PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES 2006

FEBRUARY 7, 2008 - Principals' Biweekly Messages

On Monday, I had the opportunity to participate in the kick-off of Project K-Nect, an innovative partnership with Qualcomm and Digital Millennial Consulting to use Smartphones with advanced mobile broadband technologies to deliver educational material to ninth graders in three school districts. Participating students are from Southwest High School and Dixon High School (Onslow County), Southern School of Engineering (Durham County), and Carver High School (Winston-Salem/Forsyth) and were selected because their math performance shows that they need additional assistance to reach proficiency. I believe it makes sense to try innovative approaches, using technology most likely to appeal to teen-age students. I appreciate Qualcomm's sponsorship of this project and Digital Millennial Consulting's leadership in creating the model. This summer, we expect to receive results of this project's evaluation to share with you. For more details, please go to www.ncpublicschools.org and look under News.

Regards,
June Atkinson

In this Biweekly Principals' Message:

1. State Board Meeting Highlights
2. Pre-kindergarten Age of Eligibility for 2008-09
3. Water Conservation
4. 2008 Engineers Week
5. Two Schools Receive National Title I Recognition
6. Hertford County Students to Pilot E-Books
7. Regional Wachovia Principals of the Year Announced
8. Regional Teachers of the Year to Compete for Statewide Honors
9. Jay Robinson Leadership Award Nominations
10. ELA Live!
11. Register Now for the Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps Conference
12. One-Day Conference Focuses on Literacy
13. NCCAT Accepting Registrations for Summer Renewal Seminars
14. American Youth Ambassador Program
15. College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) Newsletter
16. Student Science Enrichment Program Awards
17. New Nelson Mandela Exhibit

State Board Meeting Highlights

At today's Board meeting, members approved middle school students taking high school science courses and the policy on the use of the Educational Value Added Assessment System (EVAAS) Teacher Module, discussed the impact of possible revision of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study in Mathematics, and received the 2006-07 Annual Report on Dropout Events and Rates and the 2006-07 Annual Study of Suspensions and Expulsions. Complete Board highlights will be available online later next week at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/sbehighlights.

Pre-kindergarten Age of Eligibility for 2008-09

Effective in 2009-2010, House Bill 150 requires that a child presented for enrollment to kindergarten must be 5 years old on or before Aug. 31 of that school year. House Bill 1473 requires that a child being served in the More at Four program be "eligible to enter kindergarten the next school year." To ensure all children served in the 2008-2009 More at Four program are "eligible to enter kindergarten the next year," it is necessary to adjust the pre-kindergarten age of eligibility to 4 years of age on or before Aug. 31 effective in 2008-09, one year prior to the kindergarten age eligibility adjustment. The immediate impact will be: a. Because those children having a fifth birthday between Sept. 1 and Oct. 16 of 2008 will remain eligible for and enroll in kindergarten for the 2008-09 school year, there will be a smaller cohort of age-eligible children for the More at Four program in that year. b. Title I preschool programs also serve children the year prior to kindergarten and will adjust the age of eligibility to 4 years of age on or before Aug. 31 for 2008-09 as well. c. The eligibility age for Exceptional Children Preschool will remain the same (on the child's third birthday). d. Eligibility for Even Start will remain the same, determined by the parent's education level. All non-school-aged children of Even Start-eligible parents will be served in a high quality early care and education setting regardless of age. For more information, please contact John Pruette, executive director, NC Office of School Readiness, 919.981.5303 or by email, John.Pruette@ncmail.net.

Water Conservation

A report regarding water conservation information and tips has been posted to NCDPI's School Planning Section's Web site, www.schoolclearinghouse.org, on the Publications and Guides page (click on School Planning then look under Other Topics). This report lists several techniques that schools can implement in order to conserve water. It is important that we act now in order to plan for the future. If you have any questions, please contact Daniel Boyette at 919.807.3556 or by email, dboyette@dpi.state.nc.us.

2008 Engineers Week

The NC EWeek Coalition would like to invite your classes to participate in the 2008 Engineers Week (EWeek), which will be held Feb. 17-23. EWeek provides a valuable opportunity for your students to interact with volunteers during presentations that emphasize the practical applications of math and science. EWeek volunteers will be able to come to your classrooms and share information about their own careers and facilitate fun and exciting science-related projects, demonstrations and videos. Speakers are volunteers from local businesses and engineering associations. Because of the popularity and strong response from this program, program coordinators are asking schools to sign up as soon as possible on their Web site, www.nc-eweek.org. Visits after EWeek can be accommodated through the same sign up process. If you have any questions, please contact Bill Roberts, Duke Energy, at 828.323.2772.

