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

 

TO:	EMSC-VESID Committee
FROM:	James A. Kadamus
SUBJECT:	Charter School Applications and Revision to Existing Charter
DATE:	April 13, 2005
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1 and 2
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

Executive Summary

 

Issue for Decision

 

            Should the Regents approve three proposed charters and one request for a material change in a charter submitted by the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education?

 

Proposed Handling

 

            This question will come before the EMSC-VESID Committee on April 14, 2005 for discussion and action.  It will then come before the Full Board in the Committee's minutes for final action on April 15, 2005.

 

Procedural History

 

Under the New York Charter Schools Act of 1998, the Board of Regents is authorized to make recommendations on proposed charters submitted by another charter entity.   The Board of Regents is authorized to approve revisions to existing charters submitted from other charter entities. Upon receipt of a proposed charter submitted by a charter entity, the Board of Regents shall review such proposed charter in accordance with the standards set forth in the Charter School Act. The Board of Regents shall either (a) approve and issue the charter as proposed by the charter entity or (b) return the proposed charter to the charter entity for reconsideration with the written comments and recommendations of the Board of Regents. If the Board of Regents fails to act on such proposed charter within 60 days of its submission to the Board of Regents, the proposed charter shall be deemed to have been approved and issued by the Board of Regents at the expiration of such period.  Requests for material changes are handled in the same manner as charter applications.

 

Background Information

 

We have received three proposed charters from the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education that will be presented to you at your April meeting.  The proposed charters are for the following:

 

·        City Collegiate Charter School

·        New Heights Academy Charter School

·        Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy II Charter School

 

The Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) has submitted a proposed revised charter for the Achievement First Bushwick Charter School that would change the name of the school to the Achievement First Crown Heights Charter School and allow the school to expand its approved program to begin in the 2005-2006 school year with a kindergarten and first grade in addition to its currently approved fifth grade.  If approved, the school will enroll 237 students in grades K, 1, and 5 in 2005-2006, and will enroll 753 students in grades K-9 in school year 2009-2010. The potential fiscal impact for the school is provided below.  Complete copies of the proposed charters and materials submitted by the Chancellor pertaining to the amendment are available from Shelia Evans Tranumn at 718-722-2796.

 

 

Future Enrollment Plan for the

Achievement First Bushwick (Crown Heights) Charter School

 

Grades	School Year 2005-2006	School Year 2006-2007	School Year 2007-2008	School Year 2008-2009	School Year 2009-2010
Kindergarten	81	81	81	81	81
1st Grade	81	81	81	81	81
2nd Grade		81	81	81	81
3rd Grade			78	78	78
4th Grade				78	78
5th Grade	75	75	75	75	75
6th Grade		75	75	75	75
7th Grade			71	71	71
8th Grade				68	68
9th Grade					65
TOTAL	237	393	542	688	753

 

 

 

Potential Fiscal Impact of

Achievement First Bushwick (Crown Heights) Charter School

(New York City CSD 17/Region 6-Brooklyn Borough)

School Year	Number of Students	Projected Payment*	Projected Impact
2005-06	237	$2,034,882	.0015%
2006-07	393	$3,526,141	.0025%
2007-08	542	$5,081,861	.0035%
2008-09	688	$6,741,060	.0045%
2009-10	753	$7,709,940	.0005%

*  Assumes a 3 percent annual increase in the district’s budget from a 2003-2004 base of $12.9 billion and a 4.5 percent annual increase in the average expense per pupil per year from the 2004-2005 final average expense per pupil of $8,586.

 

The following table summarizes the number of new charters that may still be issued by charter entities in New York:

 

SUNY Board of Trustees	All Other Charter Entities
9	16

 

The New York City Chancellor has also approved eight conversion charter schools and the Buffalo City School District has approved one conversion school, all of which do not count against the statutory ceiling. 

