NCDPI Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Updates

Web Links:

Important Resources for Charter Schools: (Please Read)

Please click on each link.

Charter School Diabetes Memo

Charter School Epinephrine Memo

The Scoop with Coop!

https://www.smore.com/8hcf9

Did you Know.........   The Charter Schools Advisory Board will begin reviewing the 2019 Charter School Applications at its September meeting. A total of 19 applications were submitted, 5 Fast-Track/Accelerations (to open in Fall 2020) and 14 Traditional timeline applications (to open in Fall 2021). “Six applications were submitted for schools in Mecklenburg County and two were submitted to open in Guilford County. Bladen, Buncombe, Chatham, Columbus, Edgecombe, Greene, Pitt, Robeson, Scotland, and Wake each had one application submitted to locate there.”

Planning Year Sessions   Board members from charter schools that are opening in 2020 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:   Date     Time     Location Topic September 25, 2019           8:00 - 4:15 DPI: Room 150 Charter School Governance October 30, 2019 8:00 - 4:15 DPI: Room 150 Charter School Finance November 20, 2019 8:00 - 4:15 DPI: Room 150 Charter School Operations & Accountability December 18, 2019 8:00 - 4:30 DPI: Room 150 Meeting the Needs of All Students January 29, 2020 8:00 - 4:15 DPI: Room 150 Our School Opens in 7 Months!  Now What? June 9 - 10, 2020 8:00 - 5:00 DPI: Rooms 150, 224, 564 New Charter School Leaders Institute   Registration is now open for the September session.  Registration ends on Sunday, September 15th.  Please use this link to register: https://forms.gle/xXS62yMDXFsS418JA   For questions, please contact Dr. Kebbler Williams at kebbler.williams@dpi.nc.gov or 919-807-3920.

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) What:  Charter School Leadership Institute 2019 When: October 17 and 18, 2019 Where: Envision Science Academy   Registration is open!   Click link below.   2019 Charter Leadership Institute registration   Please send your checks for $55.00 per person.  Your  receipt will be sent to confirm your registration. Parking at Envision will be limited so please plan on carpooling with others from your school.   For more information, contact Claire Porter @ Claire.Porter@dpi.nc.gov

Envision Science Academy was recognized at the September 5th State Board of Education meeting as a Model STEM School of Distinction. The Office of Charter Schools applauds this achievement and we encourage any school leader with a focus on STEM to reach out and learn from your sister school.  Visit their website at http://www.esaeagles.com/

Envision Science Academy

OCS Professional Development Corner (PD)   Come and check out the happenings on our PD website! https://www.smore.com/1atw9

Upcoming Charter School Advisory Board Meetings - CSAB

September 9, 2019

October 7 - 8, 2019

November 12 - 13, 2019

December 9 - 10, 2019

Upcoming State Board of Education Meetings  - SBE

October  2 - 3, 2019

November 5 - 7, 2019

December 4 - 5, 2019

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.

NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Updates

Exit Dates for No-Show

NCDPI is finding that many Public School Units are using invalid exit dates for no-show students. Students who are considered no-shows for the 2019-2020 school year should have an entry/exit date that falls within the current year’s term dates. Entering an entry/exit date as 6-30-19 instead of 7-1-19 or later, places the record in the previous school year. As a result, it will show the student as retained, which causes issues in several areas, including the RTA report and ECATS. 

Please correct any no-show records you have already entered using dates prior to 7/1/2019.

New and Updated Documents on the NC SIS website!

NCDPI Home Base Staff are working to update all PowerSchool documents to the most current version.  Below are a few of the documents that have been updated:

• Attendance Preferences - Meeting Attendance (QRD) - 8/29/2019
• Clock In/Clock Out - Meeting Attendance (QRD) - 08/23/2019

State Reporting

• Run reports early to allow plenty of time for data validation
• Approve reports at both school level and LEA level
• Review ALL EXCEPTIONS and clear ALL FATALS before approving
• Principal’s Monthly Report (PMR)
  • Submission Due every school month – BE AWARE OF DUE DATES TO AVOID PMR LOCKS
  • PMR Intervals for Month 1 and Month 2 must be 20 days
  • ADM is reported in the PMR – CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK BEFORE FINALIZED
• Grade Race Sex (GRS)
  • Collected and Submitted with Month 1 PMR
    • State Reports > Month 1 PMR Review > GRS Views
  • Retention Promotion (RP)
    • Submission Due 10/27/2019
    • Previous year retentions and promotions in membership last instructional day
    • Does not collect graduate data

Remember…

• If a student is not present on the first day of school, the student is not considered enrolled unless the student is involved in the staggered kindergarten process or homebound
• Attendance must be taken each day of the school year
• A student must be present at least one-half of the school’s instructional day in order to be counted present for that school day
• Students enrolled for a fractional part of the school month will receive only a fractional part of membership
• Students must be have a class schedule at least one-half of the instructional day to be included in ADM

Helpful PowerSchool Student Searches. . .

