NC INITIATIVES

Historically, North Carolina and the nation have experienced an achievement gap among various populations of public school students. The achievement of minority and at-risk students continues to be an important issue at the local, state, and national levels.

Maximizing the academic potential of all students is a major priority in the State of North Carolina. This is evidenced by changes in legislation, state-level initiatives, and recent modifications of the State's ABCs Accountability Model to raise standards for meeting academic growth targets. In addition, federal legislation through the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 places an even greater responsibility on the state and all stakeholders to raise achievement and close gaps.

In response, the State Board of Education adopted a new emphasis on Future-Ready Students for the 21st Century with a mission "that every public school student will graduate from high school, globally competitive for work and post-secondary education and prepared for life in the 21st Century". Implementing this mission will take the best efforts of school administrators, teachers, parents, students, communities, businesses/industries, and colleges/universities to ensure that all students succeed in North Carolina's public schools and are prepared for life in the 21st Century.

Major initiatives currently underway to address the achievement gap in North Carolina are outlined in this publication.

THE NORTH CAROLINA ADVISORY COMMISSION ON RAISING ACHIEVEMENT & CLOSING GAPS

The North Carolina Advisory Commission on Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps was appointed by the State Board of Education in the summer of 2000. The Commission was charged with advising the State Board of Education, the State Superintendent and local school systems on ways to close the number of gaps that exist in student achievement outcomes and student participation while continuing to push for higher achievement overall. The Commission issued a report in 2001 to the Board and amended it in 2002 outlining twelve recommendations that addressed the following:

Teacher Preparation and Support
Underachieving Students
Home and Community
Legislation and Policy
Minority Student Participation and Exclusion

The Commission is currently developing a revised report to the State Board of Education, "A Reaffirmation of Beliefs and Recommendations". This new report reexamines the language, intent, and focus of the first report to the State Board of Education. This report provides an update of the status of the 2001 report by reflecting on the current status, emerging issues, and next steps for each of the twelve recommendations. This report will be available Fall 2007.

RAISING ACHIEVEMENT AND CLOSING GAPS SECTION

Organized as a unit within the Department of Public Instruction, the Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps Section (Section) continues to address school-related variables that adversely and positively support educational outcomes for minority and at-risk students. The Section works in collaboration with a variety of stakeholders to assist schools and school systems in identifying and developing strategies and programs to close the achievement gap. Collaborative efforts with stakeholders are provided through a comprehensive array of services to school systems, colleges/universities, parents, community groups and other stakeholders in North Carolina. Services include:

promoting RACG awareness,
providing technical assistance,
formation and maintenance of local task forces on RACG
disseminating research findings, and
promoting best practices for improving achievement among minority and at-risk students.

LOCAL COMMUNITY TASK FORCES ON RAISING ACHIEVEMENT AND CLOSING GAPS

Section 8.28 (d) of HB 1840 required the State Board of Education to develop guidelines to enable the formation of a local task force on raising achievement and closing gaps in each school administrative unit in North Carolina. These guidelines have been developed and are available at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/racg/resources/reports/guidelines/

The purpose of the task force is to advise and work with the local board of education, local superintendent, central office administration, individual school site administration, and other school personnel on raising achievement and closing the gap in academic achievement as well as developing a collaborative plan for achieving that goal. Each task force shall be racially diverse and shall include parents, school personnel, and representatives from human service agencies, nonprofit organizations, and the business sector. Thirty-three percent of the school systems in the state have established a local task force.

PROPOSED FUTURE-READY CORE

The State Board of Education has approved a new high school core course of study framework to be implemented with students entering the ninth grade in 2009-10. The framework establishes a core of 21 credit units identified as critical to student preparation for the economic and societal demands of the 21st century. Within the 21 credit units are six elective units. The Future-Ready Core requires at least twp of the six elective units to be a combination of Career Technical Education, Arts Education, or Second language.

The proposed Future-Ready Core includes the following items:

4 units of English
4 units of mathematics
3 units of science
3 units of social studies
2 units of a second language
1 unit of health/physical education
6 units of electives

These changes replace the current Courses of Study (College Prep, College Tech Prep, Career) from which students select their high school coursework. The Core raises the number of required courses from 20 to 21 for all students except for Occupational Course of Study students. The Occupational Course of Study, currently in place for certain students with disabilities, would not be affected at all by these changes. Most students already take the core classes, but this core raises the standard by requiring four mathematics courses and second language study for all. The endorsement requires students to select an area of emphasis for their high school work with an eye to college work, career or both. The core framework of courses will not be one-size-fits-all. Students will select specific courses within the 21 requirements, with opportunities for course substitutions in some cases where appropriate.

