To the East and Back...

Again I headed for the coastal region of North Carolina, to the historical city of New Bern, for a very important training. (Of course, New Bern is the birthplace of Pepsi so I made sure to drink several a day while I was there!) North Carolina has a new teacher evaluation instrument based on the State Board's mission: "every public school student will graduate from high school globally competitive for work and postsecondary education and prepared for life in the 21st century. " Understanding that 21st Century learning is necessary for success in the global economy, the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards Commission has worked with McRel (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning) to develop an instrument that includes the following five standards:

Standard 1 - Teachers Demonstrate Leadership

Standard 2 - Teachers Establish a Respectful Environment for a Diverse Population of Students

Standard 3 - Teachers Know the Content They Teach

Standard 4 - Teachers Facilitate Learning for Their Students

Standard 5 - Teachers Reflect on Their Practice

Thirteen of North Carolina's 115 school districts will roll out the new evaluation process this year, and my home county of Orange will be one of them. Next year, 50 additional districts will be trained, and the remainder of the state's school districts will come on board the next year. As a teacher, I am very impressed with the new standards. I'm especially excited about the idea of promoting teacher leadership and professionalism, and am delighted that it has now become part of our evaluations.

After three days of teacher evaluation training, I returned to the Triangle area this morning. I had the pleasure of participating on the Licensure Appeals Panel at the Center for School Leadership Development in Chapel Hill. This group is made up of representatives from the State Board, the Department of Public Instruction, higher education, the NC Professional Teaching Standards Commission, and personnel departments of our school districts. There was so much expertise in the room; I just hoped some would rub off on me. North Carolina really does care about teachers, and having a committee in place to review licensure issues is just one example. I will enjoy my role as a panel member with this group as the year continues.

I'll close with this thought - it's almost August! Beginning teacher activities are filling up my calendar! Paige Elliott, the North Central Regional Teacher of the Year, Trisha Muse, the Sandhills/South Central Regional Teacher of the Year, and RuthAnn Parker, the Southeast Regional Teacher of the Year kicked off new teacher training for our state's traditional calendar teachers in Chatham County yesterday! Of course, Frieda Baker, our Charter School Teacher of the Year, will tell you that she's "been there and done that!" (She's in a Year Round school.) The entire Regional Teacher of the Year team will be busy for the next month as we welcome the best and the brightest to our profession. We're lucky to have them in North Carolina!

Stay tuned for next week - I'll be serving as a Teacher Advisor at my first State Board of Education meeting. I'm so excited about working with the Twenty First Century Professionals Committee!