Congratulations to Ms. Claudia Casey 2019 Principal of the Year
Today in a surprise celebration,
Claudia Casey, Principal of Tucker Creek Middle School, was named as the 2019-2020 Principal of the Year for Craven County Schools. In her role as Principal of the Year, she will serve as the local advisor to the Board of Education and will represent Craven County Schools in local, regional and state events. Casey was one of three finalists that interviewed with a local selection committee on October 8
th
.
During the selection process, Casey stated, “As a parent, a teacher and an administrator, I’ve always felt strongly about setting the example and modeling what I expect.” When asked about an initiative that she feels has been successful under her leadership, she stated, “
When I reflect on the early days of becoming a principal, I remember walking through silent hallways and seeing stark white walls. I imagined a school filled with inspiration from children through artwork, photographs, and student work. At Tucker Creek Middle School student artwork now adorns the walls, students and staff wear Tucker Creek Middle School apparel many days of the week, teachers plan and work together throughout the summer to prepare for the next year. Music plays in our café and karaoke Fridays lure even our parents in for lunch! Our Lego Lounge in the café provides students an opportunity to use their imagination and “create” while having lunch. Lunch book clubs assemble in the media center each day. Oh, what a difference a couple of years makes. Most importantly, Tucker Creek has become a happy, inspiring place of learning for students, staff and our community. Students have led many of the changes through sharing their ideas and their inspirations.”
Casey’s story was shared as she stated, “
I am humbled to be selected as a candidate for Craven County Principal of the Year! Though my career did not begin in education, I am grateful that my diverse work experiences have led me to discover my passion for working with children as well as with the many professionals who impact children every day.” Casey is the granddaughter of a principal and one of many educators in her family.
When Claudia Casey became principal of Tucker Creek Middle School, she
filled the halls with positivity artwork, created a new school logo and developed a new mantra, “Make your mark Mustang.”
Congratulations to Ms. Casey for this very deserving recognition. We are very proud of you and all you have accomplished as you “make your mark mustang!”
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DISTRICT PACING GUIDES
The Instructional Coaching Team has completed District Pacing Guides for K-8 ELA, 3-8 Math, K-8 Social Studies, and 5-8 Science and the EOC courses for high school. The pacing guides were all developed based on teacher input and feedback. Additional pacing guides in other core subject areas will be developed over the course of the year.
Please visit
this document
for more information including District Benchmarks dates. More detailed information regarding benchmark procedures will be forthcoming.
As the instructional coaches are engaging teachers in school level visits, they are sharing these guides including new resources in Canvas.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Betsy Gatchel (ELA and Social Studies), Kelly Williamson (Math and Science), or Tommy Wilson.
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NOMINATE A TEACHER ASSISTANT BY OCTOBER 18TH FOR THE PRIDE AWARD
(Proudly Recognizing Individuals Demonstrating Excellence).
It is the belief of the Craven County Board of Education the
employees are worthy of and deserve recognition. The employee recognition program was created to create a culture of appreciation and honor district employees for the exemplary work they do. The PRIDE Employee Recognition Program is to support the goal work of the board in keeping all employees engaged and passionate about their work that supports the academic excellence for every child in Craven County Schools. The purpose of the program is to compliment other recognition programs/opportunities we have in place and to assist in fostering a culture of appreciation within Craven County Schools that honors and acknowledges district employees as an
“essential piece”
of the important work we do.
The PRIDE Employee Recognition Program recognizes classified employees who go far beyond the call of duty, doing more than others expect and demonstrating excellence in everything they do. The board of education is seeking to spotlight those employees that maintain the high standards, pay attention to the smallest details, and go the extra mile. Excellence means caring -- it means making effort to do more. Celebrating excellence is an important part of the Board of Education's recognition of the contribution made by the employees of Craven County Schools.
We will be selecting an employee of the month from a classified employee group each month. Selecting a PRIDE Employee of the Month is intended to provide frequent and ongoing recognition of exemplary staff members throughout Craven County Schools. It is important to honor and recognize those who exhibit a commitment to exemplary performance, have an inherent tendency to serve beyond the call of duty, and who foster a positive learning and working environment for our staff and students. DURING OCTOBER WE WILL RECOGNIZE A
TEACHER ASSISTANT.
TO NOMINATE A TEACHER ASSISTANT, PLEASE GO TO THE FOLLOWING LINK:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdQj1_jID6VaaVPjsQUxJg85L-eFZRNMtlcB_plM-LPGiwe9g/viewform
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NCSBA is offering their "What's Super About Public Schools" contests for all grade levels.Submission guidelines and more information is available at:
https://www.ncsba.org/training/student-contests/
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During Open Enrollment, all active members and any dependents will be automatically enrolled in the 70/30 Plan, which will have an $85 employee-only premium. You may reduce your premium by $60, down to $25, by completing the tobacco attestation. You may also enroll in the 80/20 Plan and reduce that premium by $60 by completing the tobacco attestation if you take action during Open Enrollment. To reduce your premium or enroll in the 80/20 Plan, you must take action during Open Enrollment!
Open enrollment for the State Health Plan will take place on 11/02/2019 through 11/19/2019.
THIS IS A VERY SHORT OPEN ENROLLMENT.
