Volume III, Issue 18, August 20, 2007

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EDITOR'S NOTE:

   

The next release of the Charter Leader News is scheduled for 

Tuesday, September 4th. 

 

 

This issue of the Charter Leader News features...

Operations News
Board of Regents State Regulations
DOE and Center awarded $12.2 million from VPSCP Grant
Common Lottery Date
Columbia Law School Small Business Non-Profit Clinic
2008-2009 ELF Applications

Fundraising
Charter Replication Funds Available through Growth Fund

NLNS Grant Studying Effective Educators

Fundraising Consortium Registration Now Open

Fund Development Fellows RFP

 

Certification

Workshop for School Leaders, Dir. of Ops - Sign up by Aug 23!

2007-2008 Teacher Certification Worksheet

 

Center Resources

Effective Practices Library Videos Now Available

Grants and Operations Listserv

Charter School Baseline Assessments

Charter Portal Update

Exit Survey Documents

 

Current Events
Teacher Recruitment at DOE Job Fairs - Sign up by Aug 23!

Facilities and Fundraising Networking Event
Center Staff Update

 

  Center Staff Available to Lend a Hand With Final Preparations

As the new school year rapidly approaches, the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence would like to offer our services to all charter schools in need of help with last-minute preparations. Whether it be painting, moving desks, setting up classrooms or offices, we are here to lend a helping hand in any capacity that is needed.

 

If interested, please contact Vinice Davis at vdavis@nycchartercenter.org for more information.

 

 

 

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OPERATIONS NEWS
   

New Board of Regents State Regulations
Last month, the Board of Regents approved two state regulations pertaining to community hearings required under the law passed by the Legislature in March increasing the cap on public charter schools to 200 statewide.

The two regulations do the following:

1. Designate the Commissioner of Education as responsible for holding local public hearings--on behalf of the Board of Regents--should a local district fail to do so.
2. Establish procedural and timing guidelines for the holding of such public hearings by local districts.

Schools are encouraged to pay particular attention to the notice provisions in the regulation #2. It may be useful to require that notice of hearings, and any written and other comments received, be given to the charter school under comment so that they are both aware of the hearing and any comments. This information, we believe, would be of significant interest to the school under public review.

While these regulations have taken effect, there is a comment period that schools may use to make suggestions. These comments will be considered prior to the Board of Regents giving final approval to the regulations at their October 22-23 meeting. We urge school leaders to review these regulations, and to submit any comments they may have to: Darlene Mengel, NYSED, Charter Schools Unit, 365 EBA, Albany, NY 12234 or contact Jeff Maclin at jmaclin@nycchartercenter.org for questions regarding these regulations.

 

 

Department of Education and Charter Center awarded $12.2 million to increase choice among students at "failing schools"
The NYC Department of Education (DoE), in collaboration with the Center, was awarded a federal Voluntary Public School Choice Program Grant (VPSCPG) to provide more information to parents about high quality choices and also to facilitate the transfer of those students in NCLB "failing schools".  If a school chooses to participate, it will be integrated into the broader choice framework of the DoE.

The Charter Center will keep schools updated on the details of participation, as there are still details to be worked out, such as a transfer incentive payment to schools that were set at $2,000 per student in the grant but may need revision. We see this as a good opportunity to further integrate ourselves into the broader portfolio of public school choices, an opportunity to serve students who need good schools, and also a financial opportunity.  If you have questions, please contact the Center's COO, Dirk Tillotson at dtillotson@nycchartercenter.org.

 

 

Moving Towards a Common Lottery Date?

The Center would like the charter school leaders' opinion on creating a common citywide lottery date as a means to simplify enrollment for families, create publicity for our schools, and also to better integrate into the DoE's choice program. Schools that participate in the above VPSCGP grant will presumably need to have lottery timing that roughly coincides with the DoE's processes.  Please provide input and comments to Dirk Tillotson, dtillotson@nycchartercenter.org.


Partnership with Columbia University Law School Small Business and Non Profit Clinic
The Center is finalizing a partnership with the Columbia University Law School to establish a charter school pro-bono project.  Initially, Columbia law students, under the supervision of a lawyer and professor, would assist a 6-8 schools or planning teams with mostly transactional issues ("friends of" organization formation, 501(c)(3)s, other business or transactional issues). Schools can also submit discrete projects to the pro bono office and get free legal support outside of the non-profit clinic. Over time, the Center hopes to finalize a law firm sponsor, and develop a more charter specific entity. We view this as a good opportunity to get free legal help, and also to recruit young lawyers into the charter school community.

