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Teacher development center dedicated on Ocracoke
By JOY CRIST  Teachers, school administrators, state education officials, and government and business leaders were on Ocracoke on Saturday, Oct. 20, for ribbon-cutting at the opening of a new eastern campus for the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching. The campus, which includes five acres and two buildings, is located on the site where the Ocracoke station of the U.S. Coast Guard was headquartered for almost 70 years. The buildings, vacant since the Coast Guard moved its operations in 1996, will now have a new life as a state-of-the-art professional development center for public school teachers. The renovation to fully restore the historic structures was funded by $6.7 million allocated by the General Assembly. “The grand opening of the Ocracoke campus is the culmination of years of efforts by many dedicated people who recognize NCCAT’s efforts to provide the highest quality professional development to our state’s teachers, ultimately rekindling their own passion for learning and helping to retain them in this vital profession,” said Mary McDuffie, executive director, in a media release before the ceremonies. “We will honor all of those who worked so tirelessly to get this campus open and celebrate the promise that tomorrow holds for NCCAT and for our public schools.” The grand opening on Saturday included a dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting, tours, refreshments, and music presented by the U.S. Coast Guard Brass Quintet. Events begin at 1 p.m. and are open to the public. On Sunday afternoon, NCCAT staff members hosted a community cookout for Ocracoke residents at the new campus. Ocracoke Island, some 26 miles from the mainland, has approximately 800 permanent residents. The population swells by thousands during the tourist season, and, this year, Ocracoke was the top-rated beach in the country. “It’s a perfect location for a second NCCAT campus, and it has been extremely gratifying to see how warmly the residents of Ocracoke have embraced NCCAT and the pride they feel for these beautiful facilities,” said Kenneth Wells of Manteo, chairman of the NCCAT board of trustees. “NCCAT is the only model of its kind in the nation. It’s obviously a real bonus for teachers who relocate to North Carolina to know that we have such a center now in two parts of the state to meet their needs,” he said. NCCAT was established in 1985 on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. Approximately 10 years later, government leaders from the east called for an expansion of NCCAT services to their area of the state. Several seminars were held in various locations east of Raleigh, including Ocracoke. When the U.S. Coast Guard Station closed, the facility was suggested as the ideal location for a second NCCAT facility. Mary Jo Allen of Balsam, a member of the board of directors of the Development Foundation of NCCAT Inc., was the NCCAT director in 1996 at the time that the expansion to Ocracoke was first suggested. “During the years since that time, both the NCCAT board of trustees and the foundation directors have worked diligently, in conjunction with the Governor’s office, to ensure that the vision became a reality. Nothing can be more thrilling than to see this dream come true,” Allen said. “Teachers from all areas of the state can be more readily served through the two campuses by attending seminars which are based on various topics and embedded with instructional methodology,” she added. “They will come away from their NCCAT experiences with increased knowledge, a sense of professionalism, a renewed spirit and many new teacher friends.” Though the ceremonies officially marked the opening, the Ocracoke campus has already been busy. The State Board of Education held its monthly meeting there Oct. 3–4 and an NCCAT seminar Sept. 24–28 introduced 24 teachers from across North Carolina to the state’s fishing industry and its economic and environmental impact. “It’s a wonderful facility,” said Martha Edmonds, an Ashe County science teacher who participated in the seminar. “I wanted to come to an NCCAT seminar here and was lucky to be in the first group. During the experience, I learned about a different part of our state and found ways to enhance my students’ understanding of the interconnections between the coast and the mountains where they live.” The Ocracoke renovation was a project of the Office of State Construction of the N.C. Department of Administration. The Architect is EDA of Morehead City and interior design is by KNF Design of Clemmons. D.S. Simmons of Goldsboro was the general contractor. The campus includes a marsh area that will undergo a restoration to provide an outdoor environmental study area for teachers attending seminars. NCCAT’s main focus is a year-round series of five-day seminars where teachers (pre-kindergarten through 12th grade) study the arts, humanities, sciences, technology, and health and fitness. All programming is aligned with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. Seminars for beginning teachers, teachers who are candidates for national certification, and teachers who are conducting classroom research also are available. NCCAT’s main campus, located in Cullowhee in Jackson County about an hour west of Asheville, opened in 1990. For more information on NCCAT, visit http:www.nccat.org Click to view slideshow 
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