Two Schools Receive National Title I Recognition

Congratulations to Morehead City Primary (Carteret County Schools) and Longview Elementary (Hickory City Schools) for recently being recognized as Title I Distinguished Schools for 2008. Morehead City Primary was nominated for Category 1 - Exceptional Student Performance for two or more consecutive years, and Longview Elementary was nominated for Category 2 - Closing the Achievement Gap between groups of students.

Hertford County Students to Pilot E-Books

Congratulations to Hertford County High School, whose students will be on the cutting edge of educational technology, thanks to a $25,000 grant by the AT&T Foundation. This grant is being used to fund an e-book pilot project to deliver instruction to students in the school.

Regional Wachovia Principals of the Year Announced

Congratulations to the following eight principals who were recently named 2008 Wachovia Regional Principals of the Year:

• North Central Region: Cathy Moore, Sanderson High (Wake County Schools)
• Northeast Region: Arty Tillett, First Flight High (Dare County Schools)
• Northwest Region: Danny Cartner, South Davie Middle (Davie County Schools)
• Southeast Region: Lori Howard, Clyde Erwin Elementary (Onslow County Schools)
• Southwest Region: Debra Morris, A.L. Brown High (Kannapolis City Schools)
• Sandhills/South Central Region: Vicky Kirby, Pate Gardner Elementary (Scotland County Schools)
• Piedmont-Triad/Central Region: Nakia Hardy, Broadview Middle (Alamance-Burlington Schools); and
• West Region: Thomas Keever, Valley Springs Middle (Buncombe County Schools).

The eight regional winners each will receive $1,500 for personal use and $1,500 for their school. A State Selection Committee will review the portfolios of the eight regional winners and then visit each candidate's school campus. Results of these site visits, portfolio assessments and personal interviews will be used to determine the 2008 Wachovia Principal of the Year. The 2008 Wachovia Principal of the Year will be announced on April 3 in Raleigh during a luncheon.

Regional Teachers of the Year to Compete for Statewide Honors

Congratulations to the following nine public school teachers who were recently selected to represent their regions and charter schools as regional Teachers of the Year:

• North Central Region: Paige Elliott, Fuquay-Varina High (Wake County Schools)
• Northeast Region: Sonya Rinehart, John Holmes High (Edenton-Chowan Public Schools)
• Northwest Region: Janice Raper, Hurley Elementary (Rowan-Salisbury Schools)
• Southeast Region: Ruth Parker, Clinton High (Clinton City Schools)
• Southwest Region: Bernard Waugh, Kannapolis Intermediate (Kannapolis City Schools)
• Sandhills/South Central Region: Trisha Muse, Page Street Elementary (Montgomery County Schools)
• Piedmont-Triad/Central Region: Cindi Rigsbee, Gravelly Hill Middle (Orange County Schools)
• West Region: Renee Peoples, West Elementary (Swain County Schools); and
• Charter Schools: Freida Baker, East Wake Academy (Wake County).

Each of the regional teachers of the year will receive a one-time stipend of $5,000 and a trip to a national conference. They also will serve on the 2008-09 Teacher of the Year team. The 2008-09 Teacher of the Year will be announced April 29 at a dinner and awards ceremony.

Jay Robinson Leadership Award Nominations

The Jay Robinson Leadership Award was established by the Public School Forum Board to recognize outstanding leaders in the public education field. The award may be given to anyone who has displayed innovative, creative, and effective leadership for North Carolina public schools. Nominations must be postmarked by March 1. The recipient will receive a cash award sponsored by BB&T. The award ceremony will be held June 9 at the Raleigh Crabtree Marriott Hotel. To obtain an application, please contact Claire Ancelet, Public School Forum, 919.781.6833, or by email, cancelet@ncforum.org or you can download a copy at www.ncforum.org.

ELA Live!

ELA Live! is a podcast produced by NCDPI's 6-12 English Language Arts staff featuring items of interest to English teachers, administrators, and the public school community. ELA Live!'s first Podcast features an interview with assessment guru Margaret Heritage, the featured presenter at the ELA institute on Formative Assessment held in New Bern Oct... 22-23. This is an excellent opportunity to hear the thoughts and insights on Formative Assessment from an international expert on this topic. This and future podcasts, which are available online at http://community.learnnc.org/dpi/ela, will include more interviews with educators from across the state and nation, great ideas for lesson plans, ELA updates, and much more! Also, teachers who are interested in contributing to ELA podcasts as a part of classroom projects should email NCDPI ELA Consultant Bob Alexander at balexander@dpi.state.nc.us, or phone him at 919.807.3927.

