TEACHERS' MESSAGES 2008

MARCH 28, 2008 - Teachers' Biweekly Messages

I know that it comes as no surprise to you that North Carolina public schools are home to many accomplished students. Recently I attended the Scientific Achievement Reception honoring Dr. Oliver Smithies, who was the co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine and is the Excellence Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UNC's School of Medicine. At this event, North Carolina also recognized a number of high school students for their scientific achievements. These students represented the broad array of public high schools. Some of the work by these students included: "A Genomic Strategy to Refine Prognosis and Treatment of Early Stage Colon Cancer," "The Use of Zebra Fish to Model the Treatment of BPPV with Antiosidants," and "Inhibition of Lung Cancer Growth by Antiotensin (1-7)."

On another note, two North Carolina students (one in high school and one in middle school) were recognized recently for their volunteer services during 2007 by receiving the 2008 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a national program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism... Both students had raised awareness of cancer and provided outreach to cancer patients.

In all of these cases of outstanding student achievement and character, these young people have benefited from the guidance and mentoring of their teachers throughout their lives. Thank you for all you do to nurture outstanding young people.

Regards,
June Atkinson

In this Biweekly Teachers' Message:

1. State Board Meets Next Week
2. Superintendent's Task Force on Ethics and Licensure Holds First Meeting
3. National Board Certification Applications Being Accepted
4. Elementary School Conference Call for Proposals
5. Staff Development Opportunity for High School Social Studies Teachers
6. African American History to 1950
7. Summer 2008 Biotechnology Workshops for Educators
8. Economic Educators of the Year Competition

State Board Meets Next Week

The State Board of Education will hold their April meeting next week, April 1-3, in the Education Building, Raleigh. Action items up for Board consideration include the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 Five Year Plan; the addition of elementary level (grades K-6) licensure areas in Reading, English-as-a-Second Language, Special Education: General Curriculum and Special Education: Adapted Curriculum; and various calendar waiver requests... Discussion items include a revision update to the Academically or Intellectually Gifted program, pilot program of alternative teacher salary plans, and an update on the reorganization of the NCDPI's Licensure Section.. The Board's complete agenda is available online at www.ncpublicschools.org/sbe_meetings by clicking on the appropriate link.

Superintendent's Task Force on Ethics and Licensure Holds First Meeting

The first meeting of the Superintendent's Task Force on Ethics and Licensure took place last week in Raleigh. Comprised of local school administrators, deans of education schools, teachers, local school board attorneys, and representatives from the teacher organizations, the task force began considering a number of issues including: fingerprinting at the state level, the list of grounds for disciplinary actions, the range of available disciplinary actions, how to distribute the code of teacher ethics more effectively, whether to license substitutes and teacher assistants, when to require local schools systems to report to the state regarding misconduct of teachers, and generally how to strengthen our system of teacher discipline. The task force also will examine the teacher discipline approach in other states as well as rules and procedures used to license other professionals in North Carolina. Ultimately, the task force will review whether changes to NC rules are advisable and perhaps additional legislation. The end result will be a report with recommendations to the State Board and State Superintendent.

National Board Certification Applications Being Accepted

Applications for 2008-09 National Board Candidates will be accepted March 3-Oct. 31. The state of North Carolina will pay, up front, the candidate assessment fee for eligible teachers. Eligible teachers are those that have: - completed three full years in North Carolina public schools (this includes DOC, DHHS, Office of Juvenile Justice and public charter schools); - hold a valid, clear, continuing North Carolina teaching license; - have not previously received state funds for participating in the NBPTS assessment. (If a candidate received funding, withdrew from the process and fulfilled the repayment obligation, he/she can be funded again.); and - engage in direct classroom instruction, library/media work, or school counseling 70 percent of the time over the course of the academic year. Teachers do not have to repay the fee as long as they complete the full National Board Certification process and teach the year following completion. The deadline for requesting state funding is Oct. 31. No late requests will be accepted. Candidates must first apply for the National Board Certification process at www.nbpts.org and then apply for the North Carolina National Board Certification assessment fee funding at http://nbpts.dpi.state.nc.us.

Elementary School Conference Call for Proposals

The North Carolina Association of Elementary Educators is now accepting Call for Proposals for its Fifth Annual Elementary School Conference to be held Oct. 26-28 at the Raleigh Convention Center. Information on the conference, including the online Call for Proposal forms, can be found at www.ncelementary.org. Proposals are due May 1.

Staff Development Opportunity for High School Social Studies Teachers

The North Carolina Civic Education Consortium is offering high school social studies teachers a professional development opportunity: One Nation Under Law: The US Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of North Carolina. The workshop will be held on Wednesday, April 16, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., in Room 2401, UNC Chapel Hill School of Government. The workshop will highlight resources designed to teach students about the US Supreme Court and the NC Supreme Court, including lesson plans and activities, video segments from PBS's series on America's highest court and interactive Web resources. There is a $50 fee to offset travel costs. Space is limited. To register, download the application from www.civics.unc.edu/upcomingtrainings and fax it to the attention of Anita Buie at 919.843.2558.

African American History to 1950

Examine African American history in the contexts of United States, North Carolina and world history. Assignments draw from a wealth of classroom-oriented primary sources, including slave testimonies, photographs, oral histories, and more. This course is essential for all North Carolina history teachers, and participants will earn 3 CEUs. This course begins April 14. To register, please go online to www.learnnc.org/courses/current/afamhist_04_14_08.

Summer 2008 Biotechnology Workshops for Educators

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center has announced its 2008 Summer Biotechnology Workshops for educators. The workshops are designed for high school teachers but middle school teachers also may attend. For more information, including workshop dates and locations, please go to the Biotechnology Center's Web site at www.ncbiotech.org/summerworkshops. Space is limited so early register is recommended.

Economic Educators of the Year Competition

The North Carolina Council on Economic Education is pleased to announce its 3rd annual Economic Educator of the Year competition. The competition is open to any NC high school teacher whose subject matter includes a significant portion of economics or personal financial literacy and is designed to reward outstanding and innovative approaches to teaching economics. There will be cash awards of $5,000 for the winner, with two finalists receiving $1,500 each. This competition was made possible by generous support from the BB&T Foundation. Applications, which must be postmarked by April 15, may be downloaded at www.nccee.org

 

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