Educational Acronyms / Acronyms

Educational Acronyms - Revised 3-6-24
504	504 Plan. A 504 plan is a blueprint for how the school will provide support and remove barriers for a student with a disability. Its purpose is to give equal access to the general education curriculum. Not all students need special education or individualized instruction, however, they may need support or services at school. The plan provides services and changes to the learning environment to enable students to learn alongside their peers.
ACCESS	Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State to State. This test is for English Language Learners (ELL). It tests all four language domains: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The test covers English language proficiency standards in the following areas: Social and Instructional, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. Measuring student progress helps guide how teachers instruct individual students and helps a district gauge how effective its ELL programs are. ACCESS scores play a role in determining when a student can exit an ELL program.
ACRE	Accountability and Curriculum Revision Effort. Describes all of the work performed by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to implement the recommendations contained in the State Board of Education’s “Framework for Change: The Next Generation of Assessments and Accountability” document. This document describes a new vision of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, student testing, and district and school accountability.
ACT	American College Test. An assessment taken by high school students as a precursor to college/university admission. It measures students' general educational development and their capability to complete college-level work with the multiple choice tests covering four skill areas: English, mathematics, reading, and science. The optional Writing Test measures skill in planning and writing a short essay.
ADA	Americans with Disabilities Act. A civil rights law that became active in 1990 and prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.
ADD/ADHD	Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This is a brain disorder marked by an ongoing pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development.
ADM	Average Daily Membership. The number of days a student is in membership at a school divided by the number of days in a school month or school year.
AIG	Academic Intellectually Gifted. Students who perform or show the potential to perform at substantially high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experiences or environment.
AP	Advanced Placement. A program that enables high school students to complete college-level courses for college placement and/or credit.
APE	Adapted Physical Education. Adapted Physical Education (also called specially designed or special physical education) is instruction in physical education that is designed on an individual basis specifically to meet the needs of a child with a disability.
ATR	Advanced Teaching Roles. An initiative that provides avenues for teacher leadership roles in which teacher leaders expand their reach outside of their classroom. The models use small teaching teams to provide increased small-group teaching and tutoring for students, with team leadership from an excellent teacher, and create yearlong, paid teacher residencies and well-paid, sustainable career paths.
AU	Autism Spectrum Disorder. A developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, which adversely affects a child's educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotypical movements, restricted interests, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. Autism does not apply if a child’s educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has an emotional disability.
AVID	Advancement Via Individual Determination. AVID is an in-school academic support program for grades 7-12. The purpose of the program is to prepare students for college eligibility and success.
BAC	Business Advisory Council. The Business Advisory Council is a committee of stakeholders that represent local industry and the school system. The intent is to help ensure that our Career and Technical Education (CTE) program areas are aligned with local industry needs and allows for local industry to provide feedback to the school system annually.
BEI	Behavioral Event Interview. BEI is a technique that asks the candidate to describe a situation or an experience they had in a previous job or how they would respond to a scenario in the job that they are interviewing for at the time. Responses are not the “traditional type” answers because they cannot be rehearsed ahead of time.
BIP	Behavior Intervention Plan. A written plan used to address problem behavior that includes positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and support. May include program modifications and supplementary aids and services.
BOE	Board of Education. A body of officials elected or appointed to oversee a local or statewide school system or systems.
BT	Beginning Teacher. An educator who has been teaching less than a total of three complete school years.
BYOT	Bring Your Own Technology. A policy that allows employees or students to use their own personal electronic devices at work or school, rather than being required to use an officially provided device.
CCIP	Comprehensive and Continuous Improvement Plan. The Comprehensive, Continuous Improvement Plan (CCIP) is a web-based planning and grants management tool, and connects district goals for improvement to budgeted activities. CCIP is used by local education agencies (LEAs), charter schools and non-LEAs to apply for federal and state funds.
CCP	Career & College Promise. CCP is North Carolina’s dual enrollment program for high school students. This program allows eligible North Carolina high school students to enroll in college classes at North Carolina community colleges and universities through their high school. Students who successfully complete college courses earn college credit they can take with them after graduation. In many cases, students can also earn dual credit - meeting high school graduation requirements with college courses.