Other graduation requirements will continue to be in place. These include passing the five common end-of-course tests (Algebra I, English I, US History, Civics and Economics and Biology) and successfully completing a graduation project in addition to local graduation requirements.

HISTORICALLY MINORITY COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES CONSORTIUM FOR CLOSING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS

The Historically Minority Colleges and Universities Consortium (HMCUC) is composed of twelve public and private colleges and universities in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Founded in 1999, HMCUC works to unite communities to close the achievement gap by providing resources, support and networking between institutes of higher-education, K-12 schools, community and faith-based organizations and families Further, the purpose of the HMCU consortium is to build effective partnerships with schools and communities to raise the achievement level of minority students in North Carolina. Current programs and partnerships of the consortium include:

Learn and Serve America Faith-Based After-School Programs
21st Century Faith-Based Community Learning Centers
Parent Information and Resource Center
African American Male Initiatives
African American Male Leadership Academy
Conference on African American Males in Education
Mentoring Program
Saturday Academy
Supplemental Educational Services Programs

LEANDRO DECISIONS

In 1994, parents, students and school boards from low-wealth counties filed a lawsuit against the State for not providing enough funding for every child to receive a quality education. The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled twice (1997 and 2004) that the state constitution guarantees "every child an equal opportunity to receive a sound basic education."

Commonly known as Leandro, these decisions defined a sound basic education as one in which a student receives an academic performance level at or above Level III (proficient) on the end-of-grade and end-of-course tests. In order to provide a sound basic education, the court identified the following educational resources as necessary components.

Every classroom must be staffed with a competent, certified, well-trained teacher who is teaching the Standard Course of Study by implementing effective educational methods that provide differentiated, individualized instruction, assessment and remediation to the students in that classroom.
Every classroom must be led by a well-trained competent principal with the leadership skills and the ability to hire and retain competent, certified and well-trained teachers who can implement an effective and cost-effective instructional program that meets the needs of at-risk children so that they can have the equal opportunity to obtain a sound basic education by achieving grade level or above academic performance.
Every school must be provided, in the most cost effective manner, the resources necessary to support effective instruction within that school so that the educational needs of all children, including at-risk children, to have the equal opportunity to obtain a sound basic education, can be met.

In response, The State Board of Education decided to revise the formula for allocating the funds to school systems under the Disadvantaged Student Supplemental Fund (DSSF). The DSSF formula is used to assign a rank to each school system that indicates a particular school system's ability to meet the educational needs of at-risk students. Eligible school systems receive funds based on their ranking. The new formula focuses on identifying certain characteristics that are indicative of "at-risk" students. These characteristics are the percentage of students with (1) at least one parent who has less than a high school diploma; (2) single parent families; and (3) eligible for Federal ESEA Title I. The new formula allows for long-term funding of the DSSF.

The Leandro decisions ruled that the State is ultimately responsible and obligated as part of their constitutional duty to provide a state education system that allows every child access to a sound basic education.

LEGISLATION

In 2000, the Wilmington Race Riot Commission (Commission) was established to develop a historical record of the event and to assess the economic impact of the riot on African Americans in Wilmington and across the Eastern region and the State. The Commission's report led to proposed legislation, the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Acknowledgment and the DPI/Curriculum on 1898 Wilmington Race Riot (HB 751 and HB 633 (SB 1187)), during the 2007 session of the North Carolina General Assembly. The 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Acknowledgment states "that the violence of 1898 in Wilmington was a conspiracy of a white elite that used intimidation and force to replace a duly elected local government, that people lost livelihoods and were banished from their homes without due process of law, and that government at all levels failed to protect its citizens". With this acknowledgement comes the need for the accurate information and history to be developed. The DPI/Curriculum on 1898 Wilmington Race Riot legislation would do just that; develop an accurate curriculum of the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot.

