PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES 2007

NOVEMBER 15, 2007 - Principals' Biweekly Message

In elementary schools across the country, children are decorating construction paper turkeys, re-enacting the first Thanksgiving meal and discussing the many things for which they are thankful. I want to take a break from the usual business at hand with this message to say thank you to each of you for the work you do. In the midst of our hectic days, it is easy to lose sight of important things: the progress we are making as a state, the individual children who are better off because of public schools, the futures that are built within the classrooms across North Carolina. Please take a moment to remember these blessings and to give thanks for them all. Happy Thanksgiving,

Regards,
June Atkinson

In this Biweekly Principals' Message:

1. 2007 Wachovia Principal of the Year Farewell Message
2. Joint Legislative Study Committee on Public School Funding
3. Dropout Prevention Grant Technical Assistance Meetings
4. Four NC High Schools to Become Best Practice Models
5. North Carolina Principal Fellows Program
6. State Employee Incentive Bonus Program
7. Museum of History Offers Virtual Field Trips
8. Law Symposium & Update: The 1st Amendment for 21st Century Schools
9. North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center Awards

2007 North Carolina Wachovia Principal of the Year Farewell Message

It has been my greatest honor to serve as the 2007 North Carolina Wachovia Principal of the Year and, subsequently, as an advisor for the State Board of Education. I have found the leadership of the State Board and DPI open and responsive to the concerns and ideas that many of you across the state have forwarded to me. Recently, I accepted the position of Assistant Superintendent with Wilson County Public Schools and, as such, will be replaced as the State Board Advisor, as the person in this position must be a sitting principal. I look forward to my new position and see it as a professional growth opportunity but will always cherish the honor and privilege bestowed on me through the Wachovia Principal of the Year program Please continue to support and send information to the new advisor who will be named and from whom you will here from in the near future. Continue the great work you are doing across this great state and always remember to keep children's best interests at the heart of our work. Have a great school year. Craig Hill, 2007 North Carolina Wachovia Principal of the Year.

Joint Legislative Study Committee on Public School Funding

Rep. Rick Glazier and Sen. A.B. Swindell have been named co-chairs of the new Joint Legislative Study Committee on Public School Funding. The 20-member committee, which includes equal members of the House and Senate, was established during the 2007 Session of the General Assembly and tasked with performing an extensive study of public school funding and distributions.

The study will take a broader look, examining 12 kinds of school funding including, but not limited to: school capital fund; lottery school construction formula; children with disabilities; limited English proficiency; at risk student services/alternative schools; improving student accountability; disadvantaged students supplemental fund; low wealth counties supplemental funding; small county supplemental funding; transportation of pupils; academically or intellectually gifted; and number of school systems funded in each county. The committee also will also study the State Board of Education's model for projecting schools' average daily membership and focus particularly on how well the model accounts for students in rapidly growing school systems with highly mobile populations.

The committee has been asked to submit a report during the 2008 session that includes both its findings and recommendations.

Dropout Prevention Grant Technical Assistance Meetings

Two additional technical assistance meetings have been scheduled to assist potential applicants with the Dropout Prevention Grant application process. Over 250 potential applicants participated in the technical assistance meeting held last Thursday in Greensboro. The meetings will be held on Monday, Nov. 19, from 9 a.m. - 12 noon at the Wilson County Agriculture Building in Wilson and at the Western Region Education Service Alliance A-B Tech/Enka Campus in Asheville. Directions to these meeting locations are available on the NCDPI's homepage, www.ncpublicschools.org, under Highlights. You also can download the Dropout Prevention Grant application and corresponding forms at this same location. Technical questions regarding the grant application or selection process should be directed to the following State Board of Education staff: Kathy Sullivan 919.807.3608; ksulliva@dpi.state.nc.us or Marvin Pittman 919.807.3911; mpittman@dpi.state.nc.us.

Four NC High Schools to Become Best Practice Models

Partnering UNC campuses and the NC New Schools Project will select four high schools to become "learning laboratories of best practice," enabling educators from across the state to observe transformed teaching and learning that leads to higher graduation rates and higher performance for all students. The project will be funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Once the four learning lab schools are selected by a national panel of high school reform experts, the schools will be paired with a partnering UNC campus and its teacher education, educational leadership and related programs. Within two years, the learning labs will be prepared to host visiting teachers and principals for "residencies" over several days, allowing them to observe and explore instructional practices used in the model schools. For more information, please contact Joni Worthington, UNC Board of Governors, 919.962.4629 or by email, worthj@northcarolina.edu.