CDM	Credit by Demonstrated Mastery. CDM is the process by which a public school unit may award a student credit in a particular course without requiring the student to complete classroom instruction for a certain amount of seat time. To complete the CDM requirements, students must demonstrate mastery through a multi-phase assessment, consisting of (Phase 1) a standard examination and (Phase 2) an artifact (special project) which requires the student to apply knowledge and skills relevant to the content standards. Mastery is defined as a student’s command of course materials at a level that demonstrates a deep understanding of the content standards and application of knowledge.
CEDARS	Common Education Data Analysis & Reporting System. North Carolina’s PreK-13 State Longitudinal Data System that enables state, local and federal policymakers and service providers to make data-driven decisions based on analysis of trends and relationships between various educational factors and student performance.
CEP	Community Eligibility Provision. This is a non-pricing meal service option for schools and school districts in low-income areas. CEP allows the nation’s highest poverty schools and districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting household applications.
CHARGE	CHARGE Syndrome. A rare syndrome caused by a genetic disorder. First described in 1979, the acronym CHARGE came into use for newborn children with congenital features of coloboma of the eye, heart defects, atresia of the nasal choanae, retardation of growth and/or development, genital and/or urinary abnormalities, and ear abnormalities and deafness. These features are no longer used in making a diagnosis of CHARGE syndrome, but the name remains.
CIPA	The Children's Internet Protection Act. Schools and libraries subject to CIPA may not receive the discounts offered by the E-rate program unless they certify that they have an Internet safety policy that includes technology protection measures. The protection measures must block or filter Internet access to pictures that are: (a) obscene; (b) child pornography; or (c) harmful to minors (for computers that are accessed by minors).
CLNA	Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment. Every two years the Career and Technical Education Program (CTE) conducts the CLNA, which solicits feedback from various stakeholders about the CTE Program. This process leads the identification of areas of improvement and strategies to improve them.
CNA	Comprehensive Needs Assessment. The first step in developing School Improvement Plans. This self-assessment is conducted with school Leadership teams to assist in selecting focus indicators in Indistar.
COPPA	Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. This law was enacted in the year 2000 and requires website operators to obtain parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children under 13.
CP	Cerebral Palsy. A neurological disorder caused by a non-progressive brain injury or malformation that occurs while the child's brain is under development. Cerebral Palsy primarily affects body movement and muscle coordination.
CSI	Comprehensive Support and Improvement. Schools that are the lowest performing five percent of all schools receiving Title I, Part A funds (served) in the state. Schools were first identified as CSI in 2018-2019 based on 2017-2018 School Performance Grades. Schools are identified for three academic years. For the 2017-2018 school year, the three academic years would have been 2019-20, 20220-21, and 2021-22).
CTE	Career and Technical Education. Provides high school students the opportunity to take courses in eight program areas so that they can explore interests and careers while building and strengthening their career-specific knowledge and skills. The eight education program areas are: Agricultural; Business; Finance and Information Technology; Career Development; Family and Consumer Sciences; Health Science; Marketing and Entrepreneurship; Technology Engineering and Design; and Trade and Industrial.
DB	Deaf-Blindness. Hearing and visual impairments that occur together, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness.
DCDEE	Division of Child Development and Early Education. Implements standards for child care and increases access to quality care for children.
DD	Developmentally delayed. When a child is aged 3-7, whose developmental and/or behavior is delayed or atypical, as measured by appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures, in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development, and who, by reason of the delay needs special education and related services.
DHHS	Department of Health and Human Services. Manages the delivery of health and human-related services, especially for the most vulnerable citizens - children, elderly, disabled and low-income families.
EAP	Employee Assistance Program. A voluntary, confidential program that helps employees (including management) work through various life challenges that may adversely affect job performance, health, and personal well-being to optimize an organization's success.
ECATS	Every Child Accountability and Tracking System. System comprised of three integrated modules accessed from a single user interface based upon role security: Special Education, Service Documentation, and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) modules.
