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. Public Schools of North Carolina . . State Board of Education . . Department Of Public Instruction .

SBE HIGHLIGHTS

FEBRUARY 5-7, 2008

Special Note: To review background materials on each item, please go to http://www.ncpublicschools.org/stateboard/meetings/2008/02. Click on the appropriate agenda category: Globally Competitive Students (GCS); Twenty-First Century Professionals (TCP); Leadership for Innovation (LFI); Twenty-First Century Systems (TCS); or Healthy Responsible Students (HRS).

 

Action Agenda

  • High School Science Courses Taken in the Middle School: Considerations for Extending Policy Beyond Mathematics and Foreign Language (GCS 1) - Board members approved expanding existing Board policy to give students credit for taking high school-level science courses at the middle school level. These courses must be aligned with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for grades 9-12, and laboratory facilities and equipment must meet safety requirements and allow for experiences comparable to those offered to high school students. By allowing students to take high school science courses and receive credit at the middle school level, educators hope more students will take additional rigorous high school science courses and, in particular, chemistry, physics and other advanced science courses. Students taking high school science courses in middle school would be strongly encouraged to take the minimum three science courses at the high school level.

  • Educational Value Added Assessment System (EVAAS) Teacher Module (TCS 1) - The Educational Value Added Assessment System (EVAAS) Teacher Module policy was approved. School administrators can use EVAAS to design and implement professional development programs that address the unique needs of their teachers based on their students' performance. The policy addresses the need for confidentiality and appropriate use of the reports.

  • Report from the ad hoc Committee on Professional Development for School Leaders (TCP 1) - Board members approved the Report from the Ad Hoc Committee on Professional Development for School Leaders and the recommendations contained therein. The report's recommendations were focused in the areas of delivery system; content; connection between license renewal and professional development; succession planning, career advancement and professional development; accountability; and resources and coordination.

  • Clarification of the Lateral Entry Licensure Policies (TCP 2) - The Lateral Entry Licensure policy was revised to enable individuals who do not fulfill the requirements of their lateral entry license within the three years to be issued another lateral entry license as long as they have passed the required Praxis II exam(s) for the license area and at least six years have elapsed since the prior lateral entry license was issued.

  • Policy on Eligibility for State Teacher of the Year (TCP 3) - This item was referred back to the committee for additional information and will come back to the Board for action at a later date. The Regional Teacher of the Year policy is to be revised to add clarifying information on the eligibility requirements for State Teacher of the Year.

  • Renewal Recommendations for Charter Schools with Charters Expiring June 2008 (LFI 1) - Board members approved a three-year charter renewal for Dillard Academy (Wayne County) and a five-year charter renewal for Kennedy Charter (Mecklenburg County).

Action on First Reading

  • Recommended Final Academic Achievement Standards (Cut Scores) and Achievement Level Descriptors for the NCEXTEND2 EOG Reading and Mathematics Grades 3-8 and Recommended Draft Achievement Level Descriptors for NCEXTEND2 EOG Science Grades 5 and 8 (GCS 2) - Board members approved recommended final achievement level descriptors for the NCEXTEND2 EOG Reading and Mathematics grades 3-8 and recommended draft achievement level descriptors for the NCEXTEND2 EOG Science grades 5 and 8. The final descriptors will be effective with the 2007-08 school year. The Board did not take action on recommended final academic achievement standards (cut scores) for the NCEXTEND2 EOG Reading and Mathematics Grades 3-8.

  • Recommended Interim Academic Achievement Standards (Cut Scores) and Achievement Level Descriptors for EOC Tests of Science (Physical Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics) and Recommended Final Academic Achievement Standards (Cut Scores) and Achievement Level Descriptors for the EOC Test of Algebra II (GCS 3) - Recommended interim cut scores and achievement level descriptors for science EOC tests (Physical Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics) and recommended final cut scores and achievement level descriptors for the Algebra II EOC test were approved. The recommended interim standards are to be effective with the 2007-08 school year only. The recommended final standards and descriptors will be effective with the 2007-08 school year.

