SUMMARY

Issues for Decision

Should the Regents approve the staff’s recommendation concerning the proposed third renewal charter for John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy 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 Chancellor of the city school district of the City of New York (“the Chancellor) to approve and issue a third renewal charter for the John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy Charter School (JVLWACS or “the School”).  The Board of Regents granted the initial five-year charter on May 4, 2000.  The School’s first renewal was approved on June 21, 2005 for a period of one year.  Its second renewal was approved on July 26, 2006 for two years.  JVLWACS reports that during 2006-2007 its students had formerly attended 225 different high schools; 50 percent were dropouts and 50 percent were in-school truants; 25 percent had involvement in the criminal justice system; 15 percent were economically disadvantaged (did not have parents or lived outside of the home or were living in foster care); and 15 percent were parents.  The School is housed in two separate facilities, one in Manhattan that serves grades 11-12 and one in the Bronx that serves grades 9-10.  In February 2008, the Board of Regents approved a revision to the School’s charter allowing it to discontinue its eight plus program; institute a dress code policy; modify its math and reading curriculum to better align with the instructional needs it had identified; increase instructional class time from fifty to sixty minutes for students at the Bronx site; and to make the internship program at the Bronx site available only for students who have completed one complete semester at the School.  The Chancellor has requested that the charter be renewed for three years, granting the School the authority to provide instruction to students in grades nine through twelve, commencing September 1, 2008.  The School will have an enrollment of 475 students in 2008-2009 and grow to 500 by 2010-2011.

Staff recommends that the Board of Regents approves and issues a third renewal charter to the John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy Charter School as proposed by the Chancellor of the city school district of the City of New York.

Recommendation

VOTED: That the Board of Regents approves and issues the third renewal charter of the John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy Charter School as proposed by the Chancellor of the city school district of the City of New York, and that its provisional charter be extended for a term up through and including August 31, 2011.

Reason 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 John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy Charter School will become effective on September 1, 2008.

New York State Education Department

Summary of Charter School Renewal Information

Summary of Applicant Information

Name of Proposed Renewed Charter School:  John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy Charter School (JVLWACS or “the School”)

Address:  17 Battery Place, New York, NY 10004 (grades 11-12) and 1239 Lafayette Avenue, Bronx, NY 10474 (grades 9-10)

Board of Trustees President: Amalia Betanzos

Renewal Period: September 1, 2008 – August 31, 2011

District of Location: New York City Community School Districts (CSD) 2 and 8                     

Charter Entity:  Chancellor of the city school district of the City of New York

Institutional Partner(s): None

Management Partner(s): None

Grades Served per Year:    9-12

Projected Enrollment per Year:

