Grants Focus on Instructional Enhancement
Applications for Wake Education Partnership’s Food for Thought grants are being accepted online now through March 28. Food for Thought grants are open to all full-time Wake County public school teachers, teachers’ assistants, school psychologists or counselors, social workers, IRTs and media specialists. This year’s Food for Thought grants will focus on more rigorous approaches to enhancing student success through collaboration. Instructional enhancement grants are designed to allow four or more teachers time to plan and reflect with colleagues in order to implement changes in teaching behavior that will positively affect student success and engagement in the classroom. For more information, visit the Partnership's website.
Teacher to Present Book at Quail Ridge
Quail Ridge Books & Music and Wake Education Partnership invite you to meet author and teacher Rafe Esquith, along with some of his students, on Thursday, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m. Esquith will discuss his book, TEACH LIKE YOUR HAIR'S ON FIRE!: THE METHOD AND MADNESS INSIDE ROOM 56, and his students will play music.
Esquith has won the American Teacher Award, been awarded the National Medal of Arts, and made an honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire. For 24 years, he has taught at Hobart Elementary, an inner-city school in Los Angeles. His fifth-grade students are first-generation immigrants who live in poverty and speak English as a second language. They also play Vivaldi, perform Shakespeare, score in the top 1 percent on standardized tests, and go on to attend Ivy League universities. As Esquith explains it, his students aren't geniuses; they just outwork everybody else. In his book, Esquith reveals the techniques that have made him one of the most acclaimed educators of our time. For more information, visit Quail Ridge Books online.
Scholarship Deadline Extended for WCPSS Seniors
Applications from high school seniors for the Susan Ellis Roberts Scholarship are due Jan. 22, 2007. The scholarship, which honors a former Wake County teacher, was established in 2003 to annually award a Wake County public school graduating senior who has demonstrated a creative gift or special talent in visual or performing arts, leadership, teaching, entrepreneurship or other area of talent. The scholarship is a one-time award of $5,000 and may be used to pay for any educational expenses such as tuition, fees, or room and board. For more information and to download an application, visit the Partnership's website.
Commissioners, School Board Disagree Over Year-Round Conversions
The Wake County Board of Commissioners on Monday voted 4-3 to rewrite the school district's capital spending plan, moving up new schools and delaying year-round conversions, new mobile classrooms and some renovations. On Tuesday, the Board of Education voted 5-2 to proceed with a plan to convert 22 schools to a year-round calendar this summer. To follow the trail and to learn more about the revised student assignment plan, read the following articles from The N&O (in chronological order):
• Board of Commissioners’ decision
• Board of Education’s decision
• Student assignment plan presented
Upcoming Events for Parents and Teachers
Several community organizations have events planned this month to provide parents and teachers with important information:
1. Smooth Transitions to a Year-Round School Schedule: Jan. 20, 8:30 a.m. – noon, at Impact Athletics and Fitness Center (280 Towerview Ct., Cary) -- This one-stop help event is for parents of elementary and middle school students who are headed to a year-round schedule or who may already be attending a year-round school and need help. The Wake PTA Council will offer free workshops, as well as door prizes, brunch and childcare for children under age 7. You must RSVP for childcare by Jan. 12 to Alisa Wright Colopy at alisa@impactathleticsnc.com. For more information, visit the PTA Council online, or contact Cindy Smith or Liza Weidle.
2. IEP Workshop: Jan. 25, 7-9 p.m., at the Nationwide Building (4401 Creedmoor, Raleigh) -- ECAC (Exceptional Children’s Assistance Center) will hold a free workshop for parents, teachers and other professionals about writing effective IEPs. Light refreshments and materials will be provided at no cost. For more information, directions, to register, or if you have special needs, please contact Wake County Special Education PTA (SEPTA) at 919-788-2500 or info@WakeSEPTA.org.
