Tab 2e-Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools

Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools For Charter Schools Authorized by the SUNY Board of Trustees August 2013 SUNY Charter Schools Institute 41 State Street, Suite 700 Albany, New York 12207 518/433-8277, 518/427-6510 (Fax) www.newyorkcharters.org Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools Table of Contents I BACKGROUND: SUNY’S OVERALL RENEWAL POLICY AND PRACTICE II PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE HANDBOOK III INTRODUCTION: DEVELOPING A REPLICATED CHARTER SCHOOL RENEWAL MODEL A Rationale B Statutory Context IV METHODOLOGY A Purpose of School Evaluation Visits B Monitoring and Renewal Visit Cycles V PREPARATION, EVIDENCE COLLECTION AND REPORTING A Visit Team Composition: Roles & Responsibilities B Summary of Visit Team Preparation and Activity i Steps in Pre-School Visit Preparation ii On-site Review and Feedback C Developing Evidence Based Conclusions VI RENEWAL VISIT RESOURCES A Overview B Evidence Collection Tools i SUNY Renewal Benchmarks ii Evidence Array iii Interview Protocols a b c d e Managing Organization Leader School leader Teacher Compliance and Fiscal Education Corporation iv Classroom Observation Form VII School Evaluation/Renewal Visit Checklist for School Leaders Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools BACKGROUND: SUNY’S OVERALL RENEWAL POLICY AND PRACTICE The State University of New York (SUNY) is the largest charter school authorizer in New York and the largest university-based authorizer in the country In 2010, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers recognized SUNY’s new school application process as being the “Best Application Process” for Approving New Charter Schools and in 2011, the CfBT Education Trust and the World Bank identified SUNY’s Authorizing Practices as an international model and featured them in a new online toolkit SUNY-authorized charter schools lead the state’s charter sector in student achievement on state assessments in mathematics and English language arts Besides its rigorous new school application review process, this success is also attributable to the manner in which SUNY holds school’s accountable through its charter renewal practices While the SUNY Trustees have the obligation and authority to hold charter schools accountable through a number of means during the term of operation (including revocation of an education corporation’s charter), the requirement that a school apply and be approved for renewal on a periodic basis is at the core of the New York Charter Schools Act of 1998 (as amended) (the “Act”) The SUNY Charter Schools Institute’s (the “Institute’s”) renewal review is, therefore, a high-stakes process for charter schools In return for their independence and autonomy, the Act requires that charter schools demonstrate that they are educationally sound and capable of improving student learning and achievement as measured by objective assessment outcomes Upon initial approval, charter school education corporations receive a provisional charter (certificate of incorporation) under which they have the authority to operate for a term of up to five years Prior to the end of the five-year term (and the expiration of the provisional charter), a charter school has the right to apply for renewal of its initial charter for another term of up to five years While the Act provides grounds for revoking a school’s charter at any time during its term of operation (See the Practices, Policies and Procedures for the Renewal of Charter Schools Authorized by the State University Board of Trustees (the “SUNY Renewal Policies”), 12 the specific grounds for revocation are such that the renewal review is the principal point at which the Institute assesses the school’s academic performance and the SUNY Trustees decide on permitting the school to continue to operate Unlike the requirements for an application to establish a charter school education corporation, which the Act sets out in great detail, the Act prescribes only a few specific requirements for a charter school renewal application The SUNY Renewal Policies are available on the Institute’s website at: http://newyorkcharters.org/documents/SUNYRenewalPolicies.pdf They provide more detail on charter revocation For most schools, the renewal process would be the first time that a charter school faces high stakes consequences for its academic performance outcomes, rather than as a result of its long-term status as a low performing school This process is in contrast to legal, financial and operational failures, which may result in the school’s charter being terminated at any time if such failures are sufficiently material The policies were last updated on June 25, 2012 to reflect the reconstitution of the SUNY Trustees’ Charter Schools Committee and its authority with respect to renewal See the SUNY Renewal Policies for the renewal application requirements, as well as required findings for charter renewal and the New York State Board of Regents review process Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools During a school’s first year of operation, the Institute works with that school to develop an Accountability Plan, which contains the general goals that the charter school obligates itself to meet and delineates very specific measures to determine whether, or to what extent, the school has met such goals To ensure high standards among schools that the SUNY Trustees authorize, comparability to other public schools, and compliance with No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the Institute prescribes a set of specific academic achievement measures The core function of the Accountability Plan is to set forth the academic goals by which the Institute will judge the school at the time of renewal Institute staff and consultants visit the school and evaluate the school’s academic and organizational progress on a periodic basis during its term of authority to operate Depending on the nature of a visit, the Institute provides the school a written review of the visit Where possible, the Institute discusses with the education corporation board and school leadership team the visit conclusions To assist schools in determining whether they are making appropriate progress towards a successful renewal review, the