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 25, 2020
Dear School Leaders,
The next Weekly School Leaders Call will take place on Monday, September 28 at 1:00pm. 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 28
- October 12
- October 26
This newsletter includes information on:
- COVIDCheck Colorado
- Guidance for Organized Sports
- COVID-19 Dial Dashboard
- Ventilation Guidance
- Impact Aid Forms
- Student October 2020-21 Changes
- and more!
Unless anything pressing needs to be shared next Friday, we'll share any new updates in our monthly October newsletter which you will receive on Thursday, October 1. Our next "COVID-19 Updates & Guidance" Friday newsletter will go out on Friday, October 9.
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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 28. 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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COVIDCheck Colorado (CCC) now has a plan in place to either partner a school, regardless of geographic location, with a local clinic to administer COVID-19 tests or use the school’s nurse to administer the tests. In addition to testing for school staff CCC offers a smartphone app that can assist in tracking COVID-19 symptoms and contact tracing.
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Guidance for Organized Sports |
CDPHE has released guidance pertaining to organized youth recreational and adult amateur leagues, club sports, interscholastic, and other organization-sponsored athletics. These athletic events must adhere to state and local orders and restrictions, and operate with restrictions and strong precautionary measures, as specified in the CDPHE’s Guidance for Organized Sports document. This guidance addresses the following aspects of sporting events: Facility Considerations; Spectators; Screening and Prevention Practices; Suspected and Confirmed COVID-19 Cases; Tournaments, Transportation, and Travel; and Phase Specific Guidelines.
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Colorado’s dial framework standardizes different levels of “openness” at the county level. The dial framework has five levels to guide county response to COVID-19; counties move back and forth between levels, depending on the following metrics: the number of new cases, the percent positivity of COVID tests, the impact on hospitals, and local considerations. Schools can view their county’s current level on the Dial Dashboard here.
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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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CSI is planning to apply for federal Impact Aid dollars on behalf of CSI schools again this year. All schools with federally connected students (parents/guardians on active duty, parents/guardians working on federal property, etc.) are encouraged to participate in order to meet the eligibility threshold—last year, we missed this threshold by ~30 students. (Schools might consider using the military-connected data submitted in registration paperwork as one way to identify students who may be eligible. Alternately, schools can send the form to all students.)
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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Student October 2020-2021 Changes |
See below for a message from CDE:
Due to challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, some districts may be in the process of adjusting student schedules as students transition between in-person instruction, remote learning, and/or hybrid approaches. As such, it may be difficult for districts to update student schedules by October 1 to accurately reflect courses through the fall semester/first half of the year.
Pursuant to the Rules for the Administration of the School Finance Act, students must have a schedule as of the pupil enrollment count date which provides at least 360 hours of teacher-pupil instruction and contact in the semester of the pupil enrollment count date (first half of the school year) to qualify for full-time funding, and at least 90 hours to qualify for part-time funding. Thus, the documentation evidencing individual student schedules for all secondary students has always been required to be documented on or before the pupil enrollment count date (October 1).
For the 2020-2021 school year only, documentation of student schedules may be dated through the end of the Student October data submission (November 10).
The additional time associated with the supporting documentation to evidence a full-time or part-time schedule does not impact the funding requirements. Students are still expected to have a schedule reflecting at least 360 hours if submitted for full-time funding or at least 90 hours if submitted for part-time funding.
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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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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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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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Foundational Trauma-Informed Strategies Virtual Training Series |
Resilient Futures Executive Trainers will facilitate an interactive professional development series in October focused on increasing capacity and sustainability for integrating trauma-informed, culturally-responsive (TICR) best practices, in ways that meet the needs of all students in the community. Applying practices and skills in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic will be integrated into all aspects of the training series. Click here to learn more and register.
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Mental Health Support Resources |
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See what's happening on our social sites |
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