Dr. Paula Pinkerton, formerly Director of Elementary and Intermediate Instruction in Buncombe County Schools and a veteran educator, has been named Chief Academic Officer at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT). In her new role, Pinkerton will be the administrative lead for the programming team for NCCAT, a nationally recognized leader in professional development. She will oversee NCCAT's programming faculty in designing and implementing offerings to provide the highest quality professional development for North Carolina public school educators in collaboration with faculty and staff.

North Carolina educators have several opportunities from November through January to attend the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT), a recognized national leader in professional development programming for teachers. Registration for these programs is open now. Applicants are encouraged to register as soon as possible to ensure a spot. Apply now!

In this session, participants will come to understand a framework of Project/Problem-Based Learning (PBL) through the “7 Gold Standards” of PBL. Educators will practice designing a PBL unit that will work to engage cultural knowledge through local context, as well as global perspective and competencies. This session is intended for any grade level and content area educators.

Beginning teachers can earn an NCCAT Beginning Teacher Badge by completing all 4 sessions in the series.  In this session participants will participate in Badge Days 1 and 2 of the series Oct. 30-31 in Cullowhee. North Carolina teachers will explore strategies for organization, time management, and consistent implementation of classroom procedures and routines.

NCCAT Online second quarter classes are open now. NCCAT Online courses are self-paced modules. Depending on the course, participants can earn 5 to 15 contact hours. We recommend educators check with their school district to verify acceptance of contact hours from the NCCAT Online courses towards CEUs. Educators can register for a maximum of two (2) courses per quarter. An email will be sent out for the courses you are placed in.

The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) Cullowhee Campus Building Project Committee will convene a meeting at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, at the NCCAT Cullowhee campus, located at 276 NCCAT Drive, Cullowhee, NC 28723. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the NCCAT Cullowhee Campus Building Project.

Coming to NCCAT in November - "Supporting the N.C. Portrait of a Graduate Competencies in the STEM Classroom." The North Carolina Portrait of a Graduate Initiative calls for students to not only acquire rigorous academic content, but also durable skills that will serve them as they enter the career or college of their choice. The Portrait of a Graduate Competencies include adaptability, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, empathy, learner’s mindset, and personal responsibility. Each of these skills are necessary components of high-quality STEM education! Participants in this seminar will experience the Portrait of a Graduate Competencies within the context of STEM and will walk away with tangible strategies that can be quickly implemented in the STEM classroom!