Board of Education Meeting Updates
Last night at the Board of Education Meeting, the Board approved several items on the agenda:
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COVID Updates-The Mask Policy was adopted and the wearing of masks is still in effect until our county is able to reach the "yellow" target for percent positive for a 7day period. When this is achieved Dr. Miller will request a special called board meeting so the board can meet to review the data and consider going mask optional. We are headed in the right direction, based on this week's dashboard results our numbers are the lowest they have been since the start of the school year.
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Visitors/Volunteers- Are now allowed in our school building as long as all safety protocols are followed. If you are in need of volunteers to help in your classroom be sure to share this information with your school leaders first. The process is still the same for volunteering-all volunteers must be approved and if they are not on the approved list they must submit an application and have a background check completed by Human Resouces. All information is located on the CCS Website.
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Field Trips-all grade levels are welcome to submit requests for field trips. Again, please follow the process established at your school for submitting field trips and be sure to include all safety and COVID protocols.
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Bus Drivers-Did you know our dedicated and committed drivers have not had a raise in a while? Dr. Thomasine Hassell, Director of Transportation together with the Superintendent and her Cabinet created a much-deserved salary scale increase for these fine employees. We celebrate our drivers and thank them for getting our precious cargo to and from school every day. If you know anyone interested in driving for CCS, please let them know we have the highest salary in our region! This new salary rate is effective Nov 1 and will be reflected in the December paycheck since these timesheets are a month behind.
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Teacher Assistants-This fine group of employees has also not seen an increase in their pay for quite some time. Our educators could not do their work if it wasn't for the support provided by this group of professionals. Dr. Miller proposed a $3,000 bonus for Teacher Assistants (non-EC) over a 3 year period offering them a $1,000 each year with a commitment to evaluating and adjusting their salary next year so it can be placed in the budget when planning for the 22-23 school year. The bonus was approved and is effective December 1 for our TA's. Anyone hired after December 1st will receive the bonus at the end of the school year.
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Substitutes- The Board approved the proposed rate of pay for licensed substitutes to $115 per day and $95 for ETT. This too is the highest rate in our region. This new rate is effective Nov 1 and will be reflected in the December paycheck since these timesheets are a month behind.
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Bus Cameras-The Board approved the addition of cameras on 64 of our buses. This will complete this project and all buses will now be equipped with the latest technology.
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Generators- In partnership with Craven County Government in collaboration with the Golden Leaf Foundation, Craven County Schools is able to install generators at Havelock Elementary School, Tucker Creek Middle School, JW Smith Elementary School, West Craven Middle School, and Arthur Edwards Elementary School. Craven County Government in collaboration with Golden Leaf Foundation will assume financial responsibility for JW Smith Elementary School and Tucker Creek Middle School with Craven County Schools assuming responsibility for Havelock Elementary School, West Craven Middle School, and Arthur Edwards Elementary School.
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Lexia-The Board approved the renewal subscription for Lexia and Power Up for our elementary and middle schools. Lexia provides a systematic and structured approach to six critical areas of reading. The program creates personalized learning paths for students of all abilities through an adaptive placement and scaffolded activities that align to rigorous standards. Lexia provides student-driven learning, embedded progress monitoring, and resources for direct instruction and student practice.
To review the Board Agenda and all items discussed at last night's meeting including the spotlight recognitions be sure to visit Simbli.
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Spring 2022 Required Workdays
In an effort to provide schools and departments an opportunity to plan for professional development activities and collaboration sessions, the Superintendent’s Cabinet has approved the following designations for use of the Required Workdays in Spring 2022:
January 10 - School Day
February 22 - District Day
March 23 - School Day
April 25 - District Day (AM) / School Day (PM)
June 10 - School Day
These dates will be marked on the school calendars as D = District and S = School.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Diggs or Ms. Lee.
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ELA Character Education Project
Looking for a way to integrate character education into ELA instruction?
As a way to support efforts to enhance character education in schools, the NCDPI ELA team is seeking to partner with six 8th grade and six 9-10th grade classrooms across the state. The goal of this project is to help educators integrate character education into their teaching, while still attending to grade-level, standards-based instruction. Each classroom chosen will be provided with two classroom sets of novels: a grade-level complex text and its graphic novel version. In addition to the texts, the ELA team will provide an overview of using graphic novels in the classroom and a culminating task for students to complete at the conclusion of the reading. The culminating tasks, standards addressed, and texts will be the same for all six classrooms, however, there will be teacher autonomy in terms of instructional planning and strategies to complete the project. Teachers will use the text pairing to teach and promote empathy as a part of Character Education.
8th-grade texts:
Speak & Speak the Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson
Monster by Walter Dean Myers & Monster A Graphic Novel Adapted by Guy A. Sims
9-10th grade texts:
The Kite Runner & The Kite Runner Graphic Novel by Khaled Hosseini
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler & Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Damian Duffy and John Jennings
Apply for this Character Education Project. The application deadline is November 5th, 2021. Access the application by making a copy after clicking the link. Once completed, email the document to kelly.schultz@dpi.nc.gov.
Kelly Schultz
Middle Grades ELA Consultant
Division of Academic Standards
NC Department of Public Instruction
(W) (984) 236-2832
Kelly.Schultz@dpi.nc.gov
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FREE NCSciFest Opportunity for Outreach in Middle Schools
Greetings from NCSciFest HQ!
After last year’s wildly successful virtual SciMatch initiative, we are pleased to announce that we are launching a hybrid edition of our program for 2022. In April, 50 North Carolina Scientists from all walks of life will share their love of what they do with 50 middle schools across the state! Because we know virtual visits can occur regardless of the conditions of the pandemic, we are encouraging everyone to plan for a virtual visit. However, if an in-person visit works for you and your Scientist match, go for it!
If you’re a middle school teacher interested in having a scientist visit with your students this April, visit https://ncsciencefestival.org/scimatch for more details and to register.
The deadline to apply is Nov 30. We’ll host a virtual orientation for the selected teachers and scientists in December and Professional Development webinars in February and March. Sign up now!
Best, Cole and the NCSciFest Team
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NC State Capitol Offering Free Virtual Program for Students
The North Carolina State Capitol is offering virtual programs for elementary, middle, and high school students. Programs are live, free, and offered weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. through Nov. 19. During the program, students will experience a "live" presentation with an NC State Capitol Docent and can ask questions along the way.
Natalie Rodriguez
Historical Interpreter III
NC State Historic Sites, NC State Capitol and NC Executive Mansion
NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Office: 919-715-3962
Main Line: 919-733-4994
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Digital Learning Newsletter
Click here to access the latest news from the Digital Learning Department!
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Discovery Education Network Virtual Conference
Tuesday, November 9 | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM ET
Join us for this year's VirtCon to learn new strategies and find the support you need to integrate digital resources into your daily learning activities. Best of all, connect with your most valuable resource—each other!
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EC PARENT ACADEMY
Please share this information about our upcoming Parent Academy with your school community! Information will be shared pertaining to services that are provided for students with disabilities in Craven County. School staff members are welcome to attend as well.
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