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ESSER Prepayment
North Carolina has revisited its stance on allowing pre-payment of subscriptions and software licenses. Based on the latest presentations from Bruman and the current wording of ESSER FAQ guidance, prepayment of subscriptions and software licensing will be allowed with ESSER III funds. Prepayment can extend through the 2025-26 school year, not extending beyond June 30, 2026.
Prepayment is different from a liquidation extension.
- Prepayment - requires that the subscription or software license be obligated by September 30, 2024 and paid in full prior to the end of the liquidation period.
- Liquidation Extension - a request to extend the time beyond the liquidation period due to circumstances that prevent the project from being completed. This is intended for impacts due to unforeseen circumstances or delays and market impacts.
It is important to note that prepayment flexibility is only extended for ESSER III funds. If you have any questions regarding prepayment, please contact your regional federal program administrator. Additional guidance will be provided in the Frequently Asked Fiscal Questions Related to ESSER and GEER, Includes Construction Related Questions.
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ARP Summer Convening 2024
Crossing the ESSER Finish Line
We are excited to announce that registration is now open for the final OLR ARP Convening.
This year's convening serves as a dual-purpose platform:
- To celebrate the remarkable achievements of district and charter schools in leveraging ESSER funds and effectively fostering significant strides in education despite the challenges of the pandemic.
- To equip PSUs with essential knowledge, and resources to sustain the momentum they've built post-pandemic with the aid of ESSER funding.
There are two options for attendance: Thursday, June 20th or Thursday, June 27th. Please register for the option that works best for you. Use the form below to register for our summer convening at the SAS Institute in Cary, NC. Registration is limited this year!
Registration Link: https://go.ncdpi.gov/ARPSummer
The following adjustments have been made for the 2024 Summer Convening:
- Each PSU will be able to bring TWO representatives
- We are limiting registration to two/PSU this year due to limited registration capacity.
- Remember to submit only one response per team
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REMINDER: Please complete the CCRG Survey
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the North Carolina Community College System seek to gather feedback on the CCRG Program. The optional surveys were launched April 10, 2024 via email to curriculum leaders and CCRG leads and will remain open until May 10, 2024. The surveys will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.
Regarding the student survey, a sample parent letter is linked below so that you have a guide for communicating the survey intent to parents/students. We recognize PSUs communicate surveys to students in various ways, thus the NCDPI asks PSUs to distribute the survey link to CCRG students who have ‘opted in’ to take surveys. Contact Dr. Erica Shoulders-Royster with questions.
Survey Window: April 10, 2024 - May 10, 2024
Survey Requirement: Optional for Staff and Students
Sample Parent Letter Link
Staff Survey Link
Student Survey Link
The surveys will close on May 10, 2024 at 11:59pm. The surveys are completely optional.
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NCVPS Summer Program
The North Carolina Virtual Public School is thrilled to announce fantastic news about our NCVPS summer program! The State Board of Education approved $2,000,000 in ESSER III funding for the NCVPS summer school program, making our online courses even more accessible to students across North Carolina. This funding will be shared with PSUs based on their 6-12 ADM. We encourage you to take advantage of this incredible opportunity!
To view the ESSER-funded allotments for your PSU, please consult the Summer 2024 Enrollments Covered by ESSER III Funds spreadsheet. If you need additional seats above your designated allotments, please fill out this survey. Our summer school kicks off on June 25.
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Guide to Help PSUs Sustain Effective Programming Post-ESSER
The Office of Learning Recovery and Acceleration has just released a Grant Sustainability guide that is designed to support districts and schools in navigating the landscape of available funding opportunities following the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) program.
This guide aims to empower program leaders by offering insights into various grants that can sustain and bolster initiatives initially funded through ESSER. Through clear, accessible information and curated links to relevant resources, this guide equips educators with the knowledge and tools necessary to identify suitable funding avenues and maximize the impact of their programs. Moreover, it provides practical examples illustrating how these grants can be strategically utilized to ensure the continuity of programming.
If you have questions about how you might apply for any of these grants to sustain ESSER-funded programming in your PSU, please reach out to our team at olr-esser-support@dpi.nc.gov.