All employees must take action. To see changes to the upcoming plan year, please visit
www.shpnc.org
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ELEMENTARY INFORMATION
Universal Screeners
The following information should assist elementary school leaders with needed information regarding the screening and progress monitoring of our K-5 students in reading, math, and behavior. Please read carefully and contact Mr. Jason Griffin if you have any questions.
- Istation: Istation is a technology-based assessment tool and is the state required universal screener for reading. ALL students in grades K-3 AND “twice-retained” 4th and 5th graders must be assessed with Istation in reading three times this year during the following benchmark windows:
BOY – September (JTB – August)
MOY – January (JTB – December)
EOY – May (JTB – April)
TO CLARIFY - the only district requirement for Istation is that appropriate students be assessed in reading during the windows as described above. Any other uses of Isation are at the discretion of school leadership.
EC Students (Extended Content Standards Only)
: The district is not requiring that this screener be used with EC students on the extended content standards – these students have a curriculum with a built in assessment.
**Please be aware that student growth will be calculated from the
Istation
MOY and EOY assessment data which will determine the teacher’s EVAAS results.**
- FastBridge: FastBridge is the district required screener for math and behavior in grades K-5. This resource provides accurate, actionable data and reports to inform instruction and guide interventions. ALL students in grade K-5 should be assessed in math and behavior with FastBridge three time this year during the following benchmark windows:
BOY – September (JTB – September/October)
MOY – January (JTB – December)
EOY – May (JTB – April)
**FastBridge has a reading component for screening and progress monitoring that schools have the
OPTION
to use as an additional resource as needed (not required).**
Lexia Core5
:
Lexia Core5
is a technology-based program that provides students the explicit instruction needed to accelerate mastery of reading skills. The district will be providing
Lexia Core5
to all 15 elementary schools; and therefore, ALL K-5 students will be required to use this resource.
5th Grade Water Conservation Poster Contest
The 5th Grade Water Conservation Poster Contest is under way. All posters are due by November 22. Please contact Mrs. Pamela Hawkins at
phawkins@cravencountync.gov
if you have any questions
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CTE
The Governor’s Office, North Carolina Business Committee for Education (NCBCE) and Fidelity Investments have created the Navigator. The Navigator will allow educators to connect with the community for work-based learning opportunities (school tours of businesses, internships, business classroom speakers, etc.).
HELP US SPREAD THE WORD! We hope our community businesses will sign-up for the Navigator so our educators can connect with them for work-based learning opportunities.
The Navigator is an online marketplace that makes it easier for NC educators and workforce development professionals to integrate work-based learning resources into their classrooms. The platform operates like an online shopping experience, only everything on the Navigator is free. The database is made up of employer-offered work-based learning activities ranging from guest speakers to apprenticeships. Employers post opportunities, which we call resources. Educators and workforce teams can search by keyword, county, or by using any number of filters including career clusters and age of audience. Students gain increased access to work-based learning opportunities. Remember everything on the Navigator is free!
Contact Holly Tolston, Director of Career and Technical Education, for more information.
Phone: 252-514-6322
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DISTRICT CORE CONTENT COLLABORATIVE SESSIONS 2019-2020
Information about the District Collaborative Sessions as well as the registration sheet can be found at the following link:
District Collaborative Teacher Registration
Each school should register at least one teacher per content area listed. The sessions will be held December 3 (HHS), February 4 (LOCATION TBA), and April 7 (LOCATION TBA) beginning 3:30 (high), 4:00 (elementary) and 4:15 (middle).
To go directly to the registration site visit:
bit.ly/collabreg
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EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN PROGRAM
NEWS FROM GRETCHEN REECE, TRANSITION GRANT COORDINATOR, WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
Western Carolina University has received the Roads to Learning and Earning: Preparing Personnel to Improve Post-School Outcomes for Students with Significant Disabilities grant. As part of this project, educators and related services personnel (speech/language therapists, school their master's degree, online instruction for special education programs.
We will be sharing more information about this grant at an online webinar on 11/5 at 7pm. The link to join the webinar is
https://wcu.zoom.us/j/620823843
.
PROGRESS MONITORING EXPECTATIONS
Please expect a communication from Mrs. Lynn Hardison regarding benchmarking and progress monitoring expectations for EC students within the next week. If you have any questions about these guidelines, please reach out to Mrs. Hardison for clarification.
EC MONTHLY MEETINGS FOR OCTOBER
o
October 21st- Elementary
o
October 2nd-Middle School
o
October 23rd- High School
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Research to Classroom Practice Foundations Training (Formerly Reading Foundations) will be held for 6-8
ELA Teachers from 8:30-4:00 at the Tech Center (unless otherwise noted) according to the schedule below. Sub Codes will be sent to the bookkeepers. After successful completion of the course, participants will receive 4 Literacy CEUs.
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STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS GRANT
Strategies for Successful Students
Marzano Research
Welcome Back to a
NEW
School Year! We want to remind everyone of our
Marzano Compendium
that is full of strategies to try in your classroom this year. Each
link
will take you to information on how to implement these strategies and track student progress. We have plans to continue to provide Marzano Professional Development opportunities throughout the school year! If you are interested in receiving the New Art and Science of Teaching training, please
click on this link
.
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