HAPPY SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK WEEK!

This week we celebrate the amazing work of our school social workers! A special thank you for all that you do to help our students, schools, staff, families, and communities rise. We appreciate your partnership!

HEART OF GOLD

Vanceboro Farm Life is wrapping up another year of Jump Rope For Heart, raising a total of $9,836. Over the last 6 years, the school has donated just under $50,000 to the American Heart Foundation. This has been a huge team effort by our school and community.

Leading the team for the last 6 years has been Ryland McKeel, saying that this is a cause close to his heart would be an understatement, Ryland has raised a total of $17,789 himself.

Thank you Ryland for your commitment to such a worthy cause!

Last Friday, New Bern High School and Craven Early College competed in the High School Battle of the Books Competition. Both teams started reading 16 books back in the fall and have been meeting on a regular basis to discuss each one.

Congratulations to New Bern High School for winning the competition. They will move on to represent Craven County Schools at the regional competition on April 21st.

We are proud of both high school teams for their dedication and commitment. This challenge is always a very competitive battle since very specific questions are asked regarding all 16 titles.

Your love and passion for reading were demonstrated throughout the meetings, practices, and the final competition.

NC State University’s College of Education will hold a Virtual Open House: Inside the Graduate Student Experience on Tuesday, March 21 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. via Zoom. The virtual format allows attendees to gain a broad overview of NC State's College of Education, review resources for graduate students, learn about financial aid, and receive insight from a panel of current graduate students representing all three departments within the college. Register to receive the Zoom link.

Professional Learning Sessions -

March 22 (Required Workday)

March 22 is our next Required Workday.  Professional learning is district-based in the morning and school-based in the afternoon. 

Please carefully review the professional learning sessions provided on Wednesday, March 22, so you can plan accordingly. 

• Several sessions are grouped or highlighted by content area/intended audience, so please look for your area.  
• Please ensure you arrive on time and sign in to your session.  You must complete the session in order to receive CEUs.
• Any questions should be shared with the Point of Contact listed for the session.
• Principals will provide guidance to their respective staff regarding afternoon sessions.

Professional Learning Sessions - March 22 (Required Workday)

#ComeGrowWithUs

#212inthe252

NEW VOLUNTEER PROCESS

The following screening procedures has been implemented effective March 2023:

1. Current volunteers who have completed their Secure Volunteer Application AND the background check process DO NOT have to do anything to remain on the current District Volunteer Roster.
2. New volunteers (including active duty personnel) will complete the Secure Volunteer Application. 
3. Upon receipt of the Secure Volunteer Application, Human Resources will process the background check (which normally takes 24 to 48 hours to receive the results, but could take longer) Only individuals approved by Human Resources shall be allowed to volunteer.  
4. Our district policy requires that the names of all approved volunteers be added to a third-party vendor’s database as part of the District’s 24/7 Guardian Monitoring System.
5. If the applicant is not eligible to volunteer because the results are unfavorable the applicant will receive a Pre-adverse Action Letter.
6. Exemptions:  Field Day volunteers and Testing proctors (volunteering only during testing sessions) DO NOT need to complete the Secure Volunteer application.

2022-2023 for 2023-2024

 TRANSFER REQUEST PROCESS

The employee transfer list is NOW OPEN. It will remain open through Wednesday, May 31, 2023. 

• BEFORE placing your name on the transfer list using the link below, an employee MUST inform his/her present supervisor of the desire to transfer to another location/department. 

All Principals / Directors / Supervisors will have immediate access to the transfer list and will make contact if interested in scheduling an interview. 

• If a candidate's transfer is approved, it will be indicated on the spreadsheet under the column “HR Approval date”.  

Starting Thursday, June 1, 2023, transfers can only occur with consent of both administrators. Keep in mind, administrative transfers can occur at any time and there is a chance that we may transfer teachers based on changes in allotted positions.

After speaking with the principal/supervisor, an employee may add his/her name to the transfer list via the following link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1yQIuVrg-EBTMd9E1o1C-XiKpepPVplrWOic8v_ol3g8/edit

Feel free to contact HR with any questions regarding the transfer process.

Testing Reimbursement

DEADLINE is May 30, 2023



The office of Human Resources is NOW offering Testing Reimbursement for a LIMITED TIME for PRAXIS II or Pearson Exams. If you are a 

• High school teacher who took a required licensure exam test to become highly qualified for grades 9-12
• Middle grades teacher who took a required licensure exam to become highly qualified for grades 6-9
• Elementary teacher who took required licensure exam to become highly qualified for grades K-6
• EC teacher who took a required exam to become highly qualified for Exceptional Children in grades K-12
• CTE teacher who took a required exam to become highly qualified for Career and Technical Education
• Fully licensed teacher who has added an area of high need, including Math, Science and EC (is currently teaching in one of these areas). Proof of a submitted application to add the tested area to current teaching license to NCDPI (screenshot or email) or Updated NC License

Required documentation:

1) Verification of payment (paid receipt) for required exam fee is attached.

