The Best, Worst and Funniest of 2010

I admit that I've been influenced by hearing about the best and worst of most everything fro 2010 over the last few days. So I perused blog posts for the last year and this is what I came up with.

Best: It isn't very often that a stellar group of individuals join together to create a new charter school. When they do, and they do everything right, they should (theoretically) sail through the process and open. That didn't happen with Prospect Ridge Academy, a charter applicant that twice had to appeal to the State Board of Education. At the second hearing, the State Board ordered Adams 12 School District to open the new charter school.

The case had several elements that are critical to the charter school philosophy such as the State Board declaring that the district did not have the right to approve charter school staff nor select its financial auditor. Many believe these examples of autonomy, created by the Charter Schools Act of 1993, have been eroded over time as charter leaders have acquiesced to districts demanding more control. The State Board drawing a line in the sand on a handful of issues will have an impact for quite some time.

Worst: Colorado had two failed attempts at the federal Race to the Top grant competition. It's important to note that on the section of the grant application relating to charter schools, the state received 100% of the possible points. Colorado clearly has a national reputation for being charter-friendly. Statutory provisions such as multiple authorizers, automatic waivers, employee autonomy and financial autonomy are just some of the reasons Colorado has a strong charter school law. The Race to the Top process didn't honor states that were truly innovative and instead encouraged states to lift their caps or pass new charter school laws, measures that do not have lasting effect because there wasn't a foundation to support the measures -- only a short-lived incentive that meant nothing to the states.

Funniest: I've milked the "Kermit" story for almost an entire year. Almost every time I've seen Tony Fontana, the Executive Principal at Peak to Peak Charter School in Lafayette, I've found a way to remind him of the Kermit story. Last January we were in an administrator's meeting in Longmont when Tony took a call on his cell phone and then left the meeting to run back to his school. There was a security alert due to an abandoned duffel bag in the parking lot. After law enforcement shut down the perimeter of the parking lot and school was called off, oh and the news helicopters captured the suspicious duffel bag from the air, it was determined that the suspicious item was actually Kermit the Frog. Kermit belonged to a teacher at the school and students had taken it (as a prank) and then didn't have any way to "return" it. Hence, a situation that could only be attributed to teenagers without all of their brain cells fully developed. And of course, many opportunities to tease people about the "dangers" of Kermit the Frog.

Happy New Year everyone!

The Growth of Management Company-Operated Charter Schools

In 2004, there were only 10% of charter schools operating with a contract for services provided by a management company. In 2009 that had grown to 25%. (National Charter School Resource Project)

There are two types of management companies: for profit and not-for-profit. Even the not-for-profit companies still need to be able to pay for central administrative costs, buildings and future growth from proceeds derived from the management agreement.

Colorado's charter school movement grew largely through grassroots efforts. Conversely, across the country many states have a charter school community that's operated predominantly by management companies. Only a handful of companies operate in Colorado, including Imagine, Inc., White Hat Management, Edison Schools, Mosaica Education, Inc., and National Heritage Academies.

Management companies operate public charter schools via a written performance agreement with the charter school governing board. In the past, some management companies have recruited and selected board members they believe will agree to everything proposed by the management company. Imagine's founder, Dennis Bakke, received media attention when an email he wrote about this very subject was revealed.

Colorado sample contract language has an attachment with provisions for management companies (or Education Service Providers) and charter school boards to consider before reaching a final agreement. Districts can use this list of provisions as a way to ensure transparency and fairness. For example, one of the provisions is that both the management company and charter school board have separate legal counsel representing them in negotiating the agreement.

There will continue to be an increase in the number of charter schools operated by charter schools, both nationwide and in Colorado. For companies that have found the "magic formula" and have both academic and financial success in the venture, it only makes sense. It's wise for potential charter school authorizers to do their homework before authorizing a new school that will be operated by a management company, however.

A Tale of Two Cities

While the City of Englewood is trying to help a new charter school get land for a building, the City of Broomfield is fighting the opening of a new charter school within their boundaries.

Ben Franklin Academy wants to build a new facility on land at Lucent Blvd and C-470 in Douglas County. The land is owned by the City of Englewood. The city originally purchased the land as a part of it's long-term planning for a water reservoir.

Contrast this effort with the City of Broomfield that is fighting the location of a new charter school, Prospect Ridge Academy, by taking its opposition to the Adams 12 Five Star School District. On Wednesday night, the school board will hear the city's claims that the charter school should not be located within its boundaries. The City of Broomfield doesn't have a charter school currently.

As public schools, charter schools receive a certificate of occupancy through the Colo. Dept of Labor, the same as all public schools. If a municipality disagrees with a charter school site plan, the municipality can take that issue back to the charter school authorizer's board for reconsideration. It's not uncommon for there to be disagreements on the details within a site plan, but this is the first time a city has said they don't want any charter school within their boundaries.

Ben Franklin Academy was unanimously approved by the Douglas County Board of Education in November and plans to open a Core Knowledge school in the fall. The school will begin with grades K-6 and grow through eighth grade. A developer from Utah plans to construct a facility for the new charter school.

Prospect Ridge also plans to use Core Knowledge, but will extend through twelfth grade and have a focus on math, science and technology. Prospect Ridge had to appeal to the State Board of Education earlier this year in order to get the right to open their school.

Update: Boulder Daily Camera article

State Advisory Committee Considers LEA Status for CSI Charter Schools

The SB 111 advisory committee met for the last time today before providing the General Assembly with a report next month containing recommendations related to Charter School Institute (CSI) schools becoming their own Local Education Agency (LEA) for purposes of either Special Education funding (IDEA, Part B) or entitlement programs (No Child Left Behind).

The committee decided to recommend that CSI schools at least be given the opportunity to ask the CSI board to do their own Special Education services, but only after demonstrating they have the capacity to do it. This will probably be via contracting with a Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) in a manner comparable to small school districts in the state. The agreement with a BOCES would need to transfer liability from CSI to the individual charter school in order for it to be approved.

In regard to entitlement programs, the committee agreed that managing the federal programs would probably be a greater burden than it would be worth. Individual charter schools would need to be substantially familiar with numerous federal requirements and the amount of money received from most of the programs would be a marginal amount. The additional burden on CSI charter schools would be prohibitive in comparison to the benefits.

Patricia Hayes, chair of the SB 111 committee, distributed an initial draft of the committee report and the recommendations were each discussed. The committee did a great deal of research and had lots of discussion on the specific issues. Two of the largest CSI schools were a part of the discussion and expressed concern about the burden associated with the federal programs.

Statute requires the report to be delivered to the House and Senate Education Committees by January 15th.

Blended or Hybrid?