 

Recommendation

 

VOTED: That the Board of Regents approve the proposed charters for the following charter schools based upon the information contained in the attachments and upon a finding by the Board of Regents that (1) the charter schools described in the applications meet 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 schools in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; and (3) granting the applications 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:

 

·        City Collegiate Charter School

·        New Heights Academy Charter School

·        Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy II Charter School

           

VOTED: That the Board of Regents approve the proposed revisions to the charter of the following charter school based upon the information contained in the attachments and upon a finding by the Board of Regents that: (1) the revisions meet the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules, and regulations; (2) the revisions (together with the other terms of the charter) will permit the charter school to operate in an educationally and fiscally-sound manner; and (3) the revisions (together with the other terms of the charter) are 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:

 

·        Achievement First Bushwick Charter School

 

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

Charters and material changes that the Regents approve will become effective on the date of the Regents action.  Approved schools are scheduled to open for the 2005-06 school year.

 

 

Attachments

 

New York State Education Department

 

Summary of Proposed Charter

 

Summary of Applicant Information

 

Name of Proposed Charter School:  City Collegiate Charter School (CCCS)

 

Address:  Brooklyn, New York (Williamsburg)

 

Applicant(s): Brett Peiser

 

Anticipated Opening Date:  August 2005

 

District of Location: New York City CSD 15, Region 8

 

Institutional Partner(s):  Uncommon Schools, Inc. (USI)

 

Management Partner(s):  n/a

 

Grades Served: 5 (5-9 year five)

 

Projected Enrollment:  75 (338 year five)

 

Proposed Charter Highlights

 

Applicant(s)

 

The lead applicant, future Board member of CCCS, and future Superintendent of Uncommon Schools, Inc. is Brett Peiser, Founder and Executive Director of South Boston Harbor Academy Charter School.  Mr. Peiser is a graduate of the New York City public schools and a former resident of Brooklyn, where he taught history at Midwood High School from 1990 to 1994.  In addition to teaching, Mr. Peiser coached the school’s baseball team and founded an after-school community basketball program for Midwood/Flatbush teenagers.  In 2002, Mr. Peiser also founded Edward Brooke Charter School, a college preparatory charter school currently serving 240 Boston students in grades 5-7 that will eventually expand to 320 students in grades 5-8.  Mr. Peiser received a B.A. degree from Brown University and a Master's of Public Policy degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he also earned the 2001 Rising Star award. 

 

Institutional Partner(s)

 

CCCS will not have an institutional partner.

           

Educational Management Organization

 

Uncommon Schools, Inc. (USI) will be the educational management organization. The President of USI is Norman Atkins.  Founded in 1996 initially to support North Star Academy, USI has primarily served two purposes:  capital fundraising and facility management.  USI will help launch, support and manage CCCS. The educational management organization will provide the following services to CCCS: Curriculum Development Supplies, Educational Services (including professional development, principal training, instructional coaching, school operations support), Support Services (including contractual counseling, special needs instruction, student evaluation), Contractual Outreach, Contractual Technology Services, Legal Services, Accounting Services (including monthly financial reporting), Operations and Back Office, Audit Services, Marketing and Advocacy, and Teacher Recruitment.

 

Curriculum/Assessment/Instruction

 

§         The mission of City Collegiate Charter School is to prepare each student for college.

§         CCCS states its design rests upon three pillars: creativity flourishes within structured academic environments; high academic and behavioral expectations for all students demand significant amounts of extra support; and teachers must have the time and professional tools and resources to do their jobs effectively. 

§         CCCS provides more time on task with a longer school year of at least 190 instructional days, in addition to a longer school day from 7:45 AM to 4:30 PM with double periods in English and math daily, as well as an hour each of science and history.

§         Students who are missing homework or whose work does not meet CCCS standards will be required to attend an hour-long Homework Club after school.

§         CCCS will provide mandatory tutoring outside of regular class time for students identified in need of extra help and any student who is failing any class at any point during the year will be invited to attend a four-hour Saturday School.

