2010-2011 AT&T NC Teacher of the Year Team

From Left to Right: Vann Lassiter (Northeast Region) • RenĂ© Herrick (North Central Region) • Courtney Davis (Piedmont-Triad/Central Region) • Amber Alford Watkins (Sandhills/South Central Region) • Joy Jenkins (Northwest Region) • Dorothy Case (West Region) • Jennifer Facciolini (Southeast Region) • David Dahari (Southwest Region) • Stuart Miles (Charter Schools) For more information on any team member or on the AT&T North Carolina Teacher of the Year Program, please click the photograph below.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Week of November 22


Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

For many of us, this has been a "short" work week! I hope each of you had a wonderful and relaxing time with your family and friends over Thanksgiving.

On Monday evening, I enjoyed speaking with the NC State Teaching Fellows! This was one of the largest Teaching Fellows groups I had the opportunity to meet with so far! Mr. Michael Clinkscales does an excellent job with this group of future teachers. After a great seminar and some wonderful questions by the group, we had a very yummy dinner. Mr. Clinkscales and I sat with some freshman Fellows and they were very impressive!

There are so many negative stories that exist about education. I sincerely think that we are not looking at the big picture however. Yes, we have some issues, but what profession does not? For those who only focus on the negative in education, I invite you to travel with me anytime this year. I have encountered some amazing teachers and some very promising future teachers. It is a great time in education! If you don't believe me, come see for yourself!

Everyone knows how much I have missed the classroom this year and on Tuesday, I spent the morning at Midway HIgh School observing some teachers. It was great to be back in a classroom setting and to see some great teachers in action!

We all know that Thanksgiving marks the beginning of Holiday madness. Remember to slow down and enjoy the beauty around you! Be sure to leave the chaos at the mall and enjoy a relaxing time at home with friends and family!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Week of November 15



On The Road Again could be my theme song over the past few weeks. I put over 1000 miles on the car in three days! Whew!

On Monday, I visited Appalachian State University in Boone. The Teaching Fellows group here was great! I loved the energy, excitement, and knowledge they had....even for a chilly, rainy Monday night. They asked great questions and were very engaged during our seminar. Thanks for having me attend guys! You will be such an impressive group when you graduate! Keep up the good work! A few ladies stayed after and talked about the difficult week they just had. Hang in there ladies. It does get better and all of your hard work will pay off when you are in your own classroom!

On Tuesday, I drove back home to Sampson County to speak to our Chamber of Commerce Adult Leadership group. This is a group of local business folks and educators who spend the year learning about our schools and local businesses and how we can work together for our future!

On Tuesday evening I traveled to Raleigh for our weekly NC EPFP meeting. This week our speaker was John Dornan, Executive Director of the NC Public Schools Forum. As I have stated before, I could listen to him speak all day! He is so knowledgeable and his passion for education is truly inspiring.

On Wednesday I traveled to Murfreesboro to spend the morning at Chowan University. It was a day to celebrate teaching and four local high schools had Teacher Cadet classes attend. The college students working on the program were truly dedicated, professional, and very energetic. I enjoyed spending the morning with these students! The Northeast and Southeast parts of NC often struggle with the recruitment of teachers. Having days like this day at Chowan will hopefully help as areas like this continue to grown their own future teachers. I had a great time with this group!

I spent Thursday and Friday in the office filing papers and working on future presentations! What a great week!

Friday, November 19, 2010

And the results are.....

Today is the day that all National Boards candidates have been anxiously awaiting. The scores have been tallied and the results are in. Tears of joy and tears of disappointment fill the eyes of teachers around school. Good Luck to all of the candidates throughout NC! But remember, your most important evaluators are the students in your room everyday! Don't give up if you were not successful this year. Cry, reflect, and move forward! You do have what it takes and you can become a NBCT!

If I can help any of you in any way, please email me! Look for NBPTS workshops in your area! Embrace this opportunity for further reflection and move forward!

