|
The first semester is quickly coming to an end. Have you checked on your school leader lately? Not as an administrator but as a person. They are working hard to take care of staff, students, and families during this busy time of year. Who is taking care of them? Something to think about as we head into the holiday season. The Office of Charter Schools wishes you a happy holiday season!
Please ensure EDDIE is updated and accurate. This is the authoritative source for DPI communications. If it’s not current, you may be missing important information. Not sure if it’s updated? Check with the person designated as the EDDIE administrator to verify EDDIE is updated. Still not sure? Contact Shannon Miller at DPI. shannon.miller@ocs.nc.gov
Have you moved? Are you planning to move? Do you have a sub-campus?
Special Note about Relocation and Subcampus Requests
As a result of new legislation enacted in July 2025, NC public charter schools are no longer required to seek amendment approval for relocations that are within a 10-mile radius, so long as the location is within the local school administrative unit specified and approved in the charter.
While requests falling under this legislation do not require an amendment, OCS/DPI must be notified of any relocation or subcampus before student occupancy. More importantly, an educational certificate of occupancy (ECO) is required for all subcampuses and relocations before student occupancy. This applies to any building a student may occupy, including temporary relocations or summer programming. Failure to provide an approved ECO can impact and potentially freeze your state funding. The ECO must state the purpose as educational and/or be approved for the grade levels served via the authorizing entity. You can request EDDIE updates through OCS, and we will approve once we have the ECO.
Also, please keep in mind that E-rate internet services can take many months to set up, and we encourage prompt communication with that team if you will utilize said services. Regardless of the internet provider, the school is responsible for ensuring a secure (filtered, protected, firewalled) internet service and should consult its provider regarding the same.
If your relocation exceeds 10 miles or is outside the previously approved local administrative unit, your request will require CSRB review. Please consider this as you plan any future relocations or subcampus expansions.
Questions, requests for amendments, and/or CSRB review requests should be made in writing to Julie Whetzel, OCS Consultant, at julie.whetzel@dpi.nc.gov.
The sections that follow are good reminders for your board. Please share this newsletter with your board to maximize the impact of this information. If you have any suggestions or feedback to improve this newsletter please email Nicky Niewinski at nicole.niewinski@dpi.nc.gov
Section 1: The Charter Agreement
Are the school’s student and employee records ready for legal review?
It is the board’s responsibility to ensure that those who have been hired to maintain student and employee records are doing so according to state and federal law.
If the SBE, the CSRB, DPI and their agents, and/or the State Auditor came to your school to examine and copy all records, reports, documents, and files relating to any activity, program, employee or student of the Public Charter School, what would they find?
This is a great time in the school year to ask those responsible for student and employee records if they have knowledge of, and can explain to the board, how they are adhering to the following procedures:
-
Public Records Law, Chapter 132 of the General Statutes. G.S. 115C-218.25.
- All the provisions of Article 29 of Chapter 115C, entitled “Protective Provisions and Maintenance of Student Records.”
- Ensure compliance with the Family Educational Right to Privacy Act 42 U.S.C. § 1232g.
- Records Retention Guidance
Section 2: Fiscal Oversight
The annual audit report was due to School Business no later than October 31. Was your school’s audit turned in on time? If not, why not?
While fresh on everyone’s mind, take this opportunity to reflect on the audit process. Here are some questions to consider:
- Were you well prepared? Or was everyone scrambling to get information to the auditor?
- Is there a monthly calendar to ensure information for audits are collected and organized throughout the year?
- If there were any findings, is everyone clear on who will work on making corrections and what the deadline is? Were the findings preventable? If so, who needs to be held accountable for ensuring it doesn’t happen again?
As you head into the second semester, this is also a great time for the board to receive an in-depth report on the annual budget. Are you on track year to date? Are there any financial areas of concern? Do you need to make any adjustments to the budget? If so, does the board have a process/policy in place for making those changes?
Section 3: Governance Tips & Tricks
Effective boards are consistent in how they execute board meetings using Roberts Rules of Order or another process that aligns with public meeting laws; and they maintain professional meeting minutes. We have included the Meeting Minutes Template which is used during the Ready to Open process. Of course, you are welcome to use a different format.
HINT: The CSRB will look at your school’s website for board meeting minutes. Although not required by law to be on the website, this is where the public will go first when they are interested in how the school’s board operates.
HINT #2: Parents who are researching the best school for their child, often look at the school’s website. If the board meeting minutes aren’t posted in a timely manner and/or don’t look professional, how does that impact their decision?
Section 4: Academic Monitoring
What questions can I ask when the school leader is presenting middle of the year academic information?
- Have middle of the year benchmark assessments been completed? If not, when will this happen according to the annual testing calendar?
- What is the plan of action for students who are struggling academically and those who are excelling and need to be challenged?
- Do teachers have adequate time to analyze student data? If not, why not? If so, how is the data used to move academic achievement forward?
-
Are students aware of how they are doing academically? If not, why not? If so, how do they hold themselves accountable for improving?
- Based on the data, what are the projected proficiency levels for EOG, EOC, and/or end of the year benchmark assessments?
Section 5: Operation
The current charter application, not the charter agreement (see Sept 2025 newsletter if you need a refresher on how these are different), includes how your school will execute transportation and the instructional calendar. Evaluate your current practices to see if they align with what is stated in the charter application. If they have changed, it will require an amendment which must be approved by the Office of Charter Schools according to administrative code and statute 115C-218.7, 16 NCAC 06G.0519, 16 NCAC 06G.0511.
Transportation
The Nonprofit shall ensure the Public Charter School provides transportation for students as prescribed by law and the approved charter application. G.S. 115C-218.40.
Instruction
As prescribed by G.S. 115C-218.85(a)(1), the Nonprofit shall ensure the Public Charter School provides the minimum days or hours of instruction as required by statute.
Section 6: Resources & Professional Development
|
