NCDPI Office of Charter Schools Updates
Reminder: State Employees Credit Union Foundation (SECU) High School Scholarship Opportunity
Since the SECU
Foundation was established in August 2004, it has awarded annual $10,000
“People Helping People” four-year scholarships – increasing from two to three
in 2014 – to graduating seniors attending North Carolina Charter Schools.
These scholarships will be awarded to students attending one of the 17
constituent campuses of the University of North Carolina. These
funds are made possible through the contributions to the Foundation by members
of State Employees' Credit Union.
In order to ensure
that each charter high school’s graduating seniors are able to be considered
for this opportunity, each charter school must establish a Scholarship
Selection Committee. The Committee from each charter high school will be
responsible for nominating a graduating senior for the scholarship. Each school must submit its nominees to the NCDPI Office of Charter Schools.
The nominee information for each school
will be reviewed/evaluated and the SECU will award scholarships to three
candidates statewide.
The attached
information will provide each school’s Scholarship Selection Committee with
eligibility criteria, procedures, and information.
Key points in the
attached information:
- Each school has flexibility in establishing its formal
application process, but should ensure that every graduating senior with a
minimum GPA of 2.5 is considered for the SECU Foundation “People Helping
People” Scholarship
- Scholarship recipient information from each school must
be postmarked by 5:00 pm EST on April 15, 2016 to
the NCDPI Office of Charter Schools.
- Each school should submit an alternate or first runner
up student in the event the first nominee is unable to accept the
scholarship (if selected).
-
Each school must submit paper copies of nominations and
any accompanying information to the following
address:
NCDPI Office of Charter Schools
Dr. Deanna Townsend-Smith
6303 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-6303
The Office of Charter
Schools appreciates the dedication and hard work by the members of each
school’s Scholarship Selection Committee. Your diligence and integrity
enable the “People Helping People” scholarship program to continue providing
important support to our college-going students. Please contact Deanna Townsend-Smith @ deanna.townsend-smith@dpi.nc.gov if you have any questions or concerns
about the program.
Attachment: SECU Scholarship Memo
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Interscholastic Athletics Participation Survey
At its April 2016
meeting, the State Board of Education (SBE) plans to discuss health and safety
requirements for students participating in interscholastic athletics. To inform this discussion, the SBE has
requested information on charter school students participating in
interscholastic athletics. ALL charter schools should complete the
attached brief 2-question survey by March 25, 2015. If you do not participate in interscholastic
athletics please respond “no” after you complete the school name field.
Please contact Dr.
Deanna Townsend-Smith via email at deanna.townsend-smith@dpi.nc.gov with questions or concerns.
Attachment: 2016 Charter School
Interscholastic Athletic Survey
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NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Updates
Professional Development Opportunity for Charter Schools in Charlotte-Mecklenburg
The NC Homeless
Education Program (NCHEP) is facilitating a round table session for the
Charlotte/Mecklenburg area on Wednesday, March 15, 2016 at Lake Norman
Charter School. This is an exciting opportunity for the NCHEP
liaisons to work with the charter schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area.
NCHEP hopes to schedule similar round table sessions in other areas within the
Southwest region before the end of this academic year. 25 charter schools are invited to participate in this round
table session along with the traditional public schools in
Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Charter schools
in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area are encouraged to respond to the invitation
attached using the provided link below.
Please
contact Patricia Lentz via email at plentz@serve.org with questions or concerns regarding
this professional development opportunity.
Attachments: Invitation
List
Invitation
Information
Registration
Link
Collaborative Conference for Student Achievement Conference (CCSA) Update
The CCSA features an
array of professional development and information sessions for educators,
policy makers, innovators and community members who have an interest in
innovative practices to improve educational outcomes for students of today and
tomorrow.
The conference takes
place on March 21-23, 2016 at the Koury Convention Center in
Greensboro, NC. This conference features 250 sessions that may be of
interest to districts and charter schools. Topics include: K-12 learning
standards, K-12 online and blended learning structures, policy, research,
accountability, student engagement and more.
The NCDPI Office of Charter
Schools (OCS) will be hosting a full day (morning and afternoon focus sessions)
on March 22 at the CCSA to provide an opportunity for charter school leaders to
come together to learn and network.
Attached below is a
preview of featured presentations for the CCSA conference (more information
regarding the OCS Focus Sessions to follow in another communication).
