TO:	EMSC Committee
FROM:	John B. King, Jr.
SUBJECT:	Charter Schools: Proposed Charter for Imagine Me Leadership Charter School
DATE:	January 5, 2010
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1 and 2
AUTHORIZATION(S):

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Decision

Should the Regents approve and issue the proposed charter for Imagine Me Leadership Charter School (New York City)?

Background Information

We have received a proposed charter from the Chancellor of the city school district of the City of New York for the establishment of Imagine Me Leadership Charter School (IMLCS or “the School”).  The School will open on September 7, 2010.  Initially, the School will serve 108 students in grades K – 1 and grow to serve 264 students in grades K – 5.  The School's mission is “to provide a positive, nurturing environment along with an exciting, rigorous, academic and cultural program where boys learn to become responsible citizens, life-long learners and community leaders.”  There is an existing co-educational charter school in the proposed district of location that will provide for girls a substantially equal educational opportunity as that which IMLCS will provide to boys.

The School does not have a management partner.  IMLCS will provide instruction from 8:15 a.m. – 3:45 p.m. for 183 days per academic year.  The School will focus on high academic expectations for students, establishing a strong school culture and building connections to the community.  The School is “committed to [the] creation of a viable education model via synchronization of curricula, learning environments, passionate educators, supplemental programs and best practices with proven success.” 

The New York City Department of Education held a public hearing in CSD 19 on July 27, 2009 regarding this proposed charter application.  No written public comments were made or received. 

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

Recommendation

VOTED: That the Board of Regents approves and issues the charter of the Imagine Me Leadership Charter School as proposed by the Chancellor of the city school district of the City of New York, and issues a provisional charter to it for a term of five years, up through and including January 11, 2015.

Reasons for Recommendation

              (1) The charter school described in the proposed charter meets the requirements set out in Article 56 of the Education Law, and all other applicable laws, rules, and regulations; (2) the applicant can demonstrate the ability to operate the school in an educationally and fiscally sound manner; and (3) approving and issuing the proposed charter 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.

Timetable for Implementation

           The Regents action for the Imagine Me Leadership Charter School is effective         immediately.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York State Education Department

Summary of Proposed Charter

Name of Proposed Charter School:  Imagine Me Leadership Charter School (IMLCS or “the School”)

Address:  818 Schenk Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

Applicant(s):  David K. Brawley and Dr. Ann-Marie Hurt

                             

Anticipated Opening Date:  September 7, 2010

District of Location:  New York City Community School District 19, Brooklyn

 

Charter Entity:  Chancellor of the city school district of the City of New York

Institutional Partner(s):  N/A

Management Partner(s):  N/A

Grades Served:                      2010-2011:  K – 1 

2011-2012:  K – 2

                                                        2012-2013:  K – 3  

2013-2014:  K – 4 

2014-2015:  K – 5 

 

Projected Enrollment:         2010-2011:  108

2011-2012:  144

2012-2013:  180

                                                        2013-2014:  222

2014-2015:  264

 

Proposed Charter Highlights

Applicant(s)

              Co-lead applicant, Mr. David K. Brawley, is the pastor of the St. Paul Community Baptist Church located in East New York.  He also serves as co-chair of East Brooklyn Congregations.  Prior to 2008, he served as Assistant Pastor at St. Paul’s Community Baptist Church.  The applicant is also a contributing author to Healing in Unfavorable Situations, a book of sermons published in 2008.  Presently, Mr. Brawley serves as Vice President of E.D.I.F.Y. Communities of East New York.  This non-profit organization pools resources and charitable contributions for the East New York community.  He is also a community leader for the Economic Development Corporation.  In this capacity, Mr. Brawley works on economic growth issues through church-owned properties.  Mr. Brawley earned an M.A. in Theological Studies from Faith Seminary in Tacoma, Washington.  

              Co-lead applicant, Dr. Ann Marie Hurt, is a teacher at P.S./I.S. 328 in Community School District (CSD) 19.  Dr. Hurt, a licensed podiatrist, teaches sixth grade mathematics and facilitates professional development programs at the school.  She has taught grades one through seven for 12 years.  Dr. Hurt is a member of the P.S./I.S. 328 School Leadership Team and a former case manager for the New York City Department of Social Services.  Dr. Hurt earned a doctor of podiatric medicine from the New York College of Podiatric Medicine in New York City.  She is also a graduate of Howard University where she completed a B.S. degree in zoology. 

