Charter School Office

• For Educators:
  
  Virtual/remote learning has become a major priority for schools. Resources to help faciliate that change can be found here. A guide for educators teaching with Zoom can be found here.
  
  Success Academy announced that it is making remote learning lesson plans available for all teachers. Success Academy also shared a video helping parents with math homework duties.
  
  Inwood Academy has started a blog to share writing from students during the pandemic. Titled the Students as Writers Series. (5/19/2020)
  
  Young Women's College Prep Charter School of Rochester has created a video to help with Negotiating the Divide through distance learning.
  
  A series of evidence-based resources and guidance about teaching and learning in a remote environment from USDOE's Regional Educational Laboratories. (6/8/2020)
  
  The Safe School Seven: critical components of remote education plans. A resource put together by the National Charter Schools Institute.
  
  Brooklyn LAB put together this resource to help Ensure Access for Students with Disabilities in Distance Learning.
  
  The Continuity of Learning Resources website is being updated with new otpions to keep students engaged in learning (4/3/2020)
  
  NYSED and the New York State Museum is offering behind the scenes virtual field trips on Facebook. (4/3/2020)
  
  Sample Communication Regarding End of Year Procedures – COVID-19 (5/5/2020)
  
  An article on Medium: How to grade high school students in the middle of a pandemic
  
  
• Students with Disabilities:
  
  Provision of Services to Students with Disabilities During Statewide Closures due to COVID-19 (3/30/2020)
  
  COVID-19 and Students with Disabilities preliminary guidance from the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools. (3/12/2020)
  
  Fact Sheet: Addressing the Risk of COVID-19 in Preschool, Elementary and Secondary Schools While Serving Children with Disabilities from the US Department of Education (3/23/2020)
  
  

• Teaching Resources and Testing Assessment Information:
  
  Educator Teaching Resources on COVID-19 can be found here. (3/10/2020)
  
  Information on the suspension of Grade 3-8 ELA Test Shipments (3/20/2020)
  
• U.S. Department of Education Guidance:
  
  FERPA and COVID-19 FAQ (3/13/2020)
  
  Fact Sheet: Impact of COVID-19 on Assessments and Accountability (3/13/2020)
  
  
• External Funding Resources:
  
  • Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Funding (7/20/2020)
  • U.S. Chamber of Commerce Coronavirus Emergency Loans
    
  • FEMA Disaster Relief 4480 grant: Private Non-profit Elgibility Guidelines for Grant Funding. Submited through the FEMA Grants portal located here.
  • NYC will pay youth to take courses this summer
    
    
• Education Continuity Plan Exemplars and Effective Practices:
  1. Educational Continuity Plan Chat - West Buffalo Charter School
  This is a conversation with Andrea Todoro, the school leader of the West Buffalo Charter School, regarding the supports and services they are providing to students during the COVID-19 emergency:

  
  2. Educational Continuity Plan Chat - Mott Hall Charter School
  This is a conversation with Connie Lobdell and Jacqueline Frey from Mott Hall Charter School, regarding the supports and services they are providing to students during the COVID-19 emergency:

3. Educational Continuity Plan Chat - School in the Square Public CS
This is a conversation with Even Meyers and Carrie Amon, from School in the Square Public Charter School, regarding the supports and services they are providing to students during the COVID-19 emergency:



4. Educational Continuity Plan Chat - Ivy Hill Prep Charter School
This is a conversation with Judge Marsha Michael and Ambrosia Johnson, from Ivy Hill Prep Charter School, regarding the supports and services they are providing to students during the COVID-19 emergency:

5. Educational Continuity Plan Chat - VOICE Charter School

David Frank from the NYSED Charter School Office has a conversation with Franklin Headley, VOICE Charter School's Principal and Executive Director, and Matthew Kolman, VOICE's middle school director, regarding the work they are doing in Queens, NY to instill efficacy, care, and wonder for their students, even during times of uncertainty. We discuss preparing for the unknown, the challenges of remote teaching, social-emotional development, and planning for the fall.

6. Family Guide to Remote Learning - The Hellenic Classical Charter School: Contains all remote learning expectations in one quick powerpoint.

7. High School Virtual Band - Syracuse Academy of Science Charter School

When the coronavirus pandemic put a stop to in-person band practice, music teacher Lexi Carlson and her band students knew they had to keep the music going. After trial, error, and six weeks of hard work, the Syracuse Academy of Science Charter School's High School Band is releasing their first ever recording, “Ode to Joy,” the theme from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony that for centuries has been a symbol of hope and the resilience of the human spirit.

Many of the band members began playing their instruments just this school year.  They started practicing "Ode to Joy" at school in February and continued to learn it remotely through one-on-one sessions over Zoom in order to put together the recording. It is the first time the students have ever practiced and recorded music on their own. Lexi Carlson, the Syracuse Academy of Science High School band teacher, put together the students’ individual recordings with the support of the Science Academies of New York multimedia department to create the released video recording:

• Online Resources from the Charter School of Applied Technologies can be found on their home page (under COVID) and are also linked from the COVID page:
  https://www.csat-k12.org/covid-19
  
  
• Susan Tenner at Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School shares with us an overview video for Families (see below), and a range of remote learning resources on their website:
  
  
  
  
• Additional resources for your school can be found here:
  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/index.html
  https://www.schoolhealthny.com/coronavirus;
  https://www.ed.gov/coronavirus; and
  http://www.p12.nysed.gov/sss/schoolhealth/schoolhealthservices/coronavirus.html.

Any questions related to COVID-19 can be sent to: COVID19@nysed.gov. If your school is willing to share any resources as exemplars, please email them to us at: CharterSchools@nysed.gov.

Further guidance from the New York State Health Department and NYSED is forthcoming.