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January 14, 2025

Upcoming Dates of Note:
See below for details

• January 15th hard deadline - 2024-2025 Health Assessment and Immunization Report
• January 15th - Remote Charter Academy Applications Due
• January 30th - Office Hour; Infinite Campus and Charter Schools

SECTION I: OCS PRIORITY REMINDERS

OCS Virtual Office Hours The purpose of the OCS Office Hours is to allow Charter School Leaders to connect with NCDPI departments to share information and resources. The Office of Charter Schools is excited to connect with you. If you have questions, contact Julie Whetzel at julie.whetzel@dpi.nc.gov January 30th at 9 am Infinite Campus and Charter Schools

2024-2025 Annual K-12 Health Assessment and Immunization Report

The deadline for schools to submit their annual report has been extended until January 15th, 2025. Please note, these reports should reflect student compliance status on the new deadline date. 

Reports must be completed online, by school name and ID number, via the following link:

Remote Charter Academy Resources

2025 Remote Charter Application Instructions for Operating Schools

H259-2023 Budget Bill-Remote Academies

Final_0224_Remote Charter Amendment Application

OCR/CRDC - SY2023-2024 NCDPI Upload Reminder, Error Review Teams Invite and Error Trends

• Dates:
• January 15, 2025
• January 29, 2025
• February 12, 2025
• February 26, 2025

• PENR and COUR Modules
  In some Elementary and Middle Schools, questions meant only for grades 9-12 appear to require data. If this happens:

1. Navigate to SCHR-3.
2. Toggle the appropriate grade levels from “No” to “Yes,” then back to “No.”
3. Check that the field for the element in question grays out with “NA” displayed, and “Skipped” noted under the element.

1. ENRL-2a, ENRL-2b – Nonbinary Skip Logic

• Ticket # CRDC PSC 25-00250
• Users are reporting inconsistent skip logic related to nonbinary entries.
• PSC is investigating, no resolution yet.

• Ticket # CRDC PSC 25-00680
• Some charter schools had incorrect permission settings, preventing data from uploading.
• PSC is working on a solution; affected entities will be notified when resolved.

• Ticket # CRDC PSC 25-00680
• If you find a missing school in your instance:

1. Request a new school in the Federal Submission Tool.
2. Contact NCDPI with the LEA and School Number. NCDPI will review the data files and assist with pre-population if available.

• Ticket # CRDC PSC 25-00220
• North Carolina does not collect data based on Religion Type.
• NCDPI is working with PSC to have this question skipped for our state.

• Users in North Carolina have reported performance lag.
• Because updates process in real time, there may be a delay before you see your changes reflected. Please be patient and allow the system time to update.

• For CRDC system-related issues, please email CRDC Partner Support Center at CRDC@aemcorp.com.
• For specific questions regarding the NCDPI data upload, please email nc.ocr.crdc@dpi.nc.gov.

PLEASE READ! 2025 NSCECU Foundation PHP Scholarship Instructions

Welcome back to the 2025 NCSECU People Helping People Scholarship Awarding process for charter high school seniors. The grant application window opened on Monday, Dec. 16th, 2024.

OCS will be selecting 10 NCSECU Scholarships to be granted in 2025, awards of up to $10,000 per student.

Here is the folder (LINKED) of information for your school nomination. Carefully read through these resources. There will not be more than one candidate within a school's choosing, due to the number of applicants working to achieve the same goal from other charter schools.

Directions and Dates for Submissions-

1. The NCSECU PHP Scholarship application opens December 16^th, 2024. Another post will be repeated within the next few weeks in our OCS Charter School News blasts.
2. As the school facilitator, you should plan for this process to be complete by March 5^th.  Then your on-site Selection Team will have time to select your finalists and can complete your submissions via email no later than March 12^th, at natasha.norins@dpi.nc.gov  in PDF formats. The email should include your student's email address, your email address, your school name, their NCSECU Eligibility verification forms, their student questionnaire, and all essays with their grade averages including college credits earned. Please ensure the Application Process document is read and reread for your understanding as Counselor Facilitators of this process.
3. Prior to the 3/12/25 deadline, students and you will follow the instructions carefully with the Docusign application process, but should solidify all your nominations a few weeks prior to the 3/12/25 deadline. March 12^th is a final hard deadline, and no applications will be accepted after this date.

