|
|
THE STATE
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY
OF THE STATE OF |
|
TO: |
Full Board |
|
FROM: |
Jean C. Stevens |
|
SUBJECT: |
|
|
DATE: |
April 19, 2006 |
|
STRATEGIC
GOAL: |
Goals 1 and 2 |
|
AUTHORIZATION(S): |
|
SUMMARY
Issue for
Decision
Should the
Regents approve the staff’s recommendations regarding the proposed renewal
charters and extension of provisional charters for the Beginning With Children
Charter School and the
Reason(s) for
Consideration
Required by State statute, Education Law 2852.
Proposed
Handling
This question will come before the full
Board on April 25, 2006 for discussion and action.
Procedural
History
Under the
New York Charter Schools Act of 1998, the Board of Regents is authorized to make
recommendations regarding proposed charters submitted to it from another charter
entity. The Board is also
authorized to make recommendations regarding the renewal of existing charters on
applications submitted directly to it as a charter entity. Upon receipt of an
application for renewal or for the establishment of a new charter school, the
Board of Regents shall review such applications and proposed charters in
accordance with the standards set forth in the Charter Schools Act. Subsequent to its approval, the Board
must then issue the initial charter or the renewal charter for each school, as
applicable.
Background
Information
We received two proposed renewal charters
from the Chancellor of the
§
Beginning With
§
Explore
The Beginning With Children Charter School
is located in
The
Copies of the above are available for your review by contacting Shelia Evans-Tranumn at 718-722-2796.
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Board of Regents take the following action:
VOTED: That the Board of Regents approve the proposed renewal charters and extend the provisional charters for five years for the following schools:
§
Beginning With
§
Explore
Timetable for
Implementation
The Regents action will become
effective for the Beginning With Children Charter School on September 1, 2006
and for the
Attachment
New York State
Education Department
Summary of
Summary of
Applicant Information
Name of Proposed
Renewed
Address:
Board of
Trustees President:
Renewal
Period: September 1,
2006 – September 1, 2011
District of
Location:
Charter
Entity: Chancellor,
Institutional
Partner(s): Beginning With Children
Foundation
Management
Partner(s): None
Grades Served
per Year: K-8
Projected
Enrollment per Year:
450
(450)
Renewal
Application Highlights
Evidence of
Educational Soundness/Attainment of Educational
Objectives
·
For Beginning
With Children Charter School (“BWCCS” or “the School”) performance on State
assessments, see Attachment 1.
·
In 2004-2005,
the School has achieved a Performance Index of 180 on grade 4 English Language
Arts and 192 on grade 4 Math assessments.
The Performance Index is 136 on grade 8 English Language Arts and 182 on
grade 8 Math assessments. The
School far exceeds the State standard of 150 on three of the indicators and is
approaching the State standard on the fourth indicator.
·
In 2004-2005,
the average performance on grades 3-8 State and City English Language Arts and
Math assessments of students in the charter school exceeded the averages for New
York City district and charter school students.
·
The educational
program comprises direct instruction using core material from the McGraw Hill
Mathematics series; balanced literacy employing combinations of text
comprehension, phonemic awareness, systematic and explicit phonics and fluency
and vocabulary instruction; a lab-based science curriculum for all grades;
foreign language instruction in Spanish begins in grade 6; and experiential and
project-based instruction in social studies.
·
For grades K
through 5, instruction in visual arts and music is rotated on a monthly
basis. The arts are integrated,
thematically, into classroom activities.
·
BWCCS receives
Title I funds and is a school in good standing under the No Child Left Behind
Act.
Evidence of
Fiscal Soundness/Projected Fiscal Impact
·
Throughout the
term of the charter, the School has been a fiscally sound educational
institution. The school does not
carry any long-term debt.
·
For Beginning
With Children Charter School (“BWCCS” or “the School”) changes in net assets,
see Attachment 2.
·
The school
projects a balanced budget and maintains a reserve fund of $100,000 and payroll
contingency of $50,000 for each fiscal year. At the end of the 2004-2005 school year,
BWCCS had a positive fund balance of $773,861.
