PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES 2009

APRIL 2, 2009 - Principals' Biweekly Message

It is difficult to change cultures and old assumptions, but one area where these are changing is in North Carolina's approach to writing instruction and assessment. As you know, last fall, on a very fast track, we implemented a new approach to writing. This change from a one-day, one-time write on demand assessment to an emphasis on writing as an important, ongoing instructional activity has been an important change. In 2009-10, we will continue this pilot. Yesterday, NCDPI staff presented the plan for next school year. It includes a number of changes based on our feedback from teachers statewide. These include a move to require only a single scorer for the "on-demand" writing samples, revision and addition to the Instructional Writing Moodle, and more communication to make sure that teachers understand that writing already assigned within the classroom is the writing that can be used in the writing system. I know it takes time to move from prior ways of thinking about writing and how we grade it to new ways, but it is an important instructional move to make. I think it is clear that old ways of assessing writing did not necessarily give us major improvements in writing quality or quantity, so it is good to try new approaches. Please know that our goal is to have a system of ongoing writing activities rather than an on-demand writing test that is given on just one day.

Regards,
June Atkinson

In this Biweekly Principals' Message:

1. State Board Meeting Highlights
2. Graduation Project Requirement Delayed by One Year
3. NC WISE Deployment Completed
4. 2009 Wachovia North Carolina Principal of the Year Named
5. Final Greetings from 2008 Wachovia North Carolina Principal of the Year
6. Thanks to NAEP Participants
7. Elementary School Conference Call for Proposals
8. LEARN NC Offers Professional Development and Resource Opportunities
9. Adventures in Alice Programming for K-12 Teachers
10. Student Poet Laureate Contest

State Board Meeting Highlights

At today's Board meeting, members approved a new policy allowing first retest results in grades 3 through 8 in the calculation of performance composites of the ABCs and for AYP. All students who score Achievement Level II on the first administration of the end-of-grade assessments must be retested, and parents of students that score Achievement Level I on the first administration must be notified that they may request that their children be retested. In other action, Board members approved proposed revisions to the eligibility requirements for provisional licenses in school counseling and school social work and the 2009 invitation to submit textbooks for evaluation and adoption in North Carolina. Members discussed the 2009-2010 writing assessment plan, principal and teacher evaluation instrument state level ratings, and the elementary mathematics program of study and licensure endorsement. Highlights of the April Board meeting will be posted online late next week at www.ncpublicschools.org/sbehighlights.

Graduation Project Requirement Delayed by One Year

The State Board of Education today approved a one-year delay to The North Carolina Graduation Project requirement for high school students. Today's action means that the Graduation Project will become a high school graduation requirement for the first time with students who first entered ninth grade in 2007-08 (Class of 2010-11). In making the recommendation, State Board of Education Chairman and CEO Bill Harrison said, "Many schools and districts across North Carolina have had a graduation project in some form or fashion for a decade or more. By giving the entire state more time to implement The North Carolina Graduation Project, we can ensure its success in every school and community." To read more, please visit the NCDPI Web site at www.ncpublicschools.org.

NC WISE Deployment Completed

Public school leaders are celebrating a major technology and data collection milestone with the completion of NC WISE deployment in 113 of the state's school districts and all 98 charter schools. (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Wake County Schools operate the same software but host their data separately. Work is underway to link these districts into the statewide NC WISE environment by June.) With full NC WISE deployment, the state's public schools are able to share student information and other school business data in a seamless way across schools and districts and from districts to the state level. NC WISE is the largest centralized Student Information System in public education in the United States.

2009 Wachovia North Carolina Principal of the Year Named

South Brunswick High School (Brunswick County Schools) Principal Vann Pennell today was named the 2009 Wachovia North Carolina Principal of the Year award during a luncheon ceremony held in Raleigh. The Brunswick County Schools' principal was selected from eight regional finalists and succeeds Debra Morris, principal of A.L. Brown High School (Kannapolis City Schools). Pennell has worked as a coach, teacher and administrator in North Carolina public schools for nearly three decades. The Wachovia Principal of the Year receives $3,000 for his school and $3,000 for personal use and will serve a one-year term as advisor to the State Board of Education. To read more about Pennell's selection, please visit the NCDPI Web site at http://www.ncpublicschools.org and click on the appropriate link under "News."

