Important CSADM and Enrollment/Grade Expansion Information – Read carefully and completely
- Phase 0 in CSADM will open November 8th and close November 21st. This is a required submission by all charter schools in order to make initial projections for 22-23 enrollment/grade levels.
- If your school anticipates making an enrollment request (over 30% for non-LP schools) or grade level revisions outside statutory allowances and/or charter application, the turnaround for materials will be very tight. You must submit all materials through Epicenter to OCS Consultant Ashley Baquero by COB November 30th. This is the only way a request will have enough time to get on the CSAB agenda for December 6-7. Following CSAB, the request will go to SBE for discussion in January with a final approval or denial in February. There is no way to speed up these type of requests as it requires SBE approval.
- If your school DOES NOT submit by the November 30th deadline, your school will go to CSAB in January with approval in March.
- OCS will receive a list of requests made through CSADM throughout the 11/8 – 11/21 Phase 0 period. Once that request is made, tasks will be assigned in Epicenter. Reach out to Ashley.baquero@dpi.nc.gov if you do not see the tasks (listed as “charter amendment”).
- Please review the linked PDF for more information and read the amendment instructions below
- Enrollment Increases over 30% (LP schools may not make this request) Instructions linked
- Grade Expansion Instructions linked
Amendment Check List_0821.pdf
Please contact Ashley Baquero (Ashley.baquero@dpi.nc.gov) with questions.
School Business Division
RLIS Update: The planning allotments for RLIS have triggered the RLIS section to open in CCIP in the consolidated application and are ready to be completed by qualifying PSUs. Please reach out to Alex Charles or James Popp if you have any questions.
The Federal Programs Monitoring and Support (FPMS) division in collaboration with School Nutrition and the Office of Learning Recovery and Acceleration hosted a technical assistance webinar on ESSER II PRC 174 and 176-177 applications in CCIP 9/23/21. Please click here to access the recording of the webinar and use password: eKfweJA7, and here for the PowerPoint presentation to use as resources to complete the applications.
Please contact Dr. Lynn Harvey with questions in regards to PRC 174, and Lynne Barbour for PRC 176-177. FPMS will be processing the applications.
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Charter Leaders call with DPI Senior Leadership
If you were unable to join the October 11 Charter Leader's Accountability Call, click here to access the recording.
Recent Memos and Need to Know
OCR/CRDC - PowerSchool CRDC Preview Report Opens October 25, 2021
Note: PSUs that were not open in the school year 2020-2021 are not required to participate in this collection. All links and documents referenced here can found on the NCDPI CRDC Documentation and Webinars Events page.
The first step toward Successful CRDC Submission is Downloading the Federal LEA and School Forms
The CRDC answers specific questions posed by the Office of Civil Rights. All PSUs are required to submit data at the LEA and School level. Download both the LEA Form and School Form to understand definitions and instructions for the data required for reporting. These documents will be necessary to Validate and Certify data when the Federal Submission Tool opens in December.
The PowerSchool CRDC Preview Report Opens October 25, 2021
The CRDC Preview report in PowerSchool will open on Monday October 25, 2021. To begin to facilitate the transfer of data on behalf of all NC PSUs, the report will close December 1, 2021. If the report has not been run at the LEA Level in PowerSchool or is incomplete, PSUs must submit any remaining data to the Federal Submission Portal on their own.
As noted in the communication sent September 27, 2021; if setup is not completed first, the report will display unexpected results.
Note: There are two known issues that will be updated in November. These issues are specific to students who are cross enrolled for CRDC courses at a second school. The first is Algebra I Passing counts (grades 7-12), the second is IB program enrollment (grades 9-12).
Non-PowerSchool Data Files
Remember, the CRDC collects more than SIS data. To review data which resides outside of PowerSchool and is included in the CRDC Survey, visit the Non-PowerSchool Data Files tab on NCDPI CRDC Documentation and Webinar page.
Please review these data files and be prepared to make any updates to the Federal Submission Tool in December. The previous year files will not be regenerated.
The CRDC Federal Registration Process was Completed for all PSUs
As a reminder, the registration process of the Federal Submission Tool has been completed by NCDPI on behalf all PSUs. CRDC Contact information and the LEA/School Directory have been submitted. The files are located under the Non-PowerSchool Data Files tab on NCDPI CRDC Documentation and Webinar page. Please disregard any communications from CRDC Partner Support regarding registration.
A Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) Webinar Events
This two-hour session will be repeated three times during the PowerSchool Preview period. The webinar will provide a PowerSchool demonstration specific to the CRDC, tips for successful validation and an opportunity to discuss the NCDPI schedule for data upload to the federal submission tool. Users will also have the opportunity to ask about PowerSchool functional processes
Please submit questions or issues as soon as possible to Terra Dominguez.
