NC Race to the Top (RttT)Webinar for Principals

NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) November 2009

Overview of Webinar

• RttT 101: Background, Charge, Logistics

• NC's RttT Proposal: Emerging Themes and Initiatives

• Proposed RttT participation plan and funding process

RttT 101: Background, Charge,

Logistics

The Secretary$5 billion

State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF)

$53.6 billion

Governors$48.6 billion

Education, school modernization, public

safety or other government services

$8.8 billion (18.2%)

Public elementary, secondary, and IHEs$39.8 billion (81.8%)

Formula funding Competitive funding

Race to the Top$4 billion

New Assessments$350 million

Innovation$650 million

Goal of RttT: Advance Core Education

Reforms

Preliminary RttT Guidelines

Two guidelines in particular drew numerous comments:

• Effective teachers and effective principals defined as those whose students achieve greater than one year of growth

• States having a cap on charters will be at a competitive disadvantage

NC is currently moving forward with the assumption that these will not change and therefore we must shape the proposal accordingly

Charge: Accelerate NC's ongoing bold initiatives...

– New educator standards and aligned evaluation tools

– Accountability & Curriculum Revision Effort (ACRE)

– Common Education Data Analysis & Reporting System (CEDARS)

– District and School Transformation

– NC Virtual Public School (NCVPS)

– School Connectivity Initiative (SCI)

– Teacher Working Conditions Survey

– Nationally Board Certified Teachers

– Early College High Schools

– ...and many others

...and reflect some of NC's longstanding commitments to:

• High standards for all students

• Schools as places of innovation, focused on improving student learning

• Effective teachers and effective leaders in all schools and districts

• Statewide commitment to tackling hard issues

• Successful collaboration among key stakeholders

RttT Overall Goals (by June 2014)

Overall RttT Goals

Increase the high school graduation rate

Produce more career-, college- and future-ready graduates, as measured by performance on the SAT, ACT, Accuplacer, Compass, and other relevant assessments

Increase the number of graduating seniors who complete challenging capstone courses, including AP and IB

DPI Goal?

SBE Goal?

Gov.'s goal?

1

3

2

In process – currently refining metric targets

RttT Overall Goals (by June 2014)

Overall RttT Goals

Increase achievement in all grades, as measured by state assessments, NAEP results, and other relevant indicators

Improve the 121 low-performing schools and 23 low-performing districts so they are all above the current low-performing criteria

Reduce the achievement gap by making larger gains for lower performing subgroups

DPI Goal?

SBE Goal?

Gov.'s goal?

4

6

5

We are aligned on the goals for RttT and for NC over the next four years

In process – currently refining metric targets

NC RttT Proposal Development Leadership

Effective TeachersRebecca Garland

Bill McDiarmidCarolyn McKinney

Standards and AssessmentAngela QuickJere Confrey

Steering CommitteeBill Harrison, June Atkinson, Myra Best(advised by Glenn Kleiman and Allison

Bailey)

Improving Low Performing

SchoolsPat Ashley

Ann Osborne

STEM SchoolsTony Habit

ResearchLudy van

Broekhuisan,Alisa Chapman

Data SystemsAdam LevinsonSarah McManus

TechnologyPhil Emer, Peter Asmar, Tim Poe

Governor Perdue

Effective LeadersJoe Peel

RttT Timeline

• USED plans to release final guidelines in early Nov 2009

• Goal is to complete the proposal by Dec 16, 2009

• Round 1 proposals due in early January 2010

• Funding decisions in April 2010

• Round 2 proposals due in June or July 2010

• Four school years, through 2013-2014, to use the funding

These dates and other NC RttT details can be found on our public website http://racetothetop.nc.gov

NC's RttT Proposal:Emerging Themes and

Initiatives

“We’ve made a lot of progress in NC, but we understand we have a long

way to go.”We have made real progress (i.e., are innovative, determined, and successful), but still have major challenges to address

More of the same won’t get us far enough, fast enough.

We are moving toward “fewer, clearer, higher standards.”

We also need “fewer, clearer, higher reforms.”

We have the will and ability to tackle the difficult issues.

NAEP grade 4 math: Now above US Average

NAEP Grade 8 Math: At US Average

NC 4-Yr Graduate Rates, 2009

Overall rate was 69.5% in 2007 and 69.9% in 2008

NC a Diverse State: One size won’t fit all…need

differentiated strategy

Urban Rural

Elementary School 23,189 26,355

Middle School 9,803 11,929

High School 12,076 15,904

Other 2,274 2,032

Total 47,342 56,220

Teachers in North Carolina, 2008-2009

NC RttT Approach: Key Themes

• Central strategy: improve student outcomes by increasing teacher effectivenessResearch shows this is the most important

factor in improving student achievement

• Leads to the need for effective school leaders and supportive school contexts

• Special focus on low performing schools, which need major changes to be transformed into successful schools

