PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES 2005
PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES 2005DECEMBER 15, 2005
Yesterday, I had the privilege of speaking at the December Commencement ceremony for the North Carolina State University School of Education. It was wonderful to see so many newly graduated educators and to give them a "charge" to take forward into their careers. I told these graduates that I hoped they would become "dream developers" and "miracle makers" for their students and for their colleagues. Principals play a critical role in helping teachers and other professionals in their schools to be as effective as they can be. I hope that, with a new year just ahead, you will think about ways to encourage dreams and miracles for your students and staff.
Regards,
June Atkinson
In this Biweekly Principals' Message:
- NCLB Growth
- SBE Ad Hoc Rigor, Relevance and Relationships Committee Meeting Summary
- Moldova Pen Pal Opportunity
- SAT Fee Waived for Gulf Coast Students
- NC WISE Town Hall Meeting Minutes Online
- Deadline Extended for Gap Conference Call for Proposals
- 2006 Accountability Conference Abstracts Available Online
- LEARN NC Expands Project Recovery
- Teach Online for LEARN NC
- October/November CECAS Newsletter Online
- Holocaust Workshops for Teachers Scheduled
- Stock Market Game Workshops
- Deadline for Biotechnology Grant Application is Jan. 13
- LEARN NC December Update
U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings announced in late November that up to 10 states would be approved to use a growth model as a part of No Child Left Behind accountability. The growth model under consideration is different from the type that North Carolina uses. The superintendent anticipates that state proposals will be due Feb. 17. Department staff would like your input so that it can be shared with State Board of Education members before they make their final decision. Attached is the letter from Secretary Spellings for your review and comment. Please reply to this email message by WEDNESDAY, DEC. 21. We apologize for the short response time and hope that you will have an opportunity to share your ideas as we develop options for the state's proposal.
SBE Ad Hoc Rigor, Relevance and Relationships Committee Meeting Summary
The SBE Ad Hoc Committee on Rigor, Relevance and Relationships met on Nov. 29 to discuss several issues related to the committee's continuing study of academic rigor in the state's course offerings. Superintendent Atkinson updated the members on the existing high school courses of study and offered suggestions as to what modifications might have to be made in the career pathways in order to facilitate the state moving toward a single rigorous default curriculum. In May, the SBE joined the network of 25+ states that have committed to being a part of the American Diploma Project (ADP). One component of ADP is the adoption of a single default curriculum with provisions for students "opting out" of the rigorous coursework contingent on parental approval. Specific topics discussed included the need for a more systemic K-12 approach to the teaching of science, math and foreign languages to align with college-ready and work ready standards in North Carolina and with other countries; enhanced teacher pre-service and professional development in these core areas; the concept of "seat time" uncoupled from instruction; and science as a course that is taught daily and a focus area as are other tested subjects. The committee members also reviewed and made adjustments to the SBE Rigor policy that was presented to the Board at its Nov. 30 meeting.
There has been some concern expressed regarding the validity of the pen pal opportunity between students in North Carolina public schools and students in Moldova, a small former Soviet Republic located next to Romania. Moldova is North Carolina's sister country. Currently, North Carolina interacts with Moldova on a number of levels including academic, cultural, and business. Educational partnerships have occurred at both the public school and university levels. The North Carolina contact for this partnership is Rodney Maddox in the Secretary of State's Office (919.807.2005; rmaddox@sosnc.com). Major Robert Carver, a North Carolina National Guard officer, serves as one of the contacts for Moldova and is stationed at the American Embassy in Moldova. Additional information on North Carolina and Moldova's partnership can be found on the Secretary of State's Web site at http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/Partnership/objectives.aspx. If you or your students are interested in participating in this pen pal opportunity with school children in Moldova or would just like additional information, please contact Major Carver directly at rcarver@san.osd.mil.
SAT Fee Waived for Gulf Coast Students
The College Board is providing free testing to college-bound students from affected Gulf Coast states. High school seniors who live in the flood zone or have been displaced will be able to take the SAT free of charge. In addition, all 10th and 11th grade students from affected areas can take the PSAT/NMSQT at no charge. For updates, please visit the College Board's Web site at http://www.collegeboard.com.
NC WISE Town Hall Meeting Minutes Online
The minutes for five of the six NC WISE town hall meetings are available on the NC WISE Web site. To access the minutes for any of the meetings, please visit http://www.ncwise.org/ncwise_meetings.html and click on the appropriate link. The minutes from the final meeting will be posted soon. Questions and concerns that were submitted, but not addressed during the town hall meetings, are being distributed to NC WISE subject matter experts at the NCDPI for later posting. Please visit http://www.ncwise.org/ncwise_meetings.html often as it will be updated regularly until all the submitted questions and concerns have been addressed.
Deadline Extended for Gap Conference Call for Proposals
The deadline to submit a proposal to present at the Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps Conference, scheduled for March 27-29 at the Sheraton at Four Seasons/Joseph S. Koury Convention Center, Greensboro, has been extended to Wednesday, Dec. 21. The form is available online at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/schoolimprovement/closingthegap/conference/ by clicking on the appropriate link. For more information, please contact Janice Ham, Curriculum and School Reform Services, 919.807.3929, or by email, jham@dpi.state.nc.us.
