Charter Schools Office May Newsletter Visit our website

SUMMER BREEZE! IN THIS ISSUE Statement of Financial Interests (SOFI), Educator Diversity Virtual Summit, District-Wide Survey, and CSO Newsletter Data and Cleaning School Operations Epicenter Office Hours, Transportation SEPTA Fare Card Program, Meal Distribution Over Summer, and Charter Payments Notice Reminder UPCOMING CSO DEADLINES SY 2021-22 User Verification Forms, PHLConnectED Hotspot Sign-Out Forms, End-Dating, Graduating & Student Rollover Reminder, End-of-Year Compliance and Operations Submissions, and Transportation Summer Services RESOURCES FOR SCHOOLS View the new resources below! CHARTER SCHOOL FEATURE Ad Prima Charter School The CSO Hopes That You and Your School Community Have A Safe and Exciting Summer Break! May 25, 2021 Greetings Sector Leaders, As we get closer to graduation season, we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you, your staff and scholars, and especially your graduates. This school year has been emotional and challenging and we cannot underscore the resilience and perseverance of school communities during another unprecedented year. The CSO will not be hosting a spring Convening in the typical sense this year due to the various different meetings we have held this month, however, we will share a deck with highlights for this year and things the sector should look forward to next year. Additionally, we want to ensure that you have the latest information regarding SY 2020-21 end-of-year and SY 2021-22 start-up processes in order to facilitate reporting and preparation and thus have ensured this newsletter is robust. Annual Charter Evaluation (ACE) reports were publicly released yesterday on May 24th. All ACE reports may be found on the CSO website here. Schools who did not meet a standard will receive a Corrective Action letter via Epicenter with an expectation to adjust the policy and submit by Friday, July 16, 2021. Schools that met a standard but whose policies would not meet that same standard in SY 2020-21 due to a shift in the CSO review process will receive a Request for Policy/Materials Update letter via Epicenter and are encouraged to take advantage of the July 16th submission for review. As a reminder, any school that submits applicable policies for review by the Wednesday, June 30, 2021 priority deadline will have the opportunity to receive feedback from the CSO prior to final ratings being rendered to ensure the school has a compliant document for the upcoming school year. The CSO also wants to remind you that the updated Charter Performance Framework will go into effect on Thursday, July 1, 2021. To aid your review, please see highlights of the specific changes. Please note, as our school communities gear up for a much needed summer break, the CSO has decided that during the months of June and July we will not release any newsletters. While pertinent information and updates will continue to be communicated via our weekly Sector Communication, we want to acknowledge that summer is a time for us all to decompress and rejuvenate our minds and bodies. We hope that reducing the amounts of notifications you receive from us during this time will allow you to focus your attention on yourselves, loved ones, and students as necessary. To this end, as this Newsletter will serve as our last edition until August, we’ve included all summer updates and operational tasks that are typically communicated during the break, so you can begin to prepare ahead of time and ensure that by the time the new school year starts you’re ready to hit the ground running! Please ensure to prioritize reviewing this newsletter, specifically the CSO Updates and Deadlines section, and the School FAQs section of the website as two critical reference points. As always, please read below for important information on upcoming deadlines, events, and opportunities. We look forward to continuing our partnership with you. Sincerely, Dr. Christina Grant Chief of Charter Schools and Innovation

CHARTER SCHOOL FEATURE

Ad Prima Charter School  Ad Prima Charter School is happy to share with the sector that three of its scholars will be attending St. Paul's School in New Hampshire this upcoming fall on scholarships! St. Paul School, founded in 1856, is a highly selective college-preparatory boarding school with notable Alumni including John Kerry, Garry Trudeau, and Robert Mueller. Please join the CSO in congratulating the students (pictured below) for this exciting accomplishment! From left to right: Sean Michael Williams, Dylan Rodgers, and Mark Reid.

