TEACHERS' MESSAGES 2005

OCTOBER 13, 2005

After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and the level of devastation was clear, you and your colleagues in local schools were quick to ask how they could help. So far, students, teachers and others in the public schools have responded admirably to the needs of the Gulf Coast residents. To date, approximately $400,000 has been sent by the public school community to the Red Cross, the North Carolina Helping Neighbors Fund and other charity relief efforts. Thank you for all you have done to respond in a time of need.

Regards,
June Atkinson

In this Biweekly Teachers' Message:

1. State Board Meeting Highlights
2. SBE Ad Hoc Rigor, Relevance and Relationships Committee Meeting Summary
3. Gov. Easley Announces Creation of Thematically-Focused High Schools
4. 2005 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools Named
5. School Bus Safety Poster Contest Winners Announced
6. Training Offered for Competent Assessment of Reading
7. Connecting Minds Symposium Scheduled
8. North Carolina Council on the Holocaust
9. Kindertransport Exhibit
10. Center for Student Credit Card Education Offers Materials
11. General Hugh Shelton National Student Leadership Scholarship
12. Learn NC October Update

State Board Meeting Highlights

The State Board of Education at its October meeting approved revisions to its April 2005 policy on teacher licensure. These revisions do the following:

• Teachers who are fully licensed and highly qualified in another state and who have three or more years of teaching experience in another state and who have met North Carolina's Praxis testing requirements or have National Board Certification will be issued the Standard Professional 2 License.
• Teachers who are fully licensed and highly qualified in another state and who have three or more years of teaching experience in another state but who have not met North Carolina's Praxis testing requirements or earned National Board Certification will be issued the Standard Professional 2 License after one year of satisfactory teaching in North Carolina with the recommendation of the employing school district which includes verification that the district will offer the teacher re-employment with the school district. The teacher will not be required to accept the offer of re-employment.
• The State Board also approved convening a committee of stakeholders to review the requirements for teachers with less than three years of experience.

These changes are now in effect. In other action, the Board approved a formal policy outlining the ABCs recognition categories for 2005-06 and beyond. The recognition categories will remain the same except for the 25 Most Improved K-8 Schools and 10 Most Improved High Schools, which have been discontinued. The Compliance Commission for Accountability and local superintendents recommended this change. Over time, it has been difficult to clearly communicate that these categories represent change in growth from year-to-year and are not an endorsement of these schools as the "25 Top" or "10 Top" schools.

SBE Ad Hoc Rigor, Relevance and Relationships Committee Meeting Summary

The SBE's Ad Hoc Committee on Academic Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships met in Raleigh on Tuesday, Sept. 27. The committee members heard a number of updates on topics that included the focus for the 2006 Raising Achievement and Closing the Gap Conference, high school assistance teams, and the American Diploma Project. Discussions also were held on the new law and the proposed SBE policy regarding informing 9th graders about accelerated preparation for college entry and on issues of accountability reporting for students taking courses at schools other than their base school. Most of the committee's time was spent discussing rigor in math courses in the public schools. Data presented to the committee indicates a trend in splitting Algebra I into two courses - Algebra IA and Algebra IB. It was noted that a majority of the school systems are not only splitting Algebra I but they also are giving two course credits for IA and IB, rather than one course credit for what should be one course (Algebra I). The committee has expressed concern regarding this trend and wants to bring a strengthened policy to the SBE that will discourage this practice for the majority of students, although the committee recognizes that for a select group of students this alternative is needed to help them successfully complete the course. The proposed revision of the policy would address not only math courses but also other core courses. The next date for the committee has not been set. For more information, please contact Betsy West, State Board of Education, 919.807.3405, or by email, bwest@dpi.state.nc.us.

Gov. Easley Announces Creation of Thematically-Focused High Schools

Focused High Schools - Gov. Mike Easley earlier this week announced that 12 school districts in North Carolina have received grants to create nine high schools focusing on themes based on local issues, interests and community or regional characteristics to better prepare students for college. School systems receiving the planning grants include: Alamance-Burlington, Asheboro City, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Davie County, Moore County, Roanoke Rapids Graded School District, the Roanoke River Consortium (collaboration between the Warren, Halifax, Northampton and Hertford County Schools), Swain County, and Surry County. Easley said, "Students who learn to make a connection between the courses they take and their real lives will graduate better prepared to meet the academic demands of college or the challenge of the workplace." The districts will receive a total of $223,000 in financial support and services to develop the small, thematically-focused autonomous high schools. Districts receiving grants plan to open the new schools by the fall of 2006.

2005 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools Named

Congratulations to the following North Carolina public schools for being named 2005 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings: Clearmont Elementary, Yancey County Schools; Davidson Elementary, Elizabeth Lane Elementary, Hawk Ridge Elementary, and McKee Road Elementary, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools; Dr. Hubert Eaton Sr. Elementary, New Hanover County Schools; Morrisville Elementary, Wake County Schools; Rutherford College Elementary, Burke County Schools; and Tipton Hill Elementary, Mitchell County Schools. These schools are among 245 public and 50 private schools to achieve this honor. Representatives from each of these schools will be honored during a National Recognition Ceremony scheduled for Nov. 10-11 in Washington, DC, where they will receive a plaque and a flag signifying their No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School status. To read more, please go to the NCDPI's Web site at www.ncpublicschools.org and click on the appropriate link under "News."

