Meeting of the Board of Regents | January 2008

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:
FROM:	Johanna Duncan-Poitier
SUBJECT:	Charter School Proposed First Renewal Charter for KIPP S.T.A.R College Prep Charter School
DATE:	January 4, 2008
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1 and 2
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Decision

 

Should the Regents approve the staff’s recommendations concerning the proposed first renewal to charter for KIPP S.T.A.R College Prep Charter School (New York City)? 

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

 

              Required by State statute, Education Law §2852.

 

Proposed Handling

 

This question will come before the EMSC Committee in January 2008 for action.  It will then come before the full Board for final action in January 2008.

 

Procedural History

 

The New York Charter Schools Act of 1998 requires the Board of Regents to review, in accordance with the standards set forth in Education Law §2852(2), proposed charters, renewal charters and revisions to charters and renewal charters that have been approved and submitted by other charter entities.  The Board of Regents may either approve and issue a charter, renewal charter and/or revision as proposed by the charter entity, or return the same to the charter entity for reconsideration with written comments and recommendations. 

Background Information

 

We received a request from the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York (“SUNY”) to renew the initial charter of the KIPP S.T.A.R College Prep Charter School (KIPP STAR or “the School”).    The initial charter was granted by the Board of Regents on March 25, 2003.  SUNY has requested that the charter be renewed and its provisional charter be extended only through July 31, 2008.  Staff recommend that the request be returned for reconsideration.

 

Recommendation

 

              VOTED: That the Board of Regents return the proposed first renewal charter of the KIPP S.T.A.R College Prep Charter School to the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York for reconsideration and with the following comments and recommendations:  That the proposed first renewal charter be resubmitted to the Regents for consideration after a public hearing concerning the renewal of the school is held and any comments raised at this hearing have been considered.  

 

Reason for Recommendation

 

The New York City Department of Education has scheduled a public hearing concerning the renewal of this School for a date after the proposed first renewal charter will come before the Regents for consideration.  As this hearing has not occurred, comments from the community have not been considered and the school may not be approved at this time.  

    

Timetable for Implementation

 

The Regents action for the KIPP S.T.A.R College Prep Charter School is effective immediately.

 

New York State Education Department

 

Summary of Charter School Renewal Information

 

Summary of Applicant Information

 

 

 

 

Address:   433 W 123rd Street, New York, New York 10031

 

Board of Trustees President:  David Massey

 

Requested Renewal Period: March 26, 2008 – July 31, 2008

 

District of Location: New York City                        

 

Charter Entity:  SUNY

 

Institutional Partner(s): KIPP Foundation, Inc.

 

Management Partner(s): N/A

 

Grades Served per Year:    5-8                                                 

 

Projected Enrollment per Year: 303

 

 

Renewal Application Highlights

 