Institute’s visit protocols, reports and oral feedback center on a school’s performance under the same measures and performance indicators, the SUNY Renewal Benchmarks (see below), that the Institute employs during a renewal review The SUNY Renewal Benchmarks provide a framework for the Institute to gather and evaluate evidence while considering applications for renewal The SUNY Renewal Benchmarks contain four key questions that reflect the interwoven nature of schools from an academic, organizational, fiscal and/or legal perspective and align to the required findings for charter renewal delineated in the Act To be renewed, a school must demonstrate the ability to operate in an educationally and fiscally sound manner in the next charter term, be likely to improve student learning and achievement and materially further the purposes of the Act Thus, unlike school evaluation visits which focus mainly on the school’s academic program, renewal visits address all of the SUNY Renewal Benchmarks Consistent with the SUNY Renewal Policies, the Institute uses all the evidence submitted during the Accountability Period contained, in or submitted with, the Application for Charter Renewal and collected during renewal evaluation visit to form the basis for Renewal Recommendation to the SUNY Trustees The SUNY Trustees’ Charter Schools Committee makes all final charter renewal decisions For a school coming to renewal for the first time, the SUNY Renewal Policies define three potential outcomes: Full-Term Renewal (five years), the statutory maximum; Short-Term Renewal (typically three years); or Non-Renewal (closure) Schools that have already been renewed at least once face only two potential outcomes: Full-Term Renewal (five years) or Non-Renewal (closure) The SUNY Renewal Policies specifically not provide a Short-Term Renewal outcome for schools in subsequent charter terms Considering the limited standardized assessment data available at the time of an initial renewal review and the challenges that a start-up charter school faces, the Institute puts more weight on the implementation of the school’s academic program by evaluating its strength and effectiveness based on the SUNY Renewal Benchmarks The depth of the Institute’s review of the academic program, the level of quality required, and the weight accorded to the evidence collected using the Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools SUNY Renewal Benchmarks, varies depending on the school’s record of meeting its academic Accountability Plan goals In subsequent renewal reviews, and in contrast to initial renewal reviews, the SUNY Trustees evaluate the strength and effectiveness of a school’s academic program almost exclusively by the degree to which the school has succeeded in meeting its academic Accountability Plan goals during the Accountability Period This approach is consistent with the greater time that a school has been in operation and a concomitant increase in the quantity and quality of student achievement data that the school has generated It is also consistent with the Act’s purpose of moving from a rulesbased to an outcome-based system of accountability in which schools are held accountable for meeting measurable student achievement results Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE HANDBOOK This Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools (“Handbook”) provides guidance for conducting renewal reviews of replicated charter schools Because of the overlap in the procedures and evidence collection for evaluating schools throughout their term of operation and at the time of renewal, the Handbook also serves as an aid in conducting oversight and evaluation activities of replicated schools during the term of their operation before renewal Given the importance of a rigorous renewal process in ensuring the continuation of high quality charter schools, SUNY makes the Handbook available to the managing organizations and school leaders of replicated schools in order to make expectations clear, and the evaluation and renewal process transparent The Charter Schools Institute at SUNY also hopes other authorizers will use the Handbook as a resource to support the development of their practice With the active replication of successful charter schools, SUNY has rapidly increased the number of charter schools it authorizes Because of the ever-diminishing resources to support its authorizing activities and with an unrelenting desire to provide as many quality seats as possible to New York’s students, SUNY has developed the replication renewal Handbook with the guiding principle of creating increased efficiencies and economies of scale in its oversight work and its renewal process, maximizing resources of the school and the Institute while maintaining quality The replicated school renewal model is a customized application of the established general SUNY Renewal Policies First and foremost, the approach adapts the renewal process for single operating schools, namely that a school – whether a replicated or single school – is the unit of analysis and must in and of itself meet the required findings for renewal stated in the Act including being likely to improve student learning achievement and meet the criteria for renewal under the SUNY Renewal Policies that apply to all schools the SUNY Trustees have chartered SUNY annunciated this principle in its Policy Framework for Charter School Replication in January 2012 The SUNY Trustees base their renewal decisions primarily on two sources of evidence First, renewal depends on a school’s measurable student academic outcomes as determined by the extent to which the school has met its key Accountability Plan goals Second is the school’s performance as on the SUNY Renewal Benchmarks As a school matures, the SUNY Trustees place greater weight on student performance outcomes than on implementation of the school’s educational program in making a renewal decision As such the Institute’s oversight process shifts – whether single, operating schools or replicated schools In general, consistent with the school’s record of success, the frequency, breadth and depth of the Institute’s visits decrease While this change in focus supports efficiencies in monitoring the implementation of educational programs in all schools, by the same token it requires that