|
The 2022 SECU People Helping People Foundation Charter School Finalists are:
Ashley Smith- Research Triangle Charter High School attending UNC-Charlotte
Anna Hartis- Cornerstone Charter Academy attending UNC-Greensboro
Brittany Senior- Union Academy attending Appalachian State University
Each finalist will receive a $10,000 scholarship over their 4-year enrollment. We are all so very proud of all our nominees and graduating seniors across our North Carolina Charter schools and the hard work our counselors/deans have done to support their journey. To our finalists, congratulations on this award and all the places you will go!!!
Charter School Health Requirements and Worksheet
The Annual Charter School Health Report will open May 1, 2022 and must be completed no later than June 20, 2022. A preparation worksheet is provided with the reporting criteria. All schools are encouraged to download the worksheet and mark the appropriate responses before beginning the online report survey.
You may click here to access the worksheet. Once you have prepared your responses, save the document to your local computer. This worksheet cannot be accepted as your report requirements. You will use it as a tool to enter your information into the online survey system once the report opens.
North Carolina’s charter schools are required to comply with the Care of Students with Diabetes and with the School Supply of Epinephrine Auto-Injectors laws. Annually, charter schools report on compliance with each law, providing information that identifies staff educational and support needs related to compliance and student safety.
The Charter School Health Report is designed to assist schools in addressing the healthcare needs of students. Responses will be used to inform future training topics and to report on compliance with required legislation and policies such as Care of Students with Diabetes (§ 115C-375.3.) and School Supply of Epinephrine Auto-Injectors (§ 115C-375.2A ). The survey will open May 1, 2022 and should be completed no later than June 20, 2022.
Please contact annette.richardson@dhhs.nc.gov or amy.t.johnson@dhhs.nc.gov with questions or concerns.
SBSM HR & Finance Needs Assessment Survey deadline has been extended to April 21, 2022
NCDPI School Business Systems Modernization (SBSM) is conducting a needs assessment and invites PSU HR and Finance officers/business owners to respond via the following Qualtrics survey link. A copy of the survey is linked to preview. Choosing “Finance” for Department will skip the Human Resources specific questions and vice versa. Choosing “Other” for Department will display all questions. The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. You should receive a copy of your responses via email upon submission.
https://ncdpi.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dngbnowFGdFZWSy
Important MEMOs:
Superintendents and Charters,
Please see the memo below with guidance to comply with SL 2021-132 and forward, as appropriate, to student services personnel. These materials are being released now so that you can better prepare for the upcoming school year and organize beginning of the year requirements. This applies to all grade 6-12 schools and students.
NCDHHS/DPI
|
Office of Learning Recovery info
Charter school leaders, as discussed at Monday's office hours, we have provided the slides from the Office of Learning Recovery Meeting, Thursday March 31st: OLR HB196 Regional Charter Meeting March 2022.pdf
NCSTAR Spring 2022 Professional Learning
The division of District and Regional Support within the Office of Educational Equity is excited to announce the Spring 2022 School Improvement Planning & NCStar Professional Development series. The training will be offered in eight different locations across the state. Depending on participants'' knowledge of NCStar, they may register for one or both days of this statewide PD.
These sessions will cover the same material and all the new resources shared during the Fall 2021 and Winter Virtual sessions.
Learn more about the PD series including dates, locations and how to register here.
EC Division
Attached is a Public Notice of Participation and Comments on the NC Application for IDEA Part B Grant Award. Please display the Public Notice and proposed State Application in the main lobby of your Central Office from March 25, 2022 - May 25, 2022.
If you have any questions, please contact Nicole Sinclair at Nicole.sinclair@dpi.nc.gov or 984-236-2597.
Please see the attached newsletters.
Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Updates
 |
|
April Teammate in the Spotlight, Dr. Barbara O’Neal
Barbara O’Neal was born and raised in Winston-Salem, NC. I am the fourth of five children born to Cornell and Juanita O’Neal. When I was 8 years old, my father unexpectedly died of a heart attack at age 45, leaving my 38-year old mother to raise five children as a single mother. Even as early as 8 years old, I learned that failure was not an option. My single mother instilled in us the importance and value of an education. While my brother and sisters chose other life careers, I always knew I wanted to be an educator. When my neighbors wanted to play, I was always prepared to play “school” and I was the teacher. They hated that. During my secondary school years, I was surrounded by positive teachers and role models. Having family and a school environment that nurtured me played a significant part in my adopting the great quote of Horace Mann in 1848 that “education beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men, the balance wheel of the social machinery.” And further spoken by Martin Luther King that we have to keep our eyes on the prize – and the prize is quality education which is the great equalizer.”
