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Volume III, Issue 14, June 11, 2007
CHARTER LEADER NEWS
This issue of the Charter Leader News features...
2006-2007 Math Scores Released
Summary and Grade-by-Grade ELA Test Results Breakdown
Busing service cutoff looms for schools exceeding 180
days
Recruitment and Retention Exit Survey Templates
SUNY-CSI Update on Charter School Applications
Welcome to new NYCDOE Staff
Last chance for Isospace Equipment Donation
CEI-PEA and Charter Partners Receive 10.5 Million
Grant
State Stimulus Fund Update
Teacher Certification Workshop - Registration
Today!
Special Education
Co-operative Update
New on the Charter Portal
2006-2007 Math Scores Released
The New York State Education Department (SED) released 2006-2007 Math test results
on Thursday, June 7, through nySTART, the SED's data reporting tool. This data is currently available for individual schools
to
access, but the results will be held until the SED has its official press conference on Tuesday, June 12, 2007.
At
this point, the nySTART data may not reflect all of the scores for your
students. As was the case with the release of state English Language Arts (ELA) test results on May 22, it appears that IEP students
are missing from this data upload.
DOE is working diligently with SED to correct this problem and is
hopeful that this will be fixed before data is made public. In the
meantime, school leaders should record any students without IEPs that are missing from the
data on the verification report spreadsheet that Josh Morales distributed to
all
charter schools.
Please forward any questions or concerns to Jeannemarie Hendershot at JHendershot@schools.nyc.gov or to Joshua Morales at JMorales5@schools.nyc.gov.
SUMMARY AND GRADE-BY-GRADE BREAKDOWN OF 2006-07 ELA TEST RESULTS
AVAILABLE
ONLINE
Since the initial release of state ELA test results in late May, the New York City Center for Charter
School Excellence has worked with the NYC Department of Education to account for discrepancies
in
the uploading of data that affected NYC charter schools. Specifically, test results for special education students in NYC charter schools
migrated back to their original school districts thereby producing inaccurate proficiency rates for some schools. To view ELA test results by school and by grade, please follow the below link to our Web site:
http://www.nycchartercenter.org/test_results.asp
Over all, public charter school
students outpaced traditional public schools on the state ELA exam, achieving 57 percent proficiency -- compared to 48 percent proficiency achieved
by
students in traditional public schools located in the same district, and 51 percent proficiency citywide.
NYC charter school students outpaced their host district counterparts in all grades, and public
schools citywide in every grade except fifth. The greatest difference in score performance was between sixth and seventh grade charter school
students
and the students in their host districts. In this case, charter school students in sixth and seventh grades outpaced their district counterparts by
more than 10 percentage points.
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OPERATIONS NEWS
Busing service cutoff looms for schools exceeding 180 days
Schools that have extended school years may have their bus service unexpectedly terminated this month. Please
check with
the Office of Pupil Transportation to ascertain the status of your school. Consistent with Education Law Section 3635, the district can not provide
transportation to charter schools for more than 180 days (with the exception of five additional days as requested by the school at the beginning of
the year and in accordance with the law). Schools need to check on the status of student transportation with OPT and plan accordingly. Please
visit http://www.opt-osfns.org/opt/default.asp
for more information. (Note: Schools can arrange for continuity of service with OPT at an additional cost.)
Recruitment and Retention - Exit Survey Templates
Developed in response to a number of requests from schools, these new Exit Survey Templates are designed to
assist with recruitment and retention efforts. The Charter Center hired a statistician to design basic exit survey templates for teachers,
administrators and school operations
staff who have left or are leaving NYC charter schools voluntarily. A series of four templates under
three main categories (Teachers, School Leaders, and School Operations Specialists) are provided to all schools electronically via the Charter
Portal (see Center Resources for more information).
We hope that the results will yield important information regarding strategies to both recruit and retain
quality
personnel in NYC charter schools. If you have any questions, please contact Caryl Cohen at ccohen@nycchartercenter.org or Glenn Liebeck at gliebeck@nycchartercenter.org.
