  The Office of Charter Schools is proud to announce the 2024 NC Charter School Principal of the Year, Serena Fuller, from the ArtSpace Charter School in the Western Region, Swannanoa, Bungecomb County, North Carolina
Serena Fuller is a native North Carolinian, who graduated from Eastern Carolina University as a Teacher Fellow. Once she graduated with her Masters Degree from Appalachian State University and her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Western Carolina University, she has continued to serve in traditional and charter schools throughout her 20+ years in public service.
As a school leader, she values her personal mission as one of servant leadership and of charity to those in her community and abroad. Her recent efforts within her school have been to improve overall student efficacy and learning recovery after the pandemic, as a result winning an award in Exceeding Academic Growth from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Also, her school was recently awarded with a competitive grant from The National ESEA Distinguished Schools Program; NAESPA’s way of publicly acknowledging the exemplary work of schools from across the country that utilize ESEA funds to improve the achievement levels of disadvantaged children. Dr. Fuller’s passion for Arts Integration Education was heard as the Charter School Selection Team conducted their interviews, along with her heart for empowering educators and families to be self advocates for their education.
Thank you to the selection committee including TJ Worrell (2023 Principal of the Year Northeast Academy for Aerospace and Advanced Technologies), Maria Mills (Carolina Charter Academy), Dr. Brandi Gill (OCS), and Mr. Joseph Maimone (OCS).
Congratulations to these candidates who made the final round of interviews and were recognized by your local charter school:
We congratulate you and all of the Charter School Principals nominated by their board of directors for your outstanding commitment to education in our state.
Andrew Swanner, Oxford Community Charter School
Dee Rosen, Tiller Charter School
Randi Woodruff, Wake Forest Charter School
Teresa Barber- Tillery Charter School
2024 NC Charter Applications
The 2024 NC Charter School Application will open Friday, January 26th at 5 pm (EST). The 2024 charter application window will close on April 26, 2024, at 5pm (EDT). Applicants who are interested in opening a charter school in 2025 under the accelerated timeline, or in 2026 under the standard timeline must submit their charter applications on or before the April 26, 2024, application close date.
Both the online application and $1,000 application fee must be submitted on or before April 26, 2024 at 5pm (EDT).
Applicant boards will be expected to appear in-person for interviews at the Department of Public Instruction in Raleigh, NC that will commence during the monthly meetings of the Charter Schools Review Board meeting beginning September 2024.
The link to the 2024 NC Charter School application will be 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.
Register for OLR's February Regional Data and Planning Sessions
In response to the upcoming ESSER funding cliff, the Office of Learning Recovery and Acceleration at NCDPI will be hosting 10 regional workshops in February 2024 focused on new student outcome datasets and utilizing the ESSER Funding Cliff Toolkit. The purpose of these sessions is to provide PSU leaders with relevant information and data around ESSER expenditures and student outcomes as well as resources to understand which ESSER investments were most effective. Session participants will leave with an understanding of how to use a data-driven approach to evaluate investments and make sound budgeting decisions beyond September 2024. Review the draft agenda for more information about sessions and schedule.
Due to site capacity and funding, these sessions are limited to 6 attendees per district and 3 attendees per charter school. Please work with your district or school leaders to assemble a team of key decision makers around ESSER and budgeting. We suggest including at least the CFO, the Federal Programs Director, and Superintendent or designee.
To register to attend a regional event, please click here: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/11f2369d28fe44db87fda24067f4e4d5.
Once you register, you will receive an automated email that contains the address of the session you registered to attend.
If you have any questions, please contact the OLR Project Manager, Jay Johnson, at jay.johnson@dpi.nc.gov or ARP Program Administrator, Dr. Richard Lewis, at Richard.lewis@dpi.nc.gov
 
New Licensure Information
Education Leaders,
We hope this communication finds you well and your new year is off to a wonderful start. As always, our commitment to ensuring the highest quality education for North Carolina’s students remains unwavering. With this in mind, we are excited to inform you of our continued focus on supporting educator licensing and licensure staff training for the current school year. Please see the information in the linked memo on several initiatives, resources, and updated processes to better serve public school units and educators.
