PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES 2007

JUNE 7, 2007 - Principals' Biweekly Message

What should North Carolina's testing and accountability program look like? What should accountability include for students, schools and districts? What do we need to keep and what is no longer needed? These are some of the questions being considered by a new Blue Ribbon Commission on Testing and Accountability, meeting for the first time on May 30 and for the second time on Tuesday. This group of educators - including principals Craig Hill, Kinston High School, Lenoir; Nancy Bartles, Independence High School, Charlotte-Mecklenburg; and Tammy Bellefeuil, Brevard Elementary, Transylvania - has begun its work with frank and candid discussion about the key elements of the current accountability system. Participants have heard from a number of presenters on the history and purposes of the current program, regional activities in testing and accountability and high school accountability model research. The Commission's report and recommendations are expected to be presented to the State Board of Education shortly after the beginning of the 2007-08 school year. We will keep you informed as this group develops its recommendations.

Regards,
June Atkinson

In this Biweekly Principals' Message:

1. State Board Meeting Highlights
2. Governor Issues Executive Order on Water Use
3. Registration Deadline Extended for Summer Leadership Conference
4. NC Graduation Project Recognition Awards' Reminder
5. Learn & Earn Online Expected to Provide College Credits this Fall
6. 16 AP Courses Authorized By College Board
7. NCVPS Informational Materials Available Online
8. NCDPI Middle and High School Writing Institute: Writing on Demand
9. Write On! Best Practices Conference to be Held in August
10. School Districts Recognized for Providing "What Parents Want"
11. Education Mini-Grants Awarded
12. Articles of Interest

State Board Meeting Highlights

At today's State Board meeting, members approved the Future-Ready Core Course of Study for high school students, proposed standards for the Standard Course of Study in American Sign Language Secondary Level, and revisions to Praxis II testing requirements for Exceptional Children's teachers. Complete highlights of the State Board meeting will be available online late next week at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/sbehighlights by clicking on the appropriate link.

Governor Issues Executive Order on Water Use

Gov. Mike Easley has issued an Executive Order requesting discontinuation of non-essential water use in the western part of the state due to extreme and severe drought conditions. Although the order targets 17 specific counties (Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania and Yancey), Gov. Easley has requested voluntary compliance with the directive for the remaining counties to ensure that North Carolina's water supply is protected for all necessary individual and industrial uses. The directive will remain in effect until rescinded by the Governor.

Registration Deadline Extended for Summer Leadership Conference

The registration deadline for the Summer Leadership Conference 2007/NCASA Superintendents' Retreat, which is scheduled for June 24-27 at the Gove Park Inn, Asheville, has been extended to June 15. Conference information and online registration can be found at www.wresa.org. If you have any questions, please contact Roger Metcalf at 828.418.0011, ext. 12 or Vicki Wilson, ext. 22.

NC Graduation Project Recognition Awards' Reminder

High school principals are reminded that the State Board of Education will recognize NC Graduation Project Award recipients at its August meeting. Awards will be given to recognize a worthy graduating senior, a deserving graduation project coordinator, and a commendable graduation project. The deadline to submit an application(s) for recognition is June 15. There are specific requirements for each type of application. If you've misplaced any of the application forms that were originally sent on March 21, please contact Teresa Smith, Division of Middle/Secondary Education, NCDPI, at 919.807.3820, or by email, tsmith@dpi.state.nc.us. If you have any questions regarding the application process itself, please contact Amy Betsill, Division of Middle/Secondary Education, NCDPI, at 919.807.3817, or by email, abetsill@dpi.state.nc.us.

Learn & Earn Online Expected to Provide College Credits this Fall

A team of NCDPI staff has been working with colleagues from the University system (UNC-Gi) and the Community Colleges system to develop Learn and Earn Online, a new program to begin this fall that will provide college courses and credit to high school students at no cost to the students or their families. A new Web site - http://www.ncpublicschools.org/learnandearnonline/ - has been built to provide information on the program.

16 AP Courses Authorized By College Board

The North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) has just added Spanish Literature to its growing number of AP courses authorized by the College Board. NCVPS now has 16 AP courses that have been authorized with the College Board's AP® designation. The authorization grants NCVPS permission to use the "AP®" designation on students' transcripts. Currently NCVPS has received authorization for the following courses: AP Calculus BC, AP Government and Politics US and Comparative, AP Computer Science A, AP Latin Vergil, AP Computer Science AB, AP Physics B, AP Earth and Environmental Science, AP Psychology, AP English Language and Composition, AP Spanish Literature, AP European History, AP Statistics, AP Government and Politics Comparative, AP US History, AP Government and Politics, and AP World History. NCVPS expects the remaining AP courses listed on its Web site under "Course Offerings" to receive this authorization soon. Please note that the school district assumes responsibility for students taking NCVPS Advanced Placement courses with regard to ordering, paying for, and administering Advanced Placement exams in accordance with The College Board guidelines. NCVPS will reimburse the school the cost of ordering the exams for all students who took their Advanced Placement course with NCVPS. Upon request, the school will provide NCVPS with the student's score on the Advanced Placement exam.