June 9th Conference Canceled
Metro Center EAC: Reaching Every Child: The Charter School Promise
Date and Time: June 9, 2007, 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM
Location: Bronx Charter School for the Arts
This conference, hosted by the Region II Equity Assistance Center in partnership with the NYC Center for Charter
School Excellence and the NJ Charter School Resource Center, was canceled due to low enrollment. We will notify schools when a new time
and date has been scheduled.
SUNY-CSI New Charter School Applications
The SUNY Charter Schools Institute (SUNY-CSI) 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. SUNY-CSI'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.
SUNY-CSI has also revised its application kit and timelines. Updated information is available at the following
link: http://www.newyorkcharters.org/openAppKit.htm
Welcome to New NYC Department of Education Staff Members
Jeannemarie Hendershot joins the Office of Charter Schools at the NYC DOE as Associate for
Charter
School Accountability. Jeannemarie will be evaluating academic performance as part of accountability for DOE-authorized charter schools and
coordinating the State assessments and data in conjunction with the DOE Division of Assessment and Accountability for all charter schools in New York
City.
Sabrina Skinner joins the Office of Charter Schools at the NYC DOE
as Manager of Charter Development. In this capacity, Sabrina will oversee the charter school application, review and evaluation
process for applicants coming to the NYC DOE for charter school approval. Sabrina previously served at the DOE as Chief
of Staff in the Office of New Schools, and is currently a Broad Resident.
Isospace Equipment Donation - LAST CHANCE!
Located at 111 Broadway, the Charter Center neighbor Isospace 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 anti-static and anti-glare 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 15 via email to Kelsey Blumenstock or call at 212-437-8317.
The Charter Center is Hiring
The Center is always looking for quality team members, and is currently hiring for a number of positions,
including VP of
Facilities, Recruiter, and Administrative Assistant. If you are aware of qualified candidates, please refer them to the Charter Center
web site, http://nycchartercenter.org/jobs.asp.
OPERATIONS - CURRENT EVENTS - FUNDRAISING - TRAINING - CERTIFICATION -
SPECIAL
EDUCATION - RESOURCES
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CURRENT EVENTS
Congratulations to CEI-PEA and its Charter Partners
CEI-PEA and a consortium of charter schools was recently awarded a
$10.5 million Teacher Incentive Fund grant from the federal government to implement an incentive-based compensation system in a consortium of charter
schools. The Charter Center congratulates the ten schools participating in the consortium:
- Bronx Charter School for Children
- Family Life Academy Charter School
- Hellenic Classical Charter School
- John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy Charter School
- Manhattan Charter School
- Merrick Academy Charter School
- Peninsula Preparatory Charter School
- Renaissance Charter School
- South Bronx Charter School for International Culture and the Arts
- Williamsburg Charter School
Government Grants Workshop (including State Stimulus
Fund)
Conducted by Jon Moscow of Sterner-Moscow Partnership
Date: June 19, 2007
Time: 4:30 pm
Location: NYC Center for Charter School Excellence
See Fundraising Opportunities for more details.
Dollars and Cents: Funding Equity Panel Discussion - June 27
The NYC
Charter School Leaders' Advocacy and Equity Committee invites school leaders to attend a June
27 panel discussion on funding equity entitled, "Dollars and Cents." Topics will include:
Facilities Funding,
Categorical Aid, Approved Operating Expenditure Formula Funding, and the
CFE and the impact of increased City and State
Education Funding on Charter Schools.
Featured Panelists:
Aamir Raza, NYC Department of Education
Joshua Morales, 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
The panel will be moderated by Advocacy and Equity committee co-chairs Stacey Gauthier of
Renaissance Charter School and Marc Waxman of Future Leaders Institute Charter School. Dinner and
refreshments will be served. Please RSVP
by June 14 to Karen
Todd
at 212-437-8328. For any additional questions, contact Jeff Maclin.
