CATEGORIES
Click to learn more!
|
|
|
Volume III, Issue 19, Tuesday, September 4, 2007
CHARTER LEADER NEWS
This issue of the Charter Leader News features...
Operations News
Fall Facilities and Fundraising Networking Reception
Networking Survey Results
Common Lottery Day Feedback
2008-2009 ELF Applications
Fundraising
Fundraising Consortium Update
Fund Development Fellows RFP
Charter Replication Funding Available
Certification
2007-2008 Teacher Certification
Worksheet
Center Resources
New! Updated
Guidebooks/Templates
Charter Portal Update
New! Enhanced Operations
Calendar
Effective Practices Video
Library
Exit Survey
Documents
Charter School Baseline Assessments
Current Events
Save the Date - Urban Education Symposium
The Start of School is a Great Time to
do Community Outreach
The late Tip O'Neill, a former Massachusetts Congressman and Speaker of the U.S. House
of Representatives, coined this phrase and it still rings true decades later: "All politics is local." The New York City Center for Charter
School Excellence urges school leaders to take this to heart and use the months of September and October to reach out to local elected
officials and their staff.
Fall is an ideal time to invite city and state legislators to visit your school, meet
with students and parents, and participate in school-related events. Begin forging relationships now with elected officials and
community-based organizations. Send them literature on your school, a calendar of events for the upcoming school year and keep them apprised of
achievements and awards.
For help identifying your elected officials, please contact Jeff Maclin.
|
OPERATIONS NEWS
*Visit the Charter Portal Section for new and improved Operations
Documents and Tools.
Fall Facilities and Fundraising Networking Reception
Get a head start planning for your facilities and fundraising needs by
networking with the experts. School leaders and Operations staff will have the opportunity to meet lenders, fundraising consultants, developers,
architects, and many more real estate and facilities professionals in a no-pressure informational setting.
WHEN: Tuesday, September 18 (4:00 - 7:00 pm)
WHERE: Center headquarters, 111 Broadway, Suite 604, New York, NY 10006
Space is limited, so be sure to RSVP to rsvp@nycchartercenter.org or call 212-437-8300 by
September 14.
Networking Survey Results
The Center thanks everyone who responded to the survey on networking. The vast
majority of schools indicated an interest in increased networking and best practices sharing among schools. Several schools expressed an
interest in differentiated programs that were timely and topical. In terms of content the most requested areas that leaders wanted to cover included,
using data to inform instruction and achievement for all students. There were a variety of other areas mentioned, but those two stood out. The
Center will propose a schedule of borough meetings and also topical sessions. And as always, we rely on your input to develop appropriate and
useful programs, so please continue to provide it to Dirk Tillotson, dtillotson@nycchartercenter.org.
Notes on Common Lottery Day feedback by COO Dirk Tillotson
I received 10 or so comments on the idea of setting a common lottery date. All
but one school indicated that they supported the idea, based on the idea that schools are unique and may want unique application processes. For those
in favor, most felt that it would be simpler for parents, would provide good publicity, and also from a school perspective, it would clarify the
enrollment picture, as parents who entered multiple lotteries would know the outcomes simultaneously and could confirm enrollment at their first
choice school and decline enrollment at others.
We will move forward on this, and obviously participation in the common date would be voluntary.
Presumably, schools will need to amend admissions policies to reflect the new community school district (CSD) preferences in the revised law. A
common
lottery day could then be voluntarily adopted. More to come, and as always, we welcome your feedback.
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
|
FUNDRAISING
*Visit the Charter Portal Section for new and improved Grants Documents.
Fundraising Consortium Update
Topic Ideas Wanted
The
Center is currently seeking
workshop topic ideas for the 2007-2008 Fundraising Consortium school
year. Topics can range anywhere from private philanthropy to government
grants.
The Center wants to ensure our 2007-2008 workshops include and explore
fundraising/development topics that are most useful to your school.
Please
submit your workshop topic ideas to Mark Crusante at mcrusante@nycchartercenter.org no
later than September 10.
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 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.
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
is now posted on the CSGF website (www.chartergrowthfund.org) for
completion no later than September 21.
