PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES 2007

FEBRUARY 01, 2007 - Principals' Biweekly Message

Thank you for your work over the past few weeks to help finalize and distribute the 2006 NC School Report Cards. The School Report Cards are an important way for us to help parents and others in our community to be more informed about how well our schools are doing, as well as about the needs that remain to be met. I know you have many tasks to accomplish in the course of a school year, and I appreciate that you make time each year to ensure that the School Report Cards are accurate and distributed in a timely manner to parents.

Regards,
June Atkinson

In this Biweekly Principals' Message:

1. State Board Meeting Highlights
2. Teachers' Survey Live Until Feb. 9
3. LOVE THE BUS! Valentine Cards from Students to School Bus Drivers
4. Kindergarten Teacher Leader Initiative: The Power of K
5. Spirit of Freedom Exhibit
6. March 2 Success
7. National LASER K-8 Science Education Strategic Planning Institute
8. Community and Family Engagement: Principals Share What Works
9. National School Change Award
10. American Stars of Teaching Awards
11. North Carolina in the World Offers Web Resources for Teachers

State Board Meeting Highlights

At yesterday's Board meeting, members approved recommended interim academic achievement cut scores for Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry and English I and charter school grade changes and enrollment increase requests above 10 percent; continued discussion of its Reading Literacy Strategic Plan; received the 2005-06 Dropout Data Report; and honored outgoing Deputy State Superintendent Janice Davis. Complete Board highlights will be available online late next week at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/sbehighlights by clicking on the appropriate link.

Teachers' Survey Live Until Feb. 9

Please remind your teachers that they still have time to complete the online survey regarding ways to affect teacher recruitment, retention and professionalism. A short Zoomerang survey is available at http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB225ZZXBVP3D. By completing the survey, teachers can give state officials their views on a variety of ideas to help boost North Carolina's teaching force. The survey will be live until close of business on Friday, Feb. 9.

LOVE THE BUS! Valentine Cards from Students to School Bus Drivers

The American School Bus Council (ASBC, www.americanschoolbuscouncil.org) is a new organization dedicated to the education of parents, school officials and lawmakers about the essential role of the yellow school bus. ASBC research has shown that one reason that parents often feel alienated from the school transportation process is that they do not know their school bus driver and very often do not even know the NAME of their school bus driver. Local initiatives to help close this gap can only strengthen your school transportation system. This year, focusing on a Valentine's Day theme, the ASBC is promoting a campaign called LOVE THE BUS, using the time around Feb. 14 for a special bus driver appreciation emphasis. Promotional and educational materials, including suggested school bus safety resources for teachers and Valentine Cards that can be printed off and used by students to show their appreciation to their school bus drivers are posted on the LOVE THE BUS Web site at www.lovethebus.com. School districts also are encouraged to hold special events of interest to the media to help spread the word of the vital role of school bus drivers. For more information, please contact Derek Graham, NCDPI Transportation Services, 919.807.3571, or by email dgraham@dpi.state.nc.us.

Kindergarten Teacher Leader Initiative: The Power of K

As a reminder, NCDPI's Elementary Education Division is pleased to announce its North Carolina Kindergarten Teacher Leader Initiative; The Power of K. In response to the many challenges facing kindergarten teachers, NCDPI's Primary Team is launching a new project to enhance the leadership skills and content knowledge of a selected group of kindergarten teachers from each region of the state. The goal of this initiative is to establish a group of kindergarten teacher leaders for North Carolina. This group of teachers will participate in a three-year comprehensive professional development project that is designed to increase student achievement by implementing practices proven effective in addressing the educational needs of all kindergarten students. An application and directions are available online at http://community.learnnc.org/dpi/ec. All applications are due by noon, Feb. 15. For more information, please contact Eva Phillips at 919.807.3850 or by email, ephillip@dpi.state.nc.us.

Spirit of Freedom Exhibit

The American Tobacco/Capitol Broadcasting Company Inc., will feature a special collection of Nelson Mandela's drawings from Feb. 1-April 27 in the main lobby of the American Tobacco Campus. The six original drawings and their accompanying text highlight Mandela's personal experiences while at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town South Africa from 1964 until 1982. Mandela's sketches take viewers on a journey through the barbed wire fences at the guard tower, to the stone quarry where the prisoners worked, to the prison hospital where they received updates on their families and through the Courtyard. The Exhibit is free and open to the public. School group tours also will be offered. More information on school group tours will be included in the Feb. 15 Principals' message.

March 2 Success

March 2 Success is a free online test preparation program designed by Kaplan and Educational Options to provide high school and college students test preparation training. The U.S. Army sponsors March 2 Success to help potential applicants raise their scores on the entrance aptitude battery. This Web-based program has been shown to improve students' test-taking skills and can benefit students taking other standardized tests such as the SAT, ACT, as well as state mandated tests. The site is free and available to anyone, regardless of their intentions to join the military. For more information, please go online to www.march2success.com

National LASER K-8 Science Education Strategic Planning Institute

The National Science Resources Center is hosting a National LASER K-8 Science Education Strategic Planning Institute, "Meeting the Challenge of Science Education in a High-Stakes Environment," on July 15-20 in Arlington, Va. The institute will guide your school district leadership team through the rigorous process of developing a tailored strategic plan for initiating and implementing an effective research-based science program. Participants will explore current research on how students learn and develop, examine exemplary research-based K-8 science curricula, address the five elements of reform and receive technical assistance in the strategic planning process in addition to networking with others involved in science education reform. Schools should send a five-person leadership team of teachers, school administrators and a community leader. A registration form is available online at www.nsrconline.org/docs/SPI_07_regform.doc. For additional assistance, please contact Mary Raucci at 202.633.2971, or by email, laser@si.edu.

Community and Family Engagement: Principals Share What Works

The Coalition for Community Schools just released a new report focused on six keys to community engagement that help principals engage families, staff, partners and the larger community in the life of the school. The report is available online at http://www.communityschools.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=46&Ite mid=49. The Coalition also is forming a network of leaders of principal preparation programs to better understand and disseminate best practices around community engagement.

National School Change Award

Local schools may want to apply to receive recognition under the Eighth Annual National School Change Awards, which is conducted by the American Association of School Administrators and the Fordham University Graduate School of Education. Annually six schools across America are recognized for having "significantly changed." Recipients are selected in the spring and will participate in an awards presentation by the U.S. Department of Education at a special ceremony in New York City in July 2007. Recipients will receive a $5,000 grant and will participate in a major national research project focusing on school change. An overview of the program and the award's application is available online at www.npli.org/nsca. The deadline for materials to be submitted is March 19.

American Stars of Teaching Awards

The U.S. Department of Education is currently accepting nominations for its 2007 American Stars of Teaching awards, which recognizes and honors superior teachers with a track record of improving student achievement, using innovative instructional strategies and making a difference in the lives of their students. One teacher from each state will be recognized. The nominations deadline is April 1. For more information, please go to http://www.t2tweb.us/AmStar/About.asp.

North Carolina in the World Offers Web Resources for Teachers

The North Carolina in the World Web site, www.ncintheworld.org, now has more than 650 Web-based resources available to teachers. Developed and hosted by Learn NC, the site gives teachers tools to infuse international content across the curriculum. Offerings include classroom strategies, professional development and grant opportunities as well as international experts available for classroom visits.

 

If you'd like to review past Principals' Biweekly Messages sent to the listserv group, just go online to http://www.ncpublicschools.org/principalsarchive/