Charter Schools Office October Newsletter Visit our website

FALL READY! IN THIS ISSUE  2019-20 District-Wide Survey Results, IU-26 Charter School Special Education Meetings SY 2020-21, DPO Survey of SPR Updates, Return to Play (RTP) School Operations Transportation Attending Screen in IC Reminder and PHLConnectED UPCOMING CSO DEADLINES Phase 2 Data Packet, 2020-21 New Charter Application Cycle, SY 2020-21 Calendar of Collections Reminder, and Data Sharing MOUs Reminder RESOURCES FOR SCHOOLS View the clickable resources below! Opportunities 52nd Annual Youth Summit The Learning Exchange at YouthBuild Philly Temple University Scholars Program for Seniors Fresh Artists Free Classes Offered by Kimmel Center PDH & PDE Face Coverings THE CSO WOULD LIKE TO WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY AND SAFE HALLOWEEN! October 29, 2020 Greetings Sector Leaders, We would first like to begin by acknowledging the current state of our local community, and what this means for us not just within the City but our country at large. Unfortunately we find ourselves at the focal point of needless tragedy, leaving many with emotions of sadness, anger, and hopelessness. Its occurrence taking place on the eve of a historic election has contributed to a profound level of anxiety. So where do we go from here?  As a partner we cannot help but stress the importance of our voices—our actions—and what it means now more than ever. As our students look to us for guidance, for hope, we must continue to inspire and ensure that they have a foundation to stand on and create the type of change they believe in for their future and generations beyond. To this end, we first want to share that the CSO presented at the National Association of Charter School Authorizers Annual (NACSA) Conference, which is being held virtually from October 12-30, 2020. Our first session was entitled: Internal DEI Conversations as a First Step to More Equitable Authorizing. The CSO’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism is unwavering, and as an office and in alignment with the School District of Philadelphia (SDP), we have been discussing the role of authorizers in dismantling white supremacy, racism, and other systems of oppression in education. We will be sharing our internal reflections regarding the first phase of our work and plan to share them with you at our Fall convening (date TBD).  Our second session was entitled: Launching an EL PLC as a School Support and Engagement Strategy. We have received grant funding from EdLoC and partnered with Esperanza Academy Charter School to provide a professional learning community (PLC) for English Learners (EL) educators in the sector. You may read about it here. The PLC gives participants dedicated time and space with experts in the field to collaborate and share instructional practices and other resources to support the teaching and learning of ELs, especially during COVID-19. Over 30 charter schools have opted in to the PLC and we are excited to support the learning that is occurring in the space and the building of the “levEL up” consortium website. If you have questions about the PLC, please reach out to Stephanie at [email protected].  We also want to note that Philadelphia School Partnership (PSP) has shared the Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with leadership for charter participation in PHLConnectED. Questions regarding the MOU should be directed to Miriam Sondheimer, Managing Director (PSP), at [email protected]. Questions about the fee structure should be directed to Sarah Hollister, Deputy Director of Education Policy of the Mayor’s Office of Education, at [email protected]. Lastly, two quick reminders. If your school currently serves meals to all Philadelphia students and you wish to be included on the City’s meal distribution list, linked here, please contact Jasmine at [email protected] with this information. Also, the CSO has shared an updated data sharing MOU with 51 charter schools. Please reach out to Sarah at [email protected] if you have any questions.   As always, be sure to read the newsletter for additional important information in addition to upcoming deadlines, events, and opportunities. We look forward to continuing our partnership with you. Sincerely, Christina Grant Chief of Charter Schools and Innovation

CSO UPDATES

PHLConnectED Please ensure to update the PHLConnectED Tab in Infinite Campus (IC) with the SIM and IMEI number once a Comcast code or hotspot is assigned to a student. As a reminder, step-by-step instructions for how to use the PHLConnectED tab can be viewed here. The CSO is monitoring student-level data in IC and redistributing codes and hotspots to schools once they are within 10 of their allocated number. IU-26 Charter School Special Education Meetings SY 2020-21 Beginning Tuesday, December 1, 2020, the Office of Specialized Instructional Services will be holding virtual meetings to discuss Intermediate Units (IU). To view the full list of dates, click here. For more information, please visit the Office of Specialized Services’s website here, or contact Russell Washington at [email protected].

