For School Leadership
NCOCS Guidance for Charter School Boards
Charter School Leader Resources
The Office of Charter Schools seeks to provide technical support and resources to charter schools across North Carolina. Our office has created a resource list for school leaders which provides essential contacts and tasks across various educational departments and divisions. It is designed to assist charter school leaders, ensuring information is provided to navigate the educational landscape and fulfill necessary requirements. The resource list linked on this page should be used as a guidance document. OCS strives to keep this resource up to date, but it is the responsibility of each individual school to reach out to specific departments and their websites for the most up to date information. Should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact our office.
New charter school leaders must ensure the NC DPI EDDIE system is updated with accurate contact information in order to receive vital communications from various departments within DPI.
Charter School Leader Resource List
Epicenter
Epicenter is the Office of Charter Schools' document management platform. Epicenter is used to collect, store, and report charter school information. Everything from Performance Framework and Renewals to Amendments and Ready to Open is submitted and stored in Epicenter.
Resources
Office of Charter Schools Recommended Accountability and Compliance Timelines
Please Note- OCS has compiled suggested times throughout the year to provide charter schools with an overview of monthly submission deadlines and compliance requirements. This is not an exhaustive list, and some departments have detailed requirements not listed here, but an overall general calendar of expected accountability events throughout the school year. It is the responsibility of each individual school to ensure all compliance requirements are being upheld even if they are not listed in this general overview. Please reach out to each separate NCDPI entity for further information and other training(s) that are scheduled on their calendars, as well as add your school leader contacts to EDDIE upon changes being made at your school leadership level during hiring to receive weekly updates.
August
- Grade 3- Read to Achieve Testing Window (within first 15 days of school)
- 20-Day Enrollment Counts (First 20 Days of School)
- Monthly Testing & Accountability Coordinators Meetings Commence
September
- Mental Health Plans
- Parent's Guide to Student Achievement Plan due May-Sept 15
- Student Accountability Testing Plans
- EC Child Find Counts
- MLL Child Find Counts
- McKinney-Vinto Designee Training
- PMR I
- TOY, POY Candidate Application
October
- CS Financial Audits due
- PMR II
- PreACT Testing Window
- Beginning TOY Application
November
- Transportation Grant Window Opens
- Immunizations report and health assessments due to charter school nurse consultant
December
- PRC Robotics Grant Window ends January 5
- LP/CLP schools submit School Improvement Plans in NCSTAR
January
- CSADM Phase 0
- ACT Testing Window
February
- CSADM Phase 1
- PRC 254 STEM Grant Window ends February 1
March
- NCSECU PHP Grant Due (HS Seniors)
April
- SIS- Infinite Campus Trainings
May
- Testing and Student Accountability Windows
- Annual Charter School Health Report to Nurse Consultants opens(June 20 hard deadline)
June
- SIS End of Year Completion
- Financial Close Out Preparations
- CSADM 2
- Finance Office Trainings
- Federal Programs Trainings
- SIS trainings
- SIS account renewal
- EC Annual Trainings
- Final Performance Framework Submissions
- HomeBase/Schoolnet renewals
- EOY NCDPI Close-Out
July
- Finance Office Trainings
- Federal Programs Trainings
- SIS trainings
AEI (Alternative Evaluation Instrument)
Alternative Evaluation System (AEI): State Board Policy TCED-016 allows charter schools to implement an alternative evaluation system upon approval by the Office of Charter Schools. Please contact our ocs@dpi.nc.gov if your school wishes to adopt an AEI.
Office Hours
The purpose of the OCS Office Hours is to allow Charter School Leaders to connect with NCDPI department representatives virtually. Our office holds monthly learning opportunities for NCDPI departments to share information and resources. Recordings are housed in Epicenter.