Advisory Update

We are delighted to share our June Advisory Council Newsletter filled with updates on our initiatives and programs! In this edition, you will find updates on student recognitions, district and school outreach, student achievements, and staff accomplishments.

Summer School starts on June 27, and as a reminder, the State Board of Education approved $1,350,000 in ESSER III funding for the NCVPS summer school program, making our online courses even more accessible to students across North Carolina. Please share with your stakeholder groups!

We cannot wait to see you at our July 11, 2023, Advisory Council meeting. Your guidance and expertise have been invaluable to us, and we are grateful for your continued support. Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter, and we look forward to your feedback and insights.

Mia

The NCVPS E-Learning Advisor award is given annually to someone who has shown exemplary support, innovation, and a dedicated commitment to students. Nominations came from districts and schools all across the state, as well as from our own NCVPS teachers and staff. The results came in and we are delighted to announce that Melissa Boswell is our deserving winner!

Melissa is the E-Learning Advisor for Davie County High School in Mocksville, NC, where she has been the E-Learning Advisor for 15 years. She demonstrates a high level of commitment to her students, and her innovative practices have served as a model for other schools and districts, contributing to the success of students taking NC Virtual courses. She is highly communicative and responsive and shows appreciation for NCVPS teachers, which is a testament to her professionalism and collaborative spirit.

Melissa stated: “The job would not be possible without the aid of the amazing Teacher Assistants that have worked with me. The one thing I have learned as an ELA is the importance of the relationships between students, teachers, and me. I love being an ELA. I help students learn to advocate for themselves. I teach them how to communicate properly with their teachers and to understand what teachers are looking for in their assignments. I love talking with students to discover their interests and help them find other classes they may enjoy taking, like Veterinary Science, Forensic Science or Photography. I have 4 wonderful adult children… Who have all taken NCVPS classes.”

Congratulations, Melissa, on this well-deserved award!

NCVPS continues to lead the nation in the highest number of courses certified by Quality Matters in K12. We have 85 courses certified with several courses up for recertification and several others submitted this spring. Stay up to date by viewing our list of QM courses on the NCVPS website.

16 credit recovery courses have been added to the NCVPS summer catalog. The following courses will be added to the registration system:

• CR NC Math 1-4
• CR Pre-Calculus Honors
• CR American History
• CR Founding Principles of the United States of America and North Carolina: Civic Literacy
• CR World History
• CR English 1-4
• CR Biology
• CR Earth/Environmental Science
• CR Physical Science
• CR Health and Physical Education

To view allotments, please consult the Summer 2023 Enrollments Covered by ESSER III Funds spreadsheet. Once you enroll students for the summer semester, you will see funds deducted from your 2023-2024 allotment totals. At the end of the summer session, those funds will be added back to your totals based on your allotted number of seats on the ESSER III-funded spreadsheet. Any summer enrollments exceeding ESSER III funds will count toward NCVPS allotment totals for 2023-2024. If you need funding in addition to your designated allotments, please fill out this survey. Credit recovery courses are being offered for 2023 summer term only.

If your school is registering students for summer, NCVPS needs your school's or district's summer contact information. This is an urgent need for summer school teachers. Please complete the Summer Contact Information form.

NCVPS was proud to host Indian educational delegates from the US Dept. of State's International Visitor Leadership Program on Friday, May 19. We enjoyed discussing how we design and implement professional development programs for NCVPS teachers. We look forward to future collaboration!

On April 26, 2023, the Japanese Department held its annual Japanese National Honor Society (JNHS) virtual induction ceremony. The NCVPS Chapter, which is the fourth largest in the nation, is sponsored by Revae Bostwick and inducted 69 new members at this ceremony. Special guests included Consul Mio Maeda, Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta, and Kumi Kobayashi, Co-Director of the Japanese National Honor Society. Bouchra Benzit was our student representative.

In order to be eligible for this honor, students must have completed Japanese 1 and 2 by March with a grade of 85% or higher and their overall GPA must be at least 3.0. Students were also required to produce a slide to promote Japanese language or culture to be shared with others to encourage more students to learn Japanese. To recognize their achievement, red and white graduation cords and digital certificates were provided by NCVPS. JNHS inductions began in 2019 and to date we have been able to honor 306 students with this award.

