Charter Schools Weekly Newsletter (Includes Action Items)

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Office of Charter Schools

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


WEEKLY NEWSLETTER  –  February 3, 2017


Upcoming Events


February 6 - 7, 2017

Charter Schools Advisory Board Meeting


March 1 - 2, 2017

State Board of Education Meeting


Action Items Due

 

January 12 - February 10, 2017

Hope Street Applications Due


Action Items Due Next Week

 

February 10, 2017

Hurricane Matthew Disaster Relief Survey Due


Future Action Items

 

February 21, 2017

EC Directors' Webinar

 

February 24, 2017

Recruitment and Retention of Special Educators Summit

 

February 25, 2017

Annual Registration of Legally Blind Students

 

February 28, 2017

Performance Framework Submission Pt. 2 Due

 

March 6 - 9, 2017

EC March Institute

 

March 20 - 27, 2017 

CCSA Conference Information and Registration

 

March 31, 2017

Performance Framework Submission Pt. 3 Due

 

April 13, 2017

SECU Nominations Due to OCS

 

April 18, 2017

Burroughs Wellcome Fund Application Due

 

April 30, 2017

Performance Framework Submission Pt. 4 Due

Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Updates

2017 Charter School Performance Framework Submission Dates

 

OCS collects evidence of operational, financial, and academic compliance through the Charter School Performance Framework (PF). January 2017 begins the collection process for the 2017 Charter School Performance Framework . 

 

Based on feedback, submissions for the 2017 PF are staggered to allow extended periods of collection and review.  The 2017 Charter School Performance Framework document library is now open for submissions. Your school’s username for the 2017 SharePoint system is the same as your 2016 PF.  

 

 

 Deadline- February 28, 2017- All Schools

 

                A1- School Report Card and Letter Grade

                A1- Parent Letter (only for schools receiving D/F in 2016)

                A13- Evidence of Fire Inspection

                A15- Civil and Liability Insurance Certificate for 2016-17

 

 

Performance Framework Upload Center Instructions - How to Submit Performance Framework Documents

 

 

1.     Review Performance Framework Criteria under the “Criteria” section. Click the small triangle next 

         to each category to read the descriptions.

 


2.     Before uploading any documents ensure all files are prepared in PDF format using the naming 

        convention “SchoolName_MeasureName_YY”.

 


3.     Under “Upload Documents” section, click “Add Document”. Click “Choose File”, navigate to the 

        file’s location, and affirm your selection. Uncheck “Overwrite existing files”.

 


4.      Another dialog box will appear with required fields. Select the “LEA” and “Measure”. Enter   

        “Contact Name” and “Contact Email”. Click “Check-In” to complete upload process. The uploaded 

         documents will display under the “Upload Documents” section.

 

5.     Repeat Steps 1-5 for all documents. A confirmation email will be sent for each uploaded 

        document.

 

Please refer to the 2017 Charter School Performance Framework Resources for item specifics (included in the document list). To access the system, please go to https://leadpincgov.sharepoint.com/sites/lea/Pages/pfp.aspx.

 

For questions regarding the 2017 Charter School Performance Framework please contact Cande Honeycutt at (919)807-3493 or cande.honeycutt@dpi.nc.gov


Moving forward we are asking that all Charter School requests for SharePoint assistance be requested through the Support Center by calling 919-807-4357 to help ensure you are getting the assistance you need as soon as possible. 

 

 

Attachment:    PF Resources


Contact Us

October 2016 Leadership Institute Conference Reimbursements

 

 

The Office of Charter Schools (OCS) has formalized the process to return the October 2016 fees charter schools. If your school submitted a fee for the October Leadership Conference (which was cancelled due to weather) please submit to Ms. Mary Brown via email the following:

 

  •  W-9 form - required by NCDPI accounts payable 


A check will be sent the week the form W-9 form is received. Ms. Brown can be reached at mary.brown@dpi.nc.gov. Please contact the OCS directly with questions or concerns at 919-807-3491.


Occupational Course of Study in Charter Schools

 

Please see the attached memo which communicates Occupational Course of Study requirements in charter schools. 

 

Attachment:     OCS Memo


Laptop

NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Updates 

 

Feb. 21 Exceptional Children (EC) Directors' Webinar - Submit Questions


Please submit any question you want the Division to address during the Feb. 21 webinar to Tish Bynum (Tish.bynum@dpi.nc.gov) no later than February 10, 2017.

