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Charter Schools Office
August Newsletter
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Charter Schools Highlights | |
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KIPP West Philadelphia Charter School
KIPP West Philadelphia Preparatory Charter School’s orchestra and band, in partnership with The Philadelphia Orchestra, were selected to perform at the KIPP Schools National Conference last week.
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Lindley Academy Charter School at Birney | Lindley Academy Charter School at Birney has received a $20,000 grant from The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) to support the charter school in developing or expanding experiential learning opportunities to engage secondary students in learning about and/or working with students with disabilities to inspire the next generation of special educators. | | | |
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Click on each link to view standing resources:
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School Safety and Security Coordinators | Upcoming Trainings
The Philadelphia Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) will be leading two upcoming Safety and Security Coordinator Trainings on August 29 and September 26.
These sessions are designed for School Safety and Security Coordinators and participation in one of the sessions will satisfy the training requirement as outlined in Act 55 (2022). Sessions will take place from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm at 440 North Broad Street, in the room listed next to the link below.
Space is limited. We encourage you to register as soon as possible by selecting your preferred date below:
If you have any questions regarding the upcoming Safety and Security Coordinator Trainings, please contact Dr. Eric Turner at eturner2@philasd.org.
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Hire a Computer Support Specialist to meet your school's Tech needs.
Since 2002, the District’s Urban Technology Project (UTP) has deployed over 500 Computer Support Specialists (CSS) to provide valuable tech support to schools across the district. UTP hires and prepares young adults for careers in Information Technology through hands-on work experience, mentorship, and training.
The CSS provides immediate, on-site technical support for laptops, smartboards, printers and Chromebook repairs. Additionally, the CSS will maintain the school’s computer labs and SIS inventory, update its website, social media, and provide on-site tech support for teachers and administrators. The cost of a full-time CSS is $49,000. A part-time CSS is $24,500 and must be shared with another school. The position is budgeted as a contract.
Complete the CSS School Interest Form to confirm your interest in hiring a Computer Support Specialist for the 2024-25 school year. For questions, please contact Shana Savage at ssavage2@philasd.org.
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IU 26 Charter School-Specific Support
The Office of Diverse Learners (ODL) and IU 26 would like to announce the addition of a Special Education Charter School Case Manager, Melissa Aufiero, who will support special education within your school teams. This role will be working in collaboration with the CSO, IU 26 personnel, and the Bureau of Special Education for professional development opportunities, compliance monitoring, and general liaison support.
Melissa can be reached at maufiero@philasd.org if you have any questions or concerns as we embark on a new school year!
Please note that the September newsletter will include a survey to identify areas of professional development you would like offered to your staff throughout the school year.
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SY2024-25 Calendar of Collections
The Calendar of Collections for SY 2024-25 can be accessed here. The tasks listed below are for August and September 2024.
As a reminder, schools that were found compliant during the optional priority deadline will not need to resubmit to the final deadline. Schools with corrective feedback have the opportunity to correct their submission and resubmit for the final deadline and schools that did not submit to the priority deadline must submit to the final deadline.
Additionally, the Lottery Process Standard and Waitlist Standard will become annual standards for review in the 2025-26 cycle. The Charter Schools Office is offering schools that are not in the renewal cohort for 2024-25 the opportunity to submit their materials this year in order to receive non-evaluative feedback prior to these standards becoming annual reviews in the 2025-26 cycle. This is an optional opportunity. Please see those deadlines listed below in “Upcoming *OPTIONAL* Submissions*.
Upcoming Submissions for All Schools:
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Final Deadline: Code of Conduct- due August 14, via Epicenter.
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Final Deadline: Truancy Policy- due August 14, via Epicenter.
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Final Deadline: Student Expression Policy- due August 14, via Epicenter.
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Final Deadline: Enrollment Policy- due August 14, via Epicenter.
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Final Deadline: Student Application- due August 14, via Epicenter.
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Final Deadline: Enrollment Materials- due August 14, via Epicenter.
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Final Deadline: Student Health Services Policy- due August 14, via Epicenter.
