STATEWIDE A+ LEADERSHIP MEETING OCTOBER 13, 2016

A+ SCHOOLS OF NORTH CAROLINA MESSAGING AND MARKETING FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS! A+ SCHOOLS OF NORTH CAROLINA

WOW! NEW A+ PRINCIPALS! This school year, A+ welcomes 13 new Principals to returning A+ Schools, plus the 5 Principals from our new schools. Following up on the email from Jennifer, please make sure that you have updated your A+ Coordinator(s) for the 16-17 school year.

CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN TO Amanda Gordon 2016 GERRY D. HOWELL A+ EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR!! Congratulations, Amanda! Amanda is the art teacher at Diggs-Latham ES in Winston-Salem. She is our 5th A+ Educator of the Year.

BUSIEST SUMMER EVER! 31 SCHOOLS ALTOGETHER 5 NEW SCHOOLS 9 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SITES IN 3 STATES & SUPPORTED AR A+ OVER 1000 EDUCATORS THANKS TO OUR LEGISLATIVE FUNDING, A+ WAS ABLE TO PROVIDE FUNDING SUPPORT FOR 90% OF IN-STATE SCHOOLS THAT PARTICIPATED IN SUMMER PD. Statistics from A+ Summer Professional Development. Planning for dates and locations for summer 2017 is already in the works!

Designing A+: Engineering Your Creative A+ School SUMMER FOCUS Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. ~Samuel Beckett Designing A+: Engineering Your Creative A+ School ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS How are we designing creative learning at our school and how do the A+ Essentials blend with that work?   How does the design process help us to seek out the questions we want to answer about A+ implementation and create processes that support our vision? There was a strong focus on the design thinking process and on the benefits of failure during the summer conferences for returning schools. Most of our new schools stuck to our new school theme of “Cooking Up a Quality A+ School”! How do challenges help us to deepen our creative quality? Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it's really how it works. ~Steve Jobs

Video created by Marissa Mokaren from Mary McArthur A+ Elementary during the Black Mountain Summer Conference! Video created by Marissa Mokaren from Mary McArthur A+ Elementary during the Black Mountain Summer Conference!

Ongoing A+ Professional Development PLANNING FORWARD FOR CONTINUED A+ GROWTH & SUSTAINABILITY Ongoing A+ Professional Development Teacher Engagement Principal Leadership Highly-Engaged & Sustainable A+ School Research from OK A+ Schools has validated the three key components that lead to a highly engaged and sustainable A+ School. These are Principal Leadership, Teacher Engagement and Ongoing A+ PD. When these three areas are all strong, then the school is highly-engaged and sustainable. When of the components is reduced, the school may need additional support to regain their balance.

SCHOOL NEXT STEPS What needs to be done next to keep the A+ momentum going? What structures and resources need to put in place at the school/classroom level to support continued A+ implementation and growth? How are you evaluating your progress over the short and long term? What do you need to share with your students, parents and school community and how will you share it? What do you need next from A+? As part of the A+ Network, each school needs to be thinking about how they are doing, where they can grow and how A+ might help.

PROJECT BASED LEARNING WHAT INITIATIVES ARE YOU WITH A+ AT YOUR SCHOOL? LEADER IN ME STEM/STEAM PROJECT BASED LEARNING What initiatives are in place at your school? We are working to make sure that our A+ Fellows are well-versed in the various initiatives that our schools are participating in. This helps us to make sure that our PD is both relevant and connected to each school’s work and vision. DESIGN THINKING 1:1 OR BYOD

Legislative Funding for the A+ Schools Program!!! $232,711 for FY15-16 and $482,711 for FY16-17 $715,422! Thanks to our Legislature, we are able to fund ongoing A+PD for many of our schools. Stay connected to hear the other exciting things that we are planning.

With new funding comes new opportunities! More A+ Staff! A+ Liaisons Principal Advisory Team New Cohort of A+ Apprentice Fellows Free A+ PD (for those who haven’t taken advantage of it yet!) Thanks to our Legislature, we are able to fund ongoing A+PD for many of our schools. Stay connected to hear the other exciting things that we are planning.