North Carolina Principal Fellows Program

The North Carolina Principal Fellows Program is a merit-based scholarship loan program designed to attract outstanding educators to full-time, two-year Master of School Administration degree programs. Fellows receive $30,000 the first year, and the equivalent of a first year assistant principal 10-month salary plus $4,100 the second year. Recipients of the scholarship loan agree to practice at an approved site in North Carolina as a full-time school-based administrator for four years or repay in cash. Fellows scholarship loans are available for the 2008-09 school year. Prospective Fellows must apply and be unconditionally accepted in an MSA program at a participating campus before applying for the Principal Fellows scholarship loan. The application deadline for the scholarship loan is Jan. 15. Applications for the scholarship loan can be obtained online at www.ncpfp.org. Questions may be directed to Harry Starnes, director, NC Principal Fellows Program, has@northcarolina.edu, or Caroline Green, program coordinator, NC Principal Fellows Program, cogreen@northcarolina.edu.

State Employee Incentive Bonus Program

The Office of State Personnel is working to revitalize the State Employee Incentive Bonus Program (SEIBP). SEIBP's mission is to improve state government operations and reduce costs by providing employees a method for submitting, evaluating and implementing creative ideas that benefit the state. As an incentive, employees are generously rewarded for adopted suggestions, either through monetary or non-monetary awards. Unfortunately, participation has declined since 2004. To help get the program back on track, principals are asked to include a link to the SEIBP homepage, www.seibp.org, on your school's Web site and to include the Web address for the SEIBP program as a standing news item in your newsletters. If you have any questions, please contact Sherry Joyner at 919.807.4885.

Museum of History Offers Virtual Field Trips

Learn what goes on "Behind the Scenes" at the North Carolina Museum of History, or explore their "What We Wore" or "Rhythm and Roots of North Carolina Music" exhibits with a virtual field trip to the museum via two-way videoconferencing. These interesting and interactive programs allow students to experience history firsthand. Students will see, hear, and talk with an expert at the museum, examine reproduction artifacts, and participate in group activities. All classes meet specific goals of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study and are appropriate for third through fifth grades. Materials and other information are available on the Web at www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/edu/outreach.html by clicking on virtual field trips. Other one-hour virtual field trips for elementary schools include: "American Indians in North Carolina;" four different "History Mystery" classes (Colonial Life, Health and Healing, Rural Home Life, and Tools and Gadgets); and "Moccasins to Motorcars." The North Carolina Information Highway makes connecting to the museum easy. For more information, please contact Jerry Taylor at jerry.taylor@ncmail.net or 919.807.7972. The museum's classes are free of charge.

Law Symposium & Update: The 1st Amendment for 21st Century Schools

Lex-IS Services is sponsoring a workshop on the 1st Amendment for 21st Century Schools on Monday, Feb. 18, from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., at the Kenan Center, Chapel Hill. Participants will hear from and interact with experienced school attorneys about evolving 1st Amendment law as applied to school communities. A general update of key developments in school law also will be provided. There is a registration fee. For more information, including registration, please go online to https://www.123signup.com/servlet/SignUpMember?PG=1520837182300&P=1520837191 155684800&Info.

North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center Awards

he North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology (SMT) Education Center is pleased to announce its inaugural SMT Awards. These awards recognize individuals and organizations whose extraordinary contributions to science, mathematics, and technology education in North Carolina are helping to advance the mission of the SMT Center. Recipients of the awards will be honored at the Celebration of Science, Mathematics, and Technology on April 19 at the Embassy Suites, Cary. Profiles of the individuals or organizations honored will be featured on the SMT Center Web site (www.ncsmt.org). The deadline for receipt of all materials is Dec. 3. To find out more about this new award's program, including the various awards and appropriate nomination forms, please go online to http://www.ncsmt.org/prog.awards.html or contact Lisa Rhodes, NC Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Center, 919.991.111.

 

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