 To help interested parties gain a deeper understanding of the seven durable skills encompassed by the North Carolina Portrait of a Graduate and how the rubrics and supporting documents work with them, we will be hosting individual office hours for each durable skill.
The office hours will provide participants with a quick review of the Portrait process, a deep dive into the durable skill rubric and "I Can" statements by grade band, an interactive experience and time for Q&A with the experts at Battelle for Kids.
Register below:
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Learner's Mindset: Tuesday, August 29, 8 a.m. - 9 a.m.
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Adaptability: Wednesday, August 30, 8 a.m. - 9 a.m.
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Communication: Wednesday, August 30, 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
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Collaboration: Wednesday, August 30, 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
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Critical Thinking: Thursday, August 31, 8 a.m. - 9 a.m.
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Empathy: Thursday, August 31, 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.
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Personal Responsibility: Thursday, August 31, 3 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Superintendents & Charter School Leaders,
As the 2023-2024 school year kicks into full swing, many public school units (PSUs) are experiencing new and continued vacancies in critical areas, such as exceptional children. We understand the complexities of coordinating services, supporting existing instructional staff, and attending to the concerns of families are significant. To help support the problem-solving process, we wanted to ensure you had the following available:
Exceptional Children Teacher Vacancies: Guidance Document
This document is a compilation of resources and technical assistance on the following topics:
- Recruitment and Retention
- Short-Term Solutions While Recruiting
- Compensatory Education Services
- Contracting Services
- Onboarding New EC Staff
- Virtual Instruction
- Licensure
If you have questions that are not addressed in this guidance, please contact your designated EC Regional Coordinator or Dr. Carol Ann Hudgens, Senior Director for the Office of Exceptional Children (carolann.hudgens@dpi.nc.gov), for further assistance. We are happy to be thought partners with you as you navigate circumstances unique to your PSU. Best wishes for a safe and productive year!
2023 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year Nominations Due 9/21/23
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In accordance with national guidelines, North Carolina chooses a candidate who is "dedicated and highly skilled, a candidate proven capable of inspiring students of all backgrounds and abilities to learn." Because the State Teacher of the Year will be asked to travel, speak on behalf of education, and demonstrate master teaching skills, the candidate must be poised, articulate, and energetic in order to meet the demanding responsibilities.
The NC Teacher of the Year nomination window is quickly ending. Candidate portfolios are due by September 20, 2023. Teachers of the Year submit the Teacher of the Year Portfolio to their Regional Education Facilitator. NOTE: Submissions must be sent electronically as one complete PDF document, including a copy of their current license. To submit your candidate please click here. Upon submission, further information will be shared with the teacher and charter school coordinator. Candidate portfolios are due by September 20, 2023. If you have any questions or need further information please contact Elizabeth Santamour, DPI’s Educator Recognition Coordinator at elizabeth.santamour@dpi.nc.gov.
To be eligible for selection as a Teacher of the Year, a person must hold a Standard Professional 2 (SP2) license, be employed full time and spend at least 70% of his or her time in direct instruction of North Carolina public school students. (North Carolina State Board of Education Policy, March 2008)
Click here for more information- https://www.dpi.nc.gov/educators/educator-recognition-programs/burroughs-wellcome-fund-north-carolina-teacher-year https://twitter.com/search?q=%23nctoypoy
Remote Instruction Plans
PSUs who plan to exercise remote instruction due to emergency closures must annually submit a Remote Instruction Plan to NC DPI. §S.L. 2022-74/HB 103 authorized the use of Remote Instruction for emergency closures from §S. L. 115C-84.3 (b). Please take one of the following actions by October 15, 2023 to ensure your 2023-2024 Remote Instruction Plan is submitted and/or updated if needed:
- Utilize, with no revisions, the 2022-2023 RI Plan for the 2023-2024 School Year for Emergency Closures.
- Revise the 2022-2023 RI Plan for the 2023-2024 School Year for Emergency Closures.
- Create a new RI Plan for the 2023-2024 School Year for Emergency Closures.