• Missing student admission status
  • ADMISSION_STATUS_CODE=
• Missing FTE
  • FTEID=
• Student with Entry Date prior to First Day of School
  • EntryDate <mm/dd/yy (first day of school)

If you have technical issues running and approving reports or with inaccurate data produced in your reports, please submit a ticket to PowerSchool support: https://help.powerschool.com/. Send policy questions to Student Accounting at studentaccounting@dpi.nc.gov

IPT Certification Overview PowerSchool Coordinators,   You are invited to attend one or all three of the Zoom Meeting webinars that will be hosted by PowerSchool on the dates listed below.  The meeting will include details on how to become NCDPI PowerSchool IPT certified. This certification is essential for serving as a lead support contact for your district. If you have questions, please reach out to the Home Base Team at home_base@dpi.nc.gov.    1.  Zoom Meeting Topic: NCDPI PowerSchool  IPT Certification Overview Time: Sep 10, 2019 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)   Join Zoom Meeting https://powerschool.zoom.us/j/652806891?pwd=d0N1Yjlpb01za3dzaHFQZWttZkUydz09   Password: carolina1   One tap mobile +19294362866,,652806891# US (New York) +16699006833,,652806891# US (San Jose)   Dial by your location         +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)         +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)         +1 647 558 0588 Canada Meeting ID: 652 806 891 Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/acVGuLzIIF   Join by Skype for Business https://powerschool.zoom.us/skype/652806891   2.  Zoom Meeting Topic: NCDPI PowerSchool  IPT Certification Overview Time: Sep 11, 2019 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)   Join Zoom Meeting https://powerschool.zoom.us/j/432639211?pwd=ZmpZTU1keStodWk0YVVmWGtZVmxLZz09   Password: carolina1   One tap mobile +19294362866,,432639211# US (New York) +16699006833,,432639211# US (San Jose)   Dial by your location         +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)         +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)         +1 647 558 0588 Canada Meeting ID: 432 639 211 Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/acVGuLzIIF   Join by Skype for Business https://powerschool.zoom.us/skype/432639211   3.  Zoom Meeting Topic: NCDPI PowerSchool  IPT Certification Overview Time: Sep 12, 2019 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)   Join Zoom Meeting https://powerschool.zoom.us/j/794762137?pwd=ekNoTzZyRTBiZXU1cVd6RmdlY2FSdz09   Password: carolina1   One tap mobile +19294362866,,794762137# US (New York) +16699006833,,794762137# US (San Jose)   Dial by your location         +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)         +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)         +1 647 558 0588 Canada Meeting ID: 794 762 137 Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/acVGuLzIIF   Join by Skype for Business https://powerschool.zoom.us/skype/794762137

Financial and Business Services Newsletter Please click on the link below for important financial information http://www.ncpublicschools.org/fbs/

Last month information was introduced to Charter School Directors about the Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Modules  that were in the development stage. These modules are now complete!   Beginning this week and continuing into next week, your PBIS and MTSS Coordinators are receiving guidance on determining readiness as well as registering for the course. This one-page brief  was created as a resource for establishing common language and understanding of the integration of these standards and skills into your environment and instructional practices.    As you pursue conversations around SEL supports for staff and students consider the use of IABS resources. Please contact your MTSS Consultant or email integratedsystems@dpi.nc.gov if you have further questions.

EL Coordinators Meeting Fall 2019 September 18: NEW EL Coordinators   September 19: ALL EL Coordinators   September 20: Break-out Sessions    EL Advisory Council and 2. Charter Schools   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).

Registration Information for Low Performing Webinars to be Sent to Communications   After the release of the Low Performing designation for schools and districts, NCDPI’s District and Regional Support unit provides a webinar for leaders in these schools and/or districts, whether newly designated or continuing in the designation.   The webinars will provide information for leaders concerning the policies, expectations, and deadlines for the Comprehensive Plan required for Low Performing Schools and Low Performing Districts, respectively.    PLEASE NOTE: Each webinar, one for Low Performing Schools and one for Low Performing Districts, will be offered twice, and participants need only attend one of the offered webinars. Only leaders in schools and districts who are designated Low Performing need to register. Please find the registration links below:   Low Performing Schools/Charter Schools Webinar Options: (Select one) Please register for Low Performing Schools Webinar Option 1 on Sep 20, 2019 3:00 PM EDT at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2988454313886761228 After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.  ________________________________________________________________ Please register for Low Performing Schools Webinar Option 2 on Sep 23, 2019 3:00 PM EDT at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4421001416646399244 After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

NC Virtual Public School   The North Carolina Virtual Public School invites you to attend its inaugural Virtual Innovators Conference. NCVPS VIC2019 will bring us together to connect, share, and learn about online and digital learning. NCVPS VIC2019 is October 19, 2019, at Moore Square Middle School, beginning at 8:00 am. Click here to learn all about it!

Memo: Presidential Scholars nominations

Superintendents and Charter School Directors,

Please see attached memo and application form for nominations for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, due by Oct. 4.

