NCEducationPolicy.com’s 2010 IN REVIEW: Statistics and other Note-worthies from the past 12

The stats monkeys at WordPress.com have been feverishly tabulating, totaling, and compiling for nearly a week now and it’s finally complete!

Call it a ‘State of the Website’ if you like…. the following report details how NCEducationPolicy.com — your favorite source of Education News, and of course browser homepage — fared over the past 12 months.

So without further ado…  A relatively high level summary of the overall health of this blog:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is on fire!.

 

CRUNCHY NUMBERS:

A helper monkey made this abstract painting, inspired by the rousing success of     NCEducationPolicy.com

The average container ship can carry about 4,500 containers. This blog was viewed about 14,000 times in 2010. If each view were a shipping container, your blog would have filled about 3 fully loaded ships.

In 2010, there were 92 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 203 posts. There were 3 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 172kb.

The busiest day of the year was April 20th with 221 views. The most popular post that day was Task Force on Childhood Obesity Commission Summary .

TOP REFERRING SITES: Many Thanks!!!

Top Referrers in 2010 were wral.com, search.aol.com, facebook.com, centurylink.net, and mariaozawa2u.blogspot.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for nc education budget, nc education budget cuts 2010, nc education policy, nc education budget cuts, and nc education budget 2011.

 

MOST VIEWED POSTS in 2010:

Though we love them all equally, the most popular posts were…

1. Task Force on Childhood Obesity Commission Summary February 2010

2. NC Education State Budget Cuts Proposed to the Governor (Updated) November 2010

3. North Carolina Budget Deficit Continues to be Discussed 2011-2012: August 2010

4. 2010 LEGISLATIVE STATE BUDGET MEMO #9 July 2010

5. Task Force on Childhood Obesity Summary February 2010

Preview of January State Board of Education Meeting

Wednesday & Thursday, January 5, 6, 2011

The State Board of Education will meet on Wednesday, January 5, 2011 in committees.  They will begin with the Leadership for Innovation Committee, Globally Competitive Students Committee, Healthy Responsible Students, 21^st Century Professionals Committee, and finish with the Business/Finance and Advocacy Committee. On Thursday, they will meet to take Action on issues. Access to the SBE Executive Summaries and related documents are on the SBE website at the following link: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/stateboard/meetings/2011/01

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Leadership for Innovation Committee Meeting (10:30 AM)

Action and Discussion Agenda

Discussion

• LF1 Status of eTextbooks and Digital Teaching and Learning Resources in NC Public Schools The State Board is requested to discuss and give feedback on the process for moving to more online resources and digital textbooks. The new assessments developed for ACRE will require online testing in 2013/2014. There must be a change to digital teaching and learning, which includes digital resources and other digital teaching tools. The Board will receive an update on the status and readiness to shift to online assessments and other possible changes.

New Business

• NCVPS/LEO Director’s Update:
• Race to the Top Evaluation Questions

Globally Competitive Students Committee (1:00 PM)

Action and Discussion Agenda

Discussion

• GCS 1 North Carolina Extended Content Standards for Mathematics and Science The State Board will discuss the content standards being presented by grade level for Mathematics and Science. This effort was the result of a collaboration between the Exceptional Children’s Division and the Curriculum Division. The Standards comply with NCLB and IDEA. The assessments will measure the achievement of students with the most cognitive disabilities, based on alternate achievement standards. This provides special education students (greatest cognitive disabilities) with a set of uniform content standards and clarifying objectives for Mathematics and Science.

Healthy Responsible Students Committee (11:35 AM)

Discussion

• HRS1 Interscholastic Athletics The State Board will review a requested policy change and provide feedback. A small group of students was deemed ineligible to participate in athletics due to the change in the cut-off date for admission to kindergarten. Currently, the policy contains a note delaying implementation of the cut-off date until 2015-2016. The policy note should be deleted and this will allow all students who turn 19 before August 31 of their senior year to be eligible to participate in athletics. Deleting the note will also allow students who turn 19 before August 31, 2011 and beyond to be eligible to play interscholastic sports.

