Meeting of the Board of Regents | March 2008

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

 

TO:
FROM:	Johanna Duncan-Poitier
SUBJECT:	Charter Schools: Overview of the Charter School Formation Process; Academic and Fiscal Impact of Charter Schools in Small City School Districts
DATE:	March 7, 2008
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1 and 2
AUTHORIZATION(S):

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Discussion

 

The charter school formation process; the academic and fiscal impact of charter schools on small city school districts.

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

 

              For Information. Requested by the Board of Regents at its January 2008 meeting.

 

Proposed Handling

 

This report will come before the EMSC Committee on March 17, 2008 for discussion. 

 

Procedural History

 

              Each month, requests to create new charter schools or to renew or revise existing charters come before the Regents for action. 

 

Background Information

 

Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2007 increased the cap on newly-created charter schools in New York State from 100 to 200.   Because of the increase in the number of charter school applications that are coming before the Board of Regents for action, at  the January 2008 meeting, members of the Board of Regents EMSC Committee requested information on the charter school formation process in general, and information on the impact of charter schools on small city school districts.  The Board of Regents requested information on the rules that govern the charter school formation process for both applications that come directly to the Board of Regents as the charter entity and those that are submitted to the Board of Regents by other charter entities.  In addition, the Regents asked for information concerning the impact of charter schools on small city school districts, and in particular the impact on the Albany City School District which has the largest number of charter schools of any small city school district. 

 

The Regents and the Department will be seeking opportunities to discuss the need for common standards for the review and evaluation of charter schools with the State University of New York Board of Trustees in light of the new statutory provision that requires that, in a school district where the total enrollment of resident students attending charter schools is more than 5% of the total public school enrollment  of the school district, the school district in which the charter school will be located must consent to the charter school application or the charter entity must find that granting the application would have a significant educational benefit to the students expected to attend the proposed charter school.

 

The attached document is in two parts:

 

 Part I is an overview of the charter school formation process in a question and answer format.   It includes a description of the main steps taken when charter school applications are submitted directly to the Board of Regents as a charter entity and when proposed charters are submitted to the Board of Regents by other charter entities. 

 

Part 2 provides data relative to the impact of charter schools on New York’s small city school districts. It includes a summary of enrollment and fiscal impact of charter schools in small city school districts, and student achievement data related to the proficiency of students in charter schools and small city school districts. There are currently five small city school districts which either are the district of location of a charter school or provide the majority of the students attending a charter school located in a neighboring school district.  The small city school districts included in the attached analyses are Albany, Schenectady, Troy, Niagara Falls and Lackawanna.

 

Recommendation

 

              N/A

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

              N/A

 

 

Attachment

 

 

Part 1: 



Overview of the Charter School Formation Process

 

DEFINITIONS

1.           What is a charter school?

A charter school is a public school that receives local, State and federal funds but is independent of local school boards. A charter school provides education through a "charter," a type of contract, between the charter school board of trustees and one of the charter entities.  Charter schools are formed as education corporations, with provisional charters issued by the Board of Regents. Charter schools typically focus on innovative curricula, a new approach to school organization, or some other features that differentiate them from regular public schools.

 

2.           What are the purposes of charter schools?

Charter schools, as defined in New York State statute (Article 56 of the Education Law), are created to:

• Improve student learning and achievement;
• Increase learning opportunities for students who are at-risk of academic failure;
• Encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods;
• Create new professional opportunities for educators;
• Provide parents and students with expanded choices in the types of educational opportunities that are available within the public school system; and
• Provide schools with a method to change from rule-based to performance-based accountability systems

 

3.           What is a charter entity?

A charter entity is an organization authorized to approve charter school applications. Charter entities in New York State are the Board of Regents, the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York (SUNY), and any local board of education.  In New York City, the Chancellor of the City School District of the City of New York (Chancellor) is the charter entity.

Only a local board of education or the Chancellor may approve an application for the conversion of an existing public school to a charter school provided that the parents or guardians of a majority of the students then enrolled in the existing public school vote in favor of converting the school to a charter school.  The local board of education or the Chancellor then submits the proposed charter to the Board of Regents for approval.