• 2020 Presidential Scholars Final 2.pdf

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: 

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

MEMO - SYNOPSIS OF REQUIREMENTS REGARDING MILITARY AND MILITARY FAMILIES

TO: Superintendents

Charter School Directors
Principals
Data Managers

FROM: Mark Johnson

DATE: September 6, 2019

SYNOPSIS OF REQUIREMENTS REGARDING MILITARY AND MILITARY FAMILIES

North Carolina has a proud tradition of supporting the military and its families. Below is a synopsis of law changes, requirements, and/or resources pertaining to the military and military-connected students in four key areas:
Military Student Identifier Annual Data Collection The military student identifier is a required annual collection of data on military-connected students. The data collection should be updated by form (paper or electronic) to the parent once at the beginning of each school year. LEAs are required to enter and update the data from the forms into Powerschool by the last day of January for the current school year. A QRD is available for Powerschool functionality on the military student identifier.

A [sample form] is available. IMPORTANT: The field options must be in place as described even if the form has been edited for local use. There must be room for six relationships included on the local form. The form must also describe these possible values:
o Relationship: Mother, Father, Stepfather, Stepmother, Guardian, Sibling, Other
o Branches: Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy
o Status Options: Active Duty, Activated Guard/Reserve, National Guard, Reserves, Retired Military, Disabled Veteran, Veteran, Federal Civil Service, Deceased, Deceased – KIA, Foreign Military
o Pay Grade (Optional): Enlisted (E-1 through E-9), Officer (O-1 through O-10), Warrant Officer (W-1 through W-5)
o Military Installation (Optional): The facility where the service member fulfills their duty role in the military. [text field in PS]
(e.g. Fort Bragg, NG Raleigh Armory, Knightdale Reserve Center etc.)

Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children
North Carolina is a signatory on the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. As a result, LEAs must abide by the published rules of the compact. The most common areas for consideration are eligibility to enroll, course waivers for on-time graduation, extracurricular eligibility, and record transfer. Please review the rules linked below and consider that NC law also requires that “principals shall develop a means for serving the unique needs of students identified as military-connected students” in their schools.

[MIC3 - Promulgated Rules of the Compact] Legal References: NC Compact Law, Principal’s Requirement (m)

Student Directory Information - Military Recruiters NC DPI has been in partnership with the U.S. Army Raleigh Recruiting Battalion for two years to provide a state-level student directory report to military branch recruiters. Military student directory opt-outs must be completed by October 1 each school year in order to allow processing for delivery to recruiters by the end of October. All recruiters seeking student directory information directly from schools can be referred to Doug Taggart for clarity on the process. A QRD is available for data managers on implementing student directory information for this purpose.

Federal Impact Aid Some LEAs, through collecting the military student information, may learn they could qualify for federal impact aid if a school meets the following: “In general, to be eligible for assistance a local school district must educate at least 400 such children in average daily attendance, or the federally connected children must make up at least 3 percent of the school district's total average daily attendance.” School Liaison Officers from the military installations can provide a briefing on eligibility and utilizing Federal Impact Aid. [ed.gov reference]

All information will be included on DPI’s new website scheduled to go live this fall. Please search “Military Support” or contact Doug Taggart, Military Liaison, at (doug.taggart@dpi.nc.gov or 919-807-3346).

Other News

NCHEP will be conducting its annual New Homeless Liaison Compliance Training for Charter Schools on September 12th.  Those who are new homeless liaisons with 2 years or less experience and who did not attend the new homeless liaison training held during 2018-19SY should participate in this all-day professional development.   Charter Schools New Homeless Liaison Training   September 12, 2019   UNC Greensboro (main campus) Elliott University Center 1st Floor - Dogwood Room 507 Stirling Street Greensboro, NC 27412   Register for the Charter School New Homeless Liaison Compliance Training The topics for training will include: Compliance with the McKinney-Vento Act Transportation Early Childhood 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 the link above to register.    We look forward to seeing you at the New Homeless Liaison Compliance Training!

Immunization and Health Assessment Compliance Reporting

Each year, all schools are required to report the immunization status of their kindergarten and 7th grade students, according to G.S. 130A-155(c) and G.S. 130A-440. The purpose of these reports is to ensure that all children enrolled in North Carolina schools are protected against vaccine-preventable diseases and to determine the number of children who meet state immunization requirements.  Additionally, all North Carolina public and public charter schools are required annually to report on the status of Health Assessments for those students who are enrolling for the first time in a North Carolina public or public charter school (G.S. 130A-441(c)).

Report submission can take place after the 30^th calendar day from the school’s official first day.  A combined compliance report is available this year, by school name, and must be completed on-line at this link: Annual Health Assessment and Immunization Report. You may use the link to access instructions as well as worksheets to gather your responses prior to entering the online report.   Compliance reports are due no later than November 1, 2019 but may be completed at any time prior to that date. 

Communication From The Consultant

The Technical Assistance Summary provides valuable school health information.  School Health Coordinators and/or School Nurses are encouraged to review this quarterly circular so you can stay up-to-date with news and announcements from the Charter School Health Nurse Consultant.

Annette Darden Richardson, MSN, RN, NCSN

Charter School Health Nurse Consultant

Division of Public Health - Children and Youth Branch

NC Department of Health and Human Services

Office: 252-339-3009 

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