2008-09 – 475

2009-10 – 475

2010-2011 – 500

Renewal Application Highlights

Evidence of Educational Soundness/ Attainment of Educational Objectives

• The basic educational philosophy of John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy Charter School (Wildcat) is based on an Academic Intervention Services (AIS) model using community-based internships as the leverage to re-engage disenfranchised students who have dropped-out or are in-school truants in traditional high schools. 
• The School currently serves 475 high school students. The school serves students in Grades 9-10 at its campus in The Bronx and serves students in Grade 11-12 at its campus in Manhattan.
• The average class has 11-13 students.  During the renewal term, the student to teacher ratio will be 12:1 in Year One and 13:1 by Year Three.
• Currently, the School has a student body of 55.8 percent African American, 42.7 percent Hispanic, 1.1 percent Asian and less than one percent White.
• The School reports its outreach targets included notifying local high schools, social service agencies, not-for-profit and community-based organizations, and a variety of correctional facilities.  
• Currently, 91.7 percent of students enrolled at JVLWACS are enrolled in either the free lunch (76.8 percent) or reduced lunch (14.9 percent) program; 15 percent are economically disadvantaged (do not live with their parents or live outside of their home or are living in foster care); and, 0.0 percent of students are Limited English Proficient.
• The School reports its outreach plan to recruit Limited English Proficient (LEP) students and English Language Learners (ELL) includes targeting organizations with predominantly Hispanic constituencies. It states that it places ads in El Diario and La Prensa periodicals and posts public announcements on La Mega and Caliente radio stations.
• The School will identify students that are LEP/ELL.  The School will utilize a structured English immersion (SEI) program to promote academic achievement and assist students in becoming English proficient.
• For the 2006-2007 school year, the School reported over 25 percent of its population was classified as students with disabilities (SWD).
• SWDs are educated in the least restrictive environment, with their peers to the extent that it is appropriate and allowed by each student’s IEP prepared by the Committee on Special Education (CSE) and all applicable federal laws, including the IDEA. 
• The School reports that, due to the academic level of the students admitted to the School, all students will have an Individualized Academic Plan (IAP).  The IAP will be used as an assessment to provide staff with information on student performance to inform classroom instruction. 
• The School states that it will develop an extensive data warehouse in the spring 2009 semester for the development of an IAP for each student.
• For the 2006-2007 school year, students at JVLWACS earned an average of 5.9 credits per year.  The School stated that 2007-2008 midyear progress indicated an average credit accumulation of seven per year and that it has seen ongoing improvement of this average. 
• In July 2006, the School was granted a two year renewal.  In addition, it was placed on probation to implement a corrective action plan that addressed nine issues including: a lack of appropriate teacher certification, the failure to conduct required criminal history background checks, the failure to identify and/or properly serve students with disabilities, the failure to demonstrate it operated a targeted assistance program with its Title I funds, the failure to provide accurate and timely enrollment data, the failure to demonstrate compliance with admissions requirements, the failure to demonstrate compliance with teacher evaluation requirements, the failure to accurately report attendance, and issues related to the School’s internship program.
• The School has since demonstrated compliance with eight of the nine issues that were addressed in the probation order and has demonstrated the ability to report with greater consistency and reliability. 
• In addition, while the School remains on probation for purposes of addressing its previous Title I violations, staff anticipate that, based upon the School’s successful operation of an approved Title I program in the 2007-2008 school year, as well as its anticipated operation of such a program in accordance with all applicable laws rules & regulations in the 2008-2009 school year, that the School will be able to demonstrate full compliance with Title I in the near future.  SED will continue monitoring the School to ascertain that it is implementing its Title I program in accordance with its approved 2008-2009 plan.
• The School met its charter goal for 2006-2007 with regard to the percentage of students in grades 11 and 12 passing Regents exams. The average Regents passing rates surpassed 80 percent in the four core subject areas (Math, English Language Arts (ELA), Living Environment, and Global Studies). 
• For the 2007-08 school year, students in grades 11 and 12 who took the four core Regents exams (76 students - 92 percent of the those tested) passed. 
• The School continues to develop strategies to improve its performance in meeting its annual charter goals.
• For the 2007-08 school year, 37 students with disabilities took one or more Regents exams – of this number 95 percent (35 students) passed one or more of the exams. 
• The Chancellor has determined that the charter goals in the School’s last two renewal terms have failed to appropriately measure progress. Therefore, the goals and metrics for this renewal period have been revised with the intention of better evaluating the School’s performance in relation to similar high schools in the district serving comparable populations of students.  SED has reviewed the goals and found them acceptable for the renewal period. 
• The student achievement results for John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy Charter School are shown in Attachment I – Table 1 and 2.  The School’s results are compared to the NYC Alternative High School District (CSD 79), which serves a comparable population of students is shown in Attachment I – Table 3. 
• As is the case nearly universally with schools that serve a similar population,  JVLWACS was furthest from New York State standards based on 2006-2007 assessments. The School also has been identified as a School In Need of Improvement II (SINI II), which requires that it be assigned a School Quality Review (SQR) team. The State standard as well as Adequate Yearly Progress are based upon the performance of students upon first entry into grade 9, which disadvantages schools such as JVLWACS, in which most students enroll after having attended other high schools for one or more years. SED is in the process of implementing an alternative high school cohort that will better measure the performance of such schools
• As seen in Attachment I – Table 4, comparing the School to the NYC Alternative High School District (CSD 79), JVLWACS’s performance index (PI) is extremely low.  This is attributed to the fact that the School serves a population of exclusively at-risk students, entering the School over-age and under-credited. 
• The average age of students entering the School is 17.  The average number of credits earned prior to entry at JVLWACS is less than eight. 
• JVLWACS will be conducting interim assessments for effective interventions tri-annually using LAB-R, NYSESLAT, READ 180 individual assessments, and the Scantron Performance Series in Reading and Math.  This will be done in September (baseline), January (post-test for September and baseline for Spring), and June (post test).
• Based on a Fall 2007 administration of the Scantron Performance Series computer adaptive diagnostic assessment, 89 percent of currently enrolled students are performing below an eighth grade level in math, with 59 percent of the same students performing below the fifth grade level.  According to the School, this is most reflective of its incoming ninth and tenth grade students.
• In ELA, the assessment revealed that 63.1 percent of currently enrolled students are performing below grade level, with 29 percent of the same students performing below the fifth grade level.  According to the School, this is most reflective of its incoming ninth and tenth grade students. 
• Based on the assessment outcomes, the School has added a literacy class to the schedule of all core subjects—with the exception of the math. The purpose of these classes is twofold: to gain in-depth understanding of the subject area being studied and to improve writing and research abilities.
• During the 2006-07 school year, 27.2 percent of the total students enrolled graduated from JVLWACS.  This includes students who graduated in January, June, and August.  This figure approaches the benchmark set (30 percent) by South Brooklyn Community High School, one of the most successful comparable school models in New York City. 
• In June 2008, 79 students graduated from JVLWACS, this includes students who graduated in August 2007, January and June 2008. Under the SED four year cohort definition, 15 percent of the students graduated. When providing the students with a six-year graduation rate, the percentage increases to 61 percent.
• The School converted from a public school to become a public charter school in 2000 and has had the same principal since that time.  The School maintains a low teacher attrition rate.  In the 2006-2007 school year, 25 of the 27 teachers returned. 
• All but one (i.e. ninety-six percent) of the School’s teachers are NYS certified.  The one teacher that is not NYS certified meets the criteria set forth in the New York State Charter School Law [Education Law §2854(3)(a-1)] to teach in a charter school.  
• The School will have four new hires for the 2008-2009 school year: a Dean of Academics and Discipline for the Bronx site; two ELA teachers – one at each site; and an Outreach Attendance Associate – located at the Manhattan site but serving  students and families from both sites.  The School reports the position of Curriculum Coordinator has been upgraded to Educational Specialist, expanding to include more responsibilities for academic rigor.
• The School reports that its new Outreach Attendance Associate will track students in cohort years 2002 and 2003 and track students’ attendance, to be proactive in working with students at risk of dropping out of future cohorts.
• The JVLWACS school day is 9 am to 5 pm; the School is open year round. 
• In February 2008, the Board of Regents approved a revision to the School’s charter, allowing it to discontinue its eight plus program; institute a dress code policy; modify its math and reading curriculum to better align with the instructional needs it had identified; increase instructional class time from 50 to 60 minutes for students at the Bronx site; and, to make the internship program at the Bronx site available only for students that have completed one complete semester at the School.
• An important part of the School’s curriculum is the internship program.  Students work in the community one week and attend school on the alternate week.  Students experience several different internships with various businesses throughout NYC during their time at JVLWACS.
• The School asserts that the internship program reinforces its approach to academics by providing students the opportunity to be active and work collaboratively while simultaneously developing job skills. 
• The School has over 70 internship sites for students to gain academic and professional experiential opportunities. 

