PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES 2007

JULY 12, 2007 - Principals' Biweekly Message

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Breaking with our usual tradition of not sending you attachments, there is an attachment to today's message. I wanted to make sure that you had a copy of the key dates for reporting ABC/AYP status this year, so this list is attached to this week's message as a PDF. Please note that preliminary AYP status will be available for all schools on Aug. 17. Sample parent letters and other materials concerning AYP status and other information are available now at www.ncpublicschools.org/nclb. Action on ABCs/AYP status for all schools will be on Sept. 6 at the State Board of Education's monthly meeting.
(pdf, 98kb)

Regards,
June Atkinson

In this Biweekly Principals' Message:

1. Blue Ribbon Commission on Testing and Accountability Meeting Summary
2. NCVPS Update
3. NC WISE Year End Transition Completed
4. ACT Schedules 2007-08/2008-09 Test Dates
5. NCDPI Middle and High School Writing Institute: Writing on Demand
6. Math and Science Presidential Awards' Recipients Named
7. Southeast Middle School Teaching Team Wins National Award
8. Four North Carolina Schools Receive Technology Grants
9. NASA Explorer Schools

Blue Ribbon Commission on Testing and Accountability Meeting Summary

The Blue Ribbon Commission on Testing and Accountability met Monday to continue gathering perspectives on the state's assessment program and to create a list of issues to be addressed at future meetings. Members heard from parents from Durham and Wilson Counties who raised concerns about the amount of time schools devote to the testing program as well as the anxiety brought about by these assessments. Cathy Boshamer, the exceptional children director for Gaston County Schools and a Commission member herself, spoke on behalf of Exceptional Children (EC) program administrators about these students' special testing needs and the current state of EC testing in North Carolina. Members also heard from NC Advisory Commission on Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps member Joseph Johnson who discussed some of the Commission's ongoing work. Director of the NC Center for 21st Century Skills and State Board of Education member Melissa Bartlett briefed members on the capabilities employers look for in students in an increasingly global marketplace. Following public comments, members began creating a list of issues to be addressed including test length, frequency, and type (content- or skills-based). The commission will meet again on Monday, July 23.

NCVPS Update

The North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) has over 10,000 enrollments to date and staff want to thank all the superintendents and principals for their continued support. Fall registration is still open, so we encourage you to continue to promote the NCVPS as a quality academic resource for your students. Each school will need to have a registered NCVPS advisor to assure that students are approved for courses and are enrolled. Principals should contact NCVPS Advisor Coordinator Barbara Poole at barbara.poole@ncvps.org for more information about advisors and registration. Also, if you need marketing materials to help promote the NCVPS in your schools, please contact NCVPS Chief Marketing Officer David Edwards, at david.edwards@ncvps.org for brochures, schedules, and posters or visit http://www.ncvps.org/edcommunity.html.

NC WISE Year End Transition Completed

The NC WISE Year End Transition (YET) process for the 2006-07 school year was successfully completed last Friday, and the system returned to users three days early. During YET, almost 800,000 student records were transitioned and readied for the upcoming school year. For the first time in several years, a new group of LEAs and charters schools were added to the YET process. Even though Wave 2 districts have only been on NC WISE for a short time, staff met the challenge of preparing their student data and successfully completed their first YET. Thanks for all your hard work! The 2007-08 school year promises to be an exciting time for the NC WISE team as new schools are added in addition to new functionality for existing users. Announcements and updates will be distributed in the near future.

ACT Schedules 2007-08/2008-09 Test Dates

The ACT 2007-08 test dates will be held Sept. 15, Oct. 27, Dec. 8, Feb. 9, 2008, April 12, 2008 and June 14, 2008. The 2008-09 test dates are Sept. 13, 2008, Oct. 25, 2008, Dec. 13, 2008, Feb. 7, 2009, April 4, 2009 and June 13, 2009. For more information, including student registration, please go online to www.actstudent.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.

Math and Science Presidential Awards' Recipients Named

Congratulations to North Carolina's 2006 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching recipients Elizabeth Thurlow, a mathematics teacher at Haw Creek Elementary (Buncombe County Schools) and Cheryl Collazo, a science teacher at Stoney Point Elementary (Cumberland County Schools). The President Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching is a national awards' program administered for the White House by the National Science Foundation. Each year the program recognizes outstanding mathematics and science teachers from across the United States and four U.S. jurisdictions for their contributions in the classroom and to their profession. In addition to honoring individual achievement, the goal of the awards is to expand and exemplify the definition of excellent science and mathematics teaching.

Southeast Middle School Teaching Team Wins National Award

Congratulations to Don Fought and Jane Trace, teachers at Southeast Middle School (Winston-Salem/Forsyth Schools), for being one of four teaching teams nationally selected for the "2007 Teams That Make A Difference." Sponsored by Pearson Prentice Hall and the National Middle School Association, "Teams That Make A Difference" is an awards program that identifies people who work to improve the education and well-being of young adolescents. For 2007, "Teams That Make A Difference" focused on outstanding teams that created a program, activity, or strategy that focuses on student achievement or connects students with their communities. Fought's and Trace's team submission featured its cultural sister-school exchange program with schools in Germany and Romania. They will present their program at the national conference in Houston in November.

Four North Carolina Schools Receive Technology Grants

Congratulations to East Forsyth High (Winston-Salem/Forsyth Schools), Fairmont Middle (Public Schools of Robeson), River Road Middle (Elizabeth City/Pasquotank Schools) and Williston Middle (New Hanover County Schools) for their recent receipt of grants funds from the 2007 Hewlitt Packard Technology for Teaching Grant Program. The grants, part of the 2007 HP Technology for Teaching grant program, are designed to improve student achievement through the innovative uses of technology in the classroom while encouraging student interest in careers in technology, engineering, math and science. For more information on this grant program, please go online to http://www.hp.com/go/hpteach.

NASA Explorer Schools

Applications are now available for educators interested in joining NASA Explorer Schools (NES) during the 2008-09 school year. Teams composed of full-time teachers and a school administrator will develop and implement a three-year action plan to address local challenges in science, technology and mathematics education for grades 4-9. Selected schools are eligible to receive funding during the three-year partnership to purchase technology tools. The project also provides educators and students with content-specific activities that can be used within the curricula to excite students about science, technology, engineering and math. Applications are due Jan. 31, 2008. For more information, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov/portal/site/nes/menuitem.3a9dc5f6e0302a44825 8f708c41a5ea0/.

 

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