EDDIE	Educational Directory & Demographical Information Exchange. The authoritative source for North Carolina public school information including Local Education Agency (LEA) numbers, school numbers, administrative contacts, school types, grade levels, calendar types, program types and addresses. Information contained in EDDIE is populated by local districts and feeds multiple North Carolina Department of Public Information systems including Accountability, PowerSchool, and NC School Report Cards, and is used to meet federal reporting requirements. EDDIE replaced the School Name and Address (SNA) file in April 2010.
ELA	English Language Arts. Part of the Common Core curriculum in the NC Standard Course of Study, ELA refers to reading, literature, writing and speaking and listening.
ELD SCOS	English Language Development Standard Course of Study. The English Language Development Standard Course of Study is the state’s standard course of study for students learning English as a second or new language.
ELL	English Language Learner. A student whose first language is one other than English and who needs language assistance to participate fully in the regular curriculum.
EOC	End-of-Course. Tests designed to access the competencies defined by the Standard Course of Study for three mandated courses: Math I, English II and Biology. Tests are taken during the last two weeks of school for students on a traditional calendar and the last week of the course for students on a block schedule.
EOG	End-of-Grade. Tests in Reading and Mathematics (grades 3-8) and Science (grades 5 and 8) taken by students during the last three weeks of the school year.
EPP	Educator Preparation Programs. Programs that prepare educators at institutions of higher learning. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction provides technical assistance in the development of EPPs and oversees the renewal process of existing educator preparation programs at the license/program-level required by the State Board of Education.
E-RATE	Education Rate. (E-Rate). The program provides discounts to assist schools and libraries in the United States to obtain affordable telecommunications and Internet access.
ESEA	Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The principal federal law affecting K-12 education. When the ESEA of 1965 was reauthorized and amended in 2002, it was renamed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in 2009. The program was again referenced as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
ESI	Electronically Stored Information. ESI, for the purpose of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP), is information created, manipulated, communicated, stored, and best utilized in digital form, requiring the use of computer hardware and software.
EVAAS	Education Value Added Assessment System. SAS® EVAAS™ for K-12 is a customized software system available to all NC school districts that provides diagnostic reports quickly to district and school staff. EVAAS tools provide a precise measurement of student progress over time and a reliable diagnosis of opportunities for growth that help to identify which students are at risk for underachievement. By viewing easy-to-understand charts and graphs accessed via the Web, users can produce reports that predict student success, show the effects of instruction at particular schools, or reveal patterns in subgroup performance.
FAM-D	Facilitated Assessment of MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support) District Level. Measures district-level implementation of NC MTSS. The purpose of administration and its resulting data is to help district-level personnel identify and prioritize implementation and sustainability steps. The instrument contains 25 items across the six critical components of MTSS implementation: Leadership, Building Capacity/Implementation Infrastructure, Communication and Collaboration, Problem Solving Process, Multiple Tiers of Instruction and Intervention Model, and Data/Evaluation. The items are designed in a rubric format and at the optimizing level capture full implementation of NC MTSS.
FAM-S	Facilitated Assessment of MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support) School Level. Measures school-level implementation of MTSS. The purpose of administration is to assist school-level and district-level prioritize implementation steps. The FAM-S focuses on the six components: Leadership, Building Capacity/Infrastructure, Communication and Collaboration, Data-based Problem Solving, Three-Tiered Instructional/Intervention Model, and Data-Evaluation.
FAPE	Free Appropriate Public Education. An education is the right of all children in the United States that is guaranteed by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, FAPE is defined as, “...the provision of regular or special education and related aids and services that are designed to meet individual needs of handicapped persons as adequately as the needs of nonhandicapped persons are met and are based on adherence to procedures that satisfy the requirements of the section.” Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, FAPE is defined as an educational program that is individualized to a specific child, that meets that child's unique needs, provides access to the general curriculum, meets the grade-level standards established by the state, and from which the child receives educational benefit. The United States Department of Education issues regulations that define and govern the provision of FAPE.
FERPA	Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. A federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the US Department of Education. FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students."