There is a broad array of online educational options for students. The type of online education delivery models has changed as school leaders realize that most students, particularly at-risk students, do better with a combination of online learning and meeting face-to-face with a teacher. People call this either blended or hybrid learning and there hasn't been a strong preference for either term nationally.


In Colorado, hybrid/blended schools cannot get funding to operate. The School Finance statute and state board rule do not permit schools to use the blended approach. Colorado law allows online schools to use a "learning center," meaning a regular location that students attend where instruction is delivered online and the school has gained the approval of the school districts in which the learning centers are located. However, to establish a student's schedule with both online and regular hours with a teacher isn't permissible under the law.


Across the nation, policy makers are wrestling with how to fund online students. Colorado's system relies on a annual count day (October 1) to establish funding for the entire year. Online students need to sign on their computer's online program numerous times within the "count window" in order to be counted. Further, teachers must document time on the phone with students and any virtual classes they conduct.


As the use of technology increases, and students become more adept at newer technologies, watch for policy makers to address the issue of blended or hybrid learning.

A Blue Ribbon School

The rural, consolidated school I attended Kindergarten through twelfth grade has been named a national Blue Ribbon School. In fact, it's the only school in North Dakota to receive the recognition this year. Barnes County North - North Central campus is a 2010 Blue Ribbon School.

It's because of my own experience at this school that I'm such a big fan of K-12 schools. Education is about a community where all students are valued rather than being sent to large, segmented schools. The school is the community center and folks without kids in the school attend sporting events and concerts.

North Central opened in 1963, in the middle of what was previously farm land, as a consolidation of several small town schools in the area. When I was younger the school seemed huge, but after having returned a handful of times since high school graduation, it is in no way a large school. There is a wing for elementary and a wing for the secondary school. When I was in school it averaged around 200 students K-12. Attendance has since dropped significantly as many farming families move out of the area.

I can't say I got a great education at North Central. I didn't have to take math beyond Algebra I and I spent most of my Senior year playing cards with my friends. But people in the area say it's improved dramatically and there is a much greater emphasis upon attending college. In recent years almost the entire graduating class goes on to at least a two-year college. Some of the teachers at North Central attended there themselves.

In today's age, it may seem odd that students attend the same school for 13 years. A good deal of North Central's students attend only that one school. It's a close-knit community with life-long friendships. It has two key elements to school success: small school atmosphere and every student is known.

Charter School Accountability

Like all public schools, charter schools in Colorado are accountable through the same state accountability system. Across the state, schools are creating their first Unified Improvement Plan (UIP) based on the data in their School Performance Framework. Much more detail is on the SchoolView website.

The UIP process involves senior leadership at the school. This includes the principal, curriculum director, lead teachers, deans and/or others deemed vital to the discussion. The first step is to take a critical look at what the school's data shows. This in-depth examination goes beyond CSAP or ACT data. Schools are encouraged to collect parent satisfaction data, volunteer hours, staff surveys and any other data that provides an important piece in examining how the school can improve. Every school's data story is different.

Then the leadership team examines why the data says what it does. This does NOT include any "kid reasons" such as high poverty or lack of parental support. This is all about what are the adult influences on student academic achievement. The state process calls this the "root cause analysis."

The strategies decided on by the team are directly tied to the root cause. The question is, "How can adults improve the situation in order to improve academic achievement?"

UIPs for all public schools receiving either a Turnaround or Priority Improvement Accreditation rating must be completed using the state's UIP template. For all other schools this year, the UIP template is optional, but highly encouraged. These plans must all be submitted, via the school district, to the state by January 15, 2011. Some districts already had their schools submit UIPs and others are due in December. This allows the school district to review the plans before they're submitted to the state in January.

Many federal and state programs have agreed that the UIP will serve a wide range of purposes, thereby eliminating the need for schools or districts to write multiple plans. The UIP suffices for Title I, School Improvement, Title IID, and Accreditation.

Several of the charter schools have reported that the UIP process has been extremely helpful for their school. One even called it a great bonding experience for their staff as they all worked together to analyze the data and create strategies for improvement.

Other charter schools have reported a severe lack of communication with their district and haven't received their SPF in a timely manner and have had very short notice for UIP deadlines. Further, because the public schools in Turnaround begin a 5-year path to closure or transformation if they don't improve, these UIPs are very high stakes! This is the first year the state has used this new accountability system and many of the kinks in the system are being worked out during the process. Undoubtedly, the entire process will be better next year. In the meantime, there are several charter schools concerned about expectations for them as they begin this journey.

Sporcle!

There's a fun website that has become my latest addiction: sporcle.com It has trivia quizzes in a wide variety of categories. It'd be great for teachers to use for either enrichment or remediation. For instance, one game has the user name each of the states.

Every day new quizzes are added. But since all the other ones are archived, there's always a quiz worth taking. Of course, racing against the digital clock is another "hook" for competitive types!

A Step Back in Time

Last week I attended a charter school application hearing in the Thompson School District that felt like a time warp back 15 years. District (union) staff were there to speak against the charter school application and they cited old myths as their reason for not wanting a charter school. Myths that most of the state agreed 15 years ago were no longer valid.

The Thompson School District has one charter school: New Vision Charter School that is a Core Knowledge school serving grades K-8.

The school currently being proposed in Thompson is called Loveland Classical Schools (LCS) and would be a K-12 Core Knowledge school with an emphasis on classical education and modeled after the successful Ridgeview Classical Schools in Fort Collins. It came out during public testimony that all of the founders of Ridgeview came from Loveland after board members at the time (2000) told applicants they wouldn't support a charter school. Currently 126 Thompson students attend Ridgeview Classical Schools (RCS).

A couple of district staff members spoke about bad charter schools they had been associated with previously. An RCS math teacher spoke after them and said, "We agree that not all charter schools are good. But LCS isn't trying to model after one of those. LCS is trying to model after a successful charter school (RCS)."

Almost every Thompson school board member asked the charter school developers to work with them on a school-within-a-school or an Innovation School instead of the charter. One board member even stated, "We have experience in so many areas (of education) and we do it every day." The comment was apparently disparaging the capacity of parents to create a new charter school and provide a successful educational program. LCS founders cited the lack of a guarantee for longevity of the classical educational program if it were operated by the district and a concern that the classical educational philosophy would be implemented with fidelity.

The charter school application was denied on a 7-0 vote after an approximately two hour hearing, the third of such hearings in the district. Two days later LCS founders filed a motion to appeal the decision to the State Board of Education for hearing. According to statute, the State Board must hear the appeal within 60 days.

Students & Teacher Learn Together in Their Battles with Cancer

Woodrow Wilson Academy science teacher, John Wright, was diagnosed with T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia in August. In addition to dealing with the news and the impact on his wife and four children, Mr. Wright had to tell his students. A teacher motivated by pouring himself into his student's lives, Mr. Wright had to adjust to not being in the classroom this year and not having regular contact with his students.

