Volume III, Issue 13, Tuesday, May 29, 2007

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Sixty-One Percent of City's Public Charter School Students Meet or Exceed State Standards in Reading

According to a preliminary analysis of test data released last week by the city and state departments of education, 61 percent of the city's public charter schools met or exceeded proficiency on the latest state English Language Arts (ELA) exam. Last year, 55.7 percent of the city's public charter school students met or exceeded proficiency rates on the ELA exam.

The exam was administered in January 2007 to approximately 9,000 students (grades 3-8) in 45 of the city's 58 public charter schools.

We recognize that some charter school leaders and the New York City Department of Education have raised concerns about discrepancies in the counting of Special Education students in the test data. As a result, the Center is working with DOE to ensure that all students are appropriately accounted for in the test data. 

Further details and analysis of the ELA test results, including a grade-by-grade comparison, will be available on the Center's Web site later this week.

Important May 31st Conference Call! - NYSTART Issues

Reaching Every Child:  The Charter School Promise
with Keynote Speaker, Dr. Pedro Noguera

• Closing the Achievement Gap
• Best Practices for ELL students
• Best Practices for Special Needs Students

The contact person for this event is Tanya Ghans at 212-992-9377.

 

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OPERATIONS NEWS

 

 

SUNY-CSI New Charter School Applications
The SUNY Charter Schools Institute will accept applications for new charter schools on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York on Friday June 29, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. The Institute's Web site, www.newyorkcharters.org, has detailed information about the SUNY application process, including an invitation to send a letter expressing your intent to apply, an updated Frequently Asked Questions document, and a memo detailing the recent changes to the New York Charter Schools Act that affect new school applicants.  Of the 50 charters awarded to date by the SUNY Board of Trustees, 28 are for schools currently operating in New York City.

 

Successful Banking Strategies for NYC Charter Schools
Commerce Bank will be hosting a breakfast for charter school operators at its corporate headquarters to discuss optimizing their banking relationship and introducing its products and services.

Date: Monday, June 11, 2007

Time: 9:00 a.m.

Location: 42nd & Madison Avenue (317 Madison Avenue, 2nd Fl.)

Representatives will be available to discuss the following subjects and answer any questions the participants may have.

• Banking Services
• Cash Management Services
• Escrow Accounts
• Merchant Services 
• Affinity Banking Program
• Financial Literacy/Bank at Work/WOW! Zone

Please RSVP to Vincent Morgan at 212-918-4171.

Save the Date!  June 27 Panel Discussion on Funding Equity

The NYC Charter School Leaders' Advocacy and Equity Committee invites school leaders to attend a June 27, 2007 panel discussion on funding equity entitled, "Dollars and Cents." The panel will be moderated by committee co-chairs Stacey Gauthier of Renaissance Charter School and Marc Waxman of Future Leaders Institute Charter School. Join us for a robust and informative dialogue on funding equity and public charter schools.  The panel will cover:

• Facilities Funding
• Categorical Aid
• Approved Operating Expenditure Formula Funding
• CFE and the impact of increased City and State Ed Funding on Charter Schools

Featured Panelists:

Aamir Raza, NYC Department of Education

Peter Murphy, New York Charter School Association

Harvey Newman, CEI-PEA

Jonathan Gyurko, United Federation of Teachers

Dirk Tillotson, NYC Center For Charter School Excellence

 

Dinner and refreshments will be served. Look for postcard invitation in this week's mail! Please RSVP by June 14th to Karen Todd at 212-437-8301. For any additional questions, contact Jeff Maclin.

 

 

Charter School Facilities Affordability Forum Wrap-up

The Center wishes to thank all those who attended our Affordability Forum on May 21st.  The forum stimulated a productive discussion about the realities of identifying and paying for a private facility.  For those that were unable to attend, you can access presentation materials from the event in the Documents Library on the Charter Portal.

 

Stay tuned for the launch of our Facilities Planning Guidebook, which will feature an interactive introductory session on how to get the most out of the guide, next month. 