the Institute examine student outcomes with the same level of detail whether a replicated or single, independent school Therefore, the discussion in this Handbook does not center on interpreting student outcome data for determining the attainment of Accountability Plan goals or on the evidence for generating a renewal recommendation, as these policies are the same for all SUNY-authorized schools The focus in this Handbook is on methods for collecting the qualitative evidence that contributes to making renewal recommendations for replicated schools Available on the Institute’s website at: http://www.newyorkcharters.org/conference/PolicyMatters.htm Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools After presenting general background on SUNY’s charter renewal practices, the Handbook in its introduction offers a rationale for developing a customized model for the renewal review of replicated charter schools as well as providing the statutory context that now makes such specialized renewal practices possible Beyond the introduction, the Handbook presents a methodology for conducting replicated school renewal reviews Because schools may vary by the managing organization’s stage of development, by the locus of control of the instructional delivery systems and by the replication model, the Handbook opens with a discussion of a methodology sensitive to variation in the overarching role of the managing organization, its performance management and the extent of school-to-school replication SUNY holds replicated schools accountable in the same manner as those authorized schools that are not replications While the Institute may collect extensive evidence from the managing organization, the Institute will continue to evaluate a school based on the academic and operational performance at the school level with a primary focus on the academic success of the school’s students To put it differently, the Institute’s evaluation of the charter school education corporation, whether for making renewal or expansion recommendations to the SUNY Trustees, is ultimately based on individual school performance However, in contrast to evaluating the academic and operational functions at the school level, the Institute’s examination of fiscal soundness and board oversight will consistently be at the managing organization and education corporation level, providing inherent efficiencies in the evaluation of schools in any multi-school managing organization irrespective of type of replication The next section of the Handbook addresses the process for conducting monitoring and renewal visits It details a model for preparing for, and carrying out, a set of specific visit activities in replicated schools, including a sequence of actions, roles and responsibilities of visit team members, a schedule and an evidence array The Handbook offers a set of practical standalone tools for conducting renewal reviews of replicated schools The first section contains guidance and protocols for the visit team; the second section provides information for the replicated school to prepare for the visit The most important item is the SUNY Renewal Benchmarks, which explicitly establish the academic, operational, legal and fiscal parameters of an effective school worthy of renewal Because the Benchmarks drive the evidence collection, the Institute has updated the SUNY Renewal Benchmark document to capture a replicated school’s evidence for charter renewal With ten years of experience in the charter school renewal review process, the Institute has closed a notable number of schools all fundamentally for poor academic performance Further, some schools have opted not to seek renewal and to cease operation themselves because of their leader’s own realization that they did not meet SUNY’s high, and consistently applied, standards In applying the same standards for making renewal recommendations to the SUNY Trustees, this Handbook systematizes the renewal review process specifically for replicated schools Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools The Institute developed and piloted the Handbook’s methodology and tools during the renewal review of existing successful replicated schools from a number of different kinds of managing organizations including a network under a highly centralized charter management organization (“CMO”), a less-centralized network under a CMO with multiple networks and an association of replicated schools with shared services and a common board but without a CMO Notwithstanding variations in education corporations and their management structures, the Handbook uses the term managing organization to refer to all overarching support organizations The Institute views the current tools as a work in progress SUNY will refine the protocols included in the Handbook as it learns through analyzing the success of a range of replicated schools in the future Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools INTRODUCTION: DEVELOPING A REPLICATED CHARTER SCHOOL RENEWAL MODEL Despite steady growth in the number of authorized schools, demand from New York State families for more seats in SUNY authorized charter schools has far outpaced the rate at which new schools are opening In fact, the number of students on waiting lists for admission to SUNY authorized charter schools has increased six fold in the last five years The Institute sought a way to be responsive to this demand without sacrificing the rigor and quality of its existing new school application review process The Institute focused on the replication of existing successful schools as a possible area where it could increase efficiency in its review process In addition to demand for high quality seats, other factors also supported SUNY’s focus on replication The 2010 amendments to the Act provided new pathways to charter replication As a result, charter managing organizations and single successful independent schools across the state now seek to replicate on a larger scale and at a faster pace than envisioned by SUNY’s previous authorizing practices While the SUNY Trustees have already approved nearly 40 replications of existing, successful schools, they have largely done so one at a time, generally using the same application, contract, monitoring, and renewal policies and practices as they use for single operating schools Given