CHARTER SCHOOLS:  DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know all charter schools must input attendance into Powerschool? If you need additional information contact ocs@dpi.nc.gov. You can find resources here: https://homebase.ncpublicschools.gov/applications/powerschool

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.

2019 Charter School Performance Framework Submission Dates

OCS collects evidence of operational, financial, and academic compliance through the Charter School Performance Framework (PF). January 1, 2019 will begin the formal collection process for the 2019 Charter School Performance Framework. 

Submissions for the 2019 PF will be divided over four (4) months. Please review the 2019 PF submission schedule:

Deadline- January 31, 2019- All Schools

A01.1 – School Performance Score and Letter Grade

           A06.1 – Board Admissions and Enrollment Policy

           A06.2 – Lottery Application

           A08.1 – Parent Grievance Policy

           A08.2 – Employee Grievance Policy

           A14 – Certificate of Occupancy

Deadline- February 28, 2019 – All Schools

           A09 – Board Conflict of Interest Policy

           A10 – Nepotism Policy

           A11 – Board Meeting Schedule

           A12 – Board Membership List

Deadline- March 31, 2019 – All Schools

           A01.2 – Parent Letter for Schools with a D or F

           A13 – Fire, OSHA, and Other Required Health or Safety Inspections

           A15 – Civil and Liability Insurance Certificate

           A16 – Board Criminal History Check Policy

           A19 – EMO/CMO Public Records Request

           A21 – School Improvement Plan

Deadline- April 30, 2019- All Schools

           A20 – NC Retirement System Dissolution Funds

2020 Renewal Schools Only (Deadline April 30, 2019)

           B1 – Graduation Requirements

           B2 – Student Promotion Requirements

           B7 – Board Student Discipline Policy

Information will be collected through a new web-based document management tool called Epicenter. Additional details with submission criteria, notable changes from previous reporting periods, and Epicenter specific resources will be provided the week of December 17^th – 21^st.

All schools must submit the required documents per the established reporting timelines. While the submissions are divided over the course of several months, schools are invited and able to submit any items ahead of the defined due dates if doing so is more convenient. 

For questions regarding the 2019 Charter School Performance Framework, please contact Stephenie Clark at (919) 807-3492 or stephenie.clark@dpi.nc.gov.

NCCAT Conference:  Advocacy & Best Practices - The Charter School Connection

Contact: Karen Sumner (Karen.Sumner@nccat.org) or Jay Whalen (Jay.Whalen@dpi.nc.gov)

Join us in Cullowhee, NC on January 28-31, 2019 for the annual NCCAT Charter Conference. This program, designed specifically for charter school teachers, will focus on teacher leadership through advocacy, best practices, and school growth. We will explore how teachers can better advocate for their specific school and charters in general, and how to utilize your own leadership style to help support school initiatives. Teachers will learn best practices in STEM, literacy development, and digital learning and discuss ways to model these practices in your schools.

Interested participants must apply online and a select number of attendees will be selected. One teacher per charter school may apply and spots are limited. Apply Here!

PRC 118 Allocations and Combined Expenditure Report (CER)

The PRC 118 Funds were appropriated from the EC Division on October 30, 2018, however some LEAs have not received their allotments for Related Services and Autism. In working closely with the School Allotment Division, we have been informed these funds should transfer to LEAs by Friday, December 14, 2018.

Your 2018-19 Combined Expenditure Report (CER) will be delivered by email this week.  The CER has been individualized for each LEA, based on your recent allocations for PRC 29, and PRC 118, as appropriate.  The email will come from Kim Abernethy (kima.dpi@wilkes.net<mailto:kima.dpi@wilkes.net>).  Please check your spam/junk email if you have not received your report by Monday, December 17. 

The information tab will provide you with information needed to maintain and complete the report.  Submission due dates are also included in the report.  Please remember, the CER should be submitted as an excel file.  Questions may be directed to Dreama McCoy (dreama.mccoy@dpi.nc.gov<mailto:dreama.mccoy@dpi.nc.gov).

Sherry H. Thomas, > Interim Director

Exceptional Children Division

NC Department of Public Instruction

sherry.thomas@dpi.nc.gov<mailto:sherry.thomas@dpi.nc.gov

MTSS    Resources Available to Support School Improvement

The work of school improvement could begin with designing a Multi-Tiered System of Support to meet the needs of all students.  To meet the needs of students, a system must also be designed that works for school staff.  

Your school MTSS Team supports the implementation of the Core instruction and curriculum and then examines the effectiveness of these practices.  Within an MTSS, when we think about curriculum, we think about standards and materials. The materials support our students to meet those standards.   

When we think about Core behavioral standards, we start with school-wide expectations. Selecting practices that have the most impact on student learning and then ensuring these adopted practices can happen for all students is part of building an MTSS framework.  

Charter Schools engaged in an MTSS Cohort are accessing resources like this document in order to design systems that create strong outcomes for each of your students. If your team would like additional support or if you have feedback on MTSS  resources, please contact your IABS Consultant .

Office of Civil Rights Data Screens Available in PowerSchool

Please inform other staff as appropriate. 

Note:  LEAs, Charters and schools that were not open in the school year 2017-2018 are not required to participate in this collection. Data for the collection is from the School Year 2017-2018.

Important:  LEAs and Charters that use third party software to collect data specific to the CRDC collection that are not integrated into the PowerSchool instance are responsible for providing that data to the OCR.

PowerSchool CRDC Screens Available for Update

Three screens, specific to the CRDC are now available in PowerSchool.  LEAs and Charters are advised to begin updating these screens prior to the release of the SY 2017-2018 PowerSchool CRDC Preview reports.  Documentation is located: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/data/management/ocr/webinars/

Documentation to support the collection process:

• Federal level LEA and School Forms These guiding documents are the key to understanding the data collection.  Print or download these forms to use throughout the reporting process.
• 'Preparing for the CRDC' This DRAFT document describes the North Carolina process for preparing for the Civil Rights Data Collection.  Use the 'PowerSchool Functionality for the CRDC' section of the document to begin the set up processes for generating the PowerSchool CRDC Preview Reports.

Important: the PowerSchool CRDC Preview report will not be updated for the 2017-2018 until the December maintenance weekend.

Please contact Terra Dominguez at terra.dominguez@dpi.nc.gov or 919-807-3272 with any questions.

Webinars and Workshops

Preparing for the Civil Rights Data Collection - webinar

These two-hour sessions will provide a PowerSchool demonstration specific to the CRDC, tips for successful validation and an opportunity to discuss the NC DPI schedule for data upload to the Federal Submission Portal. Users will also have the opportunity to ask about PowerSchool functional processes. Session times are from 1pm - 3pm.

Preparing for the Civil Rights Data Collection occurs several times. Please register for the date and time that works best for you:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/231088052197676803

January 9, 2019 - 1pm to 3pm

February 6, 2019 - 1pm to 3pm

CRDC Workshop:  Real-time-assistance at the NC DPI LABS

CRDC Workshops are not webinars.  Labs are designed for district level staff working on the Office of Civil Rights Data Collection to get assistance with PowerSchool set-up in real-time.   Two staff members from an LEA and Charters may attend.  The NC DPI training room will be open from 9am to 4pm and staff are welcome to attend as their schedule allows. 

Dates:

Friday, January 18, 2018 (9am-4pm)

Friday, February 8, 201 (9am-4pm)

Please contact Terra Dominguez at terra.dominguez@dpi.nc.gov or 919.807.3272 with any questions.