School Bus Safety Poster Contest Winners Announced

Congratulations to the following elementary school students and one former middle school student who received top honors in North Carolina's 2005 National School Bus Safety Week Poster Contest, "I See the Driver * The Driver Sees Me:"

• Spencer Winspear, a student at Cleveland Elementary (Johnston County Schools), Division 1 (K-2 grades) winner;
• Justin Erickson, a student at General Greene Elementary (Guilford County Schools), Division 2 (3-5 grades) winner;
• Amaniyea Pridgen, a student at Eastern Wayne Elementary (Wayne County Schools), Division 4 (Special Ed) winner; and
• Zia Roberts, a former West Edgecombe Middle School student and currently a Southwest Edgecombe High student (Edgecombe County Schools), Division 3 (6-8 grades) winner.

As first place winners, each student received a $50 savings bond sponsored by the Governor's Highway Safety Program and their posters are featured, along with other category winners, on the School Bus Safety Web site at http://www.ncbussafety.org.

Training Offered for Competent Assessment of Reading

The NCDPI's Elementary Education Division is offering training in Competent Assessment of Reading for 3-6 grade teachers on Nov. 1-3 at the Clarion State Capital, Raleigh. Registration is open for 50 participants at $125 each, which covers all training materials, breaks and lunch each day. Registration information is available from Marilyn Palmer, Section Chief, K-5 ELA/Social Studies/Student Services Section, Elementary Division, 919.807.3935 or mpalmer@dpi.state.nc.us.

Connecting Minds Symposium Scheduled

"North Carolina: Connecting Minds Symposium 2005" will be held Dec. 1-2 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center, RTP. This two-day professional development symposium led by All Kinds of Minds and facilitators of the Schools Attuned Program will provide an opportunity for educators to gain a deeper understanding of students who struggle with learning and expand knowledge of strategies to strengthen student achievement in every classroom. For more information, including registration, please go online to www.allkindsofminds.org or call Christie Smith, All Kinds of Minds, 919.933.8082, ext. 2221, or by email, csmith@allkindsofminds.org.

North Carolina Council on the Holocaust

The North Carolina Council on the Holocaust, a state agency within the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, provides a number of services that may be of benefit to local school systems including free teacher workshops, lending libraries, an online teacher's guide with classroom resources (available in pdf), a one-hour play on teenaged victims of the Holocaust, and more. Visit the Council's Web site at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/holocaust_council/ for all the details.

Kindertransport Exhibit

The North Carolina Council on the Holocaust is once again offering the Kindertransport Exhibit free of charge to North Carolina middle and high schools. This traveling exhibit contains 17 panels of captioned photographs on the Kindertransport, or Children's Train, the rescue effort that brought about 10,000 Jewish children out of Nazi Germany to safety in Great Britain between1938 and 1940. The exhibit will be available to each school for one week. Schools requesting the exhibit also receive a copy of the award-winning documentary on the Kindertransport "Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport,"(2000). Additional information on this documentary, including a downloadable teacher's guid, is available online at http://www2.warnerbros.com/intothearmsofstrangers/. Teachers and media center coordinators interested in obtaining more information about this exhibit should contact Amy Davis at adavis@wcpss.net.

Center for Student Credit Card Education Offers Materials

The Center for Student Credit Card Education at the request of the N.C. Department of State Treasurer will once again offer free materials to all interested high school teachers. This program teaches high school seniors how to responsibly use a credit card before they go to college or into the workforce. The 2006 program has been updated to include information on identity theft. The new Trainer's Guide now provides optional pre- and post-tests as well as suggested classroom activities. The program takes approximately one hour of instruction time, not including the optional tests and classroom activities. To participate in this program, please call Ellen Richardson at 919.508.5164, or by email ellen.richardson@nctreasurer.com, by Wednesday, Oct.19, with the number of students and your contact information including mailing address. Teachers will receive their program materials by the end of the fall semester. Teachers are encouraged to share the Trainer's Guide and PowerPoint Presentation and, if needed, duplicate them. For more information about the Center for Student Credit Card Education, please visit their Web site at www.cscce.com.

General Hugh Shelton National Student Leadership Scholarship

The General Hugh Shelton Leadership Initiative is again offering a major four-year college scholarship valued at $10,000 per year (renewable) plus an annual $2,500 stipend for external leadership experiences such as study abroad. Last year, Ryan Nilsen of Wake County won this national scholarship. The mission of the General Hugh Shelton Leadership Initiative is to "inspire, educate, and develop values-based leaders who are committed to personal integrity, professional ethics and selfless service." The application deadline is Nov. 5. For more information, please go online to http://www.ncsu.edu/extension/sheltonleadership/scholarships/nsls.htm

Learn NC October Update

Learn NC's October update is now online and includes such items as Continuing Support for First-Year Teachers, Hands-on Biology, New Resources for Teaching Exceptional Children, The School Library as a Cultural Institution, "Extreme Makeover" Contest for School Library Web sites, and Online CEU Courses Open for Enrollment. It's all available online at www.learnnc.org.