Top 5 Benefits of Game-Based Assessment for SEL

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1 The Voice for Educators SPRING/SUMMER 2016 Professional Educators of North Carolina Newsletter Top 5 Benefits of Game-Based Assessment for SEL by Melissa DeRosier, PhD, 3C Institute There s an increasing push in schools to use technology to better assess children s knowledge and progress in a number of domains. Educators are beginning to recognize the value of games in this area, particularly for social and emotional learning (SEL). Here are the top five benefits of game-based assessment for SEL. Games provide unique opportunities for social interaction. It may seem counterintuitive to use games to teach social and emotional skills, but an online game provides a safe space for children to explore different behavior choices. As children interact with characters in common social situations, they re able to learn and practice skills such as empathy and emotion regulation before trying them out in real life. The tide of professional opinion is turning from viewing digital games as a distraction in the classroom to an understanding that gameplay through virtual or simulated environments can be a great motivator and a valuable part of learning and development. Games are well suited for assessment of SEL and 21st-century skills. There s a growing emphasis in education on SEL and 21st-century skills development, along with the recognition that it s not just WHAT children know but what they DO with that knowledge. Children need to be able to collaborate and communicate with others, integrate and evaluate information, appropriately and effectively use digital technology, and solve real-world problems. Dynamic assessment of these high-level skills is difficult with traditional methods but a natural fit for game-based assessment, which gives children the opportunity to demonstrate what they know in authentic environments. HIGHLIGHTS IN THIS ISSUE Vice President s Message...Page 4 Scholarship & Grant Winners...Page 8 Props...Page 10

2 Games can take advantage of adaptive assessment. Evidence-based online game Zoo U assesses and improves children s social and emotional learning skills. Games are ideal vehicles for formative assessment. Formative assessment (assessment while learning is ongoing) helps educators and counselors to adjust, inform and plan instruction. When we know where children are having difficulty, we can intervene and provide more focused attention to problem areas. If a particular lesson or instructional method isn t working for a child, we can present it differently, adjust the difficulty of a task or provide more opportunities for practice. Conversely, if we see that a child has mastered a concept, we can offer new or more advanced challenges. Using this adaptive strategy improves children s achievement. Games provide unique opportunities for stealth assessment. When children are aware they re being assessed, they may behave differently than they would in typical circumstances. For example, if a child struggling with impulse control knows she s being evaluated, she will likely demonstrate greater control over her behavior than what teachers see on a day-to-day basis. If that same child is playing a game in which cognitive, social or physical impulse triggers are an invisible part of the gameplay, she s more likely to show her true behavior pattern. Assessment embedded in gameplay is called stealth assessment. By integrating assessment directly into the game environment, we eliminate observer effects and test anxiety, and ultimately get a more accurate result. The technology used in computerized adaptive assessments tailors instruction to each student, adjusting the level of difficulty based on the child s responses. An assessment that s too easy will not provide good information on the high performers; one that s too difficult won t tell you much about the low performers; and one that s calibrated to the average child will miss important information about both the high and low performers. Similarly, a game that s too easy or too challenging will quickly lose the child s engagement. To address these challenges, games can incorporate adaptive assessment to meet the needs of individual children. Social and emotional learning games can offer not only a powerful teaching tool, but also an effective option for assessment. Engaging and informative for both students and educators, digital games that improve health and wellbeing are among the best uses of technology in the classroom. About the Author Melissa DeRosier, PhD, is the CEO and founder of 3C Institute and the CSO of Personalized Learning Games. For the past 20 years, Dr. DeRosier has worked with school systems across the country to develop, test and implement evidence-based programs for children s social and emotional health. She has authored several rigorously researched intervention curricula that are currently used by schools and clinics with thousands of children across the United States and abroad. To learn more about SEL and game-based assessment, visit and www. personalizedlearninggames.com. 2 The Voice Newsletter - Spring 2016

