Charter School Weekly Newsletter

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Office of Charter Schools

6303 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-6303  •  919.807.3491


WEEKLY NEWSLETTER  –  August 12, 2016


Upcoming Events


August 31 - September 1, 2016


State Board of Education Meeting

 

September 12,  2016

 

Charter Schools Advisory Board Meeting


Action Needed

 

November 1, 2016


Kindergarten & 7th Grade Immunization Report Due

NCDPI Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Updates

2016 Charter School Leadership Institute 


The OCS will host its 2016 Charter School Leadership Institute October 10 - 11, 2016 at The Expedition School in Hillsborough, NC. The two-day event will feature relevant charter school topics and several guest speakers. A specific agenda outlining topics and registration information will be sent in the next few weeks.  

 

Don’t miss this exciting charter school professional development event!

 


Congratulations

Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Consultant Departure

Lisa Swinson, Education Consultant with OCS will be leaving the office after a four year tenure to complete her doctoral studies. Lisa's last day in OCS will be Monday, August 15, 2016. We are sad to see her go and wish her the best as she completes her doctoral studies.

 

The departure of Ms. Swinson from our office will require a shift in responsibilities. Last October (OCS) realigned its work in order to more efficiently and effectively meet the needs of the State Board, Charter Schools Advisory Board, and the NC charter schools community. 


Lisa's departure provides an opportunity to remind the charter community of our current structure. OCS no longer assigns consultants to be the single point of contact for each charter school; instead, OCS provides services to the charter community based on areas of work (such as Applications, RTO, and Amendments), with a lead/primary contact for each.


OCS no longer visits each school annually; as one of our work streams focuses on “Risk Assessment,” schools will only receive site visits as needed to address high risk issues or if required by the Renewal process. Additionally, OCS consolidates communications from various areas of DPI into a weekly newsletter to charter administrators, board members, and other stakeholders. It is imperative for you to read the newsletter every week for important updates. 


Please re-familiarize yourself with the following OCS areas of work and the lead/primary contact for each. As always, we appreciate any feedback or you might have about OCS! 


·         Applications for charter: Deanna Townsend-Smith (Lead OCS Consultant)

 

·         Planning Year (“Ready to Open”) Process for newly approved charters: Kebbler Williams

 

·         Risk Assessment (including Performance, Other Data & Reporting, Governance warnings):        

          Cande Honeycutt

 

·         Site Visits: Kebbler Williams

 

·         Renewals and Investigations: Shaunda Cooper

 

·         Communications (Inquiries, Complaints, Public Records 

           Requests, etc.): Shaunda Cooper, Deanna Townsend-Smith, and Brian Smith

 

·         OCS Website: Brian Smith

 

·         Coordination of Technical Assistance/Professional Development/Charter Amendments: 

           Brian Smith

 

·         Charter School Advisory Board: Deanna Townsend-Smith

 

·         Office of Charter Schools Administration: Vacant


Sharing of National and Local Recognition


The Office of Charter Schools wants to celebrate successes in the charter community. Please send any news recognition you receive to OCS. The plan is to capture these celebrations in the newsletter to share with all charter stakeholders.

 

Please submit the information to Dr. Deanna Townsend-Smith via email to deanna.townsend-smith@dpi.nc.gov.


Multi-Tiered System of Support

NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Updates

 

Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) - Strengthening Core Instruction for ALL 

 

The work of MTSS is designing a Multi-Tiered System of Support to meet the needs of all students.  In order to do this, a system must be designed that works for school staff.  The MTSS Implementation Team will guide School Leadership Teams to examine and/or select instruction and curriculum.  It is critical for these teams to make informed decisions while defining core instruction and curriculum for academics and behavior. When we think about curriculum, we think about standards and materials.  The materials support our students to meet those standards.   When we think about behavioral standards, we start with school-wide expectations. 

 

Selecting practices that have the most impact on student learning and then ensuring these adopted practices can happen for all students is part of  building an MTSS framework.  The professional development being offered via Integrated Academic and Behavioral  Systems provides resources for teams engaged in designing an MTSS for all students. For more information on these layers of support, see this graphic also at http://mtss.ncdpi.wikispaces.net.

 

If you have additional questions, please contact Amy Jablonski at:  amy.jablonski@dpi.nc.gov


NC Textbook Warehouse Offers Free Textbooks for Charter Schools

 

The NC Textbook Warehouse has a supply of textbooks that are no longer on adoption and no longer returnable to publishers.  Currently, there is a large quantity of used/obsolete textbooks that are suitable for schoolroom use. The Textbook Warehuse would like to offer these materials to charters who are willing to come and select materials according to specific school needs.. 


Since the inventory is diverse and no longer available in the Textbook Warehouses computer inventory system, the books will be offered, "FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED", to those willing to making on-site selections to pick up materials.


Please contact Mr. Drew Fairchild for additional details using the information provided below.  

 

Drew Fairchild

NC Textbook Warehouse

3905 Reedy Creek Road

Raleigh, NC 27607

919-715-5373

919-715-5380 - FAX


US Department of Education

US Dept. of Education Survey on Comprehensive Centers

 

 

Please open the attached memorandum from NCDPI Exceptional Children Division Director Bill Hussey regarding a US Department of Education Survey on Comprehensive Centers. 

 

 

Attachment:     USED Survey on Comprehensive Centers.pdf


Summative Online Assessments 2016-17 and 2016-17 Minimal Delay in Scores for English II End-of-Course (EOC) and North Carolina Final Exams (NCFEs) with Constructed Response Items



Please see the attached memos from Dr. Rebecca Garland and Dr. Tammy Howard to all Charter School Directors.



Attachment:     Summative Assessment Memos


NC Elementary Student taking a test

2016-17 Participation in Field Tests and Special Studies


Please see the attached memo, 2016-17 Participation in Field Tests and Special Studies, from Dr. Rebecca Garland and Dr. Tammy Howard to all Charter School Directors.



Attachment:     MEMO - 2016-17 Participation in Field Tests and Special Studies

 


NC Textbook Commission to Meet Aug. 15-16


The North Carolina Textbook Commission will meet Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 15-16, beginning at 8 a.m. each day, at the Embassy Suites, 204 Centreport Drive, Greensboro. Commission members will formulate a list of textbooks for recommendation to the State Board of Education after the deliberations and reconsideration process.


Questions regarding this meeting may be directed to Judy Blount with NCDPI Textbook Services.


Don't Miss This

NCDPI Newsletters

 

 

NCDPI Web Highlights - August 12, 2016

  

Finance Officers' Newsletter

 

Featured Publications from NCDPI Publication Sales

 

Superintendents' Weekly Message

 

8/8/2016 - Indicator 7 Count Reminder

 

NC Moves Up in WalletHub Public School Rankings


Other Updates

 

 

Health Assessment Compliance Report Memo for Charter Schools

 

 

Attached is the annual memo to Charter Schools as a reminder on the Health Assessment requirement and reporting process. In the past this has been the Kindergarten Health Assessment. With the change in the requirements this school year, links to the statute are included for your review. 

 

Please contact Catasha Williams at Catasha.Williams@dhhs.nc.gov with questions or concerns. 

 


Attachment:     Reporting Memo