ATR Researcher & Practitioner Convening

• Chair/Moderator: Maureen Stover, Vice President of Policy & Engagement, Best NC
• Panelists:
  • Alicia Bailey, Executive Principal of Leadership Development, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools
  • Bishay Faris, Human Resources – Talent Acquisition, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
  • Jennifer Lewis, Executive Director of Elementary Education, Wilson County Schools
  • Sean McWherter, Director Restart Programming, Guilford County Schools
• Closing Reflection: Leah Sutton, ATR Program Lead, NCDPI

• Session Lead: Sarah Bausell, Research Scholar, Friday Institute, NC State University
• Team Members:
  • Emily Thrasher, Research Scholar, Friday Institute, NC State University
  • Robin Anderson, Assistant Professor, NC State University
  • Brayan Diaz, Research Assistant, Friday Institute, NC State University
• Location: Wachovia
• Description:  This session draws on NC ATR stakeholder interviews, revealing that district and school leaders have made significant headway in communicating advanced teacher opportunities and the selection process. However, supported teachers often lack a deeper understanding of the competencies and experiences needed for selection. In small group and whole group discussions, session participants will explore the impact of this gap on the AT pipeline and explore strategies to strengthen educators’ conceptual understanding of selection criteria.

• Session Lead: Kari Colley, Senior Researcher, Basis Policy Research 
• Team Member: Caitlin Kearney, Contractor, Basis Policy Research
• Location: BB&T
• Description:  In this session, participants will analyze the priorities reflected in NC ATR selection materials to better understand the values, patterns, and consistencies within their district documentation and across the state more broadly. To engage in this process, participants will be provided with summarized data pulled from the document collection and analysis process to review code prevalence, their alignment with best practices identified in the literature, and the relationships of code frequencies and patterns to desired outcomes and practices. Session participants will walk away with a deeper understanding of AT job responsibilities, which they will be asked to apply to the instrument review process later in the convening.

• Session Lead: Shaun Kellogg, Senior Director, Friday Institute, NC State University
• Team Members:
  • James Birkett, Research Associate, Friday Institute, NC State University
  • Michael Babb, Software Engineer, Friday Institute, NC State University
• Location: Nortel A
• Description: Drawing from NCDPI administrative data, this session focuses on the characteristics of teachers selected for advanced teaching roles (e.g., teaching experience, education levels, student performance), as well as the characteristics of the teachers they support. The research team will also share preliminary work related to identifying characteristics associated with Advanced Teacher selection, as well as how these characteristics could help predict programs likely to be successful in improving outcomes like teacher retention and student achievement. Participants will engage in small- and whole-group discussion to reflect on their district’s advanced teacher characteristics and explore the promise and pitfalls of using predictive modeling for teacher selection. The session will conclude with a whole-group synthesis to share key takeaways and actionable next steps.

• Session Lead: Duncan Culbreth, Research Assistant, Friday Institute, NC State University
• Team Members: Lam Pham, Assistant Professor, College of Education, NC State University
• Location: Nortel B
• Description:  In this session, we share results from a questionnaire sent to district and school leaders in ATR schools across the state in Fall 2024. The questionnaire asked leaders to identify the characteristics and competencies they value in advanced teachers. Results shared in this session will help ATR leaders across the state to better understand how advanced teachers are currently selected. Additionally, this session aims to help ATR leaders gain a broader understanding of the different ways that districts and schools have conceptualized criteria for selecting advanced teachers.

• Moderator: John O. Stover III, Superintendent, Rockingham County Schools
• Panelists:
  • Mrs. Kristen Boyd, Principal, EO Young Elementary, Vance County Schools
  • Kelly Cowell, Director of Talent Development, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools
  • Jusmar Maness, Chief Academic Officer, Guilford County Schools
  • Michael Myrick, Deputy Superintendent/CAO, Edgecombe County Schools
• Closing Reflection: Leah Sutton, ATR Program Lead, NCDPI

• Session Lead: Lam Pham, College of Education, NC State University 
• Team Members: Matthew Springer, Managing Partner, Basis Policy Research
• Location: Wachovia
• Title: Description:  In this session, we will share a first draft of an evaluation rubric designed for Advanced Teachers serving in Adult Leadership roles. This rubric is intended to be an optional resource that school and district leaders can use to conduct either formative or summative evaluations. During this session, we will gather feedback on rubric domains and items with the ultimate goal of developing a rubric that will be useful across all ATR districts and schools.

• Session Lead: Sarah Bausell, Research Scholar, Friday Institute, NC State University
• Team Members: Brayan Diaz, Research Assistant, Friday Institute, NC State University
• Location: BB&T
• Description:  Across nearly 100 interviews, district leaders described advanced teachers’ work at a high-level, while the teachers they support expressed limited awareness of their daily responsibilities. This session leverages interview data from principals and advanced teachers to highlight the often-overlooked tasks essential to their success. Participants will engage in table discussions to explore the implications of these findings for evaluation processes and tools.