Strategic Staffing Initiatives

Emerging RttT framework (revised from Oct. 28 version)

DRAFT – IN PROCESS

Transform Low Performing Schools and Districts

Identify struggling

districts and schools

Assess leverage points

for transformation

Assist building local

capacity

Monitor progress and

refine supports

Data-informedDecision-Making

ProfessionalDevelopment

Standards & Evaluation

Great Teachers for All Students; Great Leaders for All Schools

ProfessionalDevelopment

Data-informedDecision-Making

Standards & Evaluation

Strengthen the Education Workforce Statewide

District Programs

SchoolLeaders

Classroom Teachers

Statewide classroom/ teacher initiatives to be delivered via new professional development systemTeacher

EvaluationTeacher

Evaluation

• Introduce expert observers to provide roll-out support

• Evaluate instrument use

• Include student outcomes, utilizing the best available data (e.g. , EOCs, EVAAS, or SLOs)

Student Assessments

Student Assessments

• Diagnostic and formative assessment systems that:– Are embedded

in instruction – Leverage

technology– Linked to

benchmark assessments

• Assessments will be linked to common core standards

Data informed decisions

Data informed decisions

• Tools, dashboards etc to be developed to facilitate data usage

• Training for teachers on how to leverage data (assessments, etc) to inform instruction

Will develop statewide system to deliver PD on each of the above topics, enable systemic delivery of tailored PD, and ensure quality control through regular PD eval

Statewide school leader initiatives to also be delivered via new professional

development systemPrincipal EvaluationPrincipal

Evaluation

• Additional training on eval process (both teacher and principal evals)

• Evaluate instrument use

• Include school outcomes, utilizing the best available data (e.g. , EOCs, EVAAS)

School Assessments

School Assessments

• Couple teacher-level assessments with school assessment systems to enable higher-level data-driven decision making

Data informed decisions

Data informed decisions

• Tools, dashboards, etc. to be developed to enable data-informed decision making

• Training for principles on using data from all assessments – including summative – to identify school needs

Will develop statewide system to deliver PD on each of the above topics, enable systemic delivery of tailored PD, and ensure quality control through regular PD eval

Statewide district-level initiatives focus on increasing (and equitably

distributing) effective educators• Opportunities will include state-created

initiatives as well as those already being effectively used within the districts

• These initiatives are meant to provide district leadership with proven tools to increase teacher effectiveness including:– Induction programs (e.g., mentoring and training

programs to accelerate teacher development)– Career pathways (to encourage effective teachers to

remain in the classroom longer and help identify future teacher-leaders)

– Strategic staffing initiatives focused on equitably distributing highly effective educators throughout the district

Transforming low performing schools and districts

•Current DPI identification process will determine LEA eligibility for RttT assistance for low performing schools and districts

•Eligible LEAs that are interested in receiving RttT assistance must collaborate with the state on needs assessment and developing customized turn-around strategies

•Customized assistance strategies can include one or more of the following:–Existing DPI turnaround model–Recruitment/preparation programs–Induction/retention programs–Strategic staffing initiatives

– Compensation models– Virtual/blended

approaches– Workforce oriented

schools– Etc.

Support for low-performing schools and LEAs:

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)

Develop STEM high schools in low-performing LEAs

Utilize an integrated STEM curriculum to prepare students for STEM careers and meet workforce needs

Partner with local communities and businesses; leverage their expertise in STEM curriculum, where applicable

Schools will serve as centers for innovation, and as models to influence other schools

Proposed RttT participation plan

and funding process

Proposed requirements for LEA participation

in Race to the Top• All LEAs commit to core statewide initiatives (evaluations,

standards and assessments, data-usage, professional development), supporting initiatives (research and evaluation, data, technology) and forwarding statewide goal of improving student achievement

• All low-performing LEAs commit to the above PLUS participating in collaborative needs assessment process

• Only use RttT funds in support of implementing designated RttT initiatives

• Provide data and information to RttT Research and Evaluation teams – at state and national levels – to support evaluation of RttT initiatives

• Participate in any meetings or forums regarding RttT implementation

• Provide resources to serve on RttT implementation teams as needed

Implementation at the LEA level will also be supported by a centralized Race to the Top

governance structure

RttT funding allocation process

• Regardless of the size of award, 50% of funding will be allocated according to Title I allocation process– Funding for statewide initiatives will be divided among

LEAs according to Title I allocation

– Additional funding for other initiatives will need to be provided to some LEAs to meet Title I allocation requirements

•Other 50% of funding will be used to support targeted (i.e., low performing schools and districts) initiatives

•Currently unclear how funds will be distributed; process may be similar to Title I distribution process

Review of Webinar

• RttT 101: Background, Charge, Logistics

• NC's RttT Proposal: Emerging Themes and Initiatives

• Proposed RttT participation plan and funding processQuestions?