  • Recommended Interim Cut Scores/Achievement Level Descriptors for NCCLAS EOC
    Science Tests and Final Achievement Level Descriptors for the NCCLAS EOC Assessment of Algebra II (GCS 4)     - Board members approved recommended interim cut scores/achievement level descriptors for NCCLAS EOC Science tests and final achievement level descriptors for the NCCLAS EOC Algebra II assessment. The recommended interim cut scores/descriptors are to be effective with the 2007-08 school year only. The final descriptors are to be implemented with the 2007-08 school year.

  • Approval of Grants (TCS 2) - NCLB Enhancing Education Through Technology - NCLB Enhancing Education Through Technology - IMPACT IV Awards were approved for schools in Asheboro City Schools (Asheboro High, North Asheboro Middle, South Asheboro Middle), the Northeast Impact Consortium (Perquimans County High, Perquimans County Middle, Hertford Grammar, DF Walker Elementary), Kannapolis City Schools (Kannapolis Middle, Kannapolis Intermediate, A.L. Brown High) and Thomasville City Schools (Liberty Drive Elementary, Thomasville Middle, Thomasville High). The IMPACT IV Grants implementation is a two-step process (creation of an implementation plan, then actual implementation once the plan has been approved). This set of IMPACT awards includes a high school for the first time. Even Start Family Literacy Programs - Supplemental Grant Awards 2007-08 were awarded to Ashe County, Asheboro City, Bertie County, Burke County, Caldwell County, Craven County, Cumberland County, Forsyth/Quality Charter, Greene County, Lee County, Lenoir County, Richmond County, Rutherford County, and Washington County. Benefiting from these funds are students at-risk of school failure and their families, educators working in family literacy programs, and communities across the state working to increase literacy rates among adults and children.

  • Individual Class Size Exceptions Waiver Requests (TCS 3) - The class size waiver request submitted by Transylvania County Schools was approved. The class size waiver requests submitted by Wake County Schools were denied.

Discussion Agenda

  • Impact of Possible Revision of NC Standard Course of Study for Mathematics (GCS 6) - The North Carolina Standard Course of Study for Mathematics was last revised in 2003. The State Board in May 2007 approved a schedule for further revision. Since then, DPI staff have coordinated and implemented a review/input process with appropriate stakeholders. Revising the curriculum would provide better alignment with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' 2006 Curriculum Focal Points document, College Board Standards for Mathematics and Statistics, and a deeper refinement of the objectives, which allows a focus on big ideas at each grade level while allowing more time for in-depth instruction and teaching for understanding. Board members discussed possible benefits of moving forward with revising the K-5 mathematics curriculum: first-step toward power standards and better integration with national and international mathematics standards. The 2003 revision incorporated initial steps toward power standards by increasing the rigor of the curriculum and reducing the number of objectives to be taught. Staff recommended delaying revision of the 6-12 grades curriculum to allow for State Board review of the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Testing and Accountability.

  • 2008-09 Supplemental Budget Request (TCS 4) - Board members continued their discussion of potential budget items for their 2008-09 Supplemental Budget request, including unfunded requests pending from the 2007-09 biennium, new requests submitted and prioritized by agency leadership, and recommendations from Legislative Commissions and other Board studies. Supplemental budget requests for 2008-09 must be finalized and submitted to the Governor in March.

Information Agenda

  • Dropout Data Report 2006-07 (GCS 7) - A total of 23,550 students - or 5.24 percent of the students in grades nine through 12 - dropped out of school in the 2006-07 school year, according to the "Annual Dropout Event Report for School Year 2006-07." The dropout rate in 2005-06 was 5.04 percent or 22,180 students. Forty-three percent of North Carolina's 115 school districts reported a decrease in dropout events with Washington, Clay and Camden counties showing the largest rate decreases - approximately 50 percent decreases in each case. Large increases in a handful of school districts pushed up the state average. The issue of high school dropouts has prompted significant work recently to improve middle and high schools so that students are better engaged and supported in their learning. Specific efforts include: Literacy Coaches, Learn and Earn Early College High Schools, Dropout Prevention Grants, High School Transformation, North Carolina Virtual Public School, Learn and Earn Online, and EARN Scholarships.

