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Upcoming Dates of Note:
See below for details
- March 5th hard deadline - 2025 NCSECU Foundation PHP Scholarship Application
- March 14th - Help Shape the Future of Our Schools: 'Mo Wants to Know' Listening Session
- March 18th - OCS March Office Hour: Charter Application Amendments and Remote Charter Academies
- April 3rd- Early bird registration for the North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools Conference closes.
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OCS March Office Hour: Charter Application Amendments and Remote Charter Academies
How do you know when changing a piece of your charter application requires OCS or CSRB approval? Have you considered an amendment for a Remote Charter Academy?
Join us to learn when and how to make an amendment request! Information about the application process for adding a Remote Charter Academy (RCA) to your currently operating charter school will also be shared. Bruce Friend, CSRB Chair and school leader who is currently running an RCA, will be in attendance to share and answer questions.
March 18 at 9 am.
For questions, contact Julie Whetzel at julie.whetzel@dpi.nc.gov
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2025 NC Charter Applications
The 2025 NC Charter School Application opened on Friday, January 31st, at 5 PM (EST) and will close on April 25, 2025, at 5 PM (EDT). Applicants interested in opening a charter school in 2026 under the accelerated timeline or in 2027 under the standard timeline must submit their charter application and payment by the April 25, 2025, deadline.
The online application and $1,000 application fee must be submitted by April 25, 2025, at 5 PM (EDT).
Additionally, applicant boards must attend in-person interviews at the Department of Public Instruction in Raleigh, NC, during the monthly Charter Schools Review Board meetings starting in September 2025.
The 2025 NC Charter School application link will be posted on the NCDPI Charter Schools Application page.
For any questions regarding the charter application process, please contact Melanie.Rackley@dpi.nc.gov.
Final Deadline,: March 5th is the final NC State Employees Credit Union 2025 People Helping People Scholarship Application Submission Date!
📌 REMINDER! Only one eligible high school senior per charter school will be considered based on the Eligibility criteria. Here are the resources that were provided. 📌 There are 10 qualifying scholarships of $2,500 per academic year for your high school senior to be awarded upon their acceptance into a North Carolina College or University for four years.
📌 Please have all application materials fully completed and sent to Dr. Natasha Norins as PDF files no later than March 5th (natasha.norins@dpi.nc.gov).
📌 If there are missing elements to any application the application will not be considered for this scholarship.
📌 There will be no extensions granted for this scholarship application stage.
If you have questions, please contact Dr. Norins before March 4th.
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NCSIS Charter School Information
Phase I & II
We’re thrilled to announce the return of Charter Connect sessions, designed to support charter schools through the NCSIS transition.
Join Us for an In-Person Charter Connect Meeting!
Virtual Office Hours for Charter Schools
We’re also offering Charter School Virtual Office Hours twice a month to provide ongoing support and answer your questions.
We Value Your Feedback!
Help us better support you by completing the Charter School Feedback Survey. Your insights are essential in shaping the SIS Professional Learning Team’s support throughout the NCSIS transition.
🔗 Survey Link: 2025 Charter School Support Feedback Survey
We look forward to connecting with you!
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School Business February 28, 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.
PRC 230 School Nutrition Payments - Helene PSUs Only
Please make sure you have recorded all your School Nutrition Salary payments (PRC 230) that were due to your staff and/or contractors in your February datafiles. We will adjust the allotments to cover the valid expenditures as soon as we have the February datafiles. We want to make sure we get those expenditures wrapped up with February datafile if we can so that the funds can be reallocated to other Helene recovery funding needs for the schools. Thank you for your continued cooperation.
FY2024-25 Allotment Update - All PSUs
The following items of interest are scheduled for allotment by end of day Friday, February 28th:
- State PRC 0230 – Hurricane Relief and Recovery – Technology Allotments approved per the Office of Risk Management and Cybersecurity
- NCVPS Reduction Sure-Up per Participation Enrollment
- All State and Federal Grant Approvals received as of February 25, 2025
Planning Allotments are in the process of being finalized. Early March is our goal.
For questions related to Federal reversions, please contact Jane.Seo@dpi.nc.gov. If you have general allotment questions, please email allotments@dpi.nc.gov.
Salary Audit/LicSal Update
Your software vendors are sending out this week information related to their revisions and software updates that are meant to help you adjust your payroll records for maximizing your resources. This information is being provided to your Superintendents from NCDPI-IT; you should also be getting that directly from your software vendors this week.
