Utah Charter School Conversations

This 5 minute Mentoring Program orientation is a high-level overview of the new mentoring program. Meant as a companion to the mentoring handbook, this summary talks about the three Cs of the mentoring program: connect, coach, and cultivate.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in Utah's public charter schools through advocacy, training, and technical support. Our podcast is produced, hosted, and edited by Gina James. Original music was composed by James Valentine.

Please subscribe to this podcast and visit us on Facebook and Instagram. Find student stories and training videos on our YouTube channel.

Consultation Access Link Line to Utah Psychiatry (CALL-UP) is a free consultation service available to all Utah public schools. The consult service is designed to:

1. Optimize primary care providers’ ability and confidence to diagnose and treat mild to moderate mental health issues;
2. Improve quality of care and health outcomes for patients by affording early interventions;
3. Promote and improve mental health and physical health integration; and
4. Ensure appropriate referrals for individuals with serious behavioral health concerns.

Our conversation covers the services available, how to access the Call-up line, and ways to help improve student mental health.

Visit the Call-Up website: https://healthcare.utah.edu/hmhi/programs/call-up

Flyer

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in Utah's public charter schools through advocacy, training, and technical support. Our podcast is produced, hosted, and edited by Gina James. Original music was composed by James Valentine.

Please subscribe to this podcast and visit us on Facebook and Instagram. Find student stories and training videos on our YouTube channel.

How do you know if you are ready to apply for the CSP grant? This episode will guide you through identifying the foundational core capabilities that must be in place to be ready to apply. We also cover baseline application elements. We end with a quick discussion of accounting best practices, including time and effort tracking and internal controls that are required in grant reports.

Please download the corresponding handout HERE.

If you have any questions, visit utahcharters.org/csp-grant.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in Utah's public charter schools through advocacy, training, and technical support. Our podcast is produced, hosted, and edited by Gina James. Original music was composed by James Valentine.

Please subscribe to this podcast and visit us on Facebook and Instagram. Find student stories and training videos on our YouTube channel.

This episode will address how to craft a persuasive project narrative and aligning your budget to your proposal so your organization is grant-ready. Your project narrative isn’t just paperwork. It's your opportunity to show reviewers that your vision is strategic, your goals are measurable, and your plan is realistic.

This episode covers key strategies to make your narrative stand out. We also address the budget narrative and making sure your budget includes expenses that are allowable, reasonable, necessary, and allocable (ARNA). 

Please download the corresponding handout HERE.

If you have any questions, visit utahcharters.org/csp-grant.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in Utah's public charter schools through advocacy, training, and technical support. Our podcast is produced, hosted, and edited by Gina James. Original music was composed by James Valentine.

Please subscribe to this podcast and visit us on Facebook and Instagram. Find student stories and training videos on our YouTube channel.

In this episode, you will learn about the Utah Charter Schools Program, CSP, Grant and share the application process, required documents, review criteria, and what it takes to submit a competitive application. We will cover the following:

Step 1: Eligibility Verification

Step 2: Mandatory Technical Assistance

Step 3: Application Submission

Step 4: Application Format & Required Components

What Happens after you submit?

Post-Award: What CSP Expects

How do you know if you're ready to apply?

We have also created a handout to help you remember all the key points. You can find the handout HERE.

Visit utahcharters.org/csp-grant for more information.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in Utah's public charter schools through advocacy, training, and technical support. Our podcast is produced, hosted, and edited by Gina James. Original music was composed by James Valentine.

Please subscribe to this podcast and visit us on Facebook and Instagram. Find student stories and training videos on our YouTube channel.

In this episode, you will learn about the Utah Charter Schools Program, CSP, Grant and help you determine whether applying is the right step for your school. We will answer:

What is the CSP Grant?

Why does this grant exist?

How much funding is available?

Who is eligible to apply?

What can CSP funding be used for and not used for?

We have also created a handout to help you remember all the key points. You can find the handout HERE.

Visit utahcharters.org/csp-grant for more information.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in Utah's public charter schools through advocacy, training, and technical support. Our podcast is produced, hosted, and edited by Gina James. Original music was composed by James Valentine.