3 Two New and Exciting Opportunities for PENC Members! by Carol Vandenbergh, Executive Director Capturing the Talent, Heart and Minds of our Teachers So much talent abounds in the ranks of our membership at PENC! We are excited to be able to offer an opportunity for our members to share their talent, skills and knowledge, and to be recognized as leaders and innovators. Our goal is to build a network of resources and development opportunities for educators by educators. Not only will members be able to share their best practices and ideas, but they will also have the opportunity to learn and grow from their peers by taking courses created by their fellow educators. These opportunities will be accessible any time, any day and anywhere! Personalized, relevant, meaningful online professional development is the key to development of competent and confident educators; and, empowering teachers with resources to improve their skills and knowledge is a critical part of PENC s core business. As you look for opportunities to fulfill your CEU credits for your license renewal, we hope that PENC will become a resource you will help to build and share with others! The platform we will use to create your online offering is a robust program which allows you to upload documents, slides, photos and other media. You can complement any of your uploads by creating an audio or video file right from the comfort of your own home. We are excited to be able to fulfill our mission and live our vision of improving the learning environment for every educator and student. Remember - Contributing to education and learning outside the boundaries of your classroom and school community to reach educators across the state will allow your administrator to see you as an Accomplished or Distinguished educator! Be on the lookout for information in your renewal envelope asking for your engagement: We want YOU to be a content provider! Do you have a special skill? Do you have a best practice? We want to know! Your fellow educators want to know! We are excited to be able to highlight our members and help them grow, learn and excel as educators! Even More Reasons to Belong We are pleased to announce a partnership with Association Member Benefits Advisors (AMBA) to provide new benefits for you! AMBA will supplement many of our most valuable benefits like our theme park tickets to provide a well-rounded, comprehensive benefits package just for you! AMBA is dedicated to assisting PENC grow its membership and fulfill all of your benefits needs. Some of the new benefits that will be made available to you include; Long-term care/home health care Cancer insurance Emergency air and ground ambulance plans Medicare supplement plans Life insurance Merchant discounts (ie: Apple and Dell computers, travel packages, restaurants, hotels and much more) Your PENC membership just gained a tremendous amount of value with the additional benefits you will have access to. We are excited for this opportunity to make these highly sought after benefits available to our members. AMBA currently serves the needs of active educators, retired educators and public and state employees. They are endorsed exclusively in over half of the United States and are dedicated to providing the best-in-class benefits to association members. Stay tuned for more information from AMBA regarding your new member benefits very soon! Professional Educators of North Carolina - 3

4 VICE PRESIDENT S As both a teacher and a department head, the welfare of my fellow teachers is always very high on my priority list. Therefore, the following statement by an official in the UNC system upset me greatly: We believe the poor treatment of teachers on a host of issues over the last few years, whether it s pay or classroom resources, has contributed to the decline of our teacher prep programs and our teacher turnover. Pay matters. Indeed, in February, a UNC system official told members of the State Board of Education that, since 2010, enrollment in bachelor s and master s education programs system-wide had plummeted 30 percent, and that some of the reasons probably have to do with the fact that the Teacher Cadet program was eliminated and the low level the state now occupies nationally in teacher pay. In a recent study regarding the Southeast average teacher pay ranking, here is how the bottom four in the Southeast ranked: Rank State Average Salary 7 TN $48,503 8 AR $48,017 9 LA $47, NC $47,783 In fact, after inflation, NC teacher pay has dropped 13 percent in the past 15 years as cited in a study done by WRAL s Kelly Hinchcliffe and Clay Johnson. When adjusted for inflation, North Carolina s average teacher salary has dropped more than 13 percent since 1999, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The U.S. average teacher salary has dropped 1.8 percent in that same time frame. For a state that is now in the top ten in total population that is absolutely inexcusable and must be addressed. You can read more at com/after-inflation-nc-teacher-payhas-dropped-13-in-past-15-years/ /#2zG1RJMRgqM21o4s.99 On April 27th Governor McCrory has stated his case and offered a snapshot of his upcoming education budget proposal to the legislature, calling for a 5 percent average pay increase for North Carolina teachers as well as onetime, $5,000 bonuses for some of the state s most experienced educators. The proposal, which offered no firm details on the structure of the pay raises or how it would be funded, was met with little response from GOP budget leaders in the N.C. General Assembly, but poor reviews from education advocates and Democrats began rolling in shortly after McCrory s announcement. Yet, 4 The Voice Newsletter - Spring 2016