Attachment: CCSA Conference
Updates
CCSA Updates Part
2
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Specific Learning Disabled (SLD) Fact Sheet
Please
see the attached fact sheet which addresses the new requirements related to the
identification of Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD). This will be the
first of a series of fact sheets related to the definition, evaluation and
identification of students with SLD under the policy approved by the NC State
Board of Education on February 5, 2016.
If
you have any questions, please contact Lynne Loeser (lynne.loeser@dpi.nc.gov
/ 919 807-3980).
Attachment: SLD
Fact Sheet
Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) - Integrated Academic and Behavior Systems
Creating a
Multi-Tiered System of Support requires braiding together installed academic
and behavior problem-solving frameworks. This work requires having a clear
goal, a vision, for this change. The NCDPI MTSS team is providing opportunities
for districts, charter schools and state operated programs to analyze current
installation of these parallel structures and cast a vision for the adoption of
this braided framework. District and school leadership teams will provide
critical guidance during the exploration and installation stages of MTSS to
ensure a vision is developed and clearly communicated to all staff.
Reach out to your
MTSS Consultant for more information on opportunities to start this work.
Contact information can be found on the NCMTSS wikispace:
http://mtss.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/.
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Charter School Middle School Math Professional Development on Ratios and Proportions
The NCDPI Curriculum and Instruction Mathematics Section is hosting a middle school Math Professional Development Opportunity for charter schools. Participants in this session will look at the different tasks and
the use of representations in the ratios and proportional relationships
domain. This includes building understanding based on the progression from
concrete to abstract representations and using various models. An emphasis
will be placed on language and the progression from middle school into
higher-level mathematics.
This is a repeat of the Middle School Math
Summit and is open ONLY to charter school teachers in NC. It is being held
during NCDPI's Collaborative Conference on Student Achievement, but participants
do NOT have to register and pay for the conference if attending this
professional development. It will also take place at a different time for
those who are registering for the conference. Location for this training is at the Koury Convention
Center in the Imperial D ballroom.
Please sign up to attend this free training opportunity using the following link:
Middle
School Math Summit Registration for Charter Schools.
North Carolina's 2016 IDEA Grant
Attached is the Public Notice for participation and comments
on NC’s application for the IDEA Grant for the federal fiscal year 2016.
It is requested that districts and charter schools display the attached Public Notice
and State Application in the main lobby of the Central Office from March 7 – May
6, 2016.
If you have any questions, please contact Tracy Riddle at tracy.riddle@dpi.nc.gov
or 919 807-3948.
This information will also be posted on the EC Division
website.
Attachments: IDEA-Memo
0316
Memo-IDEA
Part B Public Review Attachment
Memo-IDEA
Part B Public Review App
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Finance Officers' Updates
Attached below is the Finance Officers' Newsletter. Please review the information and contact the individual listed in the newsletter with any questions or concerns.
Attachment: Finance
Officers' Newsletter
Memo
2016-10 Iran Divestment Act Final
Expiration of
Governor's Flag Order Honoring Former First Lady Nancy Reagan
The Governor's March 7 flag order lowering United States and North Carolina flags to
half-staff in honor of former First Lady Nancy Reagan will expire at sunset on
Friday, March 11. At that time and date, flags are to return to full-staff.
Other News
2015 Statute Change for School Health Assessments
The Kindergarten Health Assessment law with change starting with the 2016-17 school year. House Bill 13 (copy attached)
was ratified in
2015 and requires a health
assessment for all K – 12 children presented for first time admission into a public
school. In the past, that population has been
kindergarten students. With the start of the new school year the law will apply
not only to all kindergarten students, but also to all students of any
grade who are new to North Carolina public schools, including charter
schools.
Health assessments
may be completed up to twelve months prior to the start of school. The health assessment completion must be documented on the required
Health Assessment Transmittal Form. That form is available for download at
https://www2.ncdhhs.gov/dph/wch/doc/aboutus/HAForm2016.pdf
and is the only form allowed by law. The form is to be submitted on or
before the first day of school attendance. If a student starts school without
the form families should be notified regarding the requirement and are allowed 30
calendar days from the first date of attendance to have the form in place.
Required actions after the 30th day without a form are described in
the attached statute. This is the same as in the past for the Kindergarten
Health Assessment. All schools will also continue to be required to report on
compliance by November 1st of each school year. Information on how
to report will be sent at the start of the new school year.
Please contact the North
Carolina Division of Public Health’s Charter School Health Consultant, Catasha
Williams at Catasha.Williams@dhhs.nc.gov,
919-707-5652 with questions or concerns.
Attachment: 2015
House Bill 13
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