Meeting of the Board of Regents | April 2003

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

TO:	The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents
FROM:	James A. Kadamus
COMMITTEE:	Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education
TITLE OF ITEM:	Charter School Proposed Charters
DATE OF SUBMISSION:	April 23, 2003
PROPOSED HANDLING:	Action
RATIONALE FOR ITEM:	Legislative Authority to act on charter school proposed charters
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1 and 2
AUTHORIZATION(S):

SUMMARY:

The Board of Regents is required to act upon proposed charters received from another charter entity within 60 days of such receipt. We have a total of two such proposed charters from the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York that will be presented to you at your April Meeting. The proposed charters are for:

VOTED: That the Board of Regents approve and issue the proposed charter for the following charter school, and incorporate such school by granting it a provisional charter for a period of five years, based upon the information contained in the attachments and upon a finding by the Board of Regents that: (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 applicant can demonstrate the ability to operate the schools in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; and (3) granting the application 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:

 

• Bronx Charter School for Excellence

 

VOTED: That the Board of Regents return the following proposed charter to the charter entity for reconsideration pursuant to Article 56 of the Education Law based on the information contained in the attachments:

• Bedford Stuyvesant Preparatory Charter School for Excellence

 

 

New York State Education Department

Summary of Charter School Review

Summary of Applicant Information

 

 

Name of Proposed Charter School: Bedford Stuyvesant Preparatory Charter School for Excellence

Address: Site to be determined

Applicant(s): Norman Atkins

Anticipated Opening Date: August 24, 2004

District of Location: New York City School District (CSD 16)

Charter Entity: SUNY Board of Trustees

Institutional Partner(s): None

Management Partner(s): None

Grades Served: K-1 (K-5) Projected Enrollment: 88 (329)

 

 

Application Highlights

Applicant

Norman Atkins is the Co-Founder/Co-Director of North Star Academy Charter School of Newark. He also founded the New Jersey Charter Public Schools Association, a membership organization of the State�s 52 charter schools, and is Founder and President of Uncommon Schools, Inc., which has organized Dodge Foundation professional development "boot camps" for charter school teachers from New Jersey.

Mr. Atkins served as a faculty member for New Leaders for New Schools, which trains principals nationally; as an adjunct fellow of the New York Charter School Resource Centers; as a consultant to SUNY�s Charter Schools Institute for the review of charter school applications; as an independent journalist; and as a Co-Executive Director of the Robin Hood Foundation.

Students

• The proposed charter school would serve only boys.
• Neither the SUNY Trustees nor the individuals associated with the proposed school have indicated that there are specific plans to create a substantially equal single-sex school for girls. They also do not point to an existing substantially equal single-sex school.
• The proposed charter school intends to serve 88 students in kindergarten and first grade in the first year of its charter and to serve 329 students in grades K through 5 by the last year of its charter.

Curriculum/Assessment/Instruction

• There will be a focus on literacy. Students will receive three hours of literacy instruction in grades kindergarten through second and two hours in higher grades. Students will be required to read 25�50 books per year and 15 minutes per night at home. Additionally, students will focus on writing skills in every class.
• The Hirsch Core Knowledge Sequence will be used to provide a coherent foundation of learning for students in the elementary grades. The sequence offers a planned progression of specific knowledge in history, mathematics, English, and literature.
• A functional math program, such as modified Saxon or a homegrown model, will be used.
• The school year will be extended with school beginning in mid-August.
• Kindergarten through 2^nd graders will attend school from 8 a.m. � 3 p.m. with an option of attending an enrichment program until 5 p.m. By 3^rd grade, students will have a school day that lasts from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
• There will be school uniforms, a merit system, daily routines, and a school-wide student to teacher ratio of 10:1 with about 20 students per class.

Governance

• The Board of Trustees will consist of nine members.
• All of the teachers and instructional assistants will serve as members, with the School Director, on the school�s Administrative/Faculty/Staff Council, which will provide guidance and direction regarding the daily operation of all facets of the school.
• The School Director will be directly responsible for implementation of the policies of the Board of Trustees and compliance with all applicable Federal and State laws, regulations, and mandates.
• All salaried employees and most contracted agents will report to the School Director, who will report to the Board of Trustees.

Budget/Facilities

• The applicants have identified three possible sites for the charter school.
• The applicant expects that the school will receive two public grants for charter schools, the Federal Planning Grant ($175,000) and the State Stimulus Fund Grant ($100,000).

Personnel

• The charter school in its first year of operation plans to hire one principal, four teaching fellows and four core teachers, a part-time staff developer, a Special Education Coordinator/Teacher, a counselor, a part-time nurse, a part-time technology coordinator, an office manager, and a part-time bookkeeper/business manager.