Here is an update on the SBS-DPI side of the Salary Audit process:
- We did discover an error in our calculations related to annual projected salary and how that is reflected on the NEW salary audit reports.
- These have been corrected, and we are in TEST phase of that work this week.
- We plan to have our corrected systems in production in time for the receipt of your February Payroll Summary Files.
- After our system modifications are in production we will publish our updated guidance, with our business rules and calculations, to our website.
We are hopeful that with the DPI updated side of this work along with your software vendors providing some key functionality in your financial packages that many of the salary audit concerns will be on the way to being resolved.
We will continue to work with your vendors as they implement their software changes to test how those may impact the payroll summary records and the subsequent impacts on salary audits.
Please refrain from looking at your salary audits in the system until after we have loaded the February Data Files. We will notify you as soon as we have those loaded.
Thank you for your patience and for working with us through these system development processes.
From the Office of School Nutrition and School Business
Federal Continuing Resolution Update
Financial and Business Services, the Office of School Nutrition, and the Office of Federal Programs are keeping a close eye on the potential for the continuing resolution that funds the government to expire on March 14, 2025.
In preparation, NCDPI asks the school nutrition program directors to submit their February claim for reimbursement by March 10 or before, so those claims can be processed as quickly as possible. We want to ensure all February claims have been paid before March 14.
We hope that no further communication will be needed, and an agreement will be reached by congress and signed before or on March 14.
This message is to keep you informed of the communication sent to the school nutrition program directors. If the continuing resolution expires, we will provide an update when we are made aware of additional information on any potential impacts for public schools.
From the Office of Exceptional Children
Allotments are Scheduled: PRC 118/119
These allotments are anticipated to be out to PSUs in the next five business days. Please note the following and share with your local finance officers.
PRC 118: IDEA Special Needs Targeted Assistance
- These are federal IDEA funds and must be used to provide services/supports to students with disabilities. Maintenance of Effort requirements apply.
- Appropriate uses include Recruitment and Retention activities and Program Instructional Support.
- It is highly recommended that PSUs consider the use of these funds to provide stipends for EC personnel to attend the 2025 Regional Summer Institutes provided by the OEC.
- These funds are from Grant Year 2024 and must be encumbered by September 30, 2025, and liquidated by December 31, 2025. Please work with your finance officer to apply FIFO (First In, First Out), to expend the oldest grant year funds first, as appropriate.
- The allotment was calculated at a per student rate. PSUs received a minimum of $1,000 up to a maximum of $100,000 according to the December 2024 child count.
PRC 119: Preschool Special Needs Targeted Assistance
- Same as above but restricted to students with disabilities ages 3-5 in preschool.
- The allotment was calculated at a per student rate for PSUs with students with disabilities ages 3-5 in preschool as of the December 2024 child count.
Please see the PRC 118/119 Allotment Workbook to locate the amount of funds provided to each PSU.
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Questions? Contact SBS
Deadline Reminders
ALL PSUs
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DUE DATE
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TOPIC
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NEWSLETTER
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3/31/25
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Hurricane Helene Technology Recovery Funds
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02/13/25
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IPS ONLY
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DUE DATE
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TOPIC
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NEWSLETTER
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03/14/25
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PPL Form for March Reimbursement
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10/10/24
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Registration for Regional Training for Charter School Arts Education Leaders, Arts Education District Leaders and Teacher Leadership Teams is Now Available.
Join the Office of Academic Standards K-12 Arts Education Consultants to learn how to lead unpacking guidance of the new K-12 Standards in Dance, General Music, Vocal & Instrumental Music, Theatre, Technical Theatre, and Visual Arts in your charter schools! It is advised that Charter Schools please send one individual who can best support the implementation of the new standards at their school. If serving multiple schools/grade bands and feel that an additional leader would be beneficial, please contact laura.stauderman@dpi.nc.gov or brandon.roeder@dpi.nc.gov to check on seating availability prior to registering. Leaders can register for any of the eight trainings should the one offered in their region not align with their schedules.
NC MTSS Secondary Support Updates & Release of Resources
We are pleased to share an update and release of resources for our NC MTSS Secondary Support and Research Project. Your IABS Team spent two years researching and working alongside district and school teams to provide a comprehensive view of MTSS installation and practices at the secondary levels in North Carolina.