 

The Board of Regents is the only entity with the authority to issue a charter.

 

 

 

• How many charter schools may be established?

 

Pursuant to Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2007, the Education Law was amended to raise the cap on newly-created charter schools from 100 to 200.   Public schools that elect to convert to become charter schools are not included in the count. 

 

Under the initial cap, 109 charters were granted between 1999 and September 2006, with nine of them being conversion charter schools.  Of those 109 charter schools, 11 charter schools have closed. (See Table 2)

 

Since July 1, 2007 (the date upon which the statutory revision to the cap took effect), the Board of Regents has granted 18 additional charters.  Five more proposed charters, which the Board of Regents previously returned to SUNY in January 2008, were resubmitted on February 8, 2008 without modification.  As a result, these five were  formed by operation of law on March 11, 2008.  At that time, 23 new charters will have been issued.  (See Table 1)

 

FORMING CHARTER SCHOOLS

5.           Who can apply to open a charter school in New York?

An application to establish a charter school may be submitted by teachers, parents, school administrators, community residents or any combination thereof.   Such application may be filed in conjunction with a college, university, museum, educational institution, not-for-profit corporation, or for-profit business, but may also be filed independently.  A charter school may be authorized for a maximum duration of five years.  A charter may be renewed for subsequent periods not to exceed five years each. 

The law specifically prohibits an existing nonpublic school from converting to a charter school.

 

6.           May churches or religious denominations or groups start up a charter school?

Churches or religious denominations or groups may not control or direct a charter school, so that involvement of churches or religious denominations or groups in the management and operation of the charter school is impermissible. Individual members of the clergy or other religious leaders are not prohibited from serving on charter school boards of trustees merely because they are clergy. However, the presence of clergy on the board of trustees cannot place the charter school under the control of a religious denomination. In any case, a charter school must be nonsectarian in its programs, admissions policies, employment practices and other operations and may not provide or allow the use of its funds or resources to support religious instruction.

 

 

 

 

7.           What information is required in a proposed application?

 

A proposed charter application must include, but is not limited to:

 

• name of the proposed charter school and a mission statement;
• governance structure and code of ethics for  the trustees, officers, and employees; 
• number of students to be served, expected ages, and grade levels served;
• curriculum and description of student achievement goals;
• methods for serving students with disabilities;
• the educational program for students with limited English proficiency;
• methods for attracting and maintaining enrollment of students with disabilities and students with limited English proficiency;
• admissions policies and procedures
• student discipline rules and procedures;
• description of health and food services;
• school calendar and school day schedule;
• evidence of adequate community support sufficient to allow the school to reach its anticipated enrollment;
• proposed budget and fiscal plan; and
• procedures for closure or dissolution of the charter school.

 

8.           What grade levels can charter schools offer?

 

Charter schools may offer instruction in one or more grades between grade 1 and grade 12 and may also offer kindergarten.  A charter school may not offer pre-kindergarten instruction or adult education.

 

9.           Is a charter school subject to the same laws and regulations as other public schools?

 

No. The charter school is subject to the same health and safety, civil rights, and student assessment requirements as other public schools, but is exempt from all other State and local laws, rules, regulations, or policies governing public or private schools, other than the provisions of Article 56 of the Education Law regarding charter schools.  An example of such an exemption is Education Law §2854(3)(a-1), which permits charter schools to employ up to 30 percent of its teaching staff (or five teachers, whichever is less) who are uncertified, but who must also meet one or more of the following criteria: having at least three years elementary, middle, or secondary classroom teaching experience; being tenured or tenure track college faculty; having two years satisfactory experience through the Teach for America program; or be an individual who possesses exceptional business, professional, artistic, athletic or military experience.

 

 

 

 

 

10.         How are students enrolled in a charter school?

 

Parents must submit an application to the charter school in accordance with the schools approved admissions policies and procedures. 