  • Annual Study of Suspensions and Expulsions: 2006-07 (GCS 8) - The "2006-07 Annual Study of Suspensions and Expulsions" found that the numbers of short-term (1-10 days) and long-term (11 or more days) suspensions increased by 2.1 percent (301,693 to 308,010) and 2.7 percent (4,559 to 4,682) respectively. At the same time, the statewide school population increased by 2 percent from the previous year. The total short-term suspension days increased by 0.4 percent while the total long-term suspension days decreased by 29.7 percent. Expulsions decreased by 17.3 percent from 98 in 2005-06 to 81 in 2006-07. Males were more likely to be suspended than females. Black students had the highest short-and long-term suspension rates followed by American Indian students. Ninth graders were most frequently suspended followed by eighth graders and seventh graders.

Committees' New Business

Globally Competitive Students

  • Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 Five-Year State Plan - NCDPI Career and Technical Education Director Rebecca Payne provided Board members with a review of where the state is in regard to its five-year plan for career and technical education, better known as the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006. The purpose of the Act is to develop more fully the academic and career and technical skills of secondary and postsecondary education students who elect to enroll in CTE programs. Efforts of the plan focus on rigorous academics related to career goals with technical skills to prepare for high-wage, high-skill, high-demand current and emerging occupations. Payne highlighted major changes from the previous Perkins' legislation, and examples of career and technical education's support of the State Board's strategic goals, which support their mission to graduate students who are globally competitive for work and postsecondary education and prepared for life in the 21st century.

Healthy Responsible Students

  • NC Prevention Partners - Zone Health Project - NC Prevention Partners' Executive Director Meg Molloy discussed the Zone Health School Obesity Prevention Program and how it strongly links to the mission and goals of the State Board. She noted that the program was piloted in 2003-2006 in nine North Carolina public schools as a way to improve student fitness measures. All participating schools were offered support to implement the Winner's Circle Healthy Eating Program, provided with FitnessGram software and toolkits that include no-cost educational resources, and assistance in establishing school-wide Zone Health teams. The program is currently operating in 25 public schools and staff are partnering with state leadership at DPI and the State Board to identify opportunities to strengthen capacity to understand and address the school's role in obesity prevention.

21st Century Professionals Committee

  • New Evaluation Instrument(s) Deployment Plan - Dr. Steve Greene, senior professional development coordinator, shared a more detailed deployment for how the new evaluation instrument for school executives will be rolled out statewide. Superintendents will be a key part of this training, which will begin in March. The implementation plan will begin with training for trainers in May, followed by two-day training sessions at the regional level in June and July. An advisory group will be formed to provide input and clarifications to help guide this professional development, and an evaluative survey will be done to gather feedback on the deployment training.

  • Non-Teaching Work Experience Credit - The last time the policy on non-teaching work experience was revised was in 2005. Committee members reviewed a summary of the types of appeals that have been made as a result of LEA decisions on awarding pay for non-teaching work experience. Appeals could be made based on work experience and how that factors into pay and also on educational attainment and how that factors into pay decisions. Committee members said that a special study committee should be established to work on this issue.

  • Highly Qualified Teaching Requirement under NCLB - Danny Holloman provided an overview of North Carolina's progress in meeting the federal Highly Qualified requirement for teachers. So far, 99.2 percent of low poverty elementary classes are taught by Highly Qualified teachers and 98.3 percent of high poverty elementary classes are taught by Highly Qualified teachers. At the secondary level, these percentages are 96.7 percent and 92.5 percent, respectively. There are 35 school districts with a Highly Qualified rate below 97.17 percent. These districts are receiving some one-on-one assistance from NCDPI concerning ways to improve their percentage.

Leadership for Innovation Committee

  • 1:1 Laptop Initiative -NCDPI Finance Division CIO Rob Hines provided an update on the NC1:1 School Technology Pilot. This educational partnership between DPI, SAS, Friday Institute, New Schools Project, and the Golden LEAF Foundation aims to change teaching and learning in each school by providing laptops for every teacher and student as well providing classroom tools including software and hardware designed to enhance learning. The update included information about several aspects of the project including professional development, classroom technology and tools, connectivity, instructional personnel, and program evaluation. Teachers began professional development in the fall of 2007 and received their laptops in November. Students will be receiving laptops in the next two to three weeks, and schools will be able to build their inventory of classroom technologies over the next 18 months using funds allotted from DPI.