If you have any questions or need further information, please feel free to contact Susan Ruiz (susan.ruiz@dpi.nc.gov) or Tom Tomberlin (thomas.tomberlin@dpi.nc.gov).
Webinar Follow-Up and January NC TWC Updates
Charter Leaders and TWC Coordinators,
We have hosted 2024 NC TWC Webinars this week and wanted to flag a few items for you.
January 2024 WEBINARS* to get an overview of the new website, survey update, process for data collection - PRESENTATION AVAILABLE HERE
2024 School-Level NC TWC Survey Coordinator Roles & Responsibilities
The following list outlines the major roles and responsibilities of the school-level NC TWC Survey Coordinator
Before March 1!!
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Serve as the liaison with NCDPI.
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Ask your technology team to flag nctwc@adi.org as a safe email.
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Explore the updated NC TWC website and share resources and new survey with your school staff.
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Confirm accuracy of target number of responses shared via email from NCDPI on February 1.
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Hold a schoolwide meeting to share information on revised survey process and content.
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Discuss the importance of survey participation with educators and emphasize commitment to anonymity.
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Promote 90% target participation in NC TWC.
On March 1!!
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Confirm teachers and student services personnel received the email from nctwc@adi.org with their survey link.
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Contact the NC TWC Help Desk to adjust headcount, report lost emails, or ask questions about the surveys.
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Promote NC TWC SURVEY OPENING DAY!!!!
March 1-31!!
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Promote NC TWC throughout the month.
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Discuss the importance of survey participation with teachers.
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Emphasize commitment to anonymity.
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Monitor and share school-level participation rates for 50% minimum threshold AND 90% target participation.
After March 31!!
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Partner with PSU leadership to develop a plan to share out 2024 NC TWC data.
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Value teacher voice by working with principals and School Improvement Teams to use the NC TWC data in school improvement plans to create and maintain a positive work environment for teachers and other staff.
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Give NCDPI feedback about the new survey process and recommendations for improvement.
NC Teacher Working Conditions Survey Timeline
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February - March 2024: Social media campaign, survey support, and weekly office hours
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March 1, 2024: Emails sent to every classroom teacher and student services personnel with an individualized link to the survey; NC TWC Help Desk Opens
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March 1-31, 2024: NCTWC Survey Open!!
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April 2024: NC TWC local results shared with districts and charter leaders
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May 2024: NC TWC statewide results shared with NC State Board of Education and Charter School Review Board (CSRB).
Threat Assessment Update (House Bill 605)
The Center for Safer Schools wants to update public-school units on processes related to House Bill 605. For more information, see the attached letter from CFSS Executive Director Karen W. Fairley.
If you have questions, send an email to cfss@dpi.nc.gov.
About the Center for Safer Schools
The Center for Safer Schools serves to promote safe learning environments for North Carolina K-12 schools. The CFSS serves as a hub of information and technical assistance on school safety to school faculty and staff, law enforcement, youth-serving community agencies, juvenile justice officials, policymakers, parents/guardians and students. CFSS staff focuses on school climate, school discipline and emergency preparedness concerns for North Carolina’s public K-12 schools. CFSS staff is available to provide training, guidance and technical assistance upon request for school faculty and staff and those working with children and adolescents. The CFSS is headed by Karen W. Fairley, Executive Director.
SBS January 19, 2024
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. Please review the upcoming deadlines for due dates.
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Bonus Allotment Adjustments (PRC 048) - All PSUs
An adjustment allotment is being processed for PRC 048/Principal and Other Teacher Performance Bonuses. The previously allotted bonuses (Revision #27) lacked the FICA portion of the AP/IB/AICE bonus. PSUs should be able to see their additional funding to cover FICA early next week.
For questions regarding these announcements, please contact Allotments@dpi.nc.gov.
From the Office of State Budget & Management
IRS Mileage Rates Increase
Effective January 1, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has established new mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. The business standard rate for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) increased from 65.5 cents per mile to 67 cents per mile. Accordingly, and pursuant to G.S. 138-6(a)(1), OSBM will adjust the allowable rate of reimbursement for travel by officers and employees on official state business.
