NCDPI Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Updates   Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Training Camps for Low-Performing and Continually Low-Performing Charter Schools As part of our new professional development model, OCS recently held two training camps for low-performing and continually low-performing charter schools. We want to say thank you to the schools that attended and a special thank you to the schools and leaders that hosted (Henderson Collegiate and Sugar Creek Charter School). The teams at the host schools did an awesome job planning for the events and we are truly appreciative of their dedication to this effort. Again, thank you for the partnership and collaboration!   We plan to offer more training camp opportunities this fall. Dates and information for these camps will be included in the Office of Charter Schools weekly newsletter starting in late summer/early fall.

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- March 31, 2017- New Schools Opening in 2016-17 and Previous Operating Schools with Updates from Prior Year Submission (if your school had no compliance issues and there are no changes from your policies submitted last year, you are not required to submit items this for this submission)

                A8- Grievance Policy

                A9- Conflict of Interest Policy

                A10- Nepotism Policy

                A16- Criminal History Policy

                A14- Certificate of Occupancy

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

• Step 1 - Review Performance Framework Criteria under the “Criteria” section. Click the small triangle next to each category to read the descriptions.

• Step 2 - Before uploading any documents ensure all files are prepared in PDF format using the naming convention “SchoolName_MeasureName_YY”.

• Step 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”.

• Step 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.

• Step 5 - Repeat Steps 1-5 for all documents. A confirmation email will be sent for each uploaded document. If you do not receive a confirmation email, your upload did not go through correctly.  Please try uploading the document again.

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 Wood at (919) 807-3493 or Cande.Wood@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. While the monthly submissions are due on the last day of the month, please do not wait until the last day to submit as you may need technical assistance. The Service Support Center can take several days to address password resets and other technical support.

Attachment:    PF Resources 

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 received by 5:00 pm EST on April 13, 2017 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  copies of nominations and any accompanying information to Dr. Deanna Townsend-Smith via email at deanna.townsend-smith@dpi.nc.gov.       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 Dr. Deanna Townsend-Smith @ deanna.townsend-smith@dpi.nc.gov if you have any questions or concerns about the program.     Note:   The SECU Foundation also provides each North Carolina Community College two (2) $5,000 scholarships.  Recipients are selected by the Scholarship Selection Committee at the community college.  If you have a student who will be attending a community college and exemplifies the membership philosophy of credit unions, “People Helping People”, please direct them to the Financial Aid office at the community college.       Attachment:    SECU Documents

Office of Charter Schools (OCS) at the Collaborative Conference on Student Achievement (CCSA)

If you are planning to attend the Collaborative Conference on Student Achievement (March 20-22, 2017, Koury Convention Center, Greensboro), please make sure to join us for the “Moving Forward” focus session on Tuesday, March 21 from 8:00 - 11:30 am. This focus session will feature valuable information for charter schools. See the session information below:

Digital Learning Initiative for Charter Schools – Dr. Jeni Corn (Friday Institute) and Dr. Maria Pitre-Martin (NCDPI)

Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) – Amy Jablonski (NCDPI)

NAIP: A New and Improved Process to Teacher Evaluation – Jonathan Bryant, Tiffany Moceri, Kyle Pierce and Melissa Peterman (Lincoln Charter School)

You must register for the conference and pay the registration fee in order to attend this session. If you are interested in attending the conference and have not registered, please use the following link to learn more and register: CCSA

Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Monthly Audible (Webinar) Update   This month’s OCS Audible (webinar) will be held Tuesday, March 28 at 9:00 am. This month’s webinar will feature a discussion on MTSS with Amy Jablonski (NCDPI) and the Digital Learning Initiative with Dr. Jeni Corn (Friday Institute). Webinar access information will be provided in next week’s newsletter.

Dyslexia Capacity Building Application

Please see the attached information regarding Dyslexia Capacity Building including a cohort of NC Dyslexia Delegates.  The application deadline is May 5, 2017.

If you have any questions, please contact Lynne Loeser at lynne.loeser@dpi.nc.gov or 919 807-3980.