- Not complete an RI Plan for the 2023-2024 School Year for Emergency Closures.
Visit bit.ly/NCDPIRIPlans for additional details and to submit a plan.
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Digital Leaders Exchange
Home Base Meetups meets Regional Technology Directors Meetings in the all new NC Digital Leaders Exchange! We will be coming to a location near you soon! Each event will run from the East to the West while also aligning each “exchange” with a part of the Digital Learning Plan. In September, we will be highlighting Cybersecurity and Data Privacy.
We will meet from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM and lunch will be catered. Register for a date & location that best fits your schedule.
Register at bit.ly/NCDLESept23.
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CFSS Executive Director Tours
During the fall semester, Center for Safer Schools Executive Director Karen W. Fairley plans to continue her tours of North Carolina school districts and charter schools. Fairley would like to see anything you want to showcase regarding school safety, and she would like to take time to talk with a small group of students. CFSS staff will contact districts and charters that already requested a tour. To schedule, send an email to cfss@dpi.nc.gov.
RISE 2023
More than 250 educators and law enforcement helped the Center for Safer Schools kick off the 2023 RISE Back to School Safety Summit in Gastonia. State and local officials – including State Superintendent Catherine Truitt, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Jerry Oates and CFSS Executive Director Karen W. Fairley – delivered remarks to begin the summit on Monday, July 31.
Truitt said RISE 2023 specifically addressed challenges that North Carolina schools face, including hoaxes, swatting, school climate, bullying prevention and suicide prevention.
"There is an ever-increasing need to offer informational and educational support to school leaders, security professionals, and law enforcement," she said.
RISE – the CFSS’ signature event – focuses on the Resiliency, Information, Support and Empowerment needed when supporting children and adolescents in schools and communities. The training offers a range of sessions covering the issues of bullying, suicide, critical incidents and other vital information about trauma and victimization among children and adolescents, and how these various dynamics impact school climate and school safety.
Trainings held during the three-day summit included child abuse prevention, gang awareness, human trafficking, School Risk Management Plans and suicide prevention. RISE 2023 was the sixth monthly event held in recognition of the CFSS’ 10th anniversary.
September Trainings
The Center for Safer Schools has scheduled the following September sessions at the Training Center in Moore County:
- Transportation Security Administration School Bus Awareness Training (Thursday, Sept. 7): The outreach program is designed to give school administrators, bus transportation personnel and district level staff the ability to establish standards for security programs and give them the ability assess security vulnerabilities. The training objectives are to provide school personnel the resources to mitigate vulnerabilities in their school bus security programs, including recognizing and implementing best practices scenarios for active shooter events involving both school buses and school facilities. Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/transportation-security-administration-school-bus-awareness-training-tickets-698505337267?aff=oddtdtcreator
If you have questions about a training session, email CFSS Director of Training Quintin Trent (Quintin.Trent@dpi.nc.gov).
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State Superintendent Catherine Truitt speaks during the opening ceremony of the 2023 RISE Back to School Safety Summit in Gastonia on Monday, July 31. (DPI photo) |
The NCCAT 2024 NC Beginning Teacher of the year Nomination Form is now open for submission!
The NCCAT Beginning Teacher of the Year Award celebrates the creativity and enthusiasm of beginning teachers, their mentors, school teams, and communities. The award recognizes the unique challenges and achievements that new teachers experience during their first year in the classroom. Selected from over 7,000 new teachers, the annual award recipient is chosen through a special competitive selection process, culminating in naming 27 regional and charter finalists, one winner, and one runner-up.
Data shows that nearly half of North Carolina’s new teachers leave the profession in their first five years of teaching. In recognizing excellence among new teachers and providing programs that support them from the start of their careers, NCCAT not only honors their achievements but also strengthens their connection to the profession, one another, and the resources they need to succeed. Supporting and encouraging new teachers is paramount to developing the caring, strong professionals we all want instructing our North Carolina Students.
For 35 years, NCCAT has provided support for teaching excellence and is proud to partner with North Carolina school districts and charter schools to identify and recognize the best of the beginning teacher corps from across the state.