current trends, the Institute will face increasing constraints on the investment of time, resources and personnel it can devote to individual schools In overseeing in excess of 100 SUNY authorized schools, while still focusing on boosting the number of high quality seat available to New York’s students, the Institute must modify its oversight and evaluation processes for replicated schools by streamlining and integrating its practices, while maintaining SUNY’s rigorous authorizing standards In doing so, the Institute can apply the resource gains made through efficiencies in the oversight and evaluation of replicated schools to monitoring and evaluating the traditional education corporation with one operating school to promote innovation and program diversity and to increase the monitoring of schools facing academic or organizational difficulties In order to continue granting charters to only the most worthy applicants, SUNY has begun to differentiate its authorizing practices to accommodate authorizing replicating organizations while maintaining the thorough accountability for which SUNY is nationally-known Through these differentiated practices, SUNY has the opportunity to build portfolios of high performing schools by enabling highly-successful schools to increase the number of high-quality seats for students Essential to this process is continued vigilance in closing low performing schools through the SUNY renewal review process to sustain quality of the charter schools it authorizes The Institute’s renewal practice for all schools continues to center on student achievement outcomes and to hold replicated schools accountable in the same manner schools that are not replications To the extent that SUNY bases subsequent charter renewal decisions almost exclusively on whether a school has met or come close to meeting its Accountability Plan goals, the renewal practice for all schools in later stages of development is different from all schools – whether single operating or replications that are facing renewal for the first time In addition to these differences, however, the differentiated practice for replicated schools provides another Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools dimension besides success at meeting Accountability Plan goals, namely the opportunity to monitor educational program implementation across a managing organization rather than just at one school Evidence of the development and persistence of instructional delivery systems may be manifest at the managing organization level and confirmed at other replicated schools without collecting as much evidence from the particular school that is up for renewal By monitoring program development and modification across the managing organization AND carefully tracking the school’s individual academic performance, the Institute can harness an economy of scale to check for school progress toward renewal in a streamlined fashion In using this approach, the Institute does not simply generalize about school quality across a managing organization, but rather continues to hold each school under the managing organization accountable by carefully monitoring its attainment of the requisite Accountability Plan goals and being fully cognizant of its implementation of the managing organization’s instructional delivery systems through ongoing documentation of the managing organization’s implementation practices SUNY chose not to use an authorization system that simply aggregated data from all schools operated by a managing organization because it could mask poor performance at individual schools Separate from a managing organization’s cohesive academic support for its replicated schools, efficiencies may also accrue at the education corporation level Because of changes in the Act (see Statutory Context below), the fiscal functions for a charter school education corporation operating multiple schools consolidates operations and enables the Institute to examine finances across multiple schools within an entire managing organization Similarly, this economy of scale may also apply to other managing organization operations Finally, because a board of trustees in this framework may now oversees a multi-school education corporation, the Institute need not evaluate the education corporation board’s role each time a school comes to renewal; rather, the Institute would examine its performance as part of its monitoring of the education corporation itself STATUTORY CONTEXT By allowing a single charter school education corporation to operate more than one school, the Act allows SUNY at least four new replication/multi-school/multi-site pathways: • • • Adding a new school to an existing charter SUNY can allow the addition of a new school or schools to an existing education corporation whether or not that additional school is an exact replication of the existing school Merging or consolidating existing charter schools As the Act permits an existing charter to operate another charter school, it follows that the additional charter school could be an existing charter school (Several New York education corporations have already merged into one education corporation operating multiple schools.) Initially chartering of multi-school networks Combining by design the ability of an education corporation to operate more than one school with the new school charter issuance process, SUNY has the ability to replicate high performing managing organizations that not currently operate in New York or create sub-networks of schools intended to be replications that are legally separate from the schools upon which they are modeled Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools 10 • informal complaints (those complaints that not allege a violation of law or the school’s charter agreement) What assistance is given to the school board in processing formal complaints? How does the managing organization provide assistance in this area? Activity • How does the school ensure that parent voices are heard or considered when making changes to policies or procedures that will impact them? • What formal parent groups or organizations are affiliated with the school (e.g., PTA, involvement committees, etc.)