Meeting of the Board of Regents | April 2009

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

 

TO:
FROM:	Johanna Duncan-Poitier
SUBJECT:	Charter Schools: Proposed First  Renewal Charter for the KIPP Tech Valley Charter School
DATE:	April 7, 2009
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1 and 2
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Decision

 

Should the Regents approve the staff’s recommendation concerning the proposed first renewal charter for the KIPP Tech Valley Charter School (Albany)? 

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

 

              Required by State statute, Education Law §2852.

 

Proposed Handling

 

This question will come before the EMSC Committee in April 2009 for action.  It will then come before the full Board for final action in April 2009.

 

Procedural History

 

The New York Charter Schools Act of 1998 requires the Board of Regents to review, in accordance with the standards set forth in Education Law §2852(2), proposed charters, renewal charters and revisions to charters and renewal charters that have been approved and submitted by other charter entities.   

 

       The Board of Regents (the “Board”) must act on a proposed renewal charter submitted by the Trustees of the State University of New York (“SUNY”) within 90 days of its submission or the proposed renewal charter will be deemed to have been approved and issued by operation of law at the expiration of that period.

 

If the Board chooses to return the proposed renewal charter to SUNY with comments and recommendations, SUNY must reconsider the proposed renewal charter, taking into consideration the comments and recommendations of the Board.  SUNY may resubmit the proposed renewal charter to the Board without modification, resubmit the proposed renewal charter with modifications agreed to by the applicant in writing, or abandon the proposed renewal charter.

 

The Board of Regents may not vote to return a resubmitted proposed renewal charter to SUNY a second time and the renewal charter will take effect 30 days after resubmission if the Board does not vote to approve it.

 

Background Information

 

We received a request on February 9, 2009 from the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York (“SUNY”) to approve and issue a first renewal charter for the KIPP Tech Valley Charter School (“the School”). SUNY approved the School’s renewal application on January 29, 2009.  The School was granted a five-year initial charter by the Board of Regents on March 23, 2004. SUNY is currently requesting a short term renewal, to run from March 23, 2009 through and including July 31, 2009. The School currently serves 300 students in grades 5-8. 

 

On January 6, 2009, the Albany City School District (“the District”) held the required public hearing on this proposed first renewal charter. One person made a comment that charter schools in general need additional oversight before any renewals are granted or any payment of financial aid is made to the schools. No other comments were made or received.

               

Recommendation

 

              VOTED:  That the Board of Regents approves and issues the first renewal charter of the KIPP Tech Valley Charter School as proposed by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York, and that its provisional charter be extended for a term up through and including July 31, 2009.

 

Reasons for Recommendations

 

              (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 charter school has demonstrated the ability to operate in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; (3) approving the proposed renewal 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 proposed renewal would have a significant educational benefit to the students expected to attend the charter school.

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

The Regents action for the KIPP Tech Valley Charter School is effective immediately.

New York State Education Department

 

Summary of Charter School Renewal Information

 

Summary of Applicant Information

 

 

 

Address:  1 Dudley Heights, Albany, NY 12110

 

Board of Trustees President:  John Reilly

 

Requested Renewal Period:  March 23, 2009- July 31, 2009

 

District of Location:  Albany                                    

 

Charter Entity:  SUNY

 

Institutional Partner(s): KIPP Foundation, Inc

 

Management Partner(s):  None

 

Grades Served per Year:    5-8

 

Projected Enrollment per Year:  300

 

 

Renewal Application Highlights

 