 

 

Isospace Equipment Donation
A wonderful neighbor of the Center, also located at 111 Broadway, is offering for free four CRT [not LED] monitors, all NEC MultiSync Model FE700, to charter school staff and/or students.  They have a flat, 17" screen (16" viewable), and are compatible with both PC and Mac desktops. The monitors are "high end" with great resolution (1280 x 1024 max. at 66 Hz refresh rate) with antistatic and antiglare screens. They weigh 51 lbs. each (heavy - so bring a hand truck) and measure 16.7 x 15.9 x 16.8 inches.  

 

If interested, please respond by Friday, June 1st via email to Kelsey Blumenstock or call at 212-437-8317.

 

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CENTER RESOURCES

 

 

 

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FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITIES

 

 

JUNE 1ST Deadline - Center Offers New $10,000 Grant Opportunity
The NYC Center for Charter School Excellence is offering a new round of effective practice grants to help fund programs or practices that school leaders or teachers believe will improve student learning and achievement. Grant proposals for funding of up to $10,000 are due by June 1st. The Center will give priority to proposals to pilot a new practice or program, or to improve an existing one in such areas as assessment, instruction, curriculum, classroom resources, special education, student counseling and professional development from schools committed to sharing results with other schools. Please contact Chris Pendry, the Center's VP of Grants and Strategic Planning, to discuss any questions and for a copy of the grant application guidelines at 212-437-8313, or Lorin Brown at 212-437-8325.

 

 

State Stimulus Fund Application - Due Date June 26

Attention SED-authorized Charter Schools:
As you may know, SED has posted the new State Stimulus Fund (SSF) application on its Web site. The RFP is due by June 26, and is for the period July 1, 2007-June 30, 2008. It provides up to $200,000 for facilities; $5,000 for start-up. The applicant eligibility categories are: schools that began serving students in 2004, 2005, 2006, schools opening in 2007 and current schools that are expanding.
 

NOTE: Approximately $770,000 is currently available for SED-authorized schools. Please check www.emsc.nysed.gov under funding opportunities for more details. 

 

Jon Moscow of Sterner-Moscow Partnership will be available to offer technical assistance on the State Stimulus Fund application process on behalf of New York City Center for Charter School Excellence. Assistance can include brainstorming, feedback on application ideas, getting clarification of questions from SED, and review of narrative drafts. If you anticipate wanting such assistance, please email your requests to Jon Moscow or call at 917-568-6441. Be sure to include your current phase in the process.

 

State Stimulus Fund for other schools
New York State Stimulus Fund (SSF) grants are available to public charter schools authorized by SUNY, the New York City Board of Education, and the Buffalo City Board of Education. Qualified charter schools may apply for Facility Financing Grants up to $350,000, and Start-Up or Implementation Grants up to $50,000 or a combination of the two Grants not to exceed $350,000. Go to http://www.newyorkcharters.org/schoolsGrantOpps.htm for more information.

 

 

McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth Grant - June 11 Deadline
Under this State Department of Education (SED) grant program, which is designed to promote the enrollment, attendance and academic success of homeless children and youth in schools, public charter schools would be eligible for up to $125,000 in funding. If interested, schools should contact the Charter Center for help and assistance putting together the D84 application. The deadline for applications is June 11. Click here for further information on the McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth Grant, or contact Dirk Tillotson with any questions you may have.

 

 

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TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

 

Training Series:  Building an Interim Assessment System
Summer offers a wonderful time for rest, reflection, and action. The New York City Center for Charter School Excellence will offer a series of two training sessions introducing schools to best practices in building an interim assessment system.  The summer months provide schools with time to set up the necessary structures to build very effective school-wide assessment routines.  In addition, we will discuss grant opportunities to help schools implement these programs.

Session #1:  Laying the Foundation - What structures have to be in place as you begin developing interim assessments?