CSO UPDATES

Transportation SEPTA Fare Card Program Please review the memo linked here that highlights the SEPTA Fare Card Program that will be provided to all students for SY 2021-22. The memo includes registration links on informational sessions to support in providing the charter selector with a detailed overview of the Fare Card Program and expectations. Charter Payments Notice Reminder Please be aware of the following upcoming invoice Charter Payments dates: Friday, June 4, 2021 and Friday, June 25, 2021 as the estimated reconciliation. If you have any questions, please email specialfinance@philasd.org.

CSO Newsletter Data and Cleaning Per the CSO Quarterly Newsletter Report in which we highlighted newsletter goals and next steps to ensure they continue to meet sector needs, we will continue to evaluate subscriber activity and remove accounts that have been idle for at least three consecutive months. Beginning in August for SY 2021-22, we will send a formal notice to these applicable subscribers informing them of the removal as well as instructions should they wish to re-subscribe. We will also share in our weekly sector communication how to subscribe to our monthly newsletters as a way to ensure all sector personnel have access to CSO updates and opportunities.  To this end, the CSO thanks you all for your continued support in reviewing our newsletters and staying engaged! Ensure to stay tuned for our second Quarterly Newsletter Report which will be shared at the start of the new school year, as we highlight new glows, grows and tips for continuing to stay informed and up-to-date with sector highlights. Educator Diversity Virtual Summit Sector leaders are encouraged to attend the Pennsylvania Educator Diversity Consortium (PEDC) virtual summit, which will take place on Tuesday, June 11, 2021 through Wednesday, June 23, 2021 between the hours of 8:30 AM - 2:30 PM, respectively. The summit will examine the vital role of the preparation, recruitment, hiring, and retention of highly effective, culturally relevant and sustaining PreK-20 educators as foundational to dismantling systemic racism across Pennsylvania ecosystems, to name a few.  To learn more about the Consortium as well as the summit’s objectives and registration details, click here. The flyer can also be viewed here (page 6). Questions should be directed to Juliet Curci at juliet.curci@temple.edu or Kizzy Morris at kmorris@cheyney.edu.

District-Wide Survey As a reminder, the District-Wide Survey window has been extended by two weeks to Friday, May 28, 2021 for students, teachers, and parents/guardians. Students can take the survey here.  Please note, the email for teachers will come from schoolsurveys@philasd.org with "Take the District-Wide Teacher Survey" as the subject line. You can also advise teachers to check their spam/junk folders as emails may end up there.   You may view the response rate tracker link here to see your school progress. Any questions or concerns should be directed to schoolsurveys@philasd.org. Statement of Financial Interests (SOFIs) Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission announcement: Pursuant to Section 1104(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act, 65 Pa C.S. Section 1104(a), the statutory deadline for filing Statements of Financial Interests for calendar year 2020 is May 1, 2021. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission has determined that complete and accurate Statements of Financial Interests for calendar year 2020, which are filed between May 2, 2021 and June 1, 2021, will not be subject to compliance proceedings initiated by the Commission.

Meal Distribution Over Summer If you currently serve as a meal site provider and intend to change your summer distribution schedule, or will no longer be distributing meals at the start of summer, please contact Jasmine at jdreyes@philasd.org with these updates by Friday, June 25, 2021. Additionally, if your school plans on serving meals to all students this summer and you wish to be featured on the City’s list at that point, please first review the Health & Safety/COVID-19 section of our School FAQs page for criteria. If qualified, we encourage you to complete our Meal Site Plans form here. Epicenter Office Hours The Epicenter Office Hours’ May webinar, scheduled for Wednesday, May 26, 2021 at 2:00 PM, is now open for registration. In addition to allowing users to receive new tips and take part in Q&A, this session will also cover items such as reviewing submission resources, addressing past-due compliance requirements, and copying forward all calendar requirements, in effort to prepare users for the new school year. To register, click here.