 

If you would like more information or more substantial transactional support, please contact Dirk Tillotson at dtillotson@nycchartercenter.org.  The pro bono request form is available on the Charter Portal. More details will be forthcoming.

 

2008-2009 Emerging Leaders Fellowship Nomination Applications
As it grows into its second year, the Emerging Leader Fellowship (ELF) promises to train high performing teachers to be effective and excellent members of your school leadership team. School leaders - if you have a high performing teacher who you know you want to train and support to be part of your leadership team, please contact Glenn Liebeck at gliebeck@nycchartercenter.org for application details.

OPERATIONS - FUNDRAISING - CERTIFICATION - CENTER RESOURCES - CURRENT EVENTS

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FUNDRAISING

 

 

Charter Replication Funding Available from Charter School Growth Fund

The Charter School Growth Fund (CSGF) is a philanthropic venture firm founded to make early-stage grants and loans for the development and expansion of charter management and support organizations that provide a quality education option to underserved students nationwide. CSGF seeks to accomplish its mission by providing proven charter school operators with the guidance and resources necessary to create self-sufficient networks of high-performing schools.

The CSGF is now seeking applicants for its 2008 business planning cohort. The application will be posted on the CSGF website (www.chartergrowthfund.org) on August 20, for completion no later than September 21.

 

 

Participate in New Leaders for New Schools Grant Studying Effective Educators, Incentive Bonuses for Successful Principals and Instructors
New Leaders for New Schools was awarded this grant in November 2006 as part of the federal government's Teacher Incentive Fund. The approach of the Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC) Charter School Grant is different from other pay-for-performance initiatives in that EPIC rewards schools and practitioners who have not only achieved dramatic student achievement gains, but who are also willing to reflect and share with others the practices they have implemented to drive gains.

 

The goal is that these practices will be leveraged by other educators who may implement them in their schools and classrooms. EPIC represents an unprecedented coalition of charter schools and will increase the visibility of your collective successes nationally. Currently about 70 charter schools across the country are participating in the first year of awards.

• Awards to Principals (ranging from $15,000 to $20,000/person) and All Instructional Staff in a recognized school (ranging from $750 to $1500/person) will be given out this coming spring to charters that demonstrate the greatest test score gains.
• Exemplary Practitioner Awards (of $10,000/person) will be given out in the following year based on 2007-08 test score gains.

If you are interested in learning more about the program, a conference call has been scheduled at the end of the month:

 

Tuesday, August 28 - 7:00 pm EST

Wednesday, August 29 - 10:00 am EST

Call-in number:  1.404.920.6610; Access Code: 247-577-51  

 

To participate in the first year of EPIC, a school must submit the following:

- A reading and math test score for each student for 2005-06 and 2006-07 and at least two years of data for at least one cohort of students (i.e. 3rd graders last year and 4th graders this year). Ideally, the data will be based on the tests used to determine Adequately Yearly Progress under No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

- A signed Memorandum of Understanding, which will be sent to participants after the conference call. 

 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call 917-464-4710 or email C. Allison Jack, Senior Program Director, EPIC Charter Schools Grant at ajack@nlns.org.

 

 

Fundraising Consortium Registration Now Open

The Center's 2007-2008 Fundraising Consortium is now open for registration. The Fundraising Consortium consists of individual charter schools and planning teams seeking assistance and support in the realm of Fundraising and Development. Participants will gain extensive knowledge in areas such as donor cultivation, writing effective grant proposals, corporate sponsorships, etc. Registration is FREE. Click here to complete the registration form. For questions, please contact Mark Crusante at mcrusante@nycchartercenter.org no later than September 20.

 

RFP now open for Fund Development Fellows (FDF) Program
The Center will implement a Fund Development Fellows (FDF) Program in 2007-2008. Five Fellows will be selected by the Center to be placed in five individual charter schools from October-June. Each FDF will assist their individual charter school in increasing fundraising capacity and development. To qualify for a FDF, schools must be participants of the above Fundraising Consortium. For more details and to apply, click here for the application. The RFP will be closed on September 20.

