Volume I, Issue 14, September 8, 2005
Charter Leader News
Start of 2005-06 School Year Brings 15 New Charter Schools to NYC
The 2005-06 school year is underway and so begins the hard work and commitment
necessary to meet the high standards and expectations we've set for ourselves,
and for our students.
As the Charter Center marks its one-year anniversary (Sept. 1, 2004) this month, we
will redouble our efforts to help you and your staff meet the challenges of delivering
high-quality educational programs to many deserving students and families.
In just two years the number of public charter schools in New York City has more
than doubled - from 23 in 2003 to 47 today. A large percentage of the growth can
be attributed to the 15 new charter schools opening this fall. We congratulate and
welcome them to the NYC charter school family. They are:
South Bronx Charter School for International Cultures and the Arts
Achievement First Crown Heights Charter School
Achievement First East New York Charter School
Hellenic Classical Charter School
KIPP A.M.P. Charter School
The UFT Elementary Charter School
Williamsburg Collegiate Charter School
Future Leaders Institute (FLI) Charter School
Girls Preparatory Charter School
Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy II
Harlem Link Charter School
Leadership Village Academy Charter School
KIPP Infinity Charter School
Manhattan Charter School
NY Center for Autism Charter School
Finally, in the wake of Katrina we are sensitive to the tremendous hardships
and challenges facing thousands and thousands of students and families displaced by
this horrific disaster. In the weeks to come we will look for opportunities to recognize
their needs and bring those efforts to your attention.
Thank you.
212-437-8310
Christine Pendry
VP for Grantmaking
212-437-8313
*At your direction, we can include other leaders from your school or your Education
Management Organization (EMO) on the distribution list. Please let us know.
E-Rate Workshop - Sept. 22, 2005:
E-Rate is a federal grant subsidy that provides schools and libraries with affordable
telecommunications and Internet access. E-Rate subsidizes items such as local
and long distance phone service, cell phones and pagers, data networks, and email
and Web servers.
Funding awards are based on the percentage of students qualifying for free and
reduced lunch.
This two hour workshop (two sessions will be held: 9-11 am and 4-6 pm) will overview
the E-Rate program and application process as well as the required technology
plan. The Charter Center will provide information on outsourcing the application
and also explain the merits of forming a consortium of NYC charter schools. If
you would like to attend either session, please email Laura Smith at lsmith@nycchartercenter.org or call 212-437-8311.
Charter Center Welcomes New School Leaders and New Staff Members:
The 2005-06 school year begins with several new faces leading NYC public charter
schools, as well as a few new faces here at the Charter Center.
We congratulate the following new school leaders: Maria Cotto, Harlem Day; Eveyln Hey, South Bronx International Charter School for Culture and the Arts; Karen Jones, Sisulu-Walker Charter School; Rafael Ortiz, Amber Charter School; Gwen Stephens, Harriet Tubman Charter School; Simeon Stulzberg, Beginning With Children Charter School; Judith Tyler, Peninsula Prep Charter School and Linda Vergera, ReadNet Charter School.
As of August, the Charter Center made two important additions to its staff. Heather Caudill was hired as Director of Instruction and Assessment and will help schools implement effective programs that impact student achievement.
She was a co-founding teacher at KIPP WAYS Academy, a charter school in Atlanta,
GA., and most recently taught 8th and 11th grade science at Thurgood Marshall
Academy in Harlem. To coach charter schools through various school reviews and
help them develop a pipeline of qualified teachers and administrators the Charter
Center hired Glenn Liebeck as its Director of School Reviews. Before joining the Charter Center Glenn served as Dean of Students and Science
Chair at the Media and Technology Charter High School in Boston, MA.
Communications Templates for Charter Schools:
One of the most important goals of any charter school is to communicate with
its community in a clear, consistent and effective manner. In an effort to help
schools achieve these goals, the Charter Center has developed a suite of templates
and technologies to facilitate the production of both print and Web collateral
for NYC charter schools.
Communications packages (newsletter, brochure, postcard and turnkey Web site
platform) can be customized to feature your school's identity, data and images.
To explain implementation and deployment of the communications tools and the
process for getting started without the need for technical expertise, the Charter
Center put together a toolkit entitled "Reaching the Community and Raising Awareness."
For a copy of the toolkit or more information on this opportunity please contact
Jeff Maclin at
jmaclin@nycchartercenter.org, or call 212-437-8310. Look out for a full PDF version of the toolkit on our Web
site.
Back to School Reception - October 11, 2005:
The start of the 2005-06 school year is the launch of our Charter School Leader
Network. The Network operates on three principles: every charter school can succeed;
the charter school movement can overcome obstacles if unified on important issues;
and, best practices of schools should be identified and shared.
To honor your hard work, the Charter Center invites you to join us and the entire
Charter School Leader Network on October 11th for our "Back to School" celebration.
We will hold a reception for Charter School Leaders on:
Tuesday, October 11, 2005 from 6:00-9:00 pm at:
The Manhattan Penthouse
80 5th Avenue (at 14th Street)
New York, NY 10011
Please RSVP for this event by emailing Alafia Brown at abrown@nycchartercenter.org by September 27, 2005. We look forward to celebrating the start of an excellent
new school year with you.
Mission:
The mission of the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence is to stimulate
the supply of high quality charter schools and support ongoing student excellence
in all NYC charter schools, impacting the effectiveness of public education. As
an independent nonprofit, the Charter Center is an advocate, bridge and catalyst
for the achievement of academic and operational success and sustainability of
all NYC charter schools for each young person.
