TO: NC Public School Teachers

FROM: State Superintendent June Atkinson

DATE:Sept. 25, 2014

Beginning in 2015, you may have a new opportunity to demonstrate your preparation for teaching in today’s globally connected world. The State Board of Education next week is expected to take action on a new Global Educator Badge for teachers that would become available for qualifying teachers as early as January 2015. To earn the new global educator digital badge, teachers would be required to complete 100 hours or 10 CEUs of global education professional development and a capstone project. This badge would be a demonstration of preparation and commitment to meeting students’ needs to be competitive in today’s connected society. To learn more about the proposed badging process as well as other initiatives of the Global Education Task Force of the State Board of Education, please visit

Regards,

June Atkinson

In this Biweekly Teachers’ Message:

1. State Board of Education Meets Next Week

2. Teacher of the Year New School Year Greetings

3. 2014-15 Professional Development Opportunities

4. NC FALCON Formative Assessment Webinar Online

5. America’s Legislators Back to School Program

6. Friday Institute Offers Professional Development Opportunities

7. LEARN NC Fall Professional Development Courses Open for Enrollment

8. Join the NCDPI English Language Arts Listserv

9. Collaborative Conference for Student Achievement Set for March

10. Middle School STEM Experience: Future City

11. Search Underway for Nation's Top Youth Volunteers

1. State Board of Education Meets Next Week -The State Board of Education will meet next Tuesday-Thursday at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. The Board will hold its Planning and Work Session on Tuesday and Wednesday. At their monthly meeting on Thursday, members will consider (among other things) approving Career and Technical Education Essential Standards revisions, proposed revisions to the grading scale, Read to Achieve local alternative assessments, Global Educator Digital Badge criteria for teachers, Teacher Leadership Specialist standards and rubric draft, and the use of Race to the Top funds to help define classroom wireless needs. To view the Board’s Planning and Work Session agendas as well as its October monthly meeting agenda and executive materials, please visit The audio stream link for the Board’s Thursday meeting also can be accessed from this web location.

2. Teacher of the Year New School Year Greetings - To all the teachers far and wide across the great state of North Carolina, I bid you a hearty “Welcome Back.” By now you have probably already gotten into the swing of things. You’ve established relationships with your new students, put into practice new strategies gained from the summer, and that vacation you took over the break seems like a distant memory. But, as you continue to do this precious work please remember that this is a marathon and not a sprint. Take care of yourself and be sure not to burn out too early. Our students deserve the best, but we can only offer that to them when we are managing our mental, emotional and physical health. No matter the rigors of the work environment or the stress related to expectations, I encourage us all to remember to keep our proverbial cups full so that we can pour into others. What we are offering our students will pay dividends for the rest of their lives, making the value of our work nearly immeasurable. Continue to encourage yourself by recalling the purpose and promise of the vital role you play within our society. Additionally, please make sure to exercise your civic responsibility on Nov. 4, as a tremendously important midterm election is upon us. The teacher voice is critically important to shaping the future of this state and our country at large. Know that you matter, you are the ultimate, and you rock! Here's to a prosperous school year. James E. Ford, 2014-15 Burroughs Wellcome Fund NC Teacher of the Year

3. 2014-15 Professional Development Opportunities - NCDPI’s face-to-face professional development calendar has been differentiated based on stakeholders’ input to meet each region’s specific needs. In partnership with the Regional Education Service Alliances (RESAs), NCDPI has over 250 offerings spanning Educator Effectiveness, Curriculum & Instruction, Home Base and Data Literacy. All sessions can be viewed at register today.For more information, contact Cynthia Martin at .

To access all online professional development in Home Base, please visit more information, contact Geetanjali Soni at .

4. NC FALCON Formative Assessment Webinar Online - If you were unable to participate in the NC FALCON Formative Assessment webinar held Sept. 11, you may now view it online. The presentation, Formative Assessment in the Classroom, highlighted learning targets and strategies to collect data about student learning. Visit look under Additional Resources to access the webinar and PowerPoint slides.