Transportation Attending Screen in IC A second formal reminder is going out to applicable schools that, if a student(s) is attending school at another location (e.g. non-grade specific annex, Approved Private School [APS], or another school) your school will need to have the Transportation Attending School screen in Infinite Campus (IC) updated to reflect this. This will allow transportation to properly set up services, which is critical to keep students on their routes. Failure to do so will result in the system displaying inaccurate student data. DPO Survey of SPR Updates The District is developing a new report on student and school performance, which would replace the existing School Progress Reports (SPRs) beginning for the 2020-2021 school year. This report will align closely to the Board of Education's Goals and Guardrails. As part of the process to develop this report, the Division of Evaluation, Research, and Accountability (ERA) is gathering feedback on what measures should—or should not—be included. Please click here for more information and to share your feedback. If you have questions, please reach out to [email protected].

Return to Play (RTP) The Office of Athletics met with both District and charter school stakeholders to discuss the creation of models that allow for the safe resumption of fall and winter sports. To review the transition plan for Phase 1 of the RTP plan, click here. For more information, visit the District’s Office of Athletics website, linked here. 2019-20 District-Wide Survey Results District-wide survey data from SY 2019-20 is now available and ready for review on the District’s website. School level PDF reports can be accessed here via the Office of Research & Evaluation. To explore data more dynamically, visit the District-Wide Surveys website here.

2019-20 School Progress Report Update Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated school closures, multiple state and local assessments were cancelled during SY 2019-20. As a result, the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is not able to release a scored School Progress Report (SPR) for SY 2019-20. Instead, the District will release an unscored end-of-year summary report for each school to share information on the metrics that are available for SY 2019-20. This report will be released in January 2021, with a subset of metrics for District schools to be released in October 2020. Please visit philasd.org/spr, which links to the list of metrics that will be included in the end-of year summary, by domain. Please note that the CSO still intends on publishing Annual Charter Evaluations (ACEs). Charter Policies The Board of Education (Board) is reviewing and updating charter policies as shared with the sector in November 2019. The Policy Committee met on September 10th and conducted another reading of the proposed updates at an October 22nd meeting. The considered updates are to Policy 400 (Charter School Monitoring Structures) and Policy 401 (Charter School Authorizing Functions), as well as the elimination of Policy 141 (Renaissance Schools Initiative). Please note that the elimination of Policy 141 does not impact the operations of current Renaissance Charter Schools. See the CSO presentation or the recording of the Policy Committee Meeting for an overview of the existing policies and proposed updates. To provide feedback on policies, please complete this form that is located on the Board’s website.

UPCOMING CSO DEADLINES

Phase 2 Data Packet Wednesday, October 21, 2020 Phase 2 Data Packets and updated instructions were uploaded to Epicenter in early October. These Data Packets provide schools the opportunity to submit additional information about English Learners (EL) and recent graduates. If your school has questions or needs additional support, please contact [email protected].

2020-21 New Charter Application Cycle Sunday, November 15, 2020 As a reminder, please visit the CSO website to access the New Charter Application (NCA) materials for the 2020-21 cycle. The deadline for submitting all applications and supporting materials is Sunday, November 15, 2020. The CSO has posted informational webinar slides regarding the NCA process, which can be accessed via our New Charter Schools page, linked here. Questions can be emailed to [email protected].

