In This Issue

Feb. 28, 6 p.m.

March 5, noon

March 7, 9:30-11 a.m. and
4:30-6 p.m.

March 11, 6 p.m.

March 12, 6 p.m.

Employee Express

Awards for Teachers and Students

Encourage outstanding African American and Hispanic students to apply for the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Math and Science Scholarship. Last year, Page High graduate Simone Biggers won the award. Four scholarships of $5,000 will be awarded to two males and two females. The deadline to apply is April 2.

The Enrichment Fund of GCS is accepting nominations for the 2013 Leah Louise B. Tannenbaum Teacher Award for Excellence in Reading Instruction. Nominees must have been reading teachers in GCS for at least three years. Nominations should include only the teacher's name and school. The Enrichment Fund will send an application to qualified nominees. The deadline for nominations is Feb. 28. Send nominations to Lisa Gardner-DeBerry.

The Enrichment Fund of GCS is now accepting the third round of applications for its field trip scholarship program. Teachers can submit applications for students enrolled in grades K-12. The deadline is March 11. Questions should be e-mailed with school name and field trip destination in the subject line.

Outstanding Recognitions

Robin Drake, program administrator for the Exceptional Children department, recently provided her expertise on an international platform. At the request of the U.S. State Department, Drake participated in a teleconference with the Jerusalem Autism Care Organization. She will travel to Israel in April to consult with the Autism Centers in Jerusalem, Jericho and Bethlehem.

Steve McGrath, executive director of high school curriculum, had an article published recently in a national e-newsletter by ASCD. The article dicusses the importance of encouraging creativity in students. Read the article here.

Oak Hill Elementary teachers and administrators represented GCS and the state at the National Title I Conference in Nashville, Tenn., in January. Oak Hill was named the North Carolina Title I School of the Year. Read more in an article published by the NEA Priority Schools Campaign.

Congratulations to Kathleen Caldwell, a teacher at Eastern Middle. Her proposal for the "Connecting the Past to Our Present" project was the winner of the 2013 North Carolina Council for Social Studies Teacher Grant.

School Nutrition Services received certification from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction's Child Nutrition Division to receive an additional $.06 per meal based on the submission of the district's menus to state consultants. Sara Williams, the district's dietician, worked tirelessly for a year to prepare the necessary documentation for the additional funding.

Keith Pemberton, social worker at Oak Hill Elementary, was recently featured by the National Educators Association as a "Classroom Superhero." Read the full profile about Pemberton here.

PTAs to Be Recognized at Women's ACC Games

The ACC will recognize PTA presidents during "Mascot Night" of the ACC Women's Basketball Tournament on Friday, March 8, during the 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. games. PTA presidents will be invited to go on the court during halftime of the 6 p.m. game and will have the chance to compete for a $1,000 Food Lion gift card for their school.

GCS Reaches Higher with New Strategic Plan

Click on the image to read Strategic Plan 2016.

By 2016, GCS plans to provide a more personalized learning experience for all students through new strategies in the district's second strategic plan. Superintendent Maurice "Mo" Green introduced the plan, titled "Achieving Educational Excellence: Personalizing Learning," at State of Our Schools on Jan. 31. In the new plan, GCS will continue to improve academic opportunities for students and build the character and service initiatives. The plan will also strengthen parent and community involvement and improve organizational efficiency and collaboration.

  

With the launch of the new plan, Superintendent Green closed out Strategic Plan 2012. Its major accomplishments included character development and service learning, Energy Wise, Guilford Parent Academy, and increases in the graduation rate and Schools of Distinction and Schools of Excellence.

  

You can read the entire plan and learn more about goals for the next four years at www.gcsnc.com/strategicplan2016.

Students from Gibsonville Elementary reveal how many books were read in three years during State of Our Schools on Jan. 31.

In the past three years of the Million Book campaigns, GCS has proven something to the community that teachers and staff already know is true: When we challenge our students to be excellent, they rise to the task. In the past three years, GCS students read 7,913,454 books during the One, Two and Three Million Books challenges. This equals 110 books per student. In 2012 alone, students exceeded the district's goal of three million books by reading 3,324,054 books.

  

To celebrate this incredible accomplishment, WFMY aired a 30-second commercial during halftime of the Super Bowl. WFMY partnered with GCS for "Read to Succeed" this past year. A big thanks goes to all the media specialists, principals, teachers, students and everyone else who made this a reality.