In 2022, the Travel Policies and Regulations section (5.2.13) of the State Budget Manual was updated to reflect that unless otherwise specified, OSBM will adopt new IRS mileage rates effective January 1 of each calendar year. In accordance with an agency’s policies, a state employee shall be reimbursed at a rate that does not exceed the business standard mileage rate set forth by the IRS. Agencies are advised to visit the IRS website to confirm the annual mileage reimbursement rates on or before January 1 of each year.
Agencies can find additional information regarding IRS standard mileage rates on the IRS website, OSBM’s website, or OSBM’s Budget Manual section 5, Travel Policies. If you have specific questions regarding these changes, please contact your OSBM Budget Execution Analyst.
From the Office of Systems Modernization
NCDIT Public School Unit & Local Government Unit Subscription Cost Recovery Billing
This message is to inform you about recent changes to public school unit and local government bills for services provided by the N.C. Department of Information Technology. Beginning with Dec. 15, 2023, invoices, all local government and school system customers now pay a subscription fee, in addition to the service rate to ensure NCDIT recovers its costs as required by law. Subscription cost is the base charge to customers who use NCDIT as a service provider. This charge is to cover the customer’s pro-rated share of NCDIT operating expenses.
The monthly subscription charge you are now seeing on your bill is for the 2023-2024 fiscal year and represents the annual total for this fiscal year divided by 7 months to account for the state budget being approved in October.
NCDIT calculated subscription charges for the 2023-2024 fiscal year for each customer based on their use of IT services (e.g. use of the CICS Mainframe “Region F” MSA Cash Management/Cash Request System) in FY 2022 and nine months of FY 2023.
After determining the average for each customer, NCDIT calculates each customer’s percentage of the total. The percentage is then applied to the total subscription budget for the year to determine the amount an individual public school unit or local government is billed.
See message that was sent out from DIT here.
Deadline Reminders
ALL PSUs
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DUE DATE
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TOPIC
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NEWSLETTER
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01/19/2024
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Legislated Survey for Federal Use of Funds
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01/05/2024
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LEAs
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DUE DATE
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TOPIC
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NEWSLETTER
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01/19/2024
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Small County/Low Wealth Signing Bonus for Teachers (PRC 062) Survey
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01/05/2024
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*View prior newsletters online: Newsletters and Guidance | NC DPI.
NC Homeless Education Program
2023-2024SY Mid-Year Data Collection Survey
Annually, the State Coordinator’s office requires all homeless liaisons to submit a mid-year homeless data collection report. This is required even if you have “0” students to report at this time. Click HERE to complete the survey. The deadline for submission is no later than 5:00 PM on January 31, 2024.
Please Note: Completion of the Mid-Year Data Collection Survey does not constitute the required annual submission of homeless data through PowerSchool.
Charter School Learning Series
NCHEP will be hosting a virtual Learning Series for charter and lab school homeless liaisons to expand their knowledge on the McKinney-Vento Act as well as develop practices to best support the needs of their students who are experiencing homelessness. Three different sessions will be offered. Homeless liaisons are encouraged to choose the session(s) that will benefit their homeless education program. The Learning Series is optional for those who attended the required Compliance Forum earlier this school year. Homeless liaisons who did not attend a Compliance Forum will be required to attend two of the three sessions below to remain in compliance. Registration is required.
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Learning Series:
McKinney-Vento 101
Tuesday, February 6, 2024
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
REGISTER HERE
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Learning Series:
Awareness & Identification
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
REGISTER HERE
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Learning Series:
Transportation
Thursday, February 8, 2024
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
REGISTER HERE
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Please contact the Charter School Program Specialist, Savannah Gay, with any questions or concerns.
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𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐉𝐚𝐧 𝟐𝟗 - 𝐅𝐞𝐛 𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒
Registration is NOW OPEN! Think Home Base Meetups meets Regional Technology Directors Meetings! The NC Digital Leaders Exchange (formerly Home Base Meetups) is coming to a location near you soon! Each event will run from the West to the East while also aligning each “exchange” with a part of the Digital Learning Plan. In January/February, along with our typical Home Base product offerings, there will be 3 tracks: One for SIS Coordinators, one for E-Rate support/filing assistance, and one for all other participants with content wrapped around Human Capacity.