·
BWCCS provided
regular financial reports and the Board upholds programmatic or fiscal oversight
and governance responsibilities.
·
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.
Potential Fiscal
Impact of the Renewal of the Charter for
Beginning With
|
School
Year |
Number of
Students |
Projected
Payment* |
Projected
Impact |
|
2006-2007 |
450 |
$4,271,850 |
.0244% |
|
2007-2008 |
450 |
$4,464,083 |
.0248% |
|
2008-2009 |
450 |
$4,664,967 |
.0251% |
|
2009-2010 |
450 |
$4,874,891 |
.0255% |
|
2010-2011 |
450 |
$5,094,261 |
.0258% |
* Assumes a 3
percent annual increase in the District’s budget from the base of $17 billion in
2004-2005 and a 4.5 percent annual increase in the average expense per pupil per
year from the 2004-2005 rate of $9,084.
Evidence of
Parental and Student Satisfaction and Community
Support
·
Student
enrollment is at full capacity – 450 students. The annual attrition rate is less than
10%. The School has waiting lists
for most grades, including more than 250 for
kindergarten.
·
The school
originally opened in 1992 as a
·
BWCCS has not
been under-enrolled over the term of its charter. Attendance over the term of the charter
has averaged 94.8%. The number
exceeds
·
The school has
an active Parent Teacher Association and three parent representatives on the
Board of Trustees. The Board
reserves two seats for staff members, two seats for representatives of the
Beginning With Children Foundation and five seats for community members.
Summary of
Charter Entity’s Findings and Recommendations
·
The English
Language Arts performance of 8th graders lags behind that of other
BWCCS students. In 2005, 80.4% of
fourth graders were proficient on State exams in English Language Arts; students
in grades 5 through 8 each scored at decreasing rates of proficiency. Eighth graders were least proficient
(36.4%). However, no eighth graders
scored at Level 1 in English Language Arts.
·
BWCCS succeeded
in meeting the academic goals it set in English Language Arts and Math. Between 2002 and 2005, the percentage of
proficient students in English Language Arts on City and State tests increased
from 46% to 62.5%.
·
Over the same
timeframe, the percentage of proficient Math students increased from 40.1% to
76.3%.
·
The School is
continuing to improve its curricular scope and sequence in order to unify the
instructional practice and introduce a greater degree of rigor within the Upper
and Lower Levels.
·
Providing
services and support to students at two sites has been a challenge in terms of
maintaining a unified school culture for students and staff. The Leadership Team has focused its
efforts on developing coherent processes and policies.
·
The founding
principal retired during the third year.
The next year, a new principal was hired but served for only one
year. The 2005-2006 school year is
the first for the current leadership.
The current school principal, Cynthia Bailey, is a former Director of the
·
The School could
benefit from increased communication within the School community about the
delineation of responsibilities between the Foundation and the Board. Parents and teachers noted there is
considerable overlap in terms of management and
governance.
·
The New York
City Department of Education recommends renewing the School for a period of five
years consistent with the terms of the renewal
application.
Recommendation
Approve the
proposed renewal charter and extend the provisional charter effective September
1, 2006 through September 1, 2011
Reason for
Recommendation
(1)
the charter
school described in the application meets the requirements set out in this
article and all other applicable laws, rules and
regulations;
(2)
the applicant
can demonstrate the ability to operate the school in an educationally and
fiscally sound manner; and
(3)
approving the
proposed renewal charter and extending the provisional 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 this
article.