 

  OPERATIONS - FUNDRAISING - CERTIFICATION - CENTER RESOURCES - CURRENT EVENTS

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CERTIFICATION

 

 

Workshop for School Leaders and/or Directors of Operations
Topic:  Certification and NCLB's Highly Qualified Requirements
August 28 (4:30-6:30pm)

 

Caryl Cohen, Certification Consultant at the Center, will review certification requirements, the NYS Interstate Compact for reciprocity and the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) check lists to help you determine if your school staff meets the "highly qualified" criteria. Learn the basics so that your school can be in compliance with federal and state laws.

 

This interactive presentation is open to school leaders and/or operations staff that deal with certification and related NCLB compliance for teachers and teaching assistants. Please respond to Caryl Cohen at ccohen@nycchartercenter.org no later than August 23 if you are planning to attend.

 

 

2007-2008 Teacher Certification Worksheet
Based on the new 2007-2008 Certification Worksheet, Caryl Cohen's research will cover the following: current certification status for your teachers and teaching assistants; New York State exam status; fingerprint clearance for those teachers who have an application in the SED's database; comments/notes on actions needed for specific staff; and, statistics on school's certification compliance. The certification worksheet for 2007-08 is now available here and on the Charter Portal for schools to complete and email their portion to Caryl Cohen for appropriate follow-up.

 

 

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CENTER RESOURCES

 

 

Effective Practices Library Videos Now Available
The Effective Practices Library gives planning teams, start-ups, and existing charter schools, immediate access to the successful practices of some of New York City's highest performing charter schools through videos and documents. The Library offers insight from various members of the charter school community about common challenges faced by charter school leaders, managers and teachers. The Library also allows charter school leaders and planning teams to scan the best practices landscape and learn what others are doing in their efforts to raise student achievement.

 

You can access the Effective Practices Library by logging in to the Charter Portal [http://www.nycchartercenter.org/portal.asp] and following the link to the "Effective Practices Library". The library's videos and documents are titled and grouped according to performance area and grade level. The first installment of videos is already available, and more videos along with hundreds of documents will be added over the next few weeks. To view a video, click on its title and then click on the link for the version compatible with your computer's media player. DVD copies of videos are available upon request.

 

If you have questions about the Effective Practices Library, an interest in using video as part of your school's professional development or something you'd like to share via the library, contact Tony Miga, School Video Resource Consultant at tmiga@nycchartercenter.org or 212-437-8322.

 

 

Center Listservs
Sign up for Center Listservs and obtain valuable information and resources!

Grants and Opportunities Listserv
A listserv that will assist schools in applying for grants given around the New York Metropolitan area and other opportunities (including in-kind services). The listserv announces grants and opportunities available to charter schools as well as assists schools in answering questions related to the grants process. To sign up, click here or email Mark Crusante.
 
Operations Listserv
A listserv provides an online discussion forum for NYC charter school operations leaders to share information and exchange thoughts on operational effective practices. The listserv allows school leaders to share best practices and ask various questions. To sign up, click here, or email Nathan Hood at nhood@nycchartercenter.org.

 

 

Charter School Baseline Visits

 

Documents Library: Newly Updated!

• Assessment Tool for Charter School Boards and Their Governance Effectiveness
• Provided by Volunteer Consulting Group
• 2007-2008 Charter Center Teacher Certification Worksheet
• Columbia Law School Nonprofit Organization-Small Business Legal Clinic
• Program Description
• Request for Assistance

Reminder:

Recruitment and Retention - Exit Survey Templates
The Center continues to offer several exit survey templates designed to assist school leaders in creating more effective recruitment and retention strategies. The goal is to assist schools in gathering information that may shed some light on why teachers and staff members leave schools, and how best to retain them.

 

In response to numerous requests from school leaders for help on this issue, the Center recruited a statistician to design exit survey templates for teachers, administrators and school operations staff. Schools have the option of sending completed surveys back to us for analysis, or keeping them for internal purposes. The Center will send back detailed reports on all returned surveys with statistics that will hopefully assist schools in recruiting and retaining quality personnel. All survey responses are entirely confidential.

Survey Documents are available electronically via the Charter Portal. Make sure that the surveys are distributed to the applicable audience (teachers, operations specialists, or school leaders) and reach those who are leaving the school now, during the summer, or have left within the past school year.

