CACSA Part of New Federal Grant Awarded to National Network for District Authorizing
The U.S. Department of Education awarded a National Dissemination grant through the Charter School Program (CSP) to the National Network for District Authorizing (NN4DA). CACSA is a founding member of the NN4DA and is a partner in the proposed CSP grant.
Details on the award are not yet available, but the application proposed a three-year project that will provide substantial support to CACSA for our work to help more Colorado authorizers implement best practices and to promote cross-agency collaborations that improve access, services, and outcomes for special populations in charter schools.
The NN4DA project will leverage CACSA’s current partnership with California and Florida, and add additional state partners, including: Georgia, Idaho, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
______________________________________________________
CACSA Cancelling Meeting on Special Education Rules
Instead, Conference Call to Discuss Questions Scheduled for 9:00 am to 10:15 on Friday, September 30
We are cancelling the CACSA meeting originally scheduled for Friday September 30, to discuss the new State Board Rules regarding enrollment of students with disabilities has been cancelled. A survey of CACSA members indicated that many offices are waiting for further guidance regarding the recent changes that is not yet available. A recent state complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), filed by Disability Law Colorado (DLC), has further complicated current implementation of the new State Board Rules.
Instead, CACSA is convening a check-in call for those interested in updating each other on their own plans for implementation and to discuss potential scenarios that future state guidance could address. We will discuss these issues with Paul Foster and other staff from CDE. The login information for the call is below.
Zoom Link
Meeting ID: 861 5981 8275
Passcode: 916382
One tap mobile: +17193594580,,86159818275#
________________________________________________
CDE’s EASI Grant Competition Announced
This week CDE announced the 2022-2023 Empowering Action for School Improvement (EASI) application is now available. Completed applications must be submitted online by Friday, December 9, 2022. The EASI grants provide support to schools that have been identified by the state for ongoing issues in academic performance. Authorizers overseeing schools that are eligible for EASI grants may want to encourage charters to explore how this opportunity could support necessary work in their school. Information is available on the grant here. The competition prioritizes schools based on their status under state and federal accountability systems and schools with a higher prioritization are much more likely to receive funding. The prioritization of all eligible schools is available here.
_____________________________________
Opportunity for Charters to get Support from Safe Communities Safe Schools Program
A Colorado-based project is looking for charter schools interested in receiving support for improvement efforts. Safe Communities Safe Schools (SCSS) is looking for 40 schools that would like to participate in a three-year project designed to focus on culture, climate, and safety. Information on the project is available here. SCSS is an adaptive model for school safety grounded in community engagement, capacity building, and data-based decision making.
The SCSS is looking for help from authorizers in identifying charter schools that would be interested in participating and that could ensure strong buy-in from the school leadership. The project helps school leadership teams implement a process that includes:
- Developing leadership team capacity
- Analyzing existing data and providing safety and climate (students, staff, family) surveys if they don’t have them
- Mapping existing programs and strategies
- Creating a data-driven action plan
- Providing training and resources
- Monitoring progress and planning for sustainability
Those interested in more information should contact Franziska Zenhaeusern at: Franziska.Zenhaeusern@colorado.edu