Please subscribe to this podcast and visit us on Facebook and Instagram. Find student stories and training videos on our YouTube channel.

Join our discussion all about Ascent Academies of Utah and the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM). With 5 campuses (Lehi, Saratoga Springs, West Valley, West Jordan, and Farmington), Ascent Academies provides an education not only geared to a student's learning type but to their expression type of learning through SEM. Developed at the University of Connecticut, Ascent teachers receive deep training in SEM to help children become engaged, self-motivated learners. 

In our discussion, Wade talks about how the students thrive with this learning style by taking charge of their own education with careful guidance from trained teachers. Wade has been in education for over 20 years as a teacher, principal, and now executive director over several campuses. We talk about how education has changed, including his optimism about the remarkable children in school now. He shares how Ascent has cross-campus collaboration for teachers and students to strengthen the community. We also talk about the role of schools in society. 

We hope you enjoy our discussion!

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in Utah's public charter schools through advocacy, training, and technical support. Our podcast is produced, hosted, and edited by Gina James. Original music was composed by James Valentine.

Please subscribe to this podcast and visit us on Facebook and Instagram. Find student stories and training videos on our YouTube channel.

UAPCS partners with several companies to offer shared services at better rates and with more options that a school may be able to receive on their own.

Able & Strong, formerly Verapath, offers financial services including retirement investment options including a 401K program. In this podcast, we speak with Greg Misener, Chief Compliance Officer, and Sarah Cox, Director of Business Development and Client Relations. We cover it all:

• Budgeting tips
• Determining how much to take out of your paycheck for retirement
• Determining how much money you need for retirement
• Different long term saving options

We had a great time (really!) talking all things finance!

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in Utah's public charter schools through advocacy, training, and technical support. Our podcast is produced, hosted, and edited by Gina James. Original music was composed by James Valentine.

Please subscribe to this podcast and visit us on Facebook and Instagram. Find student stories and training videos on our YouTube channel.

Join our conversation with Jared Ferguson, Executive Director, at Athenian eAcademy. Athenian has six campuses in Tremonton, Delta, Ephraim, Nephi, Richfield, and Ballard in addition to a blended program that combines home learning with school supports.
 
Jared believes in the importance of each person at school from students to parents, and support staff to teachers. Athenian strives to provide differentiated learning for their multi-grade classrooms to meet each student at their level. Teacher training is targeted to be meaningful and highly pertinent. Jared believes in building trust and sees lack of trust as one of the big problems in education. To combat that, he values each person's perspective and advocates for using agency to be deliberate in interactions with others. 

A former high school biology teacher, with a particular interest in entomology, Jared makes time to visit each campus and give a presentation on insects that is a highlight for students, and for him. Listen to learn more about this school that caters to rural Utah.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in Utah's public charter schools through advocacy, training, and technical support. Our podcast is produced, hosted, and edited by Gina James. Original music was composed by James Valentine.

Please subscribe to this podcast and visit us on Facebook and Instagram. Find student stories and training videos on our YouTube channel.

Join Royce Van Tassell, Executive Director, Utah Association of Public Charter Schools as we discuss what bills passed, what was discussed, and how much money we'll get for education in the coming year. Please take a look at the summary document on our website HERE. You can also see all the updates during the session on our website at https://www.utahcharters.org/legislative-updates.  Some key bills discussed include the following (link to bill):

• HB 221, Student teacher stipends
• HB 105, Classroom supplies reimbursements
• HB 173, Teacher bonuses
• HB 29, Sensitive materials 
• HB 303, Classroom neutrality
• HB 182, Student survey requirements
• HB 499, Adjusts training requirements for educators
• HB 413, Mental health screener notification requirements
• HB 84, School safety amendments
• HB 415, Curricular and co-curricular fees

We have also provided a detailed HB 84, School Safety Amendments, summary document HERE.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in Utah's public charter schools through advocacy, training, and technical support. Our podcast is produced, hosted, and edited by Gina James. Original music was composed by James Valentine.

Please subscribe to this podcast and visit us on Facebook and Instagram. Find student stories and training videos on our YouTube channel.