§         Each student will have an assigned advisor to check in with daily. 

§         CCCS will coordinate annual college visits for all middle and high students and have college advisor meetings beginning in grade 5.

§         The school will employ the Blackboard Configuration (BBC): Do Now, Focus, Agenda and Homework.

§         CCCS has developed the curriculum directly from New York State Learning Standards creating scope and sequence, detailed syllabi, and a database of unit and daily lesson plans.

§         The maximum class size will be 25 students in each grade that CCCS serves. 

§         CCCS teachers will teach four classes and will have three prep periods per day.

§         CCCS will administer internally developed Interim Curriculum Assessments to serve as benchmark exams throughout the year.  They will also use the TerraNova (in Reading and Math) as a norm-referenced assessment.

§         CCCS states it will assure that students with limited English proficiency and English Language Learners achieve proficiency in English as quickly as possible through the structured immersion strategy and with increased time speaking English during the extended day and year.

§         Students will begin each day with Community Circle.

 

Governance

 

§         The Board shall elect the Trustees by the vote of a majority of the Voting Trustees.

§         Not more than 40% of the Voting Trustees may be interested persons.

§         CCCS’s Board of Trustees retains all policy and operational decision-making rights of the school.

§         The school will start with a seven-member Board of Trustees; it will add a parent from CCCS.  One seat will be reserved for a member from the Williamsburg community; it may decide in the future to add more members (not to exceed 11).

§         The principal will serve as an ex-officio Board member.

§         For the parent member, the principal will nominate a parent; the Board will then vote to approve the nominee. 

§         Trustees shall be divided into three classes for the purpose of staggering their terms of office; these classes shall be as nearly equal in number as possible.

§         Regular meetings shall be held bi-monthly throughout the year, except for one month during the summer, and other times as the Board determines.

§         The Board may create committees for any purpose, and the Chair of the Board shall appoint members to and designate the chairs of such Boards.

§         The term of each Trustee shall continue for three (3) years, except the term of any Trustee who is a parent of a child enrolled in the Corporation shall be one (1) year.

 

Students

 

§         CCCS expects most of its students will live in Brooklyn, especially in the Williamsburg community, the likely location of the charter school. 

§         CCCS expects to enroll a student population similar to PS 16’s student body. As of October 31, 2004, the PS 16 student population consisted of 18.1% African-American, 77.9% Latino, 3.6% White and 0.4% Asian. Additionally, 85.3% students qualify for free lunch, 12.4% are in self-contained special education services, and 4% are in part-time programs. CCCS expects to serve a diverse group of students.  Students routinely score below the City and State averages on standardized exams.

§         The school will serve 75 fifth graders in year one and 338 students in grades 5-9 in year five.

§         The students will be selected by a blind, random lottery.  Preference will be given to students living in the New York City School District.  Students with siblings enrolled in the school receive preference over waiting list candidates who do not have siblings enrolled. 

 

Budget/Facilities

 

§      The NYCDOE has identified space at PS 16 in Williamsburg.  CCCS will have sufficient space to grow at this site for the first three years. NYCDOE assures CCCS that it will help the charter school find additional space as it grows beyond year three.  The Director of Facilities of USI will organize the move so that the educational program is not disrupted.

§         The first-year budget anticipates total revenue to equal $1,144,399, and year five to equal $2,667,654.

§         CCCS anticipates a surplus of $14,228 at the end of year one and a surplus of $53,712 in year five.

§         CCCS anticipates placing $6,440 in a contingency fund (year one), increasing to a total of $31,413 in year five.

§         CCCS does not anticipate needing a loan.

§         CCCS has budgeted to receive a $50,000 New York State Charter School Grant as well as a federal PCSP Grant, budgeted at $350,000 (spread over years 1 & 2).

§         CCCS expects to receive $52,700 in private contributions from the Center for Excellence and CMO Funding.

 

Personnel

 

§         CCCS will hire six general education teachers and .5 special education teachers in year one.  In year five, it will have 22 general education teachers and 1 full time special education teacher. 