2006 Accountability Conference Abstracts Available Online
Abstracts for sessions scheduled for the 2006 Accountability Conference, "Using Data Driven Decisions to Make All Children Count," are now available online at https://www10.ncschoolcats.com/conference/ by clicking on the appropriate link. The conference will be held Feb. 15-17 at the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center/Sheraton Hotel, Greensboro. Dr. Ruth Johnson, Professor of Educational Administration at California State University and author of "Setting our Sights: Measuring Equity in School Change and Using Data to Close the Achievement Gap," will be the keynote speaker. For more information, or to register for the conference, please access the Web site noted above. The online registration deadline is Jan. 20. Site registrations will be accepted based upon space availability. For more information, please contact Sherry Ward, Accountability Services, NCDPI, 919.807.3664, or by email, sward@dpi.state.nc.us.
LEARN NC Expands Project Recovery
LEARN NC has announced an expansion of Project Recovery, a joint program of the LEARN NC and the NCDPI. LEARN NC will develop and make available high-quality, standards-based online courses aimed at credit recovery. Beginning in January 2006, LEARN NC will pilot the Algebra I course for 20 students. The course does not require an additional textbook, but schools will be required to provide a period of the instructional day for the student to work on the course with an adult present to serve as a facilitator. In summer 2006, Civics and Economics, US History, Latin I, English I, and English II will be added to the program. Future development will include Biology and Geometry. While course content will continue to be made available free of charge to school systems with trained instructors, in this expansion of Project Recovery, LEARN NC also will provide instructors for a limited number of seats in the summer of 2006. LEARN NC is no longer an authorized Class.com licensee. Its agreement has expired, and due to funding constraints, LEARN NC is unable to renew it. No new enrollments will be accepted for Class.com courses as a part of Project Recovery. However, no new training will be required for instructors who wish to teach Project Recovery courses and were trained in the first phase of the program. For more information about enrolling students in the January pilot of Algebra I, please contact Ross White at ross@learnnc.org or 919.962.2475.
Principals are asked to share the following information with staff: LEARN NC will have part-time openings in 2006-07 in a variety of subject areas. Most online teachers also continue to work full-time in their home schools while teaching online at night. Teachers are paid $450/student for full-year courses, and $225/student for block-semester courses, with a first-semester maximum of 20 student enrollments. Teachers must be licensed in North Carolina, and should have taught the subject matter they are applying for at least two full school years. AP instructors must have attended the AP Summer Institute in their subject area. All applicants should have a computer with Windows XP, Internet Explorer 6.0, a headset with microphone, and high-speed Internet access. Applicants should be comfortable with email and digital communications, and have excellent writing skills. In 2006-07, all LEARN NC teachers will be required to use AOL Instant Messenger and Skype, both of which are available for free. While no HTML experience is necessary, it often proves beneficial. Interested teachers should send a resume detailing certifications, teaching experience, and relevant professional development experiences. If you have taken or taught online courses, please note where and what platform you used. Send resumes or questions to Ross White, Director of Online Learning, LEARN NC, at ross@learnnc.org.
October/November CECAS Newsletter Online
The October/November edition of the CECAS (Comprehensive Exceptional Children Accountability System) newsletter is available online and contains the following articles: Dec. 1 Child Count, CECAS Bugs, New CECAS Support Email Address, CECAS Warnings While Using Electronic EC Forms, Electronic EC Forms Tip, CECAS Contacts' Workshop, Training Server Down Time and Training Site Cleanup. For more information, please go to the CECAS Web site at http://www.nccecas.org/info/downloads.html and click on the appropriate link under "Newsletters."
Holocaust Workshops for Teachers Scheduled
One-day, multi-county workshops on the Holocaust have been scheduled for middle and high school social studies and language arts teachers. Participants will receive a copy of "The Holocaust: a North Carolina Teacher's Resource," a guide for teaching about the Holocaust at the middle and high school levels. Substitute pay is provided for teachers attending, but space is limited and teachers are encouraged to respond quickly. The workshops are scheduled for the following dates and locations: Jan. 20, Yanceyville (Caswell County); Feb. 1, Monroe (Union County); Feb. 3, Lillington (Harnett County); Feb. 8, Winton (Hertford County); Feb. 15, Whiteville (Columbus County); Feb. 20, Washington (Beaufort County); March 27, Lenoir (Caldwell County); March 31, Enka (Buncombe County); and April 3, Hickory (Catawba County). For additional information, please email Linda Scher, Holocaust Teacher Workshop Coordinator, at Brisket234@aol.com.
The North Carolina Council on Economic Education (NCCEE) is sponsoring free workshops for teachers interested in using the Stock Market Game (SMG) as a teaching tool. Workshops are located throughout the state beginning in January. The next SMG statewide competition begins Feb. 13. To register for workshops and/or pre-register for the competition, please go online to www.nccee.org or contact Sandy Wheat at swheat@nccee.org. NCCEE is a non-profit organization dedicated to economic education in North Carolina.
Deadline for Biotechnology Grant Application is Jan. 13
The submission deadline for the North Carolina Biotechnology Center's 2005-06 Biotechnology Education Mini-Grants is Jan. 13. The grants are to be used to develop and implement activities, programs and courses for biotechnology education and training at the K-12 level. For more information, including an application, please go online to http://www.ncbiotech.org/ouractivities/grantsloans/MiniGrantsNEW.cfm.
Learn NC's December update is now online and includes such items as Online Instructors Wanted for High School Courses; Inquiry Science; Getting Ready for the New Semester; New in the Education Reference: Expanded Entries on Copyright and Lattice Multiplication; Model Lesson Plans; and Online CEU Courses Open for Enrollment. It's all available online at www.learnnc.org.