2) The passing score report.

 ONE TIME FOR ONE EXAM ONLY. Funds are LIMITED (First come, first serve).

*Test must have already been completed. Not valid until a score report has been received.

Utilizing the LIS in Arts Education

In collaboration with the NCDPI Arts Education Team, this session will specifically address Literacy within both the elementary and secondary classrooms in Dance, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts. This webinar will be the beginning of a PD series specifically designed to address Literacy Processes Inherent to Arts Education. (March 16, 3:45pm-5:00pm)

Registration

The link for 2023-2024 New Student Registration is now LIVE on the Craven County Schools website! Families can begin completing enrollment for their children using the online enrollment platform! Here is the link: https://www.cravenk12.org/Domain/251

2023-2024 Reassignments 

Accepting Forms Now - Deadline March 31, 2023

The 2023/2024 school reassignment window will be March 1-31, 2023. Beginning March 1st, forms will be available on the district website under Students & Families > Student Support Services > Reassignments and Releases.  If needed, a paper copy of the form will be available at the school. Forms must be submitted by March 31, 2023 and can be submitted to the school or at the Board of Education. A separate form must be completed for each student requesting reassignment. Parents will be notified of the decision by the end of April.  Note: If you had an approved reassignment for this current school year and want to continue, a new form(s) must be submitted for 2023-2024 during this window.

Literacy Instructional Standard Learning Series

for All Content Areas

The NCDPI Office of Academic Standards will begin offering a Literacy Instructional Standard Learning Series in November and span through spring of 2023. These state-wide, virtual professional learning opportunities will focus on integrating the Literacy Instruction Standards (LIS) into standards-aligned content area instruction. The sessions are open to all K-12 educators (all content areas, including exceptional children's staff) and would greatly benefit your literacy leadership teams in building strong, standardized research proven instructional standards in all content areas. The sessions will support your Adolescent Literacy Leadership teams with implementation of their improvement goals. 

As you are developing your implementation plans for NC SIP, district literacy instruction plans, evaluating and modifying literacy curriculum and instructional methods, please consider these sessions as a resource and professional development to support your adolescent literacy improvement goals and content area literacy instructional practices.

Content Area Literacy Instructional Standards Learning Series

The following sessions will be offered this school year: 

Literacy in Social Studies: April 27, 2023

Literacy in ELD: May 11, 2023

For more information and where to register, please see the LIS Learning Series Promo.

If you have not already joined the ELA listserv, please consider subscribing to get the most up to date information and very valuable resources to support adolescent literacy instructional practices aligned to standards. To subscribe to the listserv, click here and navigate to the ELA SCOOP section of the page. Also, please find the latest edition of The ELA SCOOP on this page, which is the NCDPI ELA Section's quarterly newsletter full of valuable resources for implementation support.

Data should be imported from Educator’s Handbook into PowerSchool on a daily basis, or at a minimum of one time per week. The principal (or designee) should ensure that this process is completed on a consistent basis to ensure accurate reporting. 

EVAAS Roster Verification is Coming!

Dates for the 2023 EVAAS Spring Roster Verification process are as follows: 

• Preview Phase: April 6 - 19, 2023
• Teacher Verification Phase: April 20 - May 10, 2023
• School Verification Phase: May 11 - May 24, 2023
• District Verification Phase: May 25 - June 21, 2023

Principals should begin checking accounts in EVAAS to make sure all appropriate staff have the necessary rights and access. In addition, Principals should select two (2) individuals in the building who will be able to facilitate and support teachers during their claiming phase (April 20 - May 10) prior to the School Verification Phase. 

Need help? Follow this link for tutorials HERE!

North Carolina Association of Elementary Educators Self-Paced PD

The North Carolina Association of Elementary Educators (NCAEE) is offering self-paced professional development for teachers beginning March 27 - April 24.  Teachers can go to www.ncelementary.com to sign up to be a presenter and/or sign up for the self-paced PD.

Feedback Needed for Draft 2 of the K-12 Science Standards

NCDPI is requesting feedback from all stakeholders individually regarding Draft 2 of the K-12 Science standards, as there is no PSU survey this time around. The survey will remain open until March 26. Please contact Marlena Bleau if you have any questions.