Writers Webinar #3Writers Webinar #3Education Section

Mary Carmichael, Executive DirectorMary Carmichael, Executive Director

Mary.Carmichael@SCCharterSchools.orgMary.Carmichael@SCCharterSchools.org

Steps in Developing a Charter School

What are the needs in your

community?

How does your proposed public

charter school bring a high quality solution

to the table to address those needs?

How will you know you are advancing

your mission – meeting needs in

your community and creating impact?

Education Section: Move from Vision to How What does the first day of school look

like? What does the school look like at year 5? What are the students accomplishing? Articulate how this school is going to

create change in the lives of children.

Remember the PURPOSE OF THE SC CHARTER SCHOOL ACT:

Purpose.  This chapter is enacted to: (1) improve student learning; (2) increase learning opportunities for

students; (3) encourage the use of a variety of

productive teaching methods; (4) establish new forms of accountability for

schools; (5) create new professional opportunities for

teachers, including the opportunity to be responsible for the learning program at the school site; and

(6) assist South Carolina in reaching academic excellence.

Educational Program

Goals, Objectives, Pupil Achievement Standards, and Curriculum

This is the bulk of your writing. This needs to be research based and documented with

resources just like a research paper. This is the piece you want to sell other supporters in your

community on. Do you have an Education Committee for your planning

group? Professors, educators, curriculum specialists, etc…They need to be meeting on this section.

Keep track of all of the resources your are using. Develop a system for saving files, scanned copies, copy and pasting, etc…

Keep notes on who you are talking to and what they recommend – Are they a well respected expert on your unique focus. Quote them in your application stating the need for this in your area of the state.

Create Cultural Consistency

Target student population Curriculum Instructional strategies Big picture long term overarching goals with

measurable short term objectives! Culture – Values and Beliefs

This will be the “cookbook” for the staff and faculty to implement your

vision.

From Regs:(D) Educational Program, Goals, Objectives, Pupil Achievement Standards, and Curriculum

The charter school's educational program, goals, objectives, pupil achievement standards, and curriculum must be clearly described in the application and must meet or exceed any student academic standards adopted by the school district in which the charter school is located. The application must demonstrate that the educational program is designed to enable each student to achieve these standards.

From Regs:(D) Educational Program, Goals, Objectives, Pupil Achievement Standards, and Curriculum

(1) The goals and objectives must be clearly stated and must provide enough detail to indicate specific outcomes.

(3) The educational goals must reflect the school's mission statement.

(4) Strategies to accomplish the educational goals must be included.

From Regs:(D) Educational Program, Goals, Objectives, Pupil Achievement Standards, and Curriculum

(2) The student population must be identified by grade level, unique educational needs, and projected enrollment. A converted charter school must offer the same grades, or nongraded education appropriate for the same ages and education levels of pupils, as offered by the school immediately before conversion and may also provide additional grades and further educational offerings.

(5) The school calendar must be at least 180 instructional days.

(6) Academic standards must identify what students will achieve at each grade level and must meet or exceed the South Carolina curriculum standards, as adopted by the State Board of Education. A correlation or other documentation must be included or process identified to ensure that the school will provide an instructional program that meets or exceeds the academic standards.  

(7) If the charter school plans to offer the South Carolina State High School Diploma, the application must set forth the method for meeting the state requirements for the High School Diploma, including, but not limited to, course unit requirements, seat time for Carnegie Units, as applicable, and passage of the required examinations.

From Regs:(D) Educational Program, Goals, Objectives, Pupil Achievement Standards, and Curriculum

(9) The application must include an explanation as to how the school will comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

From Regs:(D) Educational Program, Goals, Objectives, Pupil Achievement Standards, and Curriculum

(8) Provisions must be included for determining if all students are achieving or attaining the standards, including the methods by which student performance information will be gathered and monitored.  

(E) Student Assessment

The application must include a description of the charter school's plan for evaluating pupil achievement and progress toward accomplishment of the school's achievement standards . The school's evaluation plan must include state-mandated assessments and other assessments as well as the timeline for meeting these standards and the procedures to be taken if pupil achievement falls below the standards.

(1) Methods for evaluating pupil achievement at each grade level must be specified. These methods must include but should not be limited to the state assessments.

(2) The timeline must identify the expected yearly progress toward meeting the school's long-term performance goals.  The expected yearly progress must meet or exceed the expectation of adequate yearly progress as established in the No Child Left Behind Act.

(3) Provisions must be included to address the needs of students who do not perform at acceptable levels of proficiency in the statewide assessment program.

Goals, Objectives, and Strategies

Mission

Goal 1 Goal 2 Goal 3Objective 1.1 Objective 2.1 Objective 3.1

Objective 1.1 Objective 2.1 Objective 3.1

Objective 1.1 Objective 3.1

Strategies to reach these goals and objectives

may be tied to each objective or all of them.

Objectives are tied with the Assessment Section How you are going to collect and analyze this

data. How much of your budget will this cost? Most of you are not social scientists and funders actually do recognize that…think

Your objectives are tools to help you measure your progress towards your goals and ultimately your organization’s mission. They are your bragging rights – design objectives that work for your individual organization

Student Assessment

This is where you demonstrate how your goals and objectives will be measured.

Spend real time investigating how you want to measure student achievement at your school. This is not a section you want to copy and paste from someone else.

Will you use both standardized tests and authentic forms of assessment?

NCLB PLAN http://ed.sc.gov/agency/accountability/Federal-and-State-Accountability/old/fp/title_i/documents/SouthCarolinaAccountabilityPlan.doc

Make sure this section aligns with the rest of your application and your budget.

Academic AssistanceHow are you going to meet the needs of all students?

Detail the procedures to identify, diagnose/assess, and address the needs of students who do not perform at acceptable levels of proficiency in the statewide assessment program.

Describe how the school will define “acceptable,” which data sources will be examined to determine when students have not met an acceptable standard, and what strategies will be used to remediate those students not meeting “acceptable” standards.

Alignment in Application

Next steps -Formulate a Road Map – stick to deadlines to get a 200 to 400 page document turned in by May 2012.

Make a comprehensive list with who and when

1. 2. 3.

Who is going to help get this done?

Who is my sponsor?

You can be sponsored by a local school district or the SC Public Charter School District.

Public Charter School Alliance

of SC

SC Dept of Education

Framework for Success

PCSASC Charter Incubator

Supports High Capacity Planning Groups and Future School Leaders in Developing a High Performing Public Charter School.

Tailored to meet the unique needs of each group.

Priorities will be given to areas of the greatest needs and to groups with the capacity to create real and lasting change in their community.

Questions You Have

Mary.carmichael@sccharterschools.orgMary.carmichael@sccharterschools.org

Remember, Charter Schools:• are public schools. • are free. • do not have admissions tests or other

barriers to entrance.• are financially accountable non-profit

corporations.• have autonomy from their school district.• & bring innovation and resources into the

classroom where they belong.