 

Section 2854(2) of the Education Law provides, in part, “A charter school shall not discriminate against any student on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, gender or disability or any other ground that would be unlawful if done by a school.  Admission of students shall not be limited on the basis of intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, athletic ability, disability, race, creed, gender, national origin, religion, or ancestry; provided however that nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent the establishment of a single-sex charter school or a charter school designed to provide expanded learning opportunities for students at-risk of academic failure…Any child who is qualified under the laws of this state for admission to a public school is qualified for admission to a charter school…” 

 

In addition, charter schools must enroll each eligible student who submits a timely application by the first of April each year, unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of the grade level or building.  In such cases, students must then be accepted from among all of the applicants by a random selection process.  An enrollment preference shall be provided to students returning to the charter school in the second or any subsequent year of operation, for students residing in the district of location, and for siblings of already-enrolled students.

 

 

APPROVING CHARTER SCHOOLS

 

11.         What is the administrative process for the formation of a charter school?

 

• Applicants submit a charter school application to a charter entity which is one of the following: a local board of education, the Chancellor, SUNY or the Board of Regents.

 

• Applications received by a charter entity before July 1st must be acted on by the charter entity on or before January 1st of the succeeding year.

 

• Within 30 days of receipt of such application, the charter entity must notify the proposed district of location of the proposed charter school and public and nonpublic schools in the same geographic area regarding such application.  In addition, the charter entity and the Board of Regents must provide appropriate notice to these same recipients at each significant stage of the chartering process.

 

• Within 30 days of receiving notice of an application, the district of location must hold a public hearing within the community potentially impacted by the charter school to solicit comments.  The district of location must, at the time of its dissemination, provide the State Education Department (SED) with a copy of the public hearing notice.

 

• The district of location must, no later than one business day following the hearing, provide written confirmation to both the charter entity and SED that the hearing was held, along with the date and time of the hearing.  It must also forward any written records or comments generated from the hearing to the charter entity within 15 business days of the hearing. The district of location also has the opportunity to comment to the charter entity. 

 

• A charter entity should consider the comments raised and submit any such comments to the Board of Regents with the proposed charter.  If the Board of Regents is the charter entity, it considers comments from the hearing and from the district of location prior to acting on a charter application. 

 

• If a charter entity denies an application for a charter school, the denial must be in writing and must state the reasons for the denial.  The denial is final and not reviewable in any court or by any administrative body. However, the applicant may subsequently apply to other charter entities or re-apply to the charter entity that initially denied the application.

 

• If a charter entity approves an application for a charter school, the applicant and the charter entity enter into a proposed charter agreement.  The proposed charter is then submitted for consideration to the Board of Regents.

 

• SED staff review all charter applications submitted directly to the Board of Regents and proposed charters submitted by other charter entities.  Department staff then prepares a Regents item with an appropriate recommendation for Board of Regents action.  Copies of the applications or proposed charters are available, upon request, for Regents’ review.

 

• Other than charter schools whose charter entity is a board of education or the Chancellor, a charter school must be formed (by approval of the Board of Regents or by operation of law) no later than March 14 in order to commence instruction for the next school year.

 

12.         What is the standard of review for the approval of the formation of a charter school?

 

Pursuant to §§2852(2) and 2852(5-a) of the Education Law, a charter school shall not be approved unless the charter entity and the Board of Regents find that: 

 

a)           the charter school described in the application meets the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law and all other appropriate laws, rules and regulations;

 

b)           the applicant can demonstrate the ability to operate the school in an educationally and fiscally sound manner;

 

c)           granting the application is likely to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes set out Education Law §2850(2); and

 

• in a school district where the total enrollment of resident students attending charter schools in the base year is greater than five percent of the total public school enrollment of the school district in the base year (i) granting the application would have a significant educational benefit to the students expected to attend the proposed charter school or (ii) the school district in which the charter school will be located consents to such application.

 

13.         What action may the Board of Regents take with regard to a proposed charter from another charter entity?

 

The Board of Regents has two options.  The Board of Regents may approve the proposed charter as submitted by the charter entity or return it, unapproved, to the charter entity with comments and recommendations.

 

The Board of Regents must act on a proposed charter submitted by another charter entity within 90 days of its submission or the proposed charter will be deemed to have been approved and issued by operation of law at the expiration of that period.

 

If a proposed charter is returned to the charter entity with comments and recommendations, the charter entity must reconsider the proposed charter, taking into consideration the comments and recommendations of the Board of Regents.  The charter entity may resubmit the proposed charter to the Board of Regents without modification; resubmit the proposed charter with modifications agreed to by the applicant in writing, or abandon the proposed charter.

 

14.         What action may the Board of Regents take upon resubmission of a proposed charter by another charter entity?

 

If a charter entity other than SUNY resubmits a proposed charter to the Board of Regents, the Board of Regents must act within 90 days of receiving the proposed charter or it shall be deemed to have been approved and issued by operation of law.  The Board of Regents may either approve or again return the proposed charter to the charter entity for modification.  There is no limit to the number of times the Board of Regents can return a resubmitted proposed charter to a charter entity other than SUNY.  The charter school will not be created unless the Board of Regents approves the charter application. 

 

In the case of a resubmission by SUNY, the Board of Regents must act within 30 days of the resubmission.  Under the law, the Board of Regents only has two options, it may either approve and issue the proposed charter or take no action and the resubmitted proposed charter shall be deemed approved and issued at the end of the 30-day period.  The resubmitted proposed charter cannot be returned to SUNY a second time and it will take effect regardless of whether the Regents voted to approve it.

 

 

 

Table 1:  Charter Schools Formed Between July 1, 2007 – February 29, 2008

Name and Address	New or Conversion	District of Location	Grades Served	Total Number of Students	Management Company	Educational Approach	Opening Date	Charter Entity
Achievement First Brownsville CS	New	NYC CSD #23	5	84	Achievement First	College preparatory	8/08	SUNY
Aloma D. Johnson Fruit Belt Community CS	New	Buffalo	K-2	180	None	Basic skills	8/08	BOR
Bronx Community CS	New	NYC CSD #10	K-1	100	None	Basic skills	9/08	Chancellor
Bronx Global Learning Institute for Girls CS	New	NYC CSD #7	K-1	150	Victory Schools, Inc.	Single gender; dual language instruction	9/08	Chancellor
Bronx Academy of Promise CS	New	NYC CSD #8	K-2	180	Imagine Schools	Basic skills	9/08	Chancellor
Brooklyn Ascend CS	New	NYC CSD # 23	K-2	189	Ascend Learning, Inc.	SABIS	9/08	Chancellor
Carl C. Icahn CS Far Rockaway*	New	NYC CSD #27	K-2	108	None	College preparatory	9/08	SUNY
Collegiate CS	New	NYC CSD #16	5	81	Uncommon Schools, Inc.	College preparatory	8/08	SUNY
Dream CS	New	NYC CSD #4	K-1	100	None	Basic skills	9/08	Chancellor
Ethical Community CS	New	NYC CSD #6	K-1	120	None	Core values of ethical behavior; basic literacy skills	9/08	Chancellor
Equity Project CS	New	NYC CSD #6	5	120	None	Teacher quality as the basis for student success	9/09	Chancellor
Green Dot New York CS	New	NYC CSD #7	9	115	Green Dot Public Schools	College preparatory	9/08	SUNY

 

