TEACHERS' MESSAGES 2004

SEPTEMBER 9, 2004

When I started my education career as a classroom teacher, I never imagined that I would one day be State Superintendent of Public Instruction. I am grateful to Gov. Mike Easley for appointing me to this role to serve the remainder of this term. As State Superintendent, I look forward to doing all that I can to boost teacher recruitment and retention, to find ways to improve student performance in the state's low-wealth and at-risk school districts, and to help strengthen high schools to be more meaningful and effective for students.

Regards,
Patricia Willoughby

In this Biweekly Teachers' Message:

1. State Board Meeting Highlights
2. ABCs Formulas
3. Proposed Changes to English Language Arts SCS
4. New Document Answers NCLB-Related Questions
5. Social Studies Listserv Targets High School Educators
6. New Teacher Institute Targets Foreign Language, Physical Education, Arts Education and Health Education Teachers
7. WRAL Airs Special on the Epidemic of Overweight Children
8. Live "Democracy in Action" Web Casts
9. Register Now for Hispanic Achievement Conference
10. Down to Earth Economics Workshop
11. Annual Litter Sweep Scheduled to Begin Mid-September
12. LEARN NC's September Update Online

State Board Meeting Highlights

The Board held its September meeting in Elizabeth City at Elizabeth City State University where Board members participated in the R3 Conference and held an issues session on high school redesign and innovation. The 2003-04 Teacher Turnover Report was one of the items presented for information this month. The report noted that resignations to teach elsewhere and retirement accounted for slightly more than one-third of all the turnovers. The statewide system level turnover rate was 12.37 percent, and ranged from 2.73 percent to 25.76 percent. The Board approved North Carolina Early Learning Standards and proposed changes to the mathematics tests implementation schedule. High school exit standards continued as a discussion item. Complete Board highlights can be accessed online at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/sbehighlights by clicking on the appropriate link.

ABCs Formulas

This year's sixth and eighth grade reading results suggest that the current ABCs formulas need review and may possibly need revision. Results at these two grades were significantly different from trends in every other grade. The State Board and DPI will be looking carefully at how these formulas should change, and begin work with the middle school grade span since they have been the most dramatically affected. The Compliance Commission for Accountability began discussions on Aug. 18 on this issue, and DPI Reporting staff members have begun work on new ABCs formulas for determining school growth. The need to modify formulas to accompany implementation of the new math additions was brought before the Board at their August meeting as part of the new math implementation schedule. New formulas, once developed, will go through a validation process to ensure that they accurately represent schools' actual performance. DPI staff will work to provide historical data to LEAs that will allow for comparison across school years. We will keep you posted as this process moves forward.

Proposed Changes to English Language Arts SCS

In August 2004, the State Board of Education gave permission for NC DPI to clarify the goals and objectives of the English Language Arts Standard Course of Study. According to HSP-F-012 (policy delineating the Standard Course of Study Curriculum Development Process), the curriculum revision schedule calls for an examination of the 1999 English Language Arts Standard Course of Study in 2004. National standards and NAEP have not changed significantly and input from the field strongly supports the current ELA Standard Course of Study approach and philosophy. Minor changes for clarification of goals and objectives will allow more understanding of the original document and support teachers' implementation of the standards. As currently proposed, the clarifications will cause little to no change in Reading EOG tests, English I EOC test, or the Writing Assessments. Please review the proposed clarifications (available at http://www.learnnc.org/ and respond to the survey appropriate to your grade span(s) of interest. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. (If the above link does not work, go to the LearnNC ELA Web page at http://learnnc.org/ and select Proposed Standard Course of Study Clarifications (Fall 2004) from the Curriculum Category.) Teachers are asked to share these proposed clarifications with their peers and encourage them to respond to the survey as well.

New Document Answers NCLB-Related Questions

Questions related to No Child Left Behind are answered in a comprehensive new document posted on the NCLB Web site at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/nclb/faqs/. Answers address such issues as Title I, Adequate Yearly Progress, the ABCs, testing, NCLB student groups, reporting requirements, public school choice, supplemental educational services, "Highly Qualified" teachers, and requirements for Title I teacher assistants. Answers will be continually updated and new questions will be added as issues evolve.

Social Studies Listserv Targets High School Educators

A new high school social studies listserv has been created to provide the latest information to high school social studies teachers and administrators on a regular basis. The update will include social studies grants, curriculum ideas, professional development opportunities, competitions for students, and best practice teaching strategies. To join, please send an email to: join-nchss@lists.dpi.state.nc.us. As a reminder, there also are listservs for elementary and middle school social studies teachers and administrators. To subscribe to the elementary school social studies listserv, please contact Tracey Greggs at tgreggs@dpi.state.nc.us. To subscribe to the middle school social studies listserv, please contact Penny Maguire at pmaguire@dpi.state.nc.us.