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Final Deadline: ESL Policy- due August 14, via Epicenter.
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Final Deadline: LIEP Notifications- due August 14, via Epicenter.
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Expulsion Documentation- due August 16, via Epicenter.
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Certificate of Insurance- due August 30, via Epicenter.
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Philadelphia Police Office Memorandum of Understanding- due August 30, via Epicenter.
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PEARS Report- due August 31, via Epicenter.
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SPREE Phase I Data Packet- due September 6, via Epicenter.
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Board Bylaws- due September 13, via Epicenter.
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Approved Board Minutes -Quarter 4, including approved Board minutes from the final meeting of SY 2023-24 - due September 16, via Epicenter.
Upcoming Website Reviews for All Schools:
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Final Deadline: Child Find Notice- due August 14, via the school website.
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Board Website- due September 13, via the school website.
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PDE Food Service Review- due September 13, via the Food Service website.
Upcoming *OPTIONAL* Submissions for All Schools not in the Renewal Cohort:
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Lottery Results (OPTIONAL for schools not in renewal cohort)- due August 14, via Epicenter.
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Waiting List (OPTIONAL for schools not in renewal cohort)- due August 14, via Epicenter.
Upcoming Certification for All Schools:
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Final Deadline: Water Quality Test Results- due August 14, via the school website and Epicenter certification.
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User Verification (Quarterly Review)- due August 30, via Epicenter certification.
Upcoming Submissions for 2024-25 Renewal Cohort
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Special Education Student Files (applicable schools)- due August 9, via Epicenter.
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Lottery Results (Renewal Document Review)- due August 14, via Epicenter.
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Waiting List Results (Renewal Document Review)- due August 14, via Epicenter.
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School-Wide Screening Evidence- due August 16, via Epicenter.
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School-Wide Progress Monitoring Evidence- due August 16, via Epicenter.
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School-Wide Tiered Instruction Evidence- due August 16, via Epicenter.
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Student Health Records- due August 23, via Epicenter.
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English Learner Student Files- due September 6, via Epicenter.
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Student Enrollment Files- due September 13, via Epicenter.
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Student Health Schedule- due September 13, via Epicenter.
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School Health Annual Reimbursement Request System (SHARRS) Reports and Vouchers- due September 13, via Epicenter.
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Checks and Clearances- due September 20, via Epicenter.
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Transportation Services | Attending School Updates
At the start of each new school year, Infinite Campus resets all Transportation Attending School entries back to the home locations.
Schools should update transportation entries for all students who will be returning to an Approved Private School (APS) or alternative location like an annex/second site.
Please enter this information in Infinite Campus, as soon as possible, to help ensure transportation is properly set up for the start of the new school year.
Please contact your school’s routing analyst, or email routing@philasd.org, if you have any questions.
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Updated Head Start MOUs (Early Childhood Education)
If your school requires a July 1, 2024 signature from the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Early Childhood Education on their MOU between with the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Early Childhood Education (Local Head Start Agency), please email charters@philasd.org a copy of your school-signed MOU and we will assist you with this process.
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SY 2024-25 System Access and User Verification
The CSO wants to ensure school-based staff have no delays or disruptions to system access related to student data or District operations services. As such, charter school leaders and operations contacts should verify SY 2024-25 school-specific users for SDP systems including Infinite Campus, Compass, Epicenter, and Payments.
As a reminder, Network Administrators need to request access for users for each site/location, as necessary. To do this, the Network Administrator should include all codes in Column L of the ‘External User’ tab, via the school-specific User Verification Form. Please include all location codes where the user needs access. Failure to do so may result in a delay in gaining access to SDP systems.
Schools are asked to complete this task by August 30, and certify via Epicenter that the User Verification sheet is up to date.
Questions about the user verification process, including requests for links to school-specific and network-specific user information, can be directed to charters@philasd.org.
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Please email the CSO at charters@philasd.org if you have feedback, questions, submissions, and/or if you would like to have your school or one of your scholars featured in an upcoming CSO newsletter.
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