May 2021

Hats Off to YOU!

Dear Partners,

You've done it! You have officially made it through the most challenging school year in American history, I have no doubt! You have made more decisions, changed more plans, and questioned more choices than ever before! However, you have come to a point where you can look back and say with great pride--We survived!

The RCOE joins you in celebrating the surviving and the thriving that has taken place in your schools and districts! Through summer mini-grants, Mountaineer Readers awards, NBCT portfolio send-off celebrations, the first annual Partnership Leaders Council Graduation, the beginning of a new AppVisory Team, TOY/POY gift distribution, and many more events, we hope to share our appreciation with you!

To find out more about how the RCOE Faculty and Staff are surviving and thriving at the end of a long year, check out the May RCOE Weekly "Connected" Newsletter, featuring news from our own Dean Spooner:

May 4 Issue

Dr. Betsy Rosenbalm, NBCT

Director, Public School Partnership/Regional Director, NC New Teacher Support Program

Reich College of Education, Appalachian State University

rosenbalmem@appstate.edu; 704-657-0764

Summer Equity Mini-Grants

This year, the RCOE Public School Partnership has voted to provide an additional round of mini-grants for the summer of 2021!! These mini-grant funded projects should be focused on EQUITY, DIVERSITY, and/or INCLUSION.

The Appalachian State University Partnership Mini Grants are intended to build relationships between Appalachian State faculty members by engaging in collaborative projects that are connected to internships, student teaching, professional development of teachers, and/or student learning (P-12 and preservice teachers). The funding should not be used to take the place of current monies, but should be used to expand or refine existing efforts or to begin new initiatives.

This summer, we had 20 summer mini-grant applications from Alexander, Wilkes, Elkin, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Newton-Conover, Caldwell, the Appalachian Academy at Middle Fork, and the RCOE! Our results will be shared on or before June 11, 2021!

NBCTApps Update!

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ANNA LANKFORD AT THE NW RESA, NBCT BOARD MEMBER JIM BROOKS, AND THE NBCT MENTORS BELOW FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP THIS YEAR IN PREPARING AND ENCOURAGING NBCT CANDIDATES!

A SCHEDULE FOR THE 2021-2022 NBCT SUPPORT GROUP SESSIONS WILL BE RELEASED IN OUR PSP JUNE 2021 NEWSLETTER!

Mountaineer Readers Time!

It is exciting that we are preparing for another summer of Mountaineer Readers! The Mountaineer Readers initiative began in the fall of 2007 as a partnership between App State’s Reich College of Education and App State Athletics with the purpose of supporting literacy in our surrounding counties. More recently, the group included students from schools in 10 regional school districts and expanded to include students from the Appalachian State University Academy at Middle Fork and the NC School for the Deaf! Check out this article to read about last year's Mountaineer Readers experience!

https://rcoe.appstate.edu/news/mountaineer-readers-celebrated-appalachian-football-game-november-14

To begin the process for the 2021-2022 year, the media coordinator for each elementary school will want to pass out the student reading log sheet and the promotional flyer found in this email (see attached!) Students will take the reading logs home in May and complete the reading logs according to how many pages they read over the summer. Parents will need to verify and sign the form.

When the students return to school in the fall of 2021, students will need to turn in their COMPLETED reading logs to the school-level media coordinator by the first Wednesday of the school year.

School media coordinators need to tally the student log sheet totals and complete THIS FORM electronically to submit to Dr. Rosenbalm no later than Friday, September 24, 2021. There is no tally sheet to email in this year.

Dr. Rosenbalm will inform schools of the winners by Friday, October 8, 2021. More award details will accompany the announcement of the winners in October, but please make note that the grand prize winners will be invited to participate in the November 13, 2021 football game at Appalachian's Kidd Brewer Stadium against South Alabama! Here is an additional promotional flyer to find out more about the prizes available to schools, classrooms, and students for reading excellence!

STEM Ambassadors for the MSEC

The MSEC is developing a network of STEM teachers across the region to improve communication around STEM activities, provide targeted support in STEM to partner schools, and collaborate on developing opportunities for professional development, engagement, and more. Teachers will serve a two-year role with an option for a renewal. They will receive renewal credits for their engagement as an Ambassador and have opportunities for priority registration for professional development and mini grants (as funding allows). The roles will be mutually beneficial for the Center and school partners, providing communication and communities within which we may all collaborate on STEM-focused projects and activities.

Currently we are requesting STEM ambassadors to be nominated from partnership schools that work with grades 9-12. Please feel free to make a nomination using our Google form at https://forms.gle/ybiHKuuLZegtwAYV7 or to share the link with a nominee.

For more great information about the resources and programs available to you through the MSEC, check out their newsletter here: https://msec.appstate.edu/sites/default/files/msecnewsletter_april2021_final_2.pdf

Join our NC NTSP Family!

The NC New Teacher Support Program offers 3 core services to participating school districts and teachers: 1) weekly one on one coaching for identified beginning teachers, 2) regular, relevant professional development provided to the PSU, and 3) an invitation to a high quality BT Institute/Conference for identified beginning teachers. Let us know how we can help you support your beginning teachers as they begin a brand new year of challenges!

Learn more about our program at our new and improved website: https://ncntsp.org/

Supervisors Needed!

As we prepare for the 2021-2022 academic year we plan to hire several University Field Supervisors. These Supervisors function as the instructors for our student teaching internship. These are part time, adjunct roles within the College of Education. Supervisors are responsible for grading, observing, and overseeing the student teachers across our 46 partner districts, as well as presenting at various meetings and seminars throughout the semester.

This position requires a minimum of a masters degree, teaching and/or administrative experience, and a current teaching license. Administrative certificates are required. The hours are flexible, but the position does require some required meeting dates and some travel. This work requires availability during normal school hours.

We appreciate your partnership with us in placing our student teachers and wondered if you might also recommend any potential Supervisors in your district for us as well! We will be interviewing and hiring over the next several months and appreciate any candidates you could send our way.

Interested candidates can submit a resume and copy of a current teaching license to studentteaching@appstate.edu. Questions can be submitted to the same.