Teachers Matter Initiative Thomas Vaidhyan, Aten, Inc. Jon Beard, Knowledge Network Solutions Craig Landwehr, Six Disciplines Triangle Diego Aisenberg, Qué Pasa Media Network
NC Science Festival Sponsors Biogen Idec SAS Inspire Pharmaceuticals BB&T
Healthy Schools Cabinet Chris Kouri, Charlotte Motor Speedway
NC Principals Association Distinguished Leaders Program WakeMed RBC Bank BB&T GlaxoSmithKline Progress Energy
Southern Association of Colleges & Schools State Council Pam Townsend, AECOM
Arts Curriculum Feedback Qué Pasa Media Network Topics Education Capstrat Aten, Inc Red Hat RBC Bank Eckel and Vaughan Truliant Federal Credit Union Samet Corporation
2010 North Carolina Summit on US/China Education NCBCE corporations participated in this international event
Council on Educational Services for Exceptional Children Steve Brechbiel, Quintiles
Appointment to JOBS Commission Caroline McCullen, SAS Pam Townsend, AECOM
2010 College Application Planning Committee Joanne Burden, Sports Endeavors
Competitive Students Committee of the State Board of Education Joel Butler, University Health Systems
Blue Ribbon Accountability Commission André Peek, IBM Michael Brader-Araje, SunPocket
Blue Ribbon Commission on Charter Schools Acton Archie, SAS
Ad Hoc Committee on School Leadership Joe Freddoso, MCNC André Peek, IBM Bill Shore, GlaxoSmithKline
NC Science, Math, Technology Center Board Susan Jackson, WakeMed Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) SAS Hosted & provided expertise Anjana Bhuta Wills, Nandhini Viswonathan, Barbara Guidos, BD
NC Commission on Volunteerism & Community Service Woody Dicus, Progress Energy
NC Financial Literacy Council Verna Gessaman, RBC Bank Leigh Brady, SECU
Confucius Classrooms in NC Karen Ondrick, Lenovo
Teacher Working Conditions Survey Sponsors AT&T BB&T Duke Energy-Carolinas Golden Corral
Webinar Series NCBCE Corporate Members Local NC Chambers Education Stakeholders
Jobs For The Future Conference Various NCBCE Companies
Race to the Top Education Grant Funding Caroline McCullen, SAS
Joint Boards Meeting to Unveil Governor's Education Agenda All NCBCE Member Companies Invited to Attend
World View: An International Program for Educators André Peek, IBM Tricia Willoughby, NCBCE
Emerging Issues Forum Various NCBCE Companies
North Carolina Science Festival at the Morehead Planetarium Thomas Vaidhyan, Aten
Cisco Fellows honored by NC State Board of Education for work on the School Connectivity Initiative.
ACRE Project Webinar for Business and Industry Leaders (February 11, 2010)
NC Business Committee Executive Director Tricia Willoughby Talks To World View About K-12 Education in a Global Society
UNC World View is an organization dedicated to helping schools and colleges prepare students to succeed in an interconnected world. The mission of World View focuses on helping educators internalize schools by integrating a global perspective into every subject area of the curriculum at every grade level. World View helps educators by responding to rapid ethnic and cultural change from immigrant students and improving ESL programs. Also they promote foreign language training and international travel. Recently World View interviewed NCBCE Executive Director Tricia Willoughby and asked her about North Carolina students and why NC corporations are commmitted to infusing the business voice into education.
Download ACRE PDF The North Carolina State Board of Education heard from business and education leaders about the need for higher standards, better curriculum and meaningful tests for the state’s students. North Carolina Business Committee for education (NCBCE) members’ input continues to focus and drive these changes. North Carolina is the only state to tackle all three of these components simultaneously.
Duke President, Richard Broadhead, Microsoft Founder, Bill Gates, and NC Education Cabinet’s Howard Lee talk about education in North Carolina
Education Learning Trip Bring Bill and Melinda Gates To NC Bill and Melinda Gates recently visited North Carolina schools and colleges for what they termed a two-day “learning trip." As co-chairs of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, they have been actively involved in education initiatives across the nation. This was the first visit to North Carolina for the Microsoft founder and his wife to meet with students and teachers. The Gates visited West Charlotte High School to see how that school is using data to better serve students and identify teaching strategies that are working. They also met with students at Central Piedmont Community College where they asked students to describe their work and the challenges of paying for college. The Gates surprised students in Durham at the Performance Learning Center, a partnership between Durham Public Schools and Communities in Schools for students who have dropped out of school or who are at-risk of dropping out. At their final stop in North Carolina, they met with education and policy leaders in Raleigh. Bill and Melinda Gates talked to that group that included former Governor Jim Hunt, Duke University President Richard Broadhead, Education Cabinet Director Howard Lee and North Carolina Business Committee for Education Director Tricia Willoughby about the work of the Gates Foundation to support students and schools.
Business Education Round Table: Minding Their Business
When it comes to improving the public-education system, school officials say they depend on the help of industry leaders.
