UNC@Work:

The University of North Carolina:

A 17 member system of engaged campuses

August 2011

Issue 2

@work on the economy:

UNC Pembroke Offers Laid-Off

Teacher's Assistants Chance to Step Up

After a budget season in which public schools absorbed 28% of the state total cuts, the layoffs are beginning. Estimates from North Carolina’s public school system predict that as many as 13,000 education positions could be eliminated in the coming months. 

But UNC-Pembroke (UNCP) sees opportunity in the cuts: laid-off teacher’s assistants are prime candidates for teacher training programs that boost the state’s supply of high-quality teachers. UNCP’s message to them is: “The School of Education wants to discuss your future.”

Sandra Strickland, Director of Teacher Recruitment at UNCP, reports that representatives from the offices of Teacher Recruitment, Financial Aid, and Admissions are reaching out to this large pool of potential new teachers. There may be as many as 500 teacher’s assistants who have been laid off in the 11 school districts in UNCP’s region, Strickland said.

“First, it’s unfortunate that anyone has lost their job,” she said. “For education in our region, this group of school employees represents a real asset for our schools and communities-–they are fully trained and working successfully in our schools…They are uniquely qualified to become teachers because they are trained and already successful in the classroom.”

UNCP School of Education representatives were on hand last week to offer information on their programs at a rapid response meeting aimed at connecting recently laid-off teacher’s assistants to training opportunities and community resources. Jennifer Whittington from the UNCP School of Education spoke about the importance of these former employees continuing their education in order to return to the classroom and continue to serve the students of Robeson County. 

UNC-Pembroke isn’t the only UNC campus seeing the opportunity in layoffs. Both Fayetteville State University (FSU) and UNC-Wilmington have undertaken similar initiatives. FSU is working with Cumberland County Schools to recruit interested teacher assistants, and the first cohort of TAs began classes this spring. 

Teacher Assistants complete the first part of their professional core courses in education off-campus, at a local high school, then come to the FSU campus for the remainder of their coursework. At UNC-Wilmington, the School of Education has been hosting information sessions and reaching out to teacher assistants in New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, and Onslow counties. 

The final impact of budget cuts on teacher’s assistants is not yet known. But if and when the rest of the likely layoffs hit, these UNC campuses will be ready to help provide a bridge to certification for tomorrow’s teachers. 

Adapted from story in The Laurinburg Exchange

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@work in the community:

 UNCC and United Way Complete

Needs Assessment for Chalotte Region

The economic downturn has created new needs for a five-county region near Charlotte. But which people in what places need what, and how do agencies most wisely allocate their scarce resources to help?  

The Urban Institute at UNC-Charlotte is helping the United Way of Central Carolinas (UWCC) answer that question with a comprehensive community needs assessment of Anson, Cabarrus, Iredell, Mecklenburg and Union counties. The multi-faceted study, launched in 2010, focuses on UWCC’s three current funding areas—Children and Youth; Crisis, Housing and Stability; and Health and Mental Health—in the five Charlotte-area counties the UWCC serves. 

The study’s purpose was to assess the region’s most pressing needs, and to identify effective ways to address those needs.  Researchers began by reviewing and synthesizing community assessments that have been conducted in the five counties within the last ten years.  

Using this information, the Urban Institute determined the most important and region-relevant statistical indicators for each of UWCC’s three funding areas.  Data for these indicators were collected and aggregated to create a data-driven profile of the five-county region.

The Urban Institute team then surveyed local organizations and held several rounds of panel forums with community experts. These community service providers offered an on-the-ground analysis of the barriers, gaps and unmet needs of agencies and their clients, as well as suggestions for improvements.

The report’s recommendations respond to two pervading themes that emerged from this assessment: the need for preventative services and the need for greater public awareness across all three funding areas.

The report’s broad recommendations include:

1. “Pursue a theme of prevention.” The report notes that poverty underlies many of the problems in the community, and that prevention plays a vital role in stopping the cycle of poverty. The report emphasizes the importance of investing in interventions aimed at preventing problems. 

2. “Fund programmatic education.” This assessment found a lack of public awareness about both the community’s needs and the services available to meet those needs. To combat this, the report recommends that UWCC conduct or fund public awareness campaigns around these services.

3.  “Change the UWCC funding model.”  The report recommends that UWCC focus its funding on fewer, more targeted causes, that it fund both direct service providers and broader community-change efforts, and that it adopt a multi-year approach in its funding. 

An executive summary of the report, along with the full text, is available on both the Urban Institute’s website and the UWCC website.

Adapted from original story by Linda Shipley & Claire Apaliski

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@work with the world:

Internationally Focused Early College

High School Now Open in Fayetteville

The state's first ever internationally focused early college high school welcomed its first class on August 4th--with some important help from UNC.  The Cumberland International Early College High School is now open in Fayetteville. Fayetteville State University (FSU), already the home to the nationally recognized Cross Creek Early College High School, has partnered with the Cumberland County School as part of its mission to develop global citizens. 

The school offers students a jump start on college—students graduate with 60 hours of college credit along with a high school diploma.  The school offers something to a state looking to prepare a globally-ready workforce, as well.  Its international curriculum gives students the linguistic, cultural, and communication skills to thrive in a global economy. 

The school is a collaborative effort between FSU, UNC’s Center for International Understanding, Cumberland County Schools, and the North Carolina New Schools Project. The school came about partly in response to recommendations from the JOBS (Joining Our Businesses and Schools) Commission. The Commission called for the creation of pilot schools that would prepare students specifically for the jobs of the future, including a school focused on international diplomacy. Fayetteville, with its connection to defense, was the perfect location. 

The Center for International Understanding played a key role in securing funding and designing curriculum for the school. The Center linked national leaders in international education to North Carolina partners to assure Cumberland County had the benefit of the best thinking in the field as it transformed the idea for a global school into reality. 

FSU has also been a pivotal player, providing space, teachers, and crucial planning assistance for the effort. Cumberland International is currently housed on the campus of E.E. Smith High School; next year, it will relocate to the FSU campus.  

Students at Cumberland International will be required to take four language courses in an area of strategic interest, and will be able to choose among Spanish, Arabic, and Mandarin Chinese.  These languages, along with English, make up the four most widely-spoken languages in the world.  Faculty include two FSU professors who will teach classes in Mandarin and Arabic, and Jorge Ospino, a member of the Visiting International Faculty exchange program, who will teach Spanish. 

This year, the 58 enrolled ninth graders at Cumberland International, who come from nearly every school district in Cumberland County, will be the school’s only students. But each year their ranks will grow; the school will take on one additional grade level each year as this pioneering class moves up.  Eventurally the school will serve between 300 and 400 students, from 9th grade through 12th.

Lieutenant Governor Walter Dalton attended Cumberland International's open house event on August 2nd to express his enthusiasm for this pioneering initiative. 

“I am thrilled to see the Cumberland International Early College High School become a reality,” Dalton said.

“This school will help students near Fort Bragg become versed in foreign languages and cultures, which are key in the military and military support industries.  It is the perfect example of uniting the goals of education and economic development so that students graduate ready for the jobs of the future.”

Read more about Cumberland International here and here.

Fact of the Month!

In 2010, more than 5,417 business leaders from more than 1,124 companies completed UNC educational programs, including workshops, seminars, and professional development classes.  Another 36,273 people across the state participated in continuing education courses in priority economic development fields—that’s over 350 per county, on average.  

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