To those who are now NBCT, congratulations! Continue to be the amazing teachers you already are! Now, go celebrate!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Week of November 8


On Monday, I had the opportunity to travel back to Wilmington to visit the Teaching Fellows at UNCW. I arrived early to have dinner with the director, Amy Rottmann, and two outstanding students, Taylor Lee and Jeren Hernand. We had a wonderful dinner and great converstation! I was very impressed by the leadership shown by these future teachers!

Our weekly NC EPFP meeting was held on Tuesday. Although I am always excited to attend our EPFP meetings, I was especially excited to hear Judge Howard Manning, Jr. this week. You can say his name....and the controversy begins. He has many strong supporters and many who question his presentation. Personally, I have to say that I agree with his overall point. Though his presentations are often colorful, he has a great point...our students deserve great teachers who are knowledgeable and caring. Often people get the idea that he is all about the negative, but I have to disagree. For every school where he talked about the need for improvement, he shared about schools that had overcome obstacles and had shown tremendous growth. Regardless of how we may feel about his word choices, at the of the day, I don't feel that any of us will disagree with his overall message.

On Wednesday, I spent the afternoon at Midway High School for our half-day staff development. I really enjoyed the opporunity to spend time with my school friends. I truly miss them so much! The CTE department provided lunch for all of us and it was delicious! Thanks for letting me spend the afternoon with you all!

My family and I spent Veteran's Day at home enjoying time with family and close friends. We took the time to reflect on Veteran's Day.

On Friday I traveled to Asheville to visit with the Teaching Fellows of UNC-A. We had a great time! Dinner was fabulous and the conversations were great! What dedication of these Teaching Fellows to attend professional development on a Friday night! There were some really amazing future teachers there! Every time I meet with a group of future teachers, I get so excited about the energy and passion this group will bring to the profession!

I drove as long as I could and crashed in Burlington for a few hours. Up early, I drove to Wilmington on Saturday morning to meet with teachers in the Teaching American History grant. (Yes, my scheduling abilities leave something to be desired!) This is a group of teachers from New Hanover, Pender, and Brunswick Counties who spend a great amount of time studying American History in order to increase their own personal knowledge and implement new strategies for teaching parts of the NCSCOS. This was a great group of energetic, dedicated teachers. We spent the afternoon looking at ways to teach Reconstruction and its impact in the US. I can hardly wait until March when I get the opportunity to work with this group again!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Week of November 1

I spent Monday in "recovery" from the travels over the past week and spent some quality time with my family. Tuesday was Election Day! Regardless of your political preferences, Election Day is always exciting! Yes, I voted and I hope you did the same!

Wednesday and Thursday I attended the November SBE meeting. The agenda was full and both days provided great insight. One of the most interesting points for me personally was the opportunity to learn more about the new Social Studies course changes. I absolutely love the new curriculum. Thanks so much to Dr. Garland and Angela Quick for their leadership in bringing these changes to Social Studies in North Carolina. When the first draft of the new standards were released, the general public was not so excited and much talk of what was "left out" occurred! The NC Department of Public Instruction really worked with teachers and the general public to create the new proposals and I think most of us are really excited about the changes! Thank you to the many teachers and community members who worked with Dr. Garland and her team to create these new standards!
As a reminder, all highlights from the SBE meetings can be found on the NC SBE website. I link to the highlights page is located on the right of this page.

On Friday I was excited to attend my first Governor's Education Transformation Commission meeting. This was my first appointment by the Governor and I am very excited to have the opportunity to meet and work with so many knowledgeable and well-respected folks in education. We listened to presentations about breakdown of Race to the Top and the College and Career: Ready, Set, Go! initiative. It was a very informative meeting. This group will meet the first Thursday of each month. The meetings will alternate between whole group meetings on one month and subcommittee meetings the other month. For more information, please visit www.ncpublicschools.org/rttt

Thursday, November 4, 2010

The brain can only absorb ....

