NCDPI Office of Charter Schools Updates Final 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

Final Reminder: Adding Board Chair and Vice Chair Information to EDDIE

EDDIE is the authoritative source for NC public school numbers and demographic information, is used to feed multiple NCDPI technology systems including; Accountability, PowerSchool, and NC School Report Cards, and is used to meet federal reporting requirements.

Last year we collected board member information using a word document and schools had to resubmit the form each time they had changes to that information.  In order to improve our data collection regarding board membership, all charter schools must now add the current Board Chair and Board Vice Chair to the EDDIE system.  Keeping accurate, current information for the Board Chair and Vice Chair in EDDIE will help NCDPI to communicate effectively with current school administrators and board members.  If there are changes to Board Chair, Board Vice Chair, or any other school demographic information, charter directors must ensure this information is updated in EDDIE.

In previous newsletters, we requested that each charter school update board member information in EDDIE.  To date, only 45 schools have completed this task.  To ensure that NCDPI and OCS communication is directed to the right people at charter schools, each school should complete their update no later than April 29, 2016.

Steps for updating Board Chair and Vice Chair information are as follows:

1.      Go to EDDIE - http://apps.schools.nc.gov/eddie 

2.      School's EDDIE user logs into the system - Subscribed User List is posted at             

         http://www.ncpublicschools.org/fbs/accounting/eddie/ 

3.      Look at Selection Options on the Welcome - Main Menu page

4.      Change selection button to Charter/Regional Name

5.      Select your school in the dropdown, and click GO

6.      On School Information screen, midway down and to the right, click "Edit School Staff"

7.      On School Staff screen, click "Create A New Staff Record"

8.      From Staff Title dropdown, select "Board Chair" or "Board Vice Chair"

9.      Complete information and click "Save/Create This Staff Record"

10.    Repeat as needed to enter more title information.

11.    To edit previously entered information, look at the “Staff Title” row to be updated and click on the 

         blue text that says “Edit” in that row.

Note: Only current school year data can be updated.

NC Charter Schools Advisory Board to Meet   The North Carolina Charter Schools Advisory Board will meet next Monday and Tuesday, April 11-12, in the 7th Floor Board Room, Education Building, 301 N. Wilmington Street, Raleigh.   Monday’s meeting will be held from 1 – 4:30 p.m. Agenda items include charter school compliance interviews with leadership from Z.E.C.A. School of the Arts and Technology and Charlotte Choice Center, and Performance and Policy Committee discussions.   On Tuesday, the Board will meet from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Board members’ agenda is primarily focused on the following charter application interviews: Twin City High School, Town City Charter High School, Kaleidoscope Charter High School, Union Leadership Academy, UpRoar Leadership Academy and Young Inspiration Charter School.   The draft agenda is attached. The meeting will be audio streamed for those who cannot attend. Questions regarding this meeting should be directed to the NCDPI Communications division at 919.807.3450.   Attachment:   CSAB April 11-12 Mtg Agenda.docx

NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Updates

Textbook Evaluation Advisors Needed for Health and Social Studies

Highly motivated, experienced teachers and instructional leaders are needed to work with the NC Textbook Commission to review and evaluate books and materials to ensure they align with the NC Standard Course of Study for Health and the NC Standard Course of Study for Social Studies.

The evaluation will take place July 18 - 22. Advisors will receive training beginning July 17 on how to review textbooks and instructional materials using criteria developed by NCDPI.

Interested content area teachers must be certified in health or health/physical education or social studies for the grade level/course for which they are assigned to evaluate textbooks. Interested exceptional children teachers must have knowledge of the content and work with students in these content areas. Interested ESL teachers must be NC certified in English as a Second Language (K-12) and work with the grade level for which they are assigned to evaluate textbooks. Areas of vacancies in each content area are listed in the attached flyers.

Interested teachers and instructional leaders are invited to apply by completing an interest form no later than April 15. A candidate will need a signed letter of endorsement on official letterhead from his/her principal/district curriculum leader. Details about criteria for selection and the links for interest forms are in the attached flyers. Questions may be directed to Teresa Parker.