? • How frequently they meet and how many families attend a typical meeting? What school staff is required to attend or generally attend such meetings? Parents keep their children enrolled year-to-year  How does the school or managing organization track student reenrollment (e.g., they use an “intent to return” form)? Organizational Capacity The school has appropriate systems and structures to support effective operation The school has established an administrative structure with staff, operational systems, policies & procedures that allow the school to carry out its academic program  Describe how the school and managing organization are administratively organized (e.g., who reports to whom?)  Describe how the managing organization sets or modifies schoollevel policies and procedures Who is involved in setting such policies?  To what extent, if at all, are school-level leaders allowed to deviate Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools 67 from the policy frameworks established by the managing organization? The school has a clear student discipline system in place at the administrative level that is consistently applied Culture  Describe the student culture the school is attempting to implement? Has it been successful? Policy  Does the school have in place a valid student discipline policy which provides for adequate due process?  Does the policy provide adequate notice as to which types of student conduct are prohibited? Please describe the policy  Does the policy treat similarly-situated students in a like manner? Please provide an example  Does the policy include procedures for students with disabilities or students suspected of having disabilities? Are manifest determination procedures included in the policy?  Describe the staff responsible for enforcing the student discipline policy Describe the types and frequency of professional development that is offered to staff related to school culture, classroom management, conflict resolution, and the disciplinary process How does the Managing Organization support this process, if at all?  How are staff responsible for student discipline made aware of which students have IEP’s?  How does the school ensure alignment of student behavior expectations between various academic levels (e.g., elementary, middle, and high school)? How does the school prepare students for transition between the various levels?  What type of alternative instruction is offered by the school? Is the alternative instruction offered promptly and of sufficient duration and quality to allow a suspended student to keep pace Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools 68 with his/her peers? The school focuses on the development and retention of quality staff as well as plans to develop and support successor leaders • Who makes the final hiring determinations? To what extent is the board involved in hiring determinations (and for which positions)? • Has the school conducted any analysis as to why staff members leave the school? Have such reviews, if any, resulted in any school-level policy changes? The school maintains adequate student enrollment Describe the current size of the waitlist, if one exists If no waitlist exists or has been exhausted, describe the means by which the school conducts in-year recruitment and outreach • Which grades does the school backfill? • Describe the process to take a child off the wait list for enrollment Who decides whether to backfill a particular opening? Are there certain times of the year when seats are more likely to be backfilled? • Are school-based staff empowered to run a lottery, or is that process managed by the Managing Organization? Does the school have in place a clear policy for conducting a lottery consistent with the Charter Schools Act? • Does the school plan to grow at any point during the next charter term? Are such growth plans reasonable, feasible, and achievable? • The school implements procedures to monitor its progress toward meeting enrollment and retention targets for special education students, ELLs and students who qualify for free and reduced price lunch, and adjusts its recruitment efforts accordingly Enrollment • Specifically describe how the managing organization or individual Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools 69 schools target SWDs, ELLs and FRPL students in their outreach and recruitment efforts • Who is responsible for monitoring individual school progress towards meeting enrollment and retention targets? • What outreach and retention evidence does the school maintain from year to year? How is that evidence used to inform future outreach efforts? Retention is Special education • Does the school have a legally compliant special education program? • Are special education files filed in locked, but otherwise accessible storage at the school site? Are copies of IEP given to general education teachers? • How are IEPs presented to general education teachers? Is it associated with professional development or individual conferences to discuss student needs? • What special education services are provided by the school, and who provides such services (e.g., school staff, related service contractors)? • Who coordinates the school’s special education activities? What other responsibilities does this individual have? • Who tracks and verifies that special education students receive appropriate testing accommodations? • Are all such staff appropriately qualified and/or certified to provide special education services? • Does the school’s special education staffing structure permit them to legally meet the needs of all students with IEP’s (e.g., no student requires a more restrictive setting than offered by the school)? • Describe the school’s child find and response to intervention procedures Which staff or teams are involved in the processes? • How is assessment data used? Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools 70 • • • How frequently staff meet to discuss individual cases? Are students with IEP’s generally performing as well as their nondisabled peers? Do students with IEP’s attending the school generally have modified promotional criteria in place? What procedures are in place, and what staff are involved, in tracking student progress towards IEP goals? ELL Student Retention Does the school have a legally compliant ELL program? How are ELL students identified? Describe the ELL Program What services are available to ELL’s? Is the program research based or a reasonable variant of a researchbased ELL program? • Does the school employ TESOL-certified teachers? If not, what are the school’s standards for hiring staff responsible for meeting the needs of ELL’s (e.g., academic background, professional development, etc.)