AUGUST 2020

BACK TO SCHOOL!

Welcome back to the 2020-2021 school year--the first of its kind! No matter what your role is in this wide open field of education, your commitment to your students, your cooperating families, your colleagues and yourself is so important! Through these stressful times, I hope you will allow yourself to give and receive grace, seek out new resources, get comfortable with making well-meaning mistakes, and ask for help! The Reich College of Education is here to help YOU in any way that we can! 

Our own Dean Spooner recently shared the words of Coretta Scott King: "The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members."  The Public School Partnership is so proud of its partners and the compassionate work that has been done by your dedicated employees to support, provide for, and connect with students in a safe way. We have been constantly impressed by your creative and courageous work in these uncertain times. Meanwhile, we have also been exploring creative ways to be most helpful to our visitors in safe and inventive ways in the Dean's Office! (We now have a friendly RCOE "Robot" to greet our visitors each day!)

To read more about what the RCOE is doing to prepare for and respond to the needs of our students, faculty, staff, and partners, see this Fall Planning link. 

Dr. Betsy Rosenbalm, NBCT

Public School Partnership, Director

NC New Teacher Support Program, Regional Director

Reich College of Eduction, Office 404 G

Appalachian State University

(704) 657-0764

The Partnership is Growing

We are THRILLED to Welcome Two New Partners!

Mini-Grant Opportunities! 

How can YOU use up to $1000 for classroom needs? 

The Appalachian State University Partnership Mini Grants are intended to support collaborative projects between Appalachian State faculty members and our Public School Partnership members who are connected to practicums, clinical internships, professional development opportunities for teachers, and/or student learning activities in P-12 environments. The funding for such projects should not be used to take the place of current monies, but should be used to expand or refine existing efforts, and/or to begin new initiatives.

Current partnership districts who are eligible for such grants are: Alleghany County, Alexander County, Ashe County, Avery County, Caldwell County, Burke County, Elkin City, Newton-Conover City, Watauga County, and Wilkes County Schools, as well as the NC School for the Deaf and the Appalachian State Academy at Middle Fork.

To apply for a mini-grant for up to $1000 towards a classroom project or research project in our region, please complete this form by October 1, 2020: https://forms.gle/5sBomQri1kfAPKF28. 

NC New Teacher Support Program

Meet Dr. Adreian Pitts, Our New Coach! 

We are excited to share that our App State NC New Teacher Support Program has grown from 5 districts to support last year to 10 districts to support this year! We are thrilled with this opportunity to work with so many new teachers across the NW part of NC! Due to the growing numbers and miles we will now need to cover, we have borrowed an amazing NC New Teacher Support Coach from another university to help us get the job done right! 

This year, we will be welcoming Dr. Adreian Pitts, a NC NTSP Coach from UNC-Greensboro, to join our team and help us coach our teachers. We have asked her to work with teachers at The Academy at Middle Fork, Elkin City Schools, Yadkin County Schools, Alleghany County Schools, the NC School for the Deaf, and American Renaissance School. Adreian is energetic, positive, experienced, and compassionate about serving new teachers. She will begin coaching new teachers the week of August 31st. Her bio is included here:

With a love for literature and writing, Dr. Adreian Pitts began her journey into education over 13 years ago. Over the course of her career she has effectively served in the roles of instructor, mentor, and, most recently, middle school administrator. She currently serves as an Instructional Coach with UNC Greensboro’s NC New Teacher Support Program where she and other coaches not only provide observation, feedback, and goal setting support, but also customized professional development based on district, school and teacher needs. Dr. Pitts is passionate about education and believes wholeheartedly that, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” (Nelson Mandela)

Dr. Pitts earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Winston-Salem State University.  She has a master’s in school administration, as well as an Educational Specialist degree and Doctorate degree in Educational Leadership from Gardner-Webb University. 

Ask Betsy about how you can connect with one of our two NC NTSP coaches, Adreian and Karen, to receive their support for YOUR new teachers! 

Congratulations to our PSP Superstars!

