Office of Charter Schools Weekly Newsletter for July 12, 2019

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Office of Charter Schools

6307 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-6307  •  919.807.3981

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER  –  JULY 12, 2019



Upcoming Events

 

July 15, 2019

Charter Applicant Training

 

July 16, 2019

OCS Huddle at Gray Stone Day School

 

Future Action Items 

 

July 21 - 23, 2019

Reaching New Heights Conference at Harrah's Hotel in Cherokee

Reaching New Heights

 

October 17 - 18, 2019

Charter School Leadership Institute 2019

 

 

NCDPI Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Updates


Did you Know???

 

Performance Framework A17 requires charter schools to be in compliance with all student health and safety requirements as defined in General Statute, SBE policy, and Charter Agreement. Reporting for compliance with immunizations (GS 130A-155(c)) and health assessment (GS 130A-441) takes place November 1st each year. The Annual Charter Schools Health Services Report opens each year on May 1st and closes at midnight June 1st each year. A worksheet is distributed in April to help schools gather information for the annual report. Communication regarding these requirements take place via the Office of Charter Schools newsletter.

 

The actual documentation is collected by the Department of Health & Human Services, so be sure you understand the expectations at the start of the new school year! If you have questions about these expectations please reach out to the Charter School Nurse Consultant, Annette Richardson annette.richardson@dhhs.nc.gov. If you have general questions about Performance Framework, please contact performanceframework@dpi.nc.gov.

 

 

Question Marks

OCS Summer (West Regional) Huddle

Contact: ocs@dpi.nc.gov

 

July 16, 2019 |

 

Mark your calendars for the OCS Summer (West Regional) Huddle! Please join us at Gray Stone Day School in Misenheimer, NC on July 16th for a full day of development and support.  We will not host a huddle at this year’s Financial Business Services (FBS) Conference, though there will be some charter-specific programming for those attending.

 

Below is the link for OCS Summer (West Regional) Huddle Agenda

7_16_19 Final agenda (002).pdf

 

 


Charter Applicant Training

 

Training for new applicants will be held on the following date:

 

Monday, July 15, 2019 10am – 2pm

 

Training will take place in Room 150 of the NC Department of Public Instruction  301 N. Wilmington Street, Raleigh, NC 27601

 

Please email ocs@dpi.nc.gov for assistance with any questions or concerns.

 

 


Charter School Teacher of the Year (TOY)

Dear Charter School Teacher of the Year Coordinator:

 

NCDPI is pleased to coordinate the 2020 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year (TOY) Program. The program provides an opportunity to honor and recognize exemplary teachers in North Carolina and to call attention to the importance of the teaching profession.

 

As the TOY Coordinator, you are responsible for your local Teacher of the Year selection process.  This process is at the discretion of your Board/Director. You are asked to submit one teacher from your charter school to proceed in the regional process.  As a reminder, your nominee must hold a Continuing License, be employed full time, and spend at least 70% of his or her time in direct instruction of North Carolina public school students.

 

If you are interested in participating or have questions about the process, please contact Sonya Rinehart srinehart@ecps.k12.nc.us  As the TOY Lead Regional Education Facilitator, she will communicate with you the next steps. She will also support you entering into this process and making sure we receive your TOY nominee portfolio (due September 13, 2019).

 

Click the link below for the TOY Schedule:

 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/185z0zY3126KoMF8nxukRNfnafe9w68fN-6RMzaATWqQ/edit?usp=sharing

 

 

New

SAVE the DATE!

 

 

What: Leading & Learning Days (formerly LP/CLP bootcamps)

 

Where: Healthy Start Academy, Durham

 

When: September 26th 2019

 

Invitations and agendas will be sent to schools

 

For more information, contact Claire Porter @ Claire.Porter@dpi.nc.gov

 

 


CSLI - Charter School Leadership Institute (2019)

 

SAVE THE DATE!


What:  Charter School Leadership Institute 2019

When: October 17 and 18, 2019

Where: Envision Science Academy

 

REGISTRATION:  Click link below.

 

2019 Charter Leadership Institute registration

 

 


NC Virtual Public Schools Logo

The North Carolina Virtual Public School invites you to its 2019 Virtual Open House

 

When: Tuesday, August 20, 11 AM - 12 PM or Thursday, August 22, 7 PM to 8 PM

 

This year we are offering two opportunities to attend the Annual Virtual Open House.  Please choose the date that works best for your schedule

 

Where: The event will be hosted in an NCVPS online classroom. Details will be sent following registration.

 

Presenters: NCVPS staff, teachers, and students.

 

Topics: The presentation will include Who is NCVPS?, Teaching and Learning with NCVPS, Meet the Teacher, See the Classroom, Support All Around, and Q & As.

 

Audience: The NCVPS Open House is open to the public. While our presentations are geared toward parents and students in public schools, private schools, and home-schools, we have something for everyone. Educators will learn about the NCVPS teaching and learning process.  The general public will discover what online learning is. 

