PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES 2004

AUGUST 19, 2004

Regardless of how you felt about SB 1464, the School Calendar Bill, it is clear that many educators questioned both the need for 20 teacher workdays and the quality of the professional development activities that they had available on those days. As a result of the concerns expressed statewide, the State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction will be working with all educational stakeholders to dramatically improve professional development. The Teacher Working Conditions survey results will be a part of this, as will the work done by a professional development task force led by Dr. Bill Harrison and the professional development work group of the Education Cabinet staff supported by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. As this work continues, we will keep you updated on this important issue.

Regards,
Mike Ward

In this Biweekly Principals' Message:

1. Greetings from the 2004 Wachovia Principal of the Year
2. 2003-04 NC School Report Cards Update
3. National Board Certification Application Information
4. New Document Answers NCLB-Related Questions
5. Registration Closed for Elementary Conference
6. Migrant Education Conference Scheduled for September
7. Mathematics Teleconferences Target Middle School Teachers
8. World View Schedules Annual Fall Symposium
9. Great Salt Water American Indian Heritage and Veterans Pow Wow
10. High School Students Encouraged to Participate in School Bus Safety Speech Contest
11. Aug. 13 Edition of NC WISE Newsletter Online
12. LEARN NC's August Update Online
13. Visitor Center Relocates
14. Grant Opportunities

Greetings from the 2004 Wachovia Principal of the Year

I trust that everyone is primed and ready for another terrific year. As the ABCs and AYP results showed, this past year was a big success for North Carolina and I want to say "way to go" to each of you. Keep up the great work. Continue to be innovative. Continue to collaborate with your peers to share, beg, borrow, and steal ideas that will help your students. We've experienced much success these past several years. But as Will Rogers once said, "Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." Please email me any thoughts that you'd like shared at the State Board of Education meetings. The Board wants and needs input from school administrators. High school graduation requirements (senior projects, etc.), NC WISE, budget concerns, teacher recruitment and retention, certification requirements for out-of-state teachers and raising standards are all areas that the SBE will continue to look at. Let me hear from you. Let the State Board hear from you. - John Black, 2004 Wachovia Principal of the Year.

2003-04 NC School Report Cards Update

Work is underway on the 2003-04 NC School Report Cards. This year's release has been moved up to Thursday, Oct. 28. Following is a time line of important dates leading up to this release:

Sept. 15 - Training session for LEA report card coordinators at the Education Building, Raleigh. Each superintendent was asked to name a coordinator and back-up to oversee the report card process in each district.

Oct. 1-11 - School and district report cards will be available for review by LEAs. All corrections must be routed through your LEA coordinator during this time.

Oct. 25 - Principals will be notified that the Web site is online and they can begin downloading report cards for printing and distribution

Oct. 28 - School Report Card Day. We anticipate that Gov. Easley will hold a press conference at a public library to announce the release.

Once again, we will post helpful resources (sample newsletter articles, letters, etc.) for principals, coordinators, and public information officers on our Report Card Communications Web site. We will notify you when the site is ready in September. If you have any questions about the report cards, please contact Becky Irwin in the Communications&Information Division at 919.807.3450 or via email, rirwin@dpi.state.nc.us

National Board Certification Application Information

North Carolina leads the nation in the number of National Board of Professional Teaching Standards certified teachers, currently 6,600. Teachers considering applying for certification are invited to visit http://www.nbpts.org to review the areas offered for certification and the standards for those areas of certification. The state of North Carolina will pay the $2,300 assessment fee for all teachers who meet the eligibility criteria as indicated at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/nbpts. The state continues to pay a 12 percent pay differential for the life of the certificate. (Charter School teachers should check with their directors as the pay differential may vary.) The following steps are suggested for teachers who are considering this opportunity:

Visit the Web site, http://www.nbpts.org, to review information about National Board Certification, standards, research, etc.

Visit the Web site, http://www.ncpublicschools.org/nbpts, to review information as it relates to guidelines for funding in North Carolina, pay differentials, frequently asked questions, etc.

When applying for National Board Certification, teachers MUST also apply at the North Carolina site if they are requesting funding from the state. (All applicants must meet North Carolina guidelines when seeking payment of the $2,300 assessment fee.) The application window for this candidacy cycle will close on Nov. 15, with all portfolios being due to NBPTS by March 31, 2005. If you have further questions, please contact the NC National Board Certification Coordinator at 919.807.3358, Jeanne Washburn at 919.807.3373 or jwashbur@dpi.state.nc.us or Dan Holloman at 919.807.3375 or dholloma@dpi.state.nc.us.

New Document Answers NCLB-Related Questions

Questions related to No Child Left Behind are answered in a comprehensive new document posted on the NCLB Web site at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/nclb/faqs/. Answers address such issues as Title I, Adequate Yearly Progress, the ABCs, testing, NCLB student groups, reporting requirements, public school choice, supplemental educational services, "Highly Qualified" teachers, and requirements for Title I teacher assistants. Answers will be continually updated and new questions will be added as issues evolve.

Registration Closed for Elementary Conference

Registration is closed for the First Annual Elementary Conference scheduled for Oct. 11-12 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Research Triangle Park. If you have any questions regarding your registration, please contact Tracey Greggs, English Language Arts and Social Studies, NC DPI, 919.807.3836, or by email, tgreggs@dpi.state.nc.us.

Migrant Education Conference Scheduled for September

The fourth annual Migrant Education Conference will be held Sept. 9-10 at the Durham Marriott at the Civic Center, Durham. Over 30 workshops on the provision of services to migrant and English language learners and their families will be held for all levels of staff. There is a $35 registration fee. For more information, including registration, please contact Paula Langill, Compensatory Education, DPI, 919.807.3812, or by email, plangill@dpi.state.nc.us.

Mathematics Teleconferences Target Middle School Teachers

In order to facilitate the understanding of probability as covered in the revised Mathematics Standard Course of Study that is being implemented this school year, the DPI mathematics staff has scheduled a series of six, two-hour interactive teleconferences for teachers, supervisors and principals. These sessions will be available at eight sites and will be taught by Dr. George Bright, Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Facilitators will be present at each teleconference site. Participants should have a copy of NCTM's Navigating Through Probability in Grades 6-8 for use as a resource during these sessions. Upon completion of these teleconference sessions, each participant will be awarded a certificate of attendance. Teleconferences, which will be held on Wednesdays from 4:30-6:30 p.m., are scheduled for Sept. 15, Oct. 20, Dec. 1, Jan. 19, Feb. 16, and March 16. Locations are as follows: A.L. Brown High School (Kannapolis), NC A&T University (Greensboro), Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (Asheville), Northeastern High School (Elizabeth City), NC Department of Public Instruction (Raleigh), Southeastern Community College (Whiteville), ECU Medical Center/Eastern AHEC (Greenville), and Wilkes Central High School (Wilkesboro). All teleconferences will be taped and copies will be available for purchase from the DPIs Publications Section. For further information or questions call Linda Patch at 919.807.3841 or by email, lpatch@dpi.state.nc.us.

World View Schedules Annual Fall Symposium

Register a team now for World View's annual fall symposium scheduled for Oct. 25-26. This year's program will address, "Global Education: Infusing Global Themes into Every Classroom" and will be held at The Friday Center, UNC-Chapel Hill. For program information, hotel information, and online registration visit http://www.unc.edu/world, call 919.962.9264, or email Robert Phay at worldview@unc.edu. The individual registration is $135. Discounted rates are offered for teams of four or more. (1.5 CEUs offered.)

Great Salt Water American Indian Heritage and Veterans Pow Wow

The Coastal Carolina Indian Center is sponsoring the Great Salt Water American Indian Heritage and Veterans Pow Wow, Nov. 5-7, at the Onslow County Fairgrounds/American Legion Building, Jacksonville. An educational field day has been planned for Friday, Nov. 5, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. For more information, including a teaching primer, please go online to http://www.coastalcarolinaindians.com/ and click on "School Day Event Info." Bus reservations need to be made by Sept. 15. Questions also may be directed to the Coastal Carolina Indian Center&Association at 252.354.5905 or 252.622.1908.

High School Students Encouraged to Participate in School Bus Safety Speech Contest

DPI Transportation Services, the Governor's Highway Safety Program and the NC Pupil Transportation Association are sponsoring a School Bus Safety Speech Contest for high school students. The state winner receives $600 with regional/national winners receiving more. Application forms are due Sept. 2. Speeches must be faxed to NC DPI by Sept. 13. Additional information is available online at http://www.ncbussafety.org or by contacting NC DPI Transportation Services at 919.807.3570.

Aug. 13 Edition of NC WISE Newsletter Online

Check out the Aug. 13 edition of NC WISE's newsletter, "Word to the Wise," and learn more about: what's ahead for the NC WISE project now that is has been given the green light for Wave 1 Deployment; the changes in the new Teacher Assistant Module (TAM) release; and the eSIS Data Conversion Assistance Module (EDCAM) and how will it make the process easier for schools to convert data from SIMS to NC WISE. To view the newsletter, please go online to http://www.ncwise.org/library_NCWISE.html#NCWISEPresentations and click on the link for Aug. 13 under "Newsletter." To learn more about NC WISE, please visit http://www.ncwise.org.

LEARN NC's August Update Online

LEARN NC's August update offers educators an education glossary that helps them use the ideas behind the terms, "rapid recovery" online courses for middle and high school students; articles on teaching "Math for Multiple Intelligences," a new series on hands-on environmental science for elementary teachers, and a rubric for assigning and evaluating multimedia presentations. Check out these articles and more by going online to http://www.learnnc.org and clicking on the appropriate link.

Visitor Center Relocates

Principals are reminded that the North Carolina Visitor Center in downtown Raleigh has left its Blount Street location and relocated to the lobby of the N.C. Museum of History. Please help us spread the word to your teachers regarding this location change. For more information or to schedule a tour, educators can call toll-free 866.724.8687, or locally, 919.807.7950.

Grant Opportunities

"Dow Awards" - The Dow Chemical Company has made available $20 million in grant funds to support proposed initiatives concentrating on math and science, teacher training, and parental involvement for K-12 school districts. Grant proposals should focus on giving K-12 students science and engineering experiences, giving teachers the training to provide these experiences, and fostering parental and community involvement. School districts and school boards nationwide, as well as programs that promote systemic education reform in math and science, are eligible to apply. Special attention will be given to school districts around communities where Dow is located. The application deadline varies. More information is available online at http://www.dow.com/about/corp/social/gen_fund.htm

"Ezra Jack Keats Foundation Grants" - The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation offers "mini-grants" of $350 to school and public libraries for programs that encourage literacy and creativity in children. Programs that will be considered include innovative or noteworthy workshops, lectures and festivals, as well as programs targeted at parents and pre-school children. All K-12 schools and public libraries in the United States are eligible to apply. The application deadline is Sept. 15. More information is available online at http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/programs/minigrants.htm