21^st Century Professionals Committee (2:10 PM)

Action and Discussion Agenda

Action

• TCP 1 Recommendations from the Advisory Board on Requests for Exception from Teacher Licensing Requirements The State Board is requested to approve each request for exception from licensing, as recommended by the Board panel. In 2006, the Board appointed a panel to review requests for exemption to the licensing requirement or to provide an extension of time. The panel recommendations will be heard in Closed Session.
• TCP 2 State Board of Education Recognition of North Carolina Board of Examiners for Speech and Language Pathologist and Audiologists (NCBOESLPA) Licensure as the Qualifying Credential for Service in Public Schools The State Board is asked to approve the proposal to recognize NCBOESLPA licensure as the qualifying credential required for service as a speech-language pathologists’ service in public schools. Presently, DPI has been licensing speech and language pathologists and is recommending moving to the more rigorous professional license standards, of the NC Board of examiners for Speech and Language Pathologists and Audiologists (NCBOESLPA). The Board requirements include: 1) completion of 75 semester hours of study in the field at an institution of higher education (IHE), 2) minimum score of 600 on Praxis II Speech Language Pathology, 3) completion of 30 hours of continuing education in the field every three years, and 4) renewal of license on an annual basis.

Business/Finance and Advocacy Committee Meeting (2:35 PM)

Action and Discussion Agenda

Action

• TCS 1 Race to the Top (RttT) – Incentives to Support Teacher Recruitment and Retention in the Lowest achieving Schools The State Board is requested to approve the RTT incentives to support teacher recruitment and retention in the lowest achieving schools. . In the RttT proposal, NC indicated they would provide every new teacher who choose to work in the lowest achieving schools, regardless of their entry into teaching, with a voucher that can be used for the following: 1) Forgiveness of student loans for each year of teaching, 2) Tuition for obtaining a Master’s degree in education, educational administration, or the content area in which they teach, and 3) Housing, or a combination of the three. The value of the voucher is equal to the cost of two semesters of coursework, two courses per semester at an in-state-degree granting program.

Action on First Reading

• TCS 2 Approval of Grant
  • State Personnel Development Grant North Carolina was awarded a five-year competitive grant (NC-SIP) for $7.4 million. The purpose of the grant is to establish and implement staff development support services to improve the performance (math and reading) and success of students with disabilities. There are four major goals for the grant: 1) improve math and reading skills performance for students with disabilities, 2) increase the percentage of qualified teachers if students with disabilities, 3) increase graduation rate and decrease dropout rates of students with disabilities, and 4) improve parent satisfaction with, and support of, school services for students with disabilities. Funds of $120,000 are being provided to start up the new grant sites in 2010-2011. Reading sites receiving $10,000 per year for five years include; Clinton City, Weldon City, Bladen County, Stokes County, Kannapolis City, Bertie County, and Richmond County. Math sites receiving $10,000 per year for five years include: Stanly County, Sampson County, Davie County, Henderson County, and Forsyth County.
• TCS 3 Council on Educational Services for Exceptional Children The State Board is requested to discuss the Council vacancy and provide a recommendation to fill the position of a parent of a child with disabilities. Approval of the individual will occur at the February meeting.

Update on Contracts

Contracts over $25,000 – 13 contracts

Contracts under $25,000 – 3 contracts

Thursday, January 6, 2011

State Board of Education Meeting, (9:00 AM) Dr. William Harrison, Chairman

Call to Order

Pledge of Allegiance:

Approval of Minutes

Special Presentation

• Mr. William (Bill) P.  Tatum, Lee County Board of Education

Key Initiatives Reports and Discussion

Career, college, Ready Set, Go/Race to the Top Update – Mr. Adam Levinson

• District and School Transformation Update-Dr. Pat Ashley
• Performance Navigator-Mr. Mike Martin

State Superintendent’s Report

• Dr. June Atkinson

Board Meeting and Committee Chair Reports

Information Agenda

Healthy Responsible Students

• HRS 2 Healthy Active Children Report 2010. The State Board will hear information on the 2010 Healthy Children Report, required annually from the LEAs. The summary report includes information on the minutes of physical activity, including recess and trend data. The presentation slides are available in the link provided at the beginning of this preview. Eleven LEAs did not report information as required and the list is included in the report. Only 40 percent of the Healthy Advisory Committees list a representative, which is required and only 38 percent meet quarterly. Fifty-three percent provide their reports to the local boards of education. Fifty-one percent report ALL of their elementary schools provide 150 minutes of weekly PE with a certified PE teacher, while 48 percent report ALL of their middle schools provide 225 minutes of weekly Healthful Living with a certified health and physical education teacher. The remainder of the report provides further information on such items as: the use of the  health advisory report, health assessment tools being used, staff wellness program, percent of LEAs withholding recess as punishment, health advisory commission training attended by LEA representative, and joint-use agreements.

