Meeting of the Board of Regents | April 2007

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

 

TO:
FROM:	Johanna Duncan-Poitier
SUBJECT:	Charter School Revisions
DATE:	April 19, 2007
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1 and 2
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Decision

 

Should the Board of Regents approve the requests to revise the existing charter received from the NYC Chancellor for the Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy I Charter School (NYC) and to revise the existing charter received from the Trustees of the State University of New York (“SUNY”) for Green Tech High Charter School (Albany)?

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

 

Required by New York State Education Law §2852.

             

Proposed Handling

 

This question will come before the Full Board on April 24, 2007 for action.

 

Procedural History

 

New York Education Law §2852(7) provides that revisions of charter school charters shall be made only upon the approval of the charter entity and the Board of Regents in accordance with the provisions of the law applicable to the issuance of  charters themselves.   With respect to charter schools directly chartered by the Board of Regents, the Board may either approve a proposed revision or deny it.  With respect to charter schools chartered by other charter entities, the Board may either approve and issue the revisions as proposed by the charter entity, or return the proposed revision to the charter entity for reconsideration with written comments and recommendations.

 

Background Information

 

We received a request from the NYC Chancellor to amend the existing charter for the Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy I Charter School (NYC).  We also received a request from SUNY to amend the charter for Green Tech High Charter School (Albany).

 

              Harlem Children’s Zone Promise  Academy I Charter School: The Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy I Charter School is located in Harlem.  The initial charter for the School was granted on February 23, 2004. The School seeks to modify its enrollment and its grade configuration. Granted approval, the charter school would suspend enrolling sixth and ninth graders for one year. (See Attachment 1 for comparative enrollment charts.) The School seeks this change to focus on strengthening its middle school program rather than expand to high school grades during its initial charter period. Based on recent internal and external reviews of the instructional program and student interim assessment results, the School’s Board of Trustees and the Chancellor agree that the School should not offer a high school program until efforts to strengthen the middle level program have been completed. (See Attachment 2 for academic performance.) To accommodate this change, the Chancellor and the School have made arrangements for the placement of current grade 8 students in other New York City schools and the Harlem Children’s Zone, Inc. will provide outgoing eighth grade students with support services throughout high school. Staff recommend the Regents approve this proposed revision to the School’s initial charter.     

 

              GreenTech High Charter School:  The Green Tech High Charter School is a boys-only high school, located in Albany.  The School will serve 75 male students in grade 9 during its first year of instruction.  By its fifth year, the School will expand to serve 360 boys in grades 9-12.  In March 2006, the Board of Regents returned the School’s initial charter application as proposed by SUNY for reconsideration based upon the potential additional fiscal impact upon the Albany City School District, and that the SUNY and the applicants had 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.  The School was approved by operation of law in July 2006.

 

              Green Tech High Charter School was scheduled to open for instruction in the 2007-2008 school year.  SUNY has approved the School’s request to delay opening for one year with commencement of instruction beginning in the 2008-09 school year.  SUNY submits this proposed first revision to the School’s charter to the Regents for approval.  Staff recommends the Regents approve this proposed first revision to the School’s initial charter.

 

              Complete copies of the above are available for your review by contacting Shelia Evans-Tranumn at (718) 722-2796 and James C. Viola at (518) 474-4817.

 

Recommendation

 

              Staff recommend that the Board of Regents take the following actions:

 

VOTED: That the Board of Regents approve the revision to the initial charter of the Harlem Children’s Academy Promise Academy I Charter School as proposed by the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, and the provisional charter is amended accordingly.

 

VOTED:  That the Board of Regents approve the revision to the initial charter of the Green Tech High Charter School as proposed by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York, and the provisional charter is amended accordingly.

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

              Upon approval by the Board of Regents, the above actions will become effective immediately.

 

Attachment

          1

 

Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy I Charter School

 

Currently Approved Enrollment Plan:

Year	Grades	Students
2004-2005	K, 6	200
2005-2006	K-1, 6-7	400
2006-2007	K-2, 6-8	600
2007-2008	K-3, 6-9	800
2008-2009	K-4, 6-10	1,000

 

Proposed Enrollment Plan:

Year	Grades	Students
2004-2005	K, 6	200
2005-2006	K-1, 6-7	400
2006-2007	K-2, 6-8	600
2007-2008	K-3, 7-8	534
2008-2009	K-4, 6, 8-9	734

 

 

Attachment

          2

 

 

Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy I Charter School

Performance on State Assessments

		Percent of Students
Assessment	Year	% Level 1	% Level 2	% Level 3	% Level 4	Performance Index
Grade 3-8 ELA	2006	8	63	28	1	121
Grade 3-8 Math	2006	7	50	41	2	136