Meeting of the Board of Regents | July 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 Revision to the Second Renewal Charter for KIPP S.T.A.R. College Prep Charter School
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DATE: |
July 24, 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 revision to the second renewal charter for the KIPP S.T.A.R. College Prep Charter School (New York City)?
Background Information
We received a request from the Trustees of the State University of New York to revise the charter of KIPP S.T.A.R. College Prep Charter School (KSCPCS or “the School”). The School was approved on March 24, 2003 to open in Community School District (“CSD”) 5 on July 21, 2003. The School’s first renewal went into effect by operation of law in January 2008, for an extension to July 31, 2008. In July 2008, the Regents voted to approve the second renewal charter for a term up through and including July 31, 2013.
The School is located in the West Harlem section of Manhattan and serves 330 students in grades 5 through 8. The School seeks to revise its grade configuration with respect to grades K through 4 (See Attachment 1); to co-locate grades 9 through 12 with KIPP Academy Charter School, KIPP Always Mentally Prepared Charter School, and KIPP Infinity Charter School in CSD 5; to create a Memorandum of Understanding between KIPP NYC, LLC and the School governing administrative and operations support; and, to revise its admissions criteria and preferences.
The School proposes to postpone the implementation of grade K until 2010-2011 and to co-locate grades 9-12 in a shared facility with KIPP Academy Charter School, KIPP Always Mentally Prepared Charter School and the KIPP Infinity Charter School. The School’s board of trustees will serve with the boards of the other KIPP schools to form a Joint High School Committee. Each board of trustees will maintain its own “exclusive and absolute responsibility and authority over its schools” with respect to employee hiring and termination; student discipline issues; complaints; student-specific data information; and budgets. Each board will be entitled to one vote on the Joint High School Committee. A majority vote will be required to set policy and make decisions for the co-located high school grades. The School will hire one principal for the grades K-4. The Schools will share staff and administrators for the high school grades based on their percentage of enrolled students. The principals of each grade level (elementary, middle, high) will report to the KSCPCS board of trustees.
KSCPCS proposes to apply an “at-risk” admissions preference to all seats. KSCPCS would designate those students eligible for free and/or reduced-price lunch as “at-risk of academic failure.”
The New York City Department of Education held a public hearing on November 6, 2008 regarding the proposed revision. Public comments were made at the hearing. A majority of parents attending the hearing expressed concerns about the placement of the co-located high school.
Recommendation
VOTED: That the Board of Regents approves the revision to the second renewal charter of the KIPP S.T.A.R. College Prep Charter School as proposed by the Trustees of the State University of New York, and the provisional charter is amended accordingly.
Reasons for Recommendation
The proposed revisions to the School’s second renewal 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 KIPP S.T.A.R. College Prep Charter School will be effective immediately.
Attachment 1
Approved Enrollment Plan
KIPP S.T.A.R. College Prep Charter School
2008-2009
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GRADE |
STUDENTS |
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Fifth |
90 |
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Sixth |
83 |
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Seventh |
80 |
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Eighth |
77 |
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Total |
330 |
Revised Enrollment Plan
KIPP S.T.A.R. College Prep Charter School
2009-2010 through 2013-2014*
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GRADE |
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2009-10 |
2010-11 |
2011-12 |
2012-13 |
2013-14* |
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Kindergarten |
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0 |
80 |
80 |
80 |
80 |
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First |
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0 |
0 |
80 |
80 |
80 |
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Second |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
80 |
80 |
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Third |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
80 |
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Fourth |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Fifth |
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90 |
90 |
90 |
90 |
90 |
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Sixth |
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83 |
83 |
83 |
83 |
83 |
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Seventh |
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80 |
80 |
80 |
80 |
80 |
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Eighth |
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77 |
77 |
77 |
77 |
77 |
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Ninth |
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45 |
45 |
45 |
45 |
45 |
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Tenth |
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0 |
41 |
41 |
41 |
41 |
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Eleventh |
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0 |
0 |
38 |
38 |
41 |
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Twelfth |
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0 |
0 |
0 |
35 |
35 |
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Total |
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375 |
496 |
614 |
729 |
809 |
* The charter runs through July 31, 2013. All data beyond that date is for information purposes only.