ESSR Reminder
As a reminder, 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
Announcing Learning Innovations: Fall Webinar Sessions for Educators
10 Tips to Make Canvas Work for You
November 18th, 11:00 am EST
Presented by Rob Caldwell, NCSSM Instructional and Information Designer
Register here.
New Cybersecurity Standards: Why You Should Care
December 9th, 11:00 am EST
Presented by Charlotte Dungan, NCSSM AI Program Architect
Register here.
Other Important MEMOs from DPI:
NCEES System District Administrator Access Rights Change
Attention: NCEES Leads with District Administrator system rights.
On Oct. 31, 2021, PowerSchool will be setting both Assume Identity and Can Assign Access Rights to false for all staff assigned with System District Administrator Rights. This is the next step in creating the Central Office View Only Role (for Superintendents with NCEES DA rights). NCDPI is requesting each district to review and fill out the NCEES System District Administrator Access Rights request form for their NCEES System DA's access rights.
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For information about why this form is going out please view the article, NEW: NCEES Central Office View Only Role for Superintendent DA, in the NCEES Updates Weekly Bulletin.
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Please review the following information as this does affect ALL staff (not just Superintendents) that have the District Administrator system access in NCEES.
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Note: This form is to request updates to rights for staff in NCEES that already have been assigned NCEES system District Administrator Access and the district has approved they have additional rights for Assume Identity and/or Can Assign Access Rights to others.
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Please fill out 1 survey per district prior to Friday, Oct. 29th and NCDPI will give the requests to PS Support for enabling Assume Identity and/or ability to Assign Access Rights to the DA's your district requests to have those rights added back after the Feature Release 21.10.0.0 is implemented on 10/31/2021.
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The form will remain open after the update for districts to request DA assess rights as needed throughout the year.
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Specific to Charters - Charters do not have staff with Superintendent Roles. However, DPI does encourage districts to have designated a NCEES System District Administrator to manage the online tool for the district. Charters will need to fill out this form for the designated DA(s) that will need "Assume Identity" and/or "Can Assign Access Rights".
Click here for the NCEES District Administrator Guide. As these new settings are implemented NCDPI will update this guide and re-post to reflect the updates. If you have any questions, please email Cami Narron or Home_Base@dpi.nc.gov.
Career and Technical Education Contacts
Charter school leaders, here is an updated list of CTE Coordinators and the regions they serve. Please see the list below; names are hyper-linked to email addresses. These individuals can assist with any CTE related needs/questions that Charter School staff members have.
District 1 - Northeast Region - Pamela Lewis
District 2 - Southeast Region - Lee O'Neal
District 3 - North Central Region - Bob Gantt
District 4 - Sandhills Region - Ann Callicutt
District 5 - Piedmont-Triad Region - Lynn Hartley
District 6 - Southwest Region - Robert Filter
District 7 - Northwest Region - Lisa Conger
District 8 - Western Region - Anna Hair
EC Division
Please see the attached parent newsletters.
Interested in identifying and providing services for gifted students?
The Division of Advanced Learning and Gifted Education is excited to announce the 2022-2025 local AIG Plan cycle. If you are interested in developing an AIG program to serve students in your school, please take a few moments to view this recording where Stephanie Cyrus and Beth Cross, NCDPI State Consultants, explain the process: https://youtu.be/deI7DbG_bQQ
If you have questions after viewing, contact both consultants, or Join us for a Live Q & A November 18, 2021 at 3:30 pm
Click here to register and attend the event: https://ncgov.webex.com/ncgov/onstage/g.php?MTID=e5577f36197800d27ffc60bbf07cfe84b
“411” Support for New Charter School Homeless Liaisons
New charter school homeless liaisons are invited to join NCHEP staff the third Wednesday of each month to learn more about their role of liaison and compliance activities, as well as seek guidance from NCHEP on immediate homeless education needs. Each monthly “411” Support session will build upon training content provided in the annual September new homeless liaison training and will allow new liaisons to share program questions on protocol, best practices and related homeless education collaboration. Sessions will be 10-11a.m. on the third Wednesday of every month. Attendance is optional, and no registration is required to attend. The recurring access information can be obtained from Tricia Lentz or 336-681-7561.
NC Virtual Public School (NCVPS) Message for Charter Schools
NCVirtual hosts a series of webinars for educators and students. The free Digital Transition webinar series helps traditional classroom teachers bring their classes into the digital world. Visit our Digital Transition page for registration details. Our IworkNCVirtual Speaker series is open to all North Carolina students. In the series, experts in the field deliver presentations about career paths and future job opportunities. Visit the IworkNCVirtual page for upcoming events.
Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Updates
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Teammate in the Spotlight
With the new school year, each month we are putting a face to the name of one of the amazing staff at the Office of Charter Schools. For November we are featuring Ms. Ashley Baquero!