The Woodrow Wilson Academy community drew together to support Mr. Wright and his family. This isn't the first time WWA families have supported one of their own undergoing a difficult time. As noted in this story and video, two students have or had leukemia, too.

A couple of weeks ago the WWA community hosted a Wildcat Walk for the Wright Cause to raise funds for the Wright family. Several hundred people showed up to walk the bike path behind the charter school. In addition, students conducted a bake sale that brought in more than was originally anticipated.

Done Waiting

At the end of the Waiting for "Superman" movie people get information on what they can do about the lack of good schools in the country. The Waiting for "Superman" website has a Take Action button for parents, teachers and the general public.

After getting the facts about public education, and seeing the impact on the lives of several students, movie viewers are given the opportunity to conduct further research and then get involved. The website encourages users to get involved by supporting great teachers, speaking with school board members, and ultimately, speaking up.

As a way of activating these angry movie goers, the organization "Done Waiting" has begun to collect names and email addresses in order to mobilize a grassroots coalition. Done Waiting is advertising on Facebook and other social media networks.

If you haven't already seen Waiting for "Superman" -- go! And then get involved in improving public education!

Groff Says Charter Schools Make Do With Less

Peter Groff, President of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, told attendees of the Louisiana Charter School Association that charter schools operate with about $2,200 per student less than traditional public schools. He said this disparity, "Should not be tolerated."

In Colorado, about 30% of the per pupil funding used by charter schools goes to facility costs. Traditional public schools have access to bond revenues to fund their capital needs. Moreover, while some school districts share proceeds from mill levy overrides, districts are not required to do so by law.

Formerly Peter Groff served as President of the Colorado Senate and was the 2004 co-sponsor of the Charter School Institute Act.

Charter School Administrators Meet

Today was the school year's second Administrator's Mentoring Cohort (AMC) meeting. The morning's training and discussion focused on administrator/board relationships and the resources that are available for board training. Oftentimes when the charter school governing board is having problems the administrator is helpless to intervene. In Colorado, there are a number of training resources and people to assist available through the League of Charter Schools and CDE.

Many of the participants in the AMC have established mentor/mentee relationships. These teams met together briefly today in order to plan their next meetings.

Administrators had a lively discussion about safety plans and different ways to do safety drills. Several administrators talked about how they create an obstacle for staff and students to encounter during a drill so that they learn to think through and problem while in a stressful situation.

The Greatest Generation Speaks with Charter School Students

Today sixteen World War II veterans spoke with charter school middle school students from different charter schools, at The Pinnacle Event Center. The event was hosted by The Greatest Generation Foundation and Woodrow Wilson Academy. As the veterans entered the event center, the approximately 650 students gave them a standing ovation and applauded until all the veterans had entered and were seated.

The program began with the documentary, "Iwo Jima: A Final Tour," produced by KMGH Channel 7. Last spring many of the veterans at today's event traveled to Iwo Jima to mark the 65th anniversary of the battle. TGGF founder and president, Tim Davis, received a check for $1275 from the charter schools and supportive sponsors.

After a veteran spoke about his experiences in the European theater and another spoke about the Pacific theater, students from the different charter schools posed questions of all the veterans. Many of the veterans had incredible stories of surviving the battle for Iwo Jima, Pearl Harbor and other battles. One man bailed out of his plane 15 seconds before it exploded over Germany. He spent the next three weeks walking to the border where he could meet up with Americans. During that three week period he went from 185 pounds to 95 pounds, eating only bugs, grass and even a live chicken he came across.

After the program, veterans met with students in an area with numerous artifacts and memorabilia on display. Many of the students collected signatures of the veterans on the back of the photo card distributed by TGGF. The foundation also had two Army jeeps outside for students to climb in and experience.

I spoke with one veteran after most of the students had left and said, "How does it feel to be a celebrity today?" His response was, "I'm just a survivor." One of the veterans declined the Purple Heart after Iwo Jima stating, "...too many others had died for it."

The six charter schools participating in the event today were: Woodrow Wilson Academy, The Academy, Lincoln Academy, Excel Academy, Jefferson Academy and Crown Pointe Academy.

Charter School Board Presidents

Friday there will be a first-ever meeting of charter school board presidents. Charter school boards are where the buck stops and board presidents are the leaders of that group of visionaries who lead the charter school.

The board president has many responsibilities including leading meetings, being the primary communication hub between the administration and board, setting the meeting agenda, authorizing contracts, enforcing bylaws, and ensuring the rest of the board is adequately prepared. Until now, many board presidents have been without a resource in which to rely when those odd scenarios arise.

What should the board do about an administrator who is insubordinate? Does a group of employees all need to be invited into a board executive session if they will be discussed? What can be done about a board member who doesn't prepare for meetings? Who speaks with two board members who continue to cross the line in airing their differences during board meetings? The board wants to interview a prospective principal candidate, can they do that in executive session?

These and many more questions are answered in the newly written "Board President's Handbook" that will be released this Friday at the first Board President's Council meeting held at Vanguard Classical School in Aurora. The meeting will go from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

In addition to getting some higher level information for governing boards, attendees will be able to problem-solve sample scenarios with others who lead their charter school boards. This "second level" of charter school board governance focuses on all of the unique situations charter schools have faced. It allows charter school leaders the opportunity to think through how to handle a scenario before they're involved in it.

Many people don't know how to effectively handle a situation without the experience of living through it and either learning from mistakes made or else, hopefully, the situation working itself out correctly. The President's Council will offer the shared wisdom and experience of others who have already been faced with many of the dilemmas that crop up in charter schools.

The charter school board president often carries the weight of the school on his or her shoulders. This person inherently knows the vision for the school and is searching for others who can help implement that vision. It's often a lonely responsibility along with the school's administrator. Now these board presidents will have the support of others in their same role.

HB 1412 Committee Meets for First Time

On Wednesday, the HB 1412 Committee met in a hearing room in the basement of the state Capitol. Speaker of the House, Terrance Carroll convened the advisory committe meeting that resulted from a bill that he carried this past legislative session. The purpose of the committee is to make recommendation on charter school standards and charter school authorizer standards.