 

Register: August 20, 11 AM

 

Register: August 22, 7 PM

 

 


 

Upcoming Training on CFNC and FAFSA.  Click this link

 


Press Release for Chatham County Public school...

 

For immediate release

July 5, 2019

****************************************

NC Montessori Public School Announces Groundbreaking for $7 Million Campus

 

Chapel Hill (Chatham County), NC: After years of successful fundraising, negotiating and planning, the Willow Oak Montessori Foundation is embarking on a 30,000 sq ft school campus to house both the Willow Oak Montessori Public Charter School and Children’s House on 15 acres in northern Chatham County.  The new facilities, offering preschool through 8th grade, positions Willow Oak to better serve North Carolina public school students and families with a high-quality Montessori education.

 

With an anticipated occupancy during the 2020 school year, Head of School Dr. Ayize Sabater is taking on his leadership role at a pivotal time.  “I am honored and excited to work with all invested parties through the final stages of this project and to leverage our increased visibility in the community to create an even more diverse school environment.” Taylor Hobbs of Hobbs Architects in Pittsboro, and an alumni parent of the Children’s House, has been working with Willow Oak to design a beautiful, functional and on-budget campus featuring 3 separate buildings filled with light and easy access to the outdoors.  “It has been an adventure working on this unique project, and we are so pleased to partner with Resolute builders and add this educational option to the ‘school district’ on Andrew’s Store Road.” 

 

The USDA Rural Community Facilities Direct Loan Grant Program is providing permanent financing, and significant financial support for this project was provided by current and former Willow Oak community members who generously supported the creation of this educational opportunity for our broader community now and well into the future.

 

Key features of the new combined Montessori campus:

 

  • Half-day and full-day tuition-based preschool and Kindergarten for 60 children ages 2.5 to 6.
  • Tuition-free charter school serving 270 children in Kindergarten to 8th Grade.
  • An authentic Montessori learning environment including multi-age classrooms with access to a courtyard and outdoor environment.

In anticipation of the new school site, a scholarship fund has been established to subsidize tuition for low-income and working families to attend the Willow Oak Montessori private preschool program. Dr. Ayize states “This unified campus and scholarship fund will allow us to increase the educational offerings and advance the schools’ goals for greater diversity and equity.” The groundbreaking ceremony is set for July 10th at 10am.

 

About Our Schools: Willow Oak Montessori strives to assist children in achieving their unique potential as responsible global citizens by nurturing self-confidence and independent decision making in a stimulating, creative, and diverse Montessori community. WillowOakMontessori.org

 

 


Willow Oak

 

Willow Oak Montessori


Dr. Williams

Dr. Kebbler Williams from the Office of Charter Schools


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.

 

 

twitter

NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Updates


USDOE Grant Opportunity

 

Hello, Colleagues,

 

The U.S. Department of Education's Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program was recently released for applications and briefly discussed in the state coordinators meeting at the ASCA Conference which was held last week in Boston. I wanted to get this information out to you in case you may be interested. 

 

Highlights of some important points:

  • the primary purpose is to increase the numbers of specialized instructional support personnel/school-based mental health service professionals entering the professions and working in high-needs schools (although an included factor, simply improving employment ratios is not the primary focus).
  • requires collaboration between institutes of higher education (IHEs) and local education agencies (LEAs)
  • Deadline to apply: August 5, 2019
  • You can find details here

The stated purpose is as follows:

 

Purpose of Program: The Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program provides competitive grants to support and demonstrate innovative partnerships to train school-based mental health services providers for employment in schools and local educational agencies (LEAs). The goal of this program is to expand the pipeline of high-quality, trained providers to address the shortages of mental health service professionals in schools served by high-need LEAs. The partnerships must include (1) one or more high-need LEAs or a State educational agency (SEA) on behalf of one or more high-need LEAs; and (2) one or more eligible institutions of higher education (IHE). Partnerships must provide opportunities to place graduate students of IHEs in schoolbased mental health fields into schools served by the participating high-need LEAs to complete required field work, credit hours, internships, or related training as applicable for the degree, license, or credential program of each student. 

 

 

This is all of the information that I have at this time. I encourage you to visit the web link if you are interested.

 

For additional questions, please contact Cynthia J. Floyd Cynthia.Floyd@dpi.nc.gov

 

 


Greetings HR Directors (**New Instructions**) Human Capital/Licensure Webinars

 

In an effort to keep you all better informed about changes to state policy, NCDPI will begin offering monthly webinars closely following State Board of Education meetings.  The purpose of the webinars is to provide you with the opportunity to hear about proposed and approved changes to state policy that have an impact on Human Resources departments.

 

Because we anticipate many participants, the webinar will not offer a "Q & A" session.  We will, however, have a chat feature enabled and will try to answer the most common questions raised from the field.  Additionally, we will record these webinars and place those recordings online so you will be able to hear the information even if you are unable to attend.  Attendance is, of course, optional, but we hope you all will join us for the webinars.