Help Make GCS the Best Place to Work

GCS wants to hear from all employees about how we can improve our schools and offices. The new Strategic Plan 2016 includes goals of making our district more collaborative, inclusive and productive, and it will take feedback from everyone to guide the way. Please take a few minutes to follow the link below and take an online survey. The results will remain anonymous. The survey will be open through March 29.

  

Congratulations, You Did It!

GCS Recognized for United Way Giving

The United Way of North Carolina selected GCS as a winner of the Spirit of North Carolina Award for Campaign Excellence. These spirit awards provide statewide recognition for outstanding commitment and support to communities through local United Way involvement. GCS was selected as the top school district in North Carolina. GCS employees raised a total of $334,516 for the Greensboro and High Point United Ways and students raised $37,302 for a total of $371,818. We exceeded our goal by nearly $21,000.

  

Pearce Elementary also won a Spirit of North Carolina Award as the top individual school in the state. Congratulations, Pearce students and staff!

  

To celebrate these accomplishments, GCS will have a district-wide jeans day on Friday, March 1. Thank you all for your generosity.

GCS Is Ninth in the Nation for National Board Certified Teachers

GCS Celebrates 23 New National Board Certified Teachers

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards recently released updated data on the number of National Board Certified teachers working in states and districts, and GCS came out at the top of the list. GCS ranks ninth in the nation for the number of National Board Certified teachers working for the district with a total of 755.
  

This year, 23 GCS teachers joined this esteemed group by becoming newly certified, and 35 GCS teachers renewed their certification. Visit the GCS website to see a full list of teachers who received their certification this year. North Carolina has 19,799 teachers who have received this honor, making our state home to the largest number of National Board Certified teachers in the country. 

  

Teachers achieve certification through a rigorous performance-based assessment that typically takes from one to three years to complete and measures what accomplished teachers and counselors should know and be able to do. As a part of the process, candidates build a portfolio that includes student work samples, assignments, videotapes and a thorough analysis of their classroom teaching. For more information, visit the state's National Board Certification website.

Global Opportunities Abound in GCS

You Can Learn a New Language for Free

Have you ever dreamed of learning a second, or maybe even a third language? GCS is making it easy for employees to learn a new language by offering classes after work starting Feb. 26. Sign up now for Basic Conversation classes in Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish or Japanese. All classes are Level 1, so beginners are welcome. Level 2 classes will be offered after Spring Break. Thank you to the GCS World Languages Department and Global Education Committee for making these classes available!

Be sure to register for GCS' second annual Global Education Conference, March 23 at Jamestown Middle. All school staff members are invited to learn techniques for fostering in-depth exploration of 21st century skills and themes in the classroom and school environments as well as possibilities of integrating multidisciplinary globally oriented projects and activities.

  

Standards I A, II B, III D and C, and IV H of the NC Professional Teaching Standards will be specifically addressed by the conference content. Attendees will receive 0.5 CEUs. More details will be announced soon, and in the meantime, visit www.gcsnc.com/globalconference to get a taste of what was included last year.

GCS is maintaining a database of experiences employees and students have participated in abroad. As you travel to other countries, please add information to the GCS Travel Abroad Database, and please enter information about any experiences you've had since summer 2011. Your responses will help us evaluate our continuous involvement in global experiences.

GCS Plans Amateur Radio Contact with the International Space Station

Students will get the rare opportunity to talk directly with crew members on the International Space Station using amateur radio later this spring at McNair Elementary. The event is scheduled for the week of April 29 and is coordinated through the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program, a cooperative venture of NASA, the American Radio Relay League, the Radio Amateur Satellite Cooperation and other international space agencies that schedule radio contacts between astronauts and schools.

  

The 10-minute, live question-and-answer session will allow students to speak directly with the astronauts as the space station orbits 250 miles above Guilford County. In addition to students from McNair, students from schools across the county will be invited to submit questions for the astronauts.

  

Teachers in all grades and content areas are invited to participate by using the educational plan of pre-event and post-event activities to introduce students to space, astronomy, NASA and the International Space Station in the weeks leading up to the event. Classrooms will have the opportunity to watch and hear the radio contact through a webstream and through GCSTV on the day of the event.