Spring Science PD opportunity
Greetings Charter School leaders,
On behalf of the K-12 Science and K-12 Computer Science teams, I wanted to make sure you all were aware of a series of PD events that our two teams are collaborating to hold around the state. Please feel free to reach out to Charles Aiken (Charles.aiken@dpi.nc.gov) or Eli Hamrick (Eli.hamrick@dpi.nc.gov)
The K-12 Science and K-12 Computer Science Teams are excited to announce a joint two-day interactive session to model how to incorporate Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) and Computer Science standards into classroom instruction. Attendees will experience a three-dimensional approach to teaching and learning by investigating scientific phenomena. Participants will discuss how the three dimensions from A Framework for K-12 Science Education - Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI), Science & Engineering Practices (SEP), and Crosscutting Concepts (CCC) - connect to the 2023 K-12 Science Standards and 2020 K-12 Computer Science Standards.
Each District can bring a team of five educators (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, Biology, and a School/District Instructional Leader) to the institute. Charter Schools can bring a team of 2 (classroom teacher and school leader). Participants should plan on attending both days.
The two-day institute is FREE and limited to the first 100 participants at each site. Up to 4 substitutes, for each day, will be provided for districts identified as low-performing for the 2023- 2024 school year. Funds for substitutes for additional districts will be provided as funds allow. Lunch will be provided for all participants both days.
Byte-Sized Science: Enhancing SEPs through Computer Science in K-12
Registration to all of four of the dates/sites for our Spring professional development. The registration link is below. Here is what we have so far...
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March 11-12 in Greensboro
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March 17-18 in Robeson County
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April 1-2 in Rutherford County -
Thank you for everything you are doing! Have a great week,
Respectfully,
Charles Aiken, Ed.D.
Section Chief
Mathematics, Science, and STEM
Office of Teaching and Learning
NC Department of Public Instruction
P: (984) 236-2837
charles.aiken@dpi.nc.gov
Upcoming ML/Title III Leaders Meeting
The NC DPI ML/Title III Team is excited for our ML/Title III Q3 Leaders Meeting! This in-person meeting will take place on March 26th, 2025, from 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM at two locations:
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West: Olive Hill Resource Center, 509 West Concord St. in Morganton
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East: Kathy Taft Center, 2010 Allen Rd. in Greenville
This meeting is intended for district and charter ML/Title III Leaders. We understand this is a busy time of year, so please let us know in the registration form whether you prefer the meeting to be one day or two days. Additionally, feel free to include any questions or topics you would like us to cover during the meeting.
- Prepare each student for the next phase in life
- Invest fully in public education
- Revere public school educators
- Enhance parent and community support and partnerships
- Ensure safe, secure learning environments
- Celebrate the good in public education
More details will be shared as the date approaches. We look forward to meeting with you! If you have any questions, please contact ESLTitleIII@dpi.nc.gov.
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Please Share With Data Stakeholders in your PSU!
Home Language Survey Professional Development
In an effort to introduce the standardized Home Language Survey to stakeholders, the ML/Title III Team is offering a professional development opportunity for all data management stakeholders (i.e., school data managers, Enrollment specialists, EL data managers, SIS Coordinators, ML coordinators, and administrators). This PD aims to provide participants with the necessary knowledge and resources to effectively administer the state's standardized Home Language Survey. By enhancing staff expertise, the program supports compliance with federal regulations and state board policies, ultimately improving educational practices.
Please share this flyer with any data managers in your PSU who may need to attend. Use this form to register for the session that best suits your needs. Space is limited! While we will try to honor all registrations, priority enrollment will be given to stakeholders from the state board region of the training. OCR/CRDC - SY2324 - Deadline Extension, System Latency Reminder, and Updated Status Report
Note: PSUs that were not open in the school year 2023-24 are not required to participate in this collection.
CRDC Deadline Extended to April 7, 2025
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has sent a nationwide notification to superintendents announcing an extension of the CRDC submission deadline to April 7, 2025. PSUs now have additional time to review, update, and certify their data.
System Latency Reminder
The Federal Submission Tool remains accessible nationwide, with peak usage between 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM EST. Users may experience system latency during these hours, particularly as the new deadline approaches.
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Expect uploads to process overnight.
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If the Pre-Certification or Certification buttons appear unavailable when your PSU is ready to certify, please check the system again later.
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February 28, 2025 State Progress Report (Attached)
The latest state progress report includes:
- Percentage of completion for each PSU
- Certification status (certified or pending)
- Current contact information listed in the Federal Submission Tool
Thank you for your continued efforts throughout this process. If you have any questions or need assistance, please reach out.