5. America's Legislators Back to School Program - America's Legislators Back to School Program, sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislatures, kicked off Sept. 15 and will run throughout the school year. Educators are encouraged to extend invitations to their local representatives to visit and talk with students about the legislative process and what it's like to be a state legislator: the processes, the pressures, and the debate - the negotiation and compromise that are the fabric of representative democracy. Classroom discussions are being encouraged over school-wide assemblies. Last year, 42 North Carolina legislators spoke to over 9,000 students. North Carolina has actively participated in the America’s Legislators Back to School program since its inception in 1999.

6. Friday Institute Offers Professional Development Opportunities - NCSU’s Friday Institute for Educational Innovation is offering the following two MOOC-Ed (Massive Open Online Courses for Educators):

- Disciplinary Literacy for Deeper Learning. This six-week course explores what it means to read, write, speak and listen for learning and creating knowledge within a discipline. The course is designed specifically for teacher educators and 6-12th grade English and Language Arts teachers and begins Sept. 29.

- Learning Differences. This six-week course explores the habits of mind and problem-solving tools that a teacher should have in order to address all students learning differences. The course encourages teachers to understand their own learning differences and includes strategies for learning differences in executive function, working memory and motivation. This course begins Oct. 6.

Learn more about these free professional development opportunities at Not sure what to expect from a MOOC-Ed course? Check out this one-minute video at mooc-ed.org/what-is-mooc-ed to learn more.

7. LEARN NC Fall Professional Development Courses Open for Enrollment –LEARN NC has a slate of new courses, a brand new Carolina Online Teacher (COLT) program, as well as some of its tried and true coursesavailable for registration. Course topics include the arts, mathematics, cyberbullying, differentiation, technology, flipping the classroom, reading, writing,STEM, and much more.All LEARN NC courses have been peer-reviewed and reviewed by UNC-Chapel Hill School of Education faculty. See the course roster at Click on “session info” and register today!

8. Join the NCDPI English Language Arts Listserv -K-12 teachers are invited to join the NCDPI’s ELA listserv.Information regarding upcoming professional development, relevant resources, ELA SCOOP newsletters, and updates are sent out periodically to members.Simply visit to join!

9. Collaborative Conference for Student Achievement Set for March - The NCDPI will sponsor its fifth annual Collaborative Conference for Student Achievement (CCSA), Champions Engaging North Carolina in 21st Century Teaching and Learning, on March 30-April 1, 2015 at the Sheraton Four Seasons/Koury Convention Center, Greensboro.The CCSA reflects the agency’s efforts to accommodate some of the economic challenges experienced by schools and communities by providing a multi-faceted professional development opportunity for educators and education stakeholders. This conference is designed to consolidate several conferences into one by merging the Accountability, Safe Schools and Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps conferences. Visit periodically for updates on speakers and sessions.

10. Middle School STEM Experience: Future City-Looking for an exciting STEM curriculum/project for your school, STEM after-school program, elective class, honors science or global studies class? Then you will want to check out Future City at The registration fee is waived if you register byOct. 15.When registering, make sure you say “bill me later” when it asks about the $25 fee.Participating schools receive access to the free SimCity software and the winning team gets a free trip to Washington DC to compete at nationals. Contact North Carolina Regional Future City Coordinator Lindsey Genut at for more information.

11. Search Underway for Nation's Top Youth Volunteers - Prudential Financial, in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals, is sponsoring its 20th annual Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Students in grades 5-12 are invited to apply for the awards if they have made meaningful contributions to their communities through volunteer service within the past 12 months. Students must complete the application, which is available online at by Nov. 4 and then submit it for certification to a middle or high school principal. Schools will then select the top recipients in early November and submit those names for state-level judging. The middle and high school recipients for each state will be named on Feb. 10. The top middle and high school candidates in each state receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and a trip to Washington, D.C., with a parent for four days of recognition events scheduled for May 2-5. Ten national honorees will be named and among other things, will receive an additional $5,000 in awards.

North Carolina’s top youth volunteers for 2014 were Molly Paul (Saint Mary’s School, Raleigh) and Leanne Joyce (Grey Culbreth Middle, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools).