Charter School Focus Group Meeting
Greetings,
I am reaching out on behalf of the Academic Standards Division’s K-12 Science team your participation in a crucial aspect of the research/review phase of the K-12 Science NCSCOS. One of the required steps during this phase is to hold focus groups to get direct feedback on the K-12 Science standards.
Our team is specifically looking to hold a focus group for our charter schools across the State, in addition to ones being held for each State Board district. We are seeking up to 2 people from each charter school. They should be charter school staff, but can be administrators, curriculum leads or classroom science teachers. The purpose is to gather input regarding the K-12 Science standards, which will be compiled and shared with the Data Review Committee for analysis. This analysis will then be shared with the Standards Writing Team to inform any possible future revisions. Per the NCSCOS Procedures Manual, there are established questions the consultants will use to guide the conversation.
The NCDPI K-12 Science team has scheduled a virtual Focus Group Meeting for July 28th from 9am-12pm. During this meeting participants will work in small groups and have opportunities to discuss the K-12 Science standards with fellow charter school staff and provide feedback. A sample of the agenda is attached. Thank you for helping to support this process and please feel free to contact the K-12 Science team with any questions.
Please use the link below to register for the Virtual Focus Group. Both members of the PSUs team will need to register.
Dr. Charles A. Aiken
Section Chief for Math, Science and STEM
Division of Academic Standards
NC Department of Public Instruction
June Info Sessions
Dear Charter Leaders,
The NCDPI ELA and OEL Teams are providing June sessions to discuss the new PK-12 Literacy Instruction Standards (Section V of SB387). While submitting the local curriculum and instruction explanation form is optional for charters (much like the Literacy Intervention Plans), we will provide a virtual charter session, for those interested. This session will focus on:
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A general overview and understanding of the Literacy Instruction Standards (LIS)
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Guidance for evaluating and modifying curriculum and instruction to align with the LIS
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A review of the model and non-model implementation plans
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Support on the form to be submitted, for those charters interested
The session will be held June 8 from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM on WebEx. If interested, please complete this Registration Link. Once registered, you will receive a calendar invite that includes the meeting link.
For questions, please contact Dr. Kristi Day, Assistant Director of Academic Standards, at kristi.day@dpi.nc.gov or (984) 236-2835.
We look forward to seeing you!
Kristi Day, Ed.D.
Assistant Director
Division of Academic Standards
NC Department of Public Instruction
Closing Procedures for Fiscal Year 2021-2022
All public school units, the closing procedures for 2021-2022 have been posted under What’s New on the FBS website at Financial and Business Services | NC DPI.
If there are any questions, contact Roxane Bernard at roxane.bernard@dpi.nc.gov.
NCEES: How Budget Codes Affect Staff Evaluations and PDPS
PSUs (Public School Units) have requested information on how finance/HR budget codes affect the staff evaluations and professional development plans (PDPs) in the NC Educator Effectiveness System (NCEES). The following information document is being provided to meet this request.
2021-22 NC DLMI (Digital Learning & Media Inventory) is open
Due Date: Sept. 30, 2022
All NC PSUs (Public School Units) must complete the NC DLMI annually. The information collected in the DLMI is used to inform state and local budgets, assist in planning state and local digital learning efforts. This report provides the legislature and the public a yearly snapshot of the state of digital learning and media programs in North Carolina's schools.
Additionally, data from the NC DLMI is used for state and national reporting including the School Report Card, Civil Rights Data Collection, and the new NC Digital Learning Dashboard that was mandated in SB 105. Charter, Regional, and Lab schools were specifically named in this legislation as well as LEAs as being required to submit this data annually. We are required to compile aggregate reports of the data collected to be shared with the NC Board of Education and the NC Legislature including a list of any PSUs that failed to complete the NCDLMI.
The new NC DLMI consists of two collection instruments; one for PSU level and one for School level. All PSUs must complete the school level. All PSUs must complete the PSU level and verify completion by all schools in the PSU. PSUs with only one school (most charter, lab, and regional schools) must complete BOTH school and PSU level collection instruments.
