NCDPI Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Updates     To All Charter School Leaders and Staff   The Office of Charter Schools is excited to announce that we are implementing a software tool called "Epicenter" which will assist with automating and streamlining our compliance and performance processes.  More exciting information to follow!

Verify school names for achievement certificates

Charter School Administrator,

State Superintendent Mark Johnson will again be recognizing schools this year that met or exceeded their goals for growth as measured by North Carolina’s accountability system. The results for the 2017-18 school year will be released Sept. 5 to the State Board of Education and the public.

We need your help. To ensure the accuracy of the certificates issued to schools for their achievements in academic progress and graduation rates, the Department of Public Instruction requests that all LEAs and charter schools carefully review “Official School Names” as entered in the Educational Directory & Demographical Information Exchange (EDDIE). These are the school names that DPI will use in preparing the certificates.

Please review the list of your schools’ “official names” to ensure that any corrections or revisions are completed by Aug. 24 so that the certificates are error free.

Please note that the "official school name" in EDDIE is limited to 60 characters, including spaces.

TO ACCESS EDDIE REPORT:

Please use this link [http://www.ncpublicschools.org/fbs/accounting/eddie/] to reach the EDDIE page on the DPI website.

Next, choose the first link near the top of the EDDIE page: "EDDIE is located at: http://apps.schools.nc.gov/eddie"

Under the Reports Menu in the left-hand column, choose Active Charter Schools Report

For questions or additional information, please contact Todd Silberman with DPI communications at (919) 807-3458 or todd.silberman@dpi.nc.gov

Thank you for your help.

2018 Performance Framework: Resubmission Reminder!

In June, a correspondence regarding document submissions that did not meet minimum requirements was shared with the Lead Administrator and Board Chair as listed in EDDIE. Charter schools have been provided the opportunity to correct submissions and upload the updated documents into the SharePoint system from June to August.

Resubmission of evidence(s) should be uploaded into the SharePoint system using the same process as the original upload. All resubmitted documents will be reviewed again to determine a final designation of either compliant or not compliant. These documents must be submitted by Thursday, August 30, 2018 by 5:00 pm for review.

OCS Consultants will review resubmitted documents on an on-going basis as they are uploaded into SharePoint. Final correspondence for documents deemed Not Compliant will be shared with school leaders and board chairs in the month of September.

Here is a link to resources that may be referenced to ensure that resubmitted evidence documents meet minimum requirements as written in General Statute, State Board Policy, and the Charter Agreement.

Resources include: charter agreement, applicable SBE Policies, General Statute references, example Certificate of Liability Insurance, and other example policies

Here is a link to Upload Instructions for SharePoint.

For questions regarding the 2018 Performance Framework, charter school user logins, or questions regarding uploading errors, please contact Stephenie Clark at (919) 807-3492 or stephenie.clark@dpi.nc.gov.

For a password reset or technical issues with the SharePoint site, please contact the Help Desk at (919) 807-4357.

E-rate Filing Window Updates for 2019-2020!

UPDATE(s):  2019-2020 WINDOW OPENINGs ANNOUNCED!!

July 1            

Form 470 available for next funding year.  EPC was indeed updated this year on July 1st (as had been done last year).

October 1     

Opening of the “Administrative Window,” the period in which applicants may update their EPC entity profile data.

January 7      

Closing of the applicant’s “Administrative Window.”  At this point, entity profiles will be locked for the duration of the application window.

January 10    

Opening of the Form 471 application window.

February 20   

Last day to file a Form 470 and have it posted for the required 28 days before the close of the application window. 

March 20      Form 471 application window deadline.

April 19        Target date for the release of Wave 1 FCDLs.

September 1 Target PIA review completion date for all “workable” applications.

USAC intends these to be fixed dates, unaffected by weekends (i.e., not rolling over to the following business day).  The first time this will become critical is in 2021 when March 20th falls on a Saturday.

SAVE the DATE!   Wednesday, September 5th 3:30 – 4:30 Please register for AIG Program Development for Charter School Leaders on Sep 5, 2018 3:30 PM EDT at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2721709485959999233 This webinar is designed to support charter school leaders who are interested in offering gifted programming at the local charter school(s). We will focus our time on the benefits of charter school AIG programs, the development of the program - according to state guidelines and legislation, and ensuring that programming offered meets the needs of gifted learners. There will be an opportunity for questions and answers during the session. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Brought to you by GoToWebinar® Webinars Made Easy®     Stephanie RW Cyrus State Consultant, Academically or Intellectually Gifted (AIG) & Advanced Programs   North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Division of Advanced Learning 301 N Wilmington St., Raleigh, NC 27601 Mailing Address:  6307 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC  27699-6307   DPI AIG wiki site: http://ncaig.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/ Phone: 919-807-3698 FAX: 919-807-4065 stephanie.cyrus@dpi.nc.gov

MTSS Charter Message August 17, 2018 MTSS Communication Brief     West Charter Huddle   Last month, our team had the opportunity to co-present at the West Charter Huddle. The topic, “MTSS Across the State: Leveraging the Power of MTSS in Your School” was shared by Kimberlee Strickfaden, MTSS Coordinator at Pine Lake Prep alongside Karmen Mills, Integrated Academic and Behavior Systems Consultant with NC DPI. Ms. Mills shared how the MTSS framework can be  boiled down to three big ideas: Being thoughtful about what we do as educators Installing a system that examines the results we are getting Ensuring the opportunity to  responding rapidly for the benefit of students Ms. Strickfadden then made connections to these ideas as she shared the journey of how Pine Lake Prep has strategically engaged the NCDPI supports in order to install a system that makes sense for their students. Critical to this purposeful installation was clearly outlining the role of the coordinator, creating a leadership team that has a shared vision, recognizing a need for alignment, focusing on core instruction and using problem solving to action plan next steps. Our team is grateful to Pine Lake Prep for providing an example of how the critical components of MTSS actually support practices in their school. We encourage you to learn more about the ideas presented at the OCS Huddle by viewing the power point here. As always, if your charter team needs support installing an MTSS reach out to us at integratedsystems@dpi.nc.gov.

Charter School Leadership Institute October 18-19, 2018 | Register Here The Charter School Leadership Institute is an annual conference of charter leaders, staff, and board members from across the state. Join us at Pine Springs Preparatory Academy in Holly Springs, NC for informational sessions, hands on workshops, and discussion panels.

 Memo: Alternative Accountability Model Options 2018 -19

Superintendents and Charter School Administrators,

Please see the attached memo from Deputy Superintendent Eric Hall and Accountability Director Tammy Howard regarding Alternative Accountability Model Options 2018-19.

• Alternative+Accountability+Model_EH_TLH_080818%5B1%D.pdf

Office of Civil Rights Coordinator contacts in EDDIE - Deadline Extended    Subject:  Office of Civil Rights Coordinator Contacts in EDDIE - Deadline Extended to August 17, 2018   Please forward this email to other staff as appropriate.  Note:  Those LEAs, Charters and Schools that were not open in the school year 2017-18 are not required to participate in this collection.   The Office of Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) will begin sometime the 2018-2019 school year.  Data for the collection is from the previous year (School Year 2017-2018).    To date, the Federal government has not published an official start date.  The NC DPI will notify the State once an announcement has been made.   LEAs and Charters must verify or update the EDDIE system with two Staff who have been identified as the 'Office of Civil Rights Coordinator'.  Delete records for OCR contacts no longer with your LEA/Charter.    These staff are the technical contacts for the CRDC and will be responsible for running the PowerSchool CRDC Preview Report, verifying data, correcting and adding data to the Federal CRDC tool, and certifying in the Federal CRDC tool when the collection is complete.   LEAs and Charters are also strongly advised to verify or update the Student Information Coordinator contact as well.  Updates must be completed by the end of business, Friday, August 17, 2018.   Brief instructions for updating EDDIE Contacts are located:     http://www.nc-sis.org/Documents   /OCR/OCR_CRDC_1516_EDDIE_Contacts.pdf.   Please contact Terra Dominguez at terra.dominguez@dpi.nc.gov with any questions you may have.

EL Coordinators Meeting September 18-19, 2018   Audience All Charter schools with at least 1 English learner must have a representative/EL Coordinator at this meeting. During the breakout session on September 18, we will work on the language instruction educational program (LIEP) services chart that is submitted every year as part of the Charter Schools Performance Framework.   Location Chatham County Agriculture Center at 1192 US Highway 64 West Business, Pittsboro, NC 27312   Registration Please complete the registration form to confirm your attendance at the meeting. This meeting does NOT have a registration fee. Once you submit your registration form you will receive a confirmation email with all the detailed information (Check your spam/junk folder).

-3 Literacy: Read to Achieve 2018-2019 Updates

Charters using the formative, diagnostic assessment tool, mClass:Reading 3D, adopted by the State Board of Education to facilitate early grade reading proficiency as part of Read to Achieve have several important updates for the 2018-2019 school year.

The Superintendent’s Office received valuable feedback from teachers and stakeholders via the mCLASS assessment survey completed by teachers in the spring.

The Read to Achieve K-3 mCLASS:Reading 3D assessment questions provided the agency with two main focus points:

• Teachers want more books at higher levels for benchmarking advanced readers
• Teachers want decreased time spent on assessments

As a result the following changes have been made:

• Teachers are receiving new high-quality, authentic texts from levels A-Z for benchmarking and schools will be receiving the shipments of the Atlas Benchmark Book Sets August 20 – 29. 
• Teachers have more opportunities for flexible, time-saving online assessment administration through the mClass:Reading 3D Flex Option for Grades 2 and 3.
• Teachers have more flexibility in determining progress-monitoring schedules.
• The student-writing component is now optional as a comprehension measure and does not factor in to the student’s final reading level.

The mClass:Reading 3D Benchmark Windows are as follow:

Beginning of Year (BOY): 9/4-9/24

Middle of Year (MOY): 1/3-1/25

End of Year (EOY): 5/6-5/24

The following are the requirements when determining the Benchmark windows.

BOY- Between days 1-25 of the school year

MOY- Between days 80-105 of the school year

EOY- Between days 150-180 of the school year

Please send requests for alternate Benchmark Window requests to Rebecca.Belcastro@dpi.nc.gov.

For mClass:Reading 3D technical support please contact Amplify:

1-800-823-1969

For mCLASS support, our technical and instructional support team is on hand daily to help. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET.

Read to Achieve information and updates can be found at: http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/850102

NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Updates    Driver Education Advisory Committee Meets Aug. 21   Driver Education Advisory Committee Holds Quarterly Meeting Aug. 21 The Driver Education Advisory Committee will hold its quarterly meeting Tuesday, Aug. 21, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. via conference call and webinar from the State Board of Education board room, 7th floor, Education Building, 301 N. Wilmington St., Raleigh. The panel will discuss legislative and policy changes and workshop updates. The meeting can be accessed via streaming audio and webinar. Link to State Board of Education Live Audio Stream Webinar Access by computer, tablet or smartphone: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/121490061 You can also dial in using your phone:  +1 (872) 240-3412 Access Code: 121-490-061 First GoToMeeting? Let's do a quick system check: https://link.gotomeeting.com/system-check

Hello Elementary Educators!

The first day of school is just around the corner! You've got this! Let's Do This!! And...NCAEE 2018 can help. Join us October 28-30 for a conference full of motivating, engaging and applicable sessions!

It's the only All Things Elementary event in the region! So....join us at the 2018 NC Elementary School Conference in Concord at the Embassy Suites.

We have created a "Supervisor Approval Letter" that you can use as a template to seek approval/funding to attend NCAEE 2018! Just click on the conference website, click on the "Register as an Attendee" button and then click on the "Supervisor Approval Letter" button!

NCAEE 2018 has revamped and retooled from last year. All featured speakers are bringing new materials and strategies to the table! The NCAEE 2018 Conference features Amie Dean (@BehaviorQueen) leading a Core Skill Building Workshop on Behavior Interventions that Work!

We also are full of other featured speakers like Kyle Greene, Kathy Bumgardner, Jason Griffin, The Bag Ladies and more!

A big thank you to the NC Department of Public Instruction for your support of the NCAEE Conference. Come hear from many of the NC DPI leaders and from Dr. Maria Pitre-Martin as she is our Opening Session Keynote! Thank you again DPI!!!