5 McCrory s proposal has been met with a lukewarm reception from the state s education leaders thus far. Rep. State Board of Education Chairman Bill Cobey, a McCrory appointee, has told legislative leaders that he was encouraged by the governor s statements: We know we probably can t be number one in the southeast overnight, Cobey said. But without a target we ll never get there. My position all along has been let s be competitive in our neighborhood. We have a vast country, but when we focus on average teacher pay, let s focus on our region. However, House Speaker Tim Moore said while he would like to give teachers raises this year, rejected a proposal for a 10 percent increase, calling it unrealistic. Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson suggested the 10 percent base pay increase at a meeting of a House select committee. A 10 percent raise for all public school teachers would cost about $540 million. Speaker Moore visited the same committee to say increases near the 2 percent proposed by the House in its budget last year are more likely. My question for Representative Moore is while perhaps that 10 percent figure is too high, what price does he place on the value of our state s future? Without a sufficient supply of adequately paid, properly trained teachers, this state s future lays on shaky ground. I did not enter the profession for the fact of being highly paid, but I defy most of our elected officials to equal what the average teacher has to get in terms of education, and keep getting, in order to maintain their standing in our profession. And it is, just like a doctor, a nurse, or a lawyer, a profession! I, along with many other teachers, hold both a bachelor s and a master s degree in my field. We are required by state law to get additional training in order to maintain our teaching licenses, and to renew it every five years. If we wish to teach Advanced Placement courses we have to certify in that specific program, and stay current in strategies and practices, not to mention all the other things that the powers-that-be decide we need to do every day besides actually teaching. This is not a job, but a career; we need to hold our elected officials accountable for the expertise that most of us have painfully earned. As you can see, the process of deciding who gets a raise, how much and when, is multi-faceted and involves opinions and ideas from many different levels of leadership in our state. I encourage you to let your voice be heard, because nothing will be done if you don t speak out. The only way the legislature will understand how important these matters are to you is to hear from you. Send them an , write a letter, make a phone call, and do so in a way that demonstrates your character as a professional. Be respectful, be encouraging and offer your assistance. Your legislators need to hear your story good and bad! Let them know you will be voting in November and are hopeful for an investment in education. It is time to send a clear and respectful message to Raleigh. A message that teachers matter. If you do not, you have no one to blame but yourself. Yours in teaching, Dan Korn, Vice President Professional Educators of North Carolina - 5

6 A Year for Choices by Bill Medlin, Associate Executive Director In just a few fleeting months we will find ourselves making very important choices for who we would like to lead our country and state for the next 4 years. The fall publication of The Voice will be our special election issue. I encourage you to prepare yourself for the best possible choices that will repair and build back our image as a strong education state! In addition to the voting choices that you will have, PENC has always offered teachers, administrators and all staff personnel a unique choice; that choice being the opportunity to become members of a sound, reputable and affordable professional organization. By joining PENC, you all made the choice to become members of a state based, independent organization that fulfills each of our needs. Among other things, PENC gives us the choice to feel confident in our classroom with competitive legal benefits. Additionally, you have a choice of being informed with legislative news and political candidate views without the pressure of swayed endorsements. As a PENC member you have a wonderful opportunity to help others experience this benefit and many more by becoming a Member Representative. For a lot of years, administrators, new and experienced teachers, and support staff have been led to believe they don t have a choice in which organization to join. As members of PENC, we know that this couldn t be any farther from the truth! In my travels across the state I hear the same frustrating comments from members concerning the misinformation and untruths about PENC. You have the opportunity and choice to step up, become involved as a Member Representative and dispell the myths about PENC in a positive way, especially for the new folks who join your staff that have not had the exposure to our organization. Even if serving PENC as a Member Representative is not your thing you may still be an active recruiter and receive rewards for your efforts. Our Each One Reach One campaign gives you the opportunity to have your dues discounted $27 for actively recruiting one colleague to PENC! Additionally, you can choose to become a Partner Level member by recruiting three new members that will reward you with a free membership for the year! The biggest service that we can all offer on behalf of PENC is a positive message and making sure that our peers know they have a choice. After all, word of mouth has more power than any printed words could offer. It gives the listener a chance to soak in the information, digest, sort and make an educated choice. If you would like more information about this opportunity, please me at bill@pencweb.org. Thank you for choosing PENC! 6 The Voice Newsletter - Spring 2016

