WE ARE HERE FOR YOU!

On Tuesday, July 14th, we finally received the news that we had been waiting for all summer. Gov. Roy Cooper announced that North Carolina schools will open for both in-person and remote learning with key safety precautions to protect the health of our students, teachers, staff and families. As we now know, this is Plan B, with options to utilize Plan C when necessary. Cooper shared that, "Throughout this pandemic, the most important opening in our state has been that of our classroom doors, " and he also stated that, "In March, our teachers and school staff dove head first into the challenge of remote learning and meal distribution. They rose to the occasion, and now we’re asking them to rise even higher and dig even deeper. So we must move ahead with the resources needed to protect them." (Retrieved from https://twitter.com/NC_Governor)

The Reich College of Education and the Public School Partnership are here to support you as you prepare for the new school year. Through financial grant opportunities, instructional resources, incentive programs for teachers and students, individualized coaching for beginning teachers, aligned professional development, and targeted leadership support, we are here to provide tools you can use to find success at every turn in the road. Please do not hesitate to assert your needs-- and we will not hesitate to respond accordingly! We hope to truly be the "partners" in the Public School Partnership that you deserve!

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

Mark Your Calendars for IDEA-CON 2020!

The Reich College of Education is hosting a virtual conference on July 30th and 31st.  IDEA-CON is designed to provide educators with a flexible professional development program this summer.  

Sessions will be offered for educators of all levels, from beginning teachers to teacher educators, and will combine brief resource sharing, 30-minute idea discussions, panel conversations, and plenary speakers in both live and pre-recorded formats.  And best of all, this conference is FREE!  

Sessions will be available on July 30-31 but will remain open to participants for at least three months.  You can participate in professional development at your own pace.  Registration opened on June 15.  

Registration can be completed by going to this link. Click to register and complete the provided form.  You will receive an agenda, information for managing the online platform, and information related to renewal credits as we near the conference dates. 

IDEA-CON is co-hosted by the Mathematics and Science Education Center, the Office of Field Experiences, and the Public School Partnership.   For more information, visit https://msec.appstate.edu/IDEA-CON2020. 

Mark your calendars for July 30th and 31st and please share this information with all of your teachers and colleagues! We hope to see you at IDEA-CON! 

NBCTApps...Tapping the next teacher

leaders in the Appalachian family!

Are you interested in applying to be a National Board Certified Teacher in the coming year?  Or, are you renewing your National Board Certification this year and already feeling a bit overwhelmed?

Would you apply if you had a support group? A mentor? A small group of supportive colleagues in your certification area? Monthly professional development sessions aligned to your needs? 

If so, please consider registering for a FREE virtual year-long cohort of teacher leaders who are applying for National Board Certification just like you! Take advantage of the supports and resources offered below, provided for you by the Public School Partnership in the Appalachian State University Reich College of Education and the Northwest Regional Educational Service Alliance (NW RESA).

Our schedule of virtual offerings includes: 

• August 10, 2020 (1-4pm): An Intro to National Board Certification (Core Propositions/Content Area Standards/Meet your Mentor)

• 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 July 31, 2020 to take advantage of these great supports! You will be contacted with more information via email, upon completion of this form. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdSMFzpAGDFLE0YXpGkqR2p7ppampzOeXJU9MvkQY3jnDrq5g/viewform?usp=sf_link

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 include: Avery, Ashe, Alleghany, Alexander, Caldwell, Burke, Elkin City, Watauga, Wilkes, 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

Meet Karen Walker, our NC NTSP Coach! 

NC New Teacher Support is provided to teachers in their BT1, BT2, or BT3 years in districts who elect to use these services to provide ongoing induction support for their beginning teachers. These three-pronged services include: 1) Weekly classroom coaching visits, 2) Timely PD for BTs in the district, and 3) An all-expense paid comprehensive conference, specifically for the BTs in the program.

Our Appalachian State BT Coach is Karen Walker, NBCT. She will be working with beginning teachers in Ashe, Watauga, Elkin, Yadkin, Caldwell, and the Appalachian State University Academy at Middle Fork in the 2020-2021 school year. 