§         CCCS will hire one teaching assistant over the term of the charter.

§         Each year, CCCS will add three part-time enrichment staff/specialty teachers.

§         The school will hire .5 social workers in year one; this position will be full-time in the remaining four years.

§         The school will hire one principal and one dean in year one.  In year five, the school expects to have one principal and five deans on staff.

§         Administrative staff includes an office manager (2 in year five) and a .25 office manager/administrative assistant for the life of the charter.

 

Fiscal Impact

 

Potential Fiscal Impact of

City Collegiate Charter School

(New York City CSD 15/Region 8)

School Year	Number of Students	Projected Payment*	Projected Impact
2005-06	75	$643,950	<.0001%
2006-07	146	$1,209,966	<.0001%
2007-08	213	$1,997,115	.0014%
2008-09	277	$2,714,061	.0018%
2009-10	338	$3,460,770	.0022%

*Assumes a 3 percent annual increase in the district’s budget from a 2001-2002 base of $12.5 billion and a 4.5 percent annual increase in the average expense per pupil, per year from the 2004-2005 final average expense per pupil of $8,856.

 

§         Programmatic and fiscal audits will comply with all requirements made of public schools.  The school will employ a New York State licensed public accountant or certified public accountant to perform the fiscal audit.  In addition, the school will ensure that the audit is conducted in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) issued by the U.S. Comptroller General.

 

Community Support

 

§         The school has submitted letters of support from the following:  Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President, and David Yassky, Council Member - 33^rd District.

§         The school has submitted letters of support from the following organizations:  The Bedford Stuyvesant “I Have a Dream” Program, Inc.; The Carter G. Woodson Cultural Literacy Project, Inc.; and St. John’s Recreational Center, City of New York Parks & Recreation.

§         The school has gathered 76 petition signatures from families with students currently enrolled in 4^th grade.  CCCS, in total, secured over 120 signatures of general support for the school.

 

Recommendation

           

Approve the application.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

 

1) The charter school described in the application 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) granting the application 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.

 

New York State Education Department

 

Summary of Proposed Charter

 

Summary of Applicant Information

 

Name of Proposed Charter School: New Heights Academy Charter School (NHACS)

 

Address: Washington Heights/Inwood

 

Anticipated Opening Date: September 2005

 

District of Location:  New York City CSD 6/Region 10

 

Institutional Partner:  None

 

Management Partner:  None

 

Grades Served:  5 and 9 (5 – 12)            

 

Projected Enrollment:  176 (686)

 

Proposed Charter Highlights

 

Applicant(s)

 

            The lead applicant, Stacy Winnitt, is an assistant principal at IS 90 in Community School District 6 in Manhattan.  Ms. Winnitt has worked as an administrator since 2001 and taught for eight years in the Washington Heights neighborhood.  The applicant is an alumnus of Teach for America.  She has taught primarily middle school English and history.  Since 2002, her duties have included day-to-day responsibility for the supervising a “Casa” of 300 students and 30 faculty members, managing the math department and serving on committees.  Ms. Winnitt chairs the Pupil Personnel Team.  The applicant holds an M.S. in Educational Leadership from Bank Street College and a B.A. in Psychology from Cornell University.

 

Institutional Partner(s)

 

None.

 

Educational Management Organization

 

None.

 

Curriculum/Assessment/Instruction

 

·        The philosophy of the proposed charter school is “that all students are capable of achieving high academic standards.” 

·        The mission of the proposed charter school is to provide a college preparatory education for students in the Washington Heights and Inwood neighborhoods.  The proposed charter school will emphasize character education and the development of self-identity. 

·        The school proposes to equip “students with the skills and knowledge to overcome the challenges of poverty, illiteracy, drugs, and hopelessness, and to become leaders in their community dedicated to solving these social and economic issues.”

·        For mathematics instruction, the school will use the Saxon Math Program curriculum as its fundamental program. 