 

We look forward to continued collaboration during the February EC Directors' webinar. Webinar link is listed below.

 

EC Director/Coordinator Webinar Registration Information:


Join us for a webinar on Feb 21, 2017 at 10:00 AM EST.


Register now!


https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2005007111306150657


EC Division Leadership Team webinar for EC Directors/Coordinators.


After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

View System Requirements


Charter School High School (HS) Math Summit

 

We have secured a date, time and place for the Charter School HS Math Summit. It will occur during the CCSA conference Greensboro, and charters will have a separate (free) registration. 

 

Please use registration link below to register for this specific session and see the information below for the training specifics. 

 

Tuesday, March 21 10:00 - 4:00

10 a.m. - 12:00 pm morning sessions

12:00 pm - 1:30 lunch on your own

1:30pm -3:30 pm afternoon sessions

 

 

Registration Link:     https://www.research.net/r/Charterhsmathsummit


Textbooks

Updates and Announcements for Curriculum Leaders

 

English Language Arts (ELA) Standards Update for District Curriculum Leaders

 

When: February 27, 2017 from 10am – 11am



What: The webinar will provide discussion about the ELA Draft Standards. Learn about potential changes to the standards, challenges for implementation, and supports the ELA Team has planned. 



Who: District leaders responsible for implementation of content standards are encouraged to attend the webinar. Curriculum Leaders who are a part of the Curriculum Leaders Collaborative East and West cohorts have/will receive this content at the 3rd CLC Session, but are welcome to join the webinar, if desired.



How: Join NCDPI ELA Team and K12 Standards, Curriculum and Instruction Director, Tiffany Perkins by registering via the following link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8415684369371055105. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

 

NCVPS NC Math 1 Intervention Course Webinar



Do you have students who are low performing or under achieving in NC Math 1? NCVPS has partnered with NCDPI to create a new NC Math 1 intervention course to help students in need. This course is designed for students who lack prior success in a traditional math setting, are learning English as a second language, or who have an IEP or 504.




Please join us in one of our NC Math 1 Information Session webinars. Participants will be given a detailed overview of why, how and the benefits of enrolling in the program, which is part of a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS). Preliminary data from the pilot will be shared along with implementation for the upcoming school year.



Webinar dates are as follows. Click on the date for details and registration.




-  Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2 – 3 p.m.

-  Wednesday, Feb. 15, 7 – 8 p.m.

-  Friday, Feb. 24, 10 – 11 a.m.




Learn more about the NCVPS NC Math 1 Intervention course by clicking here. Questions may be directed to NCVPS Director of Outreach and Support Mia Murphy.

 

"Just in Time" Virtual support for teachers of NC Math 1, 2, & 3



The NCDPI math team in collaboration with the NC Collaborative for Mathematics Learning (NC2ML) at UNCG are pleased to announce redesigned "Just in Time" Virtual support for teachers of NC Math 1, 2, & 3. As a part of our High School Implementation plan for revised math standards, we hosted monthly webinars for teachers of each course as well as three throughout the semester for leaders.



Based on feedback from teachers and leaders of mathematics, we plan to release all of the supports ahead of time rather than scheduled and recorded webinars. They will include tasks for teachers, videos and research briefs on standards and pedagogy. These support modules will be posted in the Canvas course for teachers and will be available separately on our math wiki.



More specific information on access and contents coming soon! Look for the first set by February 15. A reminder and update will be shared at release time. 

 

Career and College Graduates (CCRG) Information Meetings



The Career and College Ready Graduates (CCRG) legislation was passed in the 2015 state budget. This legislation required the State Board of Community Colleges (SBCC), in consultation with the State Board of Education (SBE), to develop a program for implementation beginning in the 2016-17 school year that introduces the college developmental mathematics and developmental reading and English curriculums in the high school senior year and provides opportunities for college remediation for students prior to high school graduation through cooperation with community college partners. While the SBCC has received an extension to begin statewide implementation, there are quite a few things colleges and high school partners can be working on now to prepare.



Seven college/high school partnership models for the 2016-17 academic year are underway. The community college and respective high school(s) have worked diligently to create the best model program possible for their students. SBCC is offering regional  information meetings to allow all colleges and high school/DPI partners to hear from these model programs about what is happening, what is working, and what you can do to prepare to implement CCRG in local high school partnerships.



Please consider sending a team of three or four, including high school faculty, administrators, and/or district personnel, who will be working on the implementation of CCRG at your institution to the regional meeting nearest you.