Evidence of Fiscal Soundness/Projected Fiscal Impact

• The number of Trustees of the School shall not be less than five (5) and no more than fifteen (15).  This includes a Chairperson, the School’s Chief Executive Officer, a parent representative, one faculty representative, and a UFT Chapter Leader.  Currently the Board has 12 Trustee members. 
• According to the NYCDOE Renewal Report, management and oversight of the School by its Board has shown continuous improvement.
• The School terminated its partnership with Wildcat Services Corporation (WSC) because it determined that the services were not commensurate with fees paid.
• The School hired a Chief Financial Officer for a smooth transition, since it terminated its partnership with WSC and began using an in-house financial management system. 
• According to the School, a lawsuit filed by WSC seeking compensation for services rendered has been dismissed. 
• The School negotiated its own lease for the two buildings it occupies.  The annual combined lease amounts range from $1,428,155.00 for 2008-2009 to $1,562,956 for the 2010-2011 school years.
• JVLWACS is awaiting its charter entity’s guidance on setting up its escrow account.  The School has $50,000 in a separate account and will be increasing the amount to $75,000 for its escrow account. 
• JVLWACS is one of 10 New York City Charter Schools that participates in a $10.5 million grant from the Center for Educational Innovation – Public Education Association (CEI-PEA) awarded through the Teacher Incentive Fund of the U.S. Department of Education called the Partnership for Innovation in Compensation at Charter Schools (PICCS).
• According to the 2006-2007 Financial Audit Report, the School has a significant idle cash balance of $2.3 million in cash equivalents.  The School reports it will use these funds to increase staffing, instructional materials, academic supports, and professional development. 
• The School’s change in net assets is presented in Attachment 2.
• The potential fiscal impact upon the District is represented below.  Please note that these projections are based upon several assumptions, which may or may not occur: that all existing charter schools will also exist in the next three years and serve the same grade levels as they do now; that the charter schools will be able to meet their projected maximum enrollment; that all students will come from New York City and no other districts; that all students will attend everyday for a 1.0 FTE; that the District’s budget will increase at the projected rate; that the per pupil payment will increase (and not decrease); and that the per pupil payment will increase at the projected rate.

