 |
|
Teammate in the Spotlight
With the new school year we are adding a new feature to our newsletter. Each month we will put a face to the name of one of the amazing staff at the Office of Charter Schools. For September we are featuring Ms. Claire Porter!
Claire Jenkins Porter joined the OCS in 2019 and currently serves as the lead for the Ready to Open/Planning Year process. Claire has served in a variety of roles in public education: French teacher, Principal, Director of Secondary Instruction, BOD member and founding administrator of a charter school. Claire grew up overseas as her parents served in the Foreign Service (U.S. Department of State) and has studied and worked abroad. She is also a former attorney and mediator who practiced law in her native Virginia prior to returning to education. Most importantly, Claire is a wife and mother of two teens and she values family time above all else. In her spare time, Claire enjoys travel, family adventures, reading, yoga, baking, time spent in nature, and art history. Claire is a graduate of Smith College(B.A.), Iowa State University (M.Ed.), and Tulane University School of Law (J.D.)
|
The Details
EL Stakeholders From: ESL/Title III Team - EL Program Quality
2021 Language Instruction Educational Program (A5 EL Component of Performance Framework)
Starting in 2021, compliance for the Charter Schools Performance Framework English Learner (EL) Component (A5) involves two components:
1) LIEP Training (attestation of attendance either live or archived)
2) LIEP Submission (uploaded to Epicenter and completed per guidance)
The training (live or archived) will walk school leaders through the LIEP process, helping them develop an EL program plan that is tailored to their specific context. Development of the LIEP is useful for much more than compliance! It can be used for scheduling, staffing, and advocating for your EL program needs.
Join us
Tuesday, September 21, 9:00 - 11:00 am
or
Thursday, September 23, 1:00 - 3:00 pm Register
Archives will be posted within a week of the last live broadcast.
LIEP service charts and attestation of training are due in Epicenter on October 31, 2021.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charter Reporting Requirements
Charter School administrators have the opportunity to opt-in to the DHHS COVID-19 K-12 Testing Program. Charter schools that have also elected to receive funding for temporary school health staff associated with this program will be required to report on nursing services as a component of the funding requirements.
A portion of this reporting will be completed in December and a portion will be completed in June. If a charter school opted not to take advantage of the staffing funding option, then the reporting will be same process as past reports and will be still completed in June only. If you have hired an RN school nurse with the temporary funding, the RN school nurse will complete the additional questions at the end of the Charter School Health Services Report and Section Two. If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact Annette Richardson at annette.richardson@dhhs.nc.gov or 252-339-3009. Report information will be shared.
Charter Leaders call with DPI Senior Leadership
Procedures for the Transfer of Local Payments to Charter Schools
Superintendents, Charter School Leaders, and Finance Officers,
Please see the attached memo, Procedures for the Transfer of Local Payments to Charter Schools, from state Superintendent Catherine Truitt.
Recent Memos and Need to Know
OCR/CRDC - Office of Civil Rights Coordinator Contacts in EDDIE - Due Friday, September 24, 2021
Dear Coordinators,
Please inform other staff as appropriate.
The Office of Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) submission window for the 2020-2021 school year opens in December 2021. Note: PSUs that were not open in the school year 2020-2021 are not required to participate in this collection.
PSUs must verify and update the EDDIE system with two Staff who have been identified as the 'Office of Civil Rights Coordinator'. Delete any records in EDDIE for OCR contacts that are no longer valid for your PSU. These staff are the technical contacts for the CRDC and will be responsible for running the PowerSchool CRDC Preview Report, verifying data, correcting and adding data to the Federal CRDC tool, and certifying in the Federal CRDC tool when the collection is complete.
PSUs are also strongly advised to verify or update the Student Information Coordinator contact as well.
Updates to the EDDIE system for the OCR Collection must be completed by the end of business, Friday, September 24, 2021.
If you are unsure who your EDDIE administrator is please visit the Subscribed User List located at https://www.dpi.nc.gov/districts-schools/district-operations/financial-and-business-services/demographics-and-finances/eddie#help-using-eddie
More information about the CRDC is located at https://crdc.grads360.org/#program. Notice on the homepage that there is a timeline of the CRDC phases.
It is important to keep in mind that the NCDPI assists all PSUs with the CRDC by facilitating the transfer of data to the federal submission tool. No action other than to update your contacts in EDDIE is required at this time.
Please contact Terra Dominguez at terra.dominguez@dpi.nc.gov with any questions you may have.
ESSER Reminder
Dear Charter Directors,
This is a reminder that the 2021-2022 Eligible Schools Summary Report (ESSR) must be submitted in PowerSchool for all local education agencies (LEAs) and charter schools in North Carolina. All charter schools are required to report these data regardless of whether they accept any federal funds and the report is used to meet several requirements, such as School Report Card, CEDARS and Teacher Loan Forgiveness. Thank you in advance for your support.
Information regarding the data collection can be found at https://www.dpi.nc.gov/districts-schools/federal-program-monitoring/federal-program-data-collection
SCHOOL SAFETY GRANT
NEW School Safety Grant Application – The 2020 School Safety Grant provided districts and schools the opportunity to apply for a total of $18 million in grant funds* for each year of this 2-year grant. Approximately $16.7million has been awarded. Current awardees who have submitted their mid-term and final reports will automatically receive their requested funds* for year 2, i.e., the 2021-22 school year.
Since approximately $1.3 million of the $18 million has not been awarded, the Center for Safer Schools is opening a new application for year 2 of the grant to utilize these funds. The new application, which will open on September 1, 2021 in CCIP, is available only to schools and districts that have not already been awarded funds through the 2020 School Safety Grant.
* All state funding is contingent upon state appropriations by the NC General Assembly.