OPERATIONS -
FUNDRAISING - CERTIFICATION -
CENTER
RESOURCES - CURRENT
EVENTS
CERTIFICATION
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 at ccohen@nycchartercenter.org for appropriate follow-up.
|
CENTER RESOURCES
NEW! Updated Guidebooks/Templates
The Center has made significant updates to several of our guidebooks on our Web site. If you are using the previous guidebooks/templates, we ask that
you replace it with these newly updated ones. Bookmark or
print to use for the 2007-2008 school year.
Operations Guidebook
- Newly created audit and parent involvement sections - Updated media relations tips
- New funding allocation figures for 2007-08
Government Grants Guidebook
- New funding allocation figures for 2007-08
- Updated Charter School Planning and State Stimulus Fund information
- Newly-created "Preparing a Foundation Application" section
Personnel Template
- Revised termination policy
- Newly created "Employment Manual Legal Supplement" with PDFs of Article 56 (cap lift
provision of state's Charter School Law), the Charter School Act, Civil Service Law, FMLA, Labor Law, FOIL, etc.
The Charter Portal is an online data management system designed for charter school leaders. Sign in to the
Portal for access to these features and more!
NAVIGATING THE PORTAL:
Go to our Web site at http://www.nycchartercenter.org/portal.asp. Each NYC charter school has a unique user name and password. If you do not know your user name and password or
would like assistance with the site, please contact Nathan Hood at
212-437-8316.
We hope that this is a useful tool for you throughout the school year. If you have any suggestions or
questions, please contact Vinice
Davis.
- Effective Practices
Library
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 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.
2. Click on the "Effective Practices Library" link
under "Resources" on the Charter Portal homepage.
3. Browse the Library's content by
clicking each category title, which is grouped according to the following:
-
Governance
- Instructional Leadership
- Operations & Finance
- School Culture
- Teaching & Assessment
4. To download the video or
document, click on
the attachment link at the bottom of the screen.
Questions, comments or suggestions about the
Library may be directed to Tony Miga, School Video Resource Consultant at tmiga@nycchartercenter.org or 212-437-8322.
Final 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. 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, or have left within the
past school year.
For directions on how to complete these surveys, please visit the Center Web site for
archived versions of the Charter Leader News. If you have any questions, please contact Caryl Cohen at ccohen@nycchartercenter.org or Glenn Liebeck at gliebeck@nycchartercenter.org.
Charter School Baseline Visits
As part of the Center's efforts to assist charter schools achieve academic and operational
excellence, the Charter Center offers Baseline Visits to all NYC charter schools.
What is the Baseline Visit all about?
During our visit, we
collect qualitative and quantitative data throughout a school, analyze it with the active participation of the school
leaders, facilitate "big picture" and/or targeted strategy sessions, and provide support towards next steps.
What is the result of this baseline visit?
The end product for the school
leader is perspective of the school program and operations marked by specific recommendations that are digestible and actionable in four-month
increments. The visit pushes school leaders to focus on four to five specific improvements at a time to really effect positive change.
So far, we have completed more than 20 Baseline Visits and have had tremendous results. Find
out what these schools have already learned: that focused and reflective feedback is a gateway to school-wide excellence! If you are interested,
please contact the following:
- Academic Baseline - Glenn Liebeck, Director of
School Leadership Development
- Operations Baseline - Vinice Davis, Director of School
Operations
OPERATIONS - FUNDRAISING - CERTIFICATION -
CENTER RESOURCES - CURRENT EVENTS
|
CURRENT EVENTS
Fall Facilities and Fundraising Networking
Reception
Tuesday, September 18 (4:00 - 7:00 pm)
NYC Center for Charter School Excellence
SAVE THE DATE - Urban Education
Symposium
The Children's Storefront, an independent, tuition-free school in
Harlem, invites school leaders for the Urban Education
Symposium on Friday, October 26, from 8:30
am - 4:00 pm on
the campus of City College of New York in Harlem.
The objective is
to bring together private, public and charter school administrators and
graduate students in education and administration to
add a fresh voice to the national conversation on education, to define
keys to academic success, and to create a network in which to exchange
practical ideas that work.
Workshops:
- Teacher recruitment and retention
- Fundraising techniques
- Building alliances
- Curriculum
- Improving test scores
- Teaching
science and math
- Involving parents
- Applying for scholarships
- Creating a culture of respect
- and more!
Cost is $100 per person. For more information call
Daniel Brewer at 212-427-7900 ext. 224.
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.
|
|
|
