NC SIS Weekly Email Bulletin

North Carolina Public Schools sent this bulletin at 08/28/2020 03:13 PM EDT

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August 28, 2020

Digital Teaching and Learning

DISTRICT SUPPORT

NC SIS Weekly Email Bulletin

In this issue:

1. A Message from the Home Base Manager

2. State Reporting Reminder

3. Students in the FTE School - Reminder

4. Daily Headcount Adjustment

5. Ten Day Rule

6. Schoolnet Maintenance

7. NEW: 2020-2021 Webinars

8. NCDPI Technology Support Center

A Message from the Home Base Manager

Good Afternoon,

The first two weeks of this non-traditional school year are behind us. We have all come together to do what is best for the students in these challenging times. I want to thank you for all you have done. This pandemic has taken us all to new levels and you have risen to the challenge.

There are a few changes that I wanted to make everyone aware of with your Home Base Team. Beginning on September 28^th, the point of contact for SchoolNet, Learning.com, and Imagine Math has changed. On September 28^th, John Mairs will be the product manager for SchoolNet. He will continue supporting PowerSchool training as well. Audrey Long will be the product manager for the digital literacy program, Learning.com. She has been a welcomed addition to our team, and we look forward to her serving you in this new role. Dr. Carmella Fair will be the product manager for Imagine Math. Dr. Fair's background in Math makes her the perfect choice to work with districts in using this program to help increase student knowledge of Math grades K-8. Pam Batchelor, who was the point of contact for SchoolNet and Imagine Math, will continue to be the product manager for both Canvas and Go Open NC. She will continue to lead those two products to new heights during unprecedented times. Cami Narron will continue being the product manager for NCEES. Her dedication to you is second to none. Justin Conner's strong leadership of the SIS will continue with PowerSchool. Tessa Hine will continue her efforts providing excellent training and support with all the Home Base Products.

We are very blessed to have a great team at DPI that is here to serve you. These changes are designed to make sure we continue to offer a high level of support for each product offered.

Have a great weekend, stay healthy, and see you soon.

Rob

Rob Dietrich, Ed.D.

Home Base Manager

State Reporting Reminder

The Fall School Start-Time and End-Time Collection is due September 15, 2020.

Remember to enter the school start-time and end-time in PowerSchool according to the quick reference document attached in the link below before running the 2020 -2021 report. The report should be approved at the School Level and District Level in PowerSchool. Contact studentaccounting@dpi.nc.gov for further questions.

QRD: School Start Times and End Times

https://files.nc.gov/dpi/documents/school_info/PS_QRD_SET.pdf

Students in the FTE School - Reminder

NCDPI has discovered that some schools have students in their DPI FTE school. NCDPI would like to inform all PSUs that the DPI FTE school should not be used as a holding school during the school year and there should not be any student records in this school within your instance. This school may be used as a temporary holding school during the EOY process, but students must be moved back to their previous school and transferred out as a no-show within your instance after EOY. Failure to remove these students causes double enrollment in ECATS, resulting in record transfer issues. Please see page 7 of the End-of-Year User Guide for instructions.

What is a No-Show student?

When a student is enrolled in a school but did not show up on the first day of school, they are referred to as a " No-Show".

For the No-Show students to report correctly, the Entry Date must be equal to the Exit Date. Summer No-Show students should have summer entry/withdrawal dates after July 1 and before the first day of school. NCDPI recommends summer dates of 7/6 – 7/6 to avoid enrollment, reporting, and transfer student record issues.

Always ensure student Entry Dates and Exit Dates in PowerSchool are correct. For example, the exit date should never be before the entry date.

Daily Headcount Adjustment: Improper Attendance Deletion Fix

PSUs reported that the Daily Headcount Adjustment was not functioning properly when the Change Enrollment Date option was selected. Present attendance codes entered on the new enrollment date were being deleted automatically by the Daily Headcount Adjustment Function.

For example, a student was marked as absent on 8/17/2020 with an attendance code of 2A. On 8/18/2020, an attendance code of 1R was entered. Selecting "Change enrollment date to 08/18/2020" on the Daily Headcount Adjustment screen also clears the attendance code of 1R that was entered.