7 Renewal Notice by Annette Thomas, Office Manager Can you believe it s almost renewal time again? Hopefully you are planning something fun and exciting for your summer. As you make plans for your summer, don t forget about PENC s discounted theme park tickets. Here at the PENC office I will be getting ready to send out renewals for You should receive your renewals in the mail by late June. When you receive your renewal, please note the variety of payment options. Payment options: Pay in full Check or credit card Installment Payment Plan: Draft from your checking account Draft from your credit/debit card If you are currently on Payroll Deduction or Installment Payment Plan your membership will automatically renew. If you are currently on Payroll Deduction and want to pay in full or switch to the Installment Payment Plan, please make those adjustments on your renewal card and mail it in to our office. Please note: We are no longer enrolling members for Payroll Deduction, as we are concerned that it may be eliminated by the state in the future. The draft payment and payroll deduction amount will stay the same at $27 (for Educators)or $14 (for Support/First Year Teachers) for 6 months. Please make note that NEW deadline to submit draft forms is October 31st. Please be sure to renew your membership as soon as possible to ensure continuous coverage. You may choose to renew online (if you don t remember your username or password, please call the office instead of creating another profile) or you may simply return the renewal form that you will receive in the mail, using the self-addressed envelope. Encourage a coworker to join PENC and you could save $27/$14 off your membership dues with our Each One Reach One program! If you have questions, please feel free to contact me at Annette@pencweb.org or I am always here to help. Best wishes for a fun summer! Professional Educators of North Carolina - 7