Evidence of Educational Soundness/ Attainment of Educational Objectives

• The KIPP Tech Valley Charter School (“the School”) has shown an increase in the percent of students scoring at Levels 3 and 4 on the State English Language Arts (“ELA”) Assessments. In 2005-2006, 51 percent of grade 5 students scored proficient in ELA. In 2006-07, 40 percent of the grade 5 students and 52 percent of the grade 6 students scored as proficient in ELA.  In 2007-08, 49 percent of grade 5 students, 59 percent of grade 6 students, and 91 percent of grade 7 students scored as proficient in ELA. 
• The School has also shown an increase in the percent of students scoring at Levels 3 and 4 on the State Math Assessments. In 2005-2006, 54 percent of the grade 5 students scored proficient on the Math. In 2006-07, 68 percent of the grade 5 students and 82 percent of the grade 6 students scored as proficient in Math. In 2007-08, 82 percent of the grade 5 students, 94 percent of the grade 6 students, and 100 percent of the grade 7 students scored as proficient in Math.
• In 2005-06 (the School’s initial year of instruction), it outperformed the Albany City School District (“the District”) in grade 5 ELA.  In 2006-07, it outperformed the District in grade 6 ELA, and in grades 5 and 6 math.  In 2007-08, the School outperformed the District in both ELA and math except for grade 5 ELA.
• The School is deemed to have been “In Good Standing” under the State’s NCLB accountability system.
• The School has had a stable administration and Board of Trustees.
• The charter entity assures that all provisions of the School’s initial charter will remain in place during the renewal period.

 

State Assessment Results 2005-06 through 2007-08

School/Grades	2005-06				2006-07				2007-08
KIPP TV	L1	L2	L3	L4	L1	L2	L3	L4	L1	L2	L3	L4
ELA Grade 5	10	39	51	0	4	56	39	1	4	47	48	1
ELA Grade 6					3	44	51	1	0	41	56	3
ELA Grade 7									0	9	86	5
Albany City
ELA Grade 5	14	40	41	5	11	39	45	5	4	34	58	4
ELA Grade 6					7	48	40	5	4	51	45	1
ELA Grade 7									5	46	48	1
KIPP TV
Math Grade 5	9	37	47	7	1	31	64	4	0	18	66	16
Math Grade 6					0	18	61	21	0	6	78	19
Math Grade 7									0	0	44	56
Albany City
Math Grade 5	19	21	48	12	14	35	43	9	12	30	51	8
Math Grade 6					17	27	47	10	17	25	48	11
Math Grade 7									15	32	41	12

 

 

Evidence of Fiscal Soundness/Projected Fiscal Impact

• The School provided a budget for the renewal period which is fiscally sound.

 

• Projected* Fiscal Impact of the KIPP Tech Valley Charter School

2008-09.

 

School Year	Number of Students	Projected Impact (Percent of Total District Budget)
2008-09	300	1.7%

 

 

*Projection assumes all students will come from the district of location. 

They are subject to fluctuation in actual enrollments and FTE enrollments.

 

Projected* Fiscal Impact of All Charter Schools in Albany

2008-09.

 

School	2008-09
Achievement Academy Charter School	1.70%
Albany Community Charter School	1.47%
Albany Preparatory Charter School	1.70%
Brighter Choice Charter School for Boys	1.13%
Brighter Choice Charter School for Girls	1.13%
Green Tech High Charter School	0.42%
Henry Johnson Charter School	1.13%
KIPP Tech Valley Charter School	1.70%
New Covenant Charter School	3.54%
Total Projected Impact	13.94%

 

*Projection assumes all students will come from the district of location.  They are subject to fluctuation in actual enrollments and FTE enrollments.  The above is calculated using the District’s 2008-09 operating budget and the District’s 2008-09 per pupil cost for charter schools of $11,712.

 

Evidence of Parent and Student Satisfaction and Community Support

• The School was granted a revision to reduce enrollment for the 2008-2009 school year from 360 to 300 on October 11, 2008. 
• The student attrition rate decreased from 19 percent in the 2005-2006 school year to 11 percent in the 2007-2008 school year.
• There was one comment at the January 6, 2009 public hearing. The community member stated that she would need for the charter schools to be more closely monitored and publicly observed in their performance before she could fully support any extensions of contracts or financial aid to them.