TEACHERS' MESSAGES 2007
TEACHERS' MESSAGES 2007NOVEMBER 29, 2007 - Teachers' Biweekly Message
Licensure is one area of the Department of Public Instruction that affects every teacher in the state. That is why I am pleased to tell you about some positive changes in the Licensure area. The new Web site for Licensure has launched at www.ncpublicschools.org/licensure. This newly improved site should provide you with the tools and information you need in an easier to use format. We are continuing work on a more interactive Web page that will allow online license renewal and provide you with a status of where your license may be in the process. When that launches, we will let you know. Also, the Licensure phone system has been restructured to be more effective and to reduce wait time. We know this has been a source of frustration for you and we are excited about this improvement.
Regards,
June Atkinson
In this Biweekly Teachers' Message:
State Board Meets Next Week
The State Board of Education will meet next week, Dec. 4-6, in the 7th Floor Board Room, Education Building, Raleigh. Board action items include National Board Certification Promissory Note for state funding and revision of the licensure policy to facilitate the licensing of administrators and instructional support personnel as teachers. Board members will discuss revision of the North Carolina K-12 English Language Development Standard Course of Study, the Educational Value Added Assessment System (EVAAS) Teacher Module, a proposed revision of the Teacher Education Program Approval Process, a request to establish an additional Regional Alternative Licensure Center, and the 2006-07 Annual School Crime and Violence Report. To view the Board's complete agenda, please go online to www.ncpublicschools.org/sbe_meetings and click on the appropriate link.
Greetings from the 2007-08 North Carolina Teacher of the Year
Hi! My name is James Bell and I am the 2007-08 North Carolina Teacher of the Year. I am a middle school teacher in Edenton, North Carolina. I teach English Language Arts and Social Studies in a small rural community in Northeastern, North Carolina. Teaching is not a job to me it is a passion.
I have met many of you in my travels, and I would like to take this moment to say thank you and hi. For those of you that I have not met, I hope we have the opportunity to meet soon.
I never imagined that I would have the opportunities that have been put in front of me this year. I get to drive to every corner of this state and each school that I visit I am more and more inspired. There are some amazing things happening in classrooms across North Carolina. From Ocracoke Island where I saw a shop class of one making bookshelves for the faculty to a science class in a west Yadkin K-8 school where I spent time with a group of 8th graders who were studying the shedding habits of pythons for PetSmart, I am amazed at every turn.
I also have had the pleasure of working with teaching fellows and education students at different colleges and universities across North Carolina. It is inspiring to meet with these young people. They are so full of energy and ideas. I can say this for certain the profession in which we all have passion is in good hands. The young people who will be in the classrooms in the very near future will bring a remarkable amount of innovation and love to North Carolina classrooms.
One of the more surprising pleasures of this year is the work that I get to be a part of with the North Carolina State Board of Education. As NC Teacher of the Year, I get to serve as an advisor to the State Board. I don't think that I ever realized how the machine behind education works. I think I was always that teacher who referred to "those people in Raleigh."
However I know now that there is a group of people that work very hard in Raleigh for both students and teachers. I have grown so much as a professional just being a part of the governing process that works tirelessly for the betterment of North Carolina public education.
As I wrap this up, I would like to tell you about a fantastic weekend that I recently had as Teacher of the Year.
I know that often times as teachers we feel underappreciated. It seems that we never get the accolades we deserve. We feel unheralded and sometimes we think that what we do matters little.
I want to share a story with you that reminded me how important we are and that we are remembered long after our students leave our classroom. This past Saturday night, I was in Charlotte being honored as North Carolina's Teacher of the Year at a Bobcats basketball game. At half time, I was introduced to the crowd. I did a little wave and watched most of the remainder of the game from courtside (an amazing experience in itself).
Following the game, my wife and I decided to go to a restaurant. As we were walking down the street crowds of people recognized me and wanted to tell me about a teacher they had back when they were in school. I can't tell you how many stories I heard that night. But I can tell you one thing each story had one thing in common the teller wished they could go back and thank a teacher that made a difference, taught them some lesson outside of the curriculum, or just cared. With that said, I hope all of you know how important you are to the lives of the young people in your classroom.
I know it's getting close to that ever life saving Christmas Break. So enjoy and happy Holidays. - James Bell, 2007-08 North Carolina Teacher of the Year.
Joint Legislative Study Committee on Public School Funding
Rep. Rick Glazier and Sen. A.B. Swindell have been named co-chairs of the new Joint Legislative Study Committee on Public School Funding. The 20-member committee, which includes equal members of the House and Senate, was established during the 2007 Session of the General Assembly and tasked with performing an extensive study of public school funding and distributions.
The study will take a broader look, examining 12 kinds of school funding including, but not limited to: school capital fund; lottery school construction formula; children with disabilities; limited English proficiency; at risk student services/alternative schools; improving student accountability; disadvantaged students supplemental fund; low wealth counties supplemental funding; small county supplemental funding; transportation of pupils; academically or intellectually gifted; and number of school systems funded in each county. The committee also will also study the State Board of Education's model for projecting schools' average daily membership and focus particularly on how well the model accounts for students in rapidly growing school systems with highly mobile populations.
The committee has been asked to submit a report during the 2008 session that includes both its findings and recommendations.
Four NC High Schools to Become Best Practice Models
Partnering UNC campuses and the NC New Schools Project will select four high schools to become "learning laboratories of best practice," enabling educators from across the state to observe transformed teaching and learning that leads to higher graduation rates and higher performance for all students. The project will be funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Once the four learning lab schools are selected by a national panel of high school reform experts, the schools will be paired with a partnering UNC campus and its teacher education, educational leadership and related programs. Within two years, the learning labs will be prepared to host visiting teachers and principals for "residencies" over several days, allowing them to observe and explore instructional practices used in the model schools. For more information, please contact Joni Worthington, UNC Board of Governors, 919.962.4629 or by email, worthj@northcarolina.edu.
North Carolina Principal Fellows Program
The North Carolina Principal Fellows Program is a merit-based scholarship loan program designed to attract outstanding educators to full-time, two-year Master of School Administration degree programs. Fellows receive $30,000 the first year, and the equivalent of a first year assistant principal 10-month salary plus $4,100 the second year. Recipients of the scholarship loan agree to practice at an approved site in North Carolina as a full-time school-based administrator for four years or repay in cash. Fellows' scholarship loans are available for the 2008-09 school year. Prospective Fellows must apply and be unconditionally accepted in an MSA program at a participating campus before applying for the Principal Fellows scholarship loan. The application deadline for the scholarship loan is Jan. 15. Applications for the scholarship loan can be obtained online at www.ncpfp.org. Questions may be directed to Harry Starnes, director, NC Principal Fellows Program, has@northcarolina.edu, or Caroline Green, program coordinator, NC Principal Fellows Program, cogreen@northcarolina.edu.
State Employee Incentive Bonus Program
The Office of State Personnel is working to revitalize the State Employee Incentive Bonus Program (SEIBP). SEIBP's mission is to improve state government operations and reduce costs by providing employees a method for submitting, evaluating and implementing creative ideas that benefit the state. As an incentive, employees are generously rewarded for adopted suggestions, either through monetary or non-monetary awards. Visit the SEIBP homepage at www.seibp.org for more information on this program and you can submit creative, cost-savings ideas.
If you'd like to review past Teachers' Biweekly Messages sent to the listserv group, just go online to http://www.ncpublicschools.org/teachersarchive/ .