Volume III, Issue 11,  April 30, 2007

---

---

 

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

Third Annual Charter School Leadership Summit

Center Grant Opportunity

Post-Caplift Advocacy Agenda

New! Center Resources Section with Charter Portal Update

Fiscal Learning Workshop Series - Borough Cohorts

Upcoming Bronx Charter Leader Meeting

     

Third Annual Charter School Leadership Summit - This Thursday!

In celebration of National Charter School Week, The New York City Center for Charter School Excellence will host its Third Annual Charter School Leadership Summit. The keynote speakers are New York City Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein and Deputy Secretary of Education to the Governor Manual Rivera. Dine and network with charter school leaders from all over NYC! Partake in round table discussions pertinent to the continued pursuit of excellence! Come and celebrate Paula Gavin's contributions to the Center! Celebrate the Cap Lift!

 

When:   Thursday, May 3, 2007

             6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Where:  Penthouse 15 (aka Loft Eleven) - 336 West 37th Street (bet. 8th & 9th Ave)

                The event will take place on the 15th Floor

Closest subways are A,C, or E; 1,2, or 3 to 34th Street/Penn Station. Please contact Ahmed Pierson at 212-437-8312 for more information about directions, parking and other details.

 

Center Offers New $10,000 Grant Opportunity
The Center is offering a new round of effective practice grants to help fund programs or practices that school leaders or teachers believe will improve student learning and achievement. Grant proposals for funding of up to $10,000 are due by June 1st. The Center will give priority to proposals to pilot a new practice or program, or to improve an existing one in such areas as assessment, instruction, curriculum, classroom resources, special education and student counseling and professional development from schools committed to sharing results with other schools.

Please contact Chris Pendry, the Center's VP of Grants and Strategic Planning to discuss any questions and for a copy of the grant application at 212-437-8313, or Lorin Brown at 212-437-8325. 

 

 

---

 

OPERATIONS

 

 

Post-Caplift Advocacy Agenda

The Center is grateful for the support of school leaders, parents and advocates whose collective efforts were so key to our success in raising the statewide cap on public charter schools. As we prepare to open 50 plus new charter schools in NYC our focus turns from growth and expansion to fostering excellence and equity for existing and new charter schools. School leaders drive our work at the Center, and as such we ask that you help us develop and refine our next agenda for advocacy. Here are some of the direct ways school leaders can contribute and express their views: through Borough meetings hosted by COO Dirk Tillotson (please see May 2nd Bronx Charter Leader Meeting in Current Events); individual meetings with schools; and, through the revived Charter School Leaders Advocacy and Equity Committee. Additionally, we encourage school leaders to call or email Jeff Maclin with comments and ideas.

Outreach to New York Regents Representatives 
The Center encourages all current and prospective charter school leaders to reach out to their respective Regents representatives. New Regents were recently elected by the State Legislature in Manhattan and the Bronx. This is an opportunity for school leaders to extend invitations for school visits and school-related events, or offer information on the school they plan to open. We urge you to be proactive. For contact information on Regents representatives in the five boroughs visit the NY Regents official Web site:

Brooklyn: Karen Brooks Hopkins

Bronx: Natalie M.Gomez-Velez*

Manhattan: Charles R. Bendit*  

Queens: Geraldine Chapey

Staten Island: Merryl H. Tisch

*New Regent 

Fiscal Internal Controls Workshop a Success!
On Tuesday, April 24, the Center hosted a training session presented by Fiscal Management Associates (FMA) entitled "Internal Controls: Developing Fiscal Policies and Procedures for Charter Schools." Twenty-one school leaders attended, including Board members, principals, and operations/finance staff, representing 19 existing schools and two planning schools. Bill Lake of Charter Schools Institute and Aamir Raza of NYCDOE were both in attendance to share their expertise and expectations. All participating schools received a copy of the FMA Fiscal Policies & Procedures Manual template that can be used to customize to their particular school's needs.

The session included lively discussions around such topics as: fixed asset tracking; recording/tracking employee time worked; segregation of duties; and, Board fiscal oversight. Schools shared their experiences and learned from each other.

If you would like to receive a copy of Fiscal Policies & Procedures Manual Template CD, please email Vinice Davis.

Update on Search for Center's Next CEO
The New York City Center for Charter School Excellence's Board of Directors has recently organized a formal search committee for the task of selecting the next Chief Executive Officer.  The Committee has, in turn, enlisted the help of an executive search consultant to help guide this process. The consultant, Monisha Lozier, has based her career in recruiting in the education community and has strong ties to the K-12 reform community. She has conducted lengthy interviews with Center board members and senior staff so that she can better understand the culture, team, mission and priorities for the Center as well as the key characteristics that its next leader must have.