Charter schools now have a dedicated SIS professional contact!
We are pleased to introduce Jennifer Fogleman as your new dedicated NCSIS Professional Learning Consultant for Charter Schools, effective immediately.
Jennifer brings a wealth of experience in the Student Information System (SIS) and is committed to providing you with the same high level of service you've come to expect from our team.
The NCSIS Professional Learning Consultant team is here to support you, please don't hesitate to contact Jennifer if you have any questions or concerns.
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Charter School Feedback for the SIS Professional Learning Team
This is the link to the Charter School feedback survey we are conducting at the SIS Professional Learning Team. The feedback from charter schools is vital in helping us support you during the transition to the new NCSIS, Infinite Campus.
Phase 1 Infinite Campus Users - AIG Fall Headcount Update
Dear Phase 1 Infinite Campus Colleagues,
Thank you for your continued patience as we have worked to develop the Fall AIG Headcount Report within Infinite Campus. In the next week, the Infinite Campus team will push the Official Fall AIG Headcount report into production. During this year’s data collection process, LEAs will be required to generate and review the AIG Fall Headcount report to prepare for the NCDPI data pull, which will happen at the close of business on Monday, March 10, 2025.
For this year, LEAs will go through the process of generating the Fall AIG Headcount report and making any student level corrections to verify the accuracy of the data. In future years, the AIG Headcount report submission window will also include a process for ‘approving’ all data as has happened in the past.
To support district personnel with generating and reviewing the report, as well as correcting any data, the following resources will be available:
- Quick guide instructions (access here)
- NCDPI office hour opportunities via MS Teams as outlined below (just click the link to join):
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LIVE presentation: Thursday, February 27, 2025 1:00 - 2:00 (Join the meeting now)
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Drop in question-and-answer sessions:
LEAs are expected to run and review the report both at the school and LEA levels for all schools. AIG headcount data will only be collected from those charter schools with an official Local AIG plan on file with NCDPI/SBE. Please contact Stephanie Cyrus at stephanie.cyrus@dpi.nc.gov with the Office of Advanced Learning and Gifted Education with questions.
Attention CTOs! Annual Technology Director's Meeting - March 5, 2025
It's time for the Annual Technology Director's Meeting at NCTies!
Join us Wednesday, March 5, 2025 at the Raleigh Convention Center from 12pm - 4pm for our Annual Technology Directors Meeting.
Registration is NOW OPEN by clicking HERE. Use promo code: NCTIES and click register (not apply). Please make sure you complete the rest of your registration to ensure headcount is accurate as lunch will be provided. Once you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email. Additional details are coming soon. 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 consultant at brandi.gill@dpi.nc.gov.
They will be processed within a week. Schools may continue to utilize the old forms until supplies are depleted.
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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.
Other Resources from DPI and beyond
NCVPS Spring 2025 Registration is Still Open!
There’s still time to register for Spring 2025 courses with NCVPS! With over 130 options—including Advanced Placement, CTE, world languages, arts, health and physical education, middle school, OCS, core courses, and more—students can find the perfect courses to match their academic goals and needs. Our program also provides access to classes that may not be available locally, making it easier for every student to succeed.
After February 3: We’ve got you covered even after the open enrollment window closes!
After Open Enrollment Options:
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Transfers: Schools can transfer individual students or entire classes after open enrollment ends. To begin the transfer process, simply open a ticket with our Virtual Support Center.
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Emergency Requests: We know the recent hurricane disrupted operations for many schools. If your school has unique circumstances, contact our Virtual Support Center—we’re here to help.
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Co-Teaching: Schools can continue adding students to existing co-teaching OCS and intervention courses throughout the semester. However, please note that new sections cannot be opened at this time.
At NCVPS, we’re committed to breaking down barriers and offering flexible, high-quality learning opportunities to help students achieve their goals and prepare for the future.
Have questions? Reach out to us anytime for more information!
NCVPS 2025-2026 Enrollment Now Open!
NCVPS has opened registration early to support schools and districts as they prepare for the transition to the new statewide student information system. Schools and students can now explore our updated course catalog and plan for summer, fall, and spring enrollment. We recently added Honors 1 and 2 options for French, Latin, and Spanish, and we have a new filtering feature in our registration system to make finding courses easier. As you register, consider Early Start vs. Standard Start options to align with your school’s academic calendar. Don’t wait—secure your enrollments today! See all the details in our latest NCVPS E-lert.
