PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES 2008
PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES 2008AUGUST 21, 2008 - Principals' Biweekly Message
The 2008-09 school year is set to be an interesting one. The State Board of Education and NC Department of Public Instruction are working to implement the recommendations in the Board’s Framework for Change, and implementation plans will be presented to the Board at its October meeting. These recommendations eventually will restructure and refocus North Carolina’s "Standard Course of Study" and make significant changes to our accountability model. One big change this year will be the pilot of a new writing assessment process at grades 4 and 7. Ten districts are being recruited to pilot an electronic system for storing and managing student writing samples. All schools will be using this new method of reviewing student writing in lieu of the former annual writing assessments. The focus now is on portfolios of student writing. For 10th graders, the annual writing assessment will continue for now because it is part of North Carolina’s No Child Left Behind accountability model that has been approved by the US Department of Education. To review the Writing Assessment System Pilot, please go to www.ncpublicschools.org/sbe_meetings/revisions/2008/pdfs/gcs2rev.pdf
Regards,
June Atkinson
In this Biweekly Principals' Message:
Graduation Awareness Week
As a reminder, Gov. Easley will be proclaiming Sept. 7-13 as "Graduation Awareness" week in North Carolina. Graduation is a key measure of our success as public schools. That is why we are focused on finding ways to increase the four-year and five-year graduation rates. Today, approximately 70 percent of our ninth graders are earning their high school diplomas in five years or less. This is not acceptable in the 21st century. We are working hard to finalize a variety of materials, including logos/clipart, a proclamation by Gov. Mike Easley, a news release, a student pledge card, a community support agreement, and a LEA/local school board benchmark agreement. Once all of these are completed, they will be placed online and we will notify you of their availability.
NCDPI Early Childhood/Elementary School Council Update
NCDPI’s Early Childhood/Elementary Council has been gathering information about the Ready Schools initiative. Council members have visited some Ready School sites and talked with participants. The council is currently reviewing the Ready Schools Needs Assessment and other NCDPI programs that may be significant additions to a Ready School. If principals or superintendents have input for the council on Ready Schools or if there are other early childhood/elementary concerns or initiatives that should be brought before the council, please contact Carolyn Guthrie at cguthrie@dpi.state.nc.us or 991.807.3762.
NCDPI Middle/High School Council Update
NCDPI’s Middle/High School Council has been gathering information about the Future Ready Core and determining what would be most useful to develop for schools and families to assist with planning and implementing the Future Ready Core. The Council will be inviting external stakeholders to a meeting this fall in order to garner perceptions about local needs. If you have questions or information that the council should consider, please contact Elissa Brown at ebrown@dpi.state.nc.us or 919.807.3987.
LEA/Central Office Council Update
Work continues on the School Improvement Planning re-design. The Council recently reviewed data collection and data quality issues, a vital aspect of the SIP process because data serves as the foundation for school improvement planning. Members also have met with more district representatives to learn about their processes for school improvement planning and how they have worked to improve and consolidate planning activities. NCDPI’s Comprehensive Support Division presented detailed information about the CSD needs assessment process. Members also have established a high‑level summary of SIP information gathered to date, key decision points, and key action items and milestone dates for the period between now and December 2008. The pieces are beginning to come together and the Council plans to have a coherent, well‑considered approach to improvement planning by the beginning of calendar year 2009. As always, please feel free to contact us with your input. Send your comments and suggestions directly to Rob Hines, LEA Council Director at rhines@dpi.state.nc.us, or you may call him at 919.807.3244.
School Transportation FAQs Available
A set of Frequently Asked Questions regarding school transportation targeted for parents is available at http://www.ncbussafety.org/FAQs.html. For more information, please contact NCDPI Transportation Services Section Chief Derek Graham at 919.807.3571 or by email, dgraham@dpi.state.nc.us.
Graduation by Design
"Graduation by Design: Creating Schools that Prepare all Students for College, Career and Life" will take place on Thursday, Oct. 9, from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., at the Raleigh Marriott City Center. At this event, school designers and educators from North Carolina and around the nation will present the innovative high schools that they are helping to create and that are getting promising results. Among the presenters will be the Asia Society, the Coalition of Essential Schools, Expeditionary Learning, New Tech and several innovative high schools supported by the North Carolina New Schools Project. There is a $25 registration fee, which includes lunch and all materials. For more information and to register, please go to www.newschoolsproject.org/graduationbydesign.
Podcasts Focus on Parent Involvement
The Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center has made available a number of podcasts focused on parent involvement on their Web site. To access these podcasts, please go online to www.arcc.edvantia.org/page/ParentInvolvementPodcasts/.
If you'd like to review past Principals' Biweekly Messages sent to the listserv
group, just go online to http://www.ncpublicschools.org/principalsarchive/.