Name and Address	New or Conversion	District of Location	Grades Served	Total Number of Students	Management Company	Educational Approach	Opening Date	Charter Entity
Harlem Success Academy CS 2*	New	NYC CSD #5	K-1	155	Success Charter Network	Success for All	9/08	SUNY
Harlem Success Academy CS 3*	New	NYC CSD  # 5	K-1	155	Success Charter Network	Success for All	9/08	SUNY
Harlem Success Academy CS 4*	New	NYC CSD #3	K-1	155	Success Charter Network	Success for All	9/08	SUNY
LaCima CS	New	NYC CSD #24	K-1	160	None	Dual language instruction	9/08	BOR
Mott Haven CS	New	NYC CSD #7	K-1	90	None	Basic skills; Understanding by Design	9/08	Chancellor
New York City Charter High School for Architecture, Engineering, & Construction Industries	New	NYC CSD #7	9	125	Victory Schools, Inc.	Career preparatory	9/08	Chancellor
PAVE CS	New	NYC CSD 15	K-1	88	None	College preparatory	9/08	Chancellor
Rochester Academy CS	New	Rochester	7-9	180	None	Math & Science	9/08	BOR
St. Hope Leadership CS	New	NYC CSD #5	5-6	150	St. Hope, Inc.	College preparatory	8/08	Chancellor
True North Troy Preparatory CS*	New	Troy	5	78	Uncommon Schools, Inc.	College preparatory	9/08	SUNY
Voice CS	New	NYC CSD #24	K-1	80	None	Core Knowledge		Chancellor

*Via operation of law on March 11, 2008.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 2:  CHARTER SCHOOL CLOSURES

February 29, 2008

 

 

Charter School

Charter Entity

Type of School

District of Location

Opened for Instruction?

Date Charter Terminated

Method of Termination

Middle College Charter HS (conversion)

NYC Chancellor

Conversion

NYC

Yes

September 2001

Surrender

International Charter HS  at LaGuardia Community College (conversion)

NYC Chancellor

Conversion

NYC

Yes

September 2001

Surrender

Austin L. Carr CS

BOR

New

Hudson

No

June 2002

Revocation

REACH CS (conversion)

NYC Chancellor

Conversion

NYC

Yes

July 2002

Revocation

Sullivan CS

BOR

New

Wyandanch

No

June 2003

Surrender

John A. Reisenbach CS

SUNY

New

NYC

Yes

June 2004

Non-renewal

CS for Math & Science

SUNY

New

Syracuse

Yes

June 2005

Non-Renewal

Rochester Leadership Academy CS

SUNY

New

Rochester

Yes

June 2005

Non-Renewal

CS of Science & Technology

SUNY

New

Rochester

Yes

June 2005

Non-Renewal

ReadNet Bronx CS

BOR

New

NYC

Yes

June 2006

Non-Renewal

Stepping Stone Academy CS

SUNY

New

Buffalo

Yes

July 2006

Non-Renewal

Part 2:  Small City School District Enrollment, Fiscal and Achievement Data

 

 

Background

 

Prior to the January 2008 meeting of the Board of Regents, members of the Board received correspondence and other communications concerning the applications for charter revisions that had been received by the Department from the Brighter Choice Charter School for Boys and the Brighter Choice Charter School for Girls, in Albany.  Both schools, which are currently serving students in Grades K-4, had submitted applications to revise their charters to, among other things, expand to include the 5th Grade. To gain a better understanding of the impact of charter schools on the Albany City School District, as compared with other small city school districts, the members of the Regents EMSC Committee asked staff to provide an analysis of the fiscal, enrollment and achievement data for charter schools in small cities in New York State.   

 

There are currently five small city school districts that either are the district of location of a charter school or provide the majority of the students attending a charter school located in a neighboring school district.  Those districts are Albany, Schenectady, Troy, Niagara Falls and Lackawanna.

 

Charter schools have had the most significant impact on Albany as compared to the other small cities, to date.  Currently, only one charter school operates in each of the other small city schools districts. There are nine charter schools located within the Albany City School District (“the District”) boundaries, eight of which are currently in operation.  The ninth school, Green Tech High Charter School, will open for instruction in September 2008, serving 75 male students in grade 9.

 

Currently, about 18 percent of the Albany City School District’s resident students attend a charter school, and the District’s charter school payments for these students amounts to 10.79 percent of its current budget.  If all nine charter schools in Albany remain open, if all meet their maximum enrollment targets, if no other charter schools are subsequently authorized to operate within the District, if the number of school age children in Albany remain constant and if all students attending charter schools also reside within the District, these figures will rise to nearly 28 percent of the students and slightly over 16 percent of the budget by the 2009-10 school year. 

 

 In contrast, the Buffalo City School District, one of the “Big Five” city school districts, has 12 charter schools currently operating within its boundaries, and there is one in the Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District that draws the vast majority of its students from Buffalo. (A 14th charter school to serve students from Buffalo has been approved to open in Buffalo in September 2008.)  Currently, about 16 percent of resident Buffalo students attend a charter school (assumes all charter schools will meet their maximum enrollment targets, and that all students attending the charter schools will be Buffalo City School District residents).  When taking all 14 charter schools into consideration, the projected fiscal impact on the Buffalo City School District (for 2008-09) will be 9.04 percent of the budget. 

 

 

 

The financial impact of the growth of charter schools in a small city or central school district is a complex matter. The impact of the lost of enrollment on the number of teachers, administrators, class size, transportation budget, facilities  budget, etc., may not be readily apparent and may not be proportionally related to a reduction in enrollment. While we can determine the amount of funding that will go to a charter school based on enrollment, other factors need to be explored.  The Department will  explore the possibility of hiring educational researchers to help us measure the true impact of charter school funding on public school districts.  In addition, the researchers would look at the effect of charter school transition aid in mitigating that impact. 

 

Data Analysis

 

The small city school district enrollment data were acquired from the Office of Information and Reporting of the New York State Education Department. The fiscal impact data were based on information provided by the Office of State Aid at the New York State Education Department as well as district budget figures that were provided by the small city school districts.  

 

The charter school projected payments were based on the average annual charter school adjusted expense per pupil change from 2003-2008 and the average annual general fund budget change from 2003-2008.  The calculations were done for each district based on the district averages.  Each of the districts in this study received Charter School Transitional Aid in the 2007-2008 school year.  The transitional aid is included in the general fund budget calculations and fiscal impact for the current year.

 

Although charter schools often serve students from multiple districts, the fiscal impact and enrollment information is based on the largest sending district and assumes that all students from the charter school come from that one district and that the total number of students in the district remains constant.  Because of this, the actual percentage of enrollment and fiscal impact are smaller than the figures included in this report.

 

The academic comparisons below are made between all enrolled students in the charter school(s), and all students district-wide, in the largest sending district.  Using the district-wide State assessment results, rather than those from a selected building, helps to ameliorate the district-wide impact of very high or very low results in any one building. 

 

The student achievement data were collapsed to include all grade levels tested at a charter school and the same grades at the school district in each given year.  As a charter school may serve various grade levels during the term of the charter, the grades included in the data may change from year to year and no test data would be available for years that a charter school serves only students below grade 3 and limited data would be available for schools serving students in grades 9-10.

 

Special Education Students (SWD) and Students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP)

 

Charter schools, by statute, cannot discriminate on the basis of disability, aptitude, or other criteria that would be unlawful in any other public school.  In addition, Education Law §2854(2)(a), as amended by Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2007, requires charter schools to “demonstrate good faith efforts to attract and retain a comparable or greater enrollment of students with disabilities and limited English proficient students when compared to the enrollment figures for such students in the school district in which the charter school is located.” 

 

Statute provides that the ultimate authority and responsibility for identifying and serving SWDs remains with their district of residence (Education Law §2853(4)(a)). Unlike public school districts, charter schools cannot access BOCES services to assist in meeting the needs of students with disabilities.   Charter schools may provide the special education program and services for enrolled SWDs, in accordance with the Individualized Education Program (“IEP”) as developed by the Committee on Special Education (“CSE”) of the child’s district of residence, in one of three ways:  the charter school may provide all such programs and services itself, by hiring all necessary staff; it may contract with one or more third parties to provide such programs and services (e.g., contracting with a private speech therapist); or it may ask the child’s district of residence to provide such programs and  services.  If it chooses the latter option, the district must provide the programs and services pursuant to the IEP that the district’s CSE developed.    