Committee members and their designated position to the committe include:
*Rod Schmidt, St. Vrain Valley Schl District board of education, BOCES board member
*Bill Kurtz, Denver School of Science & Technology, charter school founder
*Carol Meininger, The Pinnacle Charter School, charter school business manager
*Stephanie Garcia, Pueblo 60 board of education, local board member with exclusive chartering authority
*April Wilkins, Peak to Peak, charter school teacher
*Alex Medler, Natl Assn of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), NACSA rep
*Francine Thompson, Douglas County Schl Dist, parent of a public school student who is also on the school advisory council
*Mike Nelson, Northstar & Skyview, parent of a district or CSI charter school student
* Al Loma, Colo Springs 11 board of education, local board member that shares chartering authority with CSI
* Kevin Stalker, Harrison 2 CFO, district administrator with financial expertise authorizing charters
* Mark Hyatt, Exec Dir-CSI, CSI representative
* Don Haddad, Supt. St. Vrain Valley Schl Dist, district administrator with expertise authorizing charters
* Denise Mund, CDE Schools of Choice Unit, CDE staff member

Over the next year and a half, the committee will make recommendation on charter school standards and charter school authorizer standards in addition to any possible recommendations for legislative changes or rule changes.

Initially, the committee decided to meet monthly, on the first Wednesday of each month, at various locations. Meeting agendas will be posted on the CDE website. The first meeting will be Nov. 3rd at the CO Assn of School Boards (pending confirmation of location). Each meeting will have a time for Public Comment.

Frontier Academy in Greeley

I visited Frontier Academy's secondary school yesterday and met with principal, Mary Meersman. Frontier Academy operates on two campuses in Greeley. The elementary school is located in a former greenhouse and carpet store. The secondary school, grades 6-12, is in a new block building on the west side of Greeley. The secondary school shares a campus with University Schools. They combine for many sports and share a performing arts center.

Frontier Academy requires 56 credits for high school graduation. Their district, Greeley 6, requires 44. In the spring, it's anticipated that 50 Seniors will graduate. There are 1118 students in grades K-12.

Mary explained that they offer many AP courses including Chemistry, Calculus, English Lit, US History, Biology, Music Theory, and US Government. Additionally, they offer concurrent enrollment classes by staff also licensed through UCD and Aims.

Mary and her leadership team had already completed the Unified Improvement Plan now required as a part of the annual Accreditation process. The Frontier HS received the top ranking, Performance, and the junior high received the second highest ranking (out of four total), Improvement. Greeley 6 required schools to submit their UIP's no later than the end of September. Mary said her team really dug into the data, using multiple sources, and were able to uncover some important information that will guide them in their plan. In fact, they've already incorporated many of these strategies.

Charter School Students to Hear the Greatest Generation Speakers

From the press release:

650 CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENTS TO ATTEND EDUCATIONAL WWII ASSEMBLY

Denver, CO – The Greatest Generations Foundation (TGGF) in collaboration with Woodrow Wilson Academy will hold their first American Hero Day for more than 650 middle-school students from six Colorado charter schools on October 11 at the Pinnacle Event Center.

Thirty American WWII Veterans will attend the event to speak about their own experiences of war, answer questions, and bring to life the history that students read about in books. Students will be able to interact one-on-one with veterans to learn their stories of heroism, bravery, and sacrifice.

In addition, TGGF will provide WWII memorabilia such as retired weapons, uniforms, and vehicles to give the students a hands-on approach to learning.

"The educational opportunity for our students to meet face to face with our American Heroes is exceptional," said Teri Oates, Founder, and former Board President of Woodrow Wilson Academy. "They can learn more from talking to those who fought for our freedoms than text books can ever provide."

TGGF is an IRS 501(C)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt charitable organization dedicated to serving war veterans. Their mission is to promote recognition and respect for U.S. and allied war veterans while enhancing historical education for today’s youth. TGGF works to ensure that the dedication and bravery of each veteran is never forgotten, nor the value of their deeds be allowed to disappear.

"We want to make sure that the stories and lessons of World War II are not forgotten, even when there is no one left to tell them," said TGGF Founder and President Timothy Davis. "Preserving the legacy of these heroic men and women will happen most effectively through education and the retelling of stories to younger generations."

Students from Woodrow Wilson Academy, Jefferson Academy, Lincoln Academy, Crown Pointe Academy, The Academy, and Excel Academy will be attending American Hero Day.

"We are excited to see charter schools joining together for such an important and historic event – we applaud and support this joint effort," said Jim Griffin, President of the Colorado League of Charter Schools. "Each and every one of the charter schools involved in this event is focused on rich and meaningful education, and the more we can offer our students in terms of learning, opportunities, and life experiences, the better they will succeed."

"My hope is that the students walk away from this program with a greater understanding of our rich history of fighting for our freedoms, to be impacted by the men and women who serve our country, and to always remember that what we learn today will be forever embedded in their future," said Oates.

For more information about the event, contact Alicia Harms at aharms@tggf.us or for information about The Greatest Generations Foundation, visit http://www.tggf.us/.

Denver's SOAR I Campus Visit

Today I visited the first SOAR campus in Denver Public Schools, which is located at the Evie G. Dennis facility on Green Valley Ranch Blvd off Pena Blvd. The facility has three buildings, one for the elementary school (SOAR), another for the DSST middle school and the third will be used by the DSST high school. There's also a student union, which houses a cafeteria, performance center and full-sized hard wood floor gymnasium. Additionally, there are three athletic fields on the property. A community center/preschool will also be on the site when it is completely built out.

SOAR I has 236 students in grades K-2 and just opened this year. The school will eventually serve students through fifth grade. SOAR II is planned for the Montbello area of DPS.

The Evie G. Dennis facility is the newest built by DPS through bond moneys. It's meant to be a community center in addition to the neighborhood school. The design is multi-functional and although the elementary school currently houses young students, it could also be used for high school students. It's a green facility with pipes under the athletic fields to heat or cool the buildings.

Denver School of Science & Technology Receives $1 Million From Oprah's Angel Network

Here's the press release from DSST:

DENVER – DSST Public Schools (DSST) announced today that it has received a $1 million grant from Oprah’s Angel Network to support DSST’s expansion to serve more students in Denver. Oprah announced the gift to DSST on today’s episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” The show features the documentary film Waiting for Superman, which will be released this coming Friday. The movie focuses on the state of public education in the U.S. The documentary focuses on the staggering signs that American children are falling way behind their counterparts in other countries, even as school spending increases.

“DSST Public Schools is thrilled by this national recognition of our work to help more than 1,000 Denver students get a college preparatory education,” said Bill Kurtz, CEO of DSST Public Schools. “Waiting for Superman does an outstanding job of outlining our country’s crisis in public education and the urgency with which we need to act on behalf of students nationwide. DSST is very grateful for the support of Oprah’s Angel Network to help us expand in order to double the number of four year college-ready graduates from Denver Public Schools. “

DSST was one of six high-performing charter networks from around the country featured on the show as examples of public schools that are serving students well. The money received by each school network from Oprah’s Angel Network will be used to expand and open more schools to provide more students with a high-quality college preparatory education.

Oprah’s Angel Network is the foundation launched in 1997 on an episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Through support from Oprah’s viewers, the Angel Network has awarded funds to hundreds of organizations throughout the United States and in more than 30 countries around the world, helping numerous individuals by improving access to education, protecting basic rights and more.