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Early bird registration for the North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools conference closes April 3rd
We hope you will join us at the 2025 NCAPCS Conference on July 16-18 in Wilmington, NC at the Wilmington Convention Center! This year's conference theme is Grow Connect Inspire and we are thrilled to share that our Keynote Speaker will be Ron Clark.
Ron Clark’s outstanding success with students from low-wealth areas of North Carolina and New York City led him to be named Disney’s American Teacher of the Year. He is a New York Times Best Selling author, and his classes have been honored at the White House on three separate occasions. Ron’s teaching experiences in New York City are the subject of the uplifting film, The Ron Clark Story, starring Matthew Perry. Currently, Mr. Clark serves as a teacher and administrator at the Ron Clark Academy, an award winning and internationally acclaimed middle school in Atlanta, GA. The school serves as a training site for educators, and each year thousands of teachers and administrators from around the world visit the school to be trained in their methods for helping all students achieve success.
Early Bird Registration will be open from March 3, 2025, to April 3, 2025. Don't delay, take advantage of our early bird pricing for special discounts! Regular rates will begin on April 4th and registration will remain open until July 7th. Register HERE.
OP8 -SRMP Memo
Dear Charter School Leaders:
As you are aware, last summer, the performance framework adopted some new measures approved by the Charters School Review Board. One of the new measures adopted was OP8 School Risk Management Requirements. In order for schools to “meet” this measure, schools were required to submit and publish a profile plan to the School Risk Management Planning Website.
Website: https://sera.nc.gov/srmp/
This memo is to inform you that OCS has decided to delay review of this measure until June 2026 (originally scheduled to be due June 2025). Unfortunately, due to the amount of new charter school profiles currently being created and reviewed by the Department Center for Safer Schools, and State Emergency Response Action (SERA), the Office of Charter Schools foresees the majority of our charter schools not meeting the initial deadline timeline. The Office of Charter Schools understands the importance of this task and are committed to helping and supporting charter schools.
We are pleased to share a resource developed by the Office of Charters Schools Performance Framework Team for OP8-School Risk Management Plan Requirements to help guide your plan development.
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Resource linked here –Please make a copy of the resource document for reference
- All charter schools are encouraged to speak with their local law enforcement agencies in the development of its school risk management plan for specific action plans.
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Note:***If your charter school has multiple campus buildings, each school leader will need to submit a profile plan for each building.
In addition please see the resources and training offered by the Center for Safer Schools which will help efficiently and effectively guide each school in creating a school risk management plan that meets the requirements of measure OP8.
In conclusion, each school for this year on the Performance Framework SY24-25 will be marked with a N/A status. We appreciate your understanding and patience during this time.
Please feel free to reach out to Performance Framework Team Lead, Megan Carter (megan.carter@dpi.nc.gov) if you have any questions or need further clarification. Thank you for your understanding and support for the safety of our students.
Warm regards,
The Office of Charter Schools Team
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
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Telra Institute Hosting StepLab
Calling all Instructional Coaches, School Leaders, Department Heads, and Mentor Teachers. North Carolina is proud to host the wizards behind StepLab when they visit the U.S. this May. This is *the* event for anyone interested in supercharging teacher development. Let's work together to uplift teachers across the State!
Learn more and register for this full-day professional development event hosted by Telra Institute in Charlotte, NC on Saturday, May 3.
Fresh Take 2025
Join us for an inspiring day of learning at the 12th Annual Fresh Take Conference on Friday, March 7, 2025, hosted by Community School of Davidson! Designed BY teachers, FOR teachers, this dynamic conference brings together passionate educators to share fresh ideas and best practices.
We’re thrilled to welcome renowned researcher and educator John Almarode as this year’s keynote speaker!
Don’t miss out—register now and take advantage of a special group discount for teams of 5 or more!
✉️ Questions? Contact Leslie Bragg at lbragg@csdspartans.org.
Register for NC Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) Summer Opportunities
Join the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) this summer for transformative professional development. These residential programs provide educators with the tools, strategies and support to elevate their teaching. Each week, teachers engage in content-rich instruction, explore proven methodologies and receive coaching to implement new insights effectively. The goal is to empower educators to create classrooms where students are more engaged, self-motivated and successful.
Learn more about the professional development opportunities available at NCCAT this summer and register here.
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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.
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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.
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