FRL	Free and Reduced Priced Lunch. Children qualify, based upon parent or guardian financial status, to receive either free or reduced priced lunch through a federal government program.
HI	Hearing Impairment. An impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, adversely affects a child’s educational performance but that is not included under the definition of deafness.
HUB	Historically Underutilized Business. HUB is a company level diversity certification that is generally issued by a state government to increase the amount of goods and services acquired by that state from HUBs.
IB	The International Baccalaureate Programme. IB is a global leader in international education which develops inquiring, knowledgeable, confident, and caring young people. The programme empowers school-aged students to take ownership in their own learning and helps them develop future-ready skills to make a difference and thrive in a world that changes fast.
IDEA	Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This federal law, reauthorized in 2004, is designed to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free and appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment and independent living.
ID	Intellectual Disability. A significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning that adversely affects a child’s educational performance existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period.
IEE	Independent Educational Evaluation. An evaluation of a child for the purposes of determining a special education program that is performed by personnel outside of the school system. The IEE is sometimes called an "outside evaluation." The right of parents to have an IEE is outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a federal law designed with students with disabilities in mind.
IEP	Individualized Education Plan. A written statement for a student with a disability that is developed, at least annually, by a team of professionals knowledgeable about the student and the parent. The plan describes the strengths of the child and the concerns of the parents for enhancing the education of their child, and when, where, and how often services will be provided. The IEP is required by federal law for all exceptional children and must include specific information about how the student will be served and what goals he or she should be working towards.
IHE	The Institute of Higher Education. A college or university offering education beyond grade 12.
IIS	Instructional Improvement System. Provides portals for students, teachers, parents, and school and district administrators to access data and resources to inform decision-making related to instruction, assessment and students’ career and college goals.
Immigrant	Immigrant Children/ Students. The term immigrant children and youth means individuals who— (A) are aged 3 through 21; (B) were not born in any state; and (C) have not been attending one or more schools in any one or more states for more than 3 full academic years.
ISD	Instructional Services Division. Includes multiple departments: Accountability & Testing, Curriculum and Instruction, Exceptional Children, Federal Programs, Technology.
ISS	In-School Suspension. In-school suspension (ISS) is an alternative setting that removes students from the classroom for a period of time, while still allowing students to attend school and complete their work.
LEA	Local Education Agency. Synonymous with a local school system or a local school district, indicating that a public board of education or other public authority maintains administrative control of the public schools in a city or county.
LEP	Limited English Proficient. Students whose first language is one other than English who need language assistance to participate fully in the regular curriculum and the statewide assessment system.
LF	Learning-Focused. A framework focused on learning. A planning template is also included to design instruction implementing exemplary practices throughout the learning process.
LIP	Literacy Intervention Plan. Each local school administrative unit shall submit to the Department of Public Instruction a plan for the literacy interventions it will offer, including reading camps, in the following school year no later than October 1. The plan shall include information about the local school administrative unit's efforts to staff reading camps with the most qualified teachers possible, including the unit's efforts to attract teachers associated with high growth in reading based on EVAAS data and teachers who have earned a reading bonus.
LIS	Literacy Instruction Standards. A framework for the development and alignment of curriculum and instruction for all public schools. These standards are defined as a level of quality and equity to be used consistently within core literacy instruction statewide.
LMS	Learning Management System. A software application that is used to administer, document, track, report and deliver educational courses or training programs.
LRE	Least Restrictive Environment. The placement of a special needs student in a manner promoting the maximum possible interaction with the general school population.
MCL	Multi-Classroom Leader. A Multi-classroom leader leads a teaching team, providing guidance and frequent on-the-job coaching while continuing to teach, often by leading small-group instruction.
MEP	Migrant Education Program. Program designed specifically to assist migrant students and youth meet high academic challenges by overcoming the obstacles created by frequent moves, educational disruption, cultural and language differences, and health-related problems.
ML	Multilingual Learner. A student with a primary or home language other than English who is in the process of acquiring English.
MOA	Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). A formal business document used to outline an agreement made between two separate entities, groups or individuals. A MOA usually precedes a more detailed contract or agreement between the parties. It is also known as a Memorandum of Understanding.
