From the Chairman, Foundation President, and Executive Director
Created more than a quarter century ago, NCCAT has worked to ensure that public school educators in North Carolina benefit from professional development opportunities that make a difference in the classroom. This year, 2012–2013, was no exception. NCCAT offered seminars that responded to state education initiatives; supported literacy; increased digital learning; and gave teachers proven, practical strategies for dealing with the many challenges they face today.
In 2012–2013, NCCAT equipped teachers for the implementation of new standards mandated by the North Carolina State Board of Education. An ongoing series of NCCAT programs helped educators to fully comprehend and integrate the new standards into their lesson plans. We added to our already successful literacy programming with content focused on best practices and proven strategies for encouraging early grades literacy. We continued our support of digital learning by integrating online resources with all of our offerings. Teachers learned to use educational social networking sites (i.e., Edmodo) and online resources that give students access to newly-available primary resources, reference works, and video-based training from around the world. One notable example of opening new horizons for our teachers and their students was our “This World Beyond: Inquiry Learning and Teaching STEM Using NASA Resources” seminar. By acting in partnership with several other state and national organizations including NASA, this seminar gave the teachers of North Carolina ways to use real-time satellite data as a part of their classrooms. These teachers are looking forward to giving their students new skills and new ways of engaging with the world using state-of-the-art technology.
As part of our focus on digital learning, NCCAT partnered with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to develop the NCCAT Data Literacy Initiative. The initiative is designed as a scalable project, which will allow NCCAT to supervise the training of trainers for districts and schools. The initiative helps teachers understand and use data and assessment. With the pilot program and design phase completed, NCCAT is launching the project for wider use in the final quarter of 2013. Online, blended, and face-to-face versions of the data literacy curriculum will be available for use by North Carolina districts beginning in the spring of 2014.
As we move into 2013–2014, NCCAT plans to increase its accessibility through online offerings and through school, regional, and district trainings. Currently, NCCAT is working to create new online courses and webinars including offerings in early grades literacy, science and math instruction, use of coding as a learning tool, and a host of other compelling subjects. In order to serve the best interests of the children of our state, NCCAT continues to seek meaningful cooperation with school, district, governmental, non-profit, and corporate partners.
2013–2014 brings with it the possibility of new state education initiatives, new technologies for the classroom, and new opportunities for schools and educators throughout North Carolina. Teachers can count on NCCAT to continue to create and offer professional development programming that meets their needs, expands their skills, and produces tangible results. The state of North Carolina can be confident that NCCAT continues to adapt and respond in appropriate ways.
Greg E. West
Chair, Board of Trustees
Richard A. Schwartz
President, Development Foundation
Richard L. Thompson
Executive Director