The fix for this issue was implemented Monday night, August 24, 2020, and is now in production. The Daily Headcount Adjustment should no longer delete present attendance codes from student records when the enrollment date is adjusted to that day.

NCDPI is aware and PowerSchool continues to troubleshoot other issues with the Daily Headcount Adjustment. Please ensure you are contacting PowerSchool support if your Daily Headcount Adjustment is not functioning properly.

Ten Day Rule

NCDPI has received some inquiries regarding the following statement from the Daily Headcount Adjustment communication:

“If a student does not show up for 10 consecutive days, they may be dropped from a school’s enrollment as a no-show.”

The Home Base Team has received clarification regarding this statement from the NCDPI Financial Business team.

During the first ten days of school, a student is not enrolled until the student has started attending school for the current school year (the student has been coded E1 for the year). If the student is absent on their initial date of enrollment, the student's enrollment date must be moved forward, each day, to the day the student is in attendance for the first time this school year. If the student has not shown for the first ten days of school, then the student is dropped as a no-show, including students under the age of 16.

After the first ten days of school and after a student has been initially enrolled for the school year, students under the age of 16 who are unlawfully absent for more than 10 consecutive days are not to be withdrawn until their whereabouts are known or it is determined they have left the attendance area. Students in this case should only be dropped using the W2 code before the submission of the Month 9 PMR.

Please reference the School Attendance and Student Accounting Manual for further clarification.

Schoolnet Maintenance

Schoolnet will have a one hour maintenance tonight, from 8-9 p.m. EDT, to install bug fixes as reported by customers in North Carolina and other states. Users are asked not to take or create tests during this window for maintenance as they may encounter error messages during this time.

Pre-Recorded State Reporting Webinar: https://youtu.be/wyH4sSdmn6g

Live Q&A Follow up Webinar via Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Teams link to webinar: Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

Please join us for the live webinar Q&A scheduled for September 14, 2020, at 2 PM.

In this session, Amanda Cruz and LaShon Creech will join the Home Base Professional Learning Team to answer any questions PS coordinators may have after watching the new PMR / SAR video reference guide

New PowerSchool Quick Reference Video: PowerTeacher Attendance Tips for 2020-2021 and Beyond

The Home Base Professional Learning Team has a new PowerSchool Quick Reference Video aimed at teachers with a few tips and tricks to help them manage attendance in the 2020-2021 school year and beyond using the new 1R: Present Off-Site attendance code. We hope this will be helpful to PSUs as they navigate this unprecedented new school year. Please feel free to share this video with your teachers as-is or modify it to meet your needs. The video mentions that teachers should speak to their school principal or data manager about attendance expectations if they are unclear about your local expectations. If you are a data manager and you have questions, please feel free to contact us at home_base@dpi.nc.gov or log a ticket with PowerSchool.

See PowerTeacher Attendance Tips for 2020-2021 and Beyond on YouTube.

Become a Home Base Empowered Educator!

To kickoff the 2020-2021 school year, the Home Base Team has created a series of eight 30 minute mini-webinars that are available on demand to help you make the most of Schoolnet, Canvas, and #GoOpenNC! CEU credit and a digital badge can be earned by watching at least two webinars. For more information, please visit bit.ly/homebaseb2school20

Canvas Monthly Webinars

Join us, starting in September, for monthly webinars to learn more about Canvas. Webinars will be one hour long and offered at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to help you attend the session that best fits your schedule. Educators who attend a live webinar will receive a CEU certificate for 0.1 CEU that is recommended for Digital Learning Competency Credit. All webinars will be recorded and archived on our YouTube channel to rewatch as needed. To register for our Canvas webinars, please visit: bit.ly/nccanvaswebinars

#GoOpenNC Monthly Webinars

Join us, starting in September, for monthly webinars to learn more about #GoOpenNC. Webinars will be one hour long and offered at 10 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m. to help you attend the session that best fits your schedule. Educators who attend a live webinar will receive a CEU certificate for 0.1 CEU that is recommended for Digital Learning Competency Credit. All webinars will be recorded and archived on our YouTube channel to rewatch as needed. Make sure you register today for our upcoming webinars!

