NCDPI Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Updates
Charter Schools 2017-2018 Enrollment Increase and/or Grade Expansion
Per NC General Statute 115C-218.5(e-f), a school must request approval from the State Board of Education if the school is planning to grow student membership more than 20%, unless this growth is approved in the planned growth in their charter. A school must also request approval from the State Board if the school is planning to add more than one grade than is approved in their charter. The legislation states that schools must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible for greater than 20% increase:
1. The actual enrollment of the charter school is within ten percent (10%) of its maximum authorized enrollment.
2. The charter school has commitments for ninety percent (90%) of the requested maximum growth.
3. The charter school is not currently identified as low-performing.
4. The charter school meets generally accepted standards of fiscal management.
The 2017-18 Enrollment Increase and/or Grade Expansion data will be collected using the Charter School ADM Projection System (CSADM) beginning November 1, 2016 and ending November 15, 2016. This system replaces the Office of Charter Schools “Statement of Intent” (hard copy form) requesting enrollment growth greater than 20% or grade expansion. Requests not submitted using the CSADM and do not meet this deadline will not be included in the State Board of Education approval meeting.
All Charter School administrators are required to go into the CSADM system, certify and submit the school’s intent, even if the school is not requesting State Board of Education approval.
If your school will require State Board approval, you should assess your school’s eligibility per the criteria above and obtain approval from the school’s board to submit your request to the State Board. These requests will be submitted to the State Board for discussion in January and approval in February.
The link to the 2017-18 Charter Schools ADM Projection System will be located at the Financial and Business Services website under “What’s New”: www.ncpublicschools.org/fbs .
The Charter School administrator or Charter School Board Chair will need an active North Carolina Identity Management identification (NCID) login.
If you do not have an active NCID, you must contact your Charter Schools’ NCID administrator
to set up an account for you. A directory of charter school NCID administrators is available at https://www.ncid.its.state.nc.us/LEAListing.asp . DPI cannot assign an NCID or reset NCID passwords.
For your reference, the 2016-17 CSADM data (prior fiscal year), if applicable, is now viewable from within the application.
If you have questions about your school’s eligibility for grade expansion or enrollment increase, please contact Brain Smith, Education Consultant, NC Office of Charter Schools, 919-807-3492.
If you have questions about navigating the Charter School ADM Projection System, please contact Angela Harrison, School Business Division, angela.harrison@dpi.nc.gov, 919-807-3734.
 Training Opportunity
Board members from charter schools that are opening in 2017 are required to attend 5 face-to-face planning year sessions from September to January. The school leader and some of the board members are also required to attend the New Charter School Leaders Institute in June.
As a customer service, the Office of Charter Schools continues to open up these sessions to all charter schools. If you have a new school leader and/or a new board member interested in attending any of the sessions, he or she must register to attend.
The next session is scheduled on Wednesday, November 16th. Registration is now open for this session, which will focus on Charter School Accountability and Operations. Registration ends on Sunday, November 6th. Please use this link to register:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd-c5xJIPPHWsDgKHm9v151ZkFR4wiiZjCXTGTNHXC4_L9jPA/viewform?usp=send_form
For questions, please contact Dr. Kebbler Williams at kebbler.williams@dpi.nc.gov.
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The Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Website Overview
OCS has added many new
resources to the website assists with accessing information quickly. Listed below are some of the resources for your review:
-
Resource Page - More professional
development opportunities from Educator Effectiveness have been added.
- Interactive Map - A key has been added to help with understanding how to understand/navigate the map and changes are coming to improve the accuracy of school information in EDDIE.
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Enrollment and Grade Expansion - This page assists charter school leaders with quickly adding their Average daily membership (ADM) projections for
future years.
We encourage your feedback and are continually making updates to the website. Our hope is that you find the website user-friendly and a
great resource for your charter school needs. If you have questions or want to
provide feedback, please contact Brian Smith at brian.smith@dpi.nc.gov.
NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Updates
K-12 English
Language Arts Standards Revision Update
As part of the
English Language Arts (ELA) standards review process, the NC Department of
Public Instruction requests LEA and charter school feedback on the DRAFT ELA Standards. This
is an opportunity for district and charter ELA content experts to give input before the
draft standards are sent out for public comment in January.
Below is an
overview of the steps in the review/revision process. *Please note that there
are two LEA and charter action items that will contribute to this process.
- June 2016 - Data Review Committee met to review extensive feedback
retrieved from surveys and focus groups and to make recommendations to the
Writing Teams
- July 2016 - Writing Teams met to begin revisions based on these
recommendations
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*November,
2016 - LEAs and charters will receive an email containing the DRAFT NC
Standard Course of Study for English Language Arts and a brief survey
on November 14th
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*December 2016 - LEAs and charters are asked to submit their feedback on the DRAFT NC Standard Course
of Study for ELA by Friday, December 2
Between today and
November 10th, LEAsand charters are asked to select the members of your ELA
Standards Review Team. It will be important to have representation in
elementary, middle, and high school.
