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.
  
  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.
  
  There has been a joint webinar (2/7/2020) and an accompanying .pdf handout (2/7/2020) developed by NYSED and the NYS Department of Health.
  
  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 mieddle 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)
  
  Q&A from the U.S. Department of Education on Providing Services for Children with Disabilities (3/13/2020)
  
  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)
  
  Suspension of Elementary and Intermediate Level State Testing for the Remainder of the School Year (3/20/2020)
  
  A public charter school in D.C. is utilizing free e-books, online field trips, and yoga to help keep families with young children connected.
  
  
• 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:
  
  
  • Consider participating in a federal grant application being prepared by the Center for Educational Innovation (CEI). CEI is a nonprofit organization that is applying to the Teacher and School Leader (TSL) incentive fund program for a grant to support independent charter schools across New York State to implement performance-based compensation systems that integrate measures of growth in social emotional learning for students and diversity, equity and inclusion goals for schools. Learn more here.
    
    
  • NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund Launched to Support New York City Nonprofit Organizations
    
    
  • Public Assistance Applicant Briefings for Private Nonprofits
    
    
  • U.S. Chamber of Commerce Coronavirus Emergency Loans
    
    
  • For Potential New Schools: PICCS: Partnership for Innovation and Collaboration among Charter Schools
    
    
• 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. Family Guide to Remote Learning - The Hellenic Classical Charter School: Contains all remote learning expectations in one quick powerpoint.

6. 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.