Meeting of the Board of Regents | January 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 Charter for the Bronx Community Charter School
DATE:	January 4, 2008
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1 and 2
AUTHORIZATION(S):

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Decision

 

Should the Regents approve and issue the proposed charter of the Bronx Community Charter School as submitted by the Chancellor of the city school district of the city of New York? 

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

 

              Required by New York State Education Law §2852.

 

Proposed Handling

 

This question will come before the Regents EMSC Committee for action and then before the full Board for final action in January 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 have received a proposed charter from the Chancellor of the city school district of the city of New York for the establishment of the following charter school.  This will be presented to you at your January 2008 meeting.  The proposed charter is for the following:

 

• Bronx Community Charter School  

 

             The Bronx Community Charter School (BCCS) would be located in New York City Community School District 10, in the Bronx.  BCCS will initially serve 100 students in grades K-1 and expand to serve 300 students in grades K-5 by the fifth year of the initial charter. The School is founded on the principle that children learn best when they are active participants in their own learning and are supported by teachers who know them deeply.  Students will be expected to ask questions of themselves, each other, adults, books they read, and the natural and built environments around them.  Instruction will be delivered in a workshop model that allows for both direct instruction and large blocks of time for individual and collaborative student work.  Recruitment will target students of all backgrounds and admission will be open to all.  The School has no management partner.

 

Recommendation

 

VOTED: That the Board of Regents approve and issue the charter of the Bronx Community Charter School as proposed by the Chancellor of the city school district of the city of New York, and issue a provisional charter to it for a term of five years, ending on January 14, 2013.

 

Reason for Recommendation

 

              1) The charter school described in the proposed charter meets the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules, and regulations; (2) the applicants can demonstrate the ability to operate the school in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; and (3) approving and issuing the proposed charter is likely 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; and (4) approving and issuing the proposed charter will have a significant educational benefit to the students expected to attend the proposed charter school. 

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

The Regents action for the Bronx Community Charter School is effective immediately.

 

New York State Education Department

 

Summary of Proposed Charter School

 

Summary of Applicant Information

 

 

Name of Proposed Charter School:  Bronx Community Charter School (BCCS or “the School”)

 

Address:  TBD

 

Applicant(s):  Sasha Wilson

 

Anticipated Opening Date:  September 2, 2008

 

District of Location: New York City Community School District 10, The Bronx

 

Charter Entity:  Chancellor of the city school district of the city of New York

 

Institutional Partner(s):  N/A

 

Management Partner(s):  N/A

 

Grades Served:                      2008-09: K-1

2009-10: K-2

2010-11: K-3

2011-12: K-4

2012-13: K-5

                         

Projected Enrollment:         2008-09: 100

2009-10: 150

2010-11: 200

2011-12: 250

2012-13: 300

 

 

Proposed Charter Highlights

 

Applicants

 

• Sasha Wilson, the lead applicant, is a resident of CSD 10, the location of the proposed charter school, and has taught for the past nine years at P.S.51/The Bronx New School in CSD 10.  He has held a variety of leadership roles, among them serving on the School Leadership Team, coordinating the Personnel Committee, serving as UFT Chapter Chair, and leading professional development sessions for staff and workshops for parents.  Mr. Wilson is currently enrolled in the Educational Leadership for Social Change program at Bank Street College of Education and is doing an administrative internship at Community Roots Charter School.  Mr. Wilson is fluent in Spanish and was one of the founders of the Los Chavalitos Primary School in Nicaragua.  He also helped to found the Ravenswood “I Have a Dream” program, where he served as Education Director. 
• Members of the applicant team are: Martha Andrews, Ilia Edwards, Milo Novelo and Kendra Sibley.  Martha Andrews has ten years experience as an educator in New York City, the bulk of it in CSD 10, is currently enrolled in the Educational Leadership for Social Change program at Bank Street College of Education, and has led professional development sessions for teachers and workshops for parents.  Ilia Edwards was a teacher of an ESOL inclusion classroom and is currently a math coach in the White Plains Schools.  Milo Novelo is the assistant principal of the Neighborhood School in CSD 1.  Kendra Sibley taught at PS 51 and was a member of the School Leadership Team.

 

Institutional Partner(s)

 

              N/A

 

Management Partner(s)

 

              N/A

 

Curriculum/Assessment/Instruction

 

• BCCS is founded on the principle that children learn best when they are active participants in their own learning and are supported by teachers who know them deeply.  Children will learn to use their minds well, cultivating strong intellectual habits and skills to become self-directed learners with clear passions and ambitions. Instruction will foster the development of critical thinking, independence, questioning, perseverance, and commitment to serving the community.
• Instruction will be delivered in a workshop model that allows for both direct instruction and large blocks of time for individual and collaborative student work. 
• The School will use Backward Design to refine curriculum and assessment on an ongoing basis.
• The School will use a Balanced Literacy program that will include reading and writing workshops, guided reading, word study, read aloud, shared reading, and individual conferences.  The program will be supported by the Making Meaning reading program.
• For phonics, spelling and vocabulary instruction, the School will use the Words Their Way or Letters, Words, and How They Work program. 
• For math, the School will use the Technical Education Resource Centers (TERC) Investigations in Number, Data and Space, supplemental skills work and daily morning math routines.  Morning routines and skills work will provide direct computational and numerical practice. 
• For science, the School will use the FOSS program.  The School will extend science learning through partnerships with organizations such as Clearpool Education Center, the Bronx River Alliance and the Catskills Center. 
• Social studies instruction will be thematic and project-based.  Content based on the NYS Standards will be explored through both informational and fictional texts, field trips, mapping activities, video clips, music, drama, and point-of-view writing.
• The School will provide instruction in health, physical education, family and consumer sciences, and career development and occupational studies.
• The School will meet Languages Other Than English (LOTE) standards by incorporating Spanish language and culture into the social studies curriculum and classroom routines.
• In its first year, the School will have a full-time visual arts teacher.  In its third year, there will be an additional specialist in the performing arts.
• Technology instruction will be integrated into the core academic areas.
• The School will utilize community connections to enhance curriculum via community involvement projects.
• The School’s curricular components are aligned with NYS Standards for Learning as well as standards established by national associations, such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and National Council of Teachers of English.
• In addition to all assessments required by New York State and the No Child Left Behind Act, the School will administer ECLAS-2 and the DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment), FOSS Science Assessments for grades one through five, and TERC Math Assessments for grades one through five, and a norm-referenced test such as the Terra Nova.   
• Teachers will be trained in the Schools Attuned protocol to meet the needs of special education students.
• Instruction will be offered to English Language Learners (ELL) through structured immersion and guided by the Structured Immersion Observation Protocol (SIOP). 
• The school day will be 8:30-4:00, and the school year will have 194 days.
• Each class will hold a maximum of twenty-five students. 