Date: May 30th

Time: 4:30pm - 7:00pm

Location:  New York City Center for Charter School Excellence

 

Session #2: Strategies for Building Interim Assessments - How are schools going about the monumental, yet powerful, task of building interim assessments? How do schools effectively use this data to impact student achievement?
Date: June 4th

Time: 4:30pm - 7:00pm

Location:  New York City Center for Charter School Excellence

We invite the instructional leaders (or personnel responsible for curriculum or assessment) of all schools in the early stages of developing an interim assessment system. Interested schools should RSVP via email Heather Caudill for more information. Please place "Assessment Training Sessions" in the subject line.

 
Teacher Certification Workshop - June 16, 2007 (9:00 AM - 5:00 PM)
Based on the continued success of our past certification workshops, as well as the ongoing need for uncertified teachers to have a plan of action towards achieving certification, the Charter Center would like to announce the pre-summer Teacher Certification Workshop on Saturday, June 16.

Current and prospective uncertified teachers and teacher assistants, as well as teachers from out-of-state who need assistance with the New York State certification process, are encouraged to register for this workshop. The workshop will take place at the NYC Center for Charter School Excellence. 

• All workshop participants must show a photo ID to gain building access. 
• All participants must bring student copies of complete undergraduate (and graduate) transcripts and any other related documents, such as proof of the Child Abuse Identification and Violence Prevention workshops, previous State Ed evaluations, etc. 
• Those who possess certification from another state must bring a copy of their college transcripts as well as their out-of-state certificate.
• Each participant will be assigned a 30 minute time slot between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm to meet individually with a certification specialist who will recommend a personalized education plan leading to certification. A hard copy of this plan will be given to the participant.
• A list of participants from each school will be provided to the school leader for appropriate follow-up to ensure compliance with state and federal laws.

Please share this announcement with current and prospective hires and advise them that they need to register in advance by emailing Caryl Cohen no later than June 11. They must include the name of their charter school in the email. We will fill the slots on a first-come, first-served basis. If we are oversubscribed, we will schedule those candidates for the August workshop. All questions should be directed to Caryl Cohen at ccohen@nycchartercenter.org.

 

CERTIFICATION UPDATE FOR CALIFORNIA TEACHERS!
The State Department of Education (SED) informed the Center that California has signed the NASTEC Agreement for 2005-2010.  This means that charter school leaders can recruit certified teachers with a Level 2 California teaching credential for the forthcoming school year. Prior to starting employment in the charter school, they need to apply for the NYS Initial Certificate based on reciprocity in the same area as the California.

 

The Charter Center will be holding a certification workshop on June 16th and again in the summer to assist all teachers with the certification process credential. They must complete the application and pay the application fee via the on-line TEACH system and then mail ALL original transcripts and a copy of their California credential to the SED.

 

 

Training Events for 2008 Planning Teams
Charter school planning teams applying to open schools in the fall of 2008 are invited to attend the following sessions. Dates and times may change. Updated schedules will be emailed to planning teams periodically. For all sessions, please RSVP to Kelsey Blumenstock at 212-437-8317. Sessions will be held at the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence.

• Planning for your Charter School's Culture - Thursday, June 7 (from 4:30-6:30 pm)
• Fundraising and Facilities Planning - Thursday, June 14 (from 4:30-6:30 pm)
• Government Grants (CSP, SSF and Others) - Tuesday, June 19 (from 4:30-6:30 pm)

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CURRENT EVENTS

 

 

Borough Meeting scheduled for June 5 and June 7
The next Borough Meeting will be held in Brooklyn on June 5, from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm at Explore Charter School, 15 Snyder Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, 11226. A Manhattan meeting will be held on June 7, from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm, at New Heights Academy, 1818 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10031. Please join us to discuss the latest issues affecting charter schools and to help define the Center's agenda going forward.  Food and refreshments will be provided.

 

Charter School Foundations: General Information Session
Educators, parents and community members interested in learning more about NYC public charter schools are encouraged to attend the Charter School Foundations and Concept Development on Wednesday, June 6, 2007, from 4:30-6:30pm. Charter School Planning Teams considering applying for a charter school in NYC in 2009 or beyond are also welcome. Please RSVP by June 1st to Kelsey Blumenstock at (212) 437-8317.

 

 

 

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.