District/School Administration Administration
The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Charter Renewal - Four Rivers Charter Public School

I recommend that the Board of Education vote to renew the charter for the Four Rivers Charter Public School (FRCPS).

Basis of Recommendations Regarding the Renewal of Charters

The superintendents of the districts served by FRCPS were invited to submit written comment to the Department regarding the renewal of the school's charter. No written comment was received from the superintendents.

The summary document that follows this memorandum was prepared for you as a compilation of the school's record for the term of this charter. The accountability process for charter schools recognizes that in exchange for increased freedom, a school must demonstrate results within the term of its five-year charter or risk non-renewal. I recommend that the Board renew the charter for Four Rivers Charter Public School based on the evidence gathered in the attached Summary of Review and as further summarized below.

I. Academic Success

• FRCPS serves grades 7-12 and uses the Expeditionary Learning program. This program has been aligned to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.
• Site visit teams from the Charter School Office and members of the renewal inspection team consistently observed positive relationships between teachers and peers and sound instructional practices in FRCPS classrooms.
• FRCPS made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in ELA and mathematics in the aggregate and for all statistically significant subgroups in all years between 2003 and 2007, with the exception of 2005 when the school did not make AYP for mathematics in the aggregate.

II. Organizational Viability

• FRCPS is financially sound and stable.
• The FRCPS Board consists of nine members. The Board has met regularly throughout the term of its first charter and has overseen the school's financing and acquisition of a facility.
• In 2007, the school restructured and expanded its leadership team by adding the position of principal to serve as the instructional leader of the school
• The school reports high levels of parent satisfaction through the results of a parent survey.
• FRCPS maintained full enrollment with waitlists for