This document summarizes a professional development session for teachers at Northern Vance High School on February 8, 2012. The purpose of the session was to explore the vertical alignment of instruction and assessments to ensure course expectations are appropriately aligned to Common Core and NC Essential state standards. Teachers participated in activities to build maps of how standards progress across grade levels and to reflect on their courses. They also identified power standards and completed tables correlating their course concepts to the new state standards.