4. Along with this final portion of the application, once students complete the application process with all elements included, (which may take up to a week’s worth of effort with emails and completion of packets), you as the school Facilitator will send Dr. Norins emailed applications as PDF files of your final selected senior. *Please note: any application missing elements from the required checklist will not be moved to final stages of selection.

5. The OCS Selection Committee will process the application materials, perform our calibrations, and finalize formal requirements set by NCSECU Foundation. 
6. OCS selections are then sent to NCSECU no later than April 4th, 2025, and those students will be invited to attend the Charter School Review Board Meeting in May 2024 for formal recognition.

SECTION II: SCHOOL BUSINESS UPDATES

School Business January 9, 2025

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.

January State Board Meeting Update

The NC State Board of Education (SBE) approved the changes to the Manuals below during its monthly
meeting on January 9, 2025. The adjustments will be made in each manual and posted to our What’s
New webpage today.

Allotment Policy Manual

Federal Allotment Policy:

• PRC 0143 Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant (Project ADS)/PRC 0144 School-Based Mental Health Services Grant (Project FAST)
  • Updated funding priorities to include districts with high percentages of free and reduced lunch eligibility and economically disadvantaged students, high ratios of students to mental health services providers, and other factors.

State Allotment Policy:

• PRC 0022 Advanced Teaching Roles
  • Updated to reflect codified legislation
• PRC 0230 Hurricane Relief and Recovery
  • Clarifies allowable mental health expenditures
• PRC 0085 Literacy Intervention
  • Clarifies allowable use of Science of Reading Funds
  • Updated criteria to receive teacher signing bonuses
  • Sets minimum bonus amounts for signing and performance bonuses
• PRC 0255 National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certification Fee Reimbursement Grant Program
  • New state PRC was created by SL 2023-134 as a continuation to Federal PRC 0198, which was funded with ESSER funds.

School Attendance and Student Accounting (SASA) Manual

A section has been added to provide guidance on days deemed completed per the Disaster Recovery Act of 2024 (S.L. 2024-51) and The Disaster Recovery Act of 2024, Part II (S.L. 2024-53). This section will be removed when the law is no longer in effect.

SBS Summer Conference Save the Date and Hotel Group Rate

Our annual summer conference will be Tuesday, July 22, 2025. Please hold that date and be aware that it will be in a new location: the Embassy Suites in Cary, NC.

The discounted Room Block is open and will be available until July 1st, so please jump on those rates
and secure your room. Thank you for your continued participation in our conference! We will send out more
information in the coming weeks.

FY2024-25 Allotment Update - All PSUs

The following items of interest are scheduled for allotment by the end of the week:

• State PRC 0016 – Summer Reading Camps – FY25 Allotments
• All Federal PRC Approvals received as of January 3, 2025

PSU Growth funds were allocated by December 20th. As a result, all PSUs have received their full 100 percent funds for all Initial/Base funding. There will be no further adjustments to the base funding this fiscal year besides the final 5% installment of PRC 0056 Transportation of Pupils, which must be allotted after April 1 per legislation. The only other expected State allotment adjustments will be for NCVPS Sure Up, teacher bonuses, and program-specific grants.

If you have general allotment questions, please email allotments@dpi.nc.gov.

IRS Mileage Rates Increase

Effective January 1, 2025, 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 67 cents per mile to 70 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. They will not publish any notifications of the new rates beyond what has been posted by the IRS on their website.

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 Digital Teaching and Learning

PowerSchool Breach Impact Update

Hello Everyone,

We want to give you all an update with the latest information that we have. You may have seen emails regarding log checking. Rest assured we are working with PowerSchool to gather those logs for each PSU instance and will be verifying the scope of the breach. You do not need to do this on your own.