“It’s quite rare to have a school superintendent invite us to the table.” — Bill Shore, GSK
Click here to read the full article as it appears in the December, 2009 issue of Business North Carolina.
Gov. Perdue Launches eLearningNC.gov
New web site offers one-stop-shop for online learning opportunities
RALEIGH – Gov. Bev Perdue today announced the launch of eLearningNC.gov, the entry point to all the eLearning resources North Carolina has to offer. The new web site will provide an easy one-stop-shop for any North Carolinian, from K-12 students to life-long learners, who wants to take advantage of online learning such as the NC Virtual Public School, online courses from community colleges or universities, and online career building.
“Over the last 10 years, technology has revolutionized the way we live and work – and I’m committed to using it to revolutionize the way we teach and learn,” said Perdue. “With the click of a mouse, anyone in North Carolina will be able to access online learning through this new web site. A highly-educated workforce, highly-proficient in technology, is key to keeping North Carolina competitive in the high-tech global economy.”
eLearningNC.gov was created by a partnership between the Office of the Governor, the North Carolina Education Cabinet, and the North Carolina eLearning Commission.
“As Chair of the North Carolina eLearning Commission, I am excited about today’s official launch of the K-20 eLearning web site,” said Lt. Governor Walter Dalton. “This web site is a testament to North Carolina’s leadership in using technology to enhance educational opportunities, and it will provide easier access and navigation to a wealth of educational eLearning resources. My hope is that this web site fosters a culture of life-long learning for all the citizens of our state.”
eLearning provides all K-12 students, regardless of location or background, with the ability to take online courses that would normally not be available to them. Additionally, eLearning provides all college students and adults with the opportunity to take courses and learn new skills through retraining or advanced degrees.
North Carolinians of all ages are encouraged to take advantage of the resources compiled at eLearningNC.gov including links for K-12 eLearning and College eLearning, and a Career eLearning section for adult learners who want to continue their educations. The Facilitating eLearning section provides links to best practices and staff development on how to create eLearning courses. The About eLearning section covers everything else, from information about eLearning, to how to pay for eLearning.
About K-20 online education in North Carolina:
The NC Virtual Public School offers 106 online courses and has more than10,600 high school students enrolled in Fall 2009.
The UNC System offers more than 200 online degree, certification or licensure programs across 17 institutions, while North Carolina Community Colleges offer more than 138 online degrees, certifications, programs and diplomas through their 58 campuses statewide.
In 2008-2009 more than 74,000 students enrolled in eLearning courses in our 17 UNC System institutions and more than 131,600 students enrolled in eLearning online courses in our 58 community colleges, many students taking more than one online course per semester.
2010 Teacher Working Conditions Survey Record Breaking Response Rate by North Carolina Educators!
The 2010 Teacher Working Conditions survey concluded on Friday, April 16th with over 105,000 educators completing the survey. The 88.79% response rate by educators is the best since the survey began in 2002. Eric Hirsch, Director of Special Projects at the New Teacher Center, stated that North Carolina had a participation rate 20% stronger than any other state utilizing this tool!
Governor Bev Perdue and First Gentleman Bob Eaves invited North Carolina Business Committee for Education (NCBCE) members and other education leaders to celebrate this exciting event at the Executive Mansion in Raleigh! Corporate sponsors provided weekly incentives for participation in the survey and in the Grand Prize drawing, Northwood Elementary School in Guilford County won a $1000 grand prize to be used for improving teacher working conditions on that campus. The grand prize educator winner from Gregory Elementary School in New Hanover County will take home a $1000 cash prize.
Governor Perdue, State Superintendent June Atkinson and Education Cabinet Executive Director Howard Lee participated in the event along with NCBCE members and corporate sponsors Herb Crenshaw of AT&T, Richard Urquhart of Golden Corral, Duke Energy Carolinas’ Bo Somers, and Gray Reed of BB&T. Other sponsors participating included Kyle Robertson and Debra Horton from the NC PTA and Sherri Strickland and Rodney Ellis of the North Carolina Association of Educators. The survey is administered by the NC Professional Teaching Standards Commission with support from the New Teacher Center, the Office of the Governor, and Learn NC.
The results of this survey will provide educators and state policymakers with data that will help recruit and retain excellent teachers for all of North Carolina students. A newly created Parent Guide and full reports for every traditional public school and district will be available online at www.ncteachingconditions.org on May 1 (click on ‘results’).
A very special thanks to this year’s NCBCE member sponsors AT&T, BB&T, Duke Energy, and Golden Corral.
In 2005, Governor Mike Easley launched the nation’s first Center for 21st Century Skills. The Center, a public-private partnership located in the North Carolina Business Committee for Education (NCBCE), is focused on improving North Carolina’s educational system to ensure that students graduate with the skills needed for college, work and life in a global economy. By working actively with business leaders, educators and policymakers, the Center supports innovative educational initiatives that are aligned with 21st century learning and workforce expectations. Examples of ongoing and new initiatives are reflected below.
