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6307 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-6307  •  919.807.3491

Weekly Newsletter- May 22, 2020

Thank you for updating EDDIE!!!

FYI: Our phone numbers have changed. See our new numbers below.

OCS Guidance for Charter Schools SB704/Session Law 2020-3 and SBE RIP Calendar and other Requirements 5/22/2020

Superintendents,

The Instructional Planning and Scheduling Workgroup has created the following survey to gather information from districts and charter schools on what type of student-level data or assessments would be useful as schools resume in fall 2020. The intended respondents are superintendents/charter school directors or their designees.

Please submit one response per district or charter school and submit by Monday, June 1 at noon.

Click here to access the survey.

Jessica B. Swencki | District & Regional Support-Sandhills Region

N.C. Department of Public Instruction-Sandhills RST

jessica.swencki@dpi.nc.gov | 910-524-7020 | @JessicaBSwencki

ANNOUNCEMENT

REMOTE INSTRUCTION PLANS (RI Plans)

Due July 20

The State Board of Education approved SPLN-006 on May 21, 2020 addressing the required RI Plans for all public school units, due to NCDPI by July 20.

The plans will have 15 required elements and will follow a template and process for submission outlined by NCDPI.  NCDPI will be providing further written guidance by June 5. 

Overview of Remote Instruction Plans and Submission Process

Charter School, Lab Schools and Regional School Leaders:

Tuesday, June 2nd 2:30-3:30pm

Attendee Link: https://ncgov.webex.com/ncgov/onstage/g.php?MTID=ec7811e747fc2a09fe6e126aa6009db9b

Event Password: remote2020

School District Leaders:

Tuesday, June 2nd 4:00-5:00pm

Attendee Link: https://ncgov.webex.com/ncgov/onstage/g.php?MTID=e9a2d796edccd97d9a3a20df135b7282a

Event Password: remote2020

NCDPI will also be providing weekly technical assistance webinars supporting each of the 15 components.  Stay tuned for the schedule of webinars.

Questions for NCDPI?

Vanessa Wrenn  Vanessa.wrenn@dpi.nc.gov

Sneha Shah-Coltrane  sneha.shahcoltrane@dpi.nc.gov

School Nutrition Administrators,

Good afternoon.  I am writing to respectfully request your continued patience as we finalize the allotment process associated with the $75M that was appropriated for School Nutrition under Session Law 2020-4.  As you may know, these are federal funds that were provided to the State from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.  These funds have  limitations on use as prescribed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.  Our commitment to program integrity requires that any approved use of these funds is consistent with allowable use provisions of the CARES Act.  These funds will be subject to audit by the USDA Inspector General, State and local audits and Administrative Reviews and subsequent recoupment of ineligible expenditures.

We are unable to answer calls and questions about the allotment at this time.  You have our assurance that once we have the information required to provide guidance on the allowable use of these funds, we will notify you.  Please send your questions electronically to Janet Johnson at Janet.WilliamsJohnson@dpi.nc.gov .  We will compile your questions and prepare a Question/Answer summary in the next week.   In the meantime, we will work collaboratively with our colleagues in the School Business Division, the State Board of Education, the US Department of Agriculture and legal counsel to develop and issue guidance. 

Thank you for understanding our need for additional time to exercise due diligence where this matter is concerned.  Most important, thank you for your continued commitment to providing wholesome, nutritious, appealing meals for children during this public health emergency.

Sincerely,

Lynn Harvey

Lynn Harvey, Ed.D., RDN, LDN, FAND, SNS

Director, School Nutrition and District Operations

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

301 N. Wilmington Street

6324 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC 27699-6324

(O)  984-236-2901 (NEW OFFICE TELEPHONE EFFECTIVE MAY 8, 2020)

(C)  919.601.1405

Lynn.Harvey@dpi.nc.gov

IMPORTANT! CARES Act Funds: Deadline for applying is June 1.

In accordance with the CARES Act, The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds are being made available to school districts, charter schools and LAB schools who received Title I funds during the 2019-20 school year. These funds, also referred to as the K-12 Emergency Relief Funds, will be made available in PRC 163. 

The following documents are linked or attached to this update:

• The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds Application – Eligible districts, charter and LAB Schools will complete this form in order to receive ESSER funds. The form is attached and is available for download in the Consolidated Related Documents section of the 2019-20 Federal Programs application in CCIP.

Please note the following important dates and information regarding this application below:

·       In an ideal scenario, ESSER funds will be provided before the close of the 2019-2020 fiscal year. To facilitate this expedited process, we request that the application be uploaded as a Consolidated Related Document in CCIP and the corresponding budget in BAAS by June 1, 2020. Applications received after this time may be processed for release of funds in the new fiscal year.

