SPOTLIGHTS on OCS

Professional Learning 101

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

Did you know……

As a service to our charter community, the Office of Charter Schools provides governance and BOD training, at no charge, to your school. This governance training might be appropriate for brand new Boards of Directors, transitioning Boards, or anytime a refresher on a specific area or topic is needed. Please reach out to us for a session tailored to your school’s needs. Additionally, the New Charter School Leaders Institute, to be held June 9 and 10, 2020, at NC DPI, is a great resource for school administrators and Boards of Directors. New administrators and board members at existing charter schools may also attend. Registration is required and will open in late April/early May 2020.

SAVE the DATE: March 9, 2020 to March 11, 2020 Charter School Connections Conference-Cullowhee

How can charter school teachers build networks of support for schools, staff, and students? With each charter school operating as an independent LEA, how do we form communities with other charter school educators to share best practices and increase community support?

Explore how teachers can better advocate for their specific school and charters in general and how to develop your own leadership style to help support school initiatives. Learn best practices in connecting students to digital learning and student leadership development through exploring personalized, project-based and flipped learning. Discuss ways to model these practices in your schools. Using a “make and take” model, participants will have time to develop a communication or networking plan, digital lessons, and project-based modules to share with your school.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

For Counselors By Counselors ----  March 17th! 

Calling all counselors within the North Carolina charter school network!  The Office of Charter Schools is hosting the first annual FCBC social!  Please come and enjoy meeting one another.    YOU have a network, YOU are appreciated!

Location: 301 N Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC 27601

Room: 150B

Time: 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

RSVP at the link below! 

https://forms.gle/q22bqpMcmVnbFLui6

2020 SECU People Helping People Scholarship (DEADLINE IS MARCH 20TH)

Charter High School leaders:

It is time again to begin thinking about the 2020 SECU Foundation People Helping People Scholarship! Each year, $10,000.00 scholarships have been awarded to three graduating senior attending North Carolina Charter Schools.

These scholarships will be awarded to students attending one of the 16 constituent campuses of the University of North Carolina. Funds are made possible through the contributions to SECU Foundation by members of the State Employees’ Credit Union. 

Please see the attached memo, Eligibility Criteria, Program Application and Consent Form linked below.

2020 Charter Schools People Helping People Memo

2020 Charter Schools People Helping People Eligibility Criteria

2020 Charter Schools People Helping People Operating Procedures

2020 Charter Schools People Helping People Consent Form

2020 Charter Schools People Helping People Application

February EC Director/Coordinator Webinar Registration

Please follow this link to register for the EC Director/Coordinator webinar on Tuesday, February 4th. You will need to register ahead of time in order to connect to the webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Questions to be addressed during the Q & A session should be submitted to Nina Adams – nina.adams@dpi.nc.gov - by 5:00 pm on Monday, January 27th.

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) No. FG-20-003 from SAMHSA

To whom it may concern:

We have learned about a funding opportunity that is specifically for school mental health supports. This deadline to apply for this funding is due February 12th. This grant is for $1 million for 18 months of disaster supports and they are giving out 70 awards in total.

If you are interested in applying and need support in writing or implementation, it is possible to get support from the National Center for School Mental Health. We would be happy to connect you with someone from their team to see if they are able to address your needs. 

Executive summary:

"The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2020 Disaster Response Grant Program – School-Based Services. The purpose of this program is to provide mental and substance use disorder treatment, crisis counseling, and other related supports to children in school-based settings impacted by Hurricanes Florence and Michael, Typhoon Mangkhut, Super Typhoon Yutu, and wildfires and earthquakes occurring in calendar year 2018 and tornadoes and floods occurring in calendar year 2019 in those areas for which a major disaster or emergency was declared under section 401 or 501 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 and 5191) (referred to under this heading as ‘‘covered disaster or emergency’’), including activities authorized under section 319(a) of the Public Health Service Act. SAMHSA recognizes the impact natural disasters can have, particularly on youth, and is providing funding to mitigate this impact."