·        For English Language Arts instruction, the proposed school will use the Elements of Literature series published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

·        For science instruction, the proposed school will utilize the Science Plus Technology and Society series for middle school and Biology, Chemistry and Physics for high school.  Holt, Rinehart and Winston publish both series.

·        For social studies instruction, the proposed school will use the World History: Connections to Today and America: Pathways to the Present series, published by Prentice Hall.

·        The proposed charter school will consist of a Lower School (grades 5-8) and an Upper School (grades 9-12) in which teachers will loop with a class for two years.

·        Instructional methods will include: direct whole-class instruction; teacher-directed small group instruction; one-on-one tutoring; summer sessions; cooperative learning; project-based learning; and individual investigations.

·        The school will provide instruction in health, physical education and consumer sciences. 

·        The school will incorporate visual, theatre and performance arts into the enrichment program. 

·        The school will educate English Language Learners and students with Limited English Proficiency through the Structured Immersion/English Language Learner Pullout Model. 

·        The school will administer New York City and New York State examinations.

·        The school’s academic day will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Monday through Friday.  Monday through Thursday, the school day concludes at 4:00 p.m.  On Friday, dismissal is at 3:00 p.m.  A voluntary Saturday program will operate from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and will provide academic support emphasizing key areas of the curriculum.

·        The school proposes a 182-day school year.

·        The average class size will be 22. 

 

Governance

 

·        A nine-member Board of Trustees will govern the proposed charter school. 

·        Three seats on the Board of Trustees are reserved for a parent member, faculty member and the school’s director.  Two non-voting seats will be held for student representatives. 

·        Members will be divided into three classes to serve staggered terms concluding at the annual meeting in each of the three successive years. 

·        The minimum number of Board members is five.  The maximum number is 9.   

 

Students

 

·        The proposed charter school will begin with 88 fifth graders and 88 ninth graders.  The school will then follow a process of open enrollment for students entering grades 5 and 9 for the first four years of operation.  In Year 5, enrollment will be limited to grade 5.  The applicant does not include estimates for attrition on an annual basis. 

·        In Year 2, the school will serve 352 students.  In Year 3, the school will serve 524 students.  In Years 4 and 5, the school will serve 686 students. 

·        The applicant proposes to fill vacancies exclusively with wait-listed applicants in grades 6 through 10.

 

Budget/Facilities

 

·        The budget for the proposed charter school in Year 1 is $2,076,048.   The operating expenses are anticipated at $3,752,500 in Year 2, $5,562,892 in Year 3, $7,411,507 in Year 4 and $7,521,084 in Year 5.  

·        The applicant anticipates receiving a start-up grant for $90,000 from the City of New York and an additional $350,000 (in two equal installments: at start-up and in Year 2) as part of the Public Charter Schools Program Grants.

·        The proposed charter school anticipates facility costs of $198,000 in Year 1.  These costs include building permits, contracted custodial services, maintenance supplies, fire alarms/systems and utilities.  The total cost of the lease is estimated at $915,200 in Year 5.

·        The Director and Assistant Director will be compensated $100,000 and $75,000, respectively.

·        The budget provides for teachers to be paid at the rate of $57,500.

·        The proposed charter school will establish a reserve fund in Year 1 at $50,000.  The fund will grow in $25,000 increments on an annual basis. 

·        The proposed charter school is seeking the use of commercial space located at one of three locations: 129^th Street and Convent Avenue, 130^th Street and 12^th Avenue, or Isham Street and 10^th Avenue.  Other potential non-commercial locations include space to be provided by the Department of Education, City College or to be leased from the Archdiocese of New York City (Inwood facilities: Good Shepherd or St. Jude’s).  The New York City Department of Education has assured that it will provide incubation space for the school for the 2005-06 school year if a permanent facility is not available for 2005-2006 school year.

