Volume III, Issue 5, February 2, 2007

Charter Leader News

This issue of the Charter Leader News features information on the following . . .

Advocacy

Teacher Certification

New Leaders for New Schools Application

Governor's New Senior Education Policy Advisor

Charter School Promotions in NYC Weeklies

Charter School Leadership Summit

GOVERNOR’S EXECUTIVE BUDGET INCLUDES CHARTER CAP LIFT

Governor Eliot Spitzer released his 2007-08 Executive Budget on Wednesday, January 31. Charter school advocates were pleased to see that included in his budget was legislation to authorize 150 new charters schools in New York State.

The Executive Budget, which must be approved by the Legislature by April 1, 2007, calls for lifting the cap on charter schools from the existing 100 schools to 250. The 150 new schools would be allocated as follows: 50 to be authorized by the Board of Regents, 50 to be authorized by SUNY, and 50 to be authorized by the New York City Department of Education.

In addition to lifting the cap, Governor Spitzer proposed making “transition aid” available to some school districts with charter schools. In order to qualify, a local district must have more that five percent of its students in public charter schools, have more than five percent of its budget allocated to public charter school students, and have a high poverty index. The budget allocates approximately $15.2 million to cover the cost of this proposal.

The Governor’s budget also proposes strict notification guidelines for the establishment of new public charter schools. All newly-authorized public charter schools must be officially designated by March 15 in order to open in September. Schools that are authorized after that date must wait until the following September to open. This timetable is intended to provide local districts with adequate time to plan for the resulting loss of students when planning their budget.

School districts would benefit from prompt notification requirements proposed by the Governor as well. Under the Governor’s proposal, local districts must be notified by the chartering entity within 30 days of an application for formation of a public charter school—both new and renewal—and at least 45 days prior to the initial approval of a charter application by the chartering entity.

With the Executive Budget submitted, the focus moves to the Legislature. Early indications are that the addition of transition aid will make it easier for the Assembly to accept the lifting of the cap, though there will certainly be issues raised by that house as the negotiations commence. The Governor’s proposals are expected to receive a warmer reception in the Senate, which passed legislation in June of 2006 that was more controversial than the Spitzer plan.

As the budget negotiations move forward, the Charter Center is engaged in efforts in Albany and the community to ensure enactment. We will be meeting with editorial boards; promoting public charter schools in the media; organizing parents, students, educators and other community leaders; and, educate our elected officials in Albany on the merits of the cap lift and the need to enact the Governor’s reforms in the 2007-08 budget.

Thank you.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Transition to Teaching 2007 Competition - Final Applications Due March 26, 2007:

The U.S. Department of Education's "Transition to Teaching" program encourages the development and expansion of alternative routes to full state teacher certification. The federally-funded program also supports the recruitment and retention of highly qualified mid-career professionals, recent college graduates who have not majored in education and highly qualified paraprofessionals as teachers in high needs schools operated by high-need local educational agencies (LEAs), including public charter schools that operate as high-needs LEAs.

The program provides awards for up to 60 months to enable grantees to develop and implement comprehensive approaches to train, place and support teacher candidates whom they have recruited into their programs, and who must meet relevant state certification or licensing requirements.

Applicants are encouraged to send 'Notices of Intent to Apply' to transitiontoteaching@ed.gov by February 7, 2007. Applicants that do not send these notices may still apply.

Final applications are due March 26, 2007, and must be submitted electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site. This site requires several days for applicants to register and several days to upload and verify receipt of an application. Late applications (received after 4:30 pm on the deadline date) are not accepted.

In order to ensure completion of the process, potential applicants are encouraged to submit their final application a week in advance of the March 26 deadline. For further information, see http://www.grants.gov/ or call the e-grants helpline at 1-800-386-6820.

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES:

New Leaders for New Schools Application Deadline - March 1, 2007:

New Leaders for New Schools, a national non-profit that prepares individuals to become urban public school principals, is accepting applications from qualified candidates through March 1, 2007.

New Leaders offers a unique program of rigorous coursework delivered by nationally recognized experts, a full-time year-long residency with a strong mentor principal, and intensive work with a dedicated Leadership Coach. At the end of the year, New Leaders help place participants in urban public schools and provide them with ongoing support, networking, and a lifelong community of peers. Each New Leader receives three years of fully-funded training and support.

There are minimum application requirements that vary by program city. In New York, applicants must have: A minimum of three years of full-time teaching experience in a K-12 classroom; a Bachelor's Degree; and, a teaching certificate (preferred but not required).

All applications must be submitted online at www.nlns.org by March 1, 2007. For more information visit the New Leaders Web site at www.nlns.org. You can also send an email to rragoonath@nlns.org, or call (646) 792-1066.

CURRENT EVENTS

Governor Names New Senior Education Policy Advisor:

This week Governor Spitzer announced the selection of Manuel Rivera, Ph.D., as his administration's Deputy Secretary for Education. Mr. Rivera, who is currently Rochester's superintendent of schools, is a former teacher and administrator. As superintendent he heads a school system serving more than 34,000 students. He has also served on the management team for Edison Schools, Inc.

As Deputy Secretary he will be responsible for all statewide education policy matters, including initiatives outlined earlier this week by the Governor in his “Contract for Excellence” speech and 2007-08 Executive Budget. Those include increased education funding with accountability, a more transparent school aid formula and raising the cap on public charter schools.

The Charter Center looks forward to meeting with Mr. Rivera and supporting his efforts to implement new education policy and programs.

Center Launches "2007 Charter School Promotions" in NYC Weeklies:

As part of our ongoing efforts to raise awareness about public charter schools and rally support for a cap lift during the current legislative session, the Charter Center is placing school promotions in the city's largest weekly newspapers.

Through the months of February and March, community weeklies in four of the five boroughs will publish information on how to apply to NYC public charter schools and how to learn about upcoming open houses and lottery dates for student admission. The promotions feature contact information on all 60 NYC public charter schools.

The Charter Center will continue to be proactive in its media relations initiatives with plans for additional promotions in daily newspapers and other mediums. For more information please contact Jeff Maclin at jmaclin@nycchartercenter.org.

Save the Date! Third Annual Charter School Leadership Summit - May 3, 2007:

On Thursday, May 3, 2007 the Charter Center will be hosting the Third Annual New York City Charter School Leadership Summit.

This event will kick off National Charter School Week (first week in May). The Leadership Summit is an idea that current school leaders presented to the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence and we agreed to partner with school leaders to host the event annually. The purpose of this event is to create a unified network of charter school leaders in support of charter school accountability, autonomy and the pursuit of high quality education. The event is for current NYC charter school leaders. Look for invitations and additional details in the coming weeks.

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 non-profit, 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.