SY 2020-21 Calendar of Collections Various Dates & Times Please refer to the following upcoming Calendar of Collections deadlines: Approved Board Minutes from July 1, 2020 - September 30, 2020: November 1, 2020 Audited Financial Statements for FY20: December 31, 2020

Data Sharing MOUs Please note that the submission of Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) is past due. If you have not done so already, please share signed MOUs as soon as possible with Sarah at [email protected]. We would like to execute these agreements as soon as possible. You can also contact Sarah with any questions you may have about the process.

CHARTER SCHOOL FEATURE

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RESOURCES FOR SCHOOLS

OPPORTUNITIES The CSO now includes resources accessible to schools at all times in our monthly newsletters. Click the links below to receive updates and other pertinent information. Charter Sector In-Person Dates For SY 2020-21 School FAQs Sector Communication Calendar of Collections Family Newsletter Board of Education Questions? Contact us at [email protected]

The Learning Exchange at YouthBuild Philly Thursday, October 29, 2020 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM YouthBuild will be hosting a virtual Creating Cohesive Culture 2.0 workshop on Thursday, October 29, 2020. The workshop dives into restorative culture, focusing on the student perspective. They will review restorative practices as a way to merge student experience with virtual school culture to create a trusting, safe space for all community members. For registration details, click here. For more information, contact [email protected]. Fresh Artists Fresh Artists, a Philadelphia-based non-profit with the mission to empower K-12 children through the power of art-making, is encouraging all registered art teachers in the charter sector to apply for annual grants. The grants are designed to help schools struggling with cuts in art funding by providing free classroom art supplies.  If your school has art teachers, please encourage them to click here to learn about registration criteria as well as additional announcements and upcoming giveaways such as Surprise Supplies and Fresh Artist's pop-up give-away of bulk materials. For more information on Fresh Artists and offered opportunities and programs for students and teachers, visit the website here. To be connected directly with Fresh Artists, complete the form here.

52nd Annual Youth Summit Friday, October 30, 2020 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) will host its 2nd Annual Youth Summit via Zoom on Friday, October 30, 2020. This year’s summit will focus on the growing public health crisis around gun violence and its impact on youth in the City of Philadelphia. All students, including charter, in Grades 9-12 are invited to attend the Summit. Student’s can register with parent permission via the document here. Seats are limited to 1000 students.  For additional information, please contact Tyler Wims, Director of Student Leadership, at [email protected], and/or Haniyyah Sharpe-Brown, Director, Government Relations & External Affairs, at [email protected]. Temple University Scholars Program for Seniors Applications Accepted Through Sunday, November 1, 2020 Temple University has created the Cecil B. Moore Scholars program for 50 current seniors that live in select zip codes and wish to attend Temple in the fall. Students will be offered a number of resources including tutoring, mentoring, and free dual enrollment courses in the spring prior to the start of fall courses. 20 admitted students will be selected to receive a scholarship that covers the base tuition at Temple University for four years.  Interested students should submit the common application by Sunday, November 1, 2020 through the link here. Please encourage students to read the application instructions, including qualifying zip codes as well as the option to request a fee waiver. Feel free to share the flyer linked here with your school community. Questions should be directed to Alyssa Liles-Amponsah at [email protected].

Free Classes Offered by Kimmel Center The Kimmel Center has announced that it will be offering free digital arts education to schools throughout the City, including charter schools. Students will have the option of choosing between multiple free creative art programs that will be taught by an experienced teaching staff. School teachers will also have access to these “Creative Stages” programs online. To learn more about the Kimmel’s free creative arts education programs, click here, or contact the Kimmel Center via email at [email protected]. PDH & PDE Face Coverings The Pennsylvania Department of Health (PDH) and the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) are distributing cloth masks to schools for each student. If you would like to obtain free masks for your school, please reach out to School District of Philadelphia (SDP) contact, Chris Fuscellaro, at [email protected] to arrange pickup. As a reminder, please see guidance regarding the Universal Face Coverings Order, linked here.

Click here to view the CSO September Newsletter. Our November newsletter will include pertinent deadlines and further updates. Please email Jasmine at [email protected] 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.