Please use this link for more information: https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/grants/pdf/fy-2020-disaster-response-foa-schools.pdf

The Southeast MHTTC Team

seschoolmh@gmail.com 

https://mhttcnetwork.org/centers/southeast-mhttc/home

COMBINED EXPENDITURE REPORTS

Due to the delay in the state budget and allotments, the mid-year Combined Expenditure Report (CER) will not be required.

The 2019-2020 pre-populated CER will be emailed to EC Directors and Coordinators by February 21, 2020.

The only required CER submission for 2019-2020 will be due by July 15, 2020. As in previous years, the document should be submitted via email to CER@dpi.nc.gov in the original Excel format.

More information concerning the submission of the CER will be provided when they are distributed in February. Please direct any questions to Matt Hoskins at matt.hoskins@dpi.nc.gov.

Education and Workforce Innovation Grant applications now available

The N.C. Education and Workforce Innovation Commission invites interested districts and schools to apply for grant support through the Education and Workforce Innovation Fund. The grant program is aimed at developing innovative programs that will lead to more students graduating career and college ready.

This competitive grant is to be used by schools and districts to leverage a partnership with a public or private university or community college and regional businesses and business leaders to foster innovation in education that combines academic rigor and skills development. Grants of up to $60,000 will be awarded for each of the years 2019-20 and 2020-21 or a total maximum of $120,000 for the two-year grant cycle. Successful applicants must prove the ability to provide a 50% match of grant funding for both school years. Matching funds shall not include other state funds, but may include in-kind contributions.

Awarded plans will include accelerated strategies in five core areas:

1. Align public schools with business and industry and colleges/universities.
2. Provide greater choice for parents/guardians among high-quality education options.
3. Enhance teacher and principal effectiveness.
4. Ensure all students possess job-ready skills.
5. Leverage technology to drive both student and teacher learning.

Applications are due Feb. 28. Applicants may be individual schools, local school administrative units, or regional partnerships of two or more local school administrative units.

Any grants awarded by the Commission may be spent during a five-year period from the initial award. Grants may be awarded for new or existing projects. No later than Sept. 1 of each year, a grant recipient must submit to the Commission an annual report for the preceding grant year that describes the academic progress made by the students and the implementation of program initiatives.

An advisory committee will use the attached scoring rubric in its evaluation of applications for recommendation to the Education and Workforce Innovation Commission.

The application can be found here: https://forms.gle/bG63dA62C9dwa5tS6

Legislation on the grant can be found here:

https://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_115C/Article_6C.html

For questions or additional information, please contact Jacqueline Wyatt, Career Readiness Specialist, Career and Technical and Education, NCDPI, at jacqueline.wyatt@dpi.nc.gov

EWIF-Scoring Rubric.pdf

NC Reading Conference

51st NC Reading & Literacy Conference Spark the Magic: Creating a Passion for Literacy

Geared to K-12 teachers and administrators, the 51st Annual NC Reading Conference will be held at the Benton Convention Center, Winston-Salem, March 22 – 24, 2020. Educators can earn up to 2.0 literacy CEUs attending sessions by NC DPI, nationally recognized professional speakers and authors, college professors, classroom teachers and specialists. NEW THIS YEAR: Leadership track for administrators – sessions by Adam Dovico, Steve Lassiter, Jason Griffin. 

Featured professional speakers & authors: Colby Sharp, Tanny McGregor, Adria Klein, Pernille Ripp, Donalyn Miller, Sharon Draper, Sue Soltis, Lester Laminack, Stacy McAnulty, Nora Carpenter, Tracy Deonn Walker, John Claude Bemis, Camille Andros, Kelly Starling Lyons, Jennie Liu.

Sample session topics include: 

* Best Practices for Imlementing the Current ELA NC Standard  Course of Study

* Using the Best Digital Tools in the Classroom

* Differentiating Instruction for Diverse Classrooms

* Reading Complex Texts

* Fostering Academic Language in the Classroom

* Disciplinary Literacy

* Critical Literacy

* Making Data-driven Decisions for Instruction

* Involving Parents in Literacy

For online registration and detailed conference information, go to Annual Conference at www.ncreading.org. For conference questions, email ncra.execassist@gmail.com or call Jean House at 919-606-3806.