MOU	Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). An agreement between two or more parties outlined in a formal document. It is not legally binding but signals the willingness of the parties to move forward with a contract. It is also known as a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA).
MTRT	Master Team Reach Teacher. Serves on a multi-classroom leader’s (MCL’s) team, directly teaching more students than usual (typically between 25% and 75% more students), while helping the MCL lead a larger team (e.g., by coaching part of the team) and/or reaching significantly more students than other teachers.
MTSS	Multi-Tiered System of Support. Promotes school improvement through engaging, research-based academic and behavioral practices. MTSS employs a systems approach using data-driven problem-solving to maximize growth for all.
MU	Multiple Disabilities. Two or more disabilities occurring together (such as intellectual disability and blindness, intellectual disability and orthopedic impairment, etc) the combination of which causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments. Multiple disabilities do not include deaf-blindness.
NAEP	National Assessment of Educational Progress. Also known as the “Nation’s Report Card,” NAEP assesses the educational achievement of elementary and secondary students in various subject areas. It provides data for comparing the performance of students in North Carolina to that of their peers nationwide.
NCCLAS	The North Carolina Checklist of Academic Standards. An alternate assessment designed to measure grade-level competencies of students identified as limited English proficient and some students with disabilities.
NCDPI	North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Administers the policies adopted by the State Board of Education and offers instructional, financial, technological and personnel support to all public school systems in the state.
NCEES	The North Carolina Educator Evaluation System. A system used to evaluate the performance of all teachers, principals, assistant principals, instructional central office administrators and superintendents in order to promote effective leadership, quality teaching and student learning while enhancing professional practice that leads to improved instruction.
NCES	North Carolina Essential Standards. Standards adopted by North Carolina in subject areas other than English/Language Arts and Mathematics. They were written using Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy.
NCEXTEND1	North Carolina EXTEND1. An alternate assessment designed to measure the performance of students with significant cognitive disabilities using alternate achievement standards.
NC PreK	North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program. The NC Pre-K Program is administered by the NC Department of Health and Human Services under the Division of Child Development and Early Education, Early Education Branch. The NC Pre-K Program is designed to provide high-quality educational experiences to enhance school readiness for eligible four-year-old children.
NCStar	NCStar®. Powered by Indistar® and was developed by the Academic Development Institutes (ADI) with the firm belief that district and school improvement is best accomplished when directed by people, working in teams, closest to the students. The web-based tool guides a district or school Leadership Team in charting its improvement and managing the continuous improvement process.
OC	Opportunity Culture. Opportunity Culture is an initiative under Public Impact that helps schools address persistent educational challenges of lagging student learning and teacher shortages. The models use small teaching teams to provide increased small-group teaching and tutoring for students, with team leadership from an excellent teacher, and create yearlong, paid teacher residencies and well-paid, sustainable career paths.
OCR	Office of Civil Rights. The Office for Civil Rights is a sub-agency of the U.S. Department of Education that is primarily focused on enforcing civil rights laws prohibiting schools from engaging in discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or membership in patriotic youth organizations.
ODD	Oppositional Defiant Disorder. A type of behavior disorder mostly diagnosed in childhood. Children with ODD are uncooperative, defiant, and hostile toward peers, parents, teachers, and other authority figures. Characteristics also may include argumentative and vindictive behaviors.
OER	Open Educational Resources. Teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others.
OHI	Other Health Impaired. Having limited strength, vitality or alertness including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that Is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, and Tourette’s Syndrome, etc.; and adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
OI	Orthopedic Impairment. A severe physical impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis and bone tuberculosis) and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures)
OSS	Out-of-School Suspension. A disciplinary method in which, for a given period of time, the student being disciplined is not allowed to attend school or be on the school campus for any reason.
OSHA	Occupational Safety and Health Administration. An agency of the United States Department of Labor. Congress established the agency under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act). OSHA's mission is to "assure safe and healthy working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance.”
PBM	Performance Based Measurement. The PBM is a Proof of Learning for many Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes. These assessments count as the final exam for select high school CTE courses.
