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Weekly Newsletter- June 26, 2020

Thank you for updating Epicenter!!!

FYI: Please email us your questions!

Please email us with questions. We are working remotely, and cannot always access voicemail.

OCS will be closed on July 3 in honor of Independence Day.

Your PPE packages are getting packed and shipping will take place between June 29 and July 1.

You must have someone available to receive these packages.

We will deliver PPE to the 203 Charter Schools via UPS.  

We have already notified local Emergency Managers of these deliveries.

As always, thanks for your outstanding support of DHHS, NCNG, NCEM and the rest of the State Emergency Response Team!

All,

Please review the attached memo regarding the Istation contract ending June 30 from Deputy Superintendent of Innovation, Dr. David Stegall, and Director of K-3 Literacy, Dr. Tara Galloway.

• MEMO_Istation Contract.pdf

Please find the attached Memo: RTA Reporting Requirements from Deputy Superintendent of Innovation, Dr. David Stegall, and Director of K-3 Literacy, Dr. Tara Galloway. 

In addition, please find the June edition of "K-3 Lit Bits" newsletter.

• June K3 Lit Bits.pdf
• 2019 - 2020 Read to Achieve Reporting Requirements (2).pdf

State Legislative Update:

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NCSBE/bulletins/292cf0c

Please find the following link to the recording, transcript, and chat from Friday’s call.  

https://docs.google.com/document/d/19ohlKf-LIhUkyEab_C2tV4xrAM9UbcdyfzLWccyRLHA/edit?usp=sharing

North Carolina Textbook Commission Subcommittee on Digital Resources Meets Thursday, July 2

The NC Textbook Commission Subcommittee on Digital Resources will meet on Thursday, July 2, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. The meeting will be virtual only and can be accessed using this link to register.

During the  meeting, the subcommittee will continue a discussion of its work on Canvas courses for training commissioners and advisors and next steps for the subcommittee.

An audio recording of the meeting will be uploaded on the Textbook Commission meetings web page at a later date. Questions regarding the meeting should be directed to the NCDPI Communications Division at 984-236-2000.

The State Board of Education Meets Tuesday, June 30, in Called Session

The State Board of Education will meet remotely on Tuesday, June 30, at 1:30 p.m. to consider COVID-19-related and other actions.

The meeting agenda is available online and includes a link to audio access for the meeting.

Retirement Rate Effective July 1, 2020

SL 2020-31 (HB1136) (www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2019/Bills/House/PDF/H1136v4.pdf) establishes the retirement rate effective July 1, 2020.

Retirement        14.36% Disability             0.10% Death                  0.13% Retiree Health    6.82%

2020-21             21.41%

Demystifying Dyslexia Canvas Course

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NCSBE/bulletins/2922bc7

To help recap important news of the week, we are pleased to bring you the NCDPI COVID-19 WEEKLY TOP TEN.

SBE Guidelines for the Remote Instruction plan

https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/ePolicy/policy.aspx?PC=SPLN-006&Sch=10399&S=10399&C=SPLN&RevNo=1.32&T=A&Z=P&St=ADOPTED&PG=6&SN=true

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Remote Instruction Plan Template

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14eUPdXICmRTcmDN5p0nrzuD0fXOVxF9L/view

Since March 2020, the number of calls to poison centers across the U.S. has been rising for exposures to cleaners and disinfectants. Given the increased frequency of cleaner and disinfectant use to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and the potential for misuse, the NCDHHS offers the following guidance on safe application of disinfectants.  This information is also being shared directly with maintenance directors.

Click to read the Interim Guidance for the Safe Application of Disinfectants  June 12, 2020.

Home Base Opt-in Process Extended – June 30,2020

The NCDPI Home Base team is extending the Home Base Opt-in Process through June 30, 2020.  If your PSU has not opted into Home Base, please inform your district’s finance officer or charter principal/director that the deadline is June 30.  Those PSUs that have not opted into Home Base by July 1, 2020, will lose their access to Schoolnet and their local NCEES Professional Development Office component.

