SUMMARY

Issue for Decision

Should the Regents approve the staff’s recommendations concerning the proposed second renewal to the charter for KIPP Success Through Teamwork, Achievement and Responsibility (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 July 2008 for action.  It will then come before the full Board for final action in July 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.  The School submitted a first renewal in January 2008, for an extension to July 31, 2008, which the Board of Regents voted to return because a public hearing had not been held.  The first renewal went into effect by operation of law.  SUNY has requested that the charter be renewed for five years, commencing on August 1, 2008.  The School proposes to change the grade configuration from 5-8 to add elementary grades K-3.  The School proposes to serve elementary grades, “to ground students as early as possible in the academic rigor and character development necessary to prepare them for success.”  The projected enrollment plan is attached (See Attachment 1).

Public Opinion

              A public hearing for this proposed renewal was conducted on April 15, 2008. There were no public comments made.

Recommendation

              VOTED:  That the Board of Regents approves and issues the second renewal charter of the KIPP S.T.A.R. College Prep Charter School as proposed by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York, and that its provisional charter be extended for a term up through and including July 31, 2013.

Reasons for Recommendation

              (1) The charter school meets the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules, and regulations; (2) the charter school has demonstrated the ability to operate in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; and (3) approving the proposed renewal is likely to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set out in subdivision two of     section twenty-eight hundred fifty of Article 56 of the Education Law. 

Timetable for Implementation

The Regents action for the KIPP S.T.A.R. College Prep Charter School is effective August 1, 2008.

New York State Education Department

Summary of Charter School Renewal Information

Summary of Applicant Information

Name of Proposed Renewed Charter School:  KIPP S.T.A.R. (Success Through Teamwork Achievement and Responsibility) College Prep Charter School (KIPP STAR or “the School”)

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

Board of Trustees President:  David Massey

Requested Renewal Period: August 1, 2008 – July 31, 2013

District of Location: New York City Community School District 5, Manhattan                          

Charter Entity:  SUNY Board of Trustees

Institutional Partner(s): N/A

Management Partner(s): N/A

Grades Served:                       2008-2009: 5-8

2009-2010: K, 5-8

2010-2011: K-1, 5-8

                                                        2011-2012: K-2, 5-8

                                                        2012-2013: K-3, 5-8               

Projected Enrollment:         2008-2009: 259

2009-2010: 339

2010-2011: 419

2011-2012: 499

2012-2013: 579

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 Tables 1 through 4 below.  
• 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 students scored at Levels 3 and 4 on the ELA assessment, more than double the rate of those students in Community School District 5 and in the neighboring middle schools.
• The School has provided an assurance the curriculum will address and be aligned to the 28 New York State Learning Standards and the 7 general subject areas. 
• With the exception of the fifth grade class, the students far exceeded the School’s 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 percent 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 percent proficiency by 28 percentage points on the New York State Math assessment, while the eighth grade class surpassed the goal of 75 percent proficiency by one percentage point.
• KIPP STAR 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 on the New York State Math assessment.
• 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.
• The School’s first graduates matriculated into college preparatory 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. One student received the Jack Cooke Kent scholarship.
• The founding School Leader was replaced in the 2007-08 school year. Two school co-leaders are now employed by the School, in that capacity.  The School reported a 20 percent teacher attrition rate for the 2006-07 school year.
• Each kindergarten class will have two teachers and a student to teacher ratio of 10:1.
• The School will emphasize writing in the elementary grades.  Students in grades K through 3 will receive instruction intended to build proficiency through journal writing and the infusion of additional writing opportunities across the curriculum.
• The School calendar will be approximately 210 days.  Additional instructional support for students will be provided on Saturdays.
• Students in grades 5 through 8 will attend school from 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM.  Students in grades K through 3 will attend from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  Saturday enrichment classes will be offered from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. 

Table 1

2007-2008

Grades 5-8 State ELA and Math Assessments

Percent of KIPP S.T.A.R. Students at Levels 1 – 4

Table 2

Grade 5-8 State ELA Assessments

Percent of KIPP S.T.A.R. Students at Levels 1 – 4

Table 3

Grades 5-8 State Math Assessments

Percent of KIPP S.T.A.R. Students at Levels 1 - 4

Table 4

2006-2007 and 2007-2008

Grades 5-8 State ELA and Math Assessments

Percent of KIPP S.T.A.R. and District 5 Students at Proficiency Level

Evidence of Fiscal Soundness/Projected Fiscal Impact

• The School has received no notices of material weaknesses in any of its yearly financial audits.
• The School maintains a positive fund balance and had a positive change in net assets for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007 (See Attachment 2).
• The School, for 2008-2009, reports a beginning cash balance of $1,500,000.
• The School anticipates Year One revenues of $4,359,504 and Year Five revenues of $9,425,746.
• Expenditures in Year One and Year Five are projected at $4,338,504 and $9,434,671, respectively.
• The School conservatively estimates modest annual surpluses in the first four years of the charter term.

Projected Fiscal Impact of the

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

(New York City CSD 5 - Manhattan)

2008-2009 through 2012-2013

* 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.

Evidence of Parent and Student Satisfaction and Community Support

• Parent survey results indicate that parents strongly agree that the School’s academic rigor 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.  Ninety-eight percent were satisfied or highly satisfied with overall classroom instruction.  Ninety-six percent were satisfied or highly satisfied with the level of communication between home and school.
• A public hearing on the renewal was held on April 15, 2008.  No public comments were made or received.

Attachment I

Attachment 1

Current Enrollment

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

2007-2008

Projected Enrollment

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

2008-2009 to 2012-2013

Attachment 2

Attachment 2

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

Change in Net Assets for 2006-07*

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