OCS Weekly Newsletter for January 22, 2021

North Carolina Public Schools sent this bulletin at 01/22/2021 05:06 PM EST

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Weekly Newsletter- January 22, 2021

Important information for your annual audits

Charter Leaders,

Our office has received multiple inquiries concerning the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) and the NC Statute concerning the indebtedness clause. DPI leadership has determined that the indebtedness clause is required by law. We realize that federal PPP application forms cannot be modified and suggest that the indebtedness clause be included via an addendum to the loan documents provided by your lending institution. Please reach out to Dave Machado if you have any questions.

Please be sure to keep EDDIE up to date!

Upcoming Events and Reminders!

Save the Date!

OCS Office Hours Returns Monday, January 25th.

Here is the NEW OCS Office Hours LINK: https://ncgov.webex.com/webappng/sites/ncgov/meeting/download/184509c605b64005a0671c573f999fe7?siteurl=ncgov&MTID=m63130db7d3357c89a7332d38b6921c79

Please note our next communications leaders’ biweekly call will be held Tuesday, January 26 at 8:00 a.m. Jessica B. Swencki | jessica.swencki@dpi.nc.gov | 910-524-7020
The Carolina Panthers are hosting a regional spelling bee and extending the opportunity to charter school students. If your school is interested in participating please submit this form by January 31st and specify Charter School in the 'district' field. A representative from the spelling bee committee will be joining Monday's Office Hours to discuss and answer questions. More info can be found at https://www.panthers.com/community/spelling-bee

As of January 22nd, there are some charter and lab schools that did not complete the Health Assessment Report for the 2020-2021 School year. Failure to complete the report will reflect as noncompliance in your Performance Framework for student health, A-17. There will not be an additional extension.

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.
The report will close at 11:59 PM on Monday, February 1st. If your school believes they reported but does not have a confirmation email with a copy that they can produce, then they have not correctly reported and need to do so again. It is important to keep the confirmation email for your records. Please do not send a copy of the email confirmation to the Charter School Health Nurse Consultant.

Registration is now open for Planning Year Session IV: Meeting the Needs of All Students, February 24^th, 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Please share with your BODs, as a majority of members need to attend these sessions.

Planning Year Session Four: Meeting the Needs of All Students, February 24^th, 2021, 8:30am-4pm

This is an online event.

Registration is now open here: Planning Year Session Four

Please direct any questions to claire.porter@dpi.nc.gov

Target audience: Board members and school leaders from charter schools opening in 2021, as well as 2021 acceleration applicants, are required to attend 5 virtual Planning Year Sessions from September through March.

As always, please reach out with questions or concerns. We look forward to seeing you next week at Planning Year Session III!

COVID TOP TEN:

To help recap important news of the week, we are pleased to bring you the NCDPI COVID-19 WEEKLY TOP TEN. The link does not change. New content is added to the top of the document weekly.

*Note, due to the holiday, there will not be a Top Ten issued next week.

Here’s a preview:

10. Register Today for the FREE, ONLINE, NC Child Hunger Leaders Conference
9. Test Date Options for ACT® Testing
8. Does Your District Need a Spelling Bee Sponsor? The Carolina Panthers want to help!
7. Avoiding Exclusions: Collaborative Efforts to Improve Student Health
6. Here are 12 education podcasts you should know about - EducationNC (EdNC.org)
5. NCDPI & NCDHHS Preparing for the Next Issuance of P-EBT Benefits
4. Purple Star Deadline-Monday, February 1, 2021
3. Statewide Corrective Action-Exceptional Children Division
2. Don’t Miss any Important NCDPI Information-Update EDDIE by February 12!
1. National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness

Please note that the state COVID WEEKLY TOP TEN is not compiled with charter schools primarily in mind, or written by OCS. Charter schools retain flexibility by law, including but not limited to the issuance of emergency leave. If you ever have any uncertainty about a requirement, please reach out to the Office of Charter Schools.

PLEASE READ: January 2021 From the Board Room

High school principals, please read:

NCDPI is considering presenting to the State Board of Education some temporary relief for the following policies, based on LEA/Charter requests due to COVID-19:

CPR Graduation Requirement, even though this is typically taught in Grade 8, there are some seniors who still may not have been able to participate in these requirements due to COVID-19. This would apply only to graduating seniors in Spring 2021. (GRAD-004)
Occupational Course of Study Work Hours. Lessen those hours for this year’s graduating class like last year. This would apply only to graduating seniors in Spring 2021. (GRAD-004)
Driver’s Education Eligibility: Eliminate the need for passing of at least 70% of possible courses to be eligible for driver’s education but keep “making progress towards graduation…which means… meet promotion standards established by the LEA.” (DRIV-004)

Please use the google form below for feedback. If we do not hear from you, we will take that as you support these changes.

NCDPI plans on taking these possible policy changes to the State Board of Education in February, depending on your feedback.