Attachments: Social Studies Textbook Evaluation Flyer.pdf

                        Health Textbook Evaluation Flyer.pdf

Character Education Workshop    The NCDPI Division of Curriculum and Instruction is hosting a free workshop on April 22, 2016 to help district and charter schools with implementing effective character education practices.  The deadline to register for this free event is April 19, 2016.   Please see the attached document for specifics about the workshop. Contact Justyn Knox via email at justyn.know@dpi.nc.gov with questions or concerns.     Attachment:   Character Education Workshop

NCDPI Accountability Services Policy Clarifications

Please see the attached memo regarding Policy Clarifications for test scores and testing administration windows from Dr. Rebecca Garland and Dr. Tammy Howard to all Charter School Directors.

Attachment:  Memo_Policy Clarifications

Analyzing Student Work (ASW) Update   During the last few months, NCDPI has received excellent feedback about how to improve the analysis of student work (ASW) initiative.  While we have made and continue to make improvements, we need your help in developing local models that will inform the initiative.  Attached is an application that you may use to get State Board approval for a local model. We have made the application process as simple as possible and have just sent it to your human resource director.   You are encouraged to submit an application. The application can be for one school district or charter school or for multiple districts or charter schools.     In having conversations with many of you, you have asked about legislative mandates for continuing this work. Currently, there are multiple requirements for having student growth in state legislation.  Another long-term reason deals with the potential to have greater flexibility with assessor requirements in Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).  Dr. Atkinson will provide details about these requirements at the April Superintendents' Quarterly meeting and in communications to charter school directors.     Please send your ASW application to educatoreffectiveness@dpi.nc.gov .   Attachments:       ASW Local Option Application   2015-2016 ASW Participation Spreadsheet ASW Closeout Memo

Technology Personnel Survey for LEAs and Charter Schools

NCDPI has been requested to collect full-time equivalent (FTE) data on personnel associated with technology in the schools and central offices. This manual data collection is necessary due to the fact that some of the positions requested are not specifically defined by the chart of accounts, and the difference in pay methods for non certified personnel make calculating FTE from the raw data imprecise.

The link to the survey is https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3WJ5FM9 

Due date: April 15, 2016

The survey requests FTE data on the following positions:

- Chief Technology Officer

- Chief Information Officer

- Technology Directors

- LAN Engineer

- Media Assistants

- Technology Specialists/Assistants

If you do not have one or more of these positions, please enter “0”.

In addition to the positions in the survey, the requestor has asked for FTE for technology related certified positions that are defined in the chart of accounts.  School Business will provide this information based on the 6th pay period payroll, using the coding in payroll.  Do not include any of these personnel in your survey response.

Media Specialist - 5810-131 & 6810-113,112 or 118

Lead Technology Teacher 5860-135

Instructional Technology Facilitator 5860-131

Any questions should be sent to Frank Cernik at frank.cernik@dpi.nc.gov

NC Teacher of the Year Announcement   The 2016 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year was announced, April 7, during a luncheon held at The Umstead, 100 Woodland Pond Drive, Cary.    Finalists for the award were: Northeast: Marie Smith, Conway Middle (Northampton County Schools); Southeast: Katie Snyder, Hoggard High (New Hanover County Schools); North Central: Margaret McNeill, Dunn Middle (Harnett County Schools); Sandhills: Olivia Hall, Roseboro-Salemburg Middle (Sampson County Schools); Piedmont-Triad: Kevin Scharen, Alamance Burlington Early College at Alamance Community College (Alamance-Burlington Schools); Southwest: Bobbie Cavnar, South Point High (Gaston County Schools); Northwest: Leah Hayes, South Newton Elementary (Newton-Conover City Schools); Western: Angel Ledbetter, Rutherford Early College High (Rutherford County Schools); and Charter Schools: Brandon Brown, Lake Norman Charter (Huntersville). Attached is the press release for the 2016 Teacher of the Year announcement.   Attachment:   Gaston County Teacher Bobbie Cavnar Named 2016 NC Teacher of the Year

NCDPI Exceptional Children's 66th Conference  - Call for Proposals

Attached is the announcement for Call for Proposals for the 66th Conference on Exceptional Children to be held November 7-9, 2016, at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro. The deadline for proposals is May 13, 2016.

