Meeting of the Board of Regents | July 2009

SUMMARY

Issue for Decision

Should the Regents approve the application to establish the Health Sciences Charter School (Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District)?

Background Information

We have received an application for the establishment of the Health Sciences Charter School (“the School”).  The School will open in August, 2010.  Initially, the School will serve 120 students in grade 9, and grow to serve 435 students in grades 9 through 12 in its fifth year of operation.  The School’s mission is “to provide high-school age youth in Western New York, particularly those students within the City of Buffalo, with academically challenging learning environments that prepare them to communicate effectively, think and reason critically, value diversity, engage in service learning, pursue academic excellence, and obtain sustainable and quality careers in the health sciences industry.  As a resulting benefit, the School will provide the local growth-oriented health care industry with well-trained and dedicated professionals to meet current and projected need.”

The School does not have a management partner.  Based on the application, the School will provide instruction from 7:48 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for 191 days per academic year.  The School is partnering with several major health care institutions in the City of Buffalo as well as Trocaire College to provide opportunities for students to be mentored by health care professionals, and to experience internships, community service and advanced academic study.  

The public hearing was held on July 14, 2009.  There were no comments made regarding the establishment of the School.  Additionally, the Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District offered no comments.

               Additional information concerning this application may be found on the Board of Regents website at http://www.regents.nysed.gov/

Recommendation

              VOTED:  That the Board of Regents approves the application for the Health Sciences Charter School.

Reasons for Recommendation

(1) The charter school described in the application 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) approving 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; and (4) approving the application will have a significant educational benefit to the students expected to attend the charter school.

Timetable for Implementation

The Regents action for the Health Sciences Charter School is effective immediately.

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• New York State Education Department
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• Summary of Proposed Charter
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• Name of Proposed Charter School:  Health Sciences Charter School
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• Address:  437 Franklin Street, Buffalo, New York 14202 (temporary address)
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• Applicant(s):  Frederick B. Saia, David A. Palmer, and Richard Lipsitz
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• Anticipated Opening Date:  August 18, 2010
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• District of Location:  Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District
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• Charter Entity:  Board of Regents
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• Institutional Partner(s):  The Catholic Health System, Erie County Medical Center, and Kaleida Health
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• Management Partner(s):   N/A
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• Grades Served:                      2009-2010:  planning year
• 2010-2011:  9
• 2011-2012:  9-10
• 2012-2013:  9-11
• 2013-2014:  9-12
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• Projected Enrollment:         2009-2010:  NA
• 2010-2011:  120
• 2011-2012:  240
• 2012-2013:  360
• 2013-2014:  480
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• Proposed Charter Highlights
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• Applicant
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•               The lead applicant, Frederick B. Saia, is president and founder of Oneida Group, a company that provides trucking, concrete and steel reinforcements to residential, commercial and industrial projects.  Mr. Saia was a member of the first class at the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the University at Buffalo, and his entrepreneurial talent has been recognized widely.  He is the founder and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Charter School for Applied Technologies, which shares a school-to-career focus with the applicant school.  Mr. Saia will be a non-voting member of the Board of Trustees.
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•               The first co-applicant, David A. Palmer, is the Area Director for the Communications Workers of America in Upstate New York, New England, and Connecticut.  His experience includes chairing the contract negotiations for the creation of the Kaleida Health System.   Mr. Palmer’s commitment to Labor’s need to be active in the community is reflected in his personal participation in a number of community organizations.  He holds a degree in Labor Studies.
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•               The second co-applicant, Richard Lipsitz, has been active in union work for area hospitals and businesses as well as serving as the Director of the Buffalo Labor Studies Program at Cornell University.  He has promoted international labor relations in Russia and the Netherlands.  He has extended his education with a Masters of Science in Education degree added to a Bachelors degree in Political Science and History.
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• Institutional Partners
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•               The Catholic Health System provides a wide-ranging array of health services to schools and colleges in the Buffalo area, including the AthletiCare Sports Rehabilitation Program, Tomorrow’s Youth Today and Youth Opportunities (both Youth Education and Work Readiness training programs), and Choosing Healthy Activities through Mentoring and Play (CHAMP).  There is strong local college and school involvement in these programs.  CHAMP has been promoted statewide as a quality program providing unique community services.  The Catholic Health system’s role with the proposed Health Sciences Charter School (the “School”) will be to provide students with service learning opportunities, student leadership training, mentoring, career exploration, job shadowing, internships, and other “real world” experiences. 
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•               The Erie County Medical Center is a large Buffalo based medical facility which is expected to provide many of the same opportunities to students at the School as the Catholic Health System.  It is affiliated with several University at Buffalo medical departments, and also plays an integral role in community education and outreach, much of which is focused on providing health career information to middle and high school students.
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•               Kaleida Health is a major provider of school-based health services in the Buffalo area, including as its clients the Buffalo Public Schools, a number of non-public schools, and one charter school, wherein it provides daily first aid for approximately 35,000 students.  They will offer similar opportunities to students as the other two partners, with a strong focus on nutrition and obesity prevention.  They also offer career exploration for children and youth in the schools, including health careers.
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• Management Partner
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•               N/A
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• Curriculum/Assessment/Instruction
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• The School will be providing instruction to students in grade 9 through 12, with a focus on health services careers, across a wide spectrum of possible career paths.
• The School has committed to an academically challenging program to prepare students to communicate effectively, think and reason critically, value diversity, and obtain sustainable and quality careers.
• The School will provide extended time for instruction, including year round classes, a summer session and a period at the end of each school day for academic support.
• The instructional program will include state of the art laboratory instruction, industry specific curriculum, AP and dual college credit courses, mentoring, service learning, internships, individual career guidance, and hands on instruction from leading industry and educational professionals.  
• Student progress will be measured by teacher generated, common formative assessments in addition to the New York State Regents examinations and college entrance exams.  Where possible, assessments will be performance based.
• The School’s educational design will be based on the concept of a Professional Learning Community, which is student centered and accommodates a range of student learning styles, abilities and experiences.
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• Governance
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• The School’s By-Laws provide for a board of trustees consisting of five to fifteen members. The application includes eleven proposed members of the School’s initial Board of Trustees. 
• Trustees represent individuals with skills and expertise in higher education, entrepreneurship, labor relations, the institutional health partnerships, human resources, medicine, and non-profit governance. 
• The Board of Trustees will have three year terms, but the founding members will have terms ending after one, two or three years to create staggered changes in membership.  Parent Board members will be elected for one year terms.
• The officers of the Board of Trustees will consist of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
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• Students
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• The School’s promotional materials will be printed in English and translated as needed.
• Promotional materials will include provisions for non-discrimination and state the School’s interest in serving students with disabilities and those who are English language learners.
• The School’s advertising will include fliers and public notices in newspapers, supermarkets, communities of faith, community centers, apartment complexes, and visits to local organizations in surrounding neighborhoods.
• The School will accept timely applications until close of business on April 1. 
• The School’s special education program meets the necessary requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
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• Budget/Facilities
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• The School is involved in a search for a suitable site within the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District.
• The School has received notice of a Federal Charter School Program Planning and Implementation Grant of $652,208, the first payment of $506,408 to be awarded upon receipt of the charter.  Also pending charter approval is a $500,000 award from the Program Related Investment of the James Cummings Foundation.
• Each of the three institutional partners has contributed $10,000 to assist with start up costs; Independent Health and Health Now will each contribute $10,000; and Roswell Park Cancer Institute will contribute $2500.
• The School’s Year One projected start-up revenue will be $1,006,408 and will grow to $6,210,275 in Year Five. 
• The Year One budget anticipates total expenses of $653,175 and in Year Five of $13,977,817.
• The School anticipates an ending fund balance of $30,000 at the end of Year One and almost $3,000,000 at the end of Year Five.
• The School has established a dissolution fund of $75,000 in its first year budget.
• The School ensures that it will perform all programmatic and fiscal audits annually as required by the New York State Charter Schools Act, in accordance with auditing standards and Government
• The projected fiscal impact of the School is indicated below.
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• Projected Fiscal Impact of
• Health Sciences Charter School
• 2009-10 through 2013-14
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• *Based on an estimated enrollment of 84 percent from Buffalo City School District.
• **Based on enrollment of 100% from the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District.
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Projected* Fiscal Impact Of All Charter Schools In Buffalo