 

Personnel

 

·        During its first year of operation, the proposed charter school will hire eight general education teachers, one teaching assistant, one special education teacher, and four specialty teachers for music, physical education and science.

·        The proposed charter school will add eight general education teachers in each of the four subsequent years.  One special education teacher will be added over each of the next three years.  The school anticipates hiring two additional specialty teachers in Year 2, three in Year 3, three in Year 4 and one in Year 5 for a total of thirteen. 

·        The school will hire a Business/Development Manager and Office Manager. 

·        The proposed charter school will support student needs with a librarian and a social worker in Year 1.  The applicant proposes to support students with four social workers and two guidance counselors by Year 4.

·        Eight teachers from IS 90 are scheduled to teach at the proposed charter school.

·        The proposed principal is Stacy Winnitt.

 

Fiscal Impact

 

·        When fully enrolled with 686 students, the charter school will receive no more than 0.04% of the Region 10, District 6 budget (See Potential Fiscal Impact Chart).

·        The school’s first-year anticipated budget total is approximately $2,076,048.

·        Programmatic and fiscal audits will comply with all requirements made of public schools.  The school will employ a New York State licensed public accountant or certified public accountant to perform the fiscal audit.  In addition, the school will ensure that the audit is conducted in accordance with GAAP issued by the U.S. Comptroller General.

 

Potential Fiscal Impact of

New Heights Academy Charter School

New York City CSD 6/Region 10

* Assumes a 3 percent annual increase in the district’s budget from a 2002-2003 base of $17 billion and a 4.5 percent annual increase in the average expense per pupil, per year from the 2004-2005 final average expense per pupil of $8,586.

 

Community Support

 

·        The applicant provided three letters of community support.  Institutions extending support to the proposed charter school include New York Presbyterian Hospital, the Children’s Aid Society and the Community League of the Heights, led by prospective Board member, Yvonne Stennett.  New York Presbyterian will provide Mental and Physical Health clinics under the management of the hospital.  The Children’s Aid Society will extend invitations for students to attend after-school and summer programs. 

 

Recommendation

           

Approve the application.

 

 

 

 

Reasons for Recommendation

 

1) The charter school described in the application 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) granting the application 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.

New York State Education Department

 

Summary of Proposed Charter

 

Summary of Applicant Information

 

Name of Proposed Charter School:  Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy II Charter School (HCZPAIICS)

 

Address:  To Be Determined

 

Applicant(s): Geoffrey Canada (lead applicant), Stanley Druckenmiller, Kenneth Langone

 

Anticipated Opening Date:  September 6, 2005

 

District of Location:  New York City CSD 5/ Region 10

 

Institutional Partner(s): Harlem Children’s Zone, Inc

 

Management Partner(s):  None

 

Grades Served:  K, 1 (K-5)

 

Projected Enrollment:  80 (400)

 

Proposed Charter Highlights

 

Applicant(s) 

 

The applicants, Geoffrey Canada (lead), Stanley Druckenmiller (Chairman and CEO of Duquesne Capital Management, L.L.C., an investment advisory firm), and Kenneth Langone (Analyst, The Equitable Life Assurance Society), assume responsibility for the creation and operation of HCZPAIICS. They currently serve as Trustees of HCZ Promise Academy Charter School and will serve as Trustees at HCZPAIICS.  Mr. Canada is a former teacher and school director of the Robert White School in Massachusetts.  He has spent more than 20 years working in public schools, overseeing programs that provide educational, social, cultural, and recreational services and support.

Stanley Druckenmiller is a money manager who also serves as the Chairman of the Board of HCZ, Inc.  In addition, he is a Board member of The Children’s Scholarship Fund, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and the Robin Hood Foundation. 

Kenneth Langone is the Founder, Board member, and Executive Committee Member of the The Home Depot, Inc.  Mr. Langone has non-profit experience, including Board membership with HCZ, Inc., Bucknell University, and the Robin Hood Foundation.  He is also a Trustee of New York University and New York University School of Medicine.

