TEACHERS' MESSAGES 2004
TEACHERS' MESSAGES 2004AUGUST 12, 2004
As you may have already heard, Aug. 31 will be my last day as State Superintendent of Public Instruction. In July, my wife, the Rev. Hope Morgan Ward, was named a Bishop in the United Methodist Church and will be based in Jackson, Miss. I very much want to be with her as she assumes her new leadership role, but due to residency requirements for the state superintendency, I must resign my position. It will be difficult to leave North Carolina, our home, to begin this new chapter, but I feel very positive about the accomplishments of our schools over the past eight years. One of the highlights of being State Superintendent is the opportunity to visit in local schools and to see firsthand the achievements of students and teachers. The story is portrayed in tests scores and ABCs results, and also in many other ways as well. From my visits, I know that our public schools continue to be exciting environments for learning, teaching and preparing for the future. I am proud of our students, educators and schools. I look forward to following your continued accomplishments.
Regards,
Mike Ward
State Board Meeting Highlights
The State Board of Education approved a plan for using the $12 million provided by Gov. Mike Easley to help address the needs of disadvantaged students, approved the final ABCs/AYP results (available online at http://abcs.ncpublicschools.org/abcs/, and continued its discussion of potential new high school exit measures. Complete highlights of the State Board's meeting are online at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/sbehighlights/.
Last week, the eighth annual ABCs report was released, indicating that the percentage of students at grade level or better continued to climb while achievement gaps also narrowed across our state. While the number of schools that made high growth or expected growth dipped from last year's record 94 percent, there is a great deal of positive news. First, more than 70 percent of schools met the very tough Adequate Yearly Progress standards, up from 46.9 percent last year. For those who say this was due to the application of confidence intervals, there is good news there too. Even without the confidence interval, 56 percent of our schools would have made AYP. This indicates strong improvements. To view more information on statewide trends regarding the ABCs and AYP, please go to http://www.ncpublicschools.org and look under "In the News."
On Friday, July 30, the NC Supreme Court issued its decision in the Leandro case, and what was a legal loss for the state was a win for vulnerable children in challenged school districts. In upholding the earlier rulings of Judge Howard Manning, the court gave the State Board some clear direction regarding how we need to assist school districts with high teacher turnover, large numbers of students in poverty and large numbers of students below grade level. The State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction have been working since 2002 on the LEA Assistance Program, designed to help districts address the needs that triggered the initial Leandro case, and we will continue to move forward. Gov. Easley's Executive Order providing $12 million for this effort is a welcome vote of confidence in our work. The State Board of Education at its August meeting developed a plan for distributing these funds.
National Board Certification Application Information
North Carolina leads the nation in the number of National Board of Professional Teaching Standards certified teachers, currently 6,600. Teachers considering applying for certification are invited to visit www.nbpts.org to review the areas offered for certification and the standards for those areas of certification. The state of North Carolina will pay the $2,300 assessment fee for all teachers who meet the eligibility criteria as indicated at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/nbpts. The state continues to pay a 12 percent pay differential for the life of the certificate. (Charter School teachers should check with their directors as the pay differential may vary.) The application window is open until Nov. 15, 2004. The following steps are suggested for teachers who are considering this opportunity:
- Visit the Web site, http://www.nbpts.org, to review information about National Board Certification, standards, research, etc.
- Visit the Web site, http://www.ncpublicschools.org/nbpts, to review information as it relates to guidelines for funding in North Carolina, pay differentials, frequently asked questions, etc.
he NC Department of Public Instruction has received the green light to move ahead with Wave 1 of the rollout of NC WISE. Thus, thanks to the hard work and dedication of the six NC WISE pilot LEAs and the DPI/IBM NC WISE team, as well as the support of State Information Technology Services, we expect to begin deployment in October to the 36 LEAs and 23 charter schools in Wave 1. The NC WISE team will be working with Wave 1 LEAs and charter schools over the next several weeks to complete readiness activities and to be sure all is in place to ensure success.
Computer/Technology Skills Standard Course of Study Online
The Computer/Technology Skills Standard Course of Study describes the progressive development of knowledge and skills in six strands: Societal and Ethical Issues, Database, Spreadsheet Keyboard Utilization/Word Processing/Desktop Publishing, Multimedia/Presentation, and Telecommunications/Internet. Visit http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/computer.skills/ to learn more.
Check out the July 16 edition of NC WISE’s newsletter, "Word to the Wise," and learn more about Wave 1 deployment, new enhancements in eSIS 7.0 and improvements to CDP and DT, and commonly used acronyms in NC WISE and what they mean. To view the newsletter, please go online to http://www.ncwise.org/library_NCWISE.html#NCWISEPresentations and click on the link for July 16 under “Newsletter..” To learn more about NC WISE, please visit http//www.ncwise.org.
N.C. Mathematics and Science Awards Finalists Named
DPI?s Mathematics and Science Section announced that the following teachers have been selected as 2004 North Carolina Finalists for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching: Lynne Allen, Wakefield Elementary, Wake County Schools (mathematics); Angie Flowers, Balfour Elementary, Asheboro City Schools (mathematics); Andrew Gatt, Ravenscroft School, Raleigh (science); and Marta Johnson, Haw Creek Elementary, Buncombe County Schools (mathematics). The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching are bestowed by the White House and administered by the National Science Foundation. The finalists, as well as past Presidential Awards winners, will be recognized at a reception in August at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.