campaigns : Campaign Archive

OPERATIONS INFO

DoE Shared Space Campus Management Memo
Schools should have received the DoE’s latest campus management memo in the last month. Thank you to all the schools that worked with the Center and with our Education Pioneer, Katie Ruddy, to document the issues that schools have experienced in utilizing shared space over the years. DoE was very receptive to our suggestions and the memo embeds your feedback in key ways. Firstly, the memo, which went to all principals in DoE buildings, embeds our key philosophical frame, that all principals in DoE buildings are equal stakeholders and tenants under a shared landlord, the Department. We also worked to ensure a binding escalation process, and the Office of Portfolio Development is the final decider on issues of conflict. While this memo and the accompanying tools and agreements are important aspects of facilities equity, ultimately we will need to work hard to implement these documents and make them realities that are ingrained into the bureaucracy. The memo and our shared space study and recommendations are available on the charter portal.

Common Lottery Day Update
Approximately half of our schools have expressed an interest in participating in a common lottery day on April 3. We would encourage all schools to do so voluntarily, as a means to simplify application processes for families, timely enrollment projections for schools and also as a form of positive publicity. On the latter point, we have preliminary indications that April 3 would also serve as the National Charter Lottery Day, and the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools has said they would be interested in showcasing several of our lotteries for the news media. We will have more information on this as it develops. If you have questions about the common lottery day or would like to add your school to the list of participating charters, please send Dirk Tillotson a short note and you will be added to our mailing list on the topic.

ELA SCORING
Attention all schools serving grades K-2:
This winter the Center will host the 2008 NYC Scoring Collaborative, where charter school teachers score the open response portions of the New York State ELA and Math tests.
This is a great opportunity for your staff to learn about the testing process and for your teachers to get experience scoring.
If you are interested in participating please email Nathan Hood by Friday, December 21.

Admissions Workshop follow up
Thank you to the three authorizers and the 40 or so schools that attended our admissions workshop discussing the changes to the law, practical implications for schools, and also beginning the discussion of effective practices in outreach, recruitment and admissions. We are in the process of further developing our FAQ document and getting final authorizer sign off. The FAQ and additional recruitment and admissions information is available on the portal or by emailing Vinice Davis. We also are continuing to collect questions for the FAQ so if you are facing issues that you don’t see already addressed in the document please send them to us. One point that became abundantly clear at the workshop is that these issues can be fairly complex and as the changes in the law are new, resolution is somewhat undefined in practice. Having clear and open communication with your authorizer on the changes to your admission policies and practices is crucial. The FAQ and accompanying documents are available on the charter portal.

FMA – Borough Audit Workshop
As a follow up to the State Comptroller audit training last month, FMA (Fiscal Management Associates) will lead an internal controls audit workshop in January 2008 for charter schools in their borough. The content of the workshops will be sharing and learning fiscal practices from other charter schools, preparation for the State Comptroller Audit, and understanding and responding to an external auditor’s findings under SAS 112 provisions. The workshop will be in peer learning format, where you will share stories and practices on handling SAS 112 letters, implementation of fiscal controls such as petty cash and inventory management. While the workshop will be facilitated by FMA, the goal is for schools to learn from (and meet) each other. All participants are asked to bring copies of their current fiscal policies and procedures. The Center will provide food and beverages.

The workshops will take place on January 29, 30, and 31 at a different borough each night (Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan). We need one school per borough to volunteer their space (a small classroom to hold about 10-20 people) for either the 30th or 31st of January 2008. Manhattan’s workshop will take place at New Heights Academy. The time of the workshop (preferably in the evening) can be set by the school. To RSVP to attend a workshop, please email Vinice Davis by January 15. If you are interested in volunteering your school to host a workshop, please email Vinice Davis which date you will host.

Title I Compliance Training
On, Thursday, January 17 from 3:30 pm-5:00 pm, the Center will host a Title I Compliance training. The purpose of the session will be to help schools understand Title I audits, how to properly track funds, and other compliance-related areas. The NYSED Regional Education Coordinator in charge of Title I for NYC will be presenting and available to answer your questions. The training will take place at the Center, 111 Broadway, Suite 604, NY, NY 10006. Please RSVP no later than January 10, 2008 with the subject: Title I Compliance Training.

SUNY Application Deadline for Winter 2008 Cycle - Jan. 14, 2008
The Charter Schools Institute has announced a call for applications for its Winter 2008 cycle for all those interested in applying to the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York for a new charter school.
The Institute has also issued the 6th edition of its Application Kit which includes new resources for applicants on everything from the changes to the New York Charter Schools Act to insights about the SUNY application review process. The Institute will accept new school charter applications for its Winter Application Submission Cycle on Monday, January 14, 2008.
Applications must be received by 5 p.m. at the Institute's Albany Office:
41 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207. All the information you need is available on the Institute's Web site at:
http://www.newyorkcharters.org.

Employment Law Update: New Form I-9 Released
Form I-9 is used by employers to verify the identity and United States employment eligibility of newly hired employees. On November 7, 2007 the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") released a new version of the Form I-9. http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf. Beginning December 26, 2007 employers are required to use the new Form I-9.
Changes to the Form I-9: Form I-9 was changed primarily to bring the List A documents into compliance with a 1997 law. A new hire can submit List A documents as proof of employment eligibility without additional documents. The revised Form I-9 removes five documents from List A: (a) Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561), (b) Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570), (c) an out-of-date version of the Alien Registration Receipt Card ("green card" Form 1-151, (d) Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327), and (e) an Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571). The revised Form I-9 also adds a new acceptable document: Form I-766, a new version of an Employment Authorization Document.
Revised Handbook: Along with its release of the revised Form I-9, USCIS released a new version of the Handbook for Employers: Instructions for Completing the Form I-9. This new version includes new information such as sample I-9s, an explanation of the USCIS policy of electronic retention of I-9s, an expanded "Common Questions," and additional information on potential penalties for immigration law violations. : http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/m-274.pdf
Please contact Elizabeth Perez at Lawyers Alliance for New York at (212) 219-1800 x 232 or visit http://www.lawyersalliance.org/ for more information.