                                March 15 – Davidson County Community College

                                March 21 – Asheville Buncombe Technical Community College

                                April 3 – Pitt Community College




The attached flyer has more details on the meetings and where to RSVP. We hope you are able to take advantage of this opportunity to learn about CCRG and your role in implementation.



Attachment:     Career and College Ready Graduates Item


Weekly Legislative Update - Friday, February 3, 2017

 

Please see the link below for the Legislative Update on this week’s activities.

 

 

Attachment:     LegislativeUpdate-2.3.17.pdf


math teachers

NC Educator Evaluation System (NCEES) Update

 

NCDPI is happy to announce that the NCEES nightly employee data feed has been updated to accommodate the issues outlined below: 

 

Issue #1 LEAs who transitioned to LINQ HR



Several LEAs have moved their HR processing to LINQ HR, a 3rd party human resource application.  To accommodate those LEAs, a process was built to collect data from the LINQ HR system, HRMS, and charter/agency schools. 

 

Issue #2 Re-Write of the nightly feed


The current file creation process was unstable and inaccurate.  New development of the file allows for an enhanced email process and alleviates the current character limitation of 100 characters for school locations. It also eliminates the sending of inactive employees into school locations. 

 

The NEW process for pulling email addresses are

  1. PowerSchool
  2. LINQ
  3. HRMS or via upload process for charter schools and/or agency schools 

 

Question:  How will this affect users?

Answer:    End-users will notice updated e-mail addresses, demographic, and accurate location information within the Truenorthlogic system. 

 

Target Completion



This process is targeted for implementation Sunday, February 5. Changes will appear in the Truenorthlogic system on Monday. 

 

Coming Future Developments

  • An option for an LEA or charter/agency school to select the default email source
  • Ability to remove inactive employees 

 

If you experience any technical problems with the Truenorthlogic application, please contact the Home Base Support Center at (919) 807-4357 or submit a ticket to the Remedy portal.


Mentor Teacher Policy Updates

 

At its February 2nd meeting, the State Board of Education (SBE) approved changes to SBE policy TCP-A-004 regarding requirements for mentor teachers. The policy is attached for your reference.  Approved changes are in underlined, red font. The approved changes will be in effect for the 2017-18 school year. 

 

NCDPI has made the SBE aware of the difficulties many districts will have implementing the law (and SBE policies) as written.  The SBE is committed to making the General Assembly aware of these difficulties and will request legislative changes to the current law. 

 

 

Attachment:     TCP-A-004.pdf


Reporting

Office of Civil Rights (OCR)/Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) Updates 

 

Those LEAs and Schools that were not open in the school year 2015-16 are not required to participate in this collection.

 

One hundred percent of Charters and LEAs have completed the LEA level CRDC PowerSchool Preview reports!  The staff at NCDPI appreciates your tenacity and thoroughness!

The vendor ran a script February 1, 2017, at 7 p.m. Eastern, to complete the approval process for those LEAs and Charters that experienced issues.

 

Please remember that any data that was not captured in PowerSchool (PS) or other external data files will need to be recorded in the Federal Submission Portal.  NCDPI will upload the following:

 

 

-          LEA level CRDC PS Data

-          School level CRDC PS Data

-          Expenditure and FTE

-          Teacher Certification (separate from the PS data file)

 

 

 

NCDPI will upload PS data and external data during the week of February 6, 2017.  In parallel, LEAs and Charters will receive accounts from the Feds into the Federal Submission Portal.  LEAs and Charters may log in and create accounts during the February 6, 2017 upload, but should not upload any data at that time.  Do not update or add data until notified by the NC DPI.

 

LEAs and Charters will be responsible for adding Teacher absenteeism information and any data that was not recorded in PowerSchool.

 

LEAs and Charters may update any information as necessary to complete the collection.

 

LEAs and Charters will resolve any errors and certify the data in the Federal Submission Portal prior to April 24, 2017.  Can we make it a goal to complete certification by mid-March? 

 

Thank you to all who worked to make this first phase a success.


Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs) Approved to Provide Special Education


Please see the attached directory of approved Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs) approved to provide Special Education.


If you have any questions, please contact Glendora Hagins at 910 417-5915.

 

Attachment:     Memo-PRTF+Approved+0217.pdf


Multi-Tiered System of Support

Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS): Where are Charter Schools with Implementation?

 

To strategically plan collaborative implementation of an MTSS in each Charter School across NC, a Charter Collaboration Workgroup has been created. In collaboration with the Office of Charter Schools, this group is made up of consultants from Integrated Academic and Behavior Support, K-3 Assessment, and Exceptional Children Division.  