Consent Agenda

Globally Competitive Students

• GCS 2 Changes and Clarifications to Policy GCS-A-012: Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives for NCLB Title III and Update to Title III State Plan The State Board is requested to approve the amendments to Policy GCS-A-012 and the Title III Plan, which includes policy amendments. After collecting two years worth of data from ACCESS for ELLS assessment, used for specifying annual measurable objectives to determine the percentage of students making progress toward English Language proficiency. Policy changes are being recommended, including the targets for proficiency. They include the following: 1) AMAO 1. Students identified as limited English proficient shall demonstrate progress by achieving one or more of the following in terms of the overall composite proficiency score on the annual English language proficiency test: 1) increase to the next English language proficiency level; 2) increase the previous score by 0.5; or 3) reach the Comprehensive Objective Composite. The new proficiency targets are as follows: 2010-2011-55.1, 2011-2012-, 56.1, 2011-2013-57.1, and 2013-2014 58.1, with all succeeding years increasing by 1.0 point. The policy update and information on the cut scores is included in the GCS 2 executive summary link provided at the beginning of this preview.

Healthy Responsible Students

• HRS 3 State Board of Education Study on Issues Related to Sports Injuries at Middle School and High School Levels The State Board is recommended to accept the study report as presented and to submit it to the General Assembly as required. The final report is due to the 2011 General Assembly upon convening.

21^st Century Professionals

• TCP 3 Proposed Qualifying Scores for Praxis II Physics (0265) and Regenerated Praxis II Exams in Elementary Education (0015) and Technology (0051) The State Board is asked to approve by consent the qualifying scores being recommend for Physics, Elementary Education, and Technology Education. NC is recommending a Physics test cut score of 133 after completing an in-state study conducted by the DPI Licensure Section. ETS conducted a standard setting process and has set a cut score of 161 for Elementary Education and a cut score of 159 for Technology Education. The new tests are for those individuals seeking a NC license in the above areas.
• TCP 4 Proposed Qualifying Scores for Praxis II Art: Content and Analysis (0135) The State Board is recommended to approve by consent the new cut score of 161 for Art: Content and Analysis (0135). The new test and score is appropriate for the assessment of individuals seeking an Art Education license in North Carolina.

Leadership for Innovation

• LFI 2 Approval of Charter School Technology Plans The State Board is requested to approve, by consent, the charter school technology plans submitted by the following schools: Cape Fear Center for Inquiry, Tiler Charter, Socrates Academy, Gray Stone Day School, Bridges Charter, and ArtSpace Charter.

Business/Finance and Advocacy

• TCS 4 School Bus Inspection Updates: Policy Regarding Preventive Maintenance and Vehicle Replacement Manual Updates (TCS-H-005) The State Board is recommended to approve, by consent, the recommended policy changes for school bus inspections. In 2006, TCS-H-005 was adopted and covers preventive maintenance, vehicle replacement, and school bus inspections. A new policy, TCS-H-011, was adopted and transportation staff began reviewing the “INSPECTION” section of the old policy and identified the need for technical updates to the inspection procedures to include best practices, and acknowledge the latest technology, since adoption of TCS-H-005 in 2006. Policy TCS-H-005 also includes technical changes to the “VEHICLES” section, reflecting changes in school bus specifications, adopted since 2006.

Action and Discussion Agenda

Chairman’s Remarks

• Dr. Bill Harrison, Chairman
• Legislative Update

Adjourn

Budget Puzzle: You Fix the Budget

From the New York Times:

If you were in charge of the nation’s finances, what would you do?  Some of your options have more short-term savings and some have more long-term savings. Work to close the budget gaps for both 2015 and 2030 and share it when you’re done.

From the New York Times:

CLICK HERE

When you’re done, be sure to read HOW READERS CHOSE TO FIX THE DEFICIT

This’ll just take a second….

This is a bit off the beaten path, but I am hoping you won’t mind my bringing a few noteworthy points to your attention before you delve into the 4 new posts below…

Firstly, if you have not yet noticed, the url of this site is slightly different.

Instead of the rather lengthy  www.nceducation.wordpress.com….

Our New Web Address is:

www.nceducationpolicy.com

******So, make sure you BOOK MARK our new URL now******

But no need worry…. The old address will still work just fine.  No one’s

“Moved Your Cheese...”

More importantly, as we approach the new – and what will certainly be an extremely long – Long Legislative Session, our goal – the purpose of www.nceducationpolicy.com – has not changed .  We hope to provide a timely, accurate, no frills/no spin connection to whats going on in the world of North Carolina Education Policy.

But there’s a critical component missing. Input, feedback, and direction from our readers.  Any alternative would incomplete, one-sided, and stagnant; and well, that’s not how we roll.

We’re gonna keep blogging.  The previews and the summaries will keep coming.  But before we really get rolling again…

We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Is this blog as useful to you as it could be?

What would you like to see more (or less) of?

Are there specific topics you would like to see highlighted?

Please, take a few minutes and give us a piece of your mind

We look forward to your comments and suggestions.

