By Ernest H. Johnson, Ph.D. and Mattie Perry-Johnson, M.L.S

With the Christmas season upon us, if you are not aware of it by now, let us make it clear to you: We have a reading epidemic in America! Learning to read is a challenge for more than 40 percent of children.

Check out our Spring 2015 science and math seminar listings below. Visit our website for a complete listing of our professional development programs at www.nccat.org or for more information, contact Teacher Services at 828.293.5202 or email [email protected].

NCCAT covers lodging, meals and programming. Participants are responsible for travel cost and substitute teaching fees unless otherwise noted. Applicants must be employed full-time in North Carolina public schools.

Edutopia recently published this great reminder of the important work teachers do and how it makes a difference.

From Edutopia ...

We hope you have a very happy Holiday Season, and we've got some great ways to hit 2015 running with professional development with us in Cullowhee or Ocracoke or Online. NCCAT’s vision is to help North Carolina teachers grow in knowledge, skills, compassion, and professionalism so that every student becomes engaged, self-motivated, and successful. NCCAT helps to retain the most caring, highly qualified, and skilled teachers necessary to positively impact the quality of public education in North Carolina.

Virginia Spaventa was able to take information from the "Catching up with your students: Digital Learning" program directly back to Frank Morgan Elementary in Clemmons to help students and parents.

Click here for link to video of her describing what she did and how.

We have openings now to join these programs. Upcoming programs are ...

13852 in Ocracoke on January 20-23

13907 in Cullowhee on June 15-19

The 2013-14 North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching annual report has been released. NCCAT remains focused on impacting students, supporting teachers and responding to state initiatives. NCCAT served more teachers in 2013-14 than in 2012-13.

In 2013-2014, NCCAT served more than 100 school districts in North Carolina. In the center's history, NCCAT has served every county and district in the state of North Carolina.

Click here for a PDF of the annual report.

Here is some interesting news for history teachers looking for resources ...

"WASHINGTON — History can come alive in classrooms around the country under a new project that enables students to access a trove of old data that can help them discover their own places in the broad sweep of the American story.

The for-profit online family history company, Ancestry.com, has opened its collection of historical documents to schools for free, drawing on help from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to guide teachers in using them in their classrooms.