WHAT CAN A+ OFFER YOU DURING THE 16-17 SCHOOL YEAR? A+ PD; WEBINARS; LEADERSHIP MEETINGS, NEW TEACHER TRAINING; CONNECTING SCHOOLS ACROSS THE NETWORK; SNAPSHOT OF LEARNING WALKTHROUGHS; STUDIO CLASSROOMS; COACHING AND LESSON DEVELOPMENT; PLC FACILITATION; PARTNER BUILDING; DISTRICT AND LOCAL ARTS COUNCIL CONNECTING; STRATEGIC PLANNING… HOW CAN WE HELP? Remember that in addition to Principal Leadership and Faculty Engagement and Buy-in, Ongoing Professional Development is the third key component that needs to be in balance in order to support and create a high-quality A+ School. Professional development comes in many different forms. How can we support your ongoing work and growth? CURRICULUM ~ ARTS ~ EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ENRICHED ASSESSMENT ~ COLLABORATION ~ CLIMATE MULTIPLE LEARNING PATHWAYS ~ INFRASTRUCTURE

WE HEARD YOU! CURRENTLY DEVELOPING A GRANTING PROCESS FOR ARTIST RESIDENCIES SUPPLIES THAT SUPPORT A+ PRACTICE MORE INFORMATION TO FOLLOW! Stay tuned for an exciting new opportunity! More information will come at the A+ Leadership Meeting.

SUMMER SHIFT FOR SUMMER 2017 Research from OK A+ Schools has validated the three key components that lead to a highly engaged and sustainable A+ School. These are Principal Leadership, Teacher Engagement and Ongoing A+ PD. When these three areas are all strong, then the school is highly-engaged and sustainable. When of the components is reduced, the school may need additional support to regain their balance.

A+ Liaisons! Stay tuned for an exciting new opportunity! More information will come at the A+ Leadership Meeting.

A+ E-NEWS!! To subscribe, contact Jennifer or find it on our website! Fall E-News will be coming out soon. Make sure you have subscribed to get your copy in your inbox. Contact Jennifer (Jennifer.huggins@ncdcr.gov) to subscribe. A+ E-NEWS!! To subscribe, contact Jennifer or find it on our website!

SUPPORTING OUR A+ FAMILY

MARK YOUR CALENDARS Quarterly A+ Webinars for 16-17 School Year December 1st, March 2nd, 2017 and May 4th, 2017 Always from 4-5pm Spring 2017 Regional A+ Leadership Meetings Locations TBD, 10am – 3pm March 21st, 2017– West/March 23rd, 2017– East Arts Day – March 28th, Raleigh

A+ TEAM IS WORKING HARD FOR YOU! Michelle Mazan Burrows A+ Program Director Jennifer Huggins A+ Program Coordinator Laura Walters A+ Program Administrator

Next Grants are Due March 1, 2017 A+ SCHOOLS RECEIVE NC ARTS COUNCIL GRANT FUNDING Congratulations are in order for nine A+ Schools who have been awarded grant funding totaling over $90,000. 2016-17 Arts Education Residency Grant Recipients: Aulander Elementary, Bertie County Schools Davenport A+, Caldwell County Schools Community Charter School, Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools Rochelle MS, Lenoir County Schools RJ Reynolds high School, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools ZECA School of Arts and Technology, Onlsow County Schools cARTwheels Grant Recipients: Cranberry Middle School – Dance That Moves/Michelle Pearson & Black Box Donna Lee Loflin ES (Randolph Arts Guild) - John Brown Little Big Band Mabel ES (Watauga County) - Hobey Ford Next Grants are Due March 1, 2017 Congratulations are in order for nine A+ Schools who have been awarded grant funding totaling over $90,000.  The award funds will bring artist residencies into the schools during the 16-17 school year and send students out to various performances and experiences through the cARTwheels programming!  Great job in your grant writing efforts!  North Carolina Arts Council grant applications are available each January and are due March 1st. The N.C. Arts Council’s Arts in Education program provides support to schools and nonprofit organizations to strengthen the use of the arts in pre K–12 settings. Priority is given to funding fees for professional artists to work in educational settings and collaborations between arts organizations and schools.