V O L U M E 3, D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 Duplin County Schools Human Resources Department Inside This Issue Investing in People 1 Felicia Brown Employee Relations and Recruitment 2 Brittany Knowles Beginning Teacher Support 3 Carolyn Smith Cindy Grady CEUs and ID Badges 3 Annie Kirby Benefits 4 Tonya Kenan Licensure 4 Bonnie Miller Contact Information 5 Investing In People For the 2013-14 school year, the Duplin County Board of Education has put some exciting programs in place for teacher recruitment and retention. To support teachers in their professional growth, teachers seeking National Board Certification may qualify for a reimbursement of the $2500 processing fee. In order to receive the reimbursement, a teacher must agree to teach in Duplin County Schools for three consecutive years upon receiving National Board Certification. In an addition to retaining outstanding educators, the Board seeks to expand recruitment. With an increasingly diverse student population, the Board has also approved a revision of the Grow Your Own Program, designed to recruit and retain minority teachers in Duplin County. This school year, eligible high school seniors will be able to apply for a $20,000 scholarship if they agree to teach in Duplin County for four years upon graduation and receiving their initial teaching license. Another component of the Grow Your Own Program is a stipend awarded to eligible teacher assistants while completing their student teaching internship. Eligible teacher assistants may receive $3,000 for the internship period if he/she agrees to teach in Duplin County for three years. If you are interested or know of anyone that may be eligible for the National Board Certification reimbursement or Grow Your Own Program, please contact the Duplin County Schools Human Resource Department for more information.
Online Resources for Employees The HR Department strives to provide information for current and potential employees in the most accessible manner possible. By logging on to the HR website, employees can access benefits information, educational opportunities, CEU credit, and much more. Please click here to access our website. DCS Recruitment Efforts The HR department is excited about the upcoming teacher recruitment season. In November, we traveled to UNC Pembroke to meet with students graduating in December and in search of teaching positions. Administrators and other school system employees will be traveling to eight universities/colleges across the state during the spring semester to recruit highly effective teachers. Employee Relations and Recruitment Services Clinical Teachers A special thank you is extended to the clinical teachers who have hosted or are planning to host student interns. During the fall semester, DCS hosted five full-time student interns. For the upcoming spring semester, DCS will host an additional sixteen student interns. Each intern is assigned a clinical teacher who works daily with the intern to ensure the experience is meaningful and successful. They are an integral part of this process. Thank you, clinical teachers, for your dedication, not only to our student interns, but to the profession of education. Roy E. Harkin Teacher Recognition Award Recipient Ms. Tabitha Smith, Lead Literacy Teacher at Beulaville Elementary School, is the recipient of UNCW's Fall 2013 Roy E. Harkin Teacher Recognition Award. The award is designed to recognize a public school teacher who has contributed to the preparation of future teachers by demonstrating excellence as a partnership teacher and/or site coordinator. Ms. Smith has a true passion for working with educators and is dedicated to working with student teacher. Congratulations, Ms. Smith, on receiving this prestigious award! The next Substitute Orientation will be held on Wednesday, January 22 at Kenan Auditorium in Kenansville. The orientation will begin at 2:00 and end by 4:00.
Beginning Teacher Support Duplin County Schools Beginning Teacher Support Program has an exciting partnership with UNCW, designed to promote teacher leadership and teacher efficacy. Our program is proud to announce that two of Duplin County s Year 2 teachers have been recently selected to receive the UNCW Watson College of Education s Promise of Leadership Award for the 2013-14 School Year. Miss Hannah Evans, fifth grade teacher at Kenansville Elementary School and Mrs. Senora Lisane, Pre-K teacher at Beginnings and Beyond in Warsaw, are Duplin County Schools award recipients. These individuals were selected based on their passion and commitment to teaching diverse student populations, innovative use of technology in the classroom, and potential for leadership. The Promise of Leadership Award will provide Miss Evans and Mrs. Lisane additional professional growth opportunities for a full year. With the guidance of UNCW professors, they will work, plan, and conduct professional development sessions for new teachers across the Southeast Region of North Carolina. We are working diligently to enter CEU information as it is received. Please submit only copies of CEU credit to the HR department for processing. Identification Badges ID Badges can be obtained in the HR office during the following times: MONDAY: 8:30-10:00 WEDNESDAY: 3:00-5:00 THURSDAY: 3:00-5:00
BENEFITS New ID Cards Arriving This Month The State Health Plan s Open Enrollment period ended November 15, 2013. Members should be receiving new ID cards reflecting their benefit selections by mid- December. Members should watch for these cards in the mail and begin using them January 1, 2014, when they seek health care services. Coming Soon! Cafeteria 125 Annual Enrollment Processing Time LICENSURE At this time, we are seeing up to a six-month turnaround period for licensure processing. Please be patient as we work with DPI s licensure department on processing all licensure requests. Advanced Degrees No teachers or instructional support personnel, except for certified school nurses and instructional support personnel in positions for which a master s degree is required for licensure, shall be paid on the M salary schedule or receive a salary supplement for academic preparation at the six-year degree level or at the doctoral degree level for the 2014-2015 school year, unless they were paid on that salary schedule or received that salary supplement prior to the 2014-2015 school year. 2013-2014 Graduate Pay: Required documentation must be received in Licensure Section (DPI) by May 7, 2014. This includes your Non-Licensure Program, In-State Program Completion and Out-of-State Program Completion. Lateral Entry Teachers Lateral entry review will be January 28, 2014 from 2:00-5:00 at the Board of Education in the large conference room. As course work is being completed, please provide copies of your grade report to Bonnie Miller, Licensure Specialist.
The Human Resources Team Felicia Brown Executive Director of HR 296-6624 fbrown@duplinschools.net Brittany Knowles Employee Relations & Recruitment Services Coordinator 296-6667 bknowles@duplinschools.net Bonnie Miller Licensure Specialist 296-6649 bmiller@duplinschools.net Tonya Kenan Benefits Specialist 296-6651 tkenan@duplinschools.net Carolyn Smith Beginning Teacher Support Program/National Board Certification Coordinator 289-2238 csmith@duplinschools.net Wishing you a Happy Holiday! Cindy Grady Beginning Teacher Support Coordinator 289-2259 cgrady@duplinschools.net Annie Kirby HR Administrative Assistant 296-6626 akirby@duplinschools.net