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Welcome back! Where did the summer go? I would suspect that several of your summers went to planning for another great school year, but I sure hope that you’ve also taken some time for yourself to relax and recharge before the busy school year begins as staff and students enter your buildings.
Speaking of buildings, several of our schools have taken on major building projects over the last year, everything from new builds to fresh coats of paint. (We
’
ve included photos of some of these changes in this month
’
s newsletter!) We would love to hear about the physical changes your schools have undergone in the last year, so please share those stories with us!
As I’m sure has been the case at your schools, the CSI office has been extremely busy this last month as it gears up for the school year! Last Thursday and Friday, we hosted an orientation for new school leaders at the CSI offices. Many thanks to all the leaders who came to our office for two days filled with information sharing. As for our staff, we enjoyed meeting each of the leaders and are looking forward to working together.
Presentations
from the orientation are posted on the CSI website if you’d like to take a peek. Each of our departments also has its own trainings and orientations set up for new school staff as well. A complete listing of upcoming events can be found on the CSI website calendar and summarized here as well!
As you start to welcome new staff to your teams, CSI has been welcoming new staff of its own: Amanda Karger, started a few weeks ago as our Director of Finance, and Rachel Hitt, who had been filling in the front office role, formally joined the team as our Communications Coordinator last month. Bios below!
In addition to new faces, we said goodbye to some familiar faces on the CSI Board in June. Board members Steve Schneider (former Chair) and Tony Lewis completed their terms, and during the June Board Retreat, we thanked them both for their years of commitment to our mission and service to the Board. We are currently working to fill the remaining positions
—
updates to come next month!
Please know that we
’
re incredibly excited about the new school year and visiting your schools (and school board meetings!) throughout the year. If there are certain events and meetings you would like us to save the date for, please let us know! We also hope you have a chance to attend the several in
-
person events we already have scheduled for this year, particularly our Regional Meetings and Board to Board events. (More details below!) Here
’
s hoping that welcome picnics, Back to School Nights, First Day of School and staff PD are all a great success!
Terry
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- Transportation Reimbursement Form due
- Induction webinar
8/4:
- Final 2016-17 July salaries due
- FY17-18 IDEA Allocation and Forms due
8/7:
- CSI Board Committee Meetings
8/9:
- SPED Discipline Certifications due
8/15:
- Organizational Submission - Part I due
- CSI Board Meeting
- 16-17 EOY 'Initial' Summary Report Review webinar
8/17:
8/23:
8/24:
- October Count Initial Submission due
8/25:
- Intent to Participate in Induction Form due
For more, access our online calendar
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**All PARCC results are embargoed until the Aug. 17th State Board meeting**
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Hard copies of the Student Performance Reports will be shipped to schools by August 4th.
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2017-18 Redesignation Guidance
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Upcoming Required Assessment Webinars
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If you have not designated a SAC for the 2017-18 school year, please contact Jessica Welch
School Assessment Coordinator (SAC):
August 30, 2017:
new SAC webinar
August 31, 2017: Returning SAC webinar
READ Act
:
August 23, 2017: READ Act webinar
School READ Act SAC's are required to participate in this webinar.
School Readiness:
September 7, 2017: School Readiness Data Collection webinar
School Readiness SAC's are required to participate in this webinar.
UIP Webinars:
August 29, 2017: UIP Basics webinar (includes overview of online tool and UIP components)
September 26, 2017: CARS, SPF, and the UIP
First drafts of 2017-18 UIPs will be due on December 15th, 2017, with a final draft due January 19th.
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Colorado Military Academy continues its demolition and remodel for its Fall 2017 opening. More...
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Mountain Middle School adds a new on-campus, student-based Health Care Facility. More...
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Indian Peaks receives a makeover!
From old (top) to new (bottom)
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Do you have any building updates from the last school year?
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My name is Amanda Karger and I joined the CSI team in July of 2017 as the Director of Finance. In this role, I oversee accounting, financial planning, procurement, human resources, and financial support activities for schools. I have a background in governmental finance for both local and state government in Colorado. Prior to CSI, I served in various financial management capacities for the Colorado Department of Revenue, Jefferson County Public Schools, and the City of Aurora. I earned my Bachelor’s in Economics and French from Colorado State University. I am a fourth generation native to Colorado, and have a passion for public sector financial advocacy with a focus on long term financial viability. I am honored to serve the students of Colorado and to support and advocate for our portfolio schools.
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New Communications Coordinator
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My name is Rachel Hitt and I have had the pleasure of being added to the CSI team July of 2017 as the Communications Coordinator. My main responsibilities include the creation and production of CSI publications and media releases, increasing CSI's social media presence and developing stronger connections between CSI, the charter schools we authorize and the news media. My background consists of working as a Certified Vision Therapist for 6 years in Fort Collins and Denver. I have a Bachelors degree from Biola University in Physical Education and am passionate about kids and giving them every opportunity to succeed. In this role, it is my hope to further the opportunities CSI has made for families and their respective communities across the state of Colorado.