8 Scholarship & Grant Winners Children of PENC Members Scholarship Recipients Robert Coleman Beaver Coleman is a senior at Northwest Cabarrus High School in Concord, NC. He will attend Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado next fall as a Harvey Scholar and a Chemical Engineering student. In high school, Coleman was a varsity runner on the school s Cross-Country and Track teams and participated in the Ultimate Frisbee, NC J.E.T.S, Skills USA and Table Tennis Clubs. He was a National Honor Society and BETA Club member and attended both the Boys State and NC Summer Ventures in Science and Math programs. His extracurricular interests include volunteering at the Cooperative Christian Ministry, achieving the Eagle Scout rank in Boy Scouts and working as an intern Product Engineer for Excel Dental Parts. Anna Page Anna McKenzie Page is 17 years old and attends Wallace-Rosehill High School. She is an active member of BETA, SGA and HOSA Clubs. Anna is the treasurer of College Ambassadors and will graduate Valedictorian of her class. She spends most of her free time working at a pharmacy or volunteering at nursing homes, blood drives and festivals. Anna plans to attend East Carolina University to obtain her degree in Nursing. Jess Fowler Jess Fowler lives in Dobson, North Carolina with her parents, Stephen and Renee Fowler, and her brother, Miles. Jess is a senior at Surry Central High School, where she will graduate at the top of her class. She is a member of her school s volleyball team, choir, FCS club, and various honor societies. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, running, spending time with her family, and watching movies. In the fall, Jess plans to attend Wake Forest University to study psychology. Jess is very appreciative of the support she has received from PENC to pursue her educational and career goals. David Alston Miller Alston Miller is 17 years old and lives in Sanford, North Carolina. He is a senior at Southern Lee High School where he has been a member of the football, baseball, and tennis teams. He currently serves as the SGA senior class treasurer. Alston is also a member of the National Honor Society, National Technical Honor Society, Key Club, DECA and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He enjoys spending his free time watching sports and spending time at the beach and lake. Alston will be attending UNC Wilmington next fall where he plans to major in pre-physical therapy. Harrison Miller Harrison Miller is also 17 years old and living in Sanford, North Carolina. He plays football, baseball, and tennis for at his high school. Harrison is involved in many extra- curricular activities including National Honor Society, National Technical Honor Society and is the Senior Class Secretary for SGA. He is also in Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Key Club and DECA. Harrison have a part time job at a local restaurant which he enjoys. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with friends and family, going to the beach and wakeboarding. Next year Harrison will be attending UNC Wilmington and will major in business management. Sarah Poulin Sarah Poulin was born in Gastonia, North Carolina and currently resides in Oak Island. She will graduate with honors from West Brunswick High School. Sarah is actively involved in various clubs and sports on campus. She has served as the captain of the Varsity Lacrosse and Golf teams and made all-conference in both sports. Sarah has held various leadership positions in Key Club, Student Government Association, Art Club and Leo Club. She also volunteers in the community coaching children s soccer. Sarah plans to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she will major in Psychology in hopes of becoming a Clinical Psychiatrist. Noah Smith Noah is a senior at East Forsyth High School where he has been in the top 20 of his class all four years. He is the Vice President of the Spanish National Honor Society, member of the National Honor Society, a Crosby Scholar and has served as a Junior and Senior Dean for his class. Noah has played quarterback for the football team, serving as a team captain this year and leading the team to the state semi-finals with a 14-1 record. He was named all-conference and all county as well as received the Brian Bulsworth national award for outstanding character and sportsmanship for football. In addition to football, Noah also plays basketball in a recreational YMCA league. Noah serves as a Regional Youth Council representative for his youth group at the Southern Province of the Moravian Church and is active in many church activities. He also attends Mission Camp at Laurel Ridge every summer with his youth group doing mission work in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Noah will be attending UNC Chapel Hill this fall. 8 The Voice Newsletter - Spring 2016