Thank you and KEEP READING.

Remember to Vote November 2nd,

Joel Maynard

GRANT LOSS NOT LINKED TO DIVERSITY…

RALEIGH — Concern about gender equity and not elimination of Wake County’s diversity-based student assignment policy appear to have cost the school district $10.3 million in federal magnet school grant money.

A reviewer who repeatedly questioned whether Wake was doing enough to recognize gender differences, particularly helping minority males, gave a much lower score than two other reviewers.

The reviewer’s low score helped knock Wake out of the running for a hunk of the $100 million in federal magnet money issued last week to 36 recipients, money aimed….

Click Here to View the N& O Article

-or-

http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/10/06/723469/grant-loss-not-linked-to-diversity.html#ixzz12AEt7o6o

NC STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVES COMPONENTS OF NEW ACCOUNTABILITY MODEL FOR STUDENTS AND SCHOOLS

From the North Carolina Public Schools Website

The State Board of Education yesterday approved a new student and school accountability model to begin in 2013-14 that focuses on college and career readiness. These changes are part of the state’s Career & College: Ready, Set Go! plan for education in North Carolina.

The new model – under development for more than two years – has two primary purposes: diagnosing student learning to ensure students are on track…..

Click Here to View the Article

More articles here:

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/newsroom/news/

 

2009 LEGISLATIVE SHORT SESSION MEMO #1

The 2009 Short Session of the North Carolina General Assembly reconvened at Noon on Wednesday, May 12, 2010.  The Wake Delegation has added a new member, Representative Chris Heagarty, since the long session. The General Assembly has returned with more budget woes. The economy has not performed or turned around as expected. Unemployment is still high, and though the Department of Revenue has not reported the 2009 collections, there may not be the usual good news (April Surprise) from them this year. There appears to still be an $800 million plus hole in the budget. Members are going to have some hard decisions this year and when the Federal ARRA funds are gone next year there will be more tough decisions. Any serious tax reform seems dead for short session as members try to keep their House and Senate seats (those that are running again).  Talk around the building is it is going to be a tough year for the Democrats and we could see the Senate and possibly the House lose their majority. The primaries are over and 6 incumbents, Democrats and Republicans, are gone and the November general elections are not far off.

Speaker Hackney held a press conference Wednesday to outline the House Democratic Caucus focus for short session: 1) Jobs: Supporting small businesses and getting North Carolinians back in the workforce, 2) Education: Protecting our future by ensuring students receive a quality education, 3) Fiscal Responsibility: Balance the state budget and still meet the needs of the citizens, 4) Accountability: Transparency in state government and ethics legislation.

The Senate Appropriations Chairs are still planning to release their budget soon through the various subcommittees, and as of this memo they are planning to meet Friday, May 14 in the morning. Once the Senate release their budget I will distribute an excel spreadsheet with that information compared to the 201-2011 budget as well as the Governor’s budget proposal. Next week, Senate Appropriations is expected to meet and approve the budget (adjustments) on Tuesday and then to the Senate Floor for a vote Wednesday and Thursday. The word is they will not put any of the finance package in the budget bill, but will introduce it as a separate bill, as they did last year. Several issues continue to be discussed about the education/public schools budget including: line item cuts versus a larger discretionary cut, bus tort claims, handheld clickers for elementary and middle school teachers, furlough flexibility for public schools, university funding versus public school funding, lottery funds to support operations in public schools, etc. The Governor made her pitch on the handheld technology devices to the Senate Appropriations Chairs on Wednesday afternoon and rumor has it she has sold the Senate leadership on an allotment to put at least some of these in schools across the State. The lottery discussion is drawing some talk, but some leaders in the House are not interested in using these funds to plug the public schools funding hole and the word is the Senate is not headed in that direction either. Things are hectic right now, but the hope is they will finish the budget by early July and shut down the short session by the end of July.

The House and Senate held their first Session Wednesday. The Senate moved HB 1292 Employment of Noncertified School Personnel from the Senate Floor back to Education, where we believe it will remain without further discussion in 2010.  They held Session Thursday at 9:00AM and 11:00AM in the Senate and House respectively, and adjourned until Monday. The House Democrats will caucus on Monday at 6:00PM. The House announced their weekly schedule as Monday at 7:00PM and Tuesday and Wednesday at 3:00PM and Thursday at 1:00PM .  The Senate does not typically keep a set schedule for their meetings.