Presidential Transition Paper prepared for President-elect Obama
This document lists specific suggestions for the new administration to ensure that America 's workforce is prepared to meet the demands of an economy built on information, knowledge, innovation and creativity. North Carolina is one of the highlighted states. Read the full paper at http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/
21 st Century Skills, Education & CompetitivenessA Resource and Policy Guide
This resource guide summarizes challenges and opportunities to help chart a path for education to secure our competitiveness ( http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/)
Learn and Earn Named among the top 50 programs in the 2008 Innovations in American Government Awards, this initiative allows students to attend a high school located on a college campus, and in no more than five years, earn a high school diploma and finish with two years of college or an associate degree, at no cost to the student. Currently there are 42 Learn and Earn high schools across the state and by 2008-09, there will be 63 such schools.
North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey This survey gathers the views of the state’s teaching professionals to help shape state education policy, strengthen classroom working conditions and improve the learning environment for students. The 2008 survey received responses from more than 87 percent of the 120,000 teachers and administrators working in the state.
North Carolina Graduation Project This initiative requires high school students to demonstrate what they know and are able to do as a result of their cumulative education. As a first step in helping students to develop ideas for this Project, discover interests and make connections, the 21st Century Skills Center-in collaboration with NCBCE-has encouraged business partners to participate in student job shadowing.
NEW 21ST CENTURY SKILLS INITIATIVES
North Carolina Professional Educator Standards and Evaluation System The North Carolina State Board of Education (SBE) added support for its guiding mission and goals with the creation of the North Carolina Professional Educator Evaluation System and the alignment of public and private teacher education programs. This System is based on the NC Standards for Superintendents, the NC Standards for School Executives and the NC Professional Teaching Standards. The evaluation instrument for school executives (principals) will begin on July 1, 2008. The Teaching Personnel Performance Evaluation Instrument is being piloted and will be phased in over the next three school years pending approval by the SBE this summer. In addition, public and private schools of education within colleges and universities are assessing their teacher and administrator education programs based on these Standards. http://www.ncptsc.org/.
North Carolina Promising New Directions: Preparation for Future Learning (PFL) Assessment The “North Carolina Promising New Directions: Preparation for Future Learning (PFL) Assessment” is conducting research on the development of assessments that measure how students are prepared for future learning in fast changing environments. Typical assessments tend to tell what students have learned in the past but not necessarily how prepared they are to learn in the future. This research focuses on how students are able to use resources (technology-based access to relevant information, social networks, simulations) in order to learn to solve problems. The goal is to provide more valid measures of students’ existing strengths as well as skills and knowledge that they need to learn. The assessments are designed to provide formative and summative information about students’ progress in developing 21st century knowledge and skills. In a PFL task, students demonstrate their capacity to learn to solve problems by having the opportunity to perform assessment tasks in knowledge rich environments – much like all of us do in everyday life (Bransford & Schwartz, 1999). Gawel Phillips Svihla Vye Bransford (2008).
North Carolina New Literacies Collaborative The Center for 21st Century Skills and the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation launched the New Literacies Collaborative (NLC) on October 16, 2007. The Collaborative is a multidisciplinary group of researchers and practitioners who promote research and online professional development for educators in new literacies. Participants include North Carolina, national and international researchers and educators. For the purposes of the New Literacies Collaborative, new literacies are defined as the theoretical and practical intersection of literacy, media and emerging technologies. The NLC conducts research and offers online and face-to-face professional development for teachers in the areas of online comprehension and navigation literacies, Web 2.0 literacies and educational gamebased literacies. http://www.fi.ncsu.edu/newlit/blog/
North Carolina Student STEM Symposium The goal of the Student STEM Symposium is to make scientific inquiry a valued and enduring part of school culture by encouraging schools to integrate independent STEM research and projects into their curriculum. Student outcomes include 21st century skills such as problem solving, innovation, invention, self-reliance, logical thinking and technological literacy. On April 23, 2008, North Carolina New Schools Project (NCNSP) and the Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM (TIES), in collaboration with other public-private partners, held a day-long student symposium at the Friday Institute of Innovation. Teams of high school students from NC STEM schools presented original, independent projects in science, mathematics, technology and engineering (STEM) to each other. Students and teachers supported the event by creating logos, program booklets, tee shirt designs and student projects. In addition, participants heard from business and university researchers about the purposes of STEM education. “Nothing in STEM deeper than the belief that we can make the world a better place through problem solving,” said Dr. Louis Rosenblatt, of the Baltimore-based TIES. http://tiesteach.org/monographs.htm
THE PARTNERSHIP FOR 21ST CENTURY SKILLS The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is the leading advocacy organization focused on infusing 21st century skills into education. The organization brings together the business community, education leaders and policymakers to define a powerful vision for 21st century education to ensure every child’s success as citizens and workers in the 21st century. The Partnership encourages schools, districts and states to advocate for the infusion of 21st century skills into education and provides tools and resources to help facilitate and drive change. http://www.21stcenturyskills.org
Duke President, Richard Broadhead, Microsoft Founder, Bill Gates, and NC Education Cabinet’s Howard Lee talk about education in North Carolina
