Creativity, innovation and leadership among North Carolina teachers will be highlighted and rewarded under a new statewide effort that will compensate educators for developing instructional and professional development resources and sharing them with their colleagues.
Gov. Pat McCrory and State Superintendent June Atkinson today announced the establishment of the Governor’s Teacher Network, through which teachers will apply to serve for one year as content experts for North Carolina’s Race to the Top initiatives. Their work will focus on providing instructional resources and professional development activities that will populate Home Base, a suite of web-based technology tools designed to elevate teaching. The state has established Home Base as part of the READY initiative, a comprehensive effort to remodel the state system of public schools to better prepare students for college and careers.
In April, approximately 450 outstanding teachers from across the state will be selected based on a rigorous application process that includes project proposals. Beginning this summer, these teachers will serve for one year developing projects that support key RttT initiatives (professional development and instructional resources for Home Base) in their schools and districts. Network teachers will remain in their current roles, but will also design and deliver individual projects that address needs at the classroom, school or LEA level. These projects will fit within one of two pathways:
- Pathway 1: Professional Development – Teachers will create professional development sessions and materials (face-to-face, webinars and online modules) to address classroom instructional needs and increase the number of PD offerings in the statewide Professional Development system in Home Base.
- Pathway 2: Instructional Resources – Teachers will create instructional sequences for Home Base that are aligned to the NC Standard Course of Study and that consist of unit plans, lesson plans that seamlessly integrate the formative assessment process in daily practice, at least one benchmark assessment/quiz and a final classroom summative assessment.
“The Governor’s Teacher Network is a fantastic opportunity for teacher leaders to offer their very best thinking and expertise to support their peers across the state,” said Gov. McCrory. “Their work will directly result in North Carolina teachers having access to more resources that will help them help students achieve at greater levels. Best of all, these resources will be designed for NC teachers, by NC teachers.”
“North Carolina is so fortunate to have many teachers who possess amazing ideas for accelerating excellence in the classroom. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience that needs to be tapped into so that our entire state school community can benefit from a richer and deeper pool of instructional and professional development resources,” said Superintendent Atkinson. “The Governor’s Teacher Network is the perfect avenue through which we can both celebrate our teachers and significantly boost the quality of resources with which we provide them, with the ultimate goal being more students graduating and prepared for college and careers.”
Network teachers will be selected through a rigorous application process, open to all teachers in the state. Those selected will receive specialized training related to their projects, and support from North Carolina Department of Public Instruction staff over the course of the year. They will be paid $10,000 for their work. This compensation is meant to attract outstanding teachers, to recognize their professionalism and hard work and to set high expectations for the quality and quantity of the products they will deliver.
Selection will be based on the following:
- Depth and quality of prior experience conducting work related to the selected pathway;
- Ability to provide resources for identified priority areas;
- Strength and quality of proposed scope of work plan submitted (for Professional Development Pathway); and
- Strength and quality of sample items submitted (for Instructional Resources).
Selection will also take the following into consideration:
- LEA size and geographic representation;
- Grade level and subject representation; and
- Priority Need Areas.
Teachers participating in the Network will work to gain a deeper understanding about the State’s RttT work for their selected pathway, and they will also be expected to apply the knowledge in their classrooms and to develop resources that support the work of their colleagues in understanding and accessing available RttT-funded resources and in integrating them into daily practice.
For more information and the application, please visit the Governor’s Teacher Network web page.
About the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction:
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction provides leadership to 115 local public school districts and 107 charter schools serving over 1.5 million students in kindergarten through high school graduation. The agency is responsible for all aspects of the state’s public school system and works under the direction of the North Carolina State Board of Education.