 

Charter School directors can designate a staff member to attend these webinars. To do so, the Charter School director/head of school should email Kimberly Evans <Kimberly.Evans@dpi.nc.gov> and request access to the webinar. Please include the designee’s name, position, and email address

 

Here is a list of the dates we are planning to schedule the webinars:  

July 15

August 12

September 6

October 4

November 8

December 6

 

Specific times and the login for the webinar will be provided in the invitation.  Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

 

Thomas Tomberlin

Director, Educator Recruitment and Support

Office of the Deputy State Superintendent of District Support

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

 

(O) 919-807-3440

 

 


Operating after July 1 Without a Budget

 

GS.143C-5-4 provides the legislation on operating without a ratified budget. In the event that there is not a signed 2019-20 budget July 1, the following will apply:

 

Public school units are authorized to continue to expend at a level not to exceed the level of recurring expenditures from State funds for the prior year.

 

Carryforward for allotment categories that have a carryforward provision, will be requested from State Budget and Management.  If approved, spending authority will be made available to the public-school units.

 

No allocations will be formerly made until there is a signed budget.

 

An authority to draw funds will be entered by July 12th. The authority will be calculated at:

 

2018-19 State average base for continuation funding:

 

Charter, Regional & ISD - $5,606.41

 

Virtual charter schools - $5,420.81

 

State Allotment - Summer Reading Camps (PRC 016)

 

Is scheduled to carry over from FY 2018-19 into FY 2019-20 when the State Public School Fund Budget is passed, and the Allotment section allots the carry over funds.

 

Please do not request cash for State PRC 016 until the General Assembly passes the State Public School Fund Budget and the Allotment section has allotted state PRC 016 funds.

 

If you have any questions, please contact Roxane Bernard at (919) 807-3725, or via email roxane.bernard@dpi.nc.gov.

 

 

 

Don't Miss This

Temporary 20% State Funding Allotment for Charter Schools

 

 

The 2019-20 budget has not been ratified and therefore, no funding is formally allocated to public school units.  GS.143C-5-4 provides the legislation on operating without a ratified budget and states that public school units are authorized to continue to expend at a level not to exceed the level of recurring expenditures from State funds for the prior year.  In order to provide funding until a budget is signed, the Charter Schools are authorized to draw funds at 20% of projected ADM at the prior year statewide average base funding per ADM.

 

In the event that there is a prolonged time without a budget, the Division of School Business will provide additional funding and guidance.

 

DPI has posted a temporary 20% state funding allotment to the current charter schools.  Please check in the MSAS system under Function 016 for the amount of your temporary state PRC 036 allotment.

 

The new charters for FY 20 will receive their temporary funding once their Certificate of Occupancy has been approved by the Office of Charter Schools and all their cash management forms have been processed.

 

Also, please do not request any State PRC 016 cash until the State budget is passed and the Allotment section has reallocated the funds to FY 20.

 

If you have any questions, please contact Roxane Bernard at roxane.bernard@dpi.nc.gov.

 

 


Early Learning Sensory Support Program 2019-2020 Assurances and Request for Services Documents

 

The NC Early Learning Sensory Support Program (ELSSP) is now administered by the Exceptional Children Division.  The purpose of the attachments is to provide Public School Units with the 2019-2020 Assurances and Request for Services for the ELSSP.

 

The attached forms are required if a Public School Unit desires to make a request for the ELSSP to provide specially designed instruction for a student age three to five with a vision or hearing loss.

 

If you have any questions, please contact the appropriate program administrator:

ELSSP - Hearing Impaired - ruth.anne.everett@dpi.nc.gov

ELSSP - Visually Impaired - Bethany.mayo@dpi.nc.gov

 

 

EC Division Header

PowerSchool Technical Support Begins July 15 - Claim Your Account Now

 

To provide better and more timely technical support of your PowerSchool SIS instance, the NCDPI has contracted with PowerSchool to provide direct technical support to LEAs and charter schools beginning July 15, 2019.   Designated technical contacts from each district and charter school will be able to engage PowerSchool support directly by submitting tickets using a chat feature, self-service customer portal or telephone.  Claim your account now with these helpful QRDs:

Each LEA/charter school with less than 30,000 ADM will have up to 2 designated technical contacts who may contact PowerSchool for support services. LEAs with ADM between 30,000 and 50,000 may identify up to 3 representatives. LEAs with ADM between 50,000 and 100,000 may identify up to 4 representatives. LEAs with ADM greater than 100,000 may identify up to 5 representatives. Hours of operation will increase to 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. M-F.

 

Thank you for your patience as we work to improve your technical support experience.

 

Questions pertaining to this change may be addressed to the NCDPI Support Center at (919) 807-4357.

 

 

PowerSchool