 

 

Institutional Partner(s)

 

§         Harlem Children’s Zone, Inc. (HCZ, Inc.), formerly Rheedlen Centers for Children and Families, is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that has created a network of 15neighborhood-based programs to address the needs of over 8,000 children each year in an attempt to revitalize the community.

§         Parents, and their families, will be referred to the school’s institutional partner, Harlem Children’s Zone, Inc, who will provide a system of free social services.  HCZPAIICS will join in a collaborative effort with Bank Street College and with the KIPP Academy to expand instructional staff knowledge base and to improve learning for all children.

§         HCZ, Inc. will provide financial and supportive services at no cost to HCZPAIICS. HCZ, Inc. raised in excess of $18 million in FY ’04.

§         The organization demonstrates no operating deficit in its history.

§         Trustees have pledged millions of dollars to support the HCZPAIICS.

 

Educational Management Organization

 

§         HCZPAIICS will not have an educational management organization.

 

Curriculum/Assessment/Instruction

 

§         The Core Knowledge Sequence will serve as the foundation of HCZPAIICS’s academic standards.

§         The school will provide approximately two hours of literacy instruction each day.  Its approach to reading and writing instruction will include both phonics-based and balanced literacy instruction; it will utilize the research-based reading program, Scott Foresman Reading, and phonics-based reading software programs.

§         The school will offer two daily integrated and complementary math courses and more than 90 minutes of math instruction each day.  HCZ Promise Academy II will offer a constructivist, concept spiraling, approach to mathematics education using the Everyday Math Program.

§         The school’s arts program will be developed and integrated into core subjects.

§         All grades will receive instruction in the Spanish language.

§         Students eligible for ELL programs will be scheduled for a freestanding ELL program, which will include a push in/class or a pullout program depending on the number and grades of eligible students.

§         HCZPAIICS intends to educate students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment; it will comply with all applicable provisions of federal law (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1974 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the Family Education Rights Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and those other regulations applicable to charter schools within New York City and New York State.

§         The school’s instructional program will be geared to demonstrating student mastery of City, State, national, and the school’s own academic standards.

§         A year round, extended-day will be provided (8:00 to 4:00). 

§         Students will have an opportunity to participate until 6 PM in an extended after-school programming that includes athletics, arts, tutoring and homework assistance. 

§         The academic year consists of 210 days, including a 25 day mandatory summer program.

§         HCZPAIICS will administer multiple assessments that school staff will use to determine whether students make sufficient progress from year to year.  Assessments will include the following:  Iowa Test of Basic Skills (for Mathematics), Terra Nova (for Reading), Language Assessment Battery Revised (LAB-R), Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA), New York State exams, and internally developed tests and quizzes.

 

Governance

 

§         The Board shall elect the Trustees by the vote of a majority of the Voting Trustees.

§         Not more than 40% of the Voting Trustees may be interested persons.

§         The Board will hold 10 regular meetings each year.

§         HCZPAIICS’s Board of Trustees retains all policy and operational decision-making rights of the school.

§         The Board hires, evaluates, and if necessary, fires the Superintendent.  The Superintendent is responsible for all day-to-day issues and hires, evaluates, manages, and, if necessary, fires all staff members.

§         HCZPAIICS senior staff will actively participate in Board of Trustees meetings and may serve on various Board committees.

§         Parents will participate in school governance through a parent member on the Board and a Parent Advisory Board.

§         The school will meet periodically with HCZ, Inc.’s Community Advisory Board for informal guidance and support in community outreach efforts.

§         HCZPAIICS’s Board of Trustees will have a minimum of eight members and a maximum of twenty-one members.

 

Students

 

§         HCZPAIICS anticipates serving students primarily from Community School District 5. The student population of the district is predominately Black, 76%, with 22% Hispanic, 1% White and 1% other. ELL and special education students account for 8% and 11% of the student population, respectively.