Attachment:     Memo-Call for Proposals

NCDPI Newsletters   Superintendents' Weekly Message     Principals' Biweekly Message       Home Base Biweekly Update         Finance and Business Services Newsletter

Other News

Reminder: NC Homeless Education Program's (NCHEP) 2016 Learning Institute

Meeting Date & Times:

Friday, May 13, 2016

8:15 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Note: Check-in begins at 8:15 and the first session will begin promptly at 9:00.

Meeting Location:

Hilton Wilmington Riverside

301 North Water Street

Wilmington, NC  28401

Camellia & Azalea Meeting Rooms

Session Topics:

+ ESSA and Reauthorization Impacting Homeless Education

+ Migrant Education and Homelessness

+ Title I and Homeless Education

+ Best Practices for Your McKinney-Vento Program

+ Social Services, Foster Care, Awaiting Foster Care and Homelessness

+ The McKinney-Vento Subgrant Process: Should your district apply?

Note: The agenda is subject to change.

Participants:

The NC Homeless Education Program's Annual Learning Institute is intended for Homeless Liaisons, Migrant Consultants, and other Educators who work directly with homeless children and youth in North Carolina LEAs and charter schools.

Agenda:

Sessions are designed for participants to learn about the McKinney-Vento Act and ensure compliance in districts and charter schools. The Institute provides opportunities for professionals to acquire strategies and best practices in identifying, enrolling, and serving children and youth who are homeless.

The agenda will be posted to the Learning Institute page of the NCHEP website two weeks prior to the Institute.

Learning Institute Registration:

Registration for the NCHEP 2016 Annual Learning Institute is free, but you will need to register for the event. Please register here for the event by Friday, April 29th.

Hotel Accommodations:

Hilton Wilmington Riverside

301 North Water Street

Wilmington, NC  28401

(910) 763-5900

www.wilmingtonriverside.hilton.com

The Group Code is NCH and the cut-off date for the state rate of $67.30 is 4/15/16.

Hotel Reservations:

Participants are to make their individual reservations as conveniently as possible. To do so, please contact one of the Reservations Departments as shown below. It is important for group reservations to be received by the Reservations Department no later than Saturday, 4/15/2016.  After the cut-off date, no reservations will be accepted at the special group rate.

In-House Reservations:

Hilton and Riverview Suites Reservations office hours are Monday through Friday between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm.  To book your reservation, call:

Hilton Wilmington Riverside

Local: (910) 763-5900

Toll Free: 1 (888) 324-8170

Riverview Suites

Local: (910) 772-9988

Toll Free: 1 (888) 324-8170

Hilton Worldwide Reservations

Hilton Worldwide can be reached after 5:00 pm or weekends.

Hilton Worldwide: 1-800-HILTONS (1-800-445-8667)

On-Line Reservations:

All online reservations can be made through our web site at www.wilmingtonhilton.com or by calling the Hilton Worldwide toll free number at 1-800 HILTONS (1-800-445-8667).

Note: If you have trouble using the group code NCH using the online registration, contact Hilton reservation by phone to complete your reservation.

Guest Room Information:

Check-in Time:      3:00 PM

Check-out Time:  12:00 PM

Note: All guests arriving before the scheduled time will be accommodated, as rooms are available. The Front Desk and Bell Staff will be happy to provide luggage storage in the event rooms are not available.

Questions:

If you have questions about this event, you may contact:

Lisa Phillips, State Coordinator

lphillip@serve.org

336-315-7491

IMPORTANT REMINDER – EDDIE is the authoritative source for NC public school numbers and demographic information, is used by multiple NCDPI technology systems including; Accountability, PowerSchool, NC School Report Cards, and is used to meet federal reporting requirements.  LEAs and charter schools are responsible for ensuring their data in EDDIE are complete, accurate, and current.  EDDIE is located at: http://apps.schools.nc.gov/eddie.