I graduated from Winston-Salem State University with a degree in Early Childhood Education, a Master’s degree in Educational Administration and a Doctorate degree in Educational Administration from Virginia Tech. After a stint as a public-school teacher, I went on to become a Dean at UVA, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, and a professor in Educational Administration. My career path has provided opportunities for me to consult with the US Department of Education, Head Start and other educational entities.
Coming to NCDPI in the Office of Charter Schools as the Program Coordinator for the NC ACCESS Program was my first encounter with Charter Schools. While I had little knowledge about charter schools, I knew that it was an important role and mission in making sure that all students have equitable opportunities to attend a charter school if their families wanted that choice for them. The job has been both rewarding and challenging. However, I see the progress happening and I see schools embracing the ideas of diversity. I see schools embracing to ideas of the importance of reaching out to economically and educationally disadvantaged children and families. I am hoping that the ACCESS program is building on and leaving a legacy of sustainable ideas and best practices for charter schools to follow in the future. I guess my childhood experiences play a significant part in my understanding that life circumstances, such as being from a single parent home should not define children and what they can contribute to your school environment.
|
NCDPI CAO/Curriculum Leaders Update
OPEN NOW: 2022 NC Charter Applications
The 2022 North Carolina Charter School Application is now open, as of Friday, January 28th at 5 pm. The 2022 charter application window will close on April 29, 2022 at 5pm. Applicants who are interested in opening a charter school in 2023 under the accelerated timeline, or in 2024 under the standard timeline must submit their charter applications on or before the April 29, 2022 application close date.
Both the online application and $1,000 application fee must be submitted on or before April 29, 2022 at 5pm.
The link to the 2022 NC Charter School application is posted on the NCDPI Charter Schools Application page found here.
For questions about the charter application process, please reach out to Melanie.Rackley@dpi.nc.gov.
OCS Consultant Sites:
Increase Your Reach Webinar Series
In partnership with ImplementEd, the NC ACCESS Program is excited to facilitate a webinar series entitled Increase Your Reach. Each one-hour webinar in the series is designed to provide an opportunity for school leaders to share and discuss best practices on a variety of relevant topics. The current list of webinar offerings and registration links are included below.
During each webinar, we will highlight the NC ACCESS website Best Practices page targeting two featured strategies. School leaders representing the featured strategies will share details of its implementation and outcomes followed by a period of Q&A and an opportunity to hear additional ideas from all participants. Feel free to share these opportunities with others in your professional community.
Pre-register for any or all of these sessions to learn from and share with your colleagues.
Webinar 4: Educator Professional Learning About Equity
April 26, 2022 | 1:00 – 2:00pm
Learn different ways to support your staff to ensure they are equipped to successfully connect with all students, especially those from marginalized communities, opening their eyes to the many possibilities in their futures.
REGISTER HERE for the Educator Professional Learning About Equity webinar.
Opportunities with the NC Virtual Public School
NCVirtual will be featuring four Culture Cafe episodes with topics on Siberia, Japan, Global Art and Global foods on April 6th and 7th. The Culture Café hosts hour-long lectures on various cultural topics in Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Latin, and Arabic to broaden our students’ cultural and world views. The presentations are delivered by the faculty of the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NC Virtual) as ancillary instruction for interested students on a variety of cultural, culinary, historical, geographic and architectural themes related to the target languages of our World Language Department. Visit https://ncvps.org/culture-cafe/ to join the sessions.
Attention NC teachers:
We need your input!
NCBCE is the business-led education nonprofit in the Office of the Governor. We are in the early stages of planning professional development opportunities for educators in the state and want to hear directly from teachers. We need your feedback to make this PD as impactful as possible.
Thank you from all of us at NCBCE.
Other Resources 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
Claire Porter 984 236 2709
Consultant, Renewals, 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, Stakeholder Support & Professional Develoment
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
|
