Meeting of the Board of Regents | May 2008

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:
FROM:	Johanna Duncan-Poitier
SUBJECT:	Charter Schools: Proposed Third Renewal Charter for Family Life Academy Charter School
DATE:	May 9, 2008
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1 and 2
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Decision

 

Should the Regents approve the staff’s recommendations concerning the proposed third renewal to the charter for the Family Life Academy Charter School submitted by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York (“SUNY”)? 

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

 

              Required by State statute, Education Law §2852.

 

Proposed Handling

 

This question will come before the EMSC Committee in May 2008 for action.  It will then come before the full Board for final action in May 2008.

 

Procedural History

 

The New York Charter Schools Act of 1998 requires the Board of Regents to review, in accordance with the standards set forth in Education Law §2852(2), proposed charters, renewal charters and revisions to charters and renewal charters that have been approved and submitted by other charter entities.  The Board of Regents may either approve and issue a charter, renewal charter and/or revision as proposed by the charter entity, or return the same to the charter entity for reconsideration with written comments and recommendations. 

Background Information

 

We received a request from the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York (“SUNY”) to approve and issue a third renewal charter for the Family Life Academy Charter School.    The initial five-year charter was granted by the Board of Regents on May 14, 2001.  On February 14, 2006, the Board of Regents granted a short-term first renewal of its charter for a term up through and including July 31, 2006.  On May 23, 2006, the Board of Regents approved and granted a second renewal charter for a term up through and including July 31, 2008.  SUNY has requested that the charter be renewed for a term up through and including June 29, 2013.   

 

Staff recommends that the Board of Regents approve and issue a third renewal charter to the Family Life Academy Charter School as proposed by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York, and extend its provisional charter for a term up through and including June 29, 2013.

 

Recommendation

 

VOTED: That the Board of Regents approve and issue the third renewal charter of the Family Life Academy Charter School as proposed by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York, and that its provisional charter be extended for a term up through and including June 29, 2013.

 

Reason for Recommendation

 

The charter school:  (1) meets the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law and all other applicable laws, rules, and regulations; (2) will, during the renewal period, operate in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; and (3) is likely, during the renewal period, to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred fifty of Article 56 of the Education Law.

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

The Regents action for the Family Life Academy Charter School is effective June 30, 2008.

 

New York State Education Department

 

Summary of Charter School Renewal Information

 

Summary of Applicant Information

 

 

 

 

Address:   14 West 170th Street, Bronx, NY 10452

 

Board of Trustees President:  Francisco Lugovinia

 

Requested Renewal Period: June 30, 2008 – June 29, 2013

 

District of Location: New York City Community School District 9, Bronx                      

 

Charter Entity:  SUNY Board of Trustees

 

Institutional Partner(s): The Latino Pastoral Action Center, Inc.

 

Management Partner(s): N/A

 

Grades Served per Year:    K-5                                                 

 

Projected Enrollment per Year: 290

 

 

Renewal Application Highlights

 

 

Evidence of Educational Soundness/ Attainment of Educational Objectives

• The student achievement results for the Family Life Academy Charter School are shown in Tables 1, 2 and 3 below.    
• The School’s population for 2005-2006 consisted of 71 percent Hispanic, 28 percent Black or African American, 1 percent Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander.
• For 2006-2007, the School served 98 percent low income students, and 11.8 percent students with disabilities.
• For 2006-2007, the School served 41.7 percent limited English proficient students.
• The results indicate that the School’s overall math results are higher than the ELA results.   
• In the first four years of its charter, the School met few of the key academic outcomes in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics.  In the past two years, however, FLACS met or exceeded all of the mathematics objectives and met five of six ELA objectives. 
• The single ELA goal that the School missed was: “Each year, 75 percent of 3rd to 5th graders who are enrolled in at least their second year will perform at or above Level 3 on the New York State ELA examination.”  In 2005-2006, 53 percent of students enrolled in at least their second year scored at or above Level 3 of the ELA exam, and in 2006-2007, 59 percent scored at or above Level 3.   
• In ELA, all cohorts showed substantial progress in year-to-year gains.  Three of five cohorts met all of their targets.
• In ELA, FLACS students scoring in Levels 3 and 4 on the state exams exceeded the performance in the School’s district by a factor of approximately 50 percent.
• In mathematics, more than 75 percent of 3rd – 5th graders who have been enrolled in at least their second year at the School performed at or above Level 3 on the state exam. 
• In mathematics, FLACS students scoring in Levels 3 and 4 on the state exams exceeded the performance of students in the School’s district by a factor of approximately 45 percent.
• FLACS has met its science goal.  More than 80 percent of students scored at Level 3 or above on the fourth grade state science exam. 
• FLACS has met its social studies goal.  While 57 percent of students scored at Level 3 or above in the fifth grade state social studies exam in 2005-2006, the rate rose to 81 percent in 2006-2007. 
• FLACS states as its English proficiency goal: “By their second year following admissions to FLACS, at least 60 percent of ELL/LEP students will score at the Advanced or Proficient levels of the NYSESLAT assessment.  For each succeeding year, an additional 50 percent of the remaining students will be added to the school’s target for scoring at the NYSESLAT Advanced or Proficient levels.”  The School has met this goal for the 2003 and 2005 cohorts, and missed the goal by 2 percent for the 2004 cohort. 
• In 2007, the New York State Commissioner of Education identified FLACS as a High Performing/Gap Closing School.
• FLACS is deemed in “Good Standing” under the state’s NCLB accountability system.
• Teachers work interdependently in collaborative grade-level units and through participation in school-wide staff development workshops.
• With bi-weekly meetings to evaluate class and student data, FLACS is developing a tracking system to ensure appropriate follow-up for students requiring additional support.
• FLACS creates mentoring relationships by pairing experienced teachers with new personnel.
• The School instituted a faculty study group in which teachers read about and discuss strategies to help English Language Learner (ELL) students, followed by the implementation of sheltered English immersion techniques in the classroom and observation/analysis by the School leadership team.
• During the next five years, the School will emphasize professional development.  This effort will be enhanced through the implementation of a federal Partnership for Innovation in Compensation for Charter Schools (PICCS) grant.
• FLACS met its 2006-07 attendance goal of 93 percent.

