Massive Awesomeness!

To borrow a phrase from James Bell, the 2007-2008 North Carolina Teacher of the Year, our new accountability plan, an answer to the Blue Ribbon Commission on Testing and Accountability's Framework for Change, is "massively awesome!" Including "essential standards" and formative, benchmark, and summative assessments, the program was developed by over 300 people at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. As Angela Quick, Chief Academic Officer at DPI, made the presentation at the State Board of Education this week, it was apparent that everyone in the room was thrilled with the plan. New standards will be written that will narrow and deepen the curriculum, and new assessments will be developed that relate to those essential standards. Communication and professional development are two key parts of the new plan so stay tuned for more information in your school districts.

Prior to the Board meeting this past week, I attended the Licensure Appeals Panel in Chapel Hill and the Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP) in Raleigh. John Dornan, the President and Executive Director of the Public School Forum, spoke to the Fellows about education policy. It was a stimulating presentation in light of the upcoming election.

In addition, this week I had the opportunity to make two presentations - in Greenville I spoke to an auditorium full of Teacher Cadets at East Carolina University. These future teachers were eager to hear my answers to the question Why Teach? Today in Granville County, I presented an overview of Marzano's Classroom Instruction that Works. I had two sessions during Granville's Professional Development Day, and these teachers were some of the nicest folks in the state!

Next week I'll be speaking to Teaching Fellows at NC State, Personnel Administrators in Asheville, and then heading back to Greenville to the Eastern Regional National Board Summit. More miles on the state car = more North Carolina educators to meet! I'm loving this job!