On November
14th we will send you the draft standards and a link to the
survey. We suggest that your team members review the draft standards
individually prior to working as a whole team to complete ONE survey.
Please submit
the Draft ELA Standards Survey by December 2nd. We have
attached a copy of the survey questions to assist in your thinking while you
plan your review of the draft standards. Please use the link (provided
on November 14) to the online survey to submit your responses.
If you have any
questions, please contact Julie Joslin, K-12 ELA Section Chief:
julie.joslin@dpi.nc.gov or (919)
807-3935.
Attachment: LEA_Charter
Survey
 Collaborative Conference for Student Achievement: Save the Date
NCDPI’s 2017
Collaborative Conference for Student Achievement, Champions for Student
Success, takes place March 20-22 at the Sheraton Greensboro at Four
Seasons, Greensboro.
The
conference features over 250 sessions with strands addressing a number of
topical issues including accountability and assessments, cultural
responsiveness, disciplinary literacy, foundations for early learning and
development, school improvement planning, and teacher leadership.
Participant
registration and presenter proposal submission links open Dec. 1. The
registration fee is $175 if received before Feb. 1, and $200 if received
after Feb. 1.
For more information, visit the Collaborative Conference for Student
Achievement website, email staff or call the CCSA Hotline at
919.835.6133. Follow us @CCSA_DPI to receive updates about the 2017 conference.
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English Language Arts (ELA) Standards Webinar
Join the NCDPI ELA
Section’s webinar on November 29th (3:30 – 4:30) to learn more about
the ELA Standards Review Process. We will present a brief history of the ELA
standards review process, provide an update as to where we are in the process,
share several proposed changes, and discuss next steps. Additionally, Members of the Data
Review Committee and Writing Teams will speak about their experiences. There
will be Q&A opportunity at the end.
Please register
for ELA Standards Review Process Update on Nov 29, 2016 3:30 PM EST at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4644213249307064321. After registering,
you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the
webinar.
 2016 Report on Education Legislation
NCDPI’s 2016 Report on Education Legislation is now complete and ready
for you to review and share. The attached report is 341 pages, and chronicles all of the 2016 Session Laws (including relevant Budget provisions)
related to K-12 public education. If you prefer printed copies,
please visit the NCDPI Publications and Sales website at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/publications/.
Attachment: NCDPI 2016
Report on Education Legislation
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Other News
UNC-Greensboro (UNCG) Graduate-Level Birth through Kindergarten (BK) Professional Development Opportunity
UNC-Greensboro
(UNCG) has two options for graduate-level professional development in Birth
through Kindergarten, and is accepting applications between now and February 1,
2017 (plan to submit application materials by January 15, 2017 to meet this
deadline).
Both programs are totally
on-line with classes that meet in the late afternoon/early evening. The options are:
1) BK Initial Licensure Program
UNCG received a grant from the US Office of Special Education programs to help
students pay for this graduate program. UNCG has 10 grant-funded slots
available in the BK Initial Licensure Post Bachelors Certificate program in
Fall 17. The program allows persons with an undergraduate degree in early
childhood or a related field who do not have a BK license to complete courses
and receive their initial BK license in three semesters. In addition, the
courses students complete count toward requirements for a Masters degree, so
students can receive the BK license and are half-way toward their Masters
degree.
The grant provides funding to pay for all tuition costs plus a modest
stipend to cover other costs. Classes
meet at 5:00 to accommodate working students, and meet using computer
technology so students do not need to be in Greensboro. Students do need to be
able to participate in practica and student teaching experiences, but can do
the field-based requirements wherever they live. This is a particularly great
opportunity for teacher assistants or perhaps community-based providers who do
not have their license.
Additional information about the grant opportunity and how to apply are
found at the following website:
http://www.uncg.edu/hdf/graduates/bkilp.html
2.
Masters of Education--Advanced Teaching License
UNCG
also offers a Masters of Education program that prepares teachers for their
Advanced BK Teaching License. The Masters is a two-year program and all courses
are offered on-line in a synchronous format, which means classes meet over the
computer in the evenings. This program is a great opportunity for teachers with
a BK License who want to further their education and training in early
childhood, and complete the requirements for an Advanced Teaching License.
Additional
information about both of these opportunities for graduate studies is found at:
http://www.uncg.edu/hdf/graduates/BK_Graduate_Options.html
Completed
applications for both programs are due on February 1, 2017, so we recommend
that all materials be submitted by January 15, 2017 to allow time for
processing.
Applications can be submitted at the following web address:
http://grs.uncg.edu/apply-online/
For further information, contact Catherine Scott-Little at mcscottl@uncg.edu.
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