·       Because of the short turn-around time for this grant submission, it is not required that the Equitable Services Consultation process be complete before the application is submitted. However, LEAs are required to set aside adequate funds to support equitable services proportional share. 

·       Only districts, charters and LAB Schools that received Title I-A funds during the 2019-20 school year are eligible to submit an application for these funds.

• Question Submission Form for ESSER Fund Grant Application and Implementation – This is a convenient way for you to submit questions that will be compiled into an FAQ document and will be shared out via the Federal Programs listserv. These questions will also help guide the Regional Question and Answer Sessions.  The form can be found here.

• CARES Act – the full text of the Coronavirus Assistance, Relief and Economic Security Act is linked for your reference.

• K-12 Emergency Relief Fund Draft Planning Allotments – This information is provided by DPI Financial and Business Services Office. (K-12 Emergency Relief Fund is a different way to refer to ESSER funds.)

CARES Act Equitable Services

Based on guidance from the US Department of Education, our division has drafted a memo regarding the consultation process for ESSER’s Equitable Services to non-profit private schools.  This memo, along with the following four documents, is attached to this update.

• Affirmation of Notification, Invitation and Consultation for CARES-ESSER (aka Affirmation form)
• Summary of Topics & Statement of Assurances for CARES Act Equitable Services
• Proportionate Share Calculator for CARES
• Providing Equitable Services to Students and Teachers in Non-Public Schools Under the CARES Act Programs (US Department of Education - April 30, 2020)

If you have any questions or concerns regarding ESSER funds, feel free to contact either Talbot Troy (Talbot.troy@dpi.nc.gov) or Dr. Melissa Nixon (melissa.nixon@dpi.nc.gov). 

Consolidated Federal Programs DPI Staff

Tricia, Susan and Alex

Dr. LaTricia Townsend
Director
Federal Program Monitoring and Support Division

Susan Brigman
Interim Assistant Director
Federal Program Monitoring & Support Division

Alex Charles
Section Chief
Federal Program Monitoring & Support Division

• FAQs-CARES Equitable-Services USDE APR 2020.pdf
• CARES-ESSERS Affirm MAY 12 2020.docx
• CARES Act March 2020.pdf
• CARES ACT SUMMARY OF TOPICS - ASSURANCES.pdf
• CARES Act EqSrvcs Memo 5-8-20-2.pdf
• CARES Act Application-FINAL .docx

Human Resources Guidance on Teacher Evaluations

Greetings HR Directors:

Please find the attached guidance related to completing evaluations for educators for the 2019-2020 school year.  The first part of the document reviews the recommendations NCDPI took to the State Board of Education a few weeks ago (approved as EVAL-022) and the second section is an FAQ based on questions we've received from the field.  We can certainly expand the FAQ as needed, but I hope this will give you a good start to completing the process for this year.  

Many thanks to the Superintendents, HR Directors, and other stakeholders who assisted in the development of this guidance.  Please let me know if you have nay questions or if I can assist in any way.

Sincerely,

Tom

Thomas R. Tomberlin
Director, Educator Recruitment and Support
Office of the Deputy State Superintendent

(O) 919-807-3436
(C) 617-686-6632
(F) 919-807-3388

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
6368 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-6368

• Evaluation Memo_20200513.pdf

Discipline, ALP, and Dropout data coordinators,

Please see the reposting guidance regarding updating your discipline data coordinator contact information and  to do the same with dropout data. 

Superintendent's Message:

Mark Johnson
NC Superintendent of Public Instruction
@MarkRJohnsonNC
NCsuperintendent.com 

Charter leaders, please take a look at the timeline and requirements for the Second Annual NCCAT Beginning Teacher of the Year Award! Recognize your amazing beginning charter leaders. All the details are right here!

Second Annual NCCAT BTOY Award

The NCCAT Beginning Teacher of the Year  timeline has changed due to these unprecedented times. Please find a link here to the new timeline. https://drive.google.com/file/d/19cGanTnK5KwiXlKe2BNp2mgtn7Eb5Xgr/view

Upcoming Events and Reminders!

Save the Date!

OCS Huddle West 

July 28th, 2020

Brevard Academy

1110 Hendersonville Hwy, Pisgah Forest, NC 28768

OCS 2020 Summer Huddle West Registration

Virtual Huddle

VIRTUAL 2020 OCS Summer Huddle

Charter School Leadership Institute 2020

October 22nd & 23rd

Triangle Math & Science Academy,

312 Gregson Dr. Cary, NC 27511

Charter Leaders' Standing Thursday @ noon Zoom Meeting with Drs. Stegall & Emory resumes on Thursday May 28; check your emails for the link. This meeting is for charter leaders only; select NCDPI division directors and regional case managers will be invited to join these calls.

First Vote NC 

COVID 19 Federal Funding & Waivers

NC DPI COVID19 WEEKLY TOP TEN