The NCDLMI can be accessed at https://schools.nc.gov/ncdlmi using NCEdCloud Credentials. If a user does not have an NCEdCloud account, they may need to claim it. Please refer to these directions to do so- Instructions to claim NCEdCloud Account. Users must first request user roles (see the Training Slide Deck for detailed instructions.)
RESOURCES: The Digital Teaching and Learning team has compiled several resources to assist PSUs in completing the DLMI.
OFFICE HOURS: The DTL team is hosting office hours on Wednesdays and Fridays until June 3 at 10:30 am and 1:00 pm. You may join these office hours with the following links:
10:30 AM Join Link
1:00 PM Join Link
If you have questions or need assistance in completing the DLMI at any time, please contact your regional consultant.
1-Northeast Amy Bennett
2-Southeast Lauren Boucher
3-North Central Cynthia Sartain
4-Sandhills Kathy Parker
5-Piedmont-Triad Brain Whitson
6-Southwest Lindsey Sipe
7-Northwest Donna Murray
8-Western Vera Cubero
Reporting Discipline Data to the State
Per SBE policy (SSCH-000), incidents of certain behaviors and disciplinary actions must be submitted to the state within 5 business days of occurrence (see pages 4 - 6 on the North Carolina Discipline Data Reporting Procedures Manual). All discipline data must be submitted by June 29th this year when the window for reporting closes.
To meet this requirement, the data must reside in the state database where it can be viewed in state reports. For these offenses to be pushed into the state database and be viewed in state reports, you must not only enter the offenses in PowerSchool but also run the State Discipline report in PowerSchool. If you are using 3rd party software to enter your data, please verify with your vendor that your data is being submitted to PowerSchool in a timely manner. You should also verify that these data are accurate by running the state level reports periodically throughout the school year.
Also, please review the disciplinary data manual found on the NCDPI website and make sure your staff understands the definition of each of the reportable acts and consequences to ensure you are reporting them both correctly.
ALTERNATIVE LEARNING PROGRAMS & SCHOOLS (ALPS)
To help us maximize our support, we request your assistance in updating the ALPS District Data Coordinators Contact List and the ALPS Directory. To make it easy for you to provide your updates, we are utilizing Qualtrics Survey and Google Sheets (see links below). Once we receive your input, we will post the updated ALPS Directory on the NCDPI website.
Annual Charter School Health Report Is Open
The Annual Charter School Health Report link is now open. Reporting must be completed no later than June 20, 2021. The report is designed to assist in identifying resource needs for healthcare of students in charter schools. 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). You may click here to access the report link or copy and paste the link below into your browser.
A preparation worksheet is provided with the report questions. 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 or copy and paste the link provided below into your browser. Once you have prepared your responses, save the document to your local computer. This worksheet cannot be accepted as your report. You will use it as a reference tool to enter your information into the online survey system.
Charter school Health Services Report and Section Two Report
https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6525551/2021-22-Charter-School-Health-Services-Report-and-Section-Two-Survey
Charter School Health Services Report and Section Two-Worksheet
http://surveygizmolibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/library/12181/202122_CharterSchoolHealthServicesReport_Section2_Worksheet.pdf
If you have questions or concern regarding the report, please contact annette.richardson@dhhs.nc.gov or amy.t.johnson@dhhs.nc.gov
Important MEMOs:
HOME BASE OPT-IN TOOL AND PRICING FOR 2022-23
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) is pleased to announce that the full suite of Home Base is still available for the 2022- 2023 school year at an opt-in price of $1/ADM. Included in this price is Schoolnet, the Instructional Improvement System, and the use of a local Professional Development Office in NCEES, the Educator Evaluation System.
Please see attached memorandum from Chief Information Officer Vanessa Wrenn for detail.
FY22 CARRYOVER FUNDS BUDGET FORM & TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
All Cohort 14 & 15 Subgrantees running a 2022 Summer Program or those with 21st CCLC FY22 funds left to encumber after June 30, 2022 must submit an FY22 carryover budget form. The FY22 Carryover Budget form captures how the subgrantee plans to spend its remaining FY22 funds between July 1, 2022 and September 30, 2022. 21st CCLC FY22 carryover funds can be used to support 21st CCLC summer program implementation, cover FY22 close out procedures, and can also be used as fall program start up costs through September 30, 2022.