Stay tuned for further information!
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.
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Human Trafficking Prevention Month
January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, which raises awareness about human trafficking and serves to educate the public about how to identify and prevent it. The Center for Safer Schools is doing its part by hosting eight simultaneous screenings of the film “Choices” across each of its eight educational regions.
The screenings will be held at the following locations on Thursday, Jan. 25 from 6:00-7:30 p.m.:
Western: Minitorium, 175 Bingham Road, Asheville
Northwest: Bowman Middle School Auditorium, 410 S. Mitchell Ave., Bakersville
Southwest: West Cabarrus High School, 4100 Weddington Road, Concord
Piedmont-Triad: Morehead High School, 134 N. Pierce St., Eden
North Central: Room 150, Education Building, 301 N. Wilmington St., Raleigh
Sandhills: Turlington School Auditorium, 116 W. Prospect Ave., Raeford
Southeast: Odell Williamson Auditorium, Brunswick Community College, 50 College Road NW, Bolivia
Northeast: Northampton County High School, 152 Hurricane Drive, Gaston
Following the screenings, Center for Safer Schools staff will facilitate a discussion about the film and how it relates to human trafficking.
RSVP at https://forms.gle/gzmgVUiZAFWkiaRK7. If you have questions, send an email to cfss@dpi.nc.gov.
SRMP Training
The Center for Safer Schools announces dates for School Risk Management Plan training during the 2024 spring semester.
In-person sessions at the Training Center in Moore County will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Jan. 10; Wednesday, Feb. 7; Wednesday, March 6; and Thursday, April 4.
Online sessions via Webex will be held from 2-4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9; Tuesday, Feb. 6; Tuesday, March 5; and Wednesday, April 3.
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.
To obtain the most beneficial training within the SRMP system, charter school personnel should ensure that their school has been loaded into the SRMP and that they have an active NCID and are able to log into SRMP. LEA personnel should make sure they can log into SRMP using their NCID.
If you are not able to log in, click here to try to reset your NCID password first.
Attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop, as they will receive technical guidance to ensure their plans meet the necessary state requirements. Please register for only one session, as they’re all the same.
For more information on SRMP training, send an email to CFSS Assistant Director-Physical Security Karen Everett.
The NC SECU People Helping People scholarship application is due March 5th
NCSECU Foundation Scholarship
SECU Foundation takes an active role in assisting communities across North Carolina because we believe in “People Helping People®.” To support this commitment, the People Helping People scholarship was established to help North Carolina public high school students attend college. A scholarship award of up to $10,000 over four years will be awarded to 10 Charter High School Seniors across the state. The Application Process will open on December 1st. Please share this scholarship opportunity with your high school guidance counselors and deans to promote this scholarship opportunity. Applications will close on March 5th, 2024, with selection interviews starting March 22nd, 2024. All final nominations are due to Dr. Natasha Norins by March 5th via email with PDF attachments from applicants. For further assistance, please contact Dr. Natasha Norins, natasha.norins@dpi.nc.gov.
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 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.
NCSBE Rulemaking Information
Below is a link to the website where we post information about SBE Rulemaking. It typically gets updated on the Friday the week after the SBE proposes a rule.
Important MEMOs:
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Office of Charter Schools (OCS) Updates
Charter school in the news:
$6000 raised: Pine Springs Prep holds 'green out' to support classmate with cancer
https://www.wralsportsfan.com/6000-raised-pine-springs-prep-holds-green-out-to-support-classmate-with-cancer/21243679/
These students make us proud! If you have similar stories to share please send to ocs@dpi.nc.gov
January provided a grand opportunity to collaborate with the Office of Learning Recovery & Acceleration on ESSER funding and Program Enrichment support. If you missed us, you can view the presentation HERE.
February 14th, 10AM; OCS Office Hours
For the Love of Charter School Leaders and Educators.