PBIS	Positive Behavior Intervention and Support. Programs that are a way to impact school learning environments by establishing and reinforcing clear behavioral expectations in order to support high student performance and to reduce behavioral problems. PBIS site schools work to integrate their Safe Schools Plans, character education efforts and strategies, and discipline efforts in order to make the schools caring and safe communities for learning.
PDP	Professional Development Plan. Documents the goals, required skills and competency development that are reflected on the NC Educator Evaluation System.
PD	Professional Development. A term referring to skills and knowledge attained for both personal development and career advancement such as continuous courses, workshops, activities and learning objectives aimed at helping professional educators and staff members improve their skills in their fields.
PLC	Professional Learning Communities. PLC’s are defined by collaborative inquiry, shared decision-making based on data and joint planning of instruction among teachers. Teachers are provided structured time to work together in planning instruction, observing each other’s classrooms, and sharing feedback.
POL	Proofs of Learning. Proofs of Learning are CTE final assessments for High School courses that are reported to NCDPI at the end of each semester.
PSAT	Pre-Scholastic Assessment Test. Normally taken by high school juniors as a practice test for the SAT. Some schools use the PSAT as a diagnostic tool to identify areas where students may need additional assistance or placement in more rigorous courses.
PSU	Public School Unit. Replacing LEA (Local Education Agency) to define a school system or individual public charter school.
PTA/PTO	Parent Teacher Association/Parent Teacher Organization. A parent–teacher association or parent-teacher organization is a formal organization composed of parents, teachers, and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a school.
RA	Reach Associate. A Reach Associate plays a crucial role in supporting excellent teachers who extend their reach, with and without the help of technology, to many more students. In most cases, an RA fills two primary roles: working independently with groups of students so that the team Reach teacher with whom he/she works can help more students.
RESA	Regional Education Service Alliance. Regional alliances (sometimes called consortium) providing staff development, leadership development, technical assistance and help in spreading information related to state initiatives to member public school systems in each of the state’s nine geographic regions; Northeast, Southeast, Central Carolina, Sandhills, Piedmont-Triad, Southwest, Northwest, Western and Roanoke River Valley.
RFP	Request for Proposal. A document in which the company requests details of detailed and comparable proposals from different suppliers for a defined product or service.
RFQ	Request for Quotation. A competitive bid document used to invite suppliers to submit a bid on projects.
RL	Residency License: A one-year license that is renewable twice and has replaced the Lateral Entry License. This is the current alternative pathway to be issued a teaching license in North Carolina.
SAT	SAT. Test taken by high school juniors and seniors as a precursor to college/university admission. It assesses a student’s verbal, mathematical and writing skills.
SBE	State Board of Education. Charged with supervision and administering “the free public school system and the educational funds provided for its support.” The Board consists of the Lieutenant Governor, the Treasurer, and eleven members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the General Assembly in Joint Session.
SCOS or SCS	(North Carolina) Standard Course of Study. The guiding document outlining what should be taught in North Carolina public school classrooms.
SEA	State Education Agency. Federal term for each education department. SEA is another name for the NCDPI.
SED	Serious Emotional Disability. A condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance: An inability to make educational progress that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or health factors. An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers. Inappropriate types of behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression. A tendency to develop physical symptoms of fears associiated with personal or school problems. Serious emotional disability includes schizophrenia. The terms do not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance related to the five characteristics above.
SEL	Social-Emotional Learning. The process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.
SI	Speech or Language Impairment. A communication disorder, such as an impairment in fluency, articulation, language, or voice/resonance that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Language may include function of language (pragmatic), the content of language (semantic), and the form of language (phonologic, morphologic, and syntactic systems). A speech or language impairment may result in a primary disability or it may be secondary to other disabilities.
SIOP	The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol Model. A research-based and validated instructional model that has proven effective in addressing the academic needs of English learners throughout the United States. The SIOP Model consists of eight interrelated components: Lesson Preparation, Building Background, Comprehensible Input, Strategies, Interaction, Practice/Application, Lesson Delivery, and Review & Assessment.
