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Charter School Institute
Main Line: 303-866-3299
Fax Line: 303-866-2530
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Dear School Leaders,
As we bring February to a close, my thoughts are focused on what a difficult time it has been for educators throughout the country and for many of you. The Florida tragedy hit hard and reminded us that we live in a world that often has schools at the center of horrendous, unspeakable acts of violence. As school leaders, you carry this unimaginable burden and anxiety of keeping your students and staff safe -- a responsibility few people can appreciate. Please remember that all of us at CSI are more than willing to help in any way that we can. Please reach out to us if you need some support.
In addition to the challenges of school safety, many of you have been dealing with other painful experiences or stresses within your buildings. Without question, it has been a demanding month for so many of you, and there are still three more months left in the school year. Again, please know that I am just a phone call away and feel free to call upon, or email,
John Brendza as well.
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My hope is that you can find a way to leave your buildings this week for the
CSI School Leaders Meeting
and the League's Conference. In addition to being able to soak in the many updates and resources shared at these events, perhaps more important is the opportunity for you to connect with fellow school leaders from around the state.
If you are attending the League's Conference, please don't forget to join us for the
CSI Reception on Thursday at 5:30pm
. We will be honoring Senator Keith King (Colorado Early Colleges). It is impossible to enumerate everything Senator King has done for CSI, the Colorado charter school sector and education throughout our state over the last several decades. I'm sure many of you share my great admiration for his accomplishments and how he truly embodies the charter school philosophy of always challenging the process and putting students first.
As we look forward to March, I hope state assessments go smoothly for all of you. Most importantly, I hope you have some fun plans for your spring break.
Looking forward to seeing you all soon!
Terry
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2/28:
- CSI School Leaders Meeting
3/1:
- March Report Card Initial Submission
- CSI Reception at the Denver Tech Marriott
3/1-3/2:
- Colorado League of Charter Schools Annual Conference
3/2:
- YMHFA Instructor Training Application due
3/7:
3/8:
- March Report Card Errors Cleared
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3/12:
- CSI Board Committee Meetings
- School Counselor Corp Application due
3/13:
- 2018 READ Collection training
3/14:
- SPED EOY Initial Submission
3/15:
- March Report Card Certifications due
3/19:
- CCLC Application due
- Extended CMAS Math/ELA window opens
3/20:
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Assessments and Improvement Planning
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Don't Forget:
- March 15th-18th: ACCESS SBD window
- March 19th: CMAS ELA/Math Extended window opens (computer testing only)
- March 25th: CMAS High School Science Early window opens
Upcoming Webinars:
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CDE PSAT/SAT Office Hours
When: March 6
th
Time: 3:00pm
Conference Number: 1.888.228.9561
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Student Biographical Data Training Webinar
When: March 7
th
Time: 10:00am
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READ Act Collection Training Webinar
When: March 13
th
Time: 10:00am
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CDE PSAT/SAT Office Hours
When: March 27
th
Time: 3:00pm
Conference Number: 1.888.228.9561
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On February 20, 2018, CSI held its monthly Board Meeting at the Daniels Fund in Denver. The CSI board heard from CEC Administrator and Senator, Keith King regarding the expansion plan of the Colorado Early Colleges Network. The Board was also given updates on the CSI staff and CSI portfolio. Action items the CSI Board approved consisted of three contract amendments for three CSI schools, including Thomas MacLaren's K-5th grade expansion.
Visit the
CSI BoardDocs page for up-to-date school policy and procedures and to view prior CSI Board Meeting Minutes.
The next CSI Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 at 10:00am at the Daniels Fund - 101 Monroe St., Denver, CO.
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In light of the recent events that have taken place within our educational institutions we wanted to provide some safety resources in support of your efforts to keep our schools safe.
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Reminder: When to Notify CSI
Timely Notice: The School must timely notify the Institute (and other appropriate authorities) in the following situations:
i. The discipline of employees at the School arising from misconduct or behavior that may have resulted in harm to students or others, or that constituted violations of law; and
ii. Any complaints filed against the School or its employees, administration, or Board members by any governmental agency.
Immediate Notice: The School must immediately notify the Institute of any of the following:
i. Conditions that may cause it to vary from the terms of this Contract, applicable Institute requirements, or federal or state law;
ii. Any circumstance requiring the unplanned extended closure of the School, including but not limited to, a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, storm, flood or other weather related event, other extraordinary emergency, or destruction of or damage to the school facility;
iii. Any circumstances requiring lockdown, emergency procedures or any other action that may affect school health or safety;
iv. The arrest, dismissal or resignation of any members of the School Board or School employees for a crime punishable as a felony or any crime related to the misappropriation of funds or theft;
v. Misappropriation of funds;
vi. A default on any obligation, which will include debts for which payments are past due by sixty (60) days or more; and
vii. Any change in the School Board's corporate status with the Colorado Secretary of State's Office or status as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
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CSI Schools Earn John Irwin Schools & Centers of Excellence Awards!!
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CSI Director, Janet Dinnen Selected for the NACSA Leadership Program!
We are excited to announce that CSI Director of Data and Communications, Janet Dinnen, has been selected for the 2018 NACSA Leadership Program!
It is no surprise to us that Janet was accepted into this program. We look forward to the knowledge, growth, and experience she will gain and implement within her work here at CSI.
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The
NACSA Leaders Program is the nation's only professional development opportunity for current and upcoming leaders in charter school authorizing offices.
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Colorado ranks 2
nd
in nation for Charter Schools!
Check out the news report, above,
from 9news
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Check out this study out of Arkansas on the productivity of charter schools vs. traditional public schools. Denver was one of the eight cities included!
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National Alliance for Public Charter Schools Conference Nominations
Last Day to Vote!
The CSI Leadership Team will be attending the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools Conference this June and each member has submitted one or more session proposals for consideration. The conference uses a
Session Selector, which is an open voting platform that members of the charter school community can use to give a "thumbs up" to any session they would like to see presented at the conference. Voting counts for 30% of a session's overall selection.
The Session Selector is open February 12
th
-28
th. Please consider taking a moment to vote for CSI proposed sessions if you have a chance!
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Colorado League of Charter Schools 2018 Conference
When:
March 1
st
-2
nd
Where: Marriott Denver Tech Center
4900 S. Syracuse St., Denver, CO
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Don't Forget!
CSI Reception at the League Conference
When:Thursday evening, March 1
st
Time: 5:30pm-6:30pm
Where: Marriott Denver Tech Center
Cottonwood room
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Charter School Advocacy Day
When: Tuesday, March 13
th
Time: 7:30am-1:30pm
Where: Wells Fargo Center
1700 Lincoln Street & Colorado State Capitol Building
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Save the Date!
CSI Spring Regional Meeting & Board to Board Networking & Training Event
Focus Area:
Submissions, Reporting & Finance
Locations:
TBD
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Denver:
Tuesday, May 1
st
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Colorado Springs:
Wednesday, May 2
nd
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Western Slope:
Friday, May 4
th
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Professional Development Outside of CSI
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Bill of Rights Institute Seminar
When:
Friday, March 2
nd
Time:
8:00am-3:00pm
Where: Homewood Suites & Hampton Inn
550 15
th St., Denver CO
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Innovative Approaches to Suicide Assessment
When: March 5
th
Where: University of Denver - Katherine Ruffatto Hall - 1999 E. Evans Ave., Denver, CO 80208
Time: 5:00pm - 7:00pm
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Rocky Mountain Early Childhood Conference
When: March 16
th-17
th
Where: Colorado Convention Center
700 14
th St., Denver, CO
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Teach Reading to English Learners -Training
When: Monday, March 19
th
Where: Fort morgan Admin. Bldg.
715 West Platte Ave., Fort Morgan 80701
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Title I, II, &III ESEA CDE Meetings
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Principal Licensure: School Turnaround Leadership Program
When: One Saturday per month (May 2018 - April 2019)
Time: 9:00am - 3:30pm
Information sessions held throughout March 2018
Application Deadline: April 15
th
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Professional Development Opportunities
For professional development opportunities concerning twice-exceptional (2e) students, check out CDE's
2e webpage.
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Keep up to date with school highlights and more by liking
CSI's Facebook page
and sharing your highlights with us!
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17-18 March Report Card
Schools should have received an email last week announcing the opening of this collection. The initial submissions are due March 1
st. CDE won't open the Data Pipeline to accept files until March 1st, so if you've submitted files already, please know that we will be reviewing them for possible issues, but we won't know about all errors until we can upload files to CDE.
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17-18 ACCESS for ELLs - SBD Reviews
The CSI data team will be partnering with the CSI accountability team this year on completing the ACCESS SBD review (error corrections), which takes place March 15
th-28
th. Schools will have the opportunity to verify both demographic and assessment-specific data (i.e. non-participation codes) prior to the scoring of assessments for accountability purposes.
Student Biographical Data (SBD) Review Webinar:
When: Wednesday, March 7
th
Time: 10:00am
**Student Assessment Coordinators and Data Submissions staff are encouraged to participate in this training.
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Four-Day School Week Requests for SY2018-2019
Schools interested in operating on a four-day school week (less than 160 days per school year) are required to submit a formal request to CSI for approval. Requests should include: day of the week not in session, number of student-teacher contact days, number of scheduled hours (for elementary and for secondary), date the 18-19 school calendar was adopted by your board, and a rationale for this request.
Please submit these requests to
Julie Eddy no later than Tuesday, April 24, 2018.
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Finance Reminders
We are almost to the three quarter mark for this fiscal year! At this point, your school should have spent and requested reimbursement for at least 60% of your school level allocations. We encourage you to draw down your funds quarterly, at minimum, to reduce additional end-of-year finance burdens for your school staff, CSI and the CDE. CSI has not received the final approval for Title PA1 revisions yet, and will notify you when we receive them. You will receive your final PA1 budgets at that time.
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FY 2018-19
FY 2018-19 is quickly approaching! Schools should have received an email with the CSI enrollment template, which is due back to CSI on March 30
th
to allow time for review and discussion of FY19 projected enrollment prior to submittal to CDE. The template can also be found
here
. As schools prepare their FY 2018-19 proposed budgets, (which must be presented to school boards by June 1, 2018 C.R.S. 22-44-108(c)), we would like to remind schools of several resources available to them:
Forecasting school enrollment and revenue will be a topic covered during the School Leaders Meeting on Wednesday, February 28
th.
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Funding/Award Opportunities
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Impact Aid Update
We have been informed by our federal Impact Aid contract that
we need to identify about 10 more federally connected students (and specifically those with active duty or reserve parents/guardians) enrolled at CSI schools on 10/2 in order to be eligible for impact aid funding. We have been informed that we are able to amend our application over the next several months should additional surveys come in, which is our opportunity to meet the eligibility threshold. In terms of how you can help, please consider each of the following requests if they apply to your school:
- School-wide Survey: For those who may not have sent the survey out to all families at the school in the fall, please consider doing so now. As part of CSI's review process, we'll pull out any students that weren't enrolled as of October 2nd.
- Targeted Outreach to Families: If you are aware of families with military connections or families who have identified themselves as military connected (as identified in your SIS), please consider asking whether they'll complete the survey.
Thank you for your continued support in this effort!
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21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant
Don't forget! If you are applying for the
21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant Program, proposals are due to CSI Monday, March 19
th by 4:00pm. CSI will need time to check your application for completeness and garner the required CSI signatures before the CDE due date of March 28
th.
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NEW: School Counselor Corps Grant
Name of LEA:
Charter School Institute
LOI - Name of Authorized Representative:
Amanda Karger, CSI
Monday, March 12
th: Proposals due to CSI
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Universal Screening Grant 2018-2019
CDE has released the application for next year's Gifted Universal Screening Grant. Administrative units (districts, BOCES and CSI) are eligible for the grant, so CSI will apply on behalf of all elementary and middle schools by the April 16
th deadline. Schools are not allowed to apply for this grant directly. In early April, CSI will conduct our own internal grant application process to determine allocations for any funds awarded by CDE.
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For further information regarding these funding opportunities, contact
Marcie Jackson
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Expansion Policy Revisions
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Transportation:
New Entry Level Law
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New Transportation Regulations
New regulations pertaining to the operation, maintenance, and inspection of school transportation vehicles went into effect on January 1
st.
Review the revised regulations
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New Classroom Door Lock Regulations
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Free Human Trafficking Training Materials for School Bus Drivers
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Teaching & Learning Conditions Colorado Survey (TLCC) - Deadline Extended
The survey deadline for the Colorado Teaching & Learning Conditions has been extended to March 5
th!
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Participate in the 2018-19 ASCENT Program
Accelerating Students through Concurrent Enrollment (ASCENT) is a fifth-year high school program that allows students to participate in concurrent enrollment the year after the 12
th grade. Interested schools should:
- Review the CDE webinar recording,
- Complete the CDE Intent to Participate Form by May 1st, and
- Inform Kim Caplan at CSI
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Colorado's Menu of College and Career-Ready Demonstrations
The State Board of Education approved three updates to Colorado’s Menu of College and Career-Ready Demonstrations for Graduation Guidelines. As a reminder, all graduation guidelines take effect for the graduating class of 2021.
- ACCUPLACER - The Sentence Skills subtest is now an option for demonstration of career and college readiness in English. Students can achieve a qualifying score in Reading Comprehension (minimum score - 62) or in Sentence Skills (minimum score - 70).
- ACT Compass- Because ACT has eliminated this test, this option is no longer available to students or part of the college and career-ready demonstrations menu.
- SAT- Scores have been updated to align with College Board’s revisions to and norming of the new SAT test in 2016. New qualifying subscores apply in both English (minimum score - 470) and Math (minimum score - 500).
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Participate in the 2017-2019 Career Success Pilot Program
In May 2016, the Governor signed into law HB 16-1289, the Career Success Pilot Program. The bill provides financial incentives for participating school districts and charter schools that encourage high school students (grades 9-12) to complete qualified industry credential programs, internships, residencies, construction pre-apprenticeship or construction apprenticeship programs, or qualified Advanced Placement courses. Participating districts or charter schools could receive up to $1,000 for each student who successfully completes one of the qualified programs and will be distributed in tiered order. This pilot program is in effect through August 31, 2019.
- Review the CDE webinar recording,
- Complete the CDE Intent to Participate Form, and
- Inform Kim Caplan at CSI
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Charter School Institute
1580 Logan Street Suite 210
Denver, Colorado 80203
303-866-3299
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