PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES 2008
PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES 2008MARCH 6, 2008 - Principals' Biweekly Message
The State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction were pleased to host a visit from U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings on Wednesday. Secretary Spellings met with the Board for conversation about No Child Left Behind and other priorities. She also met with a focus group of local superintendents, North Carolina Regional Teachers of the Year, and other educators. Secretary Spellings noted that there is more to praise about North Carolina public schools than to criticize, and she highlighted North Carolina as a pioneer in school accountability. She noted that NCLB had been a "game-changer" in education and had caused everyone to look more closely at the performance of all students. In her recent visits to a number of states around the country, Secretary Spellings said that educators encouraged her and the U.S. Department of Education to look at using a growth model for measuring school accomplishment, providing more nuance in the accountability system to move away from the "all or nothing" nature of Adequate Yearly Progress, to put more emphasis on high school and graduation rates, to find ways to give incentives for the most skilled teachers to work in the most difficult assignments, and to provide needed resources to carry out these suggestions.
Regards,
June Atkinson
In this Biweekly Principals' Message:
State Board Meeting Highlights
At today¹s Board meeting, members approved revision of the K-5 Mathematics Standard Course of Study, adoption of a Praxis II test for licensure in Latin, staff recommendations regarding program approval exemption requests under the Innovative Education Initiatives Act as well as school-based calendar waivers for educational purposes, and its 2008-09 Supplemental Budget request. Members discussed changes to the policy delineating the components of the ABCs accountability program including Adequate Yearly Progress for the 2007-08 school year, standards for school executive (principal) preparation programs, and the addition of elementary level (K-6) licensure areas in reading, English-as-a-Second language, and special education: cross-categorical. Complete Board highlights will be posted online later next week at www.ncpublicschools.org/sbehighlights.
2008 Teacher Working Conditions Survey
The 2008 Teachers Working Conditions Survey will be available March 17-April 21. The 2008 survey includes new questions just for principals that were developed by administrators and key education groups across the state. It is vital that both you and your teachers take the time to respond to this survey. Survey feedback is used to help shape local and statewide education policy in regard to teacher working conditions. As with the 2004 and 2006 surveys, anonymous codes for teachers and administrators to respond to the survey will be mailed on March 8 to schools via the NCAE association representative. The Teacher Working Conditions Help Desk staff 877.628.9208 will be available from 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. to provide assistance to those who are taking the survey or have issues with access codes. Also, thanks to the NC Business Committee for Education and corporate sponsors, the Governor¹s office will hold weekly drawings and a grand prize drawing for faculty in schools that reach 100 percent response rates. The sooner a school reaches the 100 percent response rate, the better the chances are for someone at that school to win the drawing.
School Survey on Crime and Safety
The U.S. Census Bureau, on behalf of the National Center for Education Statistics of the US Dept. of Education, is conducting a national survey that collects information about crime and safety in public schools from school principals. The School Survey on Crime and Safety was last conducted in 2005-06. The U.S. Census Bureau is randomly selecting schools from each state to participate. Although participation is voluntary, if your school is selected to participate, we hope you will do so. If you have any questions regarding the survey, please call 800.221.1204 or email dsd.education@census.gov.
33rd Annual North Carolina Middle School Conference
The 33rd Annual North Carolina Middle School Association¹s Conference, "Roundin' Up Good Middle Schools," will be held March 16-18 at the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center/Sheraton Greensboro Hotel, Greensboro. Besides the keynote addresses, there are over 150 concurrent sessions as well as over 100 exhibitors. Conference information, including a description of concurrent sessions and registration, is available online at www.ncmsa.net.
Scholarship Opportunity
The North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation is making available scholarships to students who are enrolling in a Bachelor of Science in Surveying, Bachelor of Science in Geomatics, Associate of Applied Science in Surveying Technology, or similar degree at a college or university. Applicants must have been a legal resident of North Carolina for the previous 12 months, must demonstrate a genuine interest in Land Surveying in the State of North Carolina as a profession, must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or better, and must meet the scholarship rules. The application deadline is March 15. Visit www.ncsseducationfoundation.com for more information.
NCCEE Announces Elementary and Middle School Student Contests
The North Carolina Council on Economic Education (NCCEE) is pleased to announce its annual Calendar Poster Contest for elementary students. In this competition, teachers will teach one of 12 economic concepts to their students who will then create a drawing that illustrates comprehension of the concept. Artwork will be sent in for judging by an independent panel. Winning students will receive a $50 gift card and their artwork will be included in a 16-month economic concepts calendar that will be printed by the Federal Reserve Bank... Winning students, their teachers and parents also will be invited to attend the NCCEE¹s annual awards banquet. The deadline for entries is March 15. Entry forms, information and last year¹s winners are available online at www.nccee.org.
The NCCEE also is pleased to announce its 2nd annual statewide County Marketing Contest for middle school students. Students will compete with their peers across the state by creating PowerPoint presentations that persuade businesses to relocate or expand to a given county. Teachers may choose to use this multidisciplinary competition as a classroom project for a grade or for extra credit. Winning students and their teachers will win cash prizes and have their presentations posted to the NCCEE Web site. Winners also will be invited to attend the NCCEE¹s annual awards banquets.. The deadline for entries is March 16. Additional information, last year¹s winners, and entry forms are all available at www.nccee.org.
If you'd like to review past Principals' Biweekly Messages sent to the listserv
group, just go online to http://www.ncpublicschools.org/principalsarchive/.