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Resources & Opportunities
The College & Career Readiness & Success Center (CCRS) has developed the CCRS Interactive State Map to depict the landscape of college and career readiness throughout the nation. Visit the map at this link.
The Center on Great Teachers and Leaders will offer a webinar on Wednesday, October 8 from 1:00-2:30 pm EDT to support state education agencies in the design of new comprehensive statewide plans (under the federal Excellent Educators for All initiative) to ensure all students equitable access to educators. Register here.
The Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic will facilitate a webinar on effective school leaders on Thursday, October 9 from 3:00-5:00 pm EDT. Dr. Eric Hanushek of Stanford University will be the featured presenter. Register here.
The Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest will hold a webinar on Wednesday, October 22 at 1:00 pm Pacific time on digital learning for credit recovery. Register here.
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Editor: Caitlin Howley
Caitlin.Howley@icfi.com
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| Greetings!
Welcome to the September 2014 issue of the ARCC newsletter. We hope you find this quarterly publication about our collaborations with state departments of education in the Appalachian region informative and useful. And we welcome your questions and feedback!
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| New Leaders Take the Helm at the ARCC
For the past year, the ARCC leadership team has prepared for the seamless succession that will take place on October 1 as Dr. Sharon Harsh steps out of her role as Director. The ARCC will continue to benefit from Dr. Harsh's expertise and insight, however, as she moves into her new role as a technical assistance (TA) specialist for capacity building, providing assistance to state boards of education in the region and serving as senior advisor to the new ARCC leadership team.
On October 1, Dr. Caitlin Howley assumes leadership as Director of the ARCC, with Dr. Kimberly Hambrick as Associate Director.
 | | Dr. Caitlin Howley, ARCC Director |
"State education agencies in this region are engaged in truly important work," observed Dr. Howley. "And I feel so privileged to support the ARCC's great team of thoughtful, energetic TA staff who are committed to helping states as they move forward with this work, helping struggling schools to find their footing, devising new ways to support the professional growth of teachers and principals, figuring out how to prepare students for adulthood, whether for entry to the workforce or to postsecondary study--and more."
 | | Dr. Kimberly Hambrick, ARCC Associate Director |
Dr. Hambrick also reflected on the strengths of the ARCC team: "The ARCC staff have strong relationships in the region and really understand the needs of the state education agencies. I look forward to working with them as they continue to support the capacity of agency staff to advance their reforms."
Together, Drs. Howley and Hambrick look forward to continuing the ARCC tradition of responsive, meaningful TA.
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Teacher Compensation on Tennessee's Agenda
The Tennessee State Board of Education convened its Basic Education Program (BEP) Committee in the fall of 2013, with market-based teacher compensation on the agenda. Under consideration was whether to permit Tennessee schools to use state education funds to pay additional compensation to teachers in high need areas, where competition
 | | Dr. Terry Lashley |
with employers paying higher salaries limits the number of graduates who choose teaching as a career.
Aligning teacher salaries with salaries offered in other labor markets would require that those setting pay levels for teachers--as a profession or within particular subject or geographic areas--consider the salaries offered by competing employers.
 | | Dr. Carolyn Vincent |
The BEP Committee concluded its meeting cycle with the recommendation that a study group gather more information. ARCC partnered with the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL) to conduct a comprehensive review of the research and evidence base for teacher compensation, collected information
 | | Dr. Ellen Sherratt |
on best practices from states and districts across the nation, conducted phone interviews to investigate unpublished data, and identified current studies that may shed further light on the matter.
Dr. Terry Lashley (ARCC), Dr. Carolyn Vincent (ARCC), and Dr. Ellen Sherratt (GTL) co-presented findings to the Tennessee State Board of Education on August 12, 2014, in a live cast meeting.
To read their report, please visit the ARCC website at this link.
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Comprehensive Centers Meet on Building Capacity
The Building State Capacity and Productivity Center (BSCP Center) convened a meeting in Portland, Oregon on August 26-27 on the topic of "Building Capacity in a Dynamic System." Participants included representatives from regional Comprehensive Centers across the United States and the  Center on Innovations in Learning. The objectives of the meeting included learning about state initiatives and joint year 3 planning. BCSP consultant Tom Kerins, ARCC Director Caitlin Howley, and Virginia Department of Education staff members Veronica Tate and Chris Kelly presented a mini-case study about a collaboration between the ARCC and BCSP to provide technical assistance to Virginia. Specifically, the ARCC has integrated into its Virginia work plan the BCSP's IndiSEA performance management system, an online platform that takes indicator statements and turns them into objectives, which leads to the organizing of plans and tasks and progress monitoring, in this case toward a planned strategy for school improvement across the agency. To read more, visit the ARCC website at this link. |
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