Hear from our inspiring School Leaders in the Office of Innovation, Learning Recovery, and Principal Engagement; NC State Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Andrew Smith, Dr. Erika Shoulders-Royster, and Tabari Wallace, Ed. S join OCS for an hour of inspiration with the goal of lifting up our Charter School Leaders to inspire their own staff and students! Topics such as ESSER funds, teacher recruitment, innovative college and career readiness programs, and school leadership series sponsored by DPI and Truist Trust
 OCS Lunch+Learn
Mark your calendar! Our next quarterly Lunch+Learn is scheduled for February 19 at Pine Springs Preparatory from 11:30 am-1:30 pm. School tours will begin at 10:30 am. The topic of discussion is Navigating Charter School Legislation. Please RSVP HERE.
We look forward to collaborating with you!
Other Resources from DPI and beyond
NCVPS Updates
1. NCVPS Continues Tutoring Program
It is time for yet another upcoming, exciting, and highly beneficial semester of Edvantage Tutoring offered by North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS). As a quick introduction (or reminder) about the program, you may view their infographic for an overview of Edvantage Tutoring.
NCVPS Edvantage Tutoring is offered in the following curriculum areas:
• 7th & 8th Grade ELA
• 7th & 8th Grade Math
• 7th & 8th Grade Science
• 8th Grade Math I
• High School Math I
• High School Math III
• High School Biology
*An asynchronous Writing Lab is offered
*ACT prep sessions are also offered
Tutoring for the Spring begins Monday, January 22, 2024, and will be available Monday-Thursday, 4:00 PM-7:30 PM nightly (through May 23rd). Daytime tutoring is also available per school/district request and may be utilized for students who are in ISS, suspended, homebound, absent, and/or working from home, McKinney-Vento, athletes needing extra support, etc.
2. Earn CEUs with NCVPS Free Professional Development
Each month, NCVPS offers several professional development sessions featuring interactive conversations in our Digital Transition webinars. Sessions feature a wide range of topics and offer CEUs in various disciplines. Sessions are also recorded, archived, and searchable. January sessions include:
“Digital Tools for Core Subject Courses”
Presenter: Nancy Hooper. Target Audience: All Are Welcome. CEU Type: Digital Learning.
Register for January 30th at 7:00pm
WORLD LANGUAGES: “Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Create Escape Rooms for Language Learners”
Presenter: Elena Allen. Target Audience: Spanish & World Language Teachers; All Are Welcome. CEU Credit Type: Spanish or Digital Learning.
Register for January 31st at 6:30pm
Social Studies Educators,
Recognizing continuities and changes over time is a critical social studies skill students must acquire. So, what are some best practices for teaching Continuity and Change Over Time (CCOT)?
Join us in this webinar workshop to find out!
Use the QR Code Below and Register Today!
Michelle McLaughlin
K-12 Social Studies Consultant; U. S. Senate Youth Coordinator
Office of Academic Standards
NC Department of Public Instruction
(W) 984-236-2827
Michelle.McLaughlin@dpi.nc.gov
School Counselor Cohort resource
Any school counselors who wish to network may share their information in this form.
You may also view the current list through this link.
SEL statewide offerings
The peer-reviewed journal Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy is seeking submissions for an upcoming special issue on: Adult Social and Emotional Learning: Implications for Educational Transformation. Check out the full guidelines to learn more and view an example Policy article to help you get started! All open-article fees are covered through funding agreements. Authors interested in contributing a manuscript for this special issue are asked to first submit a letter of intent via an online portal. Letters of intent must be submitted online by January 31, 2024. Click here to learn more and submit!
AMCHP has opened the application window for Replication Project grants. NC Project AWARE/ACTIVATE holds a designation as a Best Practice in AMCHP’s Innovation Hub and thus organizations can apply for a grant up to $25,000 to replicate elements of our school behavioral health model. Edgecombe County Schools has previously received an AMCHP Replication Project grant and applied the NC AWARE/ACTIVATE model to their HOPE Alternative Learning Program.
Application deadline is March 1, 2024.
See the Readiness Checklist. Reach out to Heidi.Austin@dpi.nc.gov if you have further questions.
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 Opportunities
Whom Should I Contact at the Office of Charter Schools?
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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