The following is a press release from NC Public Schools
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) has launched a new web-based resource to promote promising practices that motivate, engage and provide measurable results in North Carolina’s public schools. This new Promising Practices Clearinghouse will support teachers, administrators, district personnel, and other education advocates seeking strategies that have proven successful in North Carolina districts.
NCDPI will research, compile, disseminate and promote practices for educators with the goal of improving educational opportunities for all 1.5 million public school students in North Carolina. Although the assets aligned with these practices will vary, NCDPI has identified effective practices that improve student performance related to several key areas. The following strands align with Operation Polaris, which is State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt’s strategic plan for educational improvement:
- Learning Recovery and Acceleration
- Strengthening Literacy
- Student Support Services
- Reforming Accountability and Testing
- Human Capital
- District and School Transformation
The webpage is now accessible through the NCDPI website, enabling stakeholders to engage with an interactive state map and view a specific school or district and its promising practice. A link on the webpage will allow schools, districts and other stakeholders to self-nominate a practice that NCDPI staff will then review for inclusion.
The Promising Practices initiative stems from feedback from educators across the state, largely during NCDPI’s District Visits and Voices tour. Many expressed the need to provide a way to share and collaborate with others across the state to see how they are solving issues related to pandemic recovery.
Truitt expressed how this initiative allows NCDPI to better support schools and districts in information-sharing in order to assist educators across the state.
“This website is an exciting way we will promote practices statewide while providing resources to districts that are looking for assistance in implementing successful and proven strategies,” Truitt said. “This effort allows us to highlight research that can lead to an increase in student performance while providing some of the tools necessary for adoption to teachers, administrators and district personnel.”
The Promising Practices initiative is aligned closely with the mission of NCDPI’s Office of Learning Recovery and Acceleration (OLR). Both efforts serve North Carolina districts and schools by providing the information and support needed to make evidence-based decisions to address the impact of lost instructional time. This initiative will allow the OLR to identify and facilitate adoption of evidence-based policies and practices that drive improvements in teaching and learning. The OLR will oversee the implementation and analysis of these interventions, seeking to extend, scale, and sustain programs that demonstrate effectiveness.
Launching this month, the Promising Practices Clearinghouse will be updated monthly with a new theme, beginning with “Engaging Students through Work-Based Learning” to kick off the initiative.
Included on the Promising Practices resource are assets specific to each theme. Users can hover over a promising practice to preview assets. Assets could include infographics, videos, virtual reality experiences, and written content. NCDPI has partnered with Education NC to assist in capturing some of this work and elevating it to a larger audience.