9 Austin Kliewer Austin is soon to be a 2016 graduate of Southwest High School, ranked number one in his class. While in high school, he has been active in Student Council, serving as class Vice President his freshman, sophomore, & junior years and as Student Body Vice President his senior year. Austin has also served as a huddle leader for Fellowship of Christian Athletes all 4 years of high school, is a member of the National Honor Society and played football and basketball - lettering in both sports. He has also been recognized as a North Carolina Scholar Athlete during his junior and senior years. Austin plans to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to major in Exercise Science. He will then apply to the School of Physical Therapy to obtain a doctorate degree. Nicholas Smith Nicholas Smith, the son of Wesley and Janet Smith, is a senior at North Moore High School in Robbins, NC. Nicholas is a founding member of the Robotics and Cyber Patriot teams. He is President of the History Club, Secretary of the Beta Club, photographer for the school yearbook and a member of the Future Business Leaders of America and Key Club. He has spent his past four years playing Varsity Football, Wrestling, Golf and Track and Field as well as being the only bass player for the school orchestra. He also is very involved in his church and volunteering in the community, whether it be by delivering meal baskets to the elderly or working on community cleanup and restoration. He is very excited to attend the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the fall, where he will major in Computer Engineering. He greatly appreciates the PENC Scholarship in helping him reach this goal. A Few Recipients of the NCCAT Subs on Us Grants Chad Brown Chad Brown has been an educator for almost 20 years in various capacities ranging from teacher assistant to technology facilitator. He currently teaches science for Alamance- Burlington Schools at Western Alamance High School in Elon, NC, but has been a classroom teacher at the elementary, middle school, and community college levels as well. When not teaching, he enjoys spending time with his wife and kids, hiking, and watching classic movies. Having graduated from Elon University with an M.Ed, it is his hope to continue to further his education in the future with a focus on how to best incorporate technology to facilitate learning in the classroom. Mr. Brown attended the NCCAT session called Expanding Your Tech Toolbox. He says, It introduced us to various technological innovations that pertained to educators (with a focus on those that are web-based and free). We spent most of our time interacting with these technologies after the instructor would model their use, and he was always there to mentor us in how best to use them. He did a great job facilitating! Mr. Brown said that it was difficult to decide on a favorite part of the session because he enjoyed it all - learning new teaching and technology skills, the beautiful scenery, the times for reflection. If he had to pick one thing, I d say that the opportunity to meet other teachers and be encouraged by their enthusiasm for our profession within an atmosphere where we were actually treated as professionals - that had to be tops. It was great to have my passion for teaching refreshed at a time when I really needed it. Denise Johnson and Ryan Oakley Denise and Ryan, elementary teachers in Cabarrus County Schools along with a great group of fellow teachers, spent 4 amazing days at NCCAT in Ocracoke learning about being Reading Ready by 3rd grade. They learned new ways to incorporate technology into reading. The Ocracoke Museum artifacts also served as a great writing tool that the teachers could take back and use in their own classrooms. Cindy Martin Cindy Martin currently teaches a 2nd-5th grade cross categorical adapted curriculum class in Rowan-Salisbury Schools. Cindy is a cum laude graduate of Catawba College where she received her BA in Psychology: Special Education for Mild to Moderate Mental Handicaps (K-12) in She received National Boards Certification in Exceptional Children in 2000 and renewed in Cindy has been teaching Special Education in Rowan Salisbury Schools for 22 years, which she believes to be her calling in life. She attributes her success in the classroom to the phenomenal team of colleagues and support staff that she has had the privilege to work beside in helping children in Rowan County. Cindy was Teacher of the Year for her school in 2013 and Rowan-Salisbury School s Special Education Teacher of Excellence in 2015 (see PROPS! for details). Cindy says, The trip to NCCAT was an excellent opportunity to renew energy as a veteran teacher while learning relevant content and making connections with other teachers across the state who are in the same field. We were able to explore the area a bit, learn about resources available to us, connect and problem solve with other professionals, gain new ideas and access grant opportunities to support our endeavors in the classroom. Professional Educators of North Carolina - 9

10 Tracey Lubawski Cindy Martin Mrs. Tracey Lubawski was recognized as Harnett County Schools Assistant Principal of the year. She is a Harnett County native and taught middle grades Language Arts for nine years. In 2003, she was awarded the Principal Fellows Scholarship and completed her Master s in School Administration at Fayetteville State University in She has been an Assistant Principal for 11 years, serving Harnett County at Anderson Creek Primary, South Harnett Elementary and currently, Harnett Central Middle School. Cindy Martin, a PENC NCCAT Subs on Us Grant winner, was also recently named Rowan-Salisbury School s Education Teacher of Excellence for 2015! Cindy has been teaching Special Education in Rowan Salisbury Schools for 22 years which she believes to be her calling in life. She discovered her love of working with individuals with special needs when volunteering at Rowan County Special Olympics in high school. She is currently working towards her M.Ed. in Adapted Curriculum and certification for Autism at UNC-Charlotte and expects to complete her studies in Cindy enjoys blogging, zentangle doodling, amateur photographing and spending time with her husband of 26 years and her children Robert, Curtis, and Beth Ann. Her dream for retirement is to develop an Autism Support Center in her community. Congratulations, Tracey and Cindy! Do you or a PENC member you know deserve Props? us at communications@pencweb.org. We want to celebrate your accomplishments with you. Don t forget to include a color photo, name, school name and address of the person you want to recognize. 10 The Voice Newsletter - Spring 2016