About DSST Public Schools
DSST Public Schools (DSST) operates open-enrollment STEM charter schools and is part of the Denver Public Schools (DPS) system. DSST Public Schools currently serves over 1,000 students on two campuses. DSST Public Schools has been approved to open three additional secondary school campuses (grades 6-12) in 2011, 2012 and 2013. At full enrollment, DSST Public Schools will serve over 4,200 students, and will double the number of four year college-ready DPS graduates by 2020.

DSST Public Schools was founded as the Denver School of Science and Technology in 2004 with the founding campus at Stapleton. DSST: Stapleton serves students from all parts of Denver with a student population of 65% minority and 45% low income. DSST: GVR’s student population is 83% minority and 55% low income.

DSST: Stapleton is widely considered to be one of the leading open enrollment STEM schools (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in the U.S. and has become a destination for educators nationwide. DSST: Stapleton has consistently been the highest performing secondary school in DPS and in Colorado, based on growth and absolute performance. DSST: Stapleton’s first three graduating classes earned 100% acceptances into four-year colleges. Fifty percent of DSST’s 2010 graduating class is first generation college-bound.

Additional information about DSST Public Schools and the admission process is available on the school’s web site at www.scienceandtech.org.

Contacting Me

If you would like to contact me with questions or comments, feel free to send me your email address within a Comment. I receive comments to be moderated before they are posted. These emails, however, come without the sender's email address so that will have to be embedded in the comment.

Annual Finance Seminar

On Friday more than 150 people attended the annual Finance Seminar hosted by CDE at the Adams 12 Training Center in Thornton. The morning plenary session featured panelists Sen. Keith King and State Board of Education member Randy DeHoff. Moderator Vinny Badolato from the League of Charter Schools asked questions about the future reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

Randy DeHoff said he didn't think there would be many competitive grant programs in the next ESEA due to the controversy surrounding Race to the Top this year. Both panelists talked about the two assessment consortia in the country and funded through federal grants. Colorado is a partner in both consortia. Only one of the consortia has a writing component planned.

The afternoon plenary session featured Vinny Badolato; Russ Caldwell, DA Davidson; John Griego, Colo Springs 11; and Sen. Keith King, administrator of Colorado Springs Early College. Each of the panelists talked about what they thought would be in the next legislative session impacting charter schools. Russ Caldwell said he thought the moral obligation pool in the State Treasurer's office should be increased. Keith King talked about the formula used to project the School Finance Act and the specific figures used for next year. The Governor's office is projecting a slower economic recovery than was originally expected and so next year's School Finance Act will probably contain at least a 6.35% rescission, which is currently expected.

Why Does Data Matter?

Data only matters when someone is looking at it. Previously school districts in the state reported some data that didn't have any consequences. Now with the new District Performance Framework and School Performance Framework impacting Accreditation, all of a sudden bad data is being exposed. In the past it didn't need to be corrected or watched carefully, but now it's in the spotlight.

Districts and individual public schools are reviewing their framework reports now before they're made available to the public. Quirky things are coming out of the data used to make these calculations.

It's possible the data used to calculate the four performance indicators can be appealed to the State Board of Education. But the data that's used is all final and cannot be changed.

It'll be interesting to see how faulty data is addressed at the state level, but even more interesting will be watching the new interest school and district-level staff take in making sure the data is correctly reported in the first place.

Why Attending This Friday's Finance Seminar is Important

Every year the Colorado charter school community gets together for a Finance Seminar designed for charter school board members, business managers and administrators. This year's Finance Seminar might be one of the best!

Here are a few highlights for someone thinking about attending:

• A state-level panel discussing the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (f.k.a. No Child Left Behind).
• A panel discussing the use of Standard 11: Finance for charter schools from the perspective of the CSSI team member, business manager and administrator.
• The legal aspects to the Financial Transparency Act and what's required of charter schools.
• Fundraising for charter schools.
• Lessons learned from one charter school's audit.
• How to start a charter school business office.
• An update on the HB 1412 State Advisory Committee established to recommend charter school and charter school authorizer standards.
• Internet safety for schools.
• Property and liability insurance tips for charter schools.
• Information on the BEST (Building Excellent Schools Today) grant.

Too often charter school leaders don't even know what they don't know to ask! Attending a seminar like Friday's on finance ensures leaders are aware of the current issues and where to get specific information. It's also a great time to network with other people in the same role such as board Treasurer or business manager.

Register for the Finance Seminar at: http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdechart/event_fin_bmn.htm

Charter school business managers meet throughout the school year every other month. The same link works to register for those meetings.

New Ed Jobs Bill Prohibits Management Company-Operated Charter Schools From Getting Funds

The new $10 billion Ed Jobs bill passed by Congress earlier this summer won't be going to charter schools operated by a management company. Some states are interpreting the guidance released last week to mean that no employee, not even teachers, are eligible for this new funding aimed at re-hiring teachers laid off due to budget cuts if the management company operates the charter school.

The federal guidance released on Sept. 1st states that a charter school that is an LEA will receive the funds directly. This doesn't affect any of Colorado's charter schools because none of the state's charter schools are their own LEA (Local Education Agency--the label attached to school districts).

The guidance also explains that management company employees are not eligible to receive Ed Jobs funds. Only about nine management companies operate in Colorado and those with varied administrative positions employed by the management company. Most commonly, the lead administrator and possibly another administrative position are employed by the management company and all other employees are employees of the charter school and not the management company.

Colorado's interpretation of the guidance is that teachers, or school-based employees, may be eligible for Ed Jobs funding. Positions paid for by the management company are not eligible.

Peak to Peak Celebrates 10 Years

Peak to Peak celebrated ten years of operation by having several guest speakers including U.S. Congressman Jared Polis, Commissioner of Education Dwight Jones, executive principal Tony Fontana, principals Kyle Mathews, Suzanne Ovelman and Noelle Roni, and a student alum.

One of the school's founders, Rhonda Kelly, spoke but before she began recognized all of the individuals who had served on the board since the school began. Rhonda gave a brief history of the school, which includes their selling bonds to finance their facility in their first year of operation. This is a feat that made history as the first charter school in the nation to do this.

High school principal, Kyle Mathews, said that more than 30 million in scholarships have been awarded to the 500 students who have graduated from Peak to Peak since the first class graduated in 2005.

Tony Fontana, Peak to Peak's executive principal, recognized the Kindergarten, first and second grade students at the school who would be at the next ten-year celebration. He also noted that it was time to go back to class and learn more reading, writing and math because "that's who we are."

The Charter School Support Initiative

Today the Charter School Support Initiative team members met for their annual professional development day. Every year team members meet to debrief on the previous year's visits and talk about new topics in the world of education that are relevant to the visits.