 

Table 1

2006-2007

Grades 3-5 State ELA and Math Assessments

Percent of FLACS Students at Levels 1 - 4

3-5 ELA						3-5 Math
%L1	%L2	%L3	%L4	Proficiency			%L1	%L2	%L3	%L4	Proficiency
8.1	31.9	57.8	2.2	60.0			3.0	12.7	72.4	11.9	84.3

 

Table 2

2005-2006

Grades 3-5 State ELA and Math Assessments

Percent of FLACS Students at Levels 1 - 4

3-5 ELA						3-5 Math
%L1	%L2	%L3	%L4	Proficiency			%L1	%L2	%L3	%L4	Proficiency
4.3	34.5	59.5	1.7	61.2			3.3	23.1	62.0	11.6	73.6

 

Table 3

2005-2006 and 2006-2007

Grades 3-5 State ELA and Math Assessments

Percent of FLACS and District 9 Students at Proficiency Level

3-5 ELA				3-5 Math
	2005-2006	2006-2007				2005-2006	2006-2007
FLACS	61.2	60.0			FLACS	73.6	84.3
District	42.2	37.2			District	50.6	59.4

 

 

Evidence of Fiscal Soundness/Projected Fiscal Impact

• Operating in a fiscally sound manner, FLACS has created realistic budgets that are monitored and adjusted when appropriate.
• In the year ending June 30, 2007, total revenues from all sources were $3,798,390 and total expenditures were $3,332,102.
• The School has no long-term debt.
• The School has generated adequate cash flow to support operations.
• SUNY never cited the School for any material financial or internal control weakness as part of its annual financial statement audits, although an audit by the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) indicated that there were several areas in which the School could improve its internal controls.  FLACS implemented corrective actions with satisfactory results.  OSC made the following recommendations:

• Evaluate the effectiveness of web filtering software and actively monitor internet usage.
• Verify all building security guards are fingerprinted.
• Comply with established policies and procedures for procurement and cash disbursements.

• The table in Attachment 1 shows the School’s negative change in its net assets. 
• The potential fiscal impact upon the District is represented below.  Please note that these projections are based upon several assumptions, which may or may not occur: that all existing charter schools will also exist in the next five years and serve the same grade levels as they do now; that the charter schools will be able to meet their projected maximum enrollment; that all students will come from New York City and no other districts; that all students will attend everyday for a 1.0 FTE; that the District’s budget will increase at the projected rate; that the per pupil payment will increase (and not decrease); and that the per pupil payment will increase at the projected rate.

 

Projected Fiscal Impact of the

Family Life Academy Charter School

(New York City CSD 9 – Bronx)

2008-09 through 2012-13

School Year	Number of Students	Projected Payment*	Projected Impact
2008-2009	290	$3,340,520	0.0161
2009-2010	290	$3,490,844	0.0164
2010-2011	290	$3,647,932	0.0166
2011-2012	290	$3,812,088	0.0168
2012-2013	290	$3,983,632	0.0171

*Assumes a 3 percent annual increase in the District’s budget from the  

 base of $20.12 billion in 2007-2008; and a 4.5 percent annual increase in

 the average expense per pupil per year from the 2007-2008 rate of

 $11,023.

 

Evidence of Parent and Student Satisfaction and Community Support

• The required public hearing conducted by the New York City Department of Education was held on Wednesday, April 30, 2008.  Three positive comments were made about the school at the hearing.  No other public comments were made or received.
• In July 2007, the waiting list for students seeking admission to FLACS contained 500 names.
• The Parent Satisfaction survey in the spring of 2007 had a 53 percent return rate and a 96 percent satisfaction rate.  While meeting the School’s goal for a high satisfaction rate, the participation rate fell short of the School’s goal of 80 percent.  Students who were surveyed expressed enthusiasm for the learning opportunities available to them. 

 

Attachment 1

 

Family Life Academy Charter School

Change in Net Assets 2003-04 Through 2005-06*

Year	Change in Net Assets
2003-2004	$711,189
2004-2005	-$207,920
2005-2006	-$247,538

*Source: Audited Financial Statements provided as a part of each Annual Report.