 3, 4 to 5:30 p.m.
Registration Web Link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/618730024
MORE INFO: Theresa Perry, Educator Effectiveness, theresa.perry@dpi.nc.gov

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
Teacher Working Conditions Survey Deadline Friday
Thank you to the more than 76,000 educators who have participated in this year’s NC Teacher
Working Conditions Survey. If you have not already taken the survey, the survey window closes on Friday, April 4. Please participate before the window closes. You may complete the survey from any Internet location, using the anonymous access code provided. Results from the survey are posted online for schools and districts that meet the minimum threshold of 40% response and at least 5 respondents. These results, as well as the results for the state, will be available approximately five weeks after the survey closes.
MORE INFO: If you need assistance with the survey, please contact the Help Desk immediately at www.ncteachingconditions.org. For more information about NC TWCS, please contact Dr.
Yvette Stewart, yvette.stewart@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
.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
USED Office of Inspector General Audit
The US Department of Education (USED) Office of Inspector General (OIG) will conduct an audit on Race to the Top beginning Monday, March 24, 2014, and ending in May 2014. During this time, the USED OIG may visit one or more LEAs/charter schools that are currently participating in
RttT. The USED OIG auditors have assured NCDPI that LEAs/charter schools will be given ample notice for any documentation and scheduling that is required for the audit. We will provide more information as it becomes available.
LEA/Charter School RttT No-Cost Extension Webinars
The US Department of Education (USED) has approved the opportunity for the NCDPI to provide a no-cost extension year for the Race to the Top Grant for LEAs and charter schools. The NCDPI will conduct two webinars on Friday, April 4 to review with LEAs/Charter Schools the process 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. We also will discuss the closeout process for
LEAs and charter schools which choose not to apply for a no-cost extension. The April 4 webinars are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. (material covered will be identical). A link to register for these webinar sessions is included below. NCDPI encourages all Superintendents, RttT Leads, and Finance Officers to participate in one of the webinars.
Title: RttT LEA/Charter School No-Cost Extension and Closeout Procedures
Date: Friday, April 4, 2014, 11 am or 3 pm
11 am webinar registration: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/924576024
3 pm webinar registration: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/312678504
Five Domains of Learning and Development
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. These include Approaches to Learning, Emotional and Social
Development, Cognitive Development, Language Development and Communication and Health and Physical Development. Recognizing that all domains of learning are intertwined, and development in one domain affects growth and learning in others, it is essential for teachers to support development in these areas in an effort to help children reach their potential. Learning
Domains are a way of organizing our thinking about learning and development.
The five domains of learning and development are as follows:
● The Approaches to Learning domain addresses how children learn and includes children’s attitudes toward, and interest in, learning. It reflects behaviors and skills such as curiosity, planning, flexibility, motivation, focus and persistence.
● The Cognitive Development domain focuses on children’s ability to acquire, organize and

use information in increasingly complex ways. They begin to explain, organize, construct and predict.
● The Emotional-Social Development domain includes children’s feelings about themselves and also addresses their ability to relate to others. Learning to manage and express emotions is also a part of this domain.
● The domain of Health and Physical Development focuses on physical growth and motor development, sound nutritional choices, self-care and health/safety practices.
● The Language Development and Communication domain focuses on the foundational skills that children acquire and use in early elementary school and which continue to develop throughout their schooling. These skills include speaking, listening, reading and writing.
MORE INFO: For more information on the K-3 Formative Assessment please visit our wiki: rtt-elc-k3assessment.ncdpi.wikispaces.net
Professional Development for TALAS Schools
The District and School Transformation Division will provide Professional Development to approximately 300 leaders of TALAS schools and SIG schools on Wednesday, April 9. This session, 15th in the ongoing series of Professional Development for school leaders, will focus on understanding the needs of diverse learners, including the following: children of poverty, English
Language Learners, African-American males and Exceptional Children. The PD is scheduled from
8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Embassy Suites on Harrison Blvd. in Cary. Detailed registration information is available on the NCDPI DST wiki site, http://dst.ncdpi.wikispaces.net
.
MORE INFO: Alessandro Montanari, District and School Transformation, alessandro.montanari@dpi.nc.gov
READY IV in Full Swing
As we enter the homestretch of the Race to the Top (RttT) grant, NCDPI leadership has invited
Superintendents and key local district leadership to a fourth round of READY Regional Outreach
Meetings in March and April. The last three will be held in Region 5 on April 9, Regions 7 & 8
(combined) on April 10 and Region 2 on April 14.
The purpose of these gatherings is to provide updates on the priority activities of the READY initiative work and look toward the future after the RttT grant is over.
Key topics for these meetings are:
• Home Base – where we are to date, what it means to opt-in to the non-required parts, and more;
• educator effectiveness; and
• the General Assembly’s A-F Accountability Model, which will be reported out for the first time in fall 2014.

Superintendents were notified this week of the central office personnel to accompany them to the meetings. They include:
• Curriculum and Instruction Director
• Human Resources Director
• Technology Director
• Finance Director
• Data Manager
• Parent Representative, such as a PTA President
Superintendents are notifying the NCDPI their intent to attend and bring colleagues.
MORE INFO: Michael Yarbrough, Communication and Information Services, michael.yarbrough@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