? • How frequently and what types of professional development is offered related to meeting the needs of ELL’s? • Are ELL students generally performing as well as their non-ELL peers? • How frequently does the school audit the effectiveness of the program? Who is involved in the audit? Are changes to the program made, if warranted? • Do ELL students and their families have access to the entire educational program (to include before- and after-school programs, extracurricular activities, etc.)? • • • Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools 71 Fiscal Operations Budgeting and Long Range Planning The education corporation operates pursuant to a long-range financial plan in which it creates realistic budgets that it monitors and adjusts when appropriate The education corporation: • has clear budgetary objectives and budget preparation procedures; • ensures that board members, school management and staff contribute to the budget process, as appropriate; • frequently compares its long-range fiscal plan to actual progress and adjusts it to meet changing conditions; • routinely analyzes budget variances; the board addresses material variances and makes necessary revisions; and • ensures that actual expenses are equal to, or less than, actual revenue with no material exceptions • Who initiates the budget development process and when does this process begin? • Who provides input into the development of the budget both at the managing organization and school level? • Do you think the budget process and resource allocation fully support the academic, instructional and facility needs of the school? Please provide an example • Does the budget plan envision major capital or investment needs in the future? If so, please describe • If major capital would be needed in the future, who is responsible for fund development? • When is the budget provided to the board? What input, if any, board members provide? Do they ask questions? If so, what types of questions they ask? • How receptive is the managing organization when budget revisions, if any, are requested? Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools 72 • • How often are actual financial reports generated and when are budget variances discussed? Who at the managing organization and school own the budget ensuring that revenues and expenses are in line with the approved budget and adjusted when appropriate? Internal Controls The education corporation maintains appropriate internal controls and procedures The board and staff: • follow a set of comprehensive written fiscal policies and procedures; • accurately record and appropriately document transactions in accordance with management’s direction, laws, regulations, grants and contracts; • safeguard assets; • identify/analyzes risks and take mitigating actions; • have controls in place to ensure that management decisions are properly carried out and monitor and assess controls to ensure their adequacy; • adhere to a code of ethics; • ensure duties are appropriately segregated, or institutes compensating controls; • ensure that employees performing financial functions are appropriately qualified and adequately trained; • have systems in place to provide the appropriate information needed by staff and the board to make sound financial decisions and to fulfill compliance requirements; • review grant agreements and restrictive gifts and monitor compliance with all stated conditions; • prepare payroll according to appropriate state and federal regulations and school policy; • ensure that employees, trustees and volunteers who handle cash and investments are bonded to help assure the safeguarding of assets; and • take corrective action in a timely manner to address any internal control or compliance deficiencies identified by its external auditor, Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools 73 • • • • • • • the Institute, and/or the State Education Department or the Comptroller, if needed How often are the written fiscal policies and procedures updated or revised? Who is responsible for accounting entries, payroll, supply and procurement, capital asset purchase, and grant agreements? If this is done at the school level, what types of checks and balances does the managing organization / school perform and how often? Who is responsible to accounts receivables, account payables, grant funds, and bank reconciliation? Are they properly trained to these types of work? What kind of monitoring and checks and balances are in place to ensure that there is sufficient serration of duties (to prevent abuse)? Who has check-writing authority, school credit cards and school paid cellular phones? Who has oversight of the use of these? Who is responsible for generating variance reports? Who is charged with resolving or addressing the variances? How often are variances discussed with the board? Have there ever been any audit findings? If yes, how were these deficiencies addressed and what structural or staffing changes were made to ensure that these incidents not occur again? When is cash from students/parents collected at the school and how often does this occur? Who handles the cash? What is the policy for deposit making – is that done at the managing organization level, or by the schools? Financial Reporting The education corporation has complied with financial reporting requirements by providing the SUNY Trustees and the State Education Department with required financial reports that are on time, complete and follow generally accepted accounting principles • The school has complied with financial reporting requirements by providing the SUNY Trustees and the SED with the required Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools 74 • • financial reports on time, complete and follow generally accepted accounting reports Who is responsible for generating annual budgets, quarterly financial reports, annual audited financial reports, and grant expenditure reports (and single audit reports and 990 forms?) Are these reports delivered on time? Financial Condition The education corporation