• Session Lead: David Stuit, Managing Partner, Basis Policy Research 
• Team Members: Kari Colley, Senior Researcher, Basis Policy Research 
• Location: Wachovia
• Description:  During this session, participants will reflect on the behaviors, dispositions, competencies, and practices that are most critical for an Advanced Teacher to possess. Participants, using Advanced Teacher selection materials, will identify the highest-leverage Advanced Teacher qualities and subsequently engage in a reflective mapping process to identify evaluation alignment and potential for growth.

• Session Lead: Matt Springer, Managing Partner, Basis Policy Research 
• Team Members: Shaun Kellogg, Senior Director, Friday Institute, NC State University
• Location: Nortel A
• Description: In this session, we share additional results from a questionnaire sent to district and school leaders in ATR schools across the state in Fall 2024. The questionnaire asked leaders to identify measures used to evaluate Advanced Teachers the characteristics and competencies they weight they place on these measures. Results shared in this session will help ATR leaders across the state to better understand how advanced teachers are currently being evaluation. Additionally, this session will explore qualitative findings from stakeholder interviews related to survey findings and explore current and desired tools Advanced Teacher evaluation.

• Session Lead: Emily Thrasher, Research Scholar, Friday Institute, NC State University
• Location: Nortel B
• Description: In this session, we will provide an overview of advanced teacher teams. We’ll present an analysis of advanced teacher team structures based on interviews with PSU leads, principals, advanced teachers, and supported teachers, followed by a panel discussion. The goal of this session is to help leaders gain a deeper understanding of advanced teacher teams and explore the various configurations they can take.

Friday Institute. The William & Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation is located on NC State’s Centennial Campus at 1890 Main Campus Drive, Raleigh, NC 27606. Free parking is available to convening participants, but we encourage participants to carpool if feasible, as we share a parking lot with our Centennial Campus Magnet Middle School neighbors.

We have arranged hotel room blocks at two convenient locations for participants attending our event. This ensures comfortable accommodations close to the venue, making it easy for you to participate fully in all sessions and activities.

StateView. Rooms are available at a reduced rate ($209 per night) at the StateView hotel on NC State’s Centennial Campus. The StateView is less than a mile walk to the Friday Institute and is located near Lake Raleigh with surrounding walking trails. The reservation deadline for the group rate is Tuesday, January 28, 2025.
You can reserve your room here: https://go.ncsu.edu/atr-stateview.

Holiday Inn. We have also reserved a block of rooms at the nearby Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites at NC State S.W. The group rate for blocked rooms is $135 per night (standard room). The reservation deadline for the group rate is Thursday, February 6, 2025.
You can reserve your room here: https://go.ncsu.edu/atr-holiday.

We also encourage you to check out both hotels for standard government rates, which are often less expensive than group rates.

NC State Staples

• Mitch’s Tavern
• Players Retreat
• Sammy’s Tap & Grill
• Amedeo’s Italian Restaurant

American

• Wye Hill
• Whiskey Kitchen
• Parkside
• Beasley’s Chicken + Honey
• Trophy Brewing & Pizza
• Standard Beer + Food
• Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar

Vegan/Vegetarian Friendly

• Irregardless Cafe

Tapas

• Barcelona Wine Bar
• Madre

Ethnic Cuisine

• Five Star
• MOFU Dumpling Shoppe
• Brewery Bhavana
• La Terazza
• Taverna Agora

Food Halls

• Morgan Street Food Hall
• Transfer Co. Food Hal

• Howling Cow Ice Cream. Hand-scooped cups and cones, sundaes, banana splits, milkshakes, and packaged pints at NC State’s Dairy Education Center & Creamery.
• Dix Park. Dorothea Dix Park is one of Raleigh’s largest parks. The 308-acre site blends historic architecture and rich landscapes into a unique destination in the heart of Raleigh.
• Historic Yates Mill County Park. The centerpiece of the 174-acre park is Historic Yates Mill, which is the last operable water-powered gristmill in Wake County. The Mill and the property surrounding it were purchased in 1963 by NC State University. 
• Walk to Lake Raleigh 
• Self-Guided tour of NC State | Stop by the Joyner Visitor Center to pick up information about a self-guided tour. Self-guided campus tours are accompanied by a video playlist featuring current students. The video playlist and self-guided tour highlight our well-known student spaces on NC State’s Main Campus including Talley Student Union, Wellness & Recreation, and Hill Library.
• Self Guided Tour of NC State’s Hunt Library – finish the tour with some NC State Howling Cow Ice Cream at the Common Grounds Cafe