Attachments:         Memo+-+Dyslexia+Capacity+Building+-+Initiative

                                Memo+-+Dyslexia+Capacity+Building+-+Application.doc

                                Memo+-+Dyslexia+Capacity+Building+Applications+.pdf

IDEA Grant Notification   The IDEA Part B 611 and 619 grant applications will open Friday, March 31, 2017 and grant applications will be due Friday, May 26, 2017. Please see the attached information for specifics.   New this year, the IDEA 619 grant is now open to Charter Schools with 5 year old students with disabilities who were not yet 6 on the December 1 2016 child count.    If you have additional questions contract Tracy Riddle at tracy.riddle@dpi.nc.gov or 919-807-3948.      Attachment:   IDEA Grant Information

Webinar - Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) Fact Sheet #3

Please see the attached information regarding a webinar on April 6 regarding SLD Fact Sheet #3.

If you have any questions, please contact Lynne Loeser (lynne.loeser@dpi.nc.gov  / 919 807-3980) or Lynn Makor (lynn.makor@cidd.unc.edu / 919 843-7049).

Attachment:     Memo+-+SLD+Fact+Sheet+%233.pdf

NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Updates

Office of Civil Rights/Civil Rights Data Collection (OCR/CDC) Federal Submission Portal Data

Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and Charter Schools that were not open in the school year 2015-16 are not required to participate in this collection.

NOTE:  Do not begin the certification process at this time. 

NCDPI continues to review and correct some of the errors that were generated in the Federal Submission Portal upon upload.   The great news is that only 11,046 errors exist state-wide.  To see LEA and School Errors and Warnings, click the Reports Link at the top right of the Federal Submission Portal home page.  Navigate to the Error Resolution Report for Advanced Users report and click Download Error Resolution Report. NCDPI corrections will be uploaded the week following March maintenance weekend after business hours.  A notification will be sent once the upload is complete.

Additional Items that will be corrected in the next data upload

These additional items reported do not create errors in the Federal Submission Portal.

• All Charters are indicated as Magnet schools.

• For those schools who have data populating from the Athletics Module of PowerSchool, ‘No’ is indicated in the Interscholastic Athletics table.

Items Resolved Last Week

The items below do not create errors in the Federal Submission Portal.

• The Justice Facility table in the Federal Submission portal has been flagged as ‘not required’ for all LEAs and Charters except for the Department of Juvenile Justice.  The data has been removed from this table in the Federal Portal.

• Two elements in the EXPD table were either misaligned or missed: 

• Number of personnel Support Services Staff funded with FEDERAL, STATE, and LOCAL funds and the amount of salary expenditures
• School Administration Staff funded with FEDERAL, STATE, and LOCAL funds and the amount of salary expenditures

• There was a bug in the system that was impacting the percentage completed in the STAF table.  This has been resolved by Partner Support.

Items that must be resolved by the PowerSchool Vendor

Items that require fixes to PowerSchool also require the CRDC Preview reports to be re-run.  While no ETA has been provided for these fixes, the reports will be re-run and the data corrected with no user intervention.  NCDPI will notify the state once these corrections are made.

• Days missed for OSS counts were not updated during the February maintenance weekend. 

• AP enrollment counts in Math, Science and Other categories are counting courses based on SY 13-14 and SY 15-16 course mapping logic.

Questions pertaining to this message may be addressed to Terra Dominguez at terra.dominguez@dpi.nc.gov or 919-807-3272.

North Carolina Governor’s School Board of Governors to Meet

The North Carolina Governor’s School Board of Governors will hold its regular business meeting on Thursday, March 23, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., in the Belk Dining Hall (Oak Room – Wainwright Conference Suite), Meredith College, Raleigh.

Agenda items include Student Selections for 2017 Session and Session Preparations; Scholarship, Budget and Employment updates; and Alumni Association and Foundation reports.

For more information, please contact NCDPI Communications at 919.807.3450. 