  • NC Virtual Public School Director's Report - NCVPS Director Bryan Setser discussed NCVPS activities since the January Board meeting. NCVPS has surpassed the 6,887 students mark with 169 sections going live on Jan. 22. Total NCVPS enrollment since June 1, 2007 is 18,311 students. NCVPS' strategic plan has been developed with five goals and 15 objectives that are aligned to State Board goals and recommendations from stakeholder advisory boards, benchmark studies, and local districts. NCVPS also has contracted with the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at NC State University and Learn NC to evaluate the effectiveness of its strategic plan as well as in-process course satisfaction among teachers and students. The regional pilot approach defined for NCVPS deployment began Feb. 11, and Learn and Earn Online has been integrated into the spring regional pilots. NCVPS has selected nine pilot school districts to help design and develop a strategic model for helping districts lead virtual learning within their schools. The goal of the pilot program is to help districts and schools develop and implement a plan for integrating virtual learning and the 21st century skills and tools into their core business. Pilot school districts are: Catawba County (Pilot Development LEA), Duplin County, Onslow County, Cumberland County, Vance County, Wake County, Pender County, Iredell-Statesville, Lincoln County, and Watauga County.

Special Recognition

State Board members recognized North Carolina's 2007 Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award recipient Stuart Albright. Albright is an English teacher at C.E. Jordan High School (Durham Public Schools). He was presented with the Milken Award, a plaque from the State Board of Education in recognition of this award, and a State Board mug. As the state's Milken recipient, Albright will receive an unrestricted financial award of $25,000 when he attends the national conference in Los Angeles, Calif., in April.

Good News Presentation

Kids Voting NC Executive Director Daintry O'Brien said that Kids Voting NC is a private, non-partisan, nonprofit organization that promotes civic participation by educating America's youth about the importance of an informed electorate and the responsibilities of voting to sustain democracy. She said the goal of Kids Voting is to "not teach kids who to vote for but how to vote." The program is geared to all grade levels, K-12, and lessons and activities are correlated with North Carolina's Standard Course of Study and target math, social studies and English language arts and, in particular, writing. The community-sponsored program is currently operating in 21 counties. She said that 29,000 North Carolina students participated in Super Tuesday voting and that Barack Obama received the most votes for Democrats and John McCain received the most votes for Republicans. Students will be participating in North Carolina's primary in May.


Chairman's Remarks

State Board of Education Chairman Howard Lee said the Board participated in an excellent cabinet meeting on Feb. 6 with the Joint Education Governing Boards (UNC Board of Governors, NC Community College System Board and Private Colleges and Universities). He mentioned that Board members are invited to attend the National Association of State Boards of Education's Annual Legislative Conference scheduled for March 11-13 in Washington, D.C. State Board Executive Director Rebecca Garland will be going and will represent the Board. He also mentioned that he would be meeting with representatives of the University system, Community College system, and Independent Colleges and Universities to discuss the feasibility of pursuing an associate of arts degree in teaching at the community college level.

  • State Board of Education Executive Director Rebecca Garland provided a brief report on legislative activity and noted the summary information for the dropout prevention grants included in the Board book.


State Superintendent's Report

State Superintendent June Atkinson highlighted a variety of "work to watch" including:

  • Hertford County Public Schools' eBook initiative supported by a $25,000 grant from AT&T; and

  • Project K-Nect - a pilot education program that uses Smartphones with advanced mobile broadband technologies to deliver math instruction to struggling ninth grade Algebra I students.

She discussed her recent trip to Singapore with the Center for International Understanding. She said that education and defense are the country's top budget priorities and that teachers and principals are highly respected by citizens. She also recognized DPI staffer Jackie Colbert for her Outstanding Achievement Award from the NC High School Network.


Deputy State Superintendent's Report

Deputy State Superintendent J.B. Buxton reported to the Board that the Data Management and Infrastructure study has begun with the assistance of the Boston Consulting Group. In regard to the Department's reorganization efforts, 10 staff teams are taking a hard look at their core versus non-core activities to see what can be taken off their plates to ensure that Department efforts align with State Board goals. He said that the Department has finalized employee dress guidelines, and that he would be meeting with agency leadership to discuss the policy and Board expectations. He concluded by saying that the Comprehensive Support model is moving forward and that coaches and regional leaders have been identified to assist the pilot districts.

 

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