UPCOMING CSO DEADLINES

SY 2021-22 User Verification Forms Friday, June 11, 2021 User Verification Form submissions for SY 2021-22 were scheduled in Epicenter on May 24th. Similar to last year, all individual and network-specific schools were provided with one User Verification Letter and Form. The network-specific Form consists of all school sites by tab, respectively. Additionally, we reviewed Network Administrator data for specific network schools that historically have had individual User Verification Forms, and in cases where the Administrator was the same for all schools within these groups, specifically during SY 2020-21, we decided to create “network” Forms for SY 2021-22 that will include all schools as applicable in effort to make the review and user request process more time efficient for Administrators.  We are requesting that schools review and make changes as necessary by Friday, June 11, 2021. Please note, we are excited to share that we added a robust list of User Verification scenarios to our School FAQs page in effort to support personnel who access any of the three School District of Philadelphia (SDP) systems, which can be found in the ‘Access to Various Systems’ section. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jasmine at jdreyes@philasd.org.

PHLConnectED Hotspot Sign-Out Forms Friday, June 11, 2021 On behalf of the City of Philadelphia, the CSO has scheduled an Epicenter collection for hotspot sign-out forms for all participating PHLConnectED schools. As a reminder, all students who were provided with a hotspot over the year were expected to complete a hotspot sign-out form. Forms are due in Epicenter on Friday, June 11, 2021.

End-Dating, Graduating & Student Rollover in Infinite Campus (SIS) Various Dates The CSO is happy to share that all schools have submitted their Calendar Submission Surveys. With the submission of all calendars the Information Systems’ (IS) team will now begin building out calendar shells in SIS. This process typically concludes around late-June to early July, thus, please ensure to continue to review the weekly sector communication document as released, especially around this time, to monitor calendar-related updates. Schools will have access and editing abilities to calendars in SIS following the completion of calendar shells. IMPORTANT: As a reminder, please refer to the memo linked here that contains information about graduating students, retained student scenarios and code input, and the charter rollover process. Ensure to follow the timelines, also listed below, and guidelines as it relates to these processes. Please also refer to the Enrollment Codes document that lists all relevant codes to support with end-dating students in SIS. This document can also be found on our School FAQs page within the “Requesting Student Transcripts, End-Dating, and More” section, linked here. Wednesday, June 30, 2021: Deadline to make Charter Module changes Thursday, July 1, 2021: Charter Module will be locked By Monday, July 12, 2021: SIS Charter Module will open Please note, if your initial calendar start-dates were changed last year due to COVID-19, you may edit those dates in SIS to reflect the official start-dates. Please refer to page 24 of the Charter School Manual to review the stepper.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: End-of-Year Compliance and Operations Submissions Various Dates Please refer to the following upcoming Calendar of Collections deadlines for the months of May - July as well as additional reminder deadlines, highlighted in italics with asterisks: Renewal Letter of Intent: Thursday, May 27, 2021 Prep Documents for Renewal Document Review: Thursday, May 27, 2021 Transportation Calendar: Friday, May 28, 2021 **Enrollment Resources Released: By Friday, June 4, 2021** **Corrective Action Letters Released to Applicable Schools: Friday, June 4, 2021** Request for Policy/Materials Updated Released to Applicable Schools: Friday, June 4, 2021 User Verification: Friday, June 11, 2021 (Notification via Epicenter on 5/24/2021) PHLConnectED Hotspot Forms: Friday, June 11, 2021 Board of Trustees Roster: Wednesday, June 30, 2021 Current Year - Proposed Board Calendar: Wednesday, June 30, 2021 English as a Second Language (ESL) Certification: Wednesday, June 30, 2021 **Deadline to Make Charter Module Changes: Wednesday, June 30, 2021** Priority Deadline - Provides Schools the Opportunity to Receive Feedback on Applicable Policies: Wednesday, June 30, 2021 **Charter Module Locked: Thursday, July 1, 2021** Board Website: Friday, July 2, 2021 **Infinite Campus (SIS) Opens: Monday, July 12, 2021** Approved Budget: Thursday, July 15, 2021 Schools who Receive Corrective Action must Submit Applicable Policies for Review: Friday, July 16, 2021 Schools who Receive a Request for Policy/Materials Update Letter may Submit Applicable Policies or Materials for Review: Friday, July 16, 2021 Renewal Application: Monday, July 19, 2021 English Learner (EL) Student Files (Renewal Document Review): Wednesday, July 21, 2021 Checks and Clearances (Renewal Document Review): Wednesday, July 21, 2021 Please note, following the release of the Calendar of Collections, we received some feedback on duplicative or erroneous items. We've identified the changes with a strikethrough and made corresponding adjustments in Epicenter.