Final Greetings from 2008 Wachovia North Carolina Principal of the Year

It is hard to believe that my year serving you as the 2008 Wachovia North Carolina Principal of the Year is over. This experience has been incredible as I have traveled across the state speaking to educators about school leadership. The time I have spent in your schools and at the state's universities has been a validation that our young people are in the hands of quality teachers, principals and university faculties who genuinely care about doing what is best for North Carolina's students. Additionally, I have had the unique opportunity to be an advisor to the State Board of Education and have seen firsthand that our state leaders, including staff of the Department of Public Instruction, truly make decisions that they feel are in the best interest of children. I am proud and humbled to have served you in this capacity. I am blessed to be a part of the many North Carolina educators who daily demonstrate a passion for their profession and compassion for the youth with whom they work. I am grateful to Wachovia for sponsoring the state's Principal of the Year honor as recognition that they respect the work of school leaders. I have had the privilege to be a part of the Kannapolis City Schools System led by Superintendent JoAnne Byerly, a central office staff and school board members who support us in our endeavors to offer students a quality education. I am blessed to be a part of a team of hard-working and gifted educators at A.L. Brown High School who try to accomplish our mission to make our students responsible, confident, and innovative thinkers and who have made it their legacy in life to help young people have a promising future. As we have heard many times, leadership is not about power. It is all about relationships, and for true learning to occur, we must "connect" with our students and provide them a safe, welcoming, learning environment and work to meet their individual needs. I wish you all the best in your continuing efforts to help all students meet with success.
– 2008 Wachovia North Carolina Principal of the Year Debra Morris.

Thanks to NAEP Participants

A total of 385 schools in North Carolina were included in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2009 between January 26 and March 6. Reading, ma th, and science assessments wfour, eight and 12. This process went very well, thanks to the care and precision of the work of school test coordinators and administrators. While NAEP does not provide district- or school-level data, it is an important check for North Carolina educators to make sure our standards for student learning are on track with the nation.

Elementary School Conference Call for Proposals

Call for Proposals are now being accepted for the Sixth Annual Elementary School Conference to be held Oct. 25-27 at the Raleigh Convention Center. The Call for Proposals, conference information and registration is available on the North Carolina Association of Elementary Educators' Web site at www.ncelementary.org. The deadline to submit the Call for Proposals is May 15.

LEARN NC Professional Development and Resource Opportunities

LEARN NC is offering an online professional development course entitled, "Science 2.0: Using Web Tools to Promote Inquiry-Based Science." Over the course of this six-session workshop, teachers will familiarize themselves with science-themed Web sites, online collaborative projects, science blogs and wikis, and the mapping applications Google Maps and Google Earth. The course is focused on helping you identify ways to integrate these tools into practice, and thus enrich students' engagement with science content. The course will be offered May 12, costs $150, and offers two CEUs. For more information or to register, please visit www.learnnc.org/courses/current/eLESciWebTools_Flach_05_09.

LEARN NC also is offering an online professional development course entitled "American Indians in North Carolina." This eight-week course explores American Indian history in North Carolina from the earliest evidence of human habitation in the state through first contact with Europeans, the Trail of Tears, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, and into present day. Archaeological finds, creation stories, the writings of early European explorers, government documents and treaties, stories handed down through oral tradition, indigenous crafts, newspaper articles and more will enrich the exploration of key issues in Native American history in North Carolina. The course begins May 26, costs $225, and offers three CEUs. For more information or to register, please visit www.learnnc.org/courses/current/AINC_05_09_Walbert. There are many ways to bring poetry alive in the classroom. LEARN NC has compiled a collection of poetry resources including Web sites, articles and lesson plans. Go to www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/2796 to access these resources.

Adventures in Alice Programming for K-12 Teachers

Free, one-week Adventures in Alice Programming workshops are being held for K-12 teachers at Duke University in June. Alice is a 3D virtual worlds environment in which teachers and students can program an animation on almost any topic. Middle and high school teachers of all disciplines can learn how they and their students can use Alice to create interactive animations for projects. For example, a science teacher can create an animation of how a hot spot volcano is formed by having a mad scientist go underground and talk about how the volcano is formed and pushes up through the earth. A math teacher can create an animation of a coordinate plane with objects that randomly move around. Students then click on the object and are prompted to enter in the x-y coordinates of the object. Teachers are encouraged to attend either the June 22-26 (9 a.m.-4 p.m.) workshop or June 28 (1-6 p.m.), June 29-July 2 (9 a.m.-4 p.m.) workshop. Spots are being held for North Carolina teachers. There is already a wait list for teachers outside North Carolina. Teachers will receive 30 credit hours for attending. For more information and to register (the sooner the better), please visit http://www.cs.duke.edu/csed/alice/aliceInSchools/workshop09/. Questions should be directed to Susan Rodger at rodger@cs.duke.edu or 919.660.6595.

Student Poet Laureate Contest

Middle and high school students may want to consider participating in the North Carolina Poet Laureate contest. The winners will receive $250 and a copy of their winning poems printed on a broadside. Honorable mentions will receive $50. Contest rules and entry forms are available online at http://ncpoetlaureate.blogspot.com. The entry deadline is April 15.

 

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