Schoolnet Monthly Webinars

Join us, starting in September, for monthly webinars to learn more about Schoolnet. Webinars will be one hour long and offered at 10 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m. to help you attend the session that best fits your schedule. Educators who attend a live webinar will receive a CEU certificate for 0.1 CEU that is recommended for Digital Learning Competency Credit. All webinars will be recorded and archived on our YouTube channel to rewatch as needed. To register for our Schoolnet webinars, please visit: bit.ly/ncschoolnetresources

September Webinars

ATTN: Non-Tier 1 PSUs Do you want to know more about the NCDPI K-8 Digital Literacy Initiative partnership with Learning.com? Please join this informative webinar Sept. 2^nd:

Supporting the NC Remote Instruction Plan with Learning.com
- Audience: All NON-Tier 1 NC PSUs Description: This informative webinar will discuss how Learning.com's EasyTech curriculum can improve digital literacy skills across North Carolina. com is the official K-8 Digital Literacy Provider adopted in North Carolina. Come learn how we are collaborating with DPI to develop specific sequences of digital skills aligned to the North Carolina Digital Learning Standards and can support your PSU's Remote Instruction Plan.
- Date: 2, 2020
- Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
- Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/261147614674576144

September Webinars by Topic for all Learning.com PSUs

Using the Digital Literacy Assessment (DLA) to Gauge Your Students’ Understanding of the ISTE Standards for Students – Offered Sept. 9^th& 10^th
Tracking Student Growth through Skills Checks – Offered Sept. 15^th & 17^th
- Click here for more information and registration links:ly/lcomvirtualsept2020
#NCBOLD has Learning.com Webinars Join @ncdpiDTL for a series of virtual conferences designed to support NC educators as they develop effective remote/hybrid instruction. #NCBOLD kicks off first event Sept. 15-16. Registration begins Aug. 31. More information coming soon - http://bit.ly/NCBold
- Description: Participants will explore Learning.com’s digital skills curriculum, including the new NC Remote Instruction Sequences, through an interactive, hands-on approach to gain a better understanding of how our ready-made curriculum can help support both remote learning environments and the NC Digital Learning Standards.
- Date: 15, 2020
- Time: 2:00 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. - 7:50 p.m. (select the time that works best for you)
- Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/6764002429212722958

NCEES September Webinars

NC Educator Effectiveness System (NCEES) Webinars 2020-2021 with registration links, descriptions, dates and times are posted on the NCEES Google site at https://sites.google.com/dpi.nc.gov/ncees-information-and-resource/webinars-2020-21.

Webinars are scheduled for Tuesdays from 4-5 p.m. unless otherwise designated. All will be recorded and posted to DPI's YouTube NCEES Playlist and also on NCEES Google site which will include the presentation links for later viewing.

Please mark your September calendars for these webinars: (Titles are registration links except for #NCBold sessions – click links)

