1. A+ WELCOMES 5 NEW SCHOOLS!! Global Scholars Academy, Meadow View ES,
Durham County
Meadow View ES,
Onslow County
A+ WELCOMES
5 NEW SCHOOLS!!
Artspace Charter,
Buncombe County
Chadbourn ES,
Columbus County
This summer, the A+ Schools Program welcomed 5 new A+ Schools from across the state. These schools range from urban to rural, large to small and from the far west to the far east in location. All schools participated in A+ new school professional development this summer and will continue a three year process of engaging with the A+ Network.
Sheep-Harney ES,
Pasquotank
County

2. WELCOME!! New A+ Principals Rickey Eley, Windsor Elementary
Cory Hogans, Little River Elementary
Malorie McGinnis, Black Mountain Primary
Lisa Parker, Aulander Elementary
Cindy Talbert, Snipes Elementary
Blaire Traywick, Benton Heights Elementary
Cheryl Wilson, Oaks Road Elementary
Andrea Adams, Sheep-Harney Elementary
Agatha Brown, Global Scholars Academy
Vickie Brown, Meadow View Elementary
Lori Cozzi, Artspace Charter
Deanna Shuman, Chadbourn Elementary
This school year, A+ welcomes 7 new Principals to returning A+ Schools, plus the 5 Principals from our new schools.

3. SUMMER STATS 5 NEW SCHOOLS AND 18 RETURNING SCHOOLS 16 SITES
OVER 800 EDUCATORS
75% RECEIVED SOME FUNDING FROM A+ IN
ORDER TO ATTEND
VARIED FROM 1 DAY – 5 DAYS
Statistics from A+ Summer Professional Development. Next summer, we plan to bring schools together to increase the school-to-school networking.

4. SUMMER FOCUS UNDERSTANDING THE NEW COMMON CORE AND ESSENTIAL STANDARDS
CONNECTING ARTS STANDARDS TO NON-
ARTS STANDARDS
DEEPENING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
CONNECTING WITH REVISED BLOOMS AND
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
REFLECTING ON COLLABORATIVE PROCESSES
There were several content areas in which the A+ Fellows (A+ training faculty) focused their efforts this summer. All of this was with direct support from DPI to assure our alignment with the new state standards.

5. CURRENT NETWORK STATS
40 active schools, five of which entered the network in summer 2012
11 schools that have closed or have moved to Alumni status 
16,614 students and 1,223 teachers
All 8 regions of the state
33 Local Education Agencies (LEAs), including 5 charter schools and 28 public school systems
26 counties

6. The majority of active A+ Schools (97%) are eligible for Title I Assistance; Higher than the North Carolina average of 82%
The majority of students enrolled in active A+ Schools (66%) are eligible for Title I Assistance; Higher than the North Carolina average of 52%
A+ Schools serve a higher percentage of minority children (58%) than the North Carolina average of 47%
The majority of active A+ schools (77%) met or exceeded their growth goals in
All of the active A+ schools offer Arts Education in at least one discipline with the majority (68%) offering Arts Education in three or four of the arts disciplines, higher than the typical school offering of two arts disciplines.

7. Cultivation and Strategic Partnerships
A+ Focus
Cultivation and Strategic Partnerships
School self-assessment, goal setting and planning
Continued support with CC&ES connections: whole staff
PD, demo teaching, one-on-one coaching and lesson
analysis
Re-connecting with less engaged schools; Increased
networking across all schools
Exploring NC Teacher Evaluation Tool, Schools and
Classroom Expectations and A+ Walk-throughs
Supporting development of partnerships
Data collection and analysis
For the school year, we have identified several area that we will be focusing our work with schools.

8. SCHOOL TASKS CONNECT/RE-CONNECT WITH YOUR LOCAL ARTS COUNCIL
MAKE SURE YOUR CENTRAL OFFICE KNOWS WHAT A+ IS AND THAT YOU ARE AN A+ SCHOOL
CHECK YOUR WEBSITE – A+ LOGO AND LINK? A+ HISTORY AT YOUR SCHOOL? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AN A+ SCHOOL?
As part of the A+ Network, schools commit to several things, including promoting the Program to their local community. These tasks for all A+ Schools will help each A+ Community to better understand what it means to have an A+ School in their area.

9. A+ IN THE NEWS
Principal Magazine – Champion Creatively Active Children Insert
Columbus County Hosts A+ Discussion Forum
Budding Partnerships with Crayola; P21; VIF International Education; SECCA; The Phillips Collection; NC Wolftrap
NC Education Summit
New Engines of Growth
The A+ Schools Program continues to garner recognition and interest across the nation.

10. GRANTS ARE COMING NC Arts Council Residency Grants DUE March 1st, 2013
Crayola Champion Creatively Alive Children Grants - December 3rd, 2012
Power2Give is coming!

11. https://twitter.com/AplusSchoolsNC
A+ WEBSITE & FACEBOOK
and
TWITTER
177 Facebook Followers as of 9/6. Let’s make it to 200! Like us on Facebook!

13. FROM THE ARTS COMMISSION REPORT
The Commission recognizes that the nationally recognized, research-based A+ Schools Program serves as a model for whole-school reform with arts instruction central to student learning and integrated throughout the curriculum, and that A+ teachers should be used as resources and consultants within schools and across local administrative units (LEAs).

14. FROM THE US DEPT OF EDUCATION
 “The arts, perhaps more than any other subject, prepare young people with creativity and innovative thinking.”
Arne Duncan

15. DPI SUPPORT FOR A+ Christie Lynch Ebert
Arts Education Consultant and A+ Liaison
Brenda Wheat Whiteman
A+ Arts Education Specialist
NC Department of Public Instruction
Division of K-12 Curriculum and Instruction
K-12 Programs Section
Arts Education

16. Michelle Burrows | Director
A+ Schools Program
tel: