NCDPI Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Updates

Required Epicenter Regional Training

Contact: jay.whalen@dpi.nc.gov

The Office of Charter Schools is rolling out Epicenter, a new document management platform to collect, store, and report charter school information. To make sure schools are prepared to use the system we are hosting four (4) regional trainings to introduce the system and allow school-based users the opportunity to practice using it. The School Leader/Director and one additional person are required to attend the training. Each charter school has the autonomy to select the second person as they see fit, knowing that this system will require document submissions for performance framework, renewals, amendments, etc.

We are hosting four (4) regional trainings:

EAST: Tuesday, November 27th from 9:00 - 11:00am (Douglass Academy, 507 N 6th Street, Wilmington, NC 28401)

NORTH CENTRAL: Tuesday, November 27th from 4:00 - 6:00 pm (NCDPI, Room 504, 301 N Wilmington Street, Raleigh, NC 27601)

WEST: Wednesday, November 28th from 1:00 - 3:00 pm (Invest Collegiate Imagine, 1000 Brevard Road, Suite 175, Asheville, NC 28806)

SOUTHWEST: Thursday, November 29th from 9:00 - 11:00am (Invest Collegiate Transform, 2045 Suttle Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28208)

Register here for one of the trainings!

____________________________________________________ Follow the Office of Charter Schools on Twitter  Contact: ocs@dpi.nc.gov   The Office of Charter Schools is officially tweeting! Follow us @NCCharterOffice for news, updates, and to see the great things happening at charter schools around the state.

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Planning Year Sessions for Board Members

Board members from charter schools that are opening in 2019 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.  Please note the schedule below:

Registration is now open for the November session.  Registration ends on Sunday, November 4th.  Please use this link to register:   https://goo.gl/forms/dP4SqhzoRVlHmFZj1

For questions, please contact Shaunda Cooper at shaunda.cooper@dpi.nc.gov and Stephenie Clark at stephenie.clark@dpi.nc.gov.

___________________________________________________________________________   Deadline for Recording Read-to-Achieve Status in PowerSchool   LEAs and charters must complete the 2018 Post-EOY process to record Read-to-Achieve statuses in PowerSchool by close of business, Monday, November 12, 2018.  NCDPI will copy this information into PowerSchool’s historical records on Tuesday, November 13, 2018.    During this Post-EOY process, the student’s promotion status in the PowerSchool EOY enrollment record is updated (by the district) to reflect the Retention – Reading label.  Documentation for recording Read-to-Achieve statuses for third grade students who are not proficient in reading can be found at http://www.livebinders.com/media/get/MTE5MTc0MTc= Further inquiries pertaining to this process may be addressed to the Home Base Support Center by calling (919) 807-4357, or submitting a ticket through the Remedy Portal.

Charter School Average Daily Membership (CSADM) Projections for SY 2019-20   To be completed by all Charter and Regional Schools Only   CSADM Phase 0 – Material Increase in Average Daily Membership (ADM) and/or Grade Expansion for 2019-20 is due November 8, 2018.   Requests for SY 2019-20 enrollment growth and/or grade expansion of the provisions of a charter application must be electronically submitted using the online CSADM Projection System by November 8, 2018.  Only electronic submissions using CSADM will be included in the State Board of Education approval meeting.   The link to the CSADM Projection System will be available November 1, 2018 under FBS, “What’s New” at www.ncpublicschools.org/fbs/  and also on the FBS Charter Schools Financial Operations page at www.ncpublicschools.org/fbs/charterschools/ .   All Board Chairs or head administrators of Charter and Regional Schools are required to submit Phase 0, even if the school does not intend to increase their enrollment or grade expansion. Guidelines for completing and navigating the CSADM are located within the system.   Please use your NCID to access the Charter School ADM Projection System (CSADM).  If you have questions about NCID, please contact your LEA NCID Administrator: www.ncid.its.state.nc.us/LEAListing.asp .  DPI cannot assign an NCID or reset NCID passwords.  NCID questions should be directed to the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NC DIT) at https://it.nc.gov/ncid .   If you have questions about the CSADM, please contact Angela Harrison, 919.807.3734 or angela.harrison@dpi.nc.gov

NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Updates

Anonymous reporting app: educator input needed

Superintendents, charter school leaders and other educators:

As you may know, the General Assembly has appropriated funds to develop an anonymous reporting app to deploy in time for the 2019-2020 school year. DPI is in the process of developing the Request for Proposals for the app, and we need input from educators and school public-safety professionals in reviewing draft specifications and evaluating responses. If you are interested in being a part of the process, please complete and submit this contact form.

We appreciate all that you do to support North Carolina public school students.

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Schedule for December 2018 Periodic Child Count

Please see the attached Schedule for December 2018 Periodic Child Count.  If you have questions regarding child count procedures or technical issues while submitting the child count, contact the CECAS Help Desk at (919) 807-4357, press 3 for CECAS, or email cecas.incidents@its.nc.gov

• Memo-Schedule for December 2018 Periodic Child Count.pdf

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Cohort 5 MTSS Coordinators please review the November MTSS News.

MTSS 

What practices is your school using to ensure consistent attendance, as well as the development of effective behavior and social emotional skills among all students?  If your school is focused on building a system that defines and supports practices to develop these skills, the IABS Team has resources for you. One of these resources is access to a 10-hour course in the MTSS school-based professional development modules.  

While Module 2.4 is designed as one part of a complete MTSS professional development plan, the specific content assists with identifying the critical data sources necessary for creating and assessing an attendance, behavior, and social emotional  intervention system. This module addresses how to support students who need something in addition to well defined and installed environmental,instructional routines and practices. With our teachers being the most influential factor in the classroom, Module 2.4 outlines for them how to intensify instruction for students who need more support.

For guidance in accessing the modules watch this video. As always, if your team would like additional support, please contact your IABS Consultant .

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College Board Opportunity Scholarships

Getting into college can be complicated and overwhelming. To support students and families, the College Board has introduced the College Board Opportunity Scholarships, a first-of-its-kind national scholarship program. It’s unique because it serves as a simple college planning guide for all students. It explains what to do and when to do it. 

The College Board Opportunity Scholarships lay out six simple steps that all students can take to get into college. Completing each step will earn a chance for a scholarship; completing all six will earn students a chance to win $40,000 for their college education.  

The six steps in this program help students plan by making a good starter college list, help them prepare so they can take their best shot, and help them pay for college. The six actions are:

1. Building a College List—Students get started by exploring colleges they’re interested in.
2. Practicing for the SAT—Students use Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy to get ready for test day.
3. Improving SAT Scores—Students show how practice pays off by improving their SAT scores.
4. Strengthening Their College List—Students make sure their college list is a mix of academic safety, fit, and reach schools.
5. Completing the FAFSA—Students fill out the free government form to apply for financial aid. 
6. Applying to Colleges—Students apply to the schools they want to attend.

The College Board Opportunity Scholarships are different from other scholarship programs because they’re about how much students grow, not how high they score. The College Board Opportunity Scholarships don’t require an essay or an application and don’t have a minimum GPA or SAT score requirement. Instead, the program rewards all students’ efforts and actions on their way to college. The more effort that students put in and actions they complete, the more chances they have to earn a college scholarship.

The College Board is investing $25 million over five years. A total of $5 million is available for each graduating class, beginning with the class of 2020. All students are invited.

Students can sign up at CB.org/Opportunity. The program officially launches in December. However, students can start today by going to BigFuture to make a starter list of six colleges they’re interested in. Just by making that list, students earn a chance for a $500 scholarship. Then students can take the next step toward earning a $40,000 scholarship by going to SATPractice.org to receive free, personalized practice on Khan Academy.

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Application for 2018-19 Fall Tuition Reimbursement

Please see the attached Memorandum regarding 2018-19 Fall Tuition Reimbursement.  

For additional information concerning this program, contact Carol Moffitt, (919) 807-3997 or carol.moffitt@dpi.nc.gov

• Memo-Application.Tuition Reimbursement Fall 2018.doc
• Memo-Application-2018-19 Fall Tuition Reimbursement.pdf

NCDPI Web Links:   ECATS Newsletter - October 2018     Department of Public Instruction Assists Hurricane -Damaged Schools With $35 Million

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