New Assistant Principal Series - Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020, 4-5 p.m.
- New assistant principals need consistent ongoing support. This New Assistant Principal NCEES Series will offer numerous meetings over the 2020-21 school year. Each meeting will address timely topics to support NCEES, ensuring fair and reliable practices for assistant principals to support teacher growth. This series will also focus on the growth and development of the AP using the NC School Executive Standards within the AP evaluation process.
Understanding the Teacher Rubric (2 hours) – Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020, 3-5 p.m.
- This session will explore the NCEES rubric to identify the range of expectations for supporting and evaluating educator practices, by unpacking the specific language of the elements and descriptors to identify the structural underpinnings of the rubric. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of the performance expectations and process requirements.
Teachers CEUs - My PD, My Transcript – Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, 4-5 p.m.
- Participants will learn in this hands-on training NCEES webinar how earned credits (CEUs) can show on the staff’’s “My Transcript”, how to locate and take NCDPI and Locally created Professional Learning Opportunities in NCEES, how to manage “My Courses”, and how to enter Credit Request.
#NCBOLD NCEES Webinars Sept. 15^th & 16^th Join @ncdpiDTL for a series of virtual conferences designed to support NC educators as they develop effective remote/hybrid instruction. #NCBOLD kicks off first event Sept. 15-16. Registration begins Aug. 31. More information coming soon - http://bit.ly/NCBold
- NCEES CEUs - My Professional Development – Participants will learn how earned credits (CEUs) can show on the staff’s “My Transcript”, how to locate and take NCDPI and Locally created Professional Learning Opportunities in NCEES, how to manage “My Courses”, and how to enter Credit Requests.
  - Click to Register for Sept. 16: 9:30 a.m. - 10:50 a.m.
  - Click to Register for Sept. 16: 2:00 p.m. - 3:20 p.m.
- NCEES- It's all about PDPs and Evals! – In this interactive NCEES session, participants will learn how the evaluation and professional development plan correlate and how to best prepare for observations. What does it all really mean for beginning, residency or experienced teachers or support staff?
  - Click to Register for Sept. 16: 11:00 a.m. - 12:20 p.m.
  - Click to Register for Sept. 16: 3:30 p.m. - 4:50 p.m.
- Instructional Leadership for Principals – Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, 4-5 p.m.
  - School administrators are expected to set high standards for the professional practice of 21st century instruction and assessment. This session will focus on the elements of best instructional and school practices, and the collaborative structures within the school for the design of highly engaging schoolwork for students. Evidence, artifacts and questions for the self-assessment and evaluations for School Executive Standard 2, Instructional Leadership will be reviewed.
- PD Office Use to Create Learning Opportunities – Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, 4-5 m.
  - This hands-on training webinar will cover in depth how to manage a local NCEES PSU PD Office within NCEES PD component to create all types of Learning Opportunities

NCWiseOwl EBSCO Webinars 2020-2021

PSUs, please share with your teachers the following webinars. Full descriptions can be found in the NCWiseOwl Toolkit. https://ncdpi.instructure.com/courses/1276/pages/professional-learning-ebsco

1. Session Title: Accessibility and Usability Features within EBSCO Resources

REGISTRATION

Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2020 Time: 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM EST

2. Session Title: Working with EBSCO eBooks

REGISTRATION

Date: Wednesday, October 7, 2020 Time: 7 PM – 8 PM EST

3. Session Title: EBSCO Reference Center Exploration

REGISTRATION

Date: Thursday, November 5, 2020 Time: 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM EST

PowerMyLearning Connect

PowerMyLearning Connect is a one stop shop that can meet the educational needs of the student and is easy for the teacher and the parent to navigate. The hard work has been done for you. They have accumulated the sites that are preferable in subjects such as phonics, reading, algebra, geometry, chemistry, physics, history, decision making, memorization and academic development.

The site introduces the concept of teachers encouraging parents/families to engage in the educating of their child(ren) by creating a Family Playlist. With the playlist, a student can share with their parent(s)/guardian, etc., what they are learning in the classroom. This can be done without the use of a laptop or computer but simply with the use of a cell phone and it is available in 100 plus languages. When a student is able to explain what they are learning, it aids them in the comprehension and recall of the subject matter.

As with all sites, you can click on the grade and subject that you are interested in and the site will bring up a variety of activities, academic games, videos, and interactive content. Activities are tagged by subject, grade, and type (such as video or interactive). Each subject features three favored sites, and you can click on “Start Exploring” to view other websites on that subject. It also includes playlists and a link for you to create your own playlists.

“Power My Learning Family Playlists® is a powerful tool to help schools and districts address equity challenges stemming from distance, hybrid, and in-person learning environments. Family Playlists are a form of homework where students teach concepts learned in class to their families at home through a fun, hands-on learning activity. After completing the activity, families send feedback to the teacher, including photos and videos. Using family feedback and assessment data, the teacher gains critical insights about their students’ lives at home that help them make instruction more relevant for students and deepen their relationships with students and families.”

For more information on Family Playlists, a case study was done called Advancing Equity with Family Playlists that details the findings that the use of Playlists enhances the learning for a student. Within this case study is referenced a 2016 Scholastic Survey that found a large percentage of educators felt that the inclusion of family involvement contributed to the success of students.

We hope that this can be a valuable tool to assist you in the education of our future generation as we continue to conquer the many challenges presented to the world in the Year 2020.