Bills Introduced:

House

HB 1292 Employment of Non Certified School Personnel: Re-referred to Education

HB 1666 Davie School Board

HB 1668 Sales Tax Exemption: 100% Recycled Material

HB 1669 Require Use of EVAAS in Schools

HB 1676 Substitute Teacher Unemployment

HB 1682 Ban Corporal Punishment for Children w/ Disabilities

HB 1683 Amend Sunset/Children/Disabilities

HB 1699 Education Cabinet Establish STEM Priority

HB 1700 Career Academy as Coop. Innovative High School

HB 1701 NC Sustainable Community Task Force

HB 1707 SHP/Age-out Dependents; Tobacco Use Testing

HB 1718 JOBS Commission Pilot Schools

HB 1719 Additional Flex/Coop Innovative High Schools

Senate

SB 1115 Carteret Schools May Administer Oath

SB 1116 Study/Early Childhood Education and Care

SB 1118 Consolidate Payments/Early Care and Ed Provider

SB 1119 Consolidate Regulation/ Early Care and Ed Provider

SB 1138 Ban Corporal Punishment for Children with Disabilities

SB 1139 Require Use of EVAAS in schools

SB 1140 Amend Sunset/Children with Disabilities

SB 1141 Task Force on Sports Injuries in Schools

SB 1142 School Support/Division Changes

SB 1143 Substitute Teacher Unemployment

SB 1150 Funds for Special Olympics NC

SB 1151 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

SB 1152 Study Child Nutrition Program

SB 1153 Legislative Task Force on Childhood Obesity

SB 1155 Reduce Corporate Income Tax

2010 Deadlines

Drafts To Bill Drafting Filed

House & Senate Study Commission Bills            Wednesday, May 12                        Wednesday, May 19

House and Senate Budget Bills                              Friday, May 14                                  Tuesday, May 25

House & Senate Local Bills                                     Wednesday, May 19                        Wednesday, May 26

House & Senate Bills State Pension                     Wednesday, May 19                        Wednesday, May 26

Great Article… Useful Resource

From the UNC School Of Government web site….

Top Ten Questions about the Local Public School Budgeting Process

By Kara Millonzi

In my last post, I reviewed the constitutional and statutory framework for county funding of local school administrative units (public schools). As I explained in that post, the contours of a county’s legal responsibilities for funding public schools is not entirely clear. What is clear, however, is that counties expend a significant portion of their budgets on public schools—on average over 30 percent. And, in the aggregate, counties fund approximately 32 percent of public schools’ operating expenses and approximately 93 percent of public schools’ capital outlay. But, how does a county appropriate funds to its local school administrative unit(s)? What control does a county have over the expenditure of the appropriated funds? And, what recourse, if any, does a local school board have if it does not agree with a county’s yearly appropriations? The following addresses these and other frequently asked questions about the local budgeting process for public schools.

1. What is the County Budgeting Process for Funding Public Schools?

Step 1: Communication Between Boards

The board of county commissioners and the local board of education should engage in ongoing discussions during the fiscal year…..

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING

4 NEW POSTS!

Program Evaluation Division of the North Carolina General Assembly

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Lottery Oversight Committee Meeting Summary

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JOINT LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: MEETING SUMMARY

&

Preview of State Board of Education Agenda

———

BE SURE TO CHECK THEM OUT

SCROLL ON DOWN

Preview of State Board of Education Agenda

May 5, 2010 and May 6, 2010

The State Board of Education’s May Meeting begins with the Committee meetings on Wednesday. They begin with Globally Competitive Student Committee, 21^st Century Professionals Committee, Leadership and Innovation Committee, and end with Business/Finance and Advocacy Committee. On Thursday, they meet to vote. Access to the SBE Executive Committee Summaries and documents are on the SBE website at the following link:

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/stateboard/meetings/2010/05

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Globally Competitive Students Committee (9:30 AM)

