PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES 2004

SEPTEMBER 3, 2004

North Carolina's 2004 average total SAT score increased by five points, outpaced the nation in growth on this measure and led the nation's "SAT states" in gains over the past 10 years. This good news was released Tuesday by The College Board and at a news conference held by Gov. Mike Easley and by Mike Ward on his last official day as State Superintendent. Congratulations to all of our state's high schools for this strong performance. Equally impressive were the increases in AP test taking and scores that The College Board reported. These indicators show that many North Carolina students are planning for higher education and are taking more rigorous courses in larger numbers in preparation. Some of the most encouraging news in the SAT/AP data is the declining gaps on both measures. Thank you for the important role that you and your faculties play in encouraging and helping students be better prepared.

Regards,
Mike Ward

In this Biweekly Principals' Message:

1. State Board Meeting Highlights
2. ABCs Formulas
3. Proposed Changes to English Language Arts SCS
4. Early Childhood Education Survey
5. Javits Gifted Education Grant
6. Social Studies Listserv Targets High School Educators
7. New Teacher Institute Targets Foreign Language, Physical Education, Arts Education and Health Education Educators
8. ''Down to Earth'' Economics Workshop
9. Live "Democracy in Action" Web Casts
10. Meet in the Middle Conference to be Held in October
11. Annual Litter Sweep Scheduled to Begin Mid-September

State Board Meeting Highlights

The Board held its September meeting in Elizabeth City at Elizabeth City State University. Board members participated in the R3 Conference and held an issues session on high school redesign and innovation. The Board approved North Carolina Early Learning Standards and proposed changes to the mathematics tests implementation schedule. High school exit standards continued as a discussion item this month. Board members also recognized former State Superintendent Mike Ward for his service to the state’s public schools. Complete Board highlights can be accessed online Tuesday afternoon at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/sbehighlights by clicking on the appropriate link.

ABCs Formulas

This year's sixth and eighth grade reading results suggest that the current ABCs formulas need review and may possibly need revision. Results at these two grades were significantly different from trends in every other grade. The State Board and DPI will be looking carefully at how these formulas should change, and begin work with the middle school grade span since they have been the most dramatically affected. The Compliance Commission for Accountability began discussions on Aug. 18 on this issue, and DPI Reporting staff members have begun work on new ABCs formulas for determining school growth. The need to modify formulas to accompany implementation of the new math additions was brought before the Board at their August meeting as part of the new math implementation schedule. New formulas, once developed, will go through a validation process to ensure that they accurately represent schools' actual performance. DPI staff will work to provide historical data to LEAs that will allow for comparison across school years. We will keep you posted as this process moves forward.

Proposed Changes to English Language Arts SCS

In August 2004, the State Board of Education gave permission for NC DPI to clarify the goals and objectives of the English Language Arts Standard Course of Study. According to HSP-F-012 (policy delineating the Standard Course of Study Curriculum Development Process), the curriculum revision schedule calls for an examination of the 1999 English Language Arts Standard Course of Study in 2004. National standards and NAEP have not changed significantly and input from the field strongly supports the current ELA Standard Course of Study approach and philosophy. Minor changes for clarification of goals and objectives will allow more understanding of the original document and support teachers' implementation of the standards. As currently proposed, the clarifications will cause little to no change in Reading EOG tests, English I EOC test, or the Writing Assessments. Please review the proposed clarifications (available at http://www.learnnc.org/ and respond to the survey appropriate to your grade span(s) of interest. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. (If the above link does not work, go to the LearnNC ELA Web page at http://learnnc.org/ and select Proposed Standard Course of Study Clarifications (Fall 2004) from the Curriculum Category.) Principals are asked to share these proposed clarifications with appropriate staff and encourage them to respond to the survey as well.

Early Childhood Education Survey

DPI’s Early Childhood Section is in the process of revising the NC Guide for the Early Years. Superintendents are asked to please make sure that their early childhood educators are aware of this survey and the importance of its completion. The survey is brief (six questions) and can be found online at http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB2QCEJHDW7 Responses will help DPI staff ensure that they better meet the needs of early childhood educators across the state. Educators are asked to respond no later than Oct. 1. Questions regarding the survey may be directed to Amy Smith, Children's Trust Fund Consultant, 919.807.3852.

Javits Gifted Education Grant

DPI, in collaboration with the American Association for Gifted Children at Duke University, is the recipient of a Javits gifted education grant. The Javits program, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, provides grants to: help build capability in elementary and secondary schools; identify and meet the special education needs of gifted students; encourage the development of rich and challenging curricula for all students; and supplement and make more effective the expenditures of state and local funds for the education of gifted students. The five-year research project awarded the state $518,400 for the first year to begin implementing “Bright IDEA 2: Interest Development Early Abilities - A Program for Nurturing Potential and Developing Talent in K-2 Children.” Based upon the success of Bright IDEA 1 in five pilot sites, the Javits grant was awarded to expand the project to more schools in North Carolina and to research the impact on gifted programs from under-represented populations. Eighteen school systems (36 schools) will be selected to participate in the project. Mary Watson, Director, Exceptional Children Division, and Valorie Hargett, Consultant for Academically/Intellectually Gifted with the Exceptional Children Division, are the co-investigators. Margaret Gayle, Executive Director for the American Association for Gifted Children, is the project director. Information about project participation will be mailed to all local school systems in September.

Social Studies Listserv Targets High School Educators

A new high school social studies listserv has been created to provide the latest information to high school social studies teachers and administrators on a regular basis. The update will include social studies grants, curriculum ideas, professional development opportunities, competitions for students, and best practice teaching strategies. To join, please send an email to: join-nchss@lists.dpi.state.nc.us. As a reminder, there also are listservs for elementary and middle school social studies teachers and administrators.. To subscribe to the elementary school social studies listserv, please contact Tracey Greggs at tgreggs@dpi.state.nc.us. To subscribe to the middle school social studies listserv, please contact Penny Maguire at pmaguire@dpi.state.nc.us.

New Teacher Institute Targets Foreign Language, Physical Education, Arts Education and Health Education Educators

New Teacher Institute Targets Foreign Language, Physical Education, Arts Education and Health Education Educators - Based on feedback from district representatives at the Instructional Services Conference in Charlotte (fall 2003), the Department of Public Instruction is offering a New Teacher Institute for arts education (dance, music, theatre arts, and visual arts), foreign language, physical education and health education K-12 teachers. The Institute is open only to teachers who are either new to the profession (two or fewer years of experience), new to the state, or new to the curriculum area or level in which they are teaching. The Institute will be held Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 at the Radisson Governor's Inn, Research Triangle Park. Registration will be accepted on a first come first serve basis and is limited to 120 participants. Registration will close on Monday, Sept. 13. The registration fee is $100 per participant, which includes materials, breakfast, lunch and breaks. The fee is nonrefundable. Registration forms can be found at http://learnnc.org/dpi/instserv.nsf?OpenDatabase. For more information please contact Bryar Cougle, Arts Education Consultant, 919.807.3855 (tcougle@dpi.state.nc.us), Michele Wallen, Health Education Consultant, 919.807.3857 (mwallen@dpi.state.nc.us) or Helga Fasciano, Second Languages Consultant, 919.807.3865 (hfascian@dpi.state.nc.us).

Down to Earth Economics Workshop

The Down to Earth Economics Workshop will be held on Oct. 21 at the Charlotte Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, 530 E. Trade Street, Charlotte. This workshop will empower high school social studies teachers in teaching the North Carolina Standard Course of Study by acquiring knowledge of the history of economics and banking in the United States. In addition, participants will learn why, when, and how the Federal Reserve was created, and will have the opportunity to take a grass roots look at what is happening in today’s economy at the local and national levels. This workshop is being provided free of charge to high school Civics and Economics teachers. Due to limited space, registration is limited to 50 teachers. Additional social studies workshops will be held throughout the 2004-05 school year, with economic concepts being addressed at future workshops. To register, please contact Steven Weber, English Language Arts and Social Studies, DPI, 919.807.3828, or by email, sweber@dpi.state.nc.us.

Live "Democracy in Action" Web Casts

Technology will give democracy a powerful boost on Oct. 5 when the League of Women Voters of North Carolina brings to all voters and young citizens-in-training the opportunity to participate in live Web casts of judicial candidate forums. Download information from the TechKnow-Savvy Educator Calendar at http://video.dpi.state.nc.us/eforums/ by clicking on the appropriate link. For more details on how classes can participate and teachers can work toward CEU credits, please contact Cris Crissman at 919.807.3582 or by email, ccrissma@dpi.state.nc.us.

Meet in the Middle Conference to be Held in October

The Meet in the Middle Conference 2004 will be held Oct. 20-21 at the Raleigh Convention Center. Educators, business leaders and community members interested in improving public education for all students are encouraged to attend. The full registration fee for both days is $150. Wednesday only registration is $75 and the Thursday registration is $85. There also are fees if you just want to attend the luncheons. A 10 percent discount on all registrations of two or more from the same organizations will be honored through Oct. 1. A complete list of speakers, training options and vendors are available online at http://www.ncforum.org or call Phillip Cates, Director of Partnerships&Strategic Initiatives, Public School Forum of North Carolina, 919.781.6833, ext. 117 or by email, pcates@ncforum.org.

Annual Litter Sweep Scheduled to Begin Mid-September

The N.C. Department of Transportation is sponsoring its annual Litter Sweep cleanup Sept. 18-Oct. 3. In support of this event, Gov. Easley has proclaimed Sept. 18-Oct. 3 as "Litter Sweep" in North Carolina and encourages all citizens to take an active role in making their communities cleaner and more beautiful. Principals may want to use this event to highlight the importance of recycling and environmental responsibility with students. For more information, please contact Helen Landi, Office of Beautification Programs, 919.715.3188.