Colorado Charter School Institute
1600 N Broadway, Ste. 1250, Denver, CO 80202
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COVID-19: Updates & Guidance |
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October 9, 2020
Dear School Leaders,
The next School Leaders Call will take place on Monday, October 12 at 1:00pm. Per school leader feedback, we have moved to every other week calls in October. This means calls will take place on the following Mondays from 1:00pm-2:00pm:
This newsletter includes information on:
- CSI Funding to Enable In-Person Learning
- Call for Teacher Blogs
- KN95 Masks Update
- Updated Cases & Outbreaks Guidance
- Travel during Fall Break
- READ Act Required Training
- CCSP Remote Learning Grant
- GEER Draft Budgets
- CCSG Program
- and more!
Unless anything pressing needs to be shared next Friday, we'll share any new updates in the next "COVID-19 Updates & Guidance" Friday newsletter, which will go out on Friday, October 23.
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Weekly Update Calls for School Leaders |
Calls for school leaders will take place every other Monday in October from 1:00pm-2:00pm. The next call will take place on Monday, October 12. Note: Call-in information has changed:
Meeting ID: 867 9596 7474
Passcode: 283781
One tap mobile
+12532158782,,86795967474# US (Tacoma)
+13462487799,,86795967474# US (Houston)
Materials referenced on the call will be posted in the "Weekly Update Call Materials" section of the Coronavirus Updates Google Doc.
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CSI School Support Contacts |
Every CSI school has been assigned a CSI Support Contact. Please notify your support contact if you have a confirmed or suspected COVID-19 case, quarantine a cohort, or have a school closure. Click here for a list of support contacts including mobile phone numbers.
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CSI Funding to Enable In-Person Learning |
The CSI board has directed CSI staff to disburse about $93K in funds to schools to enable in-person learning. CSI staff will evaluate proposals provided in this survey from CSI schools for grants ranging from $1,000 to $45,000 to enable in-person learning. Priority will be given to projects or efforts that will enable in-person learning for at-risk student populations. Other factors considered will be level of impact, school demographics, availability of alternate funding sources, and current spend-down of COVID-19 relief funds.
Proposals submitted through this survey by October 16th will be given priority. Please complete the form if your school is seeking funds to enable in-person learning.
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Calling All Teachers: Successful Teacher Transition Blog |
The US Department of Education is looking to highlight success stories and best practices and are calling for blogs written by charter school teachers. These blogs can be about teachers' successful transitions back to the classroom, innovative hybrid-model teaching practices, and/or unique ways they are educating students. Teachers may include what their experience has been like and how they are "making it work" by learning and adapting to these new challenges.
These blogs will be part of the "Successful Teacher Transition" blog stories on the US Department of Education website and will be featured by CSI as well.
Please share this opportunity with your teachers and reach out to Amanda Oberg as soon as possible if you have a teacher interested in writing a short blog post or would like more information.
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You may have received an email regarding KN95 mask deliveries which stated that you must complete a form to opt in for continued delivery. Note that CSI has responded on behalf of all CSI schools and will coordinate mask deliveries, so there is no need to fill out this form. If you have already done so or have questions, contact Amanda Karger.
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Updated Cases and Outbreaks Guidance |
CDPHE recently updated its guidance for detecting, reporting, and responding to cases of COVID-19 as well as outbreaks of COVID-19 among students and staff in child care and schools. Please find this updated guidance here; this guidance took effect on October 5. Expect frequent updates to the guidance over the school year. If you have questions about scenarios or situations that are not covered in this document, please consult with your local public health agency.
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If you have insurance: Private insurers generally must waive an insurance plan member's cost-sharing payments for COVID-19 diagnostic testing and certain related items and services.
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If you do not have insurance: If you are uninsured and receive COVID-19-related testing and/or treatment services, your provider may have submitted a claim to the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) for reimbursement of these services. Providers who participate in and are reimbursed from the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program are not allowed to "balance bill" individuals who do not have health care coverage (uninsured).
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CDPHE's Tips and Tricks for Halloween |
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment encourages alternatives to traditional, door-to-door trick-or-treating this year to limit the potential spread of COVID-19. Follow the recommendation of your local public health agency and consult CDPHE’s guidance for Halloween to protect yourself and others.
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Five CSI schools have partnered with COVIDCheck Colorado (CCC) in order to secure testing or symptom screening and tracing tools. Please reach out to CCC’s Courtney Steele to explore a partnership for your school.
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As some students and staff prepare to depart your community for upcoming fall and holiday break periods, the CDC’s Travel During COVID-19, Know Your Travel Risk, and Know When to Delay Travel resources can be helpful to share with your school community as you work together to prevent the spread of the virus. Upon return from travel students, their families, and school staff should utilize CDPHE’s At Home COVID-19 Symptom Screening Tool before returning to your school building. Enhanced observance of health and safety measures is advised during periods when more people will be traveling and gathering in larger groups.
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READ Act: Required K-3 Teacher Training |
District and school staff are encouraged to visit the CDE K-3 Teacher Training webpage for information about all the options. This page is updated frequently.
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CCSP Remote Learning Grant |
School Leaders and Finance Contacts should have received information, including templates, on the CCSP Remote Learning Grant yesterday. Important dates are below. Reach out to Marcie Robidart with any questions.
- Application Trainings
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Friday, October 9, 2020 from 1:00 – 2:30 PM Register
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Wednesday, October 14, 2020 from 9:00 – 10:30 AM Register
- Assurances and Application Due to CSI: Tuesday, October 27, 2020 by 4:00 PM
- Application Due to CDE: Friday, October 30, 2020 by 11:59 PM
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GEER draft budget workbooks will be sent on Monday, October 12. Budget workbooks are due back to CSI by 4:00pm on Monday, October 19. The budgeting timeline is below. More specific instructions will be relayed by the Finance Team when draft budgets are sent. Contact Marcie Robidart or Dave Sever with any questions.
GEER Budgeting Timeline
- Monday, October 12th, 2020: Draft budgets released to schools
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Monday, October 19th, 2020: Draft budgets due back to RFF@csi.state.co.us
- Thursday, October 22nd, 2020: Budget review feedback provided; School assurance released to schools
- Monday, October 28th, 2020: Further requested revisions due to CSI; Signed assurances due to CSI
- Wednesday, October 30th, 2020: Reimbursement requests may begin (tentative)
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Connecting Colorado Students Grant (CCSG) Program |
To support students with a high-quality educational experience, the State of Colorado has created a public-private partnership with the Governor’s Office, Attorney General’s Office and Colorado Department of Education in coordination with internet service providers and other community focused organizations to provide broadband access to all students with remote learning needs for the 2020-21 school year.
CDE is pleased to announce the Connecting Colorado Students Grant (CCSG) Program, which is a competitive grant that provides $2 million to help school districts provide broadband access to low-income families and school staff. Funds are available to education providers who can apply on behalf of individual schools, or with a community partner as an education-related entity.
Applications must be completed (including all required elements) and submitted through the online application by Friday, November 6, at 11:59 pm. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.
See below for CSI information:
LEA/BOCES Code
8001
Authorized Representative
Amanda Karger
Director of Finance
(303) 503-9442
Authorized Requester Information
Marcie Robidart
Grants Fiscal Coordinator
(720) 315-4065
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