 

An Analysis of the Fiscal, Enrollment and Achievement Data of Charter Schools in Small City School Districts

 

Albany

 

              In the 2007-2008 school year, there are eight charter schools operating in Albany with a ninth charter school opening in the 2008-2009 school year.  There are currently 1927 students attending charter schools in Albany and 8336 students attend district schools.  Based on previously approved charters, there will be 2773 students attending charter schools in Albany by 2010 and 7592 students attending district schools.  To help alleviate the fiscal impact of charter schools in Albany, Albany received $3.93 million dollars in charter school transition aid and, under the proposed Executive Budget, may receive $4.91 million dollars in 2008-2009.

 

The New Covenant Charter School opened in 1999 and currently serves students in grades K-6. The Brighter Choice Charter School for Boys and Brighter Choice Charter School for Girls both opened in 2002 and serve students in grades K-4.  Achievement Academy Charter School, Albany Preparatory Charter School, and KIPP Tech Valley Charter School opened in 2005 and each will serve grades 5-8 by 2008. Albany Community Charter School opened in 2006 and will serve grades K-4 by 2009. Henry Johnson Charter School opened in 2007 and will serve students in grades K-4 by 2009.  Green Tech High Charter School will open in 2008 and will serve students in grades 9-11 by 2010.

 

Charter school payments are 10.79 percent of the Albany City School District budget in the 2007-2008 school year, and 17.98 percent of Albany students attend charter schools. Due to previously approved enrollment increases at charter schools and average per pupil and budget changes in Albany, the impact on Albany is expected to be 14.73 percent of the budget and 24.8 percent of the students in 2008-2009 and 16.32 percent of the budget and 27.78 percent of the students in 2009-2010. 

 

 

 

Within the Albany City School District boundaries, the academic results of students attending charter school varied by school and subject area: 

 

• Students attending Brighter Choice Charter School for Boys and Brighter Choice Charter School for Girls out performed students at the comparable grade levels who attended Albany City Schools in both Math and English Language Arts based on the New York State Assessments. 

 

• Students attending Albany City Schools out performed students at comparable grade levels who attended New Covenant Charter School and Achievement Academy in both Math and English Language Arts based on the New York State Assessments.

 

• Students attending Albany Preparatory Charter School and students attending Albany City Schools performed equally in English Language Arts based on the New York State Assessment in 2005-2006.

 

• Students attending Albany City Schools out performed students attending KIPP Tech Valley Charter School and Albany Preparatory Charter School in English Language Arts based on the New York State Assessment in 2006-2007.

 

• Students attending KIPP Tech Valley Charter School and Albany Preparatory Charter School out performed students at comparable grades levels who attended Albany City Schools in Math based on the New York State Assessments. 
• Students attending KIPP Tech Valley Charter School out performed students attending Albany City Schools in English Language Arts based on the New York State Assessment in 2005-2006.

 

• 
  
  Middle level data are for grade 5 in 2005-2006 and grades 5-6 in 2006-2007.

Schenectady

 

              There is one charter school operating in the Rotterdam-Mohonasen Central School District. The International Charter School of Schenectady opened in 2002 and will close at the end of the 2007-2008 school year.  The school currently serves 693 students in grades K-8. The majority of students attending the charter school are from the Schenectady City School District.  Charter school payments are 4.75 percent of the Schenectady City School District budget in the 2007-2008 school year and 6.87 percent of Schenectady students attend the charter school. In 2007-08 Schenectady received $698,152 in charter school transition aid and, under the proposed Executive Budget, may receive $1.158 million in 2008-09.    The State University of New York Board of Trustees voted to close this charter school at the conclusion of the 2007-2008 school year.

 

 

 

 

Students attending International Charter School of Schenectady minimally out performed students who attended Schenectady City Schools in Math.  Students attending Schenectady City Schools minimally out performed student attending International Charter School of Schenectady in English Language Arts. 

• Data are for grade 3-7 in 2005-06 and grades 3-8 in 2006-07.