SIP	School Improvement Plan. A plan that includes strategies for improving student performance, how and when improvements will be implemented, use of state funds, requests for waivers, etc. Plans are in effect for no more than three years.
SLD	Specific Learning Disability. A term that refers to a disorder in one or more basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language, spoken or written, that affects the ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations. It includes conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. It does not include learning problems that are mainly caused by visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, intellectual disability, emotional disturbance, or environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage. This definition is based on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which has not changed since 1975. IDEA also specifies the evaluation procedures that must be used to identify and document a specific learning disability.
SOR	Science Of Reading. A vast, interdisciplinary body of scientifically-based research about teaching reading and issues related to reading and writing.
SPED	Special Education. Term used in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that is defined as a specially designed instruction to increase the student’s opportunities for success.
SPG	School Performance Grade. School Performance Grades. School Performance Grades are awarded to schools as defined by G.S.§115C-83.15. A-F letter grades are calculated using achievement, growth, and performance measures.
SP1	Standard Professional 1. An educational license intended for teachers with 0-2 years of teaching experience, and are valid for three years. It is also called an Initial License.
SP2	Standard Professional 2. An educational license intended for teachers with 3 or more years of teaching experience, and are valid for five years. Teachers who are fully licensed in another state who have three or more years of teaching experience AND who meet NC State Board of Education approved licensure exam requirements OR have National Board Certification are issued the SP2 license. It is also called a Continuing License.
SSO	Single sign-on. Refers to users logging into several technology tools using one sign-on name and password.
SRA	Science Research Associates Reading Laboratory. Supports students who need additional instruction in phonics and phonemic awareness. Strategies span throughout the elementary grades into middle/high school. Students master decoding as they move through Reading Mastery to Corrective Reading with more support in comprehension while continuing with decoding.
STEM	Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Curriculum which emphasizes connections within and between the fields of mathematics and science; integrates technology; introduces and engages students in the engineering design process; cultivates creativity; and develops skills that drive innovation.
TBI	Traumatic Brain Injury. An acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability for psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. TBI applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory; perceptual; and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. TBI does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries caused by birth trauma.
TIMS	Transportation Information Management System. Computer system used by NC school districts for routing and scheduling school buses to ensure safe and efficient bus routes.
TIPS	Team-Initiated Problem Solving. A model created out of the University of Oregon and the University of North Carolina - Charlotte for using data for problem solving and decision making that includes a systematic team process across data sets.
Title I	Title I. The largest federal education funding program for schools. Its aim is to help students who are behind academically or at risk of falling behind. School funding is based on the number of low-income children, generally those eligible for the free and reduced price lunch program. Title used to be known as Chapter I.
Title II	Title II. Part A is intended to increase academic achievement by improving teacher and principal quality. This includes increasing the number of highly qualified teachers in classrooms, improving the skills of principals and assistant principals in schools, and increasing the effectiveness of teachers and principals. **Funds are used for professional development.
Title III	Title III. The section of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that provides funding for English language acquisition and accountability requirements for limited English proficient students.
Title IV	Title IV. The Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) program, authorized under subpart 1 of Title IV, Part A of the ESSA, is intended to help increase the capacity of local educational agencies (LEAs), schools, and local communities to: 1) provide all students with access to a well-rounded education; 2) improve school conditions for student learning; and 3) improve the use of technology in order to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students.
Title IX	Title IX. In the Educational Amendments of 1972, it bans sex discrimination in schools receiving federal funds, whether it is in academics or athletics.
TSI - AT	Targeted Support and Improvement - Additional Target Support. All schools regardless of Title I status are eligible for TSI-AT identification. Schools are identified as TSI-AT when: a. The school has one or more subgroup(s) where the subgroup performance grade score is below the highest identified CSI school’s All Students group during the identification year; and b. The school is on the TSI-CU list for the subgroup(s) for the previous year. Note: The 2018-19 one or more subgroup(s) lower than the highest CSI school’s performance. The next identification in 2021-22 will require both criteria to be met. ii. Schools can exit this status every three years. Schools exit this identification during the exit year when the subgroup(s) causing the school to be identified as TSI-AT meet one of the following: a. Obtain an index score of 1.0 or higher on a three-year subgroup growth score in the EVAAS system during the exit year for the identified subgroup(s); or b. Meet the measure of interim progress for the identified subgroup(s) during the exit year in reading and mathematics.