Please complete this form by Monday, October 2nd to nominate a Beginning Teacher from your school. For information on criteria for consideration, prizes, and timeline, please visit www.nccat.org/btoy
Career and Technical Education (CTE) Trainings
Are you new to offering Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs or do you want to know more about CTE? Check out our Charter Schools: Getting Started with CTE guide (https://bit.ly/CTEcharter) to connect with CTE resources, including course standards, required CTE proofs of learning, credentials, and reporting requirements.
The CTE Regional Services team is implementing a charter school user group during the 2023-2024 school year to provide training and support for charter schools who offer CTE programs or have student enrollments in CTE courses through NCVPS. Our charter school user group will meet quarterly to provide CTE updates, information about CTE programs, and training for administering and reporting student results for CTE proofs of learning, credentials, and CTE concentrator status for WorkKeys participation. We invite you to mark your calendar for the following dates and plan to join us online to learn more about CTE.
*This session will include CTE State Assessment training required for schools administering fall administrations of CTE State Assessments
*This session will include a CTE State Assessment training refresher and full training required for schools administering spring administrations of CTE State Assessments who did not attend fall training
Questions may be directed to Misty Wolfe (misty.wolfe@dpi.nc.gov) or your CTE Regional Coordinator.
New Charter Amendment Process
As of August 1, 2023, OCS has implemented an updated charter application amendment request process via epicenter. Please refer to the "Epicenter Steps for Charter Application Amendment Request 0723" document linked here for instructions. Any material change to the charter application must be approved pursuant to State Board of Education policy CHTR-014, North Carolina Administrative Code 16 NCAC 06g.0510 and 16 NCAC 06g.0511. Questions? Contact Nicky Niewinski, OCS Consultant, at nicole.niewinski@dpi.nc.gov
New ML[ELL] Data Compliance Library
This repository provides resources for supporting administrators, data managers, testing coordinators, and teachers to access throughout the academic school year. The range of resources allows users to determine their specific needs and find the appropriate materials.
If you have any questions, please email susan.walz@dpi.nc.gov.
2023-2024 Charter Schools Diabetes and Epinephrine Memo
Important Resources for Charter Schools: (Please Read)
Please click on each link.
2023-2024 Charter Diabetes Memo
2023-2024 Charter Epinephrine Memo
School Business
The FBS website continues to be updated with information related to School Business and our ongoing operations. Please check the FBS homepage regularly for updates.
FBS Webinar FY23-24:
We will resume our monthly FBS webinars, formally, beginning in September. These webinars are meant to help answer common questions for the Business Offices in the Public-School Districts. The intention is for these to help alleviate the need for emails and help get questions and concerns routed to the appropriate areas to assist the school district business operations. At times they will include updates, however, the main purpose are to provide technical operational assistance.
Schedule Plan:
- Q&A- Tech Support: 2nd Tuesday of the month (week after the SBE meeting).
- We will schedule one for LEAs and one for IPSs.
- Lunch & Learns: 3rd Tuesday of the month
- This will be an in-depth presentation on a specific topic each month.
- We may offer to all or have specific for IPS or LEA depending on the topic.
We are working to set up a general method to submit questions ahead of the meeting so we can ensure we have appropriate answers and/or staff from DPI available for the webinar. We will get more information out once that is set-up and to also get the appropriate folks within the school districts registered for these webinars.
Should we have general updates related to the budget, other items, etc. we will schedule those as needed.
We hope this helps get us on track to provide the technical assistance and support needed for the School District Business Operations. Question may be directed to Evelyn Gallegos (evelyn.gallegos@dpi.nc.gov).
*View prior newsletters online: Newsletters and Guidance | NC DPI
Important MEMOs:
School Risk Management Plan Training
The Center for Safer Schools will host School Risk Management Plan training this summer and fall at the Training Center in Moore County. The remaining sessions are scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 11.
North Carolina General Statute 115C-105.54 requires that each local school administrative unit shall provide the Division of Emergency Management at the Department of Public Safety (i) schematic diagrams, including digital schematic diagrams, and (ii) emergency response information requested by the Division for the School Risk Management Plan (SRMP).