 

Governance

 

• There are seven founding members of the Board of Trustees.  As an aggregate, this group has experience in education, law, social services, business, finance and management.
• The initial Board of Trustees will consist of nine voting members.  One trustee will be a parent and one will be a staff member.
• Qualifications for Board membership include experience in financial, legal, business, fundraising, management, governance, real estate development or education  
• The Board includes the following standing committees: Executive, Finance, and Educational Accountability. 
• The minimum number of Board members is seven (7), and the maximum number is seventeen (17).   

 

Students

 

• The School will open with fifty kindergarten students and fifty first grade students.  Each grade will have two classes.
• The School will add one grade each year for the next five years.  Final enrollment will be 300 in K-5.
• The recruitment process will include the following: visits to local preschools to present information about the School to prospective families; distribution of flyers to local businesses and community organizations; information forums in February and March.
• Recruitment efforts will target the Bedford Park, Norwood, and Fordham neighborhoods of The Bronx in Community School District 10.   The area is 60% Hispanic, 19% Black, 12% White, 7% Asian and 2% other ethnicities.  The median income for the area is $24,000, with 33% of households living in poverty. 
• Admission preference will be given to students living in New York City Community School District 10. 

 

Personnel

 

• Sasha Wilson and Martha Andrews will be Co-Directors.  With the responsibility of day-to-day administration and decision-making, they will oversee the overall operations of the School and report directly to the Board.
• A Business Manager will be hired in March using funding from the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence.
• The following chart shows the personnel plan for the five years of the charter:

 

Position	2008/09	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13
Co-Directors	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Business Manager	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Finance Assistant	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Administrative Assistant	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
School Aide	1.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0
Teachers	7.0	9.0	12.0	14.0	17.0
Special Education. Teacher	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Assistant Teachers	0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
Social Worker	0.2	0.5	0.5	1.0	1.0
Nurse	0.2	0.2	0.2	1.0	1.0
Security Guard	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Custodian	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

 

• The seven teachers hired in Year one include four classroom teachers, a math specialist, a literacy specialist, and a visual arts teacher.
• One member of the Applicant Team is an experienced ELL and bilingual teacher, and will serve as the School’s ELL coordinator.
• The School will hire a literacy and math specialist who will provide structured support for teachers and students. 
• The School will provide on-going professional development through weekly faculty meetings, weekly grade team meetings with learning specialists, and bi-weekly meetings with Co-Directors.
• Each teacher will develop and implement a Personal Growth Plan, with support from the Co-Directors, to address his/her own professional development needs.

 

Budget/Facilities

 

• The proposed operating budget of the School in its first year is $1,751,200.
• The School anticipates raising $230,000 from private donations, of which $150,000 has already been raised or pledged by the Board of Trustees.  The School also anticipates $50,000 in start-up funding from the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence and start-up funding from the New York City Department of Education of $90,000 plus $391 for each pupil.
• The School anticipates a budget surplus at the end of the first year of $21,004.
• There are no loans included in the proposed budget.
• Three potential facilities have been identified: Two are vacant commercial spaces, and one is a former Lutheran school that is connected to a church.  The Board of Trustees is negotiating terms with all three landlords.  Renovation time for each is estimated at three to four months.
• The Board of Trustees has worked with University Neighborhood Housing Program (UNHP) to develop a proposal for financing a permanent facility as part of a mixed-use development.  UNHP has committed to helping the School connect with a local development partner for the project.
• The potential fiscal impact upon the District is represented below.  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

Bronx


Community Charter School

(New York City CSD 10 – Bronx)

2008-09 Through 2012-13

School Year	Number of Students	Projected Payment*	Projected Impact
2008-2009	100	$1,151,904	0.0056
2009-2010	150	$1,805,609	0.0085
2010-2011	200	$2,515,815	0.0114
2011-2012	250	$3,286,283	0.0145
2012-2013	300	$4,120,999	0.0177

* 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.

 

Community Support

 

• 431 local residents signed a petition of support and 270 families of age-eligible children have signed up to receive applications for admission in the event that the School is chartered.
• The application provides fifteen letters of support from community representatives and organizations.

 

Public Opinion

 

• A public hearing, hosted by the Community Education Council of Community School District 10, New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE), was held on September 20, 2007.  No comments were received.
• The New York City Department of Education received 32 emails supporting the establishment of BCCS.