Karen Walker received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from App State. She met her husband of 25 years on App's campus. She loves to learn and work with new people.  She has certifications in AIG, Health Education, Drivers Education, English Language Arts, and Mathematics. She always pushes herself to be a better, more polished professional; therefore, she has renewed her NBCT status. She has spent 21 years in the field of education and loves it. She believes that there is no better or more meaningful job for her than to help children and teachers succeed. She has been recognized as Brunswick County’s Middle School Teacher of the year and as Brunswick County’s Teacher of the year.  UNC Chapel Hill recognized her as a Health Champion for integrating health issues into the math classroom. She has been voted Brunswick’s Best teacher five years in a row. She believes that she would not be where she is today if it had not been for the support of her family, Jason and her 3 generation Xers, that make life interesting and keep her up to date.  Her motto is: Make memories!

Here is a link to Karen's news story from Appalachian's Communication Department: https://rcoe.appstate.edu/news/karen-walker-%E2%80%9994-%E2%80%9998-named-rcoe-new-teacher-support-coach. 

Ask Betsy about how you can connect with Karen and receive her support for YOUR new teachers! 

Introducing PLCs:

Partnership Leaders Council! 

Useful Visuals for Pivoting Your Practice!

Find out more about these Arts Ed PLCs at: https://sites.google.com/dpi.nc.gov/artseducation

Relevant "Back to School" Resources!

• Three Distance Learning Equity Needs
• Viewing Teacher Candidates as Assets 
• The Socially Distanced School Day
• Special Report: How We Go Back to School
• Getting Kids to School
• Scheduling the Covid-19 School Year 
• Prepare Students for Future Careers: A Report
• Find Your Marigold: The One Essential Rule for New Teachers
• Instructional Leadership: Remote Edition 
• 100 Free Days of Math Professional Learning

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

*The decision to meet face to face or virtually will be determined closer to the date of  the meetings.   

Engaging Opportunities for YOU! 

 In light of the oppressive history against people of color, and particularly against Black people in our country, as well as the recent public demands for racial justice, Dean Melba Spooner shared a message to our college expressing the importance of our collective work to support a commitment to socially just practices and equity. She outlined the following commitments: 

1. acknowledging the problematic histories and practices that have perpetuated racial injustice; 
2. supporting educational opportunities for individuals and communities that are impacted by these legacies of racism; and 
3. lead in sharing our voices condemning systemic racial injustice. 

To uphold these commitments to the broader community, we have much work to do, and we see a Courageous Conversation Series as a first step. 

The RCOE Office of the Dean and the RCOE Inclusive Excellence Team present the Courageous Conversation Series to take place in the coming weeks. Please mark the following dates for the conversations this summer: July 22 and August 5, 2020. 

Learn more from the event release: https://rcoe.appstate.edu/news/courageous-conversations-series-hosted-reich-college-education. If you would like to participate, complete these forms:

for July 22 - https://forms.gle/WTQdkD1frCR5vfpA7

for August 5 -  https://forms.gle/Ttra5o42a4yzByme8

The Women in Educational Leadership Symposium is FREE this year! WIELS is a partnership between faculty members in the Leadership and Educational Studies Department at Appalachian State University and practicing educators. Their mandate is the development of an 'armoring process' that will equip women with pragmatic knowledge, skills, and dispositions that prepare them for success as educational leaders. For more information about the symposium see: https://wiels.appstate.edu/.

The 8th annual Appalachian Global Symposium will be held this fall in a virtual platform during the nationwide International Education Week . The Symposium highlights global activities engaged in by faculty, staff, and students. Symposium presenters will be discussing a variety of topics including science, technology, business, education, music and politics.

The Appalachian Global Symposium is an opportunity for faculty, staff, and students to share their global work on a professional platform while simultaneously contributing to global learning at Appalachian. For more information about this exciting event, see https://international.appstate.edu/get-involved/global-symposium.