Educator Effectiveness Principal READY Opportunity The Educator Effectiveness Division announced the spring dates for the annual Principal READY sessions back in January. The sessions began in February and are extending through April.  Each region across the state hosts a session planned by the statewide Service Support Teams planned in collaboration with principals from each zone. Participants will engage in an analysis of their 2015-2016 school data including the PLC process. If you did not have a chance to register for the upcoming Wilmington session only, you may do so through close of business on Wednesday, March 15, 2017.  To register, click here.     Please contact Gerri Martin at gerri.matin@dpi.nc.gov with questions or concerns.

NCDPI Newsletters   2016-2017 North Carolina School Guide   March 13, 2017 Superintendents' Weekly Message    Weekly Legislative Update - March 10, 2017   Finance Officers' Newsletter March 10, 2017   State Board of Education Names Achievement School District Superintendent   NC Supt. Hires Senior Legislative Director, Chief Budget Advisor

Charter Schools in the News

Envisions Science Academy Hosts Ribbon Cutting and Groundbreaking Ceremony

Envision Science Academy held a ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony on March 9, 2017. The ceremony allowed Envision Science Academy and its stakeholders to celebrate the recent completion of its new facility at 590 Traditions Grande Blvd, Wake Forest. The highlight of the event was a gift from the NC State Engineering Department providing 6 free camp opportunities to students  attending Envisions Science Academy. 

Envision Science Academy received $11.7 million in bond proceeds in May 2016 to secure land and build its permanent facility.  The campus sits on 15 acres of land and includes a 62,500 square foot, two story building with sizable classrooms, science and STEAM labs, a middle school regulation size gymnasium, and adjacent recreational spaces.  The new facility will allow the school to expand to roughly 650 students once it reaches full capacity in the 2018-2019 academic year.

Other News

Trauma & Learning Fellow

The Forum recently began an intensive effort to support educators as they help students traumatized by exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) succeed in school.

To achieve its goals in this area, and to help launch the North Carolina Safe & Supportive Schools Initiative (NCSSSI), the Forum is seeking to hire a Trauma & Learning Fellow to work with Forum staff, consultants, and partners. The Fellow will help develop awareness among educators of the potential impact of childhood trauma on learning. He or she will also assist schools in partner LEAs as they join a growing movement of educators piloting efforts to create trauma-sensitive schools.

This full-time, one-year fellowship provides an incredible opportunity to become immersed in the interplay of trauma and learning and to actively contribute to the growth of a new and significant program. Fellowship dates are negotiable but will ideally start no later than June 2017. Interested candidates should submit cover letters and resumes to Rhonda van Dijk at rvandijk@ncforum.org. Please include the job posting title in the subject line. The Forum is accepting applications through March 15, 2017. The full job description can be found on our website here.

NC CAP Annual SYNERGY Conference

Registration is open for the NC Center for Afterschool Programs (NC CAP) SYNERGY Conference. The 2017 SYNERGY Conference will be held April 3-5, 2017 at the Hilton Charlotte University Place. We invite you to join NC CAP to Spring into STEM!

This year's conference will focus on STEM and healthy living in afterschool and expanded learning. We will continue the SYNERGY trend of engaging keynotes, a plethora of workshop opportunities, and networking with providers across the state!

Registration is online here. 

Step Up to STEM

The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) seeks to inspire diverse populations in North Carolina to engage in STEM by offering a free one-week summer residential program for African American, Hispanic American, and Native American students.

July 16 - July 21, 2017 on the campus of NCSSM. 

For rising 9th graders, the Step Up to STEM program exists to:

• Improve underrepresented students' competence in science and mathematics
• Nurture underrepresented students' enthusiasm for science and mathematics
• Interest students in pursuing careers in research or other science-related areas

Step Up to STEM offers a specialized and innovative interdisciplinary curriculum in science and mathematics designed to improve the student's competence in those fields. The curriculum consists of exciting real-world science in the medical applications of cellular biology, anatomy and physiology, and applied science. Math concepts will be reinforced and used to analyze and interpret the data obtained from science experiences.

For more information and to apply to the the program, go to: www.ncssm.edu/stepup.  The application deadline is March 13, 2017.

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.

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