Troy

 

              There is one charter school operating in the Troy City School District.   The Ark Community Charter School opened in 2001 and serves 180 students in grades K-6.  A second school, True North Troy Charter School will open in 2008 and will serve grades 5-8 by 2011-2012.  Charter school payments are 2.34 percent of the Troy City School District budget in the 2007-2008 school year and 4.27 percent of students attend the charter school.  Due to average per pupil and budget changes in Troy and the opening of a second charter school, the impact on Troy is expected to be 3.27 percent of the budget and  6.12 percent of the students in 2008-2009 and 4.09 percent of the budget and 7.66 percent of the students in 2009-2010 school year.   In 2007-08 Troy received $895,517 in charter school transition aid and. under the proposed Executive Budget, may receive $110,217 in 2008-09. 

Students who attended the Ark Community Charter School out performed students who attended Troy City Schools in Math in the 2006-07 school year.  Students who attended Troy City Schools out performed students who attended The Ark Community Charter School on the Math assessment in 2005-06 school year. Students attending Troy City Schools out performed students who attended The Ark Community Charter School on the State English Language Arts assessments in both years.

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  Data are for grades 3-5 in 2005-06 and grades 3-6 in 2006-07.

Niagara Falls

 

              There is one charter school operating in the Niagara-Wheatfield Central School District.   The majority of students attending Niagara Charter School are from the Niagara Falls City School District. The Niagara Charter School opened in 2006.  It currently serves 288 students in grades K-5 and is expected to serve 384 students in grades K-8 by the 2009-2010 school year.  Charter school payments are 2.21 percent of the Niagara Falls City School District budget in the 2007-2008 school year and 3.83 percent of district students attend the charter school.  Due to previously approved enrollment increases at the charter school and average per pupil and budget changes in Niagara Falls, the impact will change to 2.62 percent of the budget and 4.47 percent of the students in 2008-2009 and 3.03 percent of the budget and 5.11 percent of the students in 2009-2010.  In 2007-08 Niagara Falls received $1.823 million in charter school transition aid and, under the proposed Executive Budget, may receive $1.620 million in 2008-09.

Students attending Niagara Falls City School District out performed students at comparable grade levels who attended Niagara Charter School in both Math and English Language Arts based on the New York State Assessments.

 

• Data are for grades 3 and 4.

Lackawanna

 

              There is one charter school operating in the Lackawanna City School District.  The Global Concepts Charter School opened in 2002.  It currently serves 365 students in grades K-6 and is expected to serve 675 students in grades K-8 by the 2009-2010 school year.  Charter school payments are 10.69 percent of the Lackawanna School District budget in the 2007-2008 school year, and 15.71 percent of the district’s students attend the charter school.  Due to previously approved enrollment increases at the charter school and average per pupil and budget changes in Lackawanna, the impact will change to 15.82 percent of the budget and 22.59 percent of the students in 2008-2009 and 18.6 percent of the budget and 25.82 percent of the students in 2009-2010.  In 2007-08 Lackawanna received $268,540 in charter school transition aid and, under the proposed Executive Budget, may receive $325,504 in 2008-09.

 

Students attending the Global Concepts Charter School out performed students at comparable grade levels who attended Lackawanna School District in both Math and English Language Arts, based on the New York State Assessments.

 

 

• Data are for grades 3-5.

 

Recent Developments

 

• On March 11th, the SUNY Board of Trustees voted to close the International Charter School of Schenectady (a SUNY chartered school).   While that charter school is located in the Rotterdam-Mohonasen Central School District, the majority of students attending the school are from the Schenectady City School District.  The Superintendent of the Schenectady City School District has indicated that the District has contingency plans to address the educational needs of students who may return to the City School District once the charter school is closed in June.

 

• The KIPP Tech Valley Charter School (a SUNY chartered school in the City of Albany) has requested approval from the SUNY Charter School Institute to decrease it’s enrollment for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years.  If approved, the decrease in enrollment at the charter school would impact on the Albany City School District. 

 

 

 

Chartering entities are the NYC Chancellor, the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York, and the New York State Board of Regents. 

An existing public school may be converted to a public charter school providing that the parents or guardians of a majority of the students then enrolled in the existing public school and the board of education vote in favor of converting the school to a charter school.

These projections assume that all student attending charter schools in the Albany City School District reside in the City of Albany and that the total number of students in the district will remain constant.  The actual fiscal and enrollment percentages will be smaller.