3. New Graduation Requirements and New EOG Math Scale Scores: Jan. 27, 10 a.m. – noon, at Martin St. Baptist Church (1001 East Martin St., Raleigh) -- Dr. June Atkinson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, will speak at this event, sponsored by the Coalition of Concerned Citizens for African American Children. The seminar is designed to give parents, community leaders, and concerned citizens detailed information on several North Carolina State Education Policies, including new graduation requirements, high school exit standards, the new state math test and interpreting test scores. RSVP by Jan. 19 to Calla Wright at 231-9057.
N.C., Wake County Top List of National Board Certified Teachers
The teacher quality movement achieved a new milestone in North Carolina with this week’s announcement by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) that more than 1,500 state teachers achieved National Board Certification in 2006. North Carolina ranked first nationwide in the number of new National Board Certified Teachers® (1,525). The state also ranked number one in the total number of teachers who achieved certification over time (11,325). The Wake County Public School System has more National Board Certified Teachers than any other school district in the country (1,073).
National Board Certification is the highest credential in the teaching profession. A teacher-driven, voluntary process established by NBPTS, certification is achieved through a rigorous, performance-based assessment that typically takes one to three years to complete and measures what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. As part of the process, teachers build a portfolio that includes student work samples, assignments, videotapes and a thorough analysis of their classroom teaching. Additionally, teachers are assessed on their knowledge of the subjects they teach.
State Board Names Deputy
The State Board of Education last week approved J.B. Buxton as the new Deputy State Superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction effective Feb. 1. Buxton is currently the Senior Education Advisor to Gov. Mike Easley. He will succeed Dr. Janice Davis who has served as Deputy State Superintendent since 2004. Buxton has played a leadership role in the implementation of various initiatives, including the Gates Foundation-funded N.C. New Schools Project, the Learn and Earn early college initiative, the N.C. School Report Cards, the More at Four Pre-kindergarten Program, the Teacher Working Conditions initiative, the Center for 21st Century Skills, the Child and Family Support Team initiative, and the High School Turnaround initiative.
Quality Counts 2007 Reports on Chance for Success
This year's edition of "Quality Counts" from Education Week takes a new direction, investigating which states provide their young people with the best opportunity to succeed in their academic and professional lives based on the "Chance-for-Success Index." The Index provides a perspective on the importance of education throughout a person’s lifetime and is based on 13 indicators that highlight whether young children get off to a good start, succeed in elementary and secondary school, and hit key educational and income benchmarks as adults. States gain or lose points on each indicator based on how they perform compared with the national average. Virginia, Connecticut, Minnesota and New Jersey rank at the top of the index, while Texas, Arizona, Louisiana and New Mexico lag significantly behind the national average in descending order. North Carolina ranks 35th on this indicator, with an overall score of negative 7.
To help provide a picture of K-12 performance across states, Quality Counts also includes a new State Achievement Index that ranks each state based on whether its students are significantly above or below the national average or are making progress on 15 indicators. It is based on a combination of current performance outcomes and gains states have made over time. Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont and Connecticut are the top performers on the achievement index, while Hawaii, New Mexico, West Virginia, and Mississippi perform at the bottom in descending order. North Carolina ranks 25th on the K-12 Achievement Index, with an overall score of positive 6. To read the full report and view all the charts and data, visit Education Week online.
Moving the Lines
The American School Board Journal takes a look at redistricting and student assignment. Articles in this month’s edition present stories from South Carolina and Minnesota, focusing on the challenges and hard choices for school board members and the impact on schools and the community. To read more, visit ASBJ online.
MAKE AN INVESTMENT
Your donations make the Partnership's work possible. Please help us continue to support excellence in public education in Wake County by making an investment in the Annual Fund for Education today. When we invest in our schools, we build a better, stronger, more prosperous community for us all. And together, we all win.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Feb. 6: Wake Regional Education Roundtable from noon to 1:30 p.m.; hosted by the Wake Forest and Rolesville Chambers at Forks Cafeteria; discussion topic will be charter schools.
March 7: Pieces of Gold at 7 p.m.;Progress Energy Center for Performing Arts; tickets go on sale later this month.