March 19, 2014
NEW THIS WEEK
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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
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
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Principal READY Professional Development - Coaching Conversations
#NCed Chat l Spring Topics
New Home Base Professional Development System
Ready for Success Statewide K-12 and Postsecondary Summit
NEW THIS WEEK
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: Donna Miller, District and School Transformation, donna.miller@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 first was held with a full house in Region 4 on March 11. Regions
6, 1 and 3 are happening on March 20, 21 and 26, respectively.
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:
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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
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Principal READY Professional Development - Coaching Conversations
Regional professional development sessions for principals are currently occurring in all 8 regions
across the state. Interactive sessions include coaching conversations for teacher growth and
educator evaluation data analysis. Principals will share strategies for providing constructive
feedback to teachers. Resources and tools for interactive staff meetings are included in these
sessions.
MORE INFO: Dr. Lynne Johnson, lynne.johnson@dpi.nc.gov, Educator Effectiveness, or Kimberly
Simmons, Kimberly.simmons@dpi.nc.gov, Educator Evaluation.
#NCed
Chat l Spring Topics
Engage with state, national and international educators on the following topics in March: Flipped
Classroom Learning, Best Practices for 1:1, Digital Footprint, and Mentoring. Check out the
blog and archived conversations found here: http://ncedchat.blogspot.com/ Download the app
by visiting myapp.is/NCed on your mobile device. Join this Professional Learning Network (PLN)
today!
MORE INFO: Dr. Lynne C. Johnson, Educator Effectiveness, lynne.johnson@dpi.nc.gov.
New Home Base Professional Development System
The new Home Base Professional Development System will be live for all district/charter
educators to enroll in state-provided courses beginning April 1. All of our NC Education online
modules, including facilitator-led sessions, are included in this system. Our NCDPI module
developers are currently creating additional modules based upon district request for release this
summer and fall.
This spring, we will pilot the opt-in functionality of the system with a small group of districts.
District and charters that opt-in to Home Base will benefit from additional local course/catalog
creation and enrollment management functionality beginning in the fall. This is a great
opportunity to use one portal for state and local educator PD transcripts.
To learn more about this exciting new component and available options, please view the
archived webinar that was recently held. Find the link here https://vimeo.com/87813848. In
addition, regional face-to-face sessions are held in all 8 regions starting Thursday, March 20.
Please see our NCDPI / RESA partnership schedule for more information,
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/profdev/calendar/ . Human Resource and Professional
Development Directors, PD Coordinators and leaders, are especially encouraged to attend.
MORE INFO: Dr. Lynne Johnson, lynne.johnson@dpi.nc.gov, or Robert Sox,
Robert.sox@dpi.nc.gov, Educator Effectiveness.
Ready for Success Statewide K-12 and Postsecondary Summit
Register now for NC Ready for Success's inaugural Statewide K-12 and Postsecondary
Education Summit. Themed, "Connecting K-12 and Higher Education in North Carolina for
Student Success," this Summit will be a historic opportunity for faculty from across all sectors of
education to convene around an agenda that promotes a more cohesive approach to
educational success in North Carolina.
Working with all of our Foundational Partners, the NC Community College System, the
University of North Carolina, the NCDPI and NC Independent Colleges and Universities, the
summit will provide participants with information related to current alignment efforts to bring all
of the state’s educational sectors together for more student success.
In addition to updates on the new Comprehensive Articulation Agreement, changes to
developmental and competency-based education, participants will have the opportunity to
network and learn from colleagues in other sectors about best practices and implications for the
adoption of North Carolina's new Career and College Readiness standards. National and state
speakers have been invited, and break-out sessions are being planned for an interactive and
highly productive set of conversations and networking.
MORE INFO:
http://www.ncreadyforsuccess.com/how-were-helping/alignment-initiatives/summits/
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