Attachment
1
Beginning With
Performance on
State Assessments
|
Assessment |
Year |
% Level
1 |
% Level
2 |
% Level
3 |
% Level
4 |
Performance
Index |
|
Grade 4
ELA |
2001-2002 |
6 |
42 |
46 |
6 |
146 |
|
Grade 4
ELA |
2002-2003 |
0 |
14.3 |
42.9 |
42.9 |
186 |
|
Grade 4
ELA |
2003-2004 |
0 |
51 |
37.3 |
11.8 |
149 |
|
Grade 4
ELA |
2004-2005 |
0 |
19.6 |
50 |
30.4 |
180 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grade 4
Math |
2001-2002 |
4 |
32 |
56 |
8 |
160 |
|
Grade 4
Math |
2002-2003 |
0 |
6.1 |
65.3 |
28.6 |
194 |
|
Grade 4
Math |
2003-2004 |
0 |
13.2 |
55.3 |
31.6 |
187 |
|
Grade 4
Math |
2004-2005 |
0 |
8.2 |
67.3 |
24.5 |
192 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grade 8
ELA |
2001-2002 |
12 |
48 |
33 |
7 |
128 |
|
Grade 8
ELA |
2002-2003 |
0 |
31.8 |
50 |
18.2 |
168 |
|
Grade 8
ELA |
2003-2004 |
0 |
65.3 |
30.6 |
4.1 |
135 |
|
Grade 8
ELA |
2004-2005 |
0 |
63.4 |
34.1 |
2.4 |
136 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grade 8
Math |
2001-2002 |
5 |
70 |
23 |
3 |
122 |
|
Grade 8
Math |
2002-2003 |
0 |
43.2 |
50 |
6.8 |
157 |
|
Grade 8
Math |
2003-2004 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
|
Grade 8
Math |
2004-2005 |
0 |
17.8 |
51.1 |
31.1 |
182 |
Attachment
2
Beginning With
|
Year |
Change in
Net Assets |
|
2001-2002 |
$389,308 |
|
2002-2003 |
$189,185 |
|
2003-2004 |
$356,856 |
|
2004-2005 |
($179,133) |
New York State Education
Department
Summary of
Summary of Applicant
Information
Name of Proposed Renewed
Address:
Board of Trustees President:
Ehud Houminer
Renewal Period: June 12, 2006 – June 12,
2011
District of Location:
Charter Entity: Chancellor,
Institutional Partner(s):
None
Management Partner(s):
None
Grades Served per Year: K-7 (K-8)
Projected Enrollment per Year: 380 (424)
2005-06: K-6, 334
2006-07: K-7, 380
2007-08: K-8, 416
2008-09: K-8, 423
2009-10: K-8, 426
2010-11: K-8, 424
Renewal Application
Highlights
Evidence of Educational Soundness/Attainment
of Educational Objectives
·
For
·
The
School has achieved a Performance Index of 159 on grade 4 English Language Arts
and 185 on grade 4 Math assessments.
Fourth grade students were first tested in 2003-2004. ECS has exceeded the State standard of
150 on both indicators.
·
During
the first term of the charter, the School generally exceeded the goals it set
for student performance in English Language Arts and math. From 2003 to 2005, the percentage of
proficient students in ELA on City and state tests increased from 25.6% to
57.6%. Math scores, over the same
timeframe, increased from 23.7% to 51.4%.
·
Some of
the results have been uneven.
Students at ECS underperformed against City and region averages on grade
3 ELA, grade 3 Math and grade 5 Math.
·
The
educational program utilizes Everyday Math. 2005-2006 was the third consecutive
year ECS modified its math curriculum.
During staff visits to ECS, teachers and the academic dean reported a
higher comfort level with the new curriculum, improved collaboration and
improved use of interim assessments to guide instruction.
·
The ELA
curriculum, primarily developed by teachers, emphasizes balanced literacy and
has resulted in consistent academic performance by
students.
·
The
School has restructured the leadership by adding an academic dean to reinforce
professional development, curricular alignment and the use of assessment data to
inform instruction. The School has
a clear approach to improving performance.
·
ECS
receives Title I funds and is a school in good standing under the No Child Left
Behind Act.
Evidence of Fiscal Soundness/Projected
Fiscal Impact
·
Through
the term of the charter, the School has been a fiscally sound educational
institution.
·
For
·
The
school is affiliated with The Friends of Explore Charter School, Inc. The organization makes regular grants to
support programs and has funds in excess of $300,000.
·
At the
end of the 2004-2005 school year, ECS had a positive fund balance of
$357,950.
·
ECS
provided regular financial reports and the Board upholds programmatic or fiscal
oversight and governance responsibilities.
·
The
School does not carry any long-term debt.
·
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 every day 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.
Potential Fiscal Impact of the Renewal of
the Charter for
Explore
|
School
Year |
Number of
Students |
Projected
Payment* |
Projected
Impact |
|
2006-2007 |
380 |
$3,607,256 |
.0203% |
|
2007-2008 |
416 |
$4,126,701 |
.0222% |
|
2008-2009 |
423 |
$4,384,967 |
.0226% |
|
2009-2010 |
426 |
$4,614,789 |
.0228% |
|
2010-2011 |
424 |
$4,799,814 |
.0227% |
* Assumes a 3 percent annual increase in the
District’s budget from the base of $17 billion in 2004-2005 and a 4.5 percent
annual increase in the average expense per pupil per year from the 2004-2005
rate of $9,084.
Evidence of Parental and Student
Satisfaction and Community Support
·
Student
enrollment is currently at 334 students.
With the addition of grade 8, the enrollment for the fall of 2006 will be
380 students. The annual attrition
rate is less than 10%. The School
has a large wait list for most grades.
·
Two
parent representatives serve on the Board of Trustees, including the President
of the PTA.
·
The PTA
and Executive Director have initiated a parent tutoring academy intended to
align parent knowledge and understanding of changes in teaching methodologies in
Math and Science with the tutoring support needed by
students.
·
ECS has
not been significantly under-enrolled over the term of its charter. Attendance over the term of the charter
has averaged 92.8%.
·
The
School has relocated twice during the first term of the charter. Initially, the school was to open on the
Summary of Charter Entity’s Findings and
Recommendations
·
ECS
succeeded in meeting the academic goals set in English Language Arts and
Math. Between 2003 and 2005, the
percentage of students in grades 3 through 5 who were proficient in Math
increased from 45.7% to 65.7%.
·
Over
the same timeframe, the percentage of proficient English Language Arts students
increased from 25.6% to 57.6%.
·
The
School is continuing to strengthen its Math curriculum by reducing variability
in instruction and streamlining professional development.
·
The
School has moved to a large, spacious and comfortable location that accommodates
the needs of instructional staff and students.
·
The
School has been in compliance with all applicable laws and
regulations.
·
The New
York City Department of Education recommends (1) renewing the School for a
period of five years consistent with the terms of the renewal application; and
(2) allowing the School to expand by adding an 8th
grade.
Recommendation
Approve the
proposed renewal charter and extend the provisional charter effective June 12,
2006 through June 12, 2011
Reason for
Recommendation
(1)
the charter
school described in the application meets the requirements set out in this
article and all other applicable laws, rules and
regulations;
(2)
the applicant
can demonstrate the ability to operate the school in an educationally and
fiscally sound manner; and
(3)
approving the
proposed renewal charter and extending the provisional charter is likely to
improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set
out in subdivision four of section twenty-eight hundred fifty one of this
article.
Attachment 1
Explore
Performance on State
Assessments
|
Assessment |
Year |
% Level 1 |
% Level 2 |
% Level 3 |
% Level 4 |
Performance
Index |
|
Grade 4 ELA |
2001-2002 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
|
Grade 4 ELA |
2002-2003 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
|
Grade 4 ELA |
2003-2004 |
20.9 |
46.5 |
30.2 |
2.3 |
112 |
|
Grade 4 ELA |
2004-2005 |
2.4 |
36.6 |
53.7 |
7.3 |
159 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grade 4 Math |
2001-2002 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
|
Grade 4 Math |
2002-2003 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
|
Grade 4 Math |
2003-2004 |
7.1 |
52.4 |
40.5 |
0 |
133 |
|
Grade 4 Math |
2004-2005 |
2.5 |
10 |
75 |
12.5 |
185 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Attachment 2
Explore
Change in Net
Assets
|
Year |
Change in Net
Assets |
|
2001-2002 |
NA |
|
2002-2003 |
($117,737) |
|
2003-2004 |
($196,182) |
|
2004-2005 |
$173,338 |