Teachers of the Year:

Erin Ellington, Watauga County Schools

Jane Calhoun, Alleghany County Schools

Danny Eldreth, Ashe County Schools

Alicia Stone, Wilkes County Schools

Molly Rhoades, Avery County Schools

Mackenzie Bradshaw, Caldwell County Schools

Jeff Lintz, NC School for the Deaf

Andrea Gladded, Burke County Schools

Erin Sims, Newton-Conover City Schools

Ryan Rowe, Alexander County Schools 

Principals of the Year:

Brian Bettis, Watauga County Schools

Dr. Gerald Miller, Alleghany County Schools

Pam Huffman, Wilkes County Schools

Courtney Wright, Caldwell County Schools

Shane Whitener, Newton-Conover City Schools

Jacob Lail, Alexander County Schools

Sara LeCroy, Burke County Schools

Rookie Teachers of the Year:

Ben Brown, Watauga County Schools

Dalton Lewis, Ashe County Schools

Katelyn Bumgarner, Wilkes County Schools

Cori Rash, Caldwell County Schools

Kelly Thigpin, Newton-Conover City Schools

****Congratulations to the newly named NC Principal of the Year, Ms. Kisha Clemons, from Shuford Elementary in N-CCS! (Pictured above with State Superintendent, Mark Johnson)****

NBCTApps National Board Support Group

We had a successful first event with the NBCTApps National Board Support Group on August 10th! We know that this was a challenging day for many to attend, as teachers went back to work for teacher work days, trainings, meetings, and other responsibilities that day! For those who were able to attend, we hope you gained some new knowledge and perspective on the process. For those who were not able to join us, it's not too late! Check out our additional support events in the coming months, and sign up to attend at the link below! 

Our schedule of virtual offerings includes: 

• September 14, 2020 (3:45-5:15): Using Technology Effectively/Constructing a Quality Video

• October 12, 2020 (3:45-5:15): NBPTS Panel (Q&A with newly certified and/or renewal candidates)

• November 9, 2020 (3:45-5:15): Three Types of Effective Writing

• December 2020: Work on your own (Reading, writing, and editing with your NBCT mentors/ on your own)

• January 11, 2021 (3:45-5:15): Content-Specific Meetings

• February 8, 2021 (3:45-5:15): Self-Assessment and Wellness Check

• March 8, 2021 (3:45-5:15): Content-Specific Meetings

• April 12, 2021 (3:45-5:15): Finalizing Products & the e-Portfolio

• May 10, 2021 (3:45-5:15): Celebration of Submission!

Please fill out this brief registration survey by September 14, 2020 to take advantage of these great supports! You will be contacted with more information via email, upon completion of this form. Interested Candidates Complete THIS Form

Relevant "Back to School" Resources!

• NC DHHS is leading the Hope4NC initiative! They are now expanding their Hope4NC program to include NC Educators. The program is a FEMA grant-funded initiative that provides free counseling and mental health services to front-line folks (including teachers, school staff, and families) during the Covid-19 crisis.  Click here for more information on Hope4NC (See visual below for more information!)

• Check out this link for a plethora of resources on how to successfully deliver remote/hybrid learning: Teach4theheart website

• With many schools starting the year off remotely/online, teachers are looking for support from their leaders. See this article for strategies you can use to help your folks succeed this year! Leaders Supporting Teachers article

• Teaching Tolerance has issued a helpful guide for teachers on how to respond to prejudice, bias, and stereotypes in schools. This guide offers ways to be prepared in advance, strategies to handle situations directly in the moment, and how to put it all together. Check out this great resource here: Teaching Tolerance Resource for Teachers 

• Click here to learn more about principles for High Quality Standards-Aligned Professional Learning Achieve the Core Resources

• Take the time to review this EXTENSIVE list of resources, sorted by subject area for ALL of your teachers' virtual needs! App State Web Resources

PSP Governing Board Meeting Dates for 2020-2021

Superintendents, mark your calendars for the following dates from 10am to 2pm.

• Sept. 18, 2020
• Nov. 20, 2020
• Feb. 19 , 2021
• April 16, 2021

NOTE: We will meet virtually until further notice, due to social distancing guidelines. 