Ashley began her work at OCS in April 2018 and considers it a privilege to work with NC charter schools. Prior to OCS, Ashley spent over eight years teaching middle school in a variety of Title I schools in Atlanta and Durham. She has experience teaching and designing curriculum for traditional public schools, charter schools, and a private (grant funded) school for refugee students. Having switched careers from practicing law, and entering education through Teach for America, she believes strongly in alternative routes to the classroom and the recruitment, retention, and support of high-quality teachers. She grew up in Florida and received her B.A. (International Relations) from Eckerd College and her J.D. from the University of Florida. Her most important job is mom to her amazing first grader, Eliana Grace. She has too many hobbies and interests including cooking, writing, yoga, gardening, running, fostering dogs, hiking, and star-gazing. Ashley reads at least 52 books per year and dreams of living in a library with a beach view.
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The Carolina Panthers Regional Spelling Bee
The Carolina Panthers invite you to register your school for the Scripps National Spelling Bee and your chance to qualify students for the Carolina Panthers Regional Spelling Bee presented by Bank of America!
The Carolina Panthers are excited to announce registration is open for the Scripps National Spelling Bee program and your opportunity to qualify students for the Carolina Panthers Regional Spelling Bee presented by Bank America. The Carolina Panthers Regional Spelling Bee will be held on a TBD date on either March 12, 13, 19 or 20, 2022 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Final date confirmation will be provided by January 1, 2022. The top four North Carolina spellers and top two South Carolina spellers from the Carolina Panthers Bee will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in June 2022. Interested schools/districts can learn more and find registration information by clicking here.
Click here for a special message from Carolina Panthers Head Coach Matt Rhule!
Key dates to consider:
January 31: Deadline for schools to register with Scripps for this year's Bee program.
February 18, 2021: Deadline for school districts to submit winning students who have earned the opportunity to advance to the Carolina Panthers Regional Spelling Bee.
March 12-13 OR 19-20, 2021: Carolina Panthers Regional Spelling Bee for designated NC/SC school district winners. Bee will be held at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
2021 A.I.M. Conference Registration Reminder
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is hosting the A.I.M. Conference at the Raleigh Convention Center November 29-December 1, 2021. The Office of Charter Schools would like for all NC Charter Schools to send some representation the conference. There is no registration cost for attending conference, however schools will be responsible for hotel fares, transportation, and meals. The conference is requesting that each charter school select a working team of only three (3) persons to attend the conference. The registration for each school team will take place through the Office of Charter Schools. You will email the names of the three attendees to anita.holbrook@dpi.nc.gov. Please designate one person as the team lead in your email and make sure there is an email address for the team lead person. When you arrive at the conference the team lead person will have received an email to tell them where to go and pick up the conference packets for the entire team. If you have any questions about registration, please contact anita.holbrook@dpi.nc.gov. If you have general questions about the conference, contact barbaraoneal@dpi.nc.gov or dave.machado@dpi.nc.gov.
Planning Year Calendar 2021-2022
All schools (boards and school leaders) in the Ready to Open process are required to attend five 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 be 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. View the calendar here.
OCS Consultant Sites:
NC ACCESS ASPIRING MINORITY SCHOOL LEADERS PROGRAM
SEEKING INTERESTED PARTICIPANTS FOR A FALL 2022 COHORT
The NC ACCESS Program is looking to potentially offer two cohorts of the Aspiring Minority School Leaders Program with only 20 slots available! One track for applicants WITH a master’s degree to complete a MSA Add-on Licensure program AND one track for applicants WITHOUT a master’s degree to complete a Masters in School Administration program. Learn more about the Add-on Licensure Program here. The full MSA program would be a new offering.
PLEASE SEND THE NAMES AND EMAIL ADDRESSES OF POTENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR THE PROGRAM TO DR. BARBARA O’NEAL.
OCS 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
Session 3 - Teaching the Whole Child: Addressing the needs of each child in the classroom - October 19, 2021, 4-5pm
Session 4 - Embrace Your Space: Digital tools for the virtual, in-person, and hybrid classroom - November 16, 2021, 4-5pm
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.
Sharing News About Our Charter Schools:
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Please join with the Office of Charter Schools in congratulating Sally B Howard School, of Wilson County, recognized by The US Department of Education as a 2021 National Blue Ribbon School!
Sally B Howard School of Arts and Science was the sole charter school in North Carolina to receive this year's award and 1 of 15 charter schools nationwide. 7 other non-charter schools from North Carolina were also recognized. This is the 3rd school in Wilson County history to receive the award, the others being James B Hunt HS in 2000 and Rock Ridge Elementary in 2015.
The National Blue Ribbon School Award recognizes those schools, public and private, who successfully close the student achievement gap, igniting the innate potential of all children to succeed.
Please read the SBHS Press Release
Check out their website
Learn from their success!
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Other News from DPI:
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 2707
Consultant, Renewals & Stakeholder Support
Claire Porter 984 236 2709
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
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