All FY22 Carryover budget forms must be submitted through CCIP by Friday, July 8, 2022. The FY22 Carryover Budget form template is attached.
NCDPI will be hosting a technical assistance webinar to review the carryover budget form and answer any questions on Monday, June 6, 2022 from 10am-11am. To join the webinar, please click the link: https://ncgov.webex.com/ncgov/j.p hp?MTID=m48a5ead8d482c6c2d91224f547e2fa30
Healthful Living Standards Review / Standards Writing Teams
The NCDPI Healthy Schools Team is excited to share an opportunity for educators, educational leaders, and stakeholders to participate in the K-12 Healthful Living Standards revision process by serving on a Standards Writing Team (SWT). The goal of these teams is to write the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (NCSCOS) for Health and Physical Education based on the Data Review Committees’ recommendations. The Standards Writing Teams will be trained and have access to all research and data. The SWT will meet periodically throughout the revision process to review and revise the NCSCOS for Health and Physical Education.
Summer Institute for Federal Program Directors-July 26-28, 2022
This year we are pleased to announce the institute is open to all directors. Three groups will be established. (Group 1-New Directors (less than 3 years), Group 2-Veteran Directors, Group 3-Charter/Lab School Leaders. Please register for this event at the link below.
Registration Link Must register by June 30, 2022 for final counts and planning to occur.
The Summer Institute will be held July 26-28th at the following location:
Randolph Community College
413 Industrial Park Avenue
Asheboro, NC
NCDHHS/DPI
Follow-Up for Monthly NCDHHS Joint COVID Call
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Good morning and thank you to all who participated in this month's call.
For those who couldn't join the call, click here to access the recording with integrated chat and transcript.
Additional links and resources referenced in the call:
5.3.22 DHHS Slide Deck
Please reach out to Sharon Bell with any questions on Youth Mental Health First Aid.
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EC ANNOUNCEMENTS |
Please see the attached newsletters.
Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Updates
2023 Burroughs Wellcome Fund NC Teacher of the Year Nomination Process
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund NC Teacher of the Year is recognized at the school, regional, and statewide levels. Individual public charter schools nominate a Teacher of the Year who participates in a selection process facilitated by the Office of Charter Schools at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Once the charter school nomination processes are completed, the teacher finalists vie as one of the state’s nine Regional Teachers of the Year. [The state is divided into eight geographical regions and NC Charter Schools are clustered together to form the ninth region of the state. The Charter School Teacher of the Year joins the Regional Teachers of the Year team as a finalist for the state Teacher of the Year]. This selection process is facilitated in each region by Regional Education Facilitators. If you need additional information please reach out to your Regional Educator Facilitator or Dr. Sonja Brown at Sonja.Brown@dpi.nc.gov Please remember to nominate your school's Teacher of the Year.
NC ACCESS Aspiring Minority School Leaders Program
Are you looking for School Leaders?
The North Carolina Advancing Charter Collaboration and Excellence for Student Success (NC ACCESS) grant program in the Office of Charter Schools was excited to embark on the Aspiring Minority School Leaders Program in collaboration with Appalachian State University. The Aspiring Minority School Leaders Program was designed to recruit, support, and build a pipeline of minority school leaders prepared to meet the challenges of leading schools. North Carolina charter schools will benefit by having access to a cohort of school leaders of color and women who are exceptionally trained, ready to be part of innovative school reform initiatives, and ready to move into leadership positions with strengthened organizational and instructional leadership skills.
We are proud to announce that we have twelve completers from the program. All have a Master’s Degree and years of school-based experience. If you are actively looking to fill certified school leadership positions, please send your listing to Dr. Barbara O’Neal in the Office of Charter Schools at barbara.oneal@dpi.nc.gov. I will send your position notices to the program completers.
Note: This special effort to inform this group of twelve does not replace the normal process of sending open positions notices to the OCS Newsletter, please continue to send them your position notices. Questions, please feel free to contact me at the same email address.
OCS Consultant Sites
Other Resources from DPI
Leadership Opportunities
Whom Should I Contact at the Office of Charter Schools?
OCS Main Number: (984) 236-2700 / Email: ocs@dpi.nc.gov
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