Furthermore, the General Assembly is proposing an act to provide additional support to high-needs schools (SB 1479). This act proposes to implement strategies and modify policies and/or laws to ensure that high-need schools have high quality staff and additional support that they need. Proposed strategies include:

Adding additional teacher positions at these schools to reduce class size.
Providing incentives to attract National Board Certified Teachers to these schools.
Employing teachers at these schools for 11 months. These teachers shall use the extra month of employment for curriculum development, staff development, and planning for the next school year.
National Board Certified Teachers who serve as mentors, literacy coaches, or in other non-administrative instructional leadership positions at these schools may retain the twelve percent (12%) salary increment for NBPTS certification, notwithstanding G.S. 115C-296.2.
National Board Certified Teachers, teachers of the year, and other categories of accomplished teachers designated by the State Board of Education shall be given the academic freedom at these schools to use research-based practices in the classroom that go beyond the standard course of study.

INCREASING ACCESS: ADVANCED PLACEMENT INCENTIVE GRANT

North Carolina was awarded the Advanced Placement (AP) Incentive Grant to help widen access for minority students, rural students and others who are under-represented in AP courses. The incentive grant also can be used to develop additional AP online courses, provide targeted professional development to middle and secondary teachers in low wealth districts and develop Summer Pre-AP Academies for middle school students in selected low wealth districts.

Access to AP exams is important in encouraging students to reach high standards. It's also an important indicator of future college success. Students who take these college-level courses are more likely to complete their bachelor's degree in four years or less. Since 2000, the number of AP exams taken by low-income North Carolina public school students has grown by 2,553, by 4,134 for African American students and by 1,226 for Hispanic students.

INITIATIVES FROM THE EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN'S DIVISION

The Exceptional Children's Division of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has implemented several strategies and initiatives to address the achievement of students in Exceptional Children's programs. These include:

North Carolina Positive Behavioral Support Initiative

The North Carolina Positive Behavioral Support Initiative (PBS) is part of the North Carolina State Improvement Program funded through IDEA.

PBS programs are a way to impact the learning environments in the schools in order to support high student performance and to reduce behavioral problems. PBS sites are working to integrate their Safe Schools Plans, Character Education efforts and strategies, and discipline efforts in order to make schools caring and safe communities for learning.

Whole school PBS is a systematic approach that establishes and reinforces clear behavioral expectations. It is a team-based system involving the entire school staff using a systems approach in which the school staff must adopt a common approach to discipline that is proactive, instructional, and outcome-based. The data about the school is used to guide decision making. The school team looks at the entire school campus and the whole school day. The goal is to help educate all students, even students with challenging behaviors. There is an emphasis on continuous, data-based improvement, individualized to each school.

PBS is also an instructional approach that focuses on systematically teaching social behavior using effective instructional methodology. Systematically teaching and implementing behavioral interventions for the most difficult students is also a key component.

There are approximately 292 school buildings providing school-wide Positive Behavior Supports in North Carolina.

Reading/Writing and Math Best Practice Sites

Improving the teaching of students with disabilities is a major focus of the NC State Improvement Project II (NC SIP II). There is clear and extensive research evidence supporting our belief that the vast majority of students with disabilities can read and write, as well as demonstrate math skills on grade level IF appropriate, research validated instructional and learning techniques are effectively employed.

The four major goals established to accomplish the purpose of NC SIP II are to: improve basic skills performance for students with disabilities, increase the percentage of qualified teachers of students with disabilities, increase graduation rates and decrease drop-out rates of students with disabilities, improve parent satisfaction with, and support of, school services.

The rapidly growing NCSIP network includes the following LEA based centers and sites:

Six reading and writing regional demonstration centers,
Approximately 45 NCSIP II research-based sites that focus on reading and writing instruction,
Three regional Early Literacy Demonstration Centers,
Four regional mathematics instruction demonstration centers, and
Sixteen research-based mathematics instruction sites.

Response to intervention/Problem Solving Model

Response to Intervention is the practice of providing high quality instruction and intervention matched to student need, monitoring progress frequently to make decisions about changes in instruction or goals and applying child response data to important educational decisions. The North Carolina Problem-Solving Model has been developed for use in addressing the needs of struggling learners within a framework that incorporates these components.