• 2009-10 Through 2013-14*
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• *Assumes a 3.0 percent annual increase in the district’s budget and a 4.5 percent annual increase in the average expense per pupil.  Projections are subject to fluctuation in actual enrollments, FTE enrollments, AOE, and district budgets.  Further assumes all students will come from the district of location (with exceptions noted), and that all other charter schools will still be in operation from 2009-10 forward.
• ** Located within Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District but receives approximately 85 percent of its student enrollment from Buffalo.   Impact is therefore calculated upon 85 percent of its anticipated enrollment.
• *** Located within Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District but expects to receive approximately 84 percent of its student enrollment from Buffalo.  Impact is therefore calculated upon 84 percent of its anticipated enrollment as well as on the district of location.
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•  Personnel
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• The School will be led by a principal who will oversee the business manager, assistant principal, special education coordinator, administrative assistants, teachers, guidance counselors and other staff.
• The School will hire teachers to provide instruction in all New York State learning standard areas, as well as in a number of additional specialized courses relating to healthcare careers.
• The School expects to hire certified teachers, but reserves the right to hire up to five teachers or 30 percent of the teaching staff without certification.  If the School employs non-certified teachers, they will meet the criteria for hire under §2854(3)(a-1) of the Education Law and will qualify as subject-based competent pursuant to the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. 
• All the School’s special education staff will be appropriately certified in accordance with and as defined by 34 CFR 300.18.
• The School will provide professional development to teachers to expand their understanding of the Professional Learning Community environment.  Teachers will have unique opportunities to interact with industry leaders in the health care field as they develop engaging lessons that reflect the world of work.
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• Community Support
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• The School provided 87 signatures of parents of students who are eligible and interested in applying to the School for the 2010 opening.  The signatures represent parents from a number of districts.
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• Public Opinion
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• The required public hearing was held on July 14, 2009 by the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District.  There were no comments made regarding the establishment of the School.
• Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District, the district of location, provided no comments regarding the establishment of the School. 
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