Institutional Partner

N/A

Management Partner

             

N/A

Curriculum/Assessment/Instruction

 

• The School will have three key components: high academic expectations, strong school culture, and community connection.   
• The School will provide instruction in each subject in the seven general curriculum areas.  The proposed curriculum is aligned to all 28 New York State (NYS) learning standards. 
• The School has provided evidence that a comparable charter school within the targeted district of location will offer a substantially equal educational opportunity for girls. 
• IMLCS will adopt the Scott Foresman Comprehensive Research-based Reading Series.  The literacy curriculum will be augmented with resources such as Accelerated Reader, America Reads, Voyager Passport, Intensive Care Tutorial, Wee Deliver, and After-school Tutorial. 
• The School will use the Wilson Reading System for struggling readers. 
• Everyday Math will be used in grades K – 5.  The School is researching remedial curricula and programs to build numeracy for at-risk students. 
• Science instruction will be delivered using the McMillan-McGraw Hill Science Series.
• Core Knowledge will anchor the social studies curriculum. 
• Formative assessments will be issued every six weeks.  The School will emphasize the use of data to drive instruction.  Teachers will receive professional development on the use of student data to modify and target instruction. 
• The School will administer the Early Childhood Literary Assessment System 2, the Developmental Reading Assessment, teacher-created formative assessments, summative assessments, Terra Nova, and all required NYS exams, including the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test.
• The School will administer performance-based assessments, which will include exhibits, demonstrations and presentations, portfolios, and student journals. 
• IMLCS will provide extended day tutoring intended to allow teachers to work closely with individual students.  Assignments to tutoring will be based on student performance on weekly quizzes and monthly assessments.
• The School will educate students with disabilities (SWD) in the least restrictive environment with non-disabled peers, to the extent allowed by each individualized education plan.  The School will also utilize a structured immersion approach for English language learners (ELL). 
• The School proposes to contract out for related services such as speech-language, occupational and physical therapy. 
• The School proposes a 183-day instructional year. 
• The School will provide instruction from 8:15 a.m. – 3:45 p.m. on Monday through Thursday.  Professional development sessions will be held on Fridays, as students transition to enrichment activities at 1:15 p.m.

 

Governance

 

• The number of Trustees shall not be fewer than five and shall not exceed 13.  One seat will be reserved for the parent and/or guardian of an enrolled student.
• Trustees will serve “fully renewable, staggered terms to ensure smooth transition of responsibility.” 
• The officers of the corporation will be chairperson, vice chairperson, secretary and treasurer.  No person may hold more than one position.
• No more than 40 percent of trustees will be affiliated with the School as a compensated employee or contractor or with any other single entity; and such persons will not serve as chair or treasurer of the Board. 
• Regular meetings of the board of trustees shall be held no less than ten times each year. 
• The initial standing committees of the board of trustees shall be executive, finance and fundraising.

 

Students

 

• IMLCS will serve 108 students in grades K – 1 in the first year of instruction and will grow to serve 264 students in grades K – 5 in its fifth year of operation. 
• IMLCS will enroll 54 students per grade in its first year of instruction.  Each grade will have three classes of 18 students.
• The School anticipates that students will range in age from five to 11.   
• The School expects the student body to reflect the population of the target community, which is projected at 53 percent Black, 39 percent Hispanic, one percent American Indian, six percent Asian, and one percent White.  Ninety-six percent of the area public school children participated in the federal free/reduced lunch program in 2007-2008.
• The School expects to enroll approximately 13 percent ELL.
• The School expects to serve approximately 10 percent SWD.
• By staffing each class with two teachers, IMLCS will have an adult-to-student ratio of approximately 1:9 in each class. 
• IMLCS has developed a multi-layered outreach plan designed to target institutions and individuals within CSD 19.  The School will post and distribute flyers, place notices in local newspapers and run radio ads, and attend meetings of various community boards, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, community centers, social service agencies, and Head Start, pre-school and day care centers. 
• The School will conduct open houses or information sessions at Head Start programs, after school programs and youth centers.

