Meeting of the Board of Regents | February 2009
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THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234 |
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TO: |
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FROM: |
Johanna Duncan-Poitier |
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SUBJECT: |
Charter Schools: Proposed First Revision to the Initial Charter for the Brooklyn Ascend Charter School
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DATE: |
January 30, 2009
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STRATEGIC GOAL: |
Goals 1 and 2 |
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AUTHORIZATION(S): |
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SUMMARY
Issue for Decision
Should the Regents approve the staff’s recommendation concerning the proposed first revision to the initial charter for the Brooklyn Ascend 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 February 2009 for action. It will then come before the full Board for final action in February 2009.
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.
The Board must act on a proposed revision submitted by the Chancellor of the city school district of the City of New York or other school district within 90 days of its submission or the proposed revision will be deemed to have been approved and issued by operation of law at the expiration of that period.
If the Board chooses to return the proposed revision to the Chancellor or school district, as the chartering entity, with comments and recommendations, the Chancellor or the school district must reconsider the proposed revision , taking into consideration the comments and recommendations of the Board. The Chancellor or the school district may resubmit the proposed revision to the Board without modification, resubmit the proposed revision with modifications agreed to by the applicant in writing, or abandon the proposed revision.
If the Chancellor or the school district resubmits a proposed revision to the Board, the Board may, within 90 days of resubmission, either approve or again return the proposed revision to the Chancellor or to the school district for modification. There is no limit to the number of times the Board can return a resubmitted proposed revision to the Chancellor or to a school district.
Background Information
We received a request from the Chancellor of the city school district of the City of New York to revise the initial charter of Brooklyn Ascend Charter School (BACS or “the School”). Retroactive to July 29, 2008, the School seeks to revise the organizational structure to include the positions of dean of school culture and dean of instruction; to modify its enrollment for the 2008-2009 school year by adding 21 students, thereby creating an additional section in first grade, which will reduce class size across the grade (See Attachment 1); to create a guided-reading and writing period, increasing the length of the school day by 20 minutes; to eliminate the lead teacher (instructional teacher leader) position in Year One; and to update the corporate location of the affiliated management organization, Ascend Learning, from Delaware to New York State.
The New York City Department of Education held a public hearing in Community School District 18, Brooklyn on January 6, 2009 regarding these proposed revisions to the charter for the School. No public comments were made or received.
Recommendation
VOTED: That the Board of Regents approves the first revision to the initial charter of the Brooklyn Ascend Charter School as proposed by the Chancellor of the city school district of the City of New York, and the provisional charter is amended accordingly.
Reasons for Recommendation
The proposed revisions to the School’s charter, along with the other terms of the charter: (1) meet the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules and regulations; (2) will permit the charter school to operate in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; and; (3) are 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 Brooklyn Ascend Charter School will be effective immediately.
Attachment 1
Brooklyn Ascend Charter School Enrollment Plan
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Approved Enrollment Plan |
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08-09 |
09-10 |
10-11 |
11-12 |
12-13 |
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K |
69 |
69 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
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1 |
60 |
60 |
90 |
90 |
90 |
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2 |
60 |
60 |
90 |
90 |
90 |
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3 |
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60 |
90 |
90 |
90 |
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4 |
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90 |
90 |
90 |
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5 |
|
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90 |
90 |
90 |
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6 |
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90 |
90 |
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7 |
189 |
249 |
550 |
640 |
730 |
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Revised Enrollment Plan |
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08-09 |
09-10 |
10-11 |
11-12 |
12-13 |
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K |
72 |
40 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
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1 |
78 |
72 |
90 |
90 |
90 |
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2 |
60 |
78 |
90 |
90 |
90 |
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3 |
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60 |
90 |
90 |
90 |
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4 |
|
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90 |
90 |
90 |
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5 |
|
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90 |
90 |
90 |
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6 |
|
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90 |
90 |
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7 |
210 |
250 |
550 |
640 |
730 |