what the behind can endure! I cannot believe that I have taught for twelve years and have never heard this before. Okay, to be honest I heard it with a different set of words....so I took the opportunity to make it more family friendly:) Either way you say it, how true! I can't tell you how many times I am at a meeting, workshop,etc with a group of adults who are constantly texting, emailing, writing grocery lists or to-do lists during a presentation or meeting. We all justify it saying " I don't really need this part." " I have too much to do." " I am bored!" Essentially, we become our students and begin to disengage after a certain point of sitting and listening. Regardless of our ages or job descriptions, we all begin to "tune out" after about 15 or 20 minutes. We are approaching a difficult time of year in the classroom. When you add the time of year to the other challenges such as class size that classroom teachers are facing, it is enough to make us all pull our hair out! So hang in there and remember that all of us need movement and to be engaged! Keep your classroom full of activities that reach all your learners and remember ... the brain can only absorb what the behind can endure! Please share your strategies for stations, centers, so forth! Teachers are always looking for new, creative ways to engage students. Enjoy the week and hang in there! Thanksgiving Break is just around the corner!

I get to have breakfast where?


This morning the State Board of Education and its advisors had the opportunity to have breakfast with Governor Bev Purdue and her husband Mr. Bob Eaves at the Executive Mansion. What a treat! I have not been to the Executive Mansion in years and I have certainly never eaten breakfast with the Governor. The food was delicious, the china was exquisite and the conversation was informative. Thank you to Governor Purdue and Mr. Eaves for hosting us this morning. It was truly a memorable morning!


photo: Jan King (2010-2011 Principal of the Year), Governor Purdue, and myself at the Executive Mansion.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

NCCAT Golden Apple Gala



There are not words to describe how amazing this evening was! I was so honored to attend the NCCAT Golden Apple Gala celebrating 25 years of NCCAT and honoring former Governor Jim Hunt. The event was held at the beautiful Grove Park Inn in Asheville during a truly splendid time of year. There were so many guests in attendance because we all know the value that the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching has on effective teaching. I would be remiss if I did not take a minute to inform those of you who may still be thinking...what in the world is NCCAT?

The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching was a vision of Jean Powell, former NC Teacher of the Year from Clinton, who felt strongly about the need for teachers to have a place to grow professionally while escaping the daily grind of the classroom (at least briefly!). Governor Hunt listened and began working on developing such a place. NCCAT was born and continues to be a place to support beginning teachers and develop leadership qualities in veteran teachers. NCCAT works diligent to ensure that educators in our profession have the adequate support needed to be effective facilitators of instruction in our classrooms and throughout our schools.

During the Gala, Trisha Muse spoke about how NCCAT saved her as a first year teacher. She talked about he continued support and guidance she received and the impact of her NCCAT experience on her career as a classroom teacher and teacher leader. I also had the opportunity to speak and I talked about the important role NCCAT played in developing my own leadership skills and the impact this had and continues to have on my role as an educator. Thank you does not seem adequate for all that NCCAT provides for teachers across this state.
Then, the man of hour was honored. Governor Hunt spoke about the important role of education and quality teachers in our state today. He challenged each of us to do our part to improve education. It was such an honor to meet Governor Hunt and his lovely wife Carolyn.

Following the celebration of Governor Hunt, the silent auction items began to go quickly. Then the famous Teddy Bear Blitz began. Wow - how exciting! NCCAT has 100 teddy bears for sale in pretty boxes. There are only 100 and they go quickly. One of the bears is wearing a bracelet and the owner of that bear wins a beautiful diamond bracelet donated by Diamonds Direct of Crabtree. I enjoyed watching auction numbers waving in the air and the growing anticipation of the grand opening of the boxes. Mr. Ed Tucker, a member of the NCCAT Board of Directors, was so kind as to purchase a bear for me. This was very kind and much to my surprise and delight, my bear was wearing a bracelet! Wow! It took a moment for it to sink in....oh my goodness I just won a beautiful diamond bracelet! Thank you so much to Mr. Ed Tucker for purchasing the NCCAT bear for me and thank you to Diamonds Direct! The bracelet was absolutely stunning! It was the perfect way to end the evening. What an unforgettable, amazing, night!