There are five easy ways to register:

1. Online Registration

2. Fax in the Registration Form

3. Scan/Email the Registration Form to registrations@ncyi.org

4. Phone - (866) 318-6294

5. Mail - See conference website for address

Enjoy sessions covering all content areas in elementary education! Mark your calendars and book your hotel room now!

While you are at it...reserve your room in the room block at the Embassy Suites.  You can follow the link on the conference web page to the hotel’s reservation system for the conference room block…and the special low rate of just $147 per night! This is a great opportunity to network with your colleagues from across the state!

Lastly, thank you to our sponsors Discovery Place and American Book Company for your generous sponsorship of this year's conference!

We hope to see many of you in October!

Your Friends at NCAEE!

School Safety Grants

As you know, this year the General Assembly worked with the state superintendent to launch a new School Safety Grants Program. The grants total $35 million this fiscal year.

Two of the school safety grant applications are available now:

• Community Partners Grants:  Funding for community partners to provide services to students in crisis and help students develop healthy responses to trauma and stress. The deadline is Aug. 31.
• Safety Equipment Grants:  Up to $3 million dollars for school safety equipment. Eligible to apply are school districts, regional schools, innovative schools, and laboratory schools.   

 The applications can be found at the Center For Safer Schools website. If you have any questions, please email schoolsafetygrants@dpi.nc.gov.

COURSE CODE GUIDANCE FOR ESSENTIALS FOR COLLEGE MATH (ECM)

Based on an extensive review of course content, student data, discussion and collaboration with our higher education partners, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) has elected to discontinue the inclusion of the Essentials of College Math (ECM) course as an acceptable fourth math course that fulfills the mathematics graduation requirement.

Thus, beginning with the 2019-20 school year, districts are to no longer use the course code for the ECM course (course code 2408), as it will be removed from the course code Master List.

Any questions or concerns regarding the ECM course or other options for mathematics graduation requirements for students may be directed to Beverly Vance, K-12 Mathematics Section Chief at Beverly.Vance@dpi.nc.gov or call 919/807-3936.

Emergency Cash Requests

A friendly reminder that North Carolina Department of Public Instruction will not be able to process emergency cash requests.  Please plan accordingly.

Please contact Sam Fuller at 919-807-3741 or samiel.fuller@dpi.nc.gov with questions.

News Links  (OCS)

Charter School Opens its doors after getting Multi-Million dollar Makeover

2018 NC Elementary School Conference in Concord at the Embassy Suites

News Links  (NCDPI) 

School Safety Equipment Grant

Memo- Alternative Accountability Model Options 2018-19

 NC K-12 Culinary Institute Helps Improve School Meals Statewide

Other News 2018/2019SY New Homeless Liaison Compliance Training NCHEP will be conducting annual New Homeless Liaison Compliance Training sessions during September 2018. This year separate training sessions will be held for new liaisons from regular LEAs and charter schools as noted below. Those who are new homeless liaison with 2 years or less experience for their LEA or charter school and who did not attend the new homeless liaison training held for LEAs or charter schools during the 2017-18SY should participate in this all-day professional development.   Local Educational Agencies  September 6, 2018 The SERVE Center at UNCG 5900 Summit Ave., Dixon Bldg. Browns Summit, NC 27214 Register for the LEA NHLCT     Charter Schools September 13, 2018 The SERVE Center at UNCG 5900 Summit Ave., Dixon Bldg. Browns Summit, NC 27214 Register for the Charter Schools NHLCT   The topics for training will include: Compliance with the McKinney-Vento Act Transportation Early Education Higher Education (RDS)           Non-Regulatory Guidance from the U.S. Department of Education Roles and responsibilities of the homeless liaison Identification and services for homeless children and youth The dispute resolution process Subgrant funding and requirements Data collection and reporting requirements from the State Collaboration with other LEAs, the community, and NCHEP Needs assessments Website requirements               For more information about the New Homeless Liaison Compliance Training, please visit the web page on the NCHEP website. This is a free professional development event, but registration is required. See links above to register for your event (LEA or Charter Schools). We look forward to seeing you at the New Homeless Liaison Compliance Training!   Lisa Phillips, State Coordinator 336-315-7491

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT – 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