NCVPS Informational Materials Available Online

The North Carolina Virtual Public School has materials available for all school districts and schools to help promote the use of NCVPS online courses. In addition, information about the operations of the NCVPS is available online for downloading at www.ncvps.org. The following materials are available for download: Frequently Asked Questions - http://www.ncvps.org/about/faq.pdf, NCVPS Operational Guidelines - http://www.ncvps.org/about/guidelines.pdf, NCVPS Flyer - http://www.ncvps.org/about/flyer.pdf, and NCVPS Logos (must be used in original size, no scaling) - http://www.ncvps.org/about/logos.html. Posters will be available July 1 and can be requested by emailing David Edwards at the address listed below. If you have any questions, please contact David Edwards, chief marketing officer, NC Virtual Public School, 252.527.2487, or by email, david.edwards@ncvps.org.

NCDPI Middle and High School Writing Institute: Writing on Demand

NCDPI, in collaboration with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), will offer two writing professional development sessions this summer, with online follow-up throughout the year through the NCTE Pathways to Adolescent Literacy initiative. The workshops will be held from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on July 16-17 at the Crowne Plaza Charlotte, Charlotte, and July 19-20 at the Holiday Inn Crabtree Valley, Raleigh. During the workshop, teachers will learn strategies for following what they know to be best practices in teaching writing while still helping students prepare for writing tests. These strategies, designed to address specific features of writing on demand, can be incorporated into an existing curriculum. They adhere to the principle that test preparation and good writing instruction are not incompatible. After the workshop, teachers will further their learning with colleagues and workshop presenters through online professional development in Pathways. For more information, including registration, please visit http://community.learnnc.org/dpi/ela/archives/2007/06/ncdpi_middle_an.php or call Teresa Parker, NCDPI, 919.807.3837, or by email, tparker@dpi.state.nc.us.

Write On! Best Practices Conference to be Held in August

Registration is now open for "Write On! Inspiring Our Students to Write Through the Arts and Experiential Learning," a K-8 Best Practices Conference sponsored by the A+ Schools Program at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). The Conference, which is open to teachers, administrators and teaching artists across the state, will be held Thursday and Friday, Aug. 2 -3, at UNCG. Conference strands include The Writing Process, Writing as "Art," and Writing Across the Curriculum. There is a registration fee. For more information, please call 336.217.5117 or email aplus@uncg.edu. To register, please go online to http://www.ssltransaction.net/a_plus/2007.

School Districts Recognized for Providing "What Parents Want"

SchoolMatch recently recognized the following 21 North Carolina school districts with its 2007 Sixteenth Annual award for consistently providing "What Parents Want" in public education: Ashville City, Buncombe, Carteret, Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Chatham, Durham, Elkin City, Forsyth, Guilford, Henderson, Hickory City, Jackson, Moore, New Hanover, Orange, Pitt, Polk, Transylvania, Wake and Watauga. SchoolMatch is an independent, nationwide service that helps corporate families find schools that match the needs of their children. Only 16 percent (2,516) of the nation's 15,571 public school districts were recognized for meeting the news of families choosing schools. Additional information regarding this award can be found online at http://schoolmatch.com/ppsi/wpwlist.cfm.

Education Mini Grants Awarded

Congratulations to the following schools/school system for their recent receipt of Education Mini Grants from The North Carolina Biotechnology Center: Atkins School of Biotechnology (Winston-Salem/Forsyth Schools), Carrboro High (Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools), Dillard Middle (Wayne County Schools), Lincoln County Schools, North Stokes High (Stokes County Schools), School of Inquiry and Life Sciences (Asheville City Schools), South Granville School of Health and Life Sciences (Granville County Schools), and Terry Sanford High (Cumberland County Schools). The grants will be used to support biotechnology education and may be applied toward purchasing biotechnology-related equipment, supplies and teaching materials in addition to developing new courses or programs and to enhance existing ones. The Education Mini-Grant Program is one of several Biotechnology Center programs and activities intended to inform the public and prepare a trained work force to support the state's growing biotechnology industry.

Articles of Interest

The following articles from the PEN Weekly NewsBlast may be of interest to principals. In "Educating Newcomers: Ensuring that Immigrants Succeed in Public Schools," the latest issue of Voices in Education from the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, the author offers five perspectives on what is the best way to educate newcomers and how schools can employ the assets that newcomers bring with them. The author also suggests ways that schools can ensure that immigrant students succeed. The article is available online at http://www.annenberginstitute.org/VUE/index.html. In "Everyone Get a Front Row Seat at Commencement with Online Gradcasts," Houston Chronicle report Jennifer Radcliffe reports that streaming video live is catching on among some school districts who say it costs next to nothing to offer the extra service to students' families. Family and friends can watch graduation ceremonies, sporting events and school plays from the comfort of their homes or offices. "Gradcasts" are especially popular among family members who are elderly, living out of town or are in the military, officials said. To read more, please go online to www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4828105.html.

 

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