News

Abigail Bentley, a teacher at Pisgah High School in Haywood County Schools, was named the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) 2024 Empower NC Beginning Teacher of the Year in a special ceremony at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center on the campus of Western Carolina University Thursday February 15th.

The NCCAT 2024 Empower NC Beginning Teacher of the Year Award process was developed to honor beginning teachers and to retain teachers who show promise as excellent teachers and education leaders in North Carolina public schools and public charter schools. One of these talented educators will be named the 2024 NCCAT Empower NC Beginning Teacher of the Year after being selected by a panel of judges. They will participate in a week for professional development at NCCAT February 12-16, 2024. The award will be presented on February 15, 2024, at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

Calling all passionate science educators in North Carolina! NCCAT is your gateway to a world of cutting-edge knowledge, skills, and teaching methods. Dive into high-quality professional development that transforms classrooms and empowers students! Programs coming in March and April explaining the new North Carolina Science Standards. Explore the exciting Science programs lined up at NCCAT, where innovation meets education. Immerse yourself in hands-on learning, discover best practices, and collaborate with top instructors and fellow teachers from across the state.

The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) proudly announces Katie Hardison and Stacy Nelson, educators from Pamlico County Schools, as the recipients of the prestigious NCCAT George Brinson Honored Educator Scholarships. This esteemed scholarship recognizes and celebrates the outstanding contributions of educators who embody the spirit of George Brinson, an ardent advocate for public schools. Educators interested in applying for the Honored Educator Scholarships can visit the NCCAT website at http://tinyurl.com/2p9zf6e5 for more information and to submit their applications.

Want to deepen comprehension in your upper grades' classroom? This session - Creating Readers and Thinkers Across the Content Areas" in Ocracoke - highlights evidence-based literacy practices aligned to the development of students’ comprehension skills in grades 4-8. Join us as we explore strategies to improve understanding through connections to the Science of Reading, and an emphasis on integrating fluency, vocabulary, and writing into your content area.

NCCAT provides teachers with new knowledge, skills, teaching methods, best practices, and information to return to their classrooms through high-quality professional development. The ultimate result is improved performance and achievement by North Carolina's students. NCCAT has several exciting Science programs coming up. Free lodging, materials, and meals are part of the NCCAT residential experience while learning from top instructors and collaborating with teachers from across the state. "Teaching Science is Phenomenal" and "Preparing the Ambitious Science Teacher: Igniting Inquiry and Critical Thinking" coming up soon. Apply now!

Join us at NCCAT Ocracoke later this month for "Supporting the N.C. Portrait of a Graduate Competencies in the STEM Classroom" in January. Participants will walk away with tangible strategies that can be quickly implemented in the STEM classroom! The Portrait ensures that North Carolina students are well equipped for the broadest range of postsecondary opportunities, be it college, career, or military. The Portrait shows that student academic success matters, but so does a student’s ability to adapt, to collaborate, to communicate, to think critically, to show empathy, to learn, and to take personal responsibility.

Come join us this February for this interactive and inspiring one day training, specifically geared towards counselors, school psychologists, and any other mental health coaches in the school system. School counselors play a vital role in supporting students in our schools this day will equip them with knowledge, skills, and strategies. NCCAT provides teachers with new knowledge, skills, teaching methods, best practices and information to take back to their classrooms through high-quality professional development. The ultimate result is improved performance and achievement by North Carolina’s students.

Want to deepen comprehension in your upper grades classroom? Join NCCAT for "Comprehension at the Core: Creating Readers and Thinkers Across the Content Areas" at NCCAT Ocracoke in February. This session highlights evidence-based literacy practices aligned to the development of students’ comprehension skills in grades 4-8. Join us as we explore strategies to improve understanding through connections to the Science of Reading, and an emphasis on integrating fluency, vocabulary, and writing into your content area.

The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) is happy to announce the opening of the 2024-2025 NCCAT Honored Educator Scholarship application process. These scholarships help teachers across North Carolina take advantage of NCCAT professional development programming. The Honored Educator Scholarship Program pays tribute to outstanding educators and individuals whose teaching or influence in public education has made a positive difference in the lives of others.  For a list of scholarships available, visit https://www.nccat.org/programs/honored-educator-scholarship-application. Applications will be accepted until April 30th.

Twenty-seven teachers from across North Carolina have been selected as finalists for the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) 2024 Empower NC Beginning Teacher of the Year Award for their dedication, innovation, and ability to inspire students to achieve. The award process was developed to honor beginning teachers and to retain teachers who show promise as excellent teachers and education leaders in North Carolina public schools and public charter schools. One of these talented educators will be named the 2024 NCCAT Empower NC Beginning Teacher of the Year after being selected by a panel of judges. They will participate in a week for professional development at NCCAT February 12-16, 2024. The award will be presented on February 15, 2024, at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

Canvas is a useful tool whether it's for fully online courses or to create modules for a blended teaching approach, but who has the time and support to craft great Canvas resources? The "Canvas: Time to Design" program will give teachers exactly that - the time and support needed to accomplish their Canvas design goals. Teachers will learn best practices for building lessons, assignments, discussions, and modules while being supported in their work by colleagues and NCCAT's Digital Learning Specialist. Come with ideas for lessons that need an online component. This professional learning course is designed for teachers in grades 6-12.

The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) has received a $3,840 grant from Believe in Reading. This funding will allow the purchase of picture books and expert presenters in conjunction with teacher professional development programming in early-grades literacy. The program "The Power of Picture Books" will take place in Ocracoke from May 20-24. Picture books are powerful and engaging texts that can help all elementary students succeed in language arts, math, science, social studies, and the arts.

Teachers from across North Carolina took part in two programs involving Holocaust education. Approaching the Holocaust is a struggle for many teachers. Finding a way to teach a tragedy of unprecedented magnitude and enduring significance is perplexing even to the most seasoned educator. For more than twenty years the NCCAT Holocaust Education Program has worked to promote Holocaust Education in North Carolina public schools as a part of our continuing effort to promote student understanding of the ways in which our individual and collective actions shape the direction of the present and the world of the future.

In March, North Carolina educators have several opportunities to attend the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT), a recognized national leader in professional development programming for teachers. Registration for these programs is open now. Applicants are encouraged to register as soon as possible to ensure a spot. From our literacy-focused programs to digital learning to STEM, math, and science, we have plenty of offerings designed to help teachers positively impact student learning across our state.