 

Budget/Facilities

 

• The School is not seeking incubation space in a New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) facility. 
• IMLCS has identified a facility to lease at 818 Schenck Avenue within the target district of location.  The facility is of sufficient space to meet the projected enrollment and educational demands of the School.
• The School’s facility budget estimates rent expenses of $60,000 in Year One growing to $236,860 in Year Five.  The School asserts that the facility requires no renovations. 
• The School anticipates fundraising and grant support of $5,000 in the first year of the charter. 
• The School’s Year One revenue will be $1,846,276 and $3,815,470 by Year Five. 
• The Year One budget anticipates total expenses of $1,785,567 and $3,134,521 by Year Five. 
• The School anticipates an ending fund balance of $60,709 at the end of Year One and $680,949 at the end of Year Five.
• The School will reserve in an escrow account $70,000 by Year Three, making contributions of $40,000 in Year One, $20,000 in Year Two, and $10,000 in Year Three towards its dissolution fund.
• IMLCS estimates receiving a City of New York Start Up Grant in the amount of $93,228 based on its projected enrollment.
• The School assures 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 Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States.
• The potential fiscal impact upon the District is represented below.  Please note that these projections are based upon several assumptions, which may or may not occur: that all existing charter schools will also exist in the next five years and serve the same grade levels as they do now; that the charter schools will be able to meet their projected maximum enrollment; that all students will come from NYC and no other districts; that all students will attend everyday for a 1.0 FTE; that the District’s budget will increase at the projected rate; that the per pupil payment will increase (and not decrease); and that the per pupil payment will increase at the projected rate.

 

Projected Fiscal Impact of

Imagine Me Leadership Charter School 

(New York City – CSD 19 – Brooklyn)

2010-2011 through 2014-2015

School Year	Number of Students	Projected Payment*	Projected Impact
2010-2011	108	$1,384,128	.0077%
2011-2012	144	$1,900,869	.0102%
2012-2013	180	$2,447,369	.0128%
2013-2014	222	$3,108,974	.0158%
2014-2015	264	$3,808,074	.0188%

* Assumes a 3 percent annual increase in the District’s budget from the base of $18.035 billion in 2010-2011; and a 3 percent annual increase in the average expense per pupil per year from the 2010-2011 rate of $12,816.

 

Personnel

 

• The School will be led by a principal and an executive director. 
• The principal will serve as the instructional leader of the School.  Operations and financial matters will be managed by the executive director. 
• The School will employ the following staff in its first year of instruction: one executive director, one principal, one reading specialist, one office manager, one administrative assistant, six classroom teachers, one specialty teacher, one special education teacher, six teacher aides, one social worker, one security guard, one custodian and one parent liaison. 
• Each classroom will have a lead teacher and a teaching assistant. 
• IMLCS teachers will attend a two-week orientation and professional development seminar each summer. 
• Professional development during the year will be framed based on two sources of information: student achievement data and classroom observations.  Teachers will receive two hours of professional development each Friday from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• The School has set five first year professional development priorities: creating a strong school culture, understanding the learning styles of boys, using best practices, using data to drive instruction, and creating activity-based lesson plans. 

 

Community Support

 

• The School provided 114 signatures of parents, with children eligible to enroll in grades K-1, who have expressed interest in IMLCS. 
• The School has also received fourteen letters of support from the following community organizations and leaders: ­­­­­ Vanda Seward, Executive Director ComALERT, Office of the District Attorney, Kings County; Deborah C. Wright, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Carver Federal Savings Bank; Seth Edwards, Vice President of Community Relations, JP Morgan Chase; Walter Campbell, District Manager, Community Board #5; Winchester Key, President and CEO, East New York Urban Youth Corps; Sherrie A. Walker, After School Director, The Salvation Army; Jose Castelo, Proprietor, Stanley Restaurant Corporation; Thomas Urena, Vice President, Lindenwood Diner; Michelle Edwards, Office Administrator, Family Medical Practice; Alma C. Summors, parent; Sandra Livingston, community resident; Charles Hynes, District Attorney, Kings County; Eric L. Adams, State Senator representing the 20th Senatorial District; and, from Congressman Edolphus Towns, House of Representatives, Congress of the United States.

 

Public Opinion

 

• NYC DOE mailed a letter and posted a notice on its website, notifying the public and independent schools in CSD 19 of the proposed application for Imagine Me Leadership Charter School and inviting comments at a public hearing. 
• NYC DOE held a public hearing in CSD 19 on July 27, 2009 regarding the application.  No written public comments were made or received.