This group is functioning to design differentiated supports to implement an MTSS framework and Specific Learning Disability Policy within Charter settings.   North Carolina currently has three groups of Charter Schools for which support is being designed:


       currently  in an MTSS Cohort (1-4),

       un-cohorted Charters,

       and new Charter Schools. 


The initial focus is development of an MTSS PD/TAC plan for charter schools that are not in a current MTSS Cohort. Upcoming support will include a February Twitter Chat and a webinar.

For more information on establishing readiness for  implementation of an MTSS , please click here or for additional information, contact Amy Jablonski.


Education Consultants for Deaf & Hard of Hearing


Please see the attached announcement of two new Education Consultants for Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Jenny Stroupe and Nancy Woytowich, as well as regional consultant assignments.

 

 

Attachment:     Memo-New+Employee+Announcement-Deaf+HH+Consultants.pdf


Reporting Deadlines

Disaster Recovery (Hurricane Matthew Oct 2016 / Wildfires Nov 2016) Reporting - Charter Schools


The Disaster Recovery Act of 2016 (SL 2016-124 Section 5.7) provided flexibility to charter schools affected by Hurricane Matthew or wild fires on making up instructional days in 2016-17. The Bill requires charter schools to provide information to the Department of Public Instruction on the implementation of the legislation.


The survey link is https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TVBR83N and is to be completed by each charter school. Please complete and submit by February 10, 2017. If you have questions, contact Gwendolyn Tucker at gwendolyn.tucker@dpi.nc.gov.


Recruitment and Retention of Special Educators Summit


Please see the attached regarding the Recruitment and Retention of Special Educators Summit on Feb. 24, 2017.


Registration deadline is February 8, 2017.


If you have questions regarding the Summit, please contact Carol Moffitt at 919 807-3997 or carol.moffitt@dpi.nc.gov



Attachment:     Memo-Recruitment++Retention+Summit+0117.pdf


Don't Miss This

NCDPI Newsletters

 

January 2017 From the Board Room

 

Jan. 30, 2017 Superintendents' Weekly Message 

 

Finance Officers' Newsletter - February 3, 2017

 

Draft 2 English Language Arts Standard Course of Study

 

Register for the 2017 Home Base Symposium 

 

The NC Education & Innovation Tour Coming to Forsyth County

Sponsors Needed to Help Ensure Students Don't Go Hungry this Summer 

Public School Dropout Rate Improves in 2015-16 

Reportable Public School Crimes and Consequences Decrease in 2015-16; Short-Term Suspensions Increase 

Regional NC Teachers of the Year Named; State Winner to be Announced in April 


Charter Schools in the News

 

CHARTER SCHOOL WAS BEST CHOICE FOR SPECIAL-NEEDS CHILD


CELEBRITY CHEF RAISES THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR LOCAL CHARTER SCHOOL


Other News

 

Burroughs Wellcome Fund Accepting Applications for Student Science Enrichment Program

 

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund has opened its application for the 2017 Student Science Enrichment Program (SSEP) grant awards. SSEP supports diverse programs with a common goal: to enable primary and secondary students to participate in creative, hands-on scientific activities for K-12 students and pursue inquiry-based exploration in BWF's home state of North Carolina. These awards provide up to $60,000 per year for three years. The application deadline is April 18, 2017.

 

For more information or to access the application, visit http://www.bwfund.org/grant-programs/science-education/student-science-enrichment-program


Forum Beginning Teacher Leadership Network (BTLN) Request for Proposals

 

The Public School Forum of NC is seeking current teachers who are interested in presenting to the Beginning Teacher Leadership Network (BTLN) in Wake, Mecklenburg, and Union counties during the Spring 2017 semester. If you are interested, please apply online here. Contact James Ford at jford@ncforum.org with questions.


Applications Open for 2017-18 NC Teacher Voice Network

 

Applications are open for the North Carolina Teacher Voice Network. Hope Street Group NC Teacher Voice Network Leaders collaborate with state and national decision-makers, as well as their colleagues, to develop practical policy solutions to challenges in education. Network Leaders remain in their classrooms full-time and work with Hope Street Group for 10-15 hours each month and receive a $3,000 stipend for the 12-month fellowship.

 

The application will be open January 16 through February 10 at apply.hopestreetgroup.org.  Email questions to Fellowship@hopestreetgroup.org