These characteristics and more are detailed in the formal position description for the search. If you would like a copy of the position description or have ideas for potential candidates, please contact Monisha Lozier at 773-472-0254. Active recruiting for the position has begun and will continue until the successful candidate has been identified. Ideally, the next CEO will be in place by mid-Summer 2007.

 

---

 

CENTER RESOURCES

 

Center Listserves
In an effort to increase networking between schools, the Center has established and begun utilizing subject area Listserves (i.e., Governance, Operations, Parent Advocacy, etc.). This should reduce our clogging your inboxes and allow schools to share information with specific audiences and open discussion about relevant topics.  The Center will moderate them and provide the initial content for these discussion topics, as well as provide legwork in tracking down answers that are more elusive.

 

If you would like to sign up:

    1- Please click here to access the Listserv Main Menu
    2- Select the name of your preferred group
    3- Scroll down and follow the instructions for subscription setup by entering your email

        address and password. You may also unsubscribe at any time from this page.
    4- You will receive a email confirmation upon successful subscription as well as a

        welcome to the discussion group. 

 

If you have any questions about sign-up, please contact Karen Todd. We are always open to ideas for additional groups as well. If there are other areas you would like us to create lists for, please contact Dirk Tillotson.

 

 

 

---

 

FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITIES

 

Look for more fund-raising opportunities in coming weeks!

 

---

 

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

Fiscal Learning Workshop Series - Borough Cohorts
In our efforts to help schools be audit-ready and to learn most commonly-used fiscal practices, the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence is sponsoring a series of two workshops presented by Fiscal Management Associates (FMA).

In a peer-learning format, FMA will facilitate more in-depth discussions around hot topics that arose from the April 24 financial polices and procedures training. The workshops will be conducted in a cohort learning format, providing opportunities for participants to share their successful problem-solving strategies with other schools in their borough. This format also allows schools the opportunity to network and build relationships with one another.

The first series will take place in May. To register for a workshop in your borough or closest borough, please email Vinice Davis.

Brooklyn - May 17th (3:30 - 6:30 pm) - Hellenic Classical Charter School

Bronx - May 22nd (3:30 - 6:30 pm)- Hyde Leadership Charter School

Manhattan - May 24th (3:30  - 6:30 pm) - ???? (If you are interested in hosting 10-20 school staff, please email Vinice Davis)

 

 

---

 

CURRENT EVENTS

   

 

Bronx Charter Leader Meeting - May 2, 2007 (5:00 to 6:30 pm)

This meeting will be focused on the next steps for the Center, as well as eliciting the views of school leaders on our post-caplift advocacy agenda. The next meeting is scheduled for May 2nd, from 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm, at Carl C. Icahn Charter School, 1525 Brook Avenue, Bronx, NY 10457. Click here for a local map.

 

 

President Bush visits Harlem Village Academy Charter School

Congratulations to Harlem Village Academy Charter School on being recognized by President Bush as one of the top-performing public charter schools in the nation. The President, who is seeking reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Law, visited the school on April 24 and met with charter school students.

 

Three NYC Public Charter Schools Honored Among "50 Best Charter Schools" in America

Amber Charter School, Explore Charter School and Harlem Village Academy Charter School were named by The Center for Education Reform (CER) as three of the "50 best charter schools in America." Congratulations to these schools for their achievement! For more information on the honorees and CER visit their Web site: www.edreform.com. 

Surveys Launch for NYC Schools and DOE-authorized Charter Schools

Today, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) is launching the first-ever Learning Environment Survey of parents, teachers and students. The goal of the surveys is to gather data from members of school communities who know the most about how well their schools serve the learning needs of students. Parents, students (grades 6-12) and teachers are a vital source of information about student learning, and DOE wants them to weigh in on key decisions about what will help students succeed.

 

The surveys focus on the learning environment in schools. In particular, they ask key members of school communities to comment on four factors that can facilitate student learning: safety, engagement, communication, and expectations.

 

Surveys will arrive in all NYC schools and New York City DOE-authorized charter schools this week. Charter schools will have the opportunity to choose whether to use the surveys this year. If you have any questions about the surveys, please contact Adina Lopatin via email or in the DOE Office of Accountability at 212-374-3494.

 

 

 

 

 

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.