Jan2021 Policy feedback

IMPORTANT: Please see the attached memo regarding changes with automation of GPA and Grade-Scale beginning with the 2021-22 school year.

Please send the attached memo, Summer Programs 2020–21, from Dr. David Stegall and Dr. Tammy Howard to all Charter School Directors.

Important Info Update from the School Financial Reporting Section

What’s New – FY 20-21

Please check out the What’s New section of DPI’s website at https://www.dpi.nc.gov/districts-schools/district-operations/financial-and-business-services. It will provide you the latest information about the COVID funding and Teacher and Instructional Support Bonus.

COVID Funding

Review the COVID Allotment Policy manual 2020-21, which reflects which COVID PRCs charters are eligible.

If you have COVID funding questions, please contact Sue Holly at susan.holly@dpi.nc.gov.

Superintendents and Charter School Directors,

Please see attached memo regarding Beginning Teacher Support Programs.

Thank you.

Dr. Beverly R. Emory, Executive Director of Leandro Support

Dr. Thomas R. Tomberlin, Director, Educator Recruitment and Support

Dr. Cynthia M. Martin, Director, District and Regional Support

BTSP_Memo_121720.pdf

Please see the attached Parent Newsletter.

January 2021 ESL/Title III Update

Please click on the link to access the January 2021 Update pdf version.

This and previous issues of the newsletter may be downloaded at simplebooklet.com/ncelsupdate

School Business News

NC SIS Weekly Email Bulletin

Healthful Living Update January 2021

AP/IB/CIE January 2021 Update

NC SEL Newsletter

Digital Learning Standards Course for 2021

Advancing Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) as a Lever for Equity and Excellence - Equity Insights Report

DL/I Discourse: IHE- Strategies for Online Academic Language Learning for DL/I

Summer Nutrition Programs Offer Meals for Children at No Cost While School Is Out

NCDPI Arts Education Newsletter - January 15, 2021

Global Education Newsletter-- January 2021

Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Updates

The 2021 Black History Month Theme is “Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity” explores the African diaspora, and the spread of Black families across the United States.

Diversity is Black History Month, Inclusion is 365. Please find curated resources for BHM loading February 1, 2021. These resources were curated with the goal for planning and intentional experiences that resets where the history and diaspora of African Americans began and expands narratives of their individual and collective contributions that often are not included in traditional and mainstream resources. If you need additional support, please do not hesitate to contact: darian.jones@dpi.nc.gov

https://tinyurl.com/BHM2021Resources

Professional Learning, RTO, and Renewals Newsletters

Professional Learning 101

The Scoop With Coop-All Things Renewals

Ready to Open/Planning Year

2021 SECU Scholarship - Important Information Linked

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR MORE FREE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Registration is now open for more free, equity-focused professional development. You can find session information, registration links, and other details at ncaccessprogram.com/learn. Share the link with your staff and check back regularly as new sessions may be added throughout the year. Please reach out to us at NCACCESS@dpi.nc.gov with any questions.

Other News about Our Charter Schools:

Charter schools are celebrating School Choice Week virtually this year. You can too!

The Office of Charter Schools is delighted to announce the 2021 Charter Teacher of the Year, Jeremy White, of West Lake Preparatory Academy. Jeremy is a Kindergarten teacher with a passion for early grades literacy, model for teacher leadership, a published author, an inspiration to his peers at West Lake, and a superstar to his students and families. We are thrilled to shine a light on Jeremy and hear his voice amplified through the platform of the Charter TOY 2021. Congratulations!

Leadership Opportunities:

Pine Springs Prep Math Teacher – 8th Grade

Cape Fear Center for Inquiry: School Director

Carolina International Art, PE, Biology, 6th Grade, Interventionist

Charter Schools USA Regional Grants Coordinator for the Carolinas

Island Montessori Charter School Instructional Coordinator

Whom Should I Contact at the Office of Charter Schools?

Please note that response times to voicemails left on our phones will be much slower than usual due to the COVID-19 response efforts. Sending us an email is ideal. Clicking the link on our names will bring up an automatic email prompt. Thank you!

OCS Main number: 984 236 2700 ocs@dpi.nc.gov

Dave Machado 984 236 2702

Director of the Office of Charter Schools

Shaunda Cooper 984 236 2712

Consultant, Renewals & Stakeholder Support

Claire Porter 984 236 2707

Consultant, Planning Year & Ready to Open Process

Ashley Baquero 984 236 2708

Consultant, Amendments & Compliance

Joseph Letterio 984 236 2703

Consultant, Epicenter Tech Support & Performance Framework

Darian Jones 984 236 2705

Consultant, Professional Development

Melanie Rackley 984 236 2712

Consultant, Charter Applications

Jay Whalen 984 236 2711

Program Administrator, NC ACCESS Program

Barbara O'Neal 984 236 2706

Program Coordinator, NC ACCESS Program

Davida Robinson 984 236 2878

NC ACCESS Subgrant Program Manager

Lakisha Robbins 984 236 2704

NC ACCESS Finance Administrator

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

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