maintains adequate financial resources to ensure stable operations Critical financial needs of the school(s) are not dependent on variable income (income from other schools, grants, donations and fundraising) The education corporation: • maintains sufficient cash on hand to pay current bills and those that are due shortly; • maintains adequate liquid reserves to fund expenses in the event of income loss (generally three months); • prepares and monitors cash flow projections; • monitors progress toward its development goals on a periodic basis (if it includes philanthropy in its budget); • pursues district state aid intercepts with the state education department to ensure adequate per pupil funding (if necessary); • ensures that each school accumulates unrestricted net assets that are equal to or exceed two percent of the school's operating budget for the upcoming year • The school maintains adequate financial resources to ensure stable operations • What is the school’s policy in terms of cash on hand and reserves? • Are cash flows monitored? How? • Where does the school invest its cash? • If fund development and philanthropy is part of the school’s budget, who is responsible for fund development and monitoring? Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools 75 Fiscal & Facility Plans The education corporation provides a reasonable, feasible and achievable fiscal plan including plans for an adequate facility The education corporation’s budgets adequately support staffing, enrollment and facility projections Fiscal plans are based on the sound use of financial resources to support academic program needs Fiscal plans are clear, accurate, complete and based on reasonable assumptions Information on enrollment demand provides clear evidence for the reasonableness of projected enrollment Facility plans are likely to meet educational program needs If applicable, the education corporation provides a comprehensive capital plan and corresponding sources of funding • The school provides reasonable, feasible and achievable fiscal plans including plans for an adequate facility • Does the school’s five-year budget plan show conservative per pupil revenues that are consistent with projected enrollment, adequate staffing and reasonable pay increases? • Is the staffing level supportive of the academic goals of the school? • Are the projected enrollment reflective of past enrollment patterns and current demographics? • What are the facility needs of the school to meet the educational program needs? • Are increased facility costs reflected in the budget? Are the facility cost assumptions realistic? • Is the five-year budget plan sustainable, feasible and achievable? How so? What are the biggest financial risks to the school? Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools 76 Classroom Observation Form Purpose: To enable observers to summarize classroom practices as evidence for the Pedagogy Renewal Benchmark To supply quantifiable ratings across classes based on documented evidence To gather qualitative evidence that provides additional evidence to inform the visit team’s findings The visit team seeks to identify trends across the school, not to provide information on the effectiveness of specific classroom practices or individual teachers Team members not provide feedback to individual teachers or share evidence with any other school personnel The observation form is a tool for collection evidence on program implementation , the availability of resources and additional data on school practice and operations The observation form aligns with the indicators in the SUNY Renewal Benchmarks that reflect a range of effective practices It is not expected that the classroom visitor would see all of these indicators The tool serves as a resource for the visit team to identify and explain practices that are characteristic of each individual school Guidance for Team Members Complete the information at the top of the form and provide a brief description of the lesson, including the topic and/or lesson objective, agenda, and other relevant information, as well as a description of student and teacher activity Spend approximately 17 of a 20-minute class visit documenting evidence (what you see and what you hear) within each of the boxes to the right of the indicators Capture teacher directions, questions, student responses and student-to-student interactions In addition, capture other evidence that may be present in the classroom (evidence from the board, anchor charts, artifacts of student work, classroom culture-building tools or routines, etc.) Spend the remaining time reviewing evidence captured on the tool Using your professional judgment, make a determination whether you agree or disagree that the practice described in bold text has been observed or not observed Keep in mind that not every bulleted descriptor need be observed in order to agree that the practice is in place It may be that the teacher and/or students successfully utilize one strategy or approach to demonstrate the practice in question Ensure that all evidence has been captured and that the tool is completed in its entirety prior to leaving the classroom Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools 77 School: Date: _ Number of Students: _ Number of Adults: Subject / Grade Level: Observer Initials: Start Time: End Time: Teacher Name: Pedagogy (1D) Description of the lesson: Evaluation of the lesson: Note whether you agree or disagree that the indicator in bold type has been observed by circling one option Teachers deliver purposeful lessons with clear objectives aligned to the school’s curriculum CHECK LESSON PLAN • The teacher communicates clear learning objectives Evidence: • The learning objectives build on students’ previous skill and knowledge • The teacher presents concepts with accuracy in clear and age-appropriate terms • Lesson activities are purposeful and align with the stated objective(s) • If co-teaching: teachers have clear roles in helping students reach lesson objective(s) Teachers regularly and effectively use techniques to check for student understanding • The teacher uses questioning techniques to gauge knowledge and understanding Evidence: Agree Disagree Agree Disagree Agree Disagree Agree Disagree across the class • The teacher monitors students’ responses and written