After completing SRMP training, attendees will be able to:
- Input site-based school data to develop a comprehensive schematic diagram and plans into the SRMP portal.
- Both identify and discuss vulnerabilities and training gaps in their individual plans.
- At least once annually initiate a full schoolwide tabletop exercise on the procedures documented in the SRMP portal.
Attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop, as the sessions will review their individual school plans in the SRMP portal. They will receive technical guidance to ensure their plans meet the necessary state requirements.
All sessions will be held from 10 a.m. to noon at 3600 Samarcand Road in Jackson Springs. Register at the following links: Oct. 11.
School Risk Management Plan training also will be held at the July 31-Aug. 2 RISE Back to School Safety Summit in Gaston County. Visit the official RISE webpage for information and registration links.
If you have questions about School Risk Management Plan training, send an email to cfss@dpi.nc.gov.
Please review the attached Exceptional Children communication updates and Guidance.
Beginning September 6, 2023, the OEC Weekly Update and all other OEC communication thereafter will migrate fully using EDDIE as its authoritative source for distribution.
EDDIE
The Educational Directory and Demographical Information Exchange (EDDIE) is an online application containing LEA (school district) and school information such as LEA numbers, school numbers, select administrative contacts, addresses, grade levels, calendar types, and more. EDDIE does not contain individual teacher or student information.
EDDIE is the authoritative source for NC public school numbers and demographic information, and is used by multiple systems/NCDPI offices, including the Office of Exceptional Children, for identifying the local point of contact for EC programs and local leadership. The OEC will be utilizing EDDIE to ensure its formal letters and email communication is addressed to the appropriate local personnel. Previously, the OEC maintained separate lists of this information. However, this process is duplicative and may not always reflect current staff or the appropriate EC administrative designee.
Please make sure that EDDIE is up to date per the NCDPI website directions and April 2023 Memorandum from the Division of School Business. The OEC will migrate fully to using EDDIE as its authoritative source for the distribution of the September 6, 2023, Weekly Update and all other OEC communication thereafter.
When viewing EDDIE, the OEC will be retrieving the names of the individuals listed as the contact for “Exceptional Children”, “Superintendent” and/or “Director Charter School” as appropriate.
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Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Updates
OCS presented some updates at the NCAPCS Charter Conference. In case you missed it, or want the presentation, please find it linked HERE.
Renewal Process Training | Cohort 2025
- This is a training for administrators and board members of schools that are up for renewal in 2025 to discuss the renewal process. There will also be plenty of time for Q&A so that you and your team feel prepared.
- Date: August 31, 2023
- Time: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
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Ready to Open/Planning Year Session #1
The Office of Charter Schools will host session one of five planning year sessions required for all schools (approved boards and school leaders) in the Ready to Open process on September 27th, 2023, on-site at the NC Department of Public Instruction from 8:30AM - 4:00PM. Please Register Here for Session 1: Charter School Board Governance. Please reach out to Dr. Natasha Norins with questions regarding Ready To Open/Planning Year.
HR Webinar Information - Licensure requirements, resources, and more for Charter School leaders
Once a month, Dr. Tom Tomberlin and his team provide State Board of Education and legislative updates to the human resources contacts in Public School Units (PSUs) across the state.
All sessions are 10:30-11:30AM
September 8
October 6
November 3
December 8
Other Resources from DPI and beyond
Charter School Job Postings
If you have current teaching/leadership positions open and wish to share them in this newsletter, reach out to Joseph.Letterio@dpi.nc.gov and provide a link to the posting/s.
- Lab School Opportunity -
Academy at Middle Fork (App State lab school)
Whom Should I Contact at the Office of Charter Schools?
OCS Main Number: (984) 236-2700 / Email: ocs@dpi.nc.gov
Please forward
School leaders, we encourage you to forward this newsletter on to your staff so they can subscribe to DPI bulletins directly through this link. They will enter their email and then it will bring them to another page where they can select “Charter School Comms Contacts” and any other public listserv to sign up for.
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