Transportation Summer Services Past Due as of Friday, May 21, 2021 Analysts from the Department of Transportation Services reminded appropriate school contacts of the information listed below on May 19th. Please ensure that if your school has any students eligible for Extended School Year (ESY) or summer programming, that you meet the expectations stipulated. Please contact your assigned Transportation Analyst with any questions.   Additionally, routing began setting up runs for 2021 ESY & summer programs on May 3rd. To ensure students are set up for first day of ESY or summer program services, schools were expected to provide the following by May 21st: 1) complete a TAR (with attached Individualized Education Plan (IEP)) for each student attending ESY; and/or 2) complete the Summer Program Tab for students attending a summer program.

RESOURCES FOR SCHOOLS

OPPORTUNITIES The CSO now includes resources accessible to schools at all times in our monthly newsletter. Click the links below to review important updates. Board of Education Building Community, Teaching Tolerance & Talking Race Resources Calendar of Collections Charter Sector Re-Opening SY 2020-21 City of Philadelphia’s “Safer at Home” Guidelines Family Newsletter IU-26 Charter School Special Education Meeting (Upcoming: Tuesday, June 1, 2021) Sector Communication School FAQs

Food Distribution 3001 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19104 The Philadelphia Martin Luther King, Jr., Association for Nonviolence, Inc., is distributing food every third Saturday of the month, at 3001 Walnut Street (lower level parking lot). For public transportation, bus numbers 42 and 21 will stop directly in front of the location. To accommodate for health & safety protocols, individuals are requested to remain in their vehicle and wear a mask should they be driving to the location. If individuals have access to a “Share Food” card they may present it upon arrival. If not, they will be provided with brief forms to complete in order to receive a card for future use. Questions should be directed to helpforchildren@gmail.com. No identification is required, everyone is welcome!

Penn Rising Scholar Success Academy  Various Dates & Times In support of ensuring students are graduate ready for postsecondary success, The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) will once again partner with the University of Pennsylvania for the Penn Rising Scholar Success Academy (PennRSSA) for all rising seniors in charter and public schools. PennRSSA is a series of free-of-cost, entirely virtual postsecondary access programs designed to prepare Philadelphia high school students for the pivotal next steps of educational and career pathways in a post-pandemic world. Information session dates, program details, and the application may be found here. Feel free to distribute this flyer to your students. PennRSSA is prepared to offer credit for students who fully participate. Participating students who attend district schools will receive a humanities credit; charter schools must confirm with PennRSSA that their students can also receive a credit. If you are interested in receiving the curriculum outline and/or speaking directly with the program administration to learn more, please reach out to Elaine Leigh at eleigh@gse.upenn.edu. Virtual City-Wide Regional College Fair Friday, June 4, 2021 Registration for the city-wide virtual fair is free for 10th and 11th grade students, and will take place on Friday, June 4, 2021. The fair will be organized in three sessions: 1] Zoom Student Workshop A, which supports students with the financial aid process and SAT preparation; 2] Virtual College Sessions, which allows students to interact with colleges and universities, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); and 3] Zoom Student Workshops-B, which will follow the same format as Workshop A but at a later time (2:30 PM - 3:30 PM). Counselors and interested students may view a list of participating colleges and registration links here. For more information, click here. We encourage you to contact CollegeFairMagazine (CFM) at collegefairmagazine@gmail.com with any questions.

Click here to view the CSO April Newsletter. As a reminder, the CSO will not publish a June or July newsletter. Our August newsletter will include pertinent deadlines and further updates to start the new school year. Please email Jasmine at jdreyes@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.