TSI - CU	Target Support and Improvement - Consistently Underperforming. All schools, except those already identified as CSI-LP, regardless of Title I status are eligible for the TSI-CU identification. Schools are identified as TSI-CU when one or more of the same subgroup receives a grade of “F” on the NC statewide system of annual meaningful differentiation (School Performance Grades) for the most recent and the previous two (2) years. ii. TSI-CU schools are identified annually. For the 2018-19 identification, using 2017-18 data, a ‘watch list’ is developed. Schools on the watch list are at risk for identification as TSI-CU in 2019-20. b. For the 2019-20 identification, 2017-18 and 2018-19 data is used to determine the TSI-CU schools. c. For the 2020-21 and beyond identifications, three years of data is used to determine the TSI-CU schools. iii. Schools exit this identification by receiving a letter grade of “D” or better for the identified subgroups in the most recent and previous year (two consecutive years) a. Schools are eligible to exit beginning in the 2020-21 school year, using 2018–19 and 2019–20 data. b. The exit criteria are applied annually thereafter.
TWC	NC Teacher Working Conditions (Survey). A biennial survey of all NC public schools’ licensed staff, the TWC survey provides educators with an opportunity to express their perceptions about working conditions at their schools. Information gathered from the survey is shared with school staff, district administrators, parents and the community for school improvement planning purposes.
UID	UID. A User Identification Number is the number assigned by the State to identify an individual student or staff member. This number follows the student or staff member to any public school located in North Carolina if they transfer.
USED	United States Education Department. Provides federal assistance to state and local agencies primarily responsible for education and works to ensure both equal access (e.g., disadvantaged, disabled, at-risk students) and educational excellence. The department engages in four major types of activities; establishes policies related to federal education funds, administers distribution of funds and monitors their use; collects data and oversees research on America’s schools; identifies major issues in education and focuses national attention on them; and enforces federal laws prohibiting discrimination in programs that receive federal funds (USED website).
VI	Visual Impairment. An impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness. VI is the result of a diagnosed ocular or cortical pathology.
VoIP	VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). A technology that allows one to make voice calls using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line.
WAAT	Wilson Academy of Applied Technology. A school serving grade 9-13 students who also take courses through Wilson Community College. Students may also receive a college associates degree in addition to a high school diploma.
W-APT	WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test. An English language proficiency "screener" test given to incoming students who may be designated as English language learners. It assists educators with programmatic placement decisions such as identification and placement of ELLs. The W-APT is one component of WIDA's comprehensive assessment system. **The WIDA Consortium (formerly World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment) is an educational consortium of state departments of education.
WAVE	Wilson Academy of Virtual Education. It is for students in grades 3-12 who prefer attending school virtually. The goal of WAVE is to provide students with the opportunity to learn in an innovative, rigorous, and flexible online environment.
WCS	Wilson County Schools. PreK-13 public school system serving over 10,000 students in 25 schools.
WECA	Wilson Early College Academy. A school serving grade 9-13 students who also take courses through Wilson Community College. Students may also receive a college associates degree in addition to a high school diploma.
WEP	Wilson Education Partnership. A unique and focused non-profit organization committed to improving public education by partnering with local businesses and being the conduit between them, Wilson County Schools and the community. Business leaders on the board serve as a vital link for collaboration between all these entities to provide excellent educational opportunities, strong teachers, and college and workforce readiness.
WorkKeys	ACT WorkKeys. A Career Readiness test that measures a student's ability to perform basic entry level work skills in the areas of Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, and Workplace documents.
Zoiper	Zoiper. A softphone (software program) used for making telephone calls over the Internet using a general purpose computer or smartphone rather than a dedicated device. To use Zoiper, one needs a VoIP account.