The Charter School Support Initaitive (CSSI) is an external evaluation by a team of about 5-6 charter school leaders that ultimately issue a report that documents the findings. The visit is based on the 9 standards of school reform in use by the Colorado Title I process and two additional standards created for the unique aspect of charter schools, which are the governance and finance standards. All schools receiving federal Charter School Program funds are expected to undergo a CSSI site visit in the final year of receiving the grant.

CSSI team members are some of the best charter school administrators, teachers, governing board members and business managers in the state. The criteria for being asked to be on the CSSI team is having already demonstrated success.

Today team members learned about the School Performance Framework that's now in use for state accountability and is tied to state Accreditation. The SPF replaces the School Accountability Report. Schools are placed in one of four categories based on data on the four Accreditation Indicators: Acaademic Achievement, Academic Growth, Academic Growth Gaps and Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness. Depending on the Accreditation category, schools must write a plan. Schools in either Turnaround or Priority Improvement must write a plan this year using the Unified Planning Template. This year the other schools are not required to use the Unified Plan Template, but next year all public schools are required to use the Unified Plan.

The CSSI team members also discussed classroom observations and how to assess a classroom in a common way. This particular topic is discussed annually in order to ensure continuity amongst team members.

Currently about a dozen charter schools are scheduled for a CSSI visit this year. Others will be added as charter schools are identified in the Turnaround Accreditation category. Several of the grant programs available to assist schools in Turnaround require an external evaluation process in order to ascertain the current condition of the school.

Khan Academy: A Great Resource

When entrepeneur Bill Gates recommends something, most people listen. Bill Gates is using Khan Academy to teach his kids. Khan Academy is a collection of videos explaining everything from addition to statistics, the French Revolution, the Geithner banking crisis plan and Physics. The range is from basic to advanced.

This website would be a great resource for students needing a bit more remediation for a concept that isn't quite clicking yet. Since the material is sequential, it builds upon previous knowledge.

Teachers can use this in the classroom for students who either want to advance more quickly or students who want to reinforce what they've already begun to understand.

Check it out. And see what Bill Gates is recommending!

Crown Pointe Academy Celebrates Opening of New Building

After twelve years of having a building on a small piece of land without an opportunity for expansion, Crown Pointe Academy celebrated this afternoon the move into their brand new facility at 86th & Federal in Westminster. The building is named after Bill Christopher, former City Manager for the City of Westminster.

Crown Pointe Academy, a K-8 Core Knowledge Charter School opened its doors in 1997 and remains today as the only district charter school in the Westminster 50 School District.

The school's Building Corp President, Cheryl Olivo-Neil, presented a plaque to Russ Caldwell, one of the school's former governing board members and a key player on the financial team that created the opportunity to fund the new facility. The school's new library is named after Russ Caldwell.

Crown Pointe's founder, Kay May, returned for today's celebration and provided remarks about the formation of the school and why various components were selected for its program design. May now lives in New Hampshire.

The Crown Pointe Academy principal, Barbara Ridenour, has been with the charter school since it first opened. She was originally a teacher at the school before assuming a leadership position.

The school was built by JHL Construction and designed by Slaterpaull Architects.

Rounding up the Little Doggies

My friend, Nora Flood, Vice President of the League of Charter Schools donned western chaps and cowboy hat the other day for her all-staff meeting. I was there for a meeting and couldn't resist capturing her picture!

SkyView Academy Opens in Highlands Ranch

Last night over a thousand people showed up to celebrate the grand opening of SkyView Academy in Highlands Ranch near C470 and Quebec. The school is located in what was formerly a Home Depot building. Currently they're only using about half of the building. The other half is being rented out every afternoon and evening because it's an indoor sports facility. The school's building has four volleyball/basketball courts, three soccer courts, a batting cage and speed development court.

SkyView Academy will use the Core Knowledge curriculum and will begin with serving the elementary school grades. They've already been approved for a high school to open next fall. The board plans on converting the athletic center into two stories of classrooms for the junior high and senior high.

SkyView's principal is well-known in the charter school community: Merlin Holmes. Merlin is a well-respected former high school science teacher, high school principal, K-12 principal, consultant for the Colo. Dept of Education and consultant for the National Heritage Academies, Inc management company. Merlin had an overabundance of applicants for his new staff and was very selective in developing a high quality team.

U.S. Sen. Mark Udall spoke at the grand opening ceremony. He said he's been a long-time supporter of charter schools and commended the school's founders for their work and dedication to improving the community's students. He noted that today's students are tomorrow's leaders.

Founding board president, Jennifer Larson, addressed the crowd by acknowledging the work of several parents in addition to the founding board. She said the building has over 100,000 sf of space and sits on 14 acres. Their plans are to add on to the building since they won't need the 800+ parking spaces currently available.

Daughters of founders Jen Larson and Lorrie Grove introduced their new Executive Director, Merlin Holmes, and gave him several gifts that he would need for the school year. These gifts included a magic wand (because anyone named Merlin should have a magic wand), oversized clown glasses so he could continue to see to implement the grand vision, and a whoopee cushion so that he could be excused from some of the many meetings he's required to attend.

JHL was the contractor for the project, which was designed by SlaterPaul. The design is industrial with concrete floors and open areas above the classrooms. In its previous use, there were no windows. There are now large windows and the west side features a great view of the Colorado's mountain range. For the first time in the state's history, the charter school's authorizing school district -- the Douglas County School District -- floated Certificates of Occupancy for the charter school, essentially cutting the cost in almost half.

The founders of SkyView started NorthStar Academy six years ago. They originally intended to locate that school in Highlands Ranch, but couldn't find a facility. Once an existing charter school facility became available in Parker, they decided to locate their new charter school there. But many Highlands Ranch continued to drive a considerable distance to Parker. The founders voiced appreciation for the Parker site's principal, Cynthia Haws, and Dean of Curriculum, Kendra Sheffield, for their help with the SkyView application.

Update: Highlands Ranch Herald News article.

The Charter School Board Discussion in the St. Vrain Valley School District

There's a controversy brewing in the St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD) over a proposed change to district policy that would require charter school board members to live within school district boundaries. This would be the first time a district will have imposed such a requirement.

According to a Longmont Times-Call editorial, this district policy provision is not warranted because the district's charter schools are doing well and the editorial questions why this change is proposed after a proposed charter school application last year had out-of-district founders.

Last year the Lotus School for Excellence proposed a new charter school using a model similar to the school they already operate in Aurora. The application was denied, in part due to their founders -- and proposed board members -- being from outside the school district. In the Lotus proposal they intended to use their existing governing board to also oversee the new school in Longmont.

It's apparent that the vital issue with this whole debate is where should the line be drawn in charter school authorizing responsibilities. This subject came up in the last legislative session when certain lawmakers wanted to see "something done about" schools like the Cesar Chavez School Network. The top three administrators of the Network were eventually terminated, but it was disclosed that they had extraordinarily high salaries and little accountability. Several lawmakers questioned who had the responsibility to ensure things like that didn't happen.

There are differing viewpoints on where the line should be drawn between charter school accountability and "regulation creep." The charter school philosophy embodies the right of a charter school to operate independently, in exchange for increased results. Leaders in the charter school community have expressed concerns over the years that gradually charter school autonomy has been eroded. In fact, this was an issue in the most recent charter school appeal hearing before the State Board of Education.

This debate about autonomy is likely to be a hot topic at the committee hearings established as a result of HB10-1412, which creates a committee to review charter school standards and charter school authorizer standards. The committee will meet this fall and ultimately, have recommendations for the State Board by August 1, 2011.

A Wealth of Information for Parents: SchoolView

CDE has a wealth of information for parents through the SchoolView portal. The Colorado Growth Model provides information on achievement and growth. There are videos and powerpoint presentations to explain terms, how to use the tools and stakeholder roles.

To begin, watch the tutorial. If you don't understand why the state uses the growth model to examine student achievement, watch this video.

Not along ago each school district in the state received their data for the District Performance Framework and each individual public school's School Performance Framework. The data in these reports generate different levels of Accreditation. The State Board of Education accredits each school district in the state. In the past the Accreditation process could be a bit subjective. By using the District Performance Framework (DPF), the Accreditation level is based strictly on data.

The type of data used to determine Accreditation level is different for elementary, middle and high schools. By October 15th, districts must assign an Accreditation category to each of their public schools. By November 15th the State Board and Commissioner of Education will approve the school Accreditation categories and the related plans associated with underperforming schools.

There are four key indicators for School Performance Frameworks (SPFs). These are:

1. Academic achievement: the percent proficient or advanced
2. Academic growth: the median student growth
3. Gaps in academic growth: median growth for subgroups
4. Postsecondary & workforce readiness: graduation rate, drop-out rate, and the ACT composite

High schools are accredited on all four indicators while elementary and middle schools are only accredited on the first three indicators.

The School Accountability Reports are obsolete and the state is now using SchoolView to provide information to parents about their child's school. Parents can compare a variety of schools, using the Growth Model, and get specific information about each school through the School Performance Framework.

Many educators have been learning about the Growth Model and SPF at their trainings conducted before school began this month. Schools will have individual student achievement data to use in making decisions on the types of interventions each student may need. Parents should ask to see this information either at Parent/Teacher conferences or by visiting the school office.

The First Day of School

I tell everyone who starts a new charter school that the reward for the long hours and tough work they've endured is all worth on the first day of school. If their new school offers Kindergarten, that's the best class to visit on the first day. Those eager faces are priceless!

However, my memories of dropping my kids off for their first day of Kindergarten was the mothers wore sunglasses and didn't talk with each other after the kids went in. They were too choked up from that first day's goodbye!

The Kindergarten teacher at Jefferson Academy (the first charter school I worked on) is still there 16 yrs later. Her name is Bentley Ryberg and she taught my daughter who is now in college. Bentley is the absolute best! She's smart and she loves kids of that age. Kindergarten teachers are unique. Not everyone can deal well with students so young. But it's amazing to watch the transformation of these 5 and 6 year-olds over the school year. I recall learning the Open Court alphabet sounds right along with my daughter. And my daughter and I still talk about the field trip to the zoo where she and her classmates spelled "hippopotamus" to the sheer astonishment of a couple standing nearby.

The first day of Kindergarten is the very best. Most importantly, it's the best for the charter school's founders in order to completely understand why they went through so much work.

CDE News Release on Charter School Grant Award

Colorado Awarded Three-Year, $40.8 Million Federal Grant To Expand Charters And Public School Options

Denise Mund, director of the Schools of Choice Office at the Colorado Department of Education announced today that Colorado will receive a $40.8 million charter school grant to increase public school options in Colorado. The state will be awarded $13.6 million each year for three years.

The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday the award of 12 charter school grants, totaling $136 million per year to state education agencies in Arkansas ($3.4 million), California ($51.8 million), Colorado, the District of Columbia ($1.3 million), Georgia ($13.1 million), Indiana ($10.9 million), Michigan ($16.7 million), Missouri ($2.2 million), New Hampshire ($1.3 million), Rhode Island ($2.4 million), South Carolina ($5.7 million) and Texas ($13.8 million).

The purpose of the Charter Schools Program is to increase financial support for the startup and expansion of these public schools, to build greater national understanding of the public charter school model and to increase the number of high-quality charter schools across the nation.

"Ninety-five percent of these funds will go directly to new charter schools in their first three years of operation," said Mund. "The grant will fund curriculum, professional development, administrative costs, desks and classroom supplies, office equipment, furniture and technology."

The remaining 5 percent of the grant funds the Schools of Choice Office and provides development opportunities for charter school leaders. Numerous trainings are offered throughout the year, including a finance seminar, business manager network meetings, mentoring opportunities, online board training modules and a variety of other online resources.

CDE's Schools of Choice Office is recognized for its support of developing charter schools and received a very good monitoring report from the federal government in 2009. Last year Mund provided technical assistance to 14 states and was a featured presenter at a national conference and webinar. Colorado, which has seen an overall increase in charter school funding since 1998, received $7.4 million in grant funding last year.

Through the Colorado Charter School Startup and Implementation grant, CDE's Schools of Choice provides technical assistance to charter schools and authorizers, processes waiver requests for the Colorado State Board of Education, collects data on charter schools, produces special topical studies, performs the state evaluation of charter schools, and responds to questions from the general public. For more information, visit www.cde.state.co.us/cdechart/index.htm

More information about the Charter Schools Program is available from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement at www.ed.gov/programs/charter/index.html

New Charter Schools in Colorado Get Grant Award

The Colo. Department of Education announced today the Schools of Choice Unit has received a $40.8 million grant award from the U.S. Department of Education under the Charter School Grant Program. The state will continue administering a federal startup and implementation grant program designed to assist new charter schools in up to their first three years of operation.

The state will have $13.6 million for each of the next three years to fund the unique startup expenses of a charter school. Many of the schools receive these funds in the spring prior to their opening, which allows them the opportunity to hire an administrator early. New charter schools don't get operating funds until July 1.

The schools rely on this startup grant to purchase desks furniture, technology, lockers, curriculum, and train their new staff members. Further, the money is often used to inform the community about a new charter school through advertising.

The grant is competitive and as many as 40% have been denied funds. For further information on the grant program, click here.

Turkish-Americans Lead 100 Charter Schools in the U.S.

