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
Professional Development Corner (PD)
Come and check out the happenings on our PD website!
https://www.smore.com/z7vg5
The Scoop with Coop
The Scoop with Coop is a newsletter that focuses on the North Carolina Charter School Renewal process. In addition, this letter provides insight on a variety of charter school topics to assist our leaders and readers alike!
https://www.smore.com/8hcf9
GREAT NEWS!!!
Great news!!! The NC Office of Charter Schools applied for a supplement CSP Grant from the US Dept. of Education and was awarded an additional $10 million dollars. This will allow more NC charter schools to receive subgrants and participate in the highly successful NC ACCESS Fellowship program. It will also enhance our goal of increasing diversity in our charter schools and increasing the opportunity for Economically Disadvantaged Students to attend high quality charter schools.
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Performance Framework Policy Submissions
Dear Charter School Directors and Board Chairs, this year we are doing something a little different to ease the administrative burden of submitting the same policy items for Performance Framework over and over each year. The A06.1 Student Enrollment Policy due in November is the first of these policies for this year for which we will accept a signed verification note, linked here.
If the policy was deemed to have met all criteria in 2018-2019 and has not changed, please sign the verification note and have your Epicenter user submit it in place of each of the policies listed when they appear in the task queue. Thank you!
The NC ACCESS Fellowship hosted its September convening at NCCAT in Cullowhee. Fellows dug deep into their own leadership and how to empower teachers in their schools to meet the needs of all students. A very special thank you to the staff at NCCAT for hosting us!
NC ACCESS Program Information and Application Training Sessions
Contact: NCACCESS@dpi.nc.gov
The second application cycle of the NC ACCESS Subgrant Program is coming soon! The NC ACCESS team is holding several in-person technical assistance information and application training sessions from October 2019-January 2020 to assist prospective applicants with the subgrant application process.
Please note that each 2-hour session will consists of two parts: hour one is an informational session outlining the NC ACCESS Subgrant Program and its requirements, and hour two is an in-depth application training. Sessions with no registrants will be cancelled 24 hours prior to the training.
Learn more and view the full training schedule on our website or register for a training here.
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Upcoming Charter School Advisory Board Meetings - CSAB
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
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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NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Updates
Web Links:
EVAAS PD Flyer - Classroom Edition
EVAAS PD Flyer for 2 upcoming sessions
EVAAS PD Flyer - Administrator Edition
Leading with EVAAS: Administrator Edition
State Superintendent Mark Johnson Announces Reading Partnership with Carolina Panthers: 3rd & Goal Read Along
State Superintendent Mark Johnson announced this week the launch of the new reading partnership between NC DPI and the Carolina Panthers. The 3rd & Goal Read Along is intended to help students and their parents work on reading and other literacy skills. The program, which is designed for K-3 students, is a literacy initiative to assist students in K-3 with the goals of achieving grade-level proficiencies by the end of third grade.
“We are excited to team up with the Carolina Panthers to engage students and empower parents and educators,” said Superintendent Johnson. “Teachers can use this fun resource in their classrooms, and parents can use it at home as another way to engage students in the joy of reading.”
Superintendent Johnson was with the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte Tuesday when the team launched its 3rd & Goal reading program.
“The Carolina Panthers are going to help us make sure K-3 students get off to a great start and reach their goals,” said Superintendent Johnson.
Reading tips include:
- Talking to your child about learning new words
- Reading with your child every day for 20 minutes
- Encouraging your child to write notes and letters
- Asking your child about what they are reading
For more information on the 3rd & Goal Reading program and videos of Panthers players reading aloud, go to https://www.panthers.com/news/3rd-and-goal.
School Safety Grant Program
The application for the 2019-2020 School Safety Grant Program has been released. The application can be found on the CCIP grants management system: ccip.schools.nc.gov. Log into the system using your NCID, select your school system, then find the grant application under “Safe Schools.”
