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

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:

Registration is now open for the October session.  Registration ends on Sunday, October 20.  Please use this link to register: https://forms.gle/Y2U7gzpv2L7q2hKKA

For questions, please contact Dr. Kebbler Williams at kebbler.williams@dpi.nc.gov or 919-807-3920.

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!

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.

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

November 7, 2019 in Greensboro NC – NC A & T University

December 4 - 5, 2019

NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) Updates

Web Link:

ECATS Message for Monday 09/30/2019

0190930Monday Message.pdf

Financial and Business Services Newsletter

Please click on the link below for important financial information

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/fbs/

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.

NCEdCloud IAM Service MFA Rollout - Part 2

As a part of the continuing effort to enhance the security posture of statewide IT systems, and due to the access users with NCEdCloud IAM LEA Help Desk and LEA Student Help Desk roles have to employee and student account data, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) will be required for users with either of these roles.  NCDPI will be rolling out MFA for these privileged users statewide on Thursday, November 7, 2019.  This is the second step towards expanding security measures to educators and administrators with privileged access to staff and student data, and follows the rollout to users with LEA Administrator and LEA Data Auditor roles which was completed in May.  This will complete the MFA rollout to users with privileged roles in NCEdCloud. 

The following webinars have been scheduled in order to help prepare LEAs and charter schools for this transition within the NCEdCloud IAM Service:

Webinar 1: Tuesday, October 15th, from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

https://mcnc.zoom.us/j/425413299 OR

Phone Number:     +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) 

Meeting ID:  425 413 299

Webinar 2: Thursday, October 31th, from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. 

https://mcnc.zoom.us/j/233199426 OR

Phone Number:     +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

Meeting ID:  233 199 426

As a part of this implementation, we encourage LEAs and charter schools to review the list of staff members that currently have LEA Help Desk or LEA Student Help Desk roles to ensure that these roles are still required.  Further information about the MFA rollout, as well as instructions on how to check for users with NCEdCloud Privileged Roles, can be found by visiting the NCEdCloud website at http://ncedcloud.mcnc.org/mfa.

Thank you for your cooperation and patience during this transition to making data in the NCEdCloud IAM Service more secure.

In addition to the SEL Modules that are available through the Integrated Academic and Behavior Systems Division, the IABS team is hosting a Twitter Chat to talk about Social Emotional Learning. All educators are invited to join the slow chat by searching Twitter using  #ncmtsschat beginning on October 7th and going through  October 11th. With this slow chat, new questions will be posted each day at noon and again at 7 pm. This is a great opportunity to network with other NC educators to share how staff and students are being supported by Social-Emotional Learning practices.    Please contact your MTSS Consultant or email integratedsystems@dpi.nc.gov if you have further questions.

PowerSchool Certification Exam Extended

NCDPI is pleased to share that we have come to an agreement with PowerSchool to extend the initial certification exam for those wishing to attempt to “test-out” and not attend the 5-day IPT training. We realize many of our technical contacts were tasked with multiple responsibilities and may not have been able to take, or finish, the exam prior to the initial September 30 deadline. For those who have already tested, we appreciate your promptness.

The new deadline for completing the initial free exam is October 31, 2019. Please be mindful that our IPT trainings are filling up, so the sooner you take the test, the better your chances will be of securing a seat at an IPT session that is most convenient for you. If you fail the initial certification test and are not able to secure a seat in an upcoming training due to limited availability, your PSU will be responsible for the cost incurred to have a certified PowerSchool SIS technical contact. The cost to retest in this instance will be $500.

IPT Training/Certification for PowerSchool Support NCDPI has coordinated with many districts across the state to setup 13 locations for the required PowerSchool IPT certification training starting October 7, 2019. Please review the IPT Certification Training FAQ for information regarding the required training and certification. IPT Certification FAQ    Dates/Locations   October 7 - 11, 2019 - Lenoir County Professional Development Center, 601 Cunningham Rd, Kinston, NC   October 7 - 11, 2019 - American Renaissance School: Donovan Cook Center, 132 E Broad St, Statesville, NC   October 14 - 18, 2019 - Washington County PLC Center, 115 Middle St, Creswell, NC   October 14 - 18, 2019 - Mills River Academy, 96 School House Rd, Mills River, NC   October 21 - 25, 2019 - Booker T. Washington Educational Resource Center, 66 Booker T. Washington School Road, Clarkton, NC   October 21 - 25, 2019 - Olive Hill Resource Room, 509 West Concord Street, Morganton NC   October 28 - November 1, 2019 - West Campus Computer Lab, 211 E. Rose St, Smithfield, NC   October 28 - November 1, 2019 - Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools, 475 Corporate Drive, Winston-Salem, NC   November 4 - 8, 2019 - Lee County (TBA)   November 4 - 8, 2019 - Union County Public Schools- Technology Services Center, 721 Brewer Dr., Monroe, NC   November 18 - 22, 2019 - Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools, 475 Corporate Drive, Winston-Salem, NC   December 2 - 6, 2019 - North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 301 N Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC 27601   December 16 - 20, 2019 - Carolina Beach Road Complex, 2814 Carolina Beach Road, Wilmington, NC 28412   Click the link below to register for the date and location you would like to attend. Please only fill this form out once.   Please note:  seats are limited and those who have not taken and passed the IPT certification test will receive priority. If you have already passed the certification test you will be moved to the waiting list for that location, and we will notify you if space is available. If we do not receive at least 20 registered attendees for a training, we will unfortunately need to cancel the training and notify all who have registered. Registration Link:  IPT Training     We would like to thank all our gracious hosts for volunteering their locations to assist with these trainings.  For questions or concerns, please contact Home Base team.   **Please note: all registration information is subject to North Carolina Public Records Law.