OPERATIONS - CURRENT EVENTS - FUNDRAISING - TRAINING - CERTIFICATION
- SPECIAL EDUCATION - RESOURCES
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FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITIES
CSI State Stimulus Fund Application- Due Date July 9
Attention CSI- and DOE-authorized Charter Schools:
As you may know, the Charter School Institute has posted its new State
Stimulus Fund application on its Web site. The RFP is due by July 9, and
is for the period July 1, 2007-August 31, 2008. It provides up to $350,000
for facilities and/or $50,000 for start-up/implementation, with a combined
maximum of $350,000.
The application is designed to focus on facilities needs. For Start-up and
implementation grants, eligible applicants are limited to schools
scheduled to open in Fall 2007 or later, or schools adding new grades in
2007.
Further, previous recipients of start-up and implementation grants are not
eligible.
State Stimulus Fund Application - Due Date June 26
Attention SED-authorized Charter Schools:
As a reminder, SED has posted the 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, and $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.
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.
Jon Moscow of Sterner-Moscow Partnership will be conducting a workshop on Government Grants in June (Please see Current
Events). He also offers
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 want assistance, please
email your requests to Jon Moscow or call at 917-568-6441. Be sure to indicate your current phase
in the application process in the email.
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
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.
- 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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CERTIFICATION
Teacher Certification Workshop - REGISTRATION DEADLINE TODAY!
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. The
workshop will take place
at the NYC Center for Charter School Excellence.
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. Please be advised that those interested must register in
advance by emailing Caryl
Cohen no
later than today, June 11. They must include the name of their charter school
in the email. All questions should be directed to Caryl Cohen at ccohen@nycchartercenter.org.
OPERATIONS - CURRENT EVENTS
- FUNDRAISING - TRAINING - CERTIFICATION
-
SPECIAL
EDUCATION - RESOURCES
SPECIAL EDUCATION
UPDATE: Special Education Co-operative
How will the Department of Education's reorganization affect
special education in charter schools?
The ten Regional Committees on Special Education (CSE) will remain
in their current locations for the next school year. Their primary focus will be to evaluate and
develop IEPs for students in non-public schools, parochial schools and charter
schools. As the CSE caseload has been
specifically defined, we can expect better service for charter school students.
The Charter Center continues to work with schools on their special education needs through the work of Dr. Arthur Sadoff. As part of this work, the
Center will continue to support a special education
co-operative structure in Brooklyn. This will be a joint venture between the
charter schools and the Committee on Special Education. Meetings for several of the stakeholders have
already taken place with additional meetings set for the near future. The co-op will encourage schools and CSE
staff to create realistic options to share services, improve professional
development, and to create better service
delivery for students with special needs.
OPERATIONS - CURRENT EVENTS
- FUNDRAISING - TRAINING - CERTIFICATION
-
SPECIAL
EDUCATION - RESOURCES
CENTER RESOURCES
Log on and take advantage of these exciting new features on the Charter Portal! As always, you have access to
Center staff and NYC Charter School contact information, our ever-growing Documents Library, and the Operations Calendar.
NAVIGATING THE PORTAL:
Go to our Web site
and click the
green
box in the upper left corner. Each NYC
charter school has a unique user name and password. If you do not know
your username and password or would like assistance with the site,
please
contact Nathan Hood at 212-437-8316.
Documents Library: Newly Updated!
- Exit Survey Documents
- 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 and both close-ended as well as open-ended
components in order to give schools comprehensive human resources
feedback.
- PART ONE: Please print or email the applicable cover letter and Part 1 (close-ended portions) to
staff members who are leaving or have left
your charter school within the past year. The directions on each cover
letter ask the participants to mail that letter and their Part 1
responses directly to Caryl Cohen, ATTN: CCOHENSURVEY, NYC Center for Charter School Excellence, 111 Broadway, Suite 604, New York NY 10006, where
they will be
analyzed by our statistician with overall results reported back to the
schools.
- PART TWO: Part 2 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.
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.
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