You may find a preview of the application here. The grant competition will open no later than September 25, 2019, at noon, and closes October 25, 2019 at 11:59pm. Make sure to begin the application process by reviewing Parts II and III of Session Law 2019-222 in addition to the FAQs for the grant program. These FAQs will be updated periodically. If either of these documents do not give direction to any question(s) you may have, you may email schoolsafetygrants@dpi.nc.gov with those questions.
Financial and Business Services Newsletter
Please click on the link below for important financial information
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/fbs/
PowerSchool ODS Sync Issue
There is a problem with the transfer of data between local PowerSchool instances and the state PowerSchool operational data store (ODS). This issue impacts student record transfers, IAM/NCEdCloud, Schoolnet, TNL, ECATS, Istation, CFI, state reporting (PMR, CFU, etc), CEDARS, CTE Enrollment file, EVAAS, Accountability and Read to Achieve. PowerSchool is investigating this issue as a top priority. DPI will continue to update with more information as it becomes available.
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Registration Open - 69th Conference on Exceptional Children
Registration is now open for the 69th Conference on Exceptional Children. More information is located at https://ec.ncpublicschools.gov/conferences-profdev/annual-conference. Registration deadline is NOVEMBER 4 so be sure and register early.
Registration Fees for 2019 are:
Pre-Conference Institutes Only (Wednesday, November 20) - $75.00
General Conference Only (Thursday, November 21 & Friday, November 22) - $120.00
General Conference Plus Pre-Conference Institute Combo - $150.00
The Exceptional Children Division looks forward to seeing everyone at the conference!
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ECATS: Monday Message
Good afternoon,
The purpose of this communication is to provide guidance and clarification about how to receive support for ECATS. This is a joint message from the Exceptional Children Division (ECD) at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and Public Consulting Group (PCG) as a response to hearing from educators and administrators in all different roles using ECATS. We are acutely aware of some of the difficulties the end-user might be experiencing with this new technology.
ECD and PCG can understand how frustrating it might be to feel that users are missing some of the tools needed to complete certain actions in ECATS. While ECATS is up and running, there is an acknowledgement that it hasn’t been without problems. We are listening to your concerns that users are sharing with us via the ECATS Help Desk, ZenDesk, or phone calls and email to DPI as well as on social media.
There are several ways for users to receive instant help and other ways to provide suggestions. Many of the errors or difficulties found have already been corrected or are in the development process for correction. We want to assure you that we are taking each concern seriously but also want to remind everyone a few ways to get additional guidance and information immediately.
The first line of support for all users is the Document Library at the bottom of the main page of the ECATS application. We encourage you to download documents that are important to your work that include some of the following:
• User Manuals
• Quick Reference Guides
• Links to short videos
Additionally, these resources are available on the ECATS website at https://ec.ncpublicschools.gov/ecats
We have also created a new Monday Message that includes updated information about ECATS which is being delivered to local directors and coordinators. These messages are designed to provide not only helful tips, but also highlight areas where the Tier 1 Support is receiving a high volume of the same concern. All previous Monday Message may be found at https://ec.ncpublicschools.gov/ecats/monday_messages
The second line of support is to work with designated staff within your local public school unit who have been designated as the local ECATS Help Desk . This designee has the ability to connect to ZenDesk, using “Send us a Message” link to place a ticket for support.
20190923-Monday Message.pdf
Guidance on Related Service Provider Documentation
Please review the attached memo: Guidance on Related Service Provider Documentation which contains a link to a recorded webinar that provides an overview of documentation standards.
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
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Free Workshop Opportunity
How to Write Your State or National School of Character Application
November 1, 2019 | Person Early College on the Campus of Piedmont Community College
9 am - 3 pm
Is your school or district committed to character development? The Schools of Character Program is a school improvement process that offers the opportunity for self-assessment and expert feedback to schools and districts engaged in character education.
Join NCDPI for a FREE workshop to learn how to apply to become a State and National School of Character and gain support to assist your school or district in the application process. Participants will be able to collaborate and share examples of exemplary evidence.
For More Information Contact: Justyn.Knox@dpi.nc.gov
Register Today
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Other News
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 30th 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
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