Detailed information can be viewed by visiting our NCDPI Home Base Opt-in page and the Home Base Pricing Memo from Dr. Beverly Emory.  Questions concerning this process may be addressed to Yolanda Wilson, yolanda.wilson@dpi.nc.gov.

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End of Year Updates

The 2019-20 EOY Process for the Home Base Suite of Applications will begin Tuesday, June 30, 2020. Home Base will be taken offline on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. EOY processing and archiving of data will begin 8:00 a.m. on Thursday morning, July 2, 2020. 

2019-2020 PowerSchool EOY Guide Now Available!

The Home Base team has updated the PowerSchool End-of-Year User Guide for the 2020-2021 school year. Notable updates for this school year include:

• A new grade level of -9 (XG) is now available for students who have reached the 12th grade and will return next year to continue receiving services. This is referred to as the Extra Grade level, or XG, on state reports. In PowerSchool, XG is represented as -9.
• There will be more documentation released next week about -9 (XG).
• The section with directions for charter schools has been updated with steps to ensure no student records remain in the DPI FTE School. In the past, it was common practice for charter schools whose terminal year was lower than 12th grade to move students into the DPI FTE School at EOY, then transfer them out. Due to ECATS, charters now need to move those student records out of the DPI FTE School and back into the charter school before transferring them out. No student records, whether active or inactive, can remain in the DPI FTE School.

The updated EOY user guide is a Google Doc that can be downloaded or printed as desired. Please be sure to review this guide in its entirety to ensure your PSU is ready for EOY. Home Base will go down for EOY at 5:00 p.m. on June 30, 2020. PSUs will begin local PowerSchool EOY processing at 8:00 a.m. on July 2, 2020. The guide can be found by clicking here or by visiting the NC SIS Resources page on the NCDPI website. As always, please direct any questions to home_base@dpi.nc.gov or to PowerSchool Support.

School Business Closing Procedures & Dates

https://files.nc.gov/dpi/documents/fbs/finance/reporting/charter-school-closing-letter19-20.pdf

PowerSchool (EOY Contact Updates)

Please be reminded of the following and take the time to review your contact information to ensure the required fields are accurately completed. 

• An alternate phone number is required on the EOY Contacts’ screen for both, the Primary and Secondary contacts (the alternate number should not be the same as the primary phone number). 
• If there is a phone extension, it should be entered at the end of the Title field (e.g., Title:  PowerSchool Coordinator x4567). 
• The EOY Contacts’ screen must have a Primary Contact and a Secondary Contact (Primary and Secondary cannot be the same person). 
• The “Last School Ending Date (mm/dd/yyyy)” field on the EOY Contacts’ screen must be filled out and the page submitted even if your contacts have not changed from the previous year.
• The “Login (User Admin Name)” fields on the EOY Contacts’ screen should match the “Admin Username” on the user’s Admin Access and Roles tab of the Security Settings’ screen.

Questions concerning EOY may be addressed to home_base@dpi.nc.gov

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

OCS Guidance for Charter Schools House Bill 1043 / Session Law 2020-4 Supplemental Grants 6/2/2020

Communications Team:

Please note-    Our biweekly Tuesday calls will continue to be held at 8:00 a.m. and recordings will be provided in a follow-up email if you are unable to attend.  We welcome all communications leaders and superintendents to join our biweekly calls. Our biweekly calls occur in the off week of the standing superintendent and charter leaders calls by design, to keep an open channel between NCDPI and the field open each week. 

Dates for our upcoming calls are: June 16, June 30, July 14, July 28. 

6/10 Communications Call Recording:

The Follow-Up document with the webinar recording and integrated chat from the June 10, 2020 call is now available.    The link to this document does not change. New content is added to the top.

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 Virtual Huddle

July 28th, 2020 Cisco Webex  Agenda and link coming soon!

OCS 2020 Summer Huddle West Registration

Charter School Leadership Institute 2020

The 2020 Annual Charter School Leadership Institute will be postponed until April,  2021.

NC DPI COVID19 WEEKLY TOP TEN

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