Action and Discussion

• GCS 1 Discussion of North Carolina’s Proposed New Accountability Model The State Board is requested to continue to discuss the components of the proposed model including: student performance, value-added performance for teachers, schools, and districts, long-term longitudinal growth, graduation rate, Future-Ready Core, and postsecondary readiness. There are decision-points related to each component that require discussion and input from the Board before adopting the new model. In addition, to the classification model, the Board intends to discuss the performance index numbers and growth index numbers. Consensus points include: 1) choice in post-secondary readiness, 2) Performance Composite continued, 3) Longitudinal Growth for LEA accountability 4) Graduation Project, 5) Five-year Cohort graduation model 6) Preference for 4-auadrant model for classification system 6) Revise Gateway System. Next Steps include the following: 1) Mechanism for additional SBE member input, 2) Finalize straw man of new model to gain formal feedback 3) Determine other ways to measure college readiness, 4) Run Simulations of the new model 6) Revisit semantics before roll-out 7) Teacher and Student working conditions survey, 8. Other data such as retention rates and who passed the test, as well as Algebra II data. This item will continue to be on the SBE agenda until the work is complete and the SBE is prepared to vote on final approval.
• GCS 2 Occupational Course of Study (OCS)-Testing Issues Related to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) In 2008-2009, The US Department of Education notified NC DPI that NCEXTEND2 did not meet their approval and so the OCS students could no longer count as participants for determining AYP at the high school level. To remedy this problem the following steps are proposed for State Board discussion and consideration, for 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. There are five options for discussion: 1) Move up the timeline for OCS students to be taught the new Essential Standards with crosswalks to NC Standard Course of study for the assessed subjects, 2) Require OCS students to take the EOC assessments in English I (along with Grade 10 Writing assessment), Algebra I, and Biology until the NCEXTEND2 assessments are developed to accompany the new End of Course assessments based on the new Essential Standards, 3) Allow OCS students’ scores from a combination of the English EOC assessment and the Grade 10 Writing assessment, Algebra I, and Biology to be included in any AYP and ABC’s reporting 4) Waive (for OCS students only) the requirement in the policy (GCSC-003) that mandates EOC assessments count as 25% of the student’s final grade, and 5) Eliminate the current OCS NCEXTEND2 assessments from the statewide testing program and ABC’s accountability program (GCS-C-020). The department recommends: 1) the attached timeline of curriculum implementation and assessment be approved for OCS students, 2) SBE waive (OCS students only) the requirement in GCS-C-003 that EOC assessments count as 25% of a students’ final grade, and 3) Amend policy GCS-C-020 to eliminate the OCS NCEXTEND2 assessments from the statewide testing program and ABC’s accountability program. These recommendations will be implemented with the 2010-2011, and 2011-2012 school years. This item will be for Discussion in May and Action in June.

• GCS 3 Policies Governing Services for Children with Disabilities The policies governing children with disabilities will be amended to reflect recent changes to IDEA and to clarify and align sections of the current policies. The amendment to the policies is presented for Discussion in May and Action in June. Policies GCS-D-000-008 and TCS-E-001 are being modified. The changes to the policies are comprehensive. A copy is available at the link listed at the beginning of the document.
• GCS 4 State Hearing Review Officers The State Board is asked to approve three-year terms for the attached list of hearing Review Officers, who completed their certification training on March 8, 2010. The Hearing Officers terms will be from August 5, 2010 to August 5, 2013. The two individuals recommended for approval are Dr. Joe Walters from Western Carolina University and Dr. Betty Levey from Greenville

New Business

• NC Falcon Formative Assessment Modules
• Global/International Education Initiatives
  • Ø World Views (Robert Phay, Director),
  • Ø NC Center for International Understanding (Millie Ravenel, Executive Director) and,
  • Ø Visiting International Faculty (David Young, Chief Executive Officer).

21^st Century Professionals Committee (1:45 PM)

Action and Discussion Agenda

Action on First Reading

• TCP 1 Recommendations from the Advisory Board on Requests for Exception from Teacher Licensing Requirements Requests for exemptions for teachers to the licensure requirements and for prospective teachers who are not able to satisfy Praxis I cut scores will be evaluated by a panel chaired by a member of the Board. This is a closed session item.
• TCP 2 Final Decision in Contested Case
• Sandra Chesser v. NC DPI The State Board shall issue a final agency decision.