When implemented effectively, the model assists with the development of effective school-wide Systems of Support that address both the achievement and behavioral/emotional health of students. Student difficulties are addressed through identification of specific areas of need. Solutions are found through selection of interventions that are appropriately matched to need. Parents are actively involved in their children's education. The system is proactive rather than reactive. All educators work together to help all children and support each other. Data support instructional decisions made about individual students, classes, and school-wide systems/programs.

In effective systems of support, eighty percent of students should benefit from instruction within the regular education classroom. An additional ten to fifteen percent will need strategic intervention to make adequate progress. The final five to ten percent will require intensive intervention in order to make adequate gains.

Five LEAs across the state were selected to pilot this model. Bertie, Burke, Guilford, Harnett, and the New Hanover County School Systems each began implementing a problem-solving approach in two elementary schools in August 2005. Fifty-two additional LEAs have participated in training during the 2006-2007 school year and are in the early stages of implementation.

Instructional Consultation

The Instructional Consultation Model has been implemented in North Carolina schools to serve as a model of teams functioning to link people and resources at all levels whereby general, special education, and pupil service personnel share the responsibility for the education of all students through the improved quality of service. The following school systems have Instructional Consultation Teams (ICT) who have been trained and are using the ICT model: Dare, Newton- Conover, Wayne, Pender, Orange, Charlotte/Mecklenburg, Hoke and Craven. Four additional school systems will receive training during the 2007/2008 school year.

The overall goal of IC Teams is to enhance/improve/increase student and staff performance. Objectives include:

Development of a systematic support network within each building, including a trained Instructional Consultation Team
Enhancement of teachers' skills in and application of best practices of instructional assessment and delivery
Development of school-wide norms of collaboration and problem-solving
Utilization of data for classroom and school decisions.
Decreased inappropriate referrals to special education

Evaluation data indicates that there has been a decrease in inappropriate referrals for special education in the elementary schools involved.

Early Literacy Centers/NC Preschool Demonstration Program

The NC Preschool Demonstration Program was begun in 2001 and was initially funded by federal Exceptional Children (Part B, IDEA) funds which were later augmented by state pre-K funds. There are currently Early Literacy Demonstration Preschool Programs in ten school systems across the state of North Carolina. The Exceptional Children Division and the Office of School Readiness seek to enhance the quality of programs serving young children by encouraging participation in guided observations in these centers. Each of the demonstration classrooms is serving three-, four-, and/or pre-K five-year-olds and their families. The children and families reflect a wide array of cultural, linguistic, and ability diversity. Demonstration classrooms augment their framework curricula with specific literacy-based and positive behavior pre-K curricula. Children are supported in these classrooms with multiple funding sources such as Even Start, Exceptional Children, Head Start, More at Four, Title I, Smart Start, subsidy and/or parent tuition.

For additional information about the NC Preschool Demonstration Program, please contact Jody Koon at jody.koon@ncmail.net or Patsy Pierce at piercep@med.unc.edu.

Culturally Responsive Training

The Culturally Responsive Educational Systems Module Training is a collaborative effort between the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCRESt), the Exceptional Children's Division and the RACG Section to close the achievement gap between students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and to reduce inappropriate referrals to special education. Members of the Exceptional Children's Division and the RACG Section have become certified trainers for the Culturally Responsive Educational Systems Module Training through NCCRESt's Trainers Academy. LEA's can now request this training for their schools. More information about NCCRESt can be found at http://www.nccrest.org.

The culturally responsive training teaches participants how to advance their knowledge and skills about culturally responsive practices within organizations. The training also provides a forum for open discussions to better enable participants to help school and community members think more broadly and systemically about culturally responsive schools and classrooms. Overall, participants will serve as effective transformational agents of change for culturally responsive practices and systems.

PROJECT BRIGHT IDEA 1 & PROJECT BRIGHT IDEA 2
(A MODEL K-2 NURTURING PROGRAM)

Project Bright IDEA I was a collaborative effort between the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) and the American Association of Gifted Children at Duke University (AAGC) involving over 900 kindergarten, first- and second-graders in five Title I schools in North Carolina. The project was developed by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction as a pilot program to nurture and develop the interests and unusual abilities of young children in underrepresented groups. This project also meets the mandate of the North Carolina General Assembly to close the achievement gap and to address the disproportionately low population of minority students in advanced or gifted classes. The results exceeded all expectations and could have an impact on national education policy.