Projected Fiscal Impact of the

John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy Charter School

(New York City CSDs 2 and 8/Manhattan and the Bronx)

2008-09 Through 2010-11

* 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

• A public hearing to solicit comments from the community in connection with the School’s proposed renewal was conducted by the NYCDOE on Thursday, May 15, 2008 for the Manhattan campus and Tuesday, July 15, 2008 for the Bronx campus.  The School staff, parents and students attended both.  17 comments in total were made supporting the 3-year renewal.
• The School reported that 64 percent (302 parents) responded to the parent survey, with a 97 percent parent satisfaction rate for 2006-2007. 
• The School submitted letters from 54 parents, 19 community groups and representatives and 14 student alumni; 241 current students signed a petition of support for the School’s third renewal.
• The combined overall attendance, for the Bronx and Manhattan sites, for weeks of both internship and academics for the 2006-07 school year was 61.5 percent.
• JVLWACS states that among new students entering in fall 2007, the average attendance for the semester prior to enrollment at JVLWACS was 45.8 percent. 
• The School’s 2006-2007 Annual Report states that the Manhattan site dropout rate was 12.5 percent and at the Bronx site it was 24 percent.  The school-wide attrition average was 18 percent. 

Summary of Charter Entity’s Findings and Recommendations

New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) found that the School has improved and is likely to improve student learning and achievement.  The School has met the student academic outcome measures for the ELA and Math Regents, its graduation rate, attendance and student stability.  The NYCDOE states JVLWACS “is specifically designed to serve students who are underperforming.  Therefore, traditional measures of student achievement provide insufficient information on student progress.”  NYCDOE analyzed the School’s progress toward alternative indicators measuring the success of schools serving comparable populations of students. The NYCDOE found:

• JVLWACS was on par with average performance schools serving comparable populations of students, many of which hold higher admission standards;
• High parent satisfaction is evidenced by a high response rate and strong positive sentiments on an annual parent survey as well as by parents re-enrolling their children;
• The School is continuing to make progress towards the attendance benchmark of schools serving comparable populations of students; 
• The School’s fiscal plan projects a modestly improved financial position over the proposed renewal charter period;
• The School will continue to improve the implementation and alignment of its curriculum between the two sites to avoid duplication of curriculum, lessons and materials; and
• The School’s Board of Trustees will continue to work to improve its management and oversight of the School’s leadership, as it will also work to better define and to follow a strategic vision.

In 2006, the School was granted a two-year renewal, since that time the School has made significant progress in the areas of operations and compliance, with mixed academic outcomes.   NYCDOE indicated “the School curriculum model is one that is continuously evolving to meet the needs of students and help them reach New York State Standards.”   The Chancellor of the city school district of the City of New York recommends that the renewal application for the John V. Lindsay Wildcat be approved for a term of three years, granting the School the authority to provide instruction to students in grades nine through twelve, commencing September 1, 2008.  The School will have an enrollment of 475 students in 2008-2009 and grow to 500 by 2010-2011.

Attachment 1

Attachment 1

Table 1

2006-2007

2003 School Accountability Cohort for English and Mathematics

Percent of JVLWACS Students at Levels 1 – 4

Table 2

2005-2006

2003 School Accountability Cohort for English and Mathematics

Percent of JVLWACS Students at Levels 1 – 4

Table 3

2006-2007

2003 School Accountability Cohort for English and Mathematics

Percent of JVLWACS and District 79 Students at Proficiency Level

Table 4

2006-2007

2003 School Accountability Cohort for English and Mathematics

Performance Index (PI) of JVLWACS to Comparable Population of Students and the New York City Alternative High School District (CSD 79) at Proficiency Level

*Bushwick Community is the most comparable school with regard to its admission standards.

Attachment 2

John V. Lindsay Wildcat Academy Charter School

Change in Net Assets 2005-06 Through 2006-07*

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