Evidence of Educational Soundness/ Attainment of Educational Objectives

• The student achievement results for the KIPP S.T.A.R College Prep Charter School  are shown in the table below. Results for grades seven and eight are the only ones provided, since those are the only students who have been with KIPP STAR for at least two full years.
• The NYS assessment results indicate that the School’s overall English Language Arts (ELA) results are strong, while the math results are very strong.
• KIPP STAR ELA students scored at Level 3 and 4 at more than double the rate of those students in Community School District 5 and in the neighboring middle schools.
• The School’s seventh grade ELA cohort surpassed its goal of 65% proficiency by six percentage points. The eight grade cohort fell short of the 75% proficiency by twelve percentage points. The School states it is encouraged by the seventh grade results and states it is optimistic that both seventh and eighth grade classes will exceed its target goals in 2007-2008.
• With the exception of the School’s’ fifth grade class, the students far exceeded its goal to reduce by one half the gap between their baseline or prior year’s performance and grade level (NCE=50) on the Stanford 10 Total Reading Battery. By the end of grade eight, the cohort will be at fifty NCE. KIPP STAR’s first graduating class finished with a sixty NCE, exceeding the goal by ten points. The fifth graders, which entered the School at the lowest baseline level of all cohorts, gained twelve NCE points, exceeding the goal of reducing the gap by one half between the baseline and an NCE of fifty.
• The School cites a programmatic change in fifth grade reading as the reason for not meeting its goal and indicates that it has returned to the SRA program for its fifth graders.
• The School did not meet its goal to reduce by one half the gap between the student's baseline or prior year’s performance and the eighth grade proficient performance level on the NYS ELA assessment. Although each cohort has closed the gap between their fifth grade baseline ELA assessment and the goal of 75% proficiency, the reduction did not occur at the steady pace the School anticipated.
• The School’s assessment results have informed instructional program change. Learning specialists will use the pull-out model for students that are significantly behind grades levels in grades five and six. The push-in model will continue to be used for students in grades six and seven.
• The School will also focus on creating quality assessments to gather student achievement data to drive instruction.
• The ELA department will meet more frequently and a new mentor teacher program and peer observation system will ensure that every teacher is consistently using effective teaching practices.
• The School’s seventh grade cohort surpassed the math goal of 65% proficiency by 28 percentage points, while the eighth grade class surpassed the goal of 75% proficiency by one percentage point.
• KIPP STAR math students scored at level three and four at more than double the rate of those students in CSD 5 and in the neighboring middle school.
• All KIPP STAR students met the goal to reduce by one half the gap between their baseline or prior year’s performance and grade level (NCE=50) on the Stanford 10 Math Battery. The graduating eighth graders finished with a 75 NCE, exceeding the goal by twenty-five points. The class of 2014, which entered KIPP STAR at the lowest baseline level of all four classes, gained nearly 30 NCE points in less than one school year.
• Math students demonstrated steady gains on the NYS math exams. The fifth to sixth grade cohort gain was twelve points; the sixth to seventh grade cohort gain was nineteen points. While the seventh to eighth grade cohort had a negative difference of nine points, the overall gain was eight points school wide.
• The School will implement a systemized intervention program for math students that require further support.
• The School’s first graduates matriculated into college prep high schools including Spence, Deerfield and Loomis Chaffee. Of the seventy graduates, thirty went to Catholic school, ten went to boarding school, two went to day school, and twenty-eight went to public schools. Twelve were selected for the SSP scholarship. One student received the Jack Cooke Kent scholarship.

 

Grades 5-8 State ELA Assessments

Percent of Students at Levels 1 - 4

 

2006-2007	Grade 5	Grade 6	Grade 7				Grade 8
	Results are included only for those seventh and eighth grade students enrolled in KIPP STAR for at least two full years.		1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4
All students			0	29	66	5	0	37	59	4
Students in at least second year			0	29	66	5	0	37	59	4

 

Grades 5-8 State Math Assessments

Percent of Students at Levels 1 - 4

 

2006-2007	Grade 5	Grade 6	Grade 7				Grade 8
	Results are included only for those seventh and eighth grade students enrolled in KIPP STAR for at least two full years.		1	2	3	4		1	2	3	4
All students			0	6	71	22		0	4	69	7
Students in at least second year			0	6	71	22		0	4	69	7

 

 

Evidence of Fiscal Soundness/Projected Fiscal Impact

• See tables below.  The proposed first renewal charter will end in July 2008, so the table addresses the 2007-08 school year only.
• The School has received no notices of material weaknesses in any of its yearly financial audits.

 

Projected

Fiscal Impact of the

KIPP
S.T.A.R College Prep Charter School

(New York City CSD 7 – The Bronx)

2007-08

School Year	Number of Students	Projected Payment*	Projected Impact
2007-2008	303	$36,464,084	0.1812

* Assumes a 3 percent annual increase in the District’s budget from the base of $20.12 billion in 2007-2008; and a 4.5 percent annual increase in the average expense per pupil per year from the 2007-2008 rate of $11,023.

 

KIPP S.T.A.R College Prep Charter School

Change in Net Assets 2004-05 Through 2006-07*

 

Year	Change in Net Assets
2004-05	$465,616
2005-06	$248,826
2006-07	N/A

*Source: Audited Financial Statements provided as a part of each Annual Report.

 

Evidence of Parent and Student Satisfaction and Community Support

• Parent survey results indicate that parents strongly agree that the School’s work presents his/her child with a greater level of academic challenge than the student’s previous school.
• Parent survey results indicate that parents agree or strongly agree that his/her student has become more invested in his/her educational achievement and he/she now strives to attain high grades and talks about it since enrolling in KIPP STAR.
• One hundred percent of parents indicate that they would recommend the School to another family.
• A hearing concerning the renewal of the School pursuant to Education Law Section 2857(1) has been scheduled for the winter of 2008.