• PowerSchool notified schools and DPI yesterday afternoon of a cyber incident.
• On December 28, PowerSchool became aware of a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to student and teacher data.
• The incident is contained and PowerSchool worked with a firm called CyberSteward to ensure confidence in destruction of data that was breached.
• We are analyzing the NC impact.
• PowerSchool states that if you were contacted you were impacted; however, DPI is working to confirm.
• What we know:
  • A PowerSchool-contracted employee's credentials were compromised via malware.
    This allowed unauthorized access by the threat actors.
  • An export utility script utilized a PowerSchool admin maintenance tunnel to export student and teacher data.
  • PowerSchool was notified by the TA on Dec. 28 and engaged with them to ensure the destruction of data.
  • PS states they are confident all data has been contained and the system is secure.
  • No actions by DPI or schools could have prevented this incident as the access was via administration tools only PowerSchool has access to.
  • We take student and teacher data privacy seriously and will continue to provide support and updates as we learn more.
• What do PSU need to do:
  • No technical actions need to be taken at this time.
  • PowerSchool will continue to provide parent and community communication materials.

DPI is working with PowerSchool to verify which instances are affected.

DPI is also working on gathering which data fields were included in the breach.

Questions? Contact SBS

Deadline Reminders

ALL PSUs

IPS ONLY

SECTION III: RESOURCES + EVENTS

Infinite Campus Virtual Training

AP teacher performance bonus information

Important information regarding the AP Teacher Performance bonuses: District/Charter schools have the funds to distribute these bonuses by the end of January 2025. Please review the FAQ from NCDPI School Business Services regarding teacher eligibility – you will find it posted on the Advanced Coursework webpage.

NCDPI does not receive teacher names with the qualifying scores each year, yet with access to the online score reports, school AP Coordinators have the information needed to complete this task. Navigate to AP Score Reports for Educators from a College Board account, and follow these steps:

• Select ‘Subject Score Report -by school’
• Select school
• Select any subject
• Select ‘All Sections’
• (You must complete all steps for this to work)
• Then you can click ‘Run report’ – and this will give you the choice to Download Report, and choosing csv as the type of file will give you the spreadsheet you can manipulate to meet your needs – it contains teacher names! 
• Please contact Beth Cross if you have any questions. I do not have access to these reports, but I can help you find yours!

2024 Driver Education Certificates

Are you looking for the new 2024 Driver Education Certificates for your students to take to the DMV?

Look no Further! Email all requests directly to the Office of Charter Schools at StakeholderSupport@dpi.nc.gov. They will be processed within a week. Schools may continue to utilize the old forms until supplies are depleted.

World Languages Standards Implementation PD Registration

World Languages and Healthful Living are currently in Standards Installation. As part of installation, both teams will be providing regional standards implementation PD in Spring 2025.  Below are the current schedule and registrations for World Languages.

NCED Connect Symposium

Call for Proposals, Hotel Information and more are now available at the DTL hub

https://www.dpi.nc.gov/dtl

Who: This event is tailored for District Leadership, CTOs, Teachers, Coaches, Accountability Teams, SIS Coordinators, Data Managers, Ed Tech/Media Specialists, and E-Rate On-Site Support staff and any educational professional that wants to leave with actionable strategies they can apply in their classrooms or schools immediately with NCSIS and more!

What: This symposium will offer sessions on the North Carolina Student Information System (Sessions for SIS Coordinators, District and School Leadership, Data Managers, and Teachers), Homebase applications (NCEES - Teacher Evaluation System, Schoolnet- nstructional Improvement System), EdTech, AI in education, Data Privacy, and school Media programs. It provides an opportunity to engage, learn, and connect while sharing research-based strategies for improving teaching practices and student outcomes. Attendees will gain insights, professional support, and data-driven approaches to enhance school operations, foster collaboration, and manage student data effectively through SIS, driving both immediate and long-term educational success.

When and Where:

• Tuesday- Thursday; January 21-23, 2025
• Koury Center in Greensboro, NC

Registration Details:

• Regular Registration - $300/pp | Nov. 23 - Dec. 18
• Late/On-Site Registration - $350/pp | Dec. 19 - Jan. 23

*Lead Presenters will be free (1 person per session). Call for proposals are still open!

