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TEACHERS' MESSAGES 2009

MESSAGES 2009 :: APRIL 23, 2009

APRIL 23, 2009 - Teachers' Biweekly Messages

How many times have you felt that your curriculum included so much material and so many objectives that you were on a marathon race to complete it by year's end? We have heard the concerns of teachers and others who feel that North Carolina's Standard Course of Study is "an inch deep and a mile wide" and we are doing something about that. More than 800 educators and subject area experts are involved in the Accountability and Curriculum Reform Effort, ACRE, designed to pare down the curriculum to the most essential "need to know" standards and to create appropriate 21st-century assessments to measure student learning. The first five sets of essential standards for K-12 Mathematics, K-12 Science, 10th grade English, Occupational Course of Study and K-12 Information and Technology Skills will be released in draft form next week. The fully operational standards and assessments will go into effect in classrooms in 2011-12. I hope you will stay in touch with this most important work of the NC Department of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education on the new ACRE Web site, www.ncpublicschools.org/acre.

Regards,
June Atkinson


In this Biweekly Teachers' Message:

  1. 2009-2010 Comparison Budgets Online
  2. May 5 is National Teacher Day/NC Teacher of the Year to be Named May
  3. Final Message from 2008-09 AT&T North Carolina Teacher of the Year
  4. Service Learning Survey
  5. Arts Education Standard Course of Study Revisions
  6. Educational and Documentary Videos Available to Public Schools
  7. LEARN NC Offerings
  8. SAT Flashcards Contest


2009-2010 Comparison Budgets Online

NCDPI's Financial and Business Services has created an excel spreadsheet that compares the State Board of Education's, Governor's and Senate budgets as presented. This document, which is available online at www.ncpublicschools.org/fbs under What's New, will be updated as the legislative process continues.


May 5 is National Teacher Day/NC Teacher of the Year to be Named May 5

The National Education Association has announced that May 5 is National Teacher Day. National Teacher Day provides a great opportunity for communities to acknowledge the vital role teachers play in ensuring that students graduate with the academic skills required to succeed in the workforce and in post-secondary education.

On Tuesday, May 5, North Carolina's 2009-10 AT&T North Carolina Teacher of the Year will be named during a dinner ceremony to be held at the Renaissance Raleigh Hotel at North Hills, Raleigh. Competing for this year's award are: Matthew Bristow-Smith, Tarboro High (Edgecombe County Schools); Gina Beaman, Creekside Elementary (Pitt County Schools); Robert Turner, Grandview Middle (Hickory Public Schools); Nicole Murray, James Kenan School of Engineering (Duplin County Schools); Jessica Garner, Porter Ridge High (Union County Schools); Martha Anderson, Washington Street Elementary (Richmond County Schools); Phillip Little, Northwood High (Chatham County Schools); Jo Peterson Gibbs, Asheville Middle (Asheville City Schools); and John Hall, ArtSpace Charter (Buncombe County).


Final Message from 2008-09 AT&T North Carolina Teacher of the Year

What an amazing journey this has been for a reading teacher from a rural middle school in Efland! As I think back over the year, I see thousands of pre-service teachers' faces - NC Teaching Fellows and other teacher education majors that I've had the honor of meeting and talking with. I see high school students, Teacher Cadets and others, as they begin to make life decisions that will impact our state's schools and school children. I see a positive future for our schools even as we battle tremendous budget deficits and hardships because as I have traveled our beautiful state this year, I have seein classrooms and do wonderful things for kids every day. I appreciate you embracing me as your ambassador this year. It is a role I have taken very seriously as I have represented you across the country. I feel that as I have traveled...to Arizona for the Education Policy Fellowship Program Conference...to Dallas and Washington, D.C. to meet with the other State Teachers of the Year...and from the coast to the mountains of our own wonderful state...you have been with me. I have felt your energy when traveling made me weary, when I missed my family and my dog. I have felt your compassion when I spoke about relationships with our students; and I have felt your support when I've stood in front of thousands of people to deliver your message. I will continue to be in awe of North Carolina teachers. You are the best in the country. I have no doubt! And I am honored to call you my colleagues and friends. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you as North Carolina's Teacher of the Year. It has been an honor and a privilege. Cindi Rigsbee, 2008-09 AT&T North Carolina Teacher of the Year


Service Learning Survey

NCDPI's K-12 Social Studies section is conducting a survey on service learning in the North Carolina high schools. The purpose of the survey is to gather feedback on the current state of service learning within the high school social studies program. Your input will be invaluable in the development of an online teacher resource in support of service learning. The survey is available online at www.zoomerang.com/Survey/survey-intro.zgi?p=WEB228YV63SVA8 and should only take a few minutes to complete. The survey closes on June 15. For questions about the survey, please contact Dal Edwards at deedwards@dpi.state.nc.us or 919.807.3832.


Arts Education Standard Course of Study Revisions

In order to effectively fulfill the State Board of Education's mission, NCDPI staff is conducting surveys in each of the arts education disciplines (dance, music, theatre arts and visual arts) to collect data that will be used to re-examine and redesign the NC Arts Education Standard Course of Study, K-12. The surveys, which will be open until 5 p.m. May 6, may be accessed at the following links:

For more information, please contact Myron Carter at mcarter@dpi.state.nc.us or Christie Lynch Ebert at clynch@dpi.state.nc.us with any questions.


Educational and Documentary Videos Available to Public Schools

Almost 400 educational and documentary videos from the Public Broadcasting Service are now available at no cost to all North Carolina public schools. With a grant from the State Library of North Carolina and the Department of Cultural Resources, NC LIVE, LEARN NC and NC WiseOwl have partnered to extend the reach of the PBS video collection to local schools. To access this resource, educators are encouraged to go to the NC WiseOwl Web site at www.ncwiseowl.org and click on the Media/Tech Zone link then the PBS Videos link. Questions may be directed to Neill Kimrey, section chief for Instructional Technology at the NCDPI, via email nkimrey@dpi.state.nc.us, or by phone, 919.807.3293.


LEARN NC Offerings

Environmental concerns are increasingly at the forefront of national attention, but it can be hard to find ways to bring them into the classroom in meaningful ways. LEARN NC has developed "Focus on Planet Earth," a resource guide of interactive Web sites, integrated lesson plans,trips to help teachers incorporate environmental themes in his or her classrooms, school, and community. Whether teachers are looking for ideas about how to celebrate Earth Day or planning a school garden project based on native plants, this collection should provide a great place to start. It's available online at www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/2795.

Developing Your Online Course - Learn to build your own online course from scratch. "Developing Your Online Course" teaches you the design and development strategies you need to create your course online. This six-week online course begins June 9 and is worth 3.0 CEUs. For more information or to register, please visit www.learnnc.org/courses/current/DATOC2_06_09_Kempner


SAT Flashcards Contest

MIT University wants kids to teach each other SAT vocabulary by making fun and memorable flashcards at www.BrainyFlix.com. These custom flashcards would allow students to pair words with original images and sentences. Small financial awards will be given to the student and school with the "best" flashcard and iTunes prizes for top contributors. The submission deadline is May 22. Contest details are available online at http://www.brainyflix.com/main/contest_rules . If you have any questions, please email admin@brainyflix.com.

 

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

 

 

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