“Taking online courses significantly accelerated and improved my education. By taking courses in middle school, I was able to advance straight into AP courses upon entering high school. Online courses also taught me critical study skills, self-teaching methods, and time-management strategies that helped me mature and grow as a high school student.” Read more about Sara on our Super Students page.

Results are in and NCVPS teams brought home a win from the NC Ready, Set, App (RSA) Competition! RSA is a mobile app development competition for high school students sponsored by Lenovo and the North Carolina Business Committee for Education. Student groups were asked to develop a mobile app using a mobile app development platform (e.g., MIT App Inventor, App Lab, etc.) to solve a problem in their community or school. This year, the NC Virtual Coding Club had two teams enter the competition (Team 1 - TimeWise and Team 2 - EATS)! Over 60 teams entered the competition, 27 were selected, eight advanced to the final round, and four went home winners! Of those four were Team 1 and 2 of the NC Virtual Coding Club!

Team 1 won 1st place and received Lenovo Laptop Computers! Team 2 was the only team honored with the Research Innovation Award and received Lenovo Smart Clocks! Job well done to these students!!! If you see them in school, please give them two thumbs up! NCVPS Teacher and Instructional Leader Toni Hall serves as the club advisor. Find out about all our Student Life opportunities at https://ncvps.org/student-life/.

NCVPS staff attended the North Carolina School Public Relations Association (NCSPRA) Leadership Seminar at NCCAT - The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching. month. The event was held April 27 and 28 at the NCCAT Cullowhee campus in western North Carolina. Speakers included staff from NCEd and Western Carolina University.

NCVPS Staff attended, presented, and were vendors at the 2023 THRIVE National Homeschool Conference held May 25th through 27th in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The event features keynote speakers, a vendor hall, student activities, a college fair and regional gatherings for North Carolina homeschool families.

NCVPS Staff attended and were vendors at the 2023 Animazement conference in Raleigh May 26-28. Animazement is Raleigh's premiere Japanese animation and culture convention. The event featured concerts, educational panels, and unique artwork.

NCVPS sent out 700 cards and superpower stickers to express our gratefulness for our amazing teachers in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week May 8-12. The custom card featured a printed sentiment: "While the outside world has gotten unexpected, your tenacity and professionalism never waivers. The little things you do each day for students may not be seen by others, but you definitely make a difference in their lives. You truly are a superhero! We appreciate you!" Enclosed in the card was a custom vinyl superpower sticker!

We will offer 8 Digital Transition webinars during the summer from June 27th to August 1st.

• June 27, 5:00 PM - Instructional Practices for Teaching Reading in a Digital Age
• June 28,1:00 PM - Problem-Solving with Empathy, Kindness, and Support
• July 6, 1:00 PM - Classroom Management/SEL Part 1: You and The Classroom
• July 11, 5:00 PM - Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning
• July 12, 3:00 PM - Classroom Management/SEL Part 2: The Students and Guiding Behavior
• July 13, 1:00 PM - Tips for First-Year Teachers
• July 18, 4:00 PM - Building in Discourse Opportunities: Content-Specific Ideas from English, Math, Science, and History
• August 1, 5:00 PM - Engaging Tech Tools for Every Content: Content-Specific Ideas
  
  

Visit our Digital Transitions website for registration links.

Rob Leichner, our NCVPS teacher of the year, shares his commitment to educational equity and ensuring all students have the opportunity to succeed. He emphasizes the importance of moving beyond rote memorization in preparing for exams like the EOG and EOC. Instead, he encourages students to think critically, make connections, and understand how standards apply to problem-solving. Strategies such as allowing students to describe their problem-solving methods and using mathematical language routines (MLRs) to promote discourse and deep understanding are highlighted. He concludes by affirming that all students are math people, and given the opportunity, they will demonstrate their abilities. He expresses gratitude for the dedication of teachers and wishes everyone a fantastic end to the school year. Thanks, Rob!