Key results for Bright IDEA 1 were:

All kindergarten Bright IDEA classrooms scored in the 99th percentile on the state literacy assessment.
Significant gains were seen in student achievement in the K-2 Literacy and Mathematics Assessments across all sub-groups of children.
Achievement among African American and Hispanic populations was raised close to the level of White and Asian students.
One school showed Bright IDEA second graders scoring in the 80th percentile on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills Reading exam versus 39th percentile for those who did not go through the Bright IDEA program. This was the only school that administered the Iowa assessment.
One principal provided data that showed nearly all Bright IDEA students in K-2 classrooms scoring 50-100 percent higher than students in regular classrooms for every assessment or inventory given, including the Iowa Test of Basic Skills.

Project Bright IDEA 1: Interest Development Early Abilities: A Model K-2 Nurturing Program - 2001-2004 Final Report

Based on the success of Project Bright IDEA 1, Project Bright IDEA 2 was awarded a Jacobs Javits Gifted Education Grant by the U.S. Department of Education to "upscale" the program to more schools and to research the impact on gifted programs from underrepresented populations. Project Bright IDEA 2 will employ a program over a five-year period (2004-2009) for training K-2 teachers in 36 schools across North Carolina. Twelve Schools will be phased in each year for three years. Years four and five will be used to evaluate the data and follow-up with teachers and students in the program. Students in Bright IDEA 2 will be followed in a longitudinal study through middle school.

Cohort I School Districts:

Brunswick County: Belville Elementary and Lincoln Elementary
Guilford County: Allen Jay Elementary and Sedgefield Elementary
Hickory City: Viewmont Elementary and Jenkins Elementary
Lenoir County: Contentnea Elementary and Pink Hill Elementary
Moore County: Aberdeen Primary and Vass-Lakeview Elementary
Roanoke Rapids Graded School District: Belmont Elementary and William L. Manning Elementary
Wake County: Aversboro Elementary and Lynn Road Elementary

Cohort II School Districts:

Duplin County: B.F. Grady Elementary and North Duplin Elementary
Rowan-Salisbury: China Grove Elementary and Hurley Elementary
Wake County: Harris Creek Elementary and Wakelon Elementary

Cohort III School Districts:

Brunswick County: Supply Elementary
Elizabeth City - Pasquotank: JC Sawyer Elementary and Northside Elementary
Guilford County: Murphey Traditional Academy and Northwood Elementary
Lenoir County: Northwest Elementary
Robeson County: Peterson Elementary and Rosenwald Elementary

Gifted Intelligent Behaviors for 21st Century Learners illustrates growth potential charts of gifted intelligent behaviors for Cohort 1 students during school year 2005-2006. The Gifted Intelligent Behavior Charts are based on the results of teaching concept-based units to K-2 students and conducting a pre and post assessment on infused gifted intelligent behaviors identified in each unit. Results of Cohort 2 School Districts will be available in July 2007. Cohort 3 School Districts will receive training in March 2007 and results will be available in July 2008. Data will continue to be collected through 2009.

CLOSING THE GAP WITH CELL PHONES

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), and Digital Millennial Consulting (DMC) announced Project K-Nect, a pilot education program using smartphones with advanced mobile broadband technology to deliver educational material to high school students to improve test scores and education in North Carolina (www.projectknect.org).

Project K-Nect is designed to create a supplemental resource for secondary at-risk students to focus on increasing their math skills through a common and popular technology - mobile smartphones. Ninth graders in several public schools in North Carolina will receive smartphones, giving them access to supplemental math content aligned with their teachers' lesson plans and course objectives. Students also will have the opportunity to communicate and collaborate with each other and access tutors outside of the school day to help them master math skills. The smartphones and service will be free of charge to the students and their schools due to a USD 1 million dollar grant provided by QUALCOMM, as part of its Wireless Reach™ initiative.

The project's goals are three-fold: to increase math achievement as measured through state assessments and improved classroom performance; to better engage students who have struggled with math; and to narrow the current digital gap by providing supplemental learning opportunities through mobile smartphones.

The project will target approximately 250 students who have limited home access to the Internet, qualify for free or reduced-price school meals and have below average math performance. Participating schools will be selected through a grant application process.

June 2007