• The templates for each category (Teachers, School Leaders, and Operation Specialists) are available for download in the Documents Library in a folder called "Exit Survey Templates." Each grouping of templates has a cover letter with both close-ended and open-ended components in order to give schools comprehensive human resources feedback.
• PART ONE: Please print or email the cover letter and Part One (close-ended portions) to staff members who are leaving or have left your charter school within the past year. The Center will provide those schools who have completed the surveys with a complete report including an overview, statistics and helpful information for recruitment and retention efforts.

The directions on each cover letter ask the participants to mail that letter and their Part One responses directly to:

NYC Center for Charter School Excellence

ATTN: CCOHENSURVEY

111 Broadway, Suite 604

New York NY 10006

• PART TWO: Part Two consists of open-ended questions for you to conduct with the survey participants face-to-face or by phone so that the information can assist you in future development of retention strategies.

If you have any questions, please contact Caryl Cohen at ccohen@nycchartercenter.org or Glenn Liebeck at gliebeck@nycchartercenter.org.

 

  OPERATIONS - FUNDRAISING - CERTIFICATION - CENTER RESOURCES - CURRENT EVENTS

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CURRENT EVENTS

 

Teacher Recruitment at DOE Job Fairs
The Center has been co-sponsoring several DOE Job Fairs this summer. If you would like the opportunity to participate and meet prospective teaching candidates, please email Caryl Cohen at ccohen@nycchartercenter.org and indicate your preferred date for either one of the job fairs listed below.  In order for the DOE to accommodate us logistically, it is important that you email Caryl at the above email no later than August 23. Caryl will then send you further details about these Job Fairs.

Upcoming dates:
August 28   Bronx - Villa Barone Manor - all subject areas with a focus on shortage areas August 30   Brooklyn Marriott - all subject areas with a focus on shortage areas

Charter school participation is limited, so please send a $100 place-holding check to Vinice Davis at the Charter Center asap to reserve your spot.  Kindly note that returning schools may be bumped by a school participating for the first time. Charter schools may interview and hire any teacher they meet at the Job Fair except for NYC Teaching Fellows whom they cannot hire until they have completed their Master's program, two-year DOE employment commitment and pass the ATS-W.

 
Save the Date: Facilities and Fundraising Networking Event
September 18 4pm - 7 pm 
Located at the Center 

Mark your calendars for this great opportunity to meet and greet facilities and fundraising professionals ranging from architects and lenders to fundraising consultants and foundation officers. Whether you are an established school or in the beginning of your planning endeavors, this event promises to offer valuable access to information and individuals that are critical to your facilities management and planning program.

For additional information, contact Florence Adu at fadu@nycchartercenter.org or 212.437.8309.

 
Center Staff Updates
In addition to the appointment of James Merriman as the new CEO, the Charter Center would also like to highlight some of our new staff members who have recently joined us at the Center.

Aretha Miller, Director of School Improvement
Aretha is a seasoned educator who has expertise in school evaluation and accountability, school improvement planning, curriculum development, as well as workshop design and facilitation.  In her role as the Director of School Improvement, Aretha will work with charter school leaders and the Center staff to develop and implement a cohesive and coherent framework for school improvement through the coordination of the various services and programs that are offered at the Center.  Aretha has worked collaboratively with school leaders, charter authorizers, and district and state education department administrators to improve student achievement and the organizational viability of both charter and traditional public schools. 

Jodie Newbery, Project Manager for Baselines and Assessments
As Project Manager, Jodie will be working with schools to utilize and refine their assessment methods in order to maximize student learning by coordinating baseline evaluation visits designed to provide schools with feedback and next steps in three areas: School Culture, Leadership, Teaching and Assessment. Jodie has a background in elementary education, curriculum development and data analysis.

Tasha Ginn, Director of Recruitment
Tasha comes to the Charter Center with a nine-year background in education to fill a newly created Center position, Director of Recruitment. While working in her new role to support charter schools with the staff recruitment process, and more importantly staff retention, Tasha plans to complete her dissertation for her Ed.D/MBA program at Texas Christian University.  

 

 

BACK TO TOP

 

 

MISSION

 

The mission of the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence is to stimulate the supply of high-quality charter schools and support ongoing student excellence in all NYC charter schools, impacting the effectiveness of public education. As an independent nonprofit, the Charter Center is an advocate, bridge and catalyst for the achievement of academic and operational success and sustainability of all NYC charter schools for each young person.