Military Recruitment Data Collection

The Military Recruitment Data Collection (student directory) deadline for inputs and outputs is Thursday, October 31.  The data pull will be based on two values:

1. The value of the 'No Military Recruitment' field in the student record - on the 'Other Information' page.
2. The value of the 'Release of Information' field.

NCDPI is requesting for the data to be set according to the above criteria BEFORE Nov. 1, 2019. The following QRD can assist in this work endeavor:  http://www.nc-sis.org/Documents/student_info/PS_QRD_Military_Recruitment_v2.pdf.

Principal Monthly Report (PMR) Webinar

Register now for the upcoming PMR webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar.

Time, date and registration link are below. Date: October 9, 2019

Time: 1:30 p.m.

Registration link: 

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6643001167186142221

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!

EC DIRECTORS/DATA MANAGERS - 2018-19 Indicator 11 Opens Tomorrow Indicator 11 count will open in CECAS tomorrow October 1, 2019. No changes have been made to this process for the 18-19 end of year collection. Reporting users that used the .xml upload in CECAS for the December 2018 child count, will use an .xml file for Indicator 11. All LEA's, Charter Schools and State Operated programs that were open during the 2018-19 school year must submit and certify an Indicator 11 file. For new data managers/directors the Indicator 11 getting started guide can be located here . Test counts have been deleted from CECAS in preparation for the submission to open tomorrow. To prepare today, CECAS users may use the INDICATOR 11 PERIODIC COUNT PREVIEW REPORT in CECAS under Reports/Special ED. Run the report by Late Placement and check those records to ensure that the students are truly delayed past the 90 day timeline and that they have a delay reason if needed. Indicator 12 will be submitted on spreadsheets by all LEAs. Charter Schools do not need to submit an Indicator 12 spreadsheet this year. The Indicator 12 spreadsheet has a tab with helpful clarifications to assist LEAs in entering data. The Indicator 12 spreadsheet is posted on the CECAS communication site on the Documents tab under Memorandums. This spreadsheet must be submitted no later than October 18, 2019. The due dates for the Indicators are listed below. Cooperation in meeting the deadlines for data submission is greatly appreciated. *New Charter schools that began in the 2019-20 school year do not need to complete the Indicator counts. Please email all Indicator spreadsheets to ecindicators@dpi.nc.gov  Indicator 11 - DUE October 18, 2019 Indicator 12 - DUE October 18, 2019 If you have any questions regarding these data submissions, please submit a help desk ticket via Service Now.

Effective Mathematics Instruction For Students With Significant Cognitive Disabilities

Please review the attached memo regarding effective Mathematics Instruction for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities (SCD) in North Carolina. 

• 19-20 SCD-FoM Memo.pdf

Regional Assistive Technology Trainings

Please review the attached memo regarding Assistive Technology (AT) to Support Student Success Across All Academic Settings. 

• AAC-AT Memo.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:  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

Student Information System (SIS) Modernization Survey

October 3, 2019

Dear Charter School Leaders,

Superintendent Johnson recently sent out a communication to all PSU Superintendents about the effort to modernize North Carolina’s Student Information System (SIS) into an integrated, next-generation, comprehensive, multi-module system.  The memo attached in this email was shared by the State Superintendent on September 20, 2019.

As mentioned in the attached communication we are excited to announce the launch of the Student Information System (SIS) Modernization survey on October 7, 2019.  The survey will remain open for three (3) weeks and close at midnight on October 29, 2019.

The survey is designed to obtain your inputs to:

1. Identify areas for improvement.
2. Discover opportunities to better support your needs.

The priorities listed in the Superintendent’s memo will serve as the guiding principles for the modernization effort:

1. Adoption of configurable non-customized platforms;
2. Dedication to protecting data confidentiality and data ownership;
3. Development of contemporary data integration and reporting environment;
4. Highly accessible and reliable services with scalable infrastructure;
5. Standards-based integration with third-party systems and services.

The inputs from the survey will be the backbone to further refine the principles and develop an action plan for the Modernization effort.

You are our critical partner in this engagement.  Please complete the survey and provide candid feedback and encourage your teams to complete the survey.

Survey results and next steps in the modernization effort will be shared.

If you have any questions about the survey, please do not hesitate to reach us at -

SISModernization@dpi.nc.gov

Thank you for your assistance and continued support.

Signed by:

Dr. Michael Spano                                                 Dr. Vanessa Wrenn

Program Director,                                                  Director,

School Business Systems Modernization             Digital Teaching and Learning

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

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