§         The school will divide into houses: the primary house (grades K-3) and the elementary house (grades 4-6). All classes will have a maximum of 20 students.

§         The students will be selected by random lottery.  Preference is given to students living in the New York City School District.  Students with siblings enrolled in the school receive preference over waiting list candidates who do not have siblings enrolled. 

§         The school may accept applications for kindergarteners two school years before those children matriculate at HCZPAIICS to give students the option to get a “head start” by enrolling in Pre-K programs connected with the HCZ network.

 

Budget/Facilities

 

§         HCZPAIICS is requesting facility space from the Chancellor to be located in Central Harlem, within Community School District 5.

§         HCZ, Inc. will provide the following additional facility related services to HCZPAIICS at no cost:  Custodial Services, Maintenance Services and Supplies, Renovations and Repairs and Utilities and Fire alarm/systems Costs.

§         Total revenue in year one equals $1,263,047; in year five, it equals $4,304,457.

§         Total expenditure in year one equals $1,263,047; in year five, it equals 4,304,457. 

§         Beginning in year three, HCZPAIICS will place $25,000 per year into a contingency fund.

 

Personnel

 

§         Teachers will complete teacher training and planning (4 weeks in year one, 3 weeks each year following) each summer.

§         HCZPAIICS will hire four general education teachers in year one and will add four general education teachers each following year.

§         HCZPAIICS will hire one special education teacher; in year three and year four, an additional special education teacher will be added.

§         The school’s instructional staff will include the following: teaching assistants, language teacher, art/PE teachers, and a writing teacher.

§         Instructional support staff will include the following:  psychologist, social worker and one after-school/summer school coordinator.

§         Leadership/Supervision/Support staff will include the following:  superintendent (shared with HCZPACS), principal, director of instruction, math/literacy coach, and kitchen aide.

§         Administrative staff will include the following:  business manager, administrative staff member, school nurse, and parent organizer.

 

 

Fiscal Impact

Potential Fiscal Impact of

HCZPAII Charter School

(New York City CSD 5/Region 10)

School Year	Number of Students	Projected Payment*	Projected Impact
2005-06	80	$686,880	<. 0001%
2006-07	160	$1.4 million	.0001%
2007-08	240	$2.25 million	.0015%
2008-09	320	$3.14 million	.0021%
2009-10	400	$4.1 million	.0027%

*Assumes a 3 percent annual increase in the district’s budget from a 2002-2003 base of $12.9 billion and a 4.5 percent annual increase in the average expense per pupil per year from the 2004-2005 final average expense per pupil of $8,586.

 

§         Programmatic and fiscal audits will comply with all requirements made of public schools.  The school will employ a New York State licensed public accountant or certified public accountant to perform the fiscal audit.  In addition, the school will ensure that the audit is conducted in accordance with GAAP issued by the U.S. Comptroller General.

 

Community Support

 

§         HCZ, Inc.’s network currently includes the following coalitions, which consist of a range of participants and include stakeholders from the community sectors:  HCZ Community Advisory Board, HCZ Violence Prevention Coalition, HCZ Planning Committee, HCZ Faith-Based Network, HCZ Tenant Interim Lease and Housing Development Fund Cooperatives Network.

§         HCZ, Inc. states they have a very positive relationship with and will receive support for the school from the local 28th Police Precinct and elected Councilmen.

§         HCZPAIICS collected over 650 parent signatures; it has also collected over 40 signatures from interested parents whose children will be in Kindergarten in September 2005 and over 40 signatures from interested parents whose children will be in Grade 1 in September 2005.

§         Letters of support have been submitted from the following persons:  Vanessa Reed (parent), Ms. Rena Allen (President of the 1971 7th Avenue Tenants Association, HCZ Community Advisory Board member, grandparent), and Ethel Barrett (President of the 163 Lenox Avenue Tenants Association, grandparent).

 

Recommendation

           

Approve the application.

 

Reasons for Recommendation

 

1) The charter school described in the application 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) granting the application 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.