Discussion

• TCP 3 Revision of Board Policy to Reflect Changes in the Provisional Licensing Requirements for Career and Technical Education Teachers The State Board will discuss revision to Board policy, in the licensing requirements for CTE teachers.  The policy is being revised based on input received from all eight State Board districts and NC DPI meetings with CTE administrators. The State Board will discuss in May and is requested to approve the proposed CTE licensure revision in June, with an effective date of July 1, 2010. There are nineteen major changes to the policy: 1) Reformat the document 2) Updated examples of Bachelor’s degrees 3) Updated examples of related industry work experiences, 4) Eliminate the use of the 80 hour induction program as a substitute for the Instructional Methods course requirement, 5) Reduce 80 hour induction program to 40 hours and eliminate option to waive the requirement 6) Maintain 80 hours of induction for Health Occupations, 7) Maintain 80 hours of induction from CTE directors and instructional management coordinators, 8) Revise the course requirement for agricultural education 9) Change the Health Occupations–Specific Instructional Methods course requirement, 10) Change the Health Occupations-Specific Curriculum, Instructional Planning and Assessment course requirement 11) Add Pharmacy Technical Certification requirement to Health Occupations, 12) Add a Project Lead the Way Biomedical Sciences endorsement, 13) Reformat the Trade and Instruction Education course requirement sections, 14) Reformat the Trade and Industrial sections to include a matrix,
• 15) Revise the Core Academic Competence Exam, 16) Remove the Core Academic testing requirement for T&I teachers who have Associate’s or Bachelor’s degrees, 17) Add a table to the Trade and Industrial section listing the requirement for licensure, 18) Add a footnote clarifying the restricted classification of the CTE Provisional Route License 19) Rename the VoCats licensure area to Instructional Management Coordinator. A copy is available at the link listed at the beginning of the document. This item is presented for Discussion in May and Action in June.
• TCP 4 Proposed Standards for the evaluation of Speech–Language Pathologists New Standards for the evaluation for Speech-Language Pathologists are complete and are presented for Discussion this month. Once these are approved in June work will begin on the development and validation of the new instrument for Speech-Language Pathologists. There are five standards proposed: 1) School Speech-Language Pathologists demonstrate leadership, advocacy, collaboration and ethical practices, 2) School Speech-Language Pathologists promote a respectful environment for a diverse population of students, 3) School Speech-Language Pathologists understand and facilitate the implementation of a comprehensive approach to speech-language development, 4) School Speech-Language Pathologists promote learning for all students, 5) School Speech-Language Pathologists reflect on their practice. A copy is available at the link listed at the beginning of the document.
• TCP 5 Proposed Qualifying Scores for Regenerated Praxis II Exams  The Educational Testing Service convened experts to meet on the test standards for Praxis II exams in the following areas: 1) World Languages-German, French Spanish 2) Business Education 3) Teaching and Reading 4) Special Education: Core Knowledge and Applications.  The State board will discuss and review the new qualifying scores. Each regenerated test will be administered in the Fall of 2010, with final administration of the current test to occur in the Summer of 2010. The new test scores are as follows: World Languages French: 162, German 163, Spanish 168, Business Education:154, Teaching Reading: 159, Special Education Core Knowledge and Applications: 151, Mild to Moderate Applications; 158, Severe to Profound: 158. The item will be on Action agenda for June and will be effective with Fall of 2010.

Leadership for Innovation Committee (3:00 PM)

Action and Discussion Agenda

Action on First Reading

• LFI 1 Recommendations for Preliminary Approval of 2010 Charter School Applications The State Board will discuss the recommendations of the charter school application review committee. The review committee has voted six applications for State Board consideration. There will be one opening for a preliminary charter at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. The list is as follows. Leadership Learning academy, Piedmont IT Academy, Richard Milburn Academy-Wake County, Spruce Pine Montessori, Union Independent School, Water’s Edge Village Academy. SBE will provide final approval of the charter school no later than March 2011.

New Business

• NCVPS/LEO Director’s Report

Business/Finance and Advocacy Committee Meeting (3:30 PM)

Action and Discussion Agenda

Action

• TCS 1 Membership-council on Educational Services for Exceptional Children The State Board is requested to approve the recommendations to fill the vacancies and reappoint Jill Scercy to a second term as a parent of a child with disabilities. The remaining recommendations are as follows: Vicki Simmons as Exceptional Children’s teacher, Melanie Hester as LEA representative, Stephen Brechbiel as vocational/community business representative.

