TEACHERS' MESSAGES 2009

APRIL 8, 2009 - Teachers' Biweekly Messages

As you know, last fall, on a very fast track, we implemented a new approach to writing. This change from a one-day, one-time write on demand assessment to an emphasis on writing as an important, ongoing instructional activity has been an important change. In 2009-10, we will continue this pilot. At this month's Board meeting, NCDPI Deputy Chief Academic Officer Angela Quick presented the plan for next school year. It includes a number of changes based on your feedback. These include a move to require only a single scorer for the "on-demand" writing samples, revision and addition to the Instructional Writing Moodle, and more communication to make sure that you understand that writing already assigned within the classroom is the writing that can be used in the writing system. I know it takes time to move from prior ways of thinking about writing and how we grade it to new ways, but it is an important instructional move to make. Please know that our goal is to have a system of ongoing writing activities rather than an on-demand writing test that is given on just one day.

On another note, Monday may have been a great day for the Tar Heels, but it was a terrible day for public schools. The Senate's budget, presented late Monday afternoon, calls for the elimination of more than 6,000 teacher positions, and deep cuts totaling $630 million in funds supporting public schools and the Department of Public Instruction. The budget also would increase by two students the class size limits at every grade. The Senate's budget cuts are extreme and do not represent what is best for our students and schools. If enacted as presented, it would turn back the clock and cancel the progress we have made over the past 20 years. Please speak with your legislative delegation and tell them how the Senate's proposed cuts will affect you and your classroom.

Regards,
June Atkinson

In this Biweekly Teachers' Message:

1. State Board Meeting Highlights
2. Graduation Project Requirement Delayed by One Year
3. Graduate Pay Policy Implementation Postponed
4. April is Financial Literacy for Youth Month
5. Elementary School Conference Call for Proposals
6. LEARN NC Professional Development and Resource Opportunities
7. Adventures in Alice Programming for K-12 Teachers
8. F4K

State Board Meeting Highlights

At this month's Board meeting, members approved a new policy allowing first retest results in grades 3 through 8 in the calculation of performance composites of the ABCs and for AYP. All students who score Achievement Level II on the first administration of the end-of-grade assessments must be retested, and parents of students that score Achievement Level I on the first administration must be notified that they may request that their children be retested. In other action, Board members approved proposed revisions to the eligibility requirements for provisional licenses in school counseling and school social work and the 2009 invitation to submit textbooks for evaluation and adoption in North Carolina. Members discussed the 2009-2010 writing assessment plan, principal and teacher evaluation instrument state level ratings, and the elementary mathematics program of study and licensure endorsement. Highlights of the April Board meeting will be posted online late next week at www.ncpublicschools.org/sbehighlights.

Graduation Project Requirement Delayed by One Year

The State Board of Education approved a one-year delay to The North Carolina Graduation Project requirement for high school students. This action means that the Graduation Project will become a high school graduation requirement for the first time with students who first entered ninth grade in 2007-08 (Class of 2010-11). In making the recommendation, State Board of Education Chairman and CEO Bill Harrison said, "Many schools and districts across North Carolina have had a graduation project in some form or fashion for a decade or more. By giving the entire state more time to implement The North Carolina Graduation Project, we can ensure its success in every school and community."

Graduate Pay Policy Implementation Postponed

Board members also approved a recommendation to delay implementation of their Graduate Pay Policy (TCP-A-006), which authorizes that teachers be paid on the master's level salary schedule for any master's degree or advanced degree held from a regionally accredited Institute of Higher Education. The policy now goes into effect July 1, 2010. The delay was recommended due to the state's current economic situation.

April is Financial Literacy for Youth Month

Gov. Bev Perdue has proclaimed April as Financial Literacy for Youth Month and April 15 as Personal Financial Literacy Day in North Carolina. In 2003, President Bush declared April as Financial Literacy for Youth Month to highlight the importance of financial literacy and teach Americans how to establish and maintain healthy financial habits. In 2006, the North Carolina General Assembly directed the NCDPI to provide students with instruction, activities and initiatives in personal financial literacy.

Elementary School Conference Call for Proposals

Call for Proposals are now being accepted for the Sixth Annual Elementary School Conference to be held Oct. 25-27 at the Raleigh Convention Center. The Call for Proposals, conference information and registration is available on the North Carolina Association of Elementary Educators' Web site at www.ncelementary.org. The deadline to submit the Call for Proposals is May 15.

LEARN NC Professional Development and Resource Opportunities

LEARN NC is offering an online professional development course entitled, "Science 2.0: Using Web Tools to Promote Inquiry-Based Science." Over the course of this six-session workshop, teachers will familiarize themselves with science-themed Web sites, online collaborative projects, science blogs and wikis, and the mapping applications Google Maps and Google Earth. The course is focused on helping you identify ways to integrate these tools into practice, and thus enrich students' engagement with science content. The course will be offered May 12, costs $150, and offers two CEUs. For more information or to register, please visit www.learnnc.org/courses/current/eLESciWebTools_Flach_05_09.

LEARN NC also is offering an online professional development course entitled "American Indians in North Carolina." This eight-week course explores American Indian history in North Carolina from the earliest evidence of human habitation in the state through first contact with Europeans, the Trail of Tears, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, and into present day. Archaeological finds, creation stories, the writings of early European explorers, government documents and treaties, stories handed down through oral tradition, indigenous crafts, newspaper articles and more will enrich the exploration of key issues in Native American history in North Carolina. The course begins May 26, costs $225, and offers three CEUs. For more information or to register, please visit www.learnnc.org/courses/current/AINC_05_09_Walber. There are many ways to bring poetry alive in the classroom. LEARN NC has compiled a collection of poetry resources including Web sites, articles and lesson plans. Go to www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/2796 to access these resources.

Adventures in Alice Programming for K-12 Teachers

Free, one-week Adventures in Alice Programming workshops are being held for K-12 teachers at Duke University in June. Alice is a 3D virtual worlds environment in which teachers and students can program an animation on almost any topic. Middle and high school teachers of all disciplines can learn how they and their students can use Alice to create interactive anim ations for projects. For exampanimation of how a hot spot volcano is formed by having a mad scientist go underground and talk about how the volcano is formed and pushes up through the earth. A math teacher can create an animation of a coordinate plane with objects that randomly move around. Students then click on the object and are prompted to enter in the x-y coordinates of the object. Teachers are encouraged to attend either the June 22-26 (9 a.m.-4 p.m.) workshop or June 28 (1-6 p.m.), June 29-July 2 (9 a.m.-4 p.m.) workshop. Spots are being held for North Carolina teachers. There is already a wait list for teachers outside North Carolina. Teachers will receive 30 credit hours for attending. For more information and to register (the sooner the better), please visit http://www.cs.duke.edu/csed/alice/aliceInSchools/workshop09/. Questions should be directed to Susan Rodger at rodger@cs.duke.edu or 919.660.6595.

F4K

Futures for Kids (F4K) is an online career exploration tool that uses technology to connect middle and high school students with people and employers across North Carolina to show them the relevance of high school graduation to their future success. F4K gives students a starting point for career exploration, providing information on over 600 careers including average salary, working conditions and job outlook by state. Students can view companies who hire for a particular career and connect with those companies plus more than 700 background-checked Career Coaches (who can fulfill students' NC Graduation Project mentoring needs) via discussion board to ask questions and gain insight. F4K provides its program without charge to partnering LEAs and communities. For a current list of the 30 counties using F4K, please visit: www.f4k.org/About/Media Kit/F4K Coverage Map_Dec 2008.pdf.

 

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