PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES 2007

DECEMBER 6, 2007 - Principals' Biweekly Message

The rate of acts of crime and violence reported per 1,000 students decreased in 2006-07 by 0.13, a reduction that was influenced by an increase in the number of public school students statewide. The total number of acts of crime and violence increased by 0.5 percent, or 54 acts, from 2005-06, according to the Annual Report on School Crime and Violence presented this week to the State Board of Education. As always, North Carolina's public schools remain one of the safest environments for students. Thank you for all your doing to keep our schools safe for student learning.

Regards,
June Atkinson

In this Biweekly Principals' Message:

1. State Board Meeting Highlights
2. 2006-07 School Crime and Violence Report Released
3. State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report of Local Education Agencies Published
4. NC Selected to Participate in First Arts Education Leaders Institute
5. Teacher Working Conditions Survey in 2008
6. Principal Evaluation Practice Study

State Board Meeting Highlights

At today's Board meeting, members approved final Achievement Level Descriptors for the Algebra I, Geometry and English I end-of-course tests, recommended interim cut scores and draft Achievement Level Descriptors for the North Carolina science tests, and recommended final cut scores and Achievement Level Descriptors for the NCEXTEND2 OCS Writing Assessment at Grade 10; revision of the North Carolina English Language Development K-12 Standard Course of Study; and revision of the licensure policy to facilitate the licensing of administrators and instructional support personnel as teachers. Board members discussed the Educational Value Added Assessment System Teacher Module, the Annual Report on the Reasons Teachers Leave the Profession, and a request to establish an additional regional alternative licensure center. Complete Board highlights will be available online late next week at www.ncpublicschools.org/sbehighlights.

2006-07 School Crime and Violence Report Released

The rate of acts of crime and violence reported per 1,000 students in state public schools decreased by 0.13 and the total number of acts of crime and violence increased by 0.5 percent. As has been consistently reported in previous years, the large majority of incidents reported were in categories considered non-violent: possession of a controlled substance in violation of law, possession of a weapon excluding firearms and powerful explosives, possession of an alcoholic beverage and assault on school personnel not resulting in serious injury. The Department has implemented a number of programs including the Positive Behavioral Support Initiative and partnered on Media Ready to reduce the number of acts of crime and violence committed on school property. The information from the Crime and Violence Report will be used for a number of purposes including Safe Schools Grant review, school and district improvement plans, crisis management kits, superintendent and principal evaluations, grant writing and justification for additional resources. To read more, as well as access the full report, please go to the NCDPI Web site at http://www.ncpublicschools.org and click on the appropriate link under "News."

State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report of Local Education Agencies Published

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004) requires each state to submit a State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR). The SPP is a six-year performance plan that evaluates the state's efforts to implement the requirements of the IDEA and improve its results for students with disabilities. It describes how North Carolina will improve its performance on 20 prescribed indicators... Fourteen of the SPP indicators (Indicators 1-14) focus on educational outcomes for students with disabilities, as well as compliance with the IDEA. The last six SPP indicators (Indicators 15-20) review the State Education Agency's general supervision authority under the IDEA. North Carolina established measurable and rigorous targets for each indicator and must report annually through the APR on the performance of the state.

The IDEA also requires the state to report annually to the public on the performance of each local education agency on certain indicators. In accordance with the IDEA, NCDPI's Exceptional Children Division is providing to the public the performance of each LEA on the targets of the indicators of the SPP. This year, the required indicators are Indicator 1, graduation; Indicator 2, dropout; Indicator 3, state assessments; Indicator 4, suspensions greater than 10 days; Indicator 5, school age least restrictive environment (LRE), ages 6-21; Indicator 6, preschool LRE, ages 3-5; and Indicator 12, transition from Part C to Part B. The reporting is based on data from the 2005-06 school year. The report for each LEA may be accessed by the going to the Exceptional Children Division's Web site at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/ec and clicking on Public Reports for Local Education Agencies.

NC Selected to Participate in First Arts Education Leaders Institute

A team of education and arts leaders from North Carolina, along with teams from Alaska, Kentucky, Nebraska and Wisconsin, has been selected by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for an arts education institute that could lead to statewide reform on how arts education is provided to students in K-12 public schools. The NEA Education Leaders Institute will convene the five teams, which are comprised of school leaders, legislators, policymakers, educators, professional artists, consultants and scholars. Together, these teams will discuss a shared arts education challenge, and jointly develop strategies to strengthen their state's arts education policies and programs. To read the full press release, please go online to http://www.arts.gov/news/news07/ELI2.html.

Teacher Working Conditions Survey in 2008

The NC Teacher Working Conditions Survey (TWC) will be conducted once again in March 2008. All teachers will be encouraged to participate in this anonymous survey, which provides valuable data at the school, district and state levels on teaching conditions in our schools. In order to provide every school with valid data to use in their school improvement plans for 2008-2010, it is important for each school to meet the minimum 40 percent response rate. Schools (and their faculty) that reach a 100 percent response rate will be entered into weekly drawings for prizes provided by the NC Business Committee for Education. By encouraging all teachers to respond to the Teacher Working Conditions Survey, survey organizers hope to enhance the participation rate and increase the number of schools that will have reportable results. For more information on the TWC, please visit www.ncteachingconditions.org.

Principal Evaluation Practice Study

The faculty of the Department of Educational Leadership at East Carolina University and Western Carolina University are conducting a study of principal evaluation practice in North Carolina. Study results will be used to inform and strengthen the evaluation process, and to develop training and other support for the implementation of the new evaluation system for school executives. Principals are asked to help by participating in a study of the performance evaluation of principals in North Carolina by completing an online survey. The purpose of the survey is to gain an accurate picture of how evaluation has been conducted over the years and to learn which practices principals feel have been most helpful. It will take 15 to 20 minutes to complete the survey, which is available online at https://survey.ecu.edu/perseus/se.ashx?s=0B87A65670C02695. The survey will be accessible through Jan. 15. Your participation will be greatly appreciated. If you have questions about the survey or study, please contact Dr. Lynn Bradshaw at bradshawl@ecu.edu.

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