About 100 charter schools in 25 states have been questioned for their link to Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish peace advocate. The schools emphasize math and science and generally outperform their counterparts.

Some of the schools have been criticized for influencing students to accept Islam ideals and philosophies as a result of the school being "Gulen-inspired." Gulen claims no connection with any of the schools.

Fethullah Gulen promotes peace and communication between Turkey and Western cultures. Since 1999 Gulen has lived in the United States. Earlier this summer, Gulen critized Turkish involvement in the flotilla that attempted to deliver aid to Israel's Gaza Strip. Gulen said the Turkish aid group should have sought permission from Israeli leaders before attempting to deliver aid.

The Lotus School for Excellence in Aurora was founded by a group of individuals with connections to Turkey. The school originally opened as a secondary school and is adding an elementary school for this school year. Their grand opening celebration will be later this week where they have expanded their campus by taking over more of the church facility they occupy.

Last year Lotus leaders submitted new charter school applications in the St. Vrain Valley School District and Jefferson County School District. They later withdrew their application from St. Vrain, but appealed the charter denial out of Jeffco to the State Board of Education. Lotus lost that appeal.

A significant portion of the appeal hearing centered on the school's academic achievement data, which was mixed with some small gains. According to this year's Growth Model data, Lotus made Adequate Growth in reading, but not in math or writing.

Lotus plans to submit at least one more charter school application this fall.

Vanguard HS Nails the Writing CSAP!

Vanguard High School scored a perfect 100% on the writing CSAP for their ninth and tenth grades. Not even one student, of the 55 who tested, scored below proficient!

Vanguard HS is an extension to the Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy. The secondary school is authorized by the state Charter School Institute while the elementary is authorized by the Cheyenne Mountain School District. The Cheyenne Mountain district wouldn't let the school's leaders use the words "Cheyenne Mountain" in the name for the new high school when it was initially approved. The secondary school's charter subsequently moved to CSI.

Advisory Committee for Charter School Institute Charter Schools Meets

Yesterday was the first meeting of the advisory committee established by SB10-111, sponsored by Sen. Keith King. King is an administrator at Colorado Springs Early College, a CSI school. It was the second day of school for King so he joined the group via the telephone for a portion of the meeting.

Patricia Hayes chaired the meeting. Hayes is a board member of the Charter School Institute, former CU Regent and former State Board of Education member. About a dozen people attended the meeting, reflecting the representative required by SB 111.

The purpose of the committee is to make recommendation to the next legislative session's Education committee members about CSI schools becoming their own LEA. In addition to this potentially impacting Special Education, there is also a potential impact on federal entitlement funds, the Carl Perkins Act and gifted and talented programs. The committee discussed what would be studied by the committee and what would not.

The questions raised centered on what problem was the committee attempting to solve? Since the delivery of Special Education services is distinctly different for CSI schools and district charter schools, the "problem" to solve was quite different. CSI schools must conduct their own Special Ed services and do not have liability coverage through CSI. District charter schools deliver Sped services via a contract with their district (using a variety of different models) and their district has ultimate liability.

Sen. King noted that his interest for the work of the committee was not so much about Special Education, but rather what other programs might be different if administered by the charter school, instead of CSI. He noted a few federal programs, but then also recognized that with increased responsibility comes increased accountability, which may include paperwork and bureaucracy. King carried another bill this session that allows charter schools to form cooperatives with CSI. His other bill allows even district charter schools to seek federal grants through CSI.

It was generally agreed that if there was a better way for delivering Special Education services to CSI schools or there was a more efficient way to operate, the committee's report should uncover those options. The committee will conduct research on what other state's have done and consult nationally recognized groups such as the National Assn of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

The committee will meet monthly throughout the fall. For more information, contact the Charter School Institute.

Prospect Ridge Ordered Open by State Board

Today in another unanimous vote, the State Board of Education told the Adams 12 Five Star School District to open Prospect Ridge Academy. This was a second appeal from Prospect Ridge, a proposed K-12 math science focused Core Knowledge charter school in the Erie area. The State Board voted unanimously at the conclusion of the first appeal hearing to remand the application back for further consideration. The State Board, whose membership is split 4-3 along party lines, rarely votes unanimously on charter school appeals.

Today's appeal hearing centered on six issues: two contained in the approval resolution dealing with enrollment and four contractual issues. The four contractual issues were 1) the district requirement that they approve any financial auditor the charter school wanted to use, 2) the requirement of additional audits and/or reports, 3) the district's insistence that they could rescind waiver of district policy from the charter school at any time, and 4) the district's stipulation that they be able to approve any staff hired by the charter school.

The district claimed the four contractual issues were not relevant to the appeal hearing and should have been dismissed because they weren't "ripe" yet because negotiations broke down after the first meeting and no contract was ever signed. The charter school stated there had been a "gross imposition of conditions," a reference to the statute that pertains to a charter school having to comply with unreasonable contract provisions.

Barry Arrington, counsel for the charter school, said contract negotiations broke down when the district refused to negotiate. Charter school founder Dr. Ken Rooks said that the district had simply said they'd "negotiate to impasse" if the charter school leaders didn't agree to the contract terms set forth by the district, which is another way to acknowledge that the district holds all the cards in a charter school contract negotiation and doesn't need to open a new charter school.

In it's deliberation comments and in the resolution to support the charter school's claims, the State Board specifically addressed five of the issues and said the sixth seemed to be close to resolution by the parties and didn't need to be included. The charter school's founders said they planned to use only Highly Qualified or appropriately licensed staff and so if they were able to have complete autonomy over hiring, they would agree to more clear language addressing the district's concerns that staff be appropriately identified as Highly Qualified.

The two enrollment provisions in the hearing were the district's requirement that the charter school must have 80% of each grade's enrollment by March 1st in order to keep its charter and that 70% had to be from the Adams 12 School District. The charter school said they'd agree to 80% aggregate enrollment by March 1st since that was a reasonable expectation. As to the other provision, they cited state law that says a charter school must have a majority of its students from the district or a contiguous district and said they were willing to give priority to in-district students.

More than one State Board member noted the angst between the two parties that was evident during the hearing and expressed hopes that the two parties would be able to resolve their differences.

DPS in the Money

Denver Public Schools is one of 49 grant applicants selected to receive an Investing in Innovation (i3) federal grant provided they can come up with matching funds from the private sector. I3 grants are a new grant program, funded by the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, designed to encourage improving academic achievement in high needs areas to close the achievement gap.

DPS plans to use the money, up to 25 million, to improve literacy skills in middle school students through a partnership with the Bueno Center at CU Boulder and Padres and Jovenes Unidos.

Guam Approves It's First Charter School

Guam will have its first charter school a year from now. Guam will receive federal startup and implementation grant funds to support the formation of new charter schools.

Forty states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have charter school laws.