OPERATIONS NEWS
Statistician Available to Answer Cohort Analysis Questions
The Center will make statistician Fred Smith available on Wednesday, July
25, from 10 am to 2 pm, for questions on the cohort analysis spreadsheet he distributed during his July 16 presentation. Fred will answer
questions on analyzing and calculating student data. He can be reached at 718-437-5659.
New Audit of Charter School Performance - What does this mean for
you?
The Office of the New York State Comptroller (OSC) will
conduct a performance audit of all NYC charter schools. The findings of this audit will be a public document on the OSC Web site and available for
authorizers, parents, funders, and other stakeholders to view. This audit differs from the Internal Controls Audit triggered by the Roslyn School
District catastrophe. It will look at the following from school year's 2005-2006 and 2006-2007:
- School's charter and/or renewal
- Annual Report
- State and other test scores
- Student waitlist names for 05-07
- Admissions and lottery procedures
- ELL and IEP student information
- Types of assessment tools used to determine academic performance
- Names of suspended and drop out students
OSC has already requested most of this information from DOE-authorized schools and is
expected to seek the same information from SUNY and SED-authorized schools at the beginning of next year. We encourage school leaders to
document all communication with the OSC auditors, including all requests made of the school.
Editorial Comment By COO Dirk Tillotson: Frederick Douglass once said,
"[F]ind out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them." In
that spirit, I think this move, along with the increasing regulatory creep, is something that we all need to watch and, where appropriate, fight
against.
While we all should recognize our accountability for public funds and also our duty to
equitably serve all students, particularly the least advantaged, to have one more, arguably ill-equipped, evaluator drawing administrative time
and resources from school personnel is a bit much.
The Center is committed to working with OSC and schools to facilitate this audit process and to minimize school
resources expended. However, it is incumbent upon us as a community to help shape the scope of the audit and where appropriate resist efforts that
undermine our ability to ultimately run high-quality schools.
The Center along with CEI-PEA will be coordinating a conference call to assist schools in understanding the
audit
process, our rights, and providing support to schools to complete their regulatory requirements efficiently. DOE schools should look for more details
on the call in the coming week.
For more information contact Dirk Tillotson or Vinice Davis.
NCLB Consolidated Application - August 9th Conference Call
Jon Moscow of Sterner-Moscow Partnership will be made available to provide technical
assistance on the 2007 NCLB Consolidated Application due August 31. A conference call will be hosted by Jon on Thursday,
August 9 at 10 AM to go over the application process. Please download and read the application before participating in the call. The
phone number and access code for the call are 218-936-1100 Code: 66529#. To participate in the call, please RSVP to Vinice Davis.
Jon will also be available for individual conversations and review of Consolidation
Application drafts from now through August 31. He may be reached directly at jmoscow@optonline.net or at
917-568-6441.
Launch of Children First Network - Project for potential help with Shared Space
Issues
The New York City Department of Education (DOE) together
with the Empowerment School Office is piloting a project called the Children First Network (CFN). The purpose of this pilot is to
explore a method to deliver back-office support services to schools in a new way and has the full support of the
Chancellor. The goal of this project is to save money for schools and/or increase levels of service and satisfaction in all aspects of school
operations. School leaders looking for support services similar to those offered by a Charter Management Organization at NO cost to the
school may find this a great fit.
Twenty-one charter schools are already involved. Schools involved in the pilot have a
dedicated team of 12 professionals on the CFN team to assist them in integrating front and back-office services (human resources and
budget, special education, suspensions and safety, food and transportation, youth development and health, etc.). For example, one charter
school participating in the pilot (that by its own request, operates on a mostly self-sufficient basis) has requested additional help targeting
facilities and custodial issues.
Given that some charter school principals in shared space environments with DOE have
difficulty initiating building councils that work effectively, a charter school in the CFN network would have access to additional facilities
assistance and support in negotiating these issues with the other schools in the building. The CFN team has two veteran principals with
extensive experience negotiating shared space and a full-time facilities/custodial person that will be able to assist in this area. Pilot
schools will also have the opportunity to participate in privately funded initiatives around building operational capacity within the
schools.
If you are interested in participating and/or learning more about CFN, please contact Margaux Lisiak in the Empowerment School Office at MLisiak@schools.nyc.gov or 
212-374-5199. The Center encourages
schools to investigate
this exciting opportunity both as a way to improve charter schools' operations, as well as impart some of our lessons to the broader NYC public
education reform effort.
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 strategizing sessions, and provide support towards next steps.
What is the end product 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
Operations.
Statement on Auditing Standards Webinar
Goldstein Golub Kessler (GGK) and Fiscal Management Associates (FMA) are holding a free
Webinar on "Being Prepared for Your Audit: The Impact of Statement on Auditing Standards No. 112 (SAS 112)" on Wednesday, August 15,
from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
SAS 112 significantly raises the standards required by charter schools as you prepare your
2007 financial statements and increases the likelihood of significant internal control deficiencies being identified. Financial managers, school
leaders and board members are all invited to participate. This presentation will equip you with the practical knowledge needed to respond to
the regulatory challenges created by SAS 112. Presenters include GGK Partners Ian Benjamin and Adam Reiss, and FMA Managing Director Hilda
Polanco.
You will be able to attend this Webinar from your desk, all you need is a computer with
internet access and a telephone. Register at http://208.106.234.9/ggkaudit/registration.asp. For questions and additional information, contact Ruth Haskins at GGK (Ruth.Haskins@rsmi.com or 212.372.1913) or Vinice Davis.
Recruitment at DOE Job Fairs
The Center is participating in this year's series of DOE Job Fairs. Five tables per fair allowing
for a maximum of ten schools/EMOs/CMOs will be available at each fair for the school leader/designee to briefly meet candidates, schedule follow up
school visits and provide informational brochures about their school.
August 7
Brooklyn Marriott - all subject areas
August 30
Brooklyn Marriott - all subject areas
To register to participate for this opportunity to meet prospective teaching
candidates, please email Caryl Cohen at ccohen@nycchartercenter.org and
indicate the date(s) of interest. Since availability is limited, please register now and provide a Job Fair contact for Caryl to send more detailed
information.
Important deadlines for SUNY schools
For all existing SUNY Authorized charter schools, several important due dates are coming up:
- 2006-07 Annual Report: Including requirements from SED, as well as an Accountability Plan Progress Report,
is
due August 1st. New annual reporting guidelines have been posted on the Institute's Web site, http://www.newyorkcharters.org.
- Applications for initial and subsequent renewal are due August 15th. Please see the
Institute's
new second edition of the Charter Renewal Handbook, also available on the Web site, for applications and resources.
Recruitment and Retention - Exit Survey Templates
The Center has launched 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. (Please see Center Resources for more information.)
If you have any questions, please contact Caryl Cohen at ccohen@nycchartercenter.org or Glenn Liebeck at gliebeck@nycchartercenter.org.
OPERATIONS - TRAINING - CENTER RESOURCES -
CURRENT EVENTS