Register Now for the Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps Conference

The 12th Annual Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps Conference will be held March 31-April 2 at the Koury Convention Center, Greensboro. The 2008 conference emphasizes preparing globally competitive students, strategies for improving academic growth for high performing students, implementation of the recommendations of the NC Advisory Commission on Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps, and ways to assist all students in making adequate yearly progress (AYP). The registration fee is $115 per person. Additional conference information, including registration, is available online at www.ncpublicschools.org/racg/conference.

One-Day Conference Focuses on Literacy

On April 26, the Capital Area Writing Project (CAWP) in cooperation with NC Teach at NC State University, is hosting the 4th annual Conference on Writing to Learn across the Curriculum, featuring Dr. Art Costa, Emeritus Professor of Education at California State University, Sacramento. Costa will speak on how writing can enhance "habits of mind." In addition to two general sessions, breakout sessions will offer teachers opportunities to learn writing strategies for the specific content areas of social studies, science, math, English, and foreign language. Although emphasis is on middle and secondary schools, all sessions are applicable to other grade levels. Registration is $100 and includes breaks, lunch and .5 CEU credit. (NOTE: The National Writing Project sites have been approved for the use of NCLB funds.) For more information, please contact Kim Bowen at bowenkc@gmail.com. In charge of registration is Barbara Geiger, 919.872.2224, bugeiger@uptonassociates.com.

NCCAT Accepting Registrations for Summer Renewal Seminars

The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) has just announced its June-August Renewal Seminars. NCCAT offers a continuum of professional development, including programs for beginning teachers, interdisciplinary renewal seminars for experienced teachers, and support seminars for teachers seeking the high distinction of national certification. These five-day residential seminars come at no cost to teachers or their schools. Teachers who have been employed full-time in North Carolina public schools for at least three years and who have not attended an NCCAT renewal seminar in the past may apply to attend. For all the details, including registration, please go online to http://www.nccat.org/News_Items/Archives/2008/SD_08_summer.pdf.

American Youth Ambassador Program

High school students between the ages of 15 and 18 are invited to apply for The American Young Ambassadors Program, Ltd. (AYAL), a global leadership program that recognizes the significant academic, athletic or public service accomplishments of high school students. The youth selected for this program will represent the United States as Young Ambassadors-at-large at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. While at the Beijing Olympics, the Young Ambassadors will be volunteering at various venues; hosting a youth summit; and hosting several leadership receptions including an International Sports Leadership Reception with world-accomplished athletes and a World Leaders Reception with heads of state and leaders of corporations. Youth Ambassadors will receive training in film production from the New York Film Academy in order to help Youth Ambassadors collectively produce a documentary of their experience. For the American Young Ambassador Program application, please visit www.YSA.org/awards. For information about the program, please visit www.americanyoungambassadors.com. The deadline to apply is March 3.

College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) Newsletter

The College Foundation of North Carolina's newsletter, "Counselor Update," contains helpful information to assist school counselors as they work with high school students seeking to attend college, universities or other post-high school education. The December 2007 newsletter highlights a variety of college funding opportunities administered by CFNC to assist students seeking access to higher education opportunities. The January edition provides information about the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Day, a program co-sponsored by College Foundation of North Carolina and the North Carolina Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. FAFSA Day takes place Feb. 9 at 56 locations across the state. These newsletters are available on the CFNC Announcements and News Web site at http://www.cfnc.org/home/sc/news_ann.jsp.

Student Science Enrichment Program Awards

Burroughs Wellcome Fund's (BWF) Student Science Enrichment Program awards support career-oriented and practical programs intended to provide creative science enrichment activities for K-12 students who have shown exceptional skills and interest in science and mathematics, as well as those perceived to have high potential. The program's goals include improving students' competence in science, nurturing their enthusiasm for science, and interesting them in pursuing science-related careers. Programs must enable students to participate in hands-on scientific activities and pursue inquiry-based avenues of exploration. BWF will make grants of up to $60,000 per year for three years. Application materials must be submitted electronically to BWF no later than 4 p.m., April 10. The awards will be announced in November. Projects receiving funding may begin program marketing after Jan. 31, 2009. Further information, including full application instructions, are available online at www.bwfund.org.

New Nelson Mandela Exhibit

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

The American Tobacco Campus in Durham is hosting a new Nelson Mandela Exhibit, "Nelson Mandela: A Light so Powerful." The exhibit is a collection of art and memorabilia creatively displayed within "wire walls" depicting both his incarceration and his triumph. The exhibit is free and open to the public through April 30. For more information on the exhibit, please go online to www.AmericanTobaccoCampus.com. Groups of 25 or more must register online.020.