Engaging Opportunities for YOU! 

1) The NC Alliance of Black School Educator Affiliates continue to reach out and partner with school districts to provide solutions that will position educators to respond to COVID-19 through strategic and informed conversations with PD events. They are also offering Virtual Town Hall Forums to mobilize and organize communities to work with schools with educational inequities and race relations. They especially encourage to K-16 educators, administrators, policymakers, and friends of educators to attend. See image below and register here for more information. 

2) Join @ncdpiDTL for a series of virtual conferences designed to support NC educators as they develop effective remote/hybrid instruction. #NCBOLD kicks off first event Sept. 15-16. Registration begins Aug. 31. More information coming soon - http://bit.ly/NCBold.

3) App State's Craft Enrichment is running Visual Journaling this Fall 2020 for one Continuing Education Unit. This class is a great, fully online asynchronous option for teachers of all grades and content areas-- including guidance counselors and school leaders. There are benefits related to self-care for working professionals too, especially during this time! Registration is open! Hop onto www.craftenrichment.appstate.edu to register. 

Earth-Shattering News!

Think earthquakes on the east coast are rare?  Actually there have been more than 1,600 quakes on the east coast in the last 47 years.  If you’d like to share information or prompt discussions with your students, refer to the image shared above that shares locations of quakes in the eastern United States, in the state of North Carolina, and specifically in the Sparta area.  You might also like to explore the Ask-A-Geologist website in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Appalachian State, especially the post related to the quake in Virginia in 2011.  Much of this information applies to the recent Sparta quake, so your students might enjoy exploring this information.  Ask a Geologist Website!

Also at this site is an information page related to the 2.4 earthquake between Boone and Blowing Rock in 2014. Blowing Rock Earthquake!

Many thanks to Dr. Tracie Salinas in the Math and Science Education Center and our colleagues in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences for putting together these resources, including Scott Marshall and Marta Toran. If you have questions related to earthquakes or other geological or environmental topics, please feel free to contact the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Appalachian State University.  https://earth.appstate.edu/

Mountaineer Readers Update

Attention Partnership Media Coordinators: I am writing to give you an extension to the deadline of collecting your reading logs for the Mountaineer Readers Program. The directions say to collect those reading logs by the first Wednesday of the month that you return to school. However, many of you have virtual instruction or rotating days of service, so I know this is not feasible for everyone. I will extend the deadline to Friday, September 4, 2020 for the collection of logs at the school level. Then, if you could still have all of those tally sheets turned into me by September 18, 2020, as we had originally planned, that would still allow us to stay on track with our processes. To be consistent, the cut off date for recording the number of pages read will still need to remain the first Wednesday of the school year (which for most would be August 19th), but you don't need to have those logs physically collected until the day before Labor Day Weekend. 

I will also continue to be in touch with you as our App State Football season kicks off and the university continues to update their policies on safety protocols and procedures. If we are not able to run the incentive program like we have in the past, due to Covid-19, I will certainly be in touch with you concerning those updates and alternative incentives and rewards! 

 App State Dates to Note

September 1: AppKIDS Give Day 

September 3: First Thursdays (Virtual Tours of the RCOE)

September 3: Founders Day

September 4: First Fridays (Graduate School Virtual Tours of the RCOE)

September 4: Student Teaching Seminar 2

September 11: Advancement Board Meeting

September 14: National Board Support Group

September 14-18: OIED Study Abroad Week

September 14-18: RECAPP: Research & Creative Activity at Appalachian

September 18: PSP Governing Board Meeting

September 25: Student Teaching Regional Meeting 1

October 2: Boyles Lecture Series

October 2-3: WIELS

October 16: Student Teaching Regional Meeting 2

October 17: Open House

October 19-31: Spooky Duke

October 28: Global Symposium

October 30: Student Teaching Seminar 3

October 30: Education Career Fair

November 5-6: Doctoral Symposium

November 13: Student Teaching Regional Meeting 3

November 14: Mountaineer Readers/Education Game

December 11: Commencement Ceremony