work during the course of a lesson and adjusts instruction as appropriate • The teacher uses techniques to evaluate learning at the end of a lesson Teachers include opportunities in their lessons to challenge students with questions and activities that develop depth of understanding and higher-order thinking and problem solving skills • The teacher challenges students to defend and elaborate on their answers • Students actively interact with peers when engaging in learning activities • Students examine, analyze, interpret and summarize information • Students apply presented concepts to real-life situations • Students use new knowledge and skills to investigate open-ended problems • Assigned student work challenges students to engage in higher-order thinking Teachers maximize learning time; transitions are efficient • The teacher uses appropriate pacing • The teacher minimizes transition time • The teacher is prepared; materials are readily available • Teacher communicates a sense of urgency for learning • The teacher uses effective techniques to focus students’ attention on lesson activities Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools Evidence: Evidence: 78 Teachers have effective classroom management techniques and routines that create a consistent focus on academic achievement • The teacher clearly communicates behavioral expectations, class rules and procedures Evidence: • The teacher provides clear directions to students • The teacher anticipates and redirects misbehavior • Students behave according to rules and expectations Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools 79 Agree Disagree SCHOOL EVALUATION/RENEWAL VISIT CHECKLIST FOR SCHOOL LEADERS The following checklist is designed to help school leaders adequately prepare for school evaluation visits conducted by the Charter Schools Institute At Least Four to Six Weeks Prior to the School Evaluation/Renewal Visit  Share information with the school’s board, staff, students and parents regarding the school evaluation visit  Lead the school in preparing the requested materials for the visit as detailed on pages 3-7 of the Institute’s “Charter School Evaluation Guide for School Leaders.” Submit the following documents:  Staff Directory  Teacher Roster & Certification (Template Included)  Organization Chart  Teacher Schedules (including subjects, times, locations, and explanatory key if unclear)  Assessment List and Calendar  Professional Development Calendar and Rationale  Once documents are submitted, work with Team Leader to clarify any uncertainties Institute staff have regarding Pre-Visit Documents Two Weeks before the Visit  Work with the Visit Team Leader to plan for the school evaluation visit, including the development of a schedule for the visit One Week before the Visit  Speak with the Visit Team Leader by telephone to review and finalize the visit schedule and discuss school materials and documents  Secure a room that is both private and secure where the visit team may meet for discussions and leave materials without interruption during the course of the school evaluation visit The Day before the Visit  Ensure that the requested material is available, organized and clearly labeled in the team’s private meeting space     Map of School Supporting Curriculum Documents ( e.g., curriculum maps, scope and sequences) Copies of Lesson Plans (for day(s) of the visit) Assessment Documents (e.g., sample assessments, data collection and analysis systems) Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools 80  Student Work (whole class sets for at least English language arts and mathematics)  Professional Development (sample program evidence)  Evaluations (teachers, administrators, school leaders, board, management company/organization, partner organizations) Please be prepared to provide additional documents based upon the inspection team’s review of materials  Inform teachers that they should have lesson plans, grade books and related documents, as well as artifacts of student work available for inspection In addition, inform all teachers that the team may also visit their classes unannounced and request to speak to them  Make teachers aware that, because of the limited amount of time for the visit, the team may not be able to spend time in each class  Finally, please ensure that teachers understand that the inspection team is not there to evaluate or provide feedback to each individual teacher and that staff names are not included in the school evaluation report  If necessary, inform custodians, security and other relevant personnel about the arrival and/or departure of the evaluation team before or after regular school hours During the Visit  Provide names of, or preferably menus from, nearby restaurants that deliver Please note that members of the inspection team will pay for lunch; the school should not provide food or beverages for team members during the school evaluation visit  Ensure that the team’s meeting room remains private and all requested documents are available and clearly labeled As needed, provide a power strip and/or extension cords to power laptop computers  Make yourself available to the team leader and other members of the team throughout the visit to ensure the inspection team has the chance to gather as much information about the school’s program and accomplishments as possible Assist the team in securing data, information and documents as needs develop during the visit  Attend an end-of-visit meeting to listen to the team’s preliminary visit conclusions and discuss next steps in the evaluation process It is left to the discretion of the school leader to decide which school stakeholders attend this meeting Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools 81 ... accountability in which schools are held accountable for meeting measurable student achievement results Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE HANDBOOK. .. Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools (? ?Handbook? ??) provides guidance for conducting renewal reviews of replicated charter schools Because of the overlap in the procedures and evidence collection for. .. differentiated practice for replicated schools provides another Charter Schools Institute Renewal Handbook for Replicated Schools dimension besides success at meeting Accountability Plan goals,