Colorado Charter School Institute
1600 N Broadway, Ste. 1250, Denver, CO 80202
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COVID-19: Updates & Guidance |
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September 18, 2020
Dear School Leaders,
The next Weekly School Leaders Call will take place on Monday, September 21 at 1:00pm. Materials from previous calls can be found within the Latest Guidance Google Doc linked on the Coronavirus Updates webpage. Per school leader feedback, we will be moving to every other week calls in October. This means calls will take place on the following Mondays from 1:00pm-2:00pm:
- September 21
- September 28
- October 12
- October 26
This newsletter includes information on:
- RISE Collaborative Planning Session
- Impact Aid forms
- ventilation and HVAC guidance
- CDPHE decision matrix
- high school SEL grant
- Formative Assessment for Classroom Teachers (FACT) webinar
- CDE Finance Seminar
- and more!
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Weekly Update Calls for School Leaders |
Calls for school leaders will take place every Monday in September and every other Monday in October from 1:00pm-2:00pm. The next call will take place on Monday, September 21. The call-in information will be the same for each call:
Meeting ID: 867 9596 7474
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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RISE Collaborative Planning Session |
CSI will host a collaborative planning session for schools interested in submitting an application to access the RISE Education Fund on Thursday, September 24 from 3:00pm-4:00pm. This fund utilizes federal funds from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund, included as part of the CARES Act to support innovative, locally driven solutions, help to address broad structural challenges that have the potential to be replicated in the future, and advance equity by reaching those students most likely to have been affected by the economic, social, and health impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. Click here to register.
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Recorded Finance/HR Trainings |
As a reminder, recorded webinars on COVID Relief Fund Discussions and the COVID HR Training from Littler can be found here. The site is password protected and the password was given on the school leader call on Monday. Reach out to Amanda Oberg or Amanda Karger if you need the password.
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CSI is planning to apply for federal Impact Aid dollars on behalf of CSI schools again this year. School leaders and data contacts of CSI schools in Colorado Springs have received a separate email about this, but we do encourage all schools with federally connected students (parents/guardians on active duty, parents/guardians working on federal property, etc.) to participate in order to meet the eligibility threshold.
Visit the Impact Aid webpage for training and the parent survey form, which should be shared with families on/after October 1st. In addition to our standard, printable form, we also have an electronic fillable form that uses digital signature technology. Sorted forms and the cover sheet are due back to CSI via FileZilla by December 11th. Contact Janet Dinnen with questions.
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Ventilation, HVAC Systems, and COVID-19 Risk Guidance |
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has released guidance on ventilation, HVAC systems and COVID-19 risks. In addition to close contact with infected people and contaminated surfaces, there is the possibility that the spread of the COVID-19 virus may occur through airborne particles in indoor environments, particularly in those with poor ventilation.
This guidance, which includes information about natural ventilation, fan use and HVAC systems, is available here (PDF).
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The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released a community-specific “dial” that is an online framework that standardizes different levels of “openness” at the county level. Colorado’s dial framework has five levels to guide county response to COVID-19.
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High School SEL Grant Available |
The Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV) at the University of Colorado Boulder is seeking Colorado schools containing grade 9 to implement the Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST) High School program. This grant opportunity comes at a critical time when COVID-19 has impacted budgets and demanded social-emotional competencies and healthy coping strategies. It is also an opportunity to address the recent surge in the use of e-vapor products among youth. The application deadline is December 20, 2020. Click here to learn more and apply.
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Governor Jared Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser and Commissioner Katy Anthes announced that T-Mobile, as part of its Project 10Million, will provide up to 34,000 low-income student households in Colorado with a free WiFi hotspot and 100GB of data per year for free. Please see below for actions all charter schools should follow to be included in this opportunity:
- Enter the administrator contact information.
- Under “School District Information”, provide information about your charter school (or charter network)
- Under “School District Name” enter “Colorado Charter School.” The field will not auto-populate, but it will still save your entry.
- Under “School District ID”, once you enter “Colorado Charter School” as a name, it should prevent you from entering an ID.
- Complete the student information section based on information about your charter school or charter network (note: “NSLP” stands for National School Lunch Program).
Please complete this form as soon as possible. Contact CDE’s Schools of Choice Office or T-Mobile (Paul Deaux at paul.deaux@t-mobile.com) with any questions.
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Formative Assessment for Classroom Teachers (FACT) |
The National Council for Measurement in Education (NCME) Classroom Assessment Task Force has established a resource bank called Formative Assessment for Classroom Teachers (FACT). The purpose of FACT is to provide formative assessment tools and procedures in an easy-to-use form, available for free, with the ultimate aim of increasing the use of formative assessment in classroom learning. At present, FACT includes starter resources in four categories: Diagnostic assessment, Self-assessment, Peer feedback, and Feedback breaks.
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P-EBT is LIVE: Deadline September 23 |
P-EBT is live. This is a one-time transfer payment to families with students that participate in the National School Lunch Program. Families will receive up to $279 per student for groceries. Everyone that qualified for Free and Reduced meals in the 19-20 school year are eligible. If a family already received SNAP benefits the money was loaded onto their card automatically. If a family did not qualify for SNAP, but did qualify for Free and Reduced meals have them fill out this EASY online application: ColoradoPeak.force.com/PEBT by September 23. The family will need their child’s SASID to apply. Once their application is approved a card will be mailed to the family.
Please use provided P-EBT outreach materials in many languages to encourage your families to apply by the September 23 deadline.
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A reminder to please complete this survey regarding your personal protective equipment (PPE) needs so that CSI can gather information to potentially assist with supply chains. If your PPE needs have changed, feel free to take the survey again even if you have already filled it out. Amanda Karger has setup a PPE pipeline and will be sending paperwork to schools who are interested and have replied with a need on the survey.
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CDE Finance Seminar: September 25 |
The Colorado Department of Education Schools of Choice Office is hosting the virtual Annual Finance Seminar on Friday, September 25 from 9:00am-2:30pm. The program provides an overview of the sessions and speakers. Each breakout session has its own Zoom link, so you can attend sessions most relevant to your school's needs. Register today!
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NAEHCY Virtual Conference Scholarships - Deadline Extended |
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See what's happening on our social sites |
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