RALEIGH, (SGRToday.com) - The latest round of Department of Instruction web highlights showcases summer reading efforts and summer institutes. All information can be found at ncpublicschools.org.

Topics are:

1. Give Five-Read Five Program Helps Students Maintain Reading Skills
The NCDPI is sponsoring the Give Five-Read Five campaign again this spring to provide students with at least five books to take home and read over the summer. To learn more about this program, which helped schools collect over 270,000 books last year for North Carolina elementary school students, please visit  http://www.ncpublicschools.org/give5read5/.

 
 2. EC Summer Institutes for 2015 on the Web
The list of 2015 Summer Institutes for Exceptional Children staff is available on the Exceptional Children website at  http://ec.ncpublicschools.gov/conferences-profdev/summer-institutes. The sessions begin June 29 and continue through August 3. The Summer Institutes are designed for teachers and related-services personnel.

 
3. Teacher and Student Featured in Home Base “Teacher Spotlight”
The latest Teacher Spotlight features Kym Smyth and 5th grade student Molly Smyth from the American Renaissance School in Statesville. Kym Smyth discusses how she uses the tools in Home Base to create assessments and Molly Smyth discusses how she uses Schoolnet to help her prepare for tests. To view this and other Teacher Spotlight videos, please visit  http://www.ncpublicschools.org/homebase/teacher-spotlight/. If you’re a classroom teacher with an innovative SchoolNet instructional strategy that you would like to share, send an email to  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 
4. ESEA Flexibility Request Renewal Documentation for 2015 on the Web
The U.S. Department of Education offers each state educational agency the opportunity to request flexibility on behalf of itself, its local educational agencies, and its schools. This voluntary opportunity provides educators and state and local leaders with flexibility regarding specific requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) in exchange for rigorous and comprehensive state-developed plans designed to improve educational outcomes for all students, close achievement gaps, and improve the quality of instruction. The NCDPI’s Flexibility Request Renewal for 2015, and the approval letter from the U.S. Department of Education, are available at  http://www.ncpublicschools.org/program-monitoring/esea/.

 
5. Webinar Updates Educators on Teacher Evaluations, Home Base, Assessments
The READY V webinar for teachers and principals provided updates on the Educator Effectiveness program, online teacher tools, a tentative timeline for reviewing the Standard Course of Study, student assessments, and more. To view the webinar and accompanying transcript, please visit  http://www.ncpublicschools.org/ready/multimedia/.

 
6. New Instructional Video on the Web for NC School Report Card
Check out the latest addition to our collection of instructional resources for the NC School Report Card – A Closer Look at Data Objects in a School or District Report - at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/src/resources/.  The short video shows you how to view a data object in a report and drill down for more information.

 

7. Educator Effectiveness Matters to Students Presentation Now Online
Teachers play a significant role in the success of students, but how significant is this role?
Dr. Tom Tomberlin, director of District Human Resources for the NCDPI, shared his analyses of the impact of teachers on students over time during a series of regional READY IV meetings across the state. A video of Tomberlin’s presentation is available on the Educator Effectiveness Model website at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/effectiveness-model/resources/multimedia/.