11 2016 Annual Meeting PENC s 2016 Annual Board Meeting was held on April 16 th in Raleigh. The afternoon began with a lunch for Board, Staff, and Special Guests. Following lunch, Dr. Carrie Tulbert, former NC Principal of the Year, presented the group of students and teachers with an inspirational message. Carrie is a proud North Carolina Teaching Fellow who is now Principal at Concord Middle School in Cabarrus County. Her passions in education include the building of culture at the school level, building relationships and its importance in education, technology enhancing education, and simply - kids and their learning. Dr. Tulbert is married to her favorite teacher, Bart, who is sure to remind her of the teacher perspective often (whether she wants to hear it or not). And they have two beautiful boys, Liam who is 8 and in 3rd grade, and Luke, who is 2 and discovering the joys of tantrums. Dr. Tulbert s presentation was followed by a celebration for Children of PENC Members Scholarship recipients. Winners were presented with their scholarship checks and gifts while President Tammy Beach gave a brief bio about each student and where they plan to attend college. Congratulations to these ambitious soon to be college students! More details about scholarship recipients can be found on page 8. Professional Educators of North Carolina

12 2016 Annual Meeting (continued) Elections for new and returning board members took place before the meeting adjourned. Tammy Beach was re-elected as President and Dan Korn as Vice President. We are excited to welcome our three newest board members, Robert Jones who will be representing Region 4, Joanna Loftis who will be representing Region 6 and Trey Ferguson who is the newest Presidential Appointee. Trey Ferguson, Presidential Appointee Robert Jones, Region 4 Representative Joanna Loftis, Region 6 Representative PENC Board President Tammy Beach, Rutherford Co. TammyBeach@pencweb.org Vice President Dan Korn, Union Co. Dan@pencweb.org Treasurer Tinger Purvis, Wake Co. Tinger@pencweb.org Secretary Beth Brabble, Chowan Co. Beth@pencweb.org Region 1 Tammy Flynn, Pitt Co. TammyFlynn@pencweb.org Region 2 Tony Coggins, Wayne Co. Tony@pencweb.org Region 3 Craig Rogers, Harnett Co. Craig@pencweb.org Region 4 Robert Jones, Sampson Co. Robert@pencweb.org Region 5 Leigh Walters, Forsyth Co. Leigh@pencweb.org Region 6 Joanna Loftis, Mecklenburg Co. Joanna@pencweb.org Region 7 Paul Gantt, Burke Co. Paul@pencweb.org Region 8 Teresa Cowan, Buncombe Co. Teresa@pencweb.org At-Large 1 This position is currently vacant At-Large 2 Ashton Griffen, Wayne Co. Ashton@pencweb.org Presidential Appointee Trey Ferguson, Wake Co. Trey@pencweb.org 12 The Voice Newsletter - Spring 2016

13 Scholarships and Grants National Board Scholarship Deadline is June 17, 2016 PENC is offering four scholarships of $250 each to members who are currently working on their first two components in pursuit of their initial National Board Certification. Recipients will be notified at the end of June and these scholarships will be awarded upon receipt of proof of completion of two components. The purpose of these scholarships is to help defer the cost as members seek to achieve National Board Certification. New Teacher Grants Deadline is July 29, 2016 New Teacher Grants are available to members in their first three years of practice who demonstrate a need for instructional supplies. PENC will award sixteen $250 grants. Grant applications require teachers to make a proposal in 300 words or less, explaining how the $250 will be used for instructional materials that will have a direct impact on student learning. PENC encourages applicants to propose innovative ways to utilize instructional materials that actively engage students. Teachers from all areas of practice are encouraged to apply. For more details and to apply, visit Office Closings July 4, 2016 (Independence Day) September 5, 2016 (Labor Day) Professional Educators of North Carolina

14 Bill Medlin, Associate Executive Director, Annette Thomas, Office Manager, Carol Vandenbergh, Executive Director, Alex Cozort, Director of Communications, Karen Norris, PENC Field Representative Rick Zechini, Lobbyist, Rhian Merwald, Lobbyist PO Box Raleigh, NC tel: or fax: PRSRT STD US Postage PAID Raleigh, NC Permit No Would you and your fellow staff members be interested in having a PENC representative visit your school? We would love to bring breakfast or a treat along with information about PENC to share with your colleagues, answer any questions and get to know you better. Please check with your principal regarding a visit from PENC, then alex@pencweb.org for a school visit form.