For more information on NCCAT or giving to NCCAT please visit www.nccat.org

Top Photo: Kendall Jordan (NC Public Schools Forum), myself, and Jessica Garner (2009-2010 NC TOY) pose for a photo.

Bottom Photo: My husband and I just loved this view from the Grove Park. It is rare that we get this dressed up so we had a photo taken as proof!

Week of October 25



What a whirlwind week! I have put so many miles on the car this week! Fortunately my travels were in the western part of NC during a beautiful time of the year. My week started in Raleigh at an NC Public Schools Forum Study Group meeting during the day. We heard more interesting information on quality teacher retention and the impact of effective school leadership. Once I left Raleigh I traveled to Campbell University to speak with a great group of Teaching Fellows. I am always impressed by the professionalism and energy of Teaching Fellows across our state. I enjoyed talking with this group and I am really looking forward to the great work these future teachers will do in this area of the state. Good Luck guys!

On Tuesday our NC EPFP group met at the Cardinal Club (Yes, it was such a gorgeous view!) THe 2009-2010 class of fellows graduated and we enjoyed a great dinner, a wonderful and very entertaining speaker, and a great opportunity to network. I am so glad that Brandon Patterson, Assistant Director of Teacher Recruitment and Development at NCDPI and Stuart Daughtery, my principal, were able to join me for the evening. In addition to the fabulous meal and humorous speaker, Marty Blank, president for the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) awarded the Public School Forum’s executive director, John Dornan with IEL’s National Leadership Award. After dinner I began my week-long travels toward the Western part of the state.

On Wednesday morning I had the opportunity to visit Jessica Garner's school and talk with her Teacher Cadet class (top photo). Cuthbertson High School had amazing technology, amazing teachers and a remarkable principal leading the way. The Teacher Cadet students were so energetic for a first period and I had so much fun! I enjoyed watching a couple of students present videos of their instruction. There are certainly some very capable future teachers in Mrs. Garner's class. Thanks for letting me visit with you all.

On Thursday morning I visited the campus of UNC Charlotte for a Celebration of Teaching Day. There were so many great folks in the audience. There were numerous Teacher Cadets from local high schools, Teaching Fellows from UNCC, and students interested in teaching. I was very impressed by the questions asked by both the high school and college students. At break I talked to a couple of young ladies who were going to student teach next semester. Their energy and passion was truly inspiring. I have no doubt they will be amazing classroom teachers! Good luck with your student teaching ladies!
After leaving UNCC I drove through some beautiful towns in the western part of the state as I drove toward Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. I thought I would never get there because I kept finding myself wanting to pull off of the road to take pictures! When I arrived at WCU (a gorgeous campus) I was met my some very well dressed young professionals. Although I was not sure exactly where I was going, I felt that they screamed "Teaching Fellows" so I followed them. I was correct! I had the opportunity to meet some really amazing people like Dr. Jackie Smith, director of Teaching Fellows at WCU, as well as the Dean of the School of Education and the director of Teacher Recruitment. The seminar was so much fun and this group had a ton of energy and enthusiasm for 5:00pm on a Thursday! I am glad I had the opportunity to meet some of you individually after the seminar. Keep your passion and I know you will be world famous teachers soon! Thanks for having me and I am already looking forward to my return visit to campus in February!

On Friday morning I visited a dear college friend, Rebecca Huffstetler, who is now an AP at Hunter Huss High School in Gaston County. This school was truly a family. You could tell from the minute you walked through the doors that this school took pride in its students, faculty and staff. The staff works well together and has fun in the process. A very intelligent and energetic young man, D'Andre, took me on a campus tour. He is one of those students who hope you get the opportunity to teach during your career! D'Andre, I wish you the best of luck after graduation and I have no doubt I will hear grand things about you in the future! Thanks for having me visit Hunter Huss. I would love to come back soon! Rebecca you are such a true, natural leader. I knew it from our first Teaching Fellows meeting at Meredith! You are truly amazing and I am proud to call you my friend and colleague. Rebecca, myself and D'Andre took a moment to pose for a quick photo at the end of my tour (see bottom photo above.)