Fiscal Impact

• The projected fiscal impact on the New York City School District would be $722,128. This represents less than .01 percent of the budget of the New York City School District.

Recommendation

Return the proposed charter to the SUNY Board of Trustees.

Reason for Recommendation

The SUNY Board of Trustees and the applicant have not sufficiently addressed concerns about the legality of a single-sex school for boys in the absence of a corresponding single-sex school for girls.

 

New York State Education Department

Summary of Charter School Review

Summary of Applicant Information

 

Name of Proposed Charter School: Bronx Charter School for Excellence

Address: To be determined

Applicant(s): Mary Grace N. Eapen

Anticipated Opening Date: August 2004

District of Location: New York City School District (CSD 11)

Charter Entity: SUNY Board of Trustees

Institutional Partner(s): None

Management Partner(s): None

Grades Served: K-1 (K-4) Projected Enrollment: 100 (250)

 

Application Highlights

 Applicants

Mary Grace Eapen is a Bronx community resident. Ms. Eapen is the Director of Development and the Director of Charter Schools for the Beginning with Children Foundation. Previous to this position she served as the Project Director/Executive Director of the St. Raymond Community Outreach, Inc., a nonprofit organization that oversaw the financing and building of a $15 million, 60,000 square-foot community center in Parkchester, Bronx. Ms. Eapen plans to serve as the Executive Director of the Bronx Charter School for Excellence and as a member of the Board of Trustees.

Institutional Partner(s)

This application is not being filed in conjunction with any other entity.

 

Curriculum/Assessment/Instruction

• The proposed charter school�s academic program will include high academic standards achieved through a broad liberal arts education and "back to basics" approach.
• Subject-based teaching will be used by forming a staff of teachers who have majored, minored, or demonstrated expertise in the subjects they teach.
• The proposed school calendar includes 200 instructional days per year and 2 hours more instructional time per day compared to public schools. In general, students will receive 120 minutes of daily instruction in English Language Arts, 60 minutes in Mathematics, 45-60 minutes in Science, 45-60 minutes in Social Studies, 60 minutes of Physical Education or Dance (alternating days), and 60 minutes of Visual Arts or Music (alternating days).
• Teachers will have time each day devoted to professional development, arriving in the form of team meetings, lesson planning, peer observation and mentoring, or data analysis and professional reading. Some days will be fully devoted to workshops and seminars.
• The school will administer all State-mandated assessments in addition to the Terra Nova CTBS assessments for English Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science on an annual basis for diagnostic purposes. In addition, non-standardized assessments covering all academic subjects will be used.
• The applicant has assembled specific content or curriculum standards that describe what will be taught and achieved in each grade and subject area.

Governance

• The proposed charter school will facilitate the development of a Parents Association.
• The Board of Trustees currently has 10 prospective members and would eventually consist of up to 15 members.
• The Trustees must possess knowledge and skills in one or more of the following areas: elementary education, educational assessment, fundraising, finance, law, organizational strategy, concerns of community stakeholders, public relations, community issues in the Bronx, politics of education reform, or real estate.

Students

• The school plans to expand each year from K-1 in the first year to K-4 adding 50 students each year to the starting enrollment of 100.

Budget/Facilities

• The applicant expects that the school will receive two public grants for charter schools, the Federal Planning Grant ($150,000) and the State Stimulus Fund Grant ($200,000).
• In addition, the school plans on raising $165,455 from private philanthropic sources in order to achieve a balanced budget for the start-up planning year.
• The applicant expects to receive $844,000 in State and local monies in the first year.
• A 15,000 square foot facility has been identified for January 1, 2004 occupancy. Renovation of the site would cost about $450,000 and would be amortized over the five-year period of the charter.

Personnel

• Staff would be compensated based on performance (quantitative and qualitative factors such as performance reviews, students� performance on standardized assessments, teamwork, mentoring, professional development, and other factors).
• In the first school year, the proposed charter school plans on having two English Language Arts teachers, one Math teacher, one Science/Health teacher, and one Special Education teacher.
• In addition, the proposed charter school will employ four part-time instructors to teach Art, Music, Dance, and Physical Education in the first year. One part-time social worker will also be employed.

Fiscal Impact

• The estimated fiscal impact of the charter school on the school district in its first year is approximately $844,000. This represents less than .01 percent of the budget of the New York City School District.

Recommendation

Approve the proposed charter.

Reason for Recommendation

1) The charter school described in the proposed charter meets the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules, and regulations; (2) the applicants can demonstrate the ability to operate the school in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; and (3) granting the proposed charter 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.