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N.C. Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission’s Go Outside (GO) Grant
The N.C. Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission provides outdoor learning opportunities for youth across the state of North Carolina. This state-wide grant program directly supports the construction of outdoor learning facilities and experiential learning trips and programs.
What organizations are eligible to apply for a GO Grant? Eligible organizations must qualify as either a North Carolina K-12 school, or nonprofit organization as follows:
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North Carolina K-12 School: A public, private, or charter school, Homeschool Association, or children’s homes based in North Carolina.
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Nonprofit Organization: A nonprofit organization with tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Organizations must have the ability to adopt the Commission’s branding as part of their grant.
For more information go to: Go Outside (GO) Grants – Frequently Asked Questions: https://gooutside.nc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GOGrant-FAQ.pdf
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The NC Summer Learning Guide is now available!
Summer is just around the corner, and the OLR team wants to provide easy to understand data and evidence that can translate to your summer learning programs. So, our office has just released the NC Summer Learning Guide. This guide contains summaries of qualitative and quantitative studies regarding the implementation and impacts of summer learning programs both in NC and nationwide. The guide also includes vetted resources for planning and sustaining summer programming.
Access a digital version of the guide using this link: https://simplebooklet.com/ncsummerlearningguide
If you prefer to download the guide, the PDF version is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pMRIkBXGcyWvXNNye5Tq4xWRkEkzMh3V/view?usp=drive_link
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2023 YoY Report
The 2023 Year-Over-Year State Analysis Report indicates further progress toward the recovery thresholds, meaning that North Carolina schools are steadily continuing to recover from the pandemic with gains virtually across all grades and subjects. Two of 16 standardized assessments (EOG Reading Grade 3 and EOC English II) already show gains above the recovery thresholds.
On average, the data shows that North Carolina schools are showing signs of academic recovery in nearly every subject – with the strongest gains measured in EOG Reading Grade 3. Notable gains are also found in reading and math for grades 3-5 and science grade 5.
PRC 189 Surveys Now Live!
The PRC 189 surveys are now available for distribution.
The End of Program Survey is a required survey. Each site should submit a survey.
For example, if you are running PRC 189 funded programs at three sites in your district you should have the administrators/coordinators/leaders of each program site complete the survey. Please refer to this guidance document to review the survey questions.
The End of Program Student Survey is optional. This survey can be distributed to the students who participate in the program at the end of the program. Please refer to this guidance document to review the survey questions.
Both surveys will close on June 30, 2024.
If you have any questions about the surveys, please reach out to Abby Pearce at abby.pearce@dpi.nc.gov
Preparation for ESSER II Audits: PRC 176 and PRC 177
During the week of October 16th, points of contact (PoC) for PRC 176 and/or PRC 177 should have received an email from the OLR team's email, olr-esser-support@dpi.nc.gov. In preparation for potential ESSER II audits, the OLR wants to give PSUs the opportunity to review their PRC plans to ensure they align with the actual activities funded through these PRC(s). The plans were included with the email.
We ask that PSUs review their plan following the process outlined in the Application Amendment Process for PRC 176 and 177 and retroactively submit application amendments in CCIP as needed. If you have questions about this process OR if you did not receive the email and are the PoC for PRC 176 and/or PRC 177, please reach out to the OLR team at the team email: olr-esser-support@dpi.nc.gov.
Please ensure that if you make amendments to your PRC 176 or 177 plans using the Create Comment feature that you alert the assigned program administrator at OLR via email so that they can review and acknowledge the amendment. Jay Johnson (jay.johnson@dpi.nc.gov) is covering the Western four regions of the state and Dr. Richard Lewis (richard.lewis@dpi.nc.gov) is covering the Eastern four regions of the state.
SparkNC Module Course Coding
Public School Units (PSUs) who are using SparkNC modules are to use the course code for local elective credit (96102X0) and title it locally as High-Tech Learning Accelerator.
- It is up to the PSU to determine how and when to schedule the course.
- When a student successfully completes enough modules to earn an elective credit, it is to be entered into the SIS as a “Pass” and will not count in a student’s GPA.
- It is up to the PSU to determine when the student has passed enough modules with sufficient rigor, breadth, and depth to earn a course credit. This may occur across grade-levels.
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