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New Summer Legal and Policy Intern
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CSI has welcomed a new summer Legal and Policy Intern, Shelby Harold. Shelby comes to us from the University of Denver where she is studying Policy and Political Science, with a minor in Statistics and Economics. Shelby has long been interested in education policy, which is evident through her prior experiences volunteering with Junior Achievement at the Colorado Early Colleges, working in the Education Brain Trust at DU, and even interning with charter school advocate, Representative Brittany Pettersen.
We very much look forward to having Shelby on the team for the summer and the talent she will bring to the Legal and Policy department.
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On June 20, 2017 CSI held its monthly Board Meeting at the Penrose House in Colorado Springs.
The new school application from Monarch Classical School of the Arts was unanimously approved to open Fall of 2018.
The CSI Board also approved the Optional Measures for CSI Alternative Education Campuses (AECs) as well as multiple CSI policy revisions.
While in Colorado Springs, the CSI Board also held its annual retreat. Recognition was given to Board Chair, Steve Schneider, and Board Member, Tony Lewis, who have completed their terms on the CSI Board. CSI also recognized the service of Tony Dyl, who served as CSI's Legal Counsel
The next CSI Board Meeting will take place on August 15, 2017 in Denver at the Daniels Fund.
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FY17-18 IDEA Allocation and Forms
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CSI recipients of IDEA Part B are required to complete and submit the following forms by August 4th at 4:00pm.
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CCSP Application & Renewal Proposal Training
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Second year recipients of the CCSP Grant are required to register for the CCSP Grant renewal proposal application webinar which will be held on August 23th, 2017 from 12:00pm-2:00pm.The CCSP Renewal application will be released the day before the webinar to those that have registered.
Register for CCSP Renewal Application Webinar
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Financial EOY Dates To Remember
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Click on the dates below for specific forms and information regarding these reports.
- Data Pipeline File Due
- Draft Audit Due
- Audit Exemption Request Due -- *New Schools ONLY*
October 16, 2017
- Final Audit Due
- Accreditation Report Due
*New schools that received federal or other grants and donations but did not receive PPR must file an audit exemption for expenditures for revenues less than $750,000. If either revenues or expenditures exceed $750,000 the school needs to complete an audit. The new school must also submit the Data Pipeline file and the Assurances for Financial Accreditation report by the deadlines noted above.
For more information, contact: Cassie Walgren
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At the June 20, 2017 Board Meeting, the CSI Board approved revision to the following policies:
- CSI Accreditation Policy
- CSI Compliance Policy
- Grievance Policy
- Location Modification Policy
- Student Fees Policy
Drafts of these policies were emailed to school leaders on June 2, 2017. The final board-approved policies have been uploaded to the CSI BoardDocs page.
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2017-18 Organizational Submissions & Audits
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NOTE: the SPED MOU is still being finalized and has not yet been released. A new deadline will be set once the MOU is finalized, which will provide sufficient time for school leaders and board chairs to review the MOU.
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SB 17-296: District Hiring Requirement
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SB 17-296 has revised state law to provide an alternative method to meeting the verbal oath or affirmation requirement set by the state of Colorado to now be met through the use of a written pledge. This requirement applies to all currently licensed teachers and those who will be issued a license to teach in a public school in Colorado. The only exception are those persons who are employed to teach in a temporary capacity and who are citizens of a nation other than the US. It may be best to execute and retain a signed copy of the pledge for each existing teacher and to incorporate the execution of this pledge into your regular teacher onboarding procedures for all incoming teachers.
Review the language on the bill text pg. 11-12 that can be used for the written pledge
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Fingerprinting & Background Checks
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School Safety Policies & Procedures
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Also, safety topics will be addressed at the Colorado School Safety Resource Center's regional trainings for Restorative Practices in August, Child Sexual Abuse Prevention in September and the an
nual
Colorado Safe Schools Summit on October 18th and 19th
. All of these training
s are listed on the homepage of the
Colorado School Safety Resource Center website
.
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For more information regarding these articles, contact: Trish Krajniak
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2017 New Leader Orientation
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2017-18 CSI Induction Program
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School Leaders and Induction Coordinators are invited to attend a CSI Induction webinar on August 3rd from 8:30-9:30am. The webinar will include an overview of the CSI Induction program, including timelines for participation and new online program components.
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The Immunization Branch has developed two letters for the 2017-18 school year to share with parents. Please note that solely posting the letter on a website or in a central area of the school is not sufficient.
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Access to FAFSA Completion Portal
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The Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) has developed a free online tool to help counselors better assist high school seniors successfully complete the FAFSA called The FAFSA Completion Portal. This web-based tool allows authorized individuals (principals, counselors, etc.) to see which of their students have or have not completed a FAFSA along with any common errors (no parent signature, no student signature, etc.), allowing a more efficient approach in assisting students to form completion.
View a summary of the FAFSA Completion Portal
For gaining access to this resource, please contact Janet Dinnen, providing contact's name and email.
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Charter School Institute
1580 Logan Street Suite 210
Denver, Colorado 80203
303-866-3299
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