TEACHERS' MESSAGES 2006

DECEMBER 14, 2006 - Teachers' Biweekly Message

As the winter holidays approach, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the work you do each day on behalf of students. Regardless of the spiritual or religious tradition, the winter holidays focus on bringing light into the world in the midst of the darkness of winter. Teachers bring light to their students every day, and I am grateful that you do. I hope you have a safe, warm and bright holiday season and a happy start in 2007.

Regards,
June Atkinson

In this Biweekly Teachers' Message:

1. State Board Meeting Highlights
2. Grant Benefits School Turnaround Initiative
3. No Teachers' Message Dec. 28
4. NCDPI Test Development Section Seeks Writers/Reviewers
5. Kindertransport Exhibit
6. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' Teachers Makes USA Today's Honorable Mention List
7. Linking Land and Literature Workshop
8. K-5 Integration Institute
9. Stock Market Workshops to be Held
10. Global Lesson Plans Available Online
11. Online Professional Development Opportunity
12. Globalization101.org
13. NC Biotechnology Offers Mini-Grant Program

State Board Meeting Highlights

At last week's Board meeting, members approved a framework for transitioning to a core course of study that will guide high school course requirements beginning in 2008-09, interim academic achievement cut scores for the Grade 3 pretest in mathematics, a proposal that will facilitate the licensing of teachers for world languages, and the 2007-09 Biennial Budget request. Board members also received the 2005-06 Annual Report on School Crime and Violence and discussed calendar waiver requests. Complete Board highlights are available online at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/sbehighlights/ by clicking on the appropriate link.

Grant Benefits School Turnaround Initiative

The North Carolina High School Turnaround Initiative will benefit from a $1.8 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will be used to create a permanent team of experts to support and monitor progress in each of the 37 schools currently in the turnaround process. Grant money also will be used to train the team to implement proven models for school improvement in addition to supporting the deployment of assessment teams to visit other low-performing high schools across the state to fully understand the challenges they face and better develop steps for improving student performance.

No Teachers' Message Dec. 28

Due to the winter break, there will be no Teachers' message Dec. 28. NCDPI staff wishes you and your family a joyous holiday season.

NCDPI Test Development Section Seeks Writers/Reviewers

North Carolina involves teachers in many stages of its test development process from writing and reviewing questions to reviewing test forms. The NCDPI Test Development Section is seeking a diverse group of teachers to participate in this process. Teachers who volunteer and are selected come to Raleigh, usually for one day, to participate. Those who have been involved find it to be excellent professional development as they assist in building high quality tests. For an application form, please go online to http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability/testing and scroll down to "Test Item Writer/Reviewer Interest Form." For more information, please contact Michael Gallagher, Test Development Section, NCDPI, 919.807.3777, or by email, mgallagher@dpi.state.nc.us.

Kindertransport Exhibit

The North Carolina Council on the Holocaust is once again offering the Kindertransport Exhibit free of charge to middle and high schools. This traveling exhibit contains 17 panels of heavily captioned pictures on the Kindertransport or Children's Train, the rescue effort that brought approximately 10,000 Jewish children out of Nazi Germany to safety in Great Britain between 1938 and 1940. Schools requesting the exhibit also get a copy of the award-winning documentary on the Kindertransport, "Into the Arms of Strangers." Teachers and media center coordinators interested in obtaining more information about this exhibit should contact Amy Davis at adavis@wcpss.net.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' Teachers Makes USA Today's Honorable Mention List

Congratulations to Myers Park High School (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools) physics teacher Wayne Fisher for being named to USA Today's 2006 All-USA Teacher Team Honorable Mention list. USA Teacher Team members are selected each year from kindergarten through 12th grade teachers nominated nationwide. Education professionals in a two-step judging process consider how well nominees define and meet their students' needs and most importantly, the impact they have on students and student learning. To read more, please go to the USA Today Web site at http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/allstars/front.htm?Loc=vanity .

Linking Land and Literature Workshop

The Elementary Social Studies Consultants at NCDPI are pleased to offer "Linking Land and Literature: Geography 2-5" on Jan. 12 in Raleigh. This workshop will demonstrate how the five themes of geography can be taught through children's literature. For registration information, visit www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/socialstudies/elementary and click on Geography 101. The deadline for registration is Dec. 22. For questions related to this workshop, please contact Amy Turnbaugh at aturnbaugh@dpi.state.nc.us.

K-5 Integration Institute

NCDPI's Elementary Education Division's ELA/Social Studies consultants will be conducting a two-day, K-5 Integration Institute on Feb. 1-2. The topics of focus include Teaching Reading Through Social Studies and Financial Literacy. The registration deadline is Jan. 19. For more information, including registration, please go online to http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/socialstudies/elementary or contact Amy Turnbaugh at aturnbaugh@dpi.state.nc.us or Michelle Palmer Weaver at mweaver@dpi.state.nc.us.

Stock Market Workshops to be Held

The North Carolina Council on Economics Education, NCCEE, will be conducting a series of Stock Market Game (SMG) workshops. The workshops will be presented in various locations throughout the state free of charge. The SMG is an interactive, online, multidisciplinary stock market simulation, which allows students in grades 4-12 and their teachers to compete against their peers across the state for portfolio growth. No prior stock market knowledge is necessary. Teachers wishing to learn more about the SMG program and its standards-correlated lessons are encouraged to attend. For more information on how to register for the free workshops and how to receive scholarships to play, visit www.nccee.org or contact Sandy Wheat at swheat@nccee.org.

Global Lesson Plans Available Online

Twenty-seven global lesson plans, aligned with the NC Standard Course of Study, are available online through the UNC-Chapel Hill's Center for European Studies/EU Center of Excellence. The lesson plans are appropriate for grades 6-12 and cover a variety of subjects, from science to social studies to French and German. The Web site is part of a national effort to eventually include lesson plans from all over the country. For more information, please go online to http://www.unc.edu/euce/resources/education/eu_lesson_plans/ .

Online Professional Development Opportunity

Enrollment has opened for NC in the World's online professional development course for middle and high school teachers called "North Carolina: Connections to the World." This course is designed to provide teachers with an understanding of global perspectives and the integration of these perspectives into their classrooms. Through this work, learners will identify the global connections and issues that exist in their North Carolina communities and will develop methods for engaging students in viewing their world through multiple channels. The course begins Feb. 7 and lasts six weeks. Teachers must enroll by Jan. 28. The course is free. For more information, please go online to http://www.learnnc.org/courses/ncworld.

Globalization101.org

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has introduced Globalization101.org, an online resource for students designed to educate young people both in the United States and abroad about the dilemmas and trade-offs of globalization. For more information, please go online to http://www.globalization101.org.

NC Biotechnology Offers Mini-Grant Program

Applications are now being accepted for the North Carolina Biotechnology Center's 2006-07 Mini-Grant Program. The Biotechnology Education Mini-Grant Program offers awards of up to $6,000 to assist in the development and implementation of activities, programs and courses for biotechnology education and training at the K-12 level. All proposals must be submitted electronically using the Biotechnology Center's online submission process. Proposals must be received by 5 p.m. on Jan. 24. For detailed information or to apply for a Biotechnology Education Mini-Grant, please go to http://www.ncbiotech.org/services_and_programs/grants_and_loans/mini_grant/i ndex.html.

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