Need a hotel for NCED Connect?

Book your room at the Sheraton by Dec. 10, 2024 for $149/night. Visit https://book.passkey.com/e/50907144 to make your reservations.

Other Resources from DPI and beyond

• School Business – Website
• Weekly Top Ten - January 9, 2024
• Arts Education #SettingTheStandard January Update
• Center for Safer Schools - January 2025 Newsletter
• Exceptional Children Parent and Family Updates January 2025
• Healthful Living Update January 2025
• January 2025 K-12 Monthly Mathematics Update
• January Science Update
• ML/Title III Opportunities
• K-12 Education Legislative Update - Friday, January 10, 2025

NCVPS Edvantage Tutoring Updates for 2025

Did you know that Edvantage Tutoring offers virtual, live, standards-based support for Middle and High School students in Math, Science, and ELA? 

UPDATES: Spring 2025 Program Details: Tutoring is available Monday - Wednesday, 4:30 PM-6:30 PM, weekly through May 22, 2025. Tutoring Fee: $35/hour flat fee. Tutoring sessions are 30 minutes each.

NCVPS Edvantage Tutoring Services Offered In:

• 6th, 7th & 8th Grade ELA, Math & Science
• Middle School ELA: Writing Lab (asynchronous assistance in ELA)
• 8th Grade Math I
• High School Math I, II, & III
• High School Biology
• High School English: Writing Lab (asynchronous assistance in English)

*General MS/HS Asynchronous Support (asynchronous assistance in all curriculum areas)

Enroll your students today for Spring 2025. Learn more at https://ncvps.org/edvantage-tutoring.

SECTION IV: OCS + CHARTER HAPPENINGS

We have added a section to share good news about our schools so please send your stories to Joseph.Letterio@dpi.nc.gov

Share excellence in education! Post exceptional student work or exciting happenings at your NC Charter School. Then tag or mention OCS on Social Media for others to see! Remember when you share on social media to use #WeAreNCCharters or @NCCharterOffice

Fresh Take 2025

Community School of Davidson is excited to host the 12th Annual Fresh Take Conference on Friday, March 7th 2025. This conference is planned BY teachers and FOR teachers, and we are very excited to host researcher and educator Dr. John Almarode as our keynote speaker this year!

CSD is now accepting presentation proposals for the 2025 conference. As CSD was founded and believes in research-based best practices, we strongly encourage the inclusion of any related research in presentation proposals. For accepted presenters, we are pleased to share that the conference fee will be waived, and both breakfast and lunch are included! You will also receive a conference tee shirt. 

If you would like to join the conference as an attendee, please complete sign up here: Fresh Take Attendee Registration. There is a discount for groups of 5 or more. Please feel free to share this link with your colleagues! 

Please feel free to reach out with any questions!

Erika Bowen, Leslie Bragg & Lory Morrow

ebowen@csdspartans.org

lbragg@csdspartans.org 

lmorrow@csdspartans.org 

CSD Fresh Take Team

2024 Standards of Professional Conduct

Please download and distribute this OCS guidance document.

School Attendance and Student Accounting (SASA) Manual

This is a MUST HAVE resource for all charter school administrators. 

2024 Updated SASA-Manual

Charter School Job Postings

Job postings will include the posted date and will be deleted after two months. Schools may request early removal or extension. Contact Joseph.Letterio@dpi.nc.gov with a posting link.

• Bear Grass Charter School - High School EC Teacher (11/26)
• Global Scholars Academy - ESL Teacher(11/19)
• Henderson Collegiate - School Nurse (12/3)
• Lake Norman Charter - High School Principal (1/7)

• KIPP North Carolina—Chief Operating Officer (1/7)

• Telra Institute - Head of School Operations (1/14)

Ashley Baquero  • Director, Office of Charter Schools
Please send general inquires to ocs@dpi.nc.gov

Contact information for area specialists can be found on the Office of Charter Schools Directory.