New Teacher Institute Targets Foreign Language, Physical Education, Arts Education and Health Education Teachers

It's not too late to register for DPI's New Teacher Institute for K-12 educators in the fields of arts education (dance, music, theatre arts, and visual arts), foreign language, physical education and health education. The Institute is open only to teachers who are either new to the profession (two or fewer years of experience), new to the state, or new to the curriculum area or level in which they are teaching. The Institute will be held Sept. 30 - Oct. 1 at the Radisson Governor's Inn, Research Triangle Park. Registration will be accepted on a first come first serve basis and is limited to 120 participants. Registration will close on Monday, Sept. 13. The registration fee is $100 per participant, which includes materials, breakfast, lunch and breaks. The fee is nonrefundable. Registration forms can be found at http://learnnc.org/. For more information please contact Bryar Cougle, Arts Education Consultant, 919.807.3855 (tcougle@dpi.state.nc.us), Michele Wallen, Health Education Consultant, 919.807.3857 (mwallen@dpi.state.nc.us) or Helga Fasciano, Second Languages Consultant, 919.807.3865 (hfascian@dpi.state.nc.us).

WRAL Airs Special on the Epidemic of Overweight Children

Local educators in the WRAL-TV 5 viewing area may want to tune on Nov. 27 for, "Kelly's Story: Weighing the Options," which is scheduled to air at 12 noon. The program takes viewers into the life of a teenage girl who struggles with the difficulties of being overweight then gives experts and a studio audience an opportunity to discuss the issue. An additional presentation will air on Charlotte station WWWB on Saturday, Sept. 11, at 8 p.m. For those educators not in the viewing area but who would like to see the special, WRAL is making available copies of the program upon request. Educators interested in receiving a free VHS tape should call 919.821.8646 or email pparish@wral.com. Be sure to include your name and school mailing address.

Live "Democracy in Action" Web Casts

Technology will give democracy a powerful boost on Oct. 5 when the League of Women Voters of North Carolina brings to all voters and young citizens-in-training the opportunity to participate in live Web casts of judicial candidate forums. Download information from the TechKnow-Savvy Educator Calendar at http://video.dpi.state.nc.us/eforums/ by clicking on the appropriate link. For more details on how classes can participate and teachers can work toward CEU credits, please contact Cris Crissman at 919.807.3582 or by email, ccrissma@dpi.state.nc.us.

Register Now for Hispanic Achievement Conference

The Hispanic Achievement Conference 2004, "Crossing The Bridge Together" will be held Oct. 8, from 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m., at the McKimmon Center, Raleigh. This educational conference is presented by the NC Society of Hispanic Professionals (NCSHP), in partnership with the NC Department of Public Instruction, to empower education leaders, teachers, and community leaders with a better knowledge of the Hispanic student population and the factors that interfere with their educational performance. Successful practitioners will share their experience and expertise in ESL programs, bilingual education, parental involvement, and linguistically/culturally diverse populations as a positive resource. The registration fee is $60. For detailed information about the conference, including speakers and registration, please visit http://www.thencshp.org/conference2004 and click on the appropriate link.

Down to Earth Economics Workshop

The Down to Earth Economics Workshop will be held on Oct. 21 at the Charlotte Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, 530 E. Trade Street, Charlotte. This workshop will empower high school social studies teachers in teaching the North Carolina Standard Course of Study by acquiring knowledge of the history of economics and banking in the United States. In addition, participants will learn why, when, and how the Federal Reserve was created, and will have the opportunity to take a grass roots look at what is happening in today's economy at the local and national levels. This workshop is being provided free of charge to high school Civics and Economics teachers. Due to limited space, registration is limited to 50 teachers. Additional social studies workshops will be held throughout the 2004-05 school year, with economic concepts being addressed at future workshops. To register, please contact Steven Weber, English Language Arts and Social Studies, DPI, 919.807.3828, or by email, sweber@dpi.state.nc.us.

Annual Litter Sweep Scheduled to Begin Mid-September

The N.C. Department of Transportation is sponsoring its annual Litter Sweep cleanup Sept. 18-Oct. 3. In support of this event, Gov. Easley has proclaimed Sept. 18-Oct. 3 as "Litter Sweep" in North Carolina and encourages all citizens to take an active role in making their communities cleaner and more beautiful. Teachers may want to use this event to highlight the importance of recycling and environmental responsibility with their students. For more information, please contact Helen Landi, Office of Beautification Programs, 919.715.3188.

LEARN NC's September Update Online

New for September from LEARN NC is a series of articles on: teaching middle school students the "arts of persuasion;" understanding the 2004 presidential election in historical context; using children's literature to promote understanding; going on a spider hunt; ideas for Banned Books Week; and new opportunities to develop and teach online courses. Check out these articles and more by going online to http://www.learnnc.org and clicking on the appropriate link.