If you have questions, contact David Prickett at Dave.Prickett@dpi.nc.gov or 984-236-2810.
Announcing Learning Innovations: Fall Webinar Sessions for Educators
7 Strategies for Cultivating Classroom Community
September 29th, 1:00 pm EST
Presented by Candice Chambers, NCSSM Teacher Development Specialist
Registration link: https://bit.ly/3A3dS2o
Best Practices for Implementing Successful HyFlex Learning
October 21st, 11:00 am EST
Presented by Joyce Ventimiglia, NCSSM Instructional Design Specialist
Registration link: https://bit.ly/bestHyFlex
10 Tips to Make Canvas Work for You
November 18th, 11:00 am EST
Presented by Rob Caldwell, NCSSM Instructional and Information Designer
Registration link: https://bit.ly/10canvastips
New Cybersecurity Standards: Why You Should Care
December 9th, 11:00 am EST
Presented by Charlotte Dungan, NCSSM AI Program Architect
Registration link: https://bit.ly/3loMu8G
School Business Division
Zero-out Processing
At the beginning of every school year, there is no zero-out processing for the month of July. The zero out process will be starting with the August 2021 data files through June 2022.
If you have any questions, please contact Roxane Bernard at roxane.bernard@dpi.nc.gov.
Confirmation of Funds for Annual Financial Statement Audits by CPA firms
DPI is providing the appropriate reports to your independent auditors via the internet. These reports for FY21 are now posted in a public application at: http://apps.schools.nc.gov/auditorconfirmationreports (Annual Reports).
Please direct your independent auditor to the site provided.
Please contact Roxane Bernard at roxane.bernard@dpi.nc.gov with any questions.
MOE Training
MOE training will take place on September 21st and September 23rd. This is a mandatory training for all Districts and Charter Schools. Please encourage your financial officers to attend this training. There will be four opportunities for you to attend, but you only have to attend one (see times below).
The registration link has closed, but you can contact Jamie Davis at Jamie.Davis@dpi.nc.gov to get signed up for the session on the 23rd.
Dates & Times: Tuesday, September 21st: 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Thursday, September 23rd: 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
|
EC Division
Please see the attached parent newsletters.
Also, we would like to share with you a Save the Date for the 70th Conference on Exceptional Children, November 17-18, 2021 at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro NC. Registration information will be available on our website: EC Annual Conference | NC DPI
Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Updates
Important Weighted Lottery Guidance
ARE YOU PLANNING A WEIGHTED LOTTERY IN 2021-2022? If you do not currently have a weighted lottery approval from the State Board of Education, you must seek it through an amendment. This process takes a minimum of three months and must be aligned to the CSAB and SBE meeting calendars. For example, if you plan a lottery in March 2022, you must have approval by that time which means it must be approved by OCS and sent to CSAB by its December meeting (SBE would consider in February). If you have questions or need guidance on the process, please contact Ashley Baquero at ashley.baquero@dpi.nc.gov. There are several outstanding weighted lottery requests, so please make sure you are communicating with our office and seeking guidance to make sure you meeting deadlines. Our office does not “create” the deadlines and they are not flexible.
---------------------------------------------------------
Planning Year Calendar 2021-2022
The Office of Charter Schools is pleased to release the dates for the 2021-2022 Planning Year Professional Development calendar. All schools (boards and school leaders) in the Ready to Open process are required to attend five (5) planning year sessions as well as the New Charter Leaders Institute in June, 2022, as part of the successful completion of the Ready to Open and Planning Year process. While these sessions are mandatory for brand new charter schools, we invite those who may new to a leadership role at an established charter school to join the virtual sessions, or access the materials online, under the Planning Year tab of the Office of Charter School's website.
OCS Consultant Sites:
The Scoop With Coop-All Things Renewals
Ready to Open/Planning Year
Performance Framework Companion Site
Professional Learning 101
 OFFICE OF CHARTER SCHOOLS
NC ACCESS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
2021-2022
Session 1 - Creating a Culture of Collaboration: Professional development from the teacher next door - September 14, 2021, 4-5pm
Session 2 - Digging the Data: Assessing students abilities in a way that cultivates and motivates growth - September 28, 2021, 4-5pm
How do you get to know your students in a meaningful way, in order to build relationships and capitalize on students’ strengths? We will discuss how to collect meaningful data from your students in order to create relevant lessons that set your students up for success. This session is geared toward any educator or staff member who works to build a relationship with students and uses that relationship to make informed instructional decisions. Participants will leave the session with templates and resources to use in their classroom.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkcuihqTwsHdYgdVIkA-96pocMxRv-yPU8
Session 3 - Teaching the Whole Child: Addressing the needs of each child in the classroom - October 19, 2021, 4-5pm
This session examines ways to address the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive needs of students. This session is geared toward any educator or staff member that works with students.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZckduysrTkqG92utcZyxSO4JKg4duIlaH9b
Session 4 - Embrace Your Space: Digital tools for the virtual, in-person, and hybrid classroom - November 16, 2021, 4-5pm
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0kde2uqToiHtyLiyO5lHXo9oisrCkfQ85q
The past year educators spent countless hours learning digital tools to make their lessons dynamic and engaging. In this session we will dive into how to use different digital tools, no matter what your classroom space looks like. Come ready to share with and learn from other participants. This session is geared toward any educator who delivers instruction.
Session 5 - Teaching Through a Literacy Lens - December 7, 2021, 4-5pm
We will dive into tips and tricks for teaching content area literacy. This session is for teachers of all grade levels and subjects.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYld-2vrjouH9KkCjP6Ng5xEi2UOVkvxBJK
Resources Galore:
Leadership Opportunities:
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 / Email: 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
|