Action on First Reading

• TCS 2 Approval of Grants:
  • Exemplary Schools Awards for Reading First Grant Schools The State Board is asked to approve “Reading First” grants for schools during the 2010-2011 school year. For the first time the award will carry a $5,000 recognition grant and the school’s history a, growth, and trajectory of improved student achievement are part of the selection criteria instead of just proficiency. Wake does not have any schools being recommended for funding.
  • Education for Homeless Children and Youth Grant Awards for Local Education Agencies (LEAs) The McKinney-Vento Act seeks to ensure homeless children and youth are provided with a free and appropriate education and will have an equal opportunity to enroll and succeed in school. The total unallocated grant funds from 2008 are $668,190.95. The recommended allotments are as follows: 14 LEAs will receive funds for their initial proposals ($365,000 total); 96 charter schools will receive $750 each ($72,000 total) and the remaining 76 LEAs (who did not apply for a regular McKinney-Vento sub-grant or McKinney-Vento ARRA grant in 2009) will receive $3,041.98 each ($231,190 total). Wake is not listed as one of the 14 LEAs recommended for the immigrant funds nor is it one of the 76 remaining LEAs.
  • Education for Homeless Children and Youth Grant Awards for Charter Schools Each public charter school in NC is recommended to receive $750.00 to develop a Homeless Education plan.
  • Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Awarded to NCDP from USDA NC was awarded USDA’s Fruit and vegetable Program for 2010-2011. The program will provide $2,707,078 to be distributed to 106 elementary schools throughout the State. A total of 134 applications were received. The amount distributed to each school is based on their student enrollment. The program will provide fresh fruits and vegetable snacks daily free of charge to students in the 106 elementary schools selected for the grant. Funds may also be used to purchase nutrition education resources for use in the classroom and cafeteria. All schools were eligible to apply. The selection priority was given to schools with 1) at least 50 % eligible for free/reduced meals 2) innovative implementation plan 3) at least one partnership with an entity that provides non-federal resources or purchasing, handling, promoting or distributing fresh fruits and vegetable and 4) committed team of school personnel including principals, teachers child nutrition personnel and parents. Wake had two schools selected: Aversboro Elementary and Knightdale Elementary.
• TCS 3 LEA-Based Calendar Waivers for Weather Related Causes The State Board is requested to discuss policy TCS-V-000. The policy provides for the LEA-based calendar waivers and due to the timing of the data collection and the development of school calendars the approval for waivers is one year behind (does not apply to the next school year). The missed calendar days due to weather are not reported until May and June, which is typically too late for an LEA to get a calendar approved for the upcoming school year. The State Board approves weather-related calendar waivers in October for the next school year. As a result of the unusually harsh weather in the western part of the State several LEAs would like to modify their calendars for 2010-2011 even though they were not approved in October 2009, and they would qualify (Buncombe and Asheville City) for waivers in 2011-2012. The State Board is requested to review the policy to see if the current process is appropriate or if it needs to allow for exceptions.

Discussion

• TCS 4 Revision to the School Attendance and Student Accounting Manual The State Board is asked to discuss the process of reporting absences for lack of proper immunizations as suspensions. After consulting with the Attorney General’s office a policy change is required to code the absence, due to a student’s lack of immunizations, as an unlawful absence, instead of a suspension. This change will become effective beginning July 1, 2010. This will be an Action item at the June meeting.
• TCS 5 Restructuring State Pre-Kindergarten Rates The General Assembly has required the Office of Early Learning to restructure State pre-kindergarten payment rates. The State Board of Education is requested to determine an option for restructuring the pre-kindergarten funding for 2010-2011. Option I: Capped administrative costs and a state-defined differentiated rate for public and private providers. LEAs would be restricted to 2.1% (on average) for indirect cost rates to support administrative functions related to the More at Four contracts. Local Partnerships for children would be capped at 8% for administrative support functions. The Office of Early Learning would define differentiated per-slot rates to support the diverse cost structures of the different provider types participating in the state-funded program. Rates might be proposed as an example: Head Start=$3400 per slot, Public schools=$4300 per slot, Private Providers=$6,000 per slot. Setting the differentiated rates will take some time, but the administrative rates can be enacted for 2010-2011. Option II Capped Administrative Rates, 2009-2010 Provider Rates Held Harmless, More at Four Payment Structure Studied. The Office of Early Learning will cap administrative costs for local contractors for the 2010-2011 school year consistent with the parameters outlined in Option I. Additionally, the actual per-slot rates paid to providers in 2010-2011 will be held harmless. The Study will then allow a funding plan to be developed to maintain the delivery of prekindergarten services across the diverse group of providers currently making up the system. This option will allow the program to manage expected budget cuts, without limiting the number of children being served for 2010-2011.

Update on Contracts

Contracts over $25,000 – 11 Proposals

Contracts under $25,000 – 8 Proposals

Thursday, May 6, 2010

State Board of Education Meeting, (9:00 AM) Dr. William Harrison, Chairman

Call to Order

Pledge of Allegiance: Mr. Tom Speed

Approval of Minutes

Recognition of outgoing SBE Student Advisor

• Mr. TeDarryl Powell, Senior Student Advisor to the State Board of Education

Key Initiatives Reports and Discussion

• ACRE Update- Ms. Angela Quick
• District and School Transformation Update-Dr. Pat Ashley
• Cedars Update- Adam Levinson

Information Agenda

21^st Century Professionals

• TCP 6 2010 NC Teacher Working Conditions Survey-Survey findings will be provided at the meeting.

Leadership and Innovation

• NCLB Enhancing Education Through Technology – IMPACT Evaluation Report NC DPI in partnership with the William and Ida Friday Institute conducted an in-depth evaluation of the IMPACT model school initiatives funded by NCLB Title II/D. The research represents ten years of the IMPACT Model school implementation, with approximately $42 million in federal funding.

Board Meeting and Committee Chair Reports

Superintendent’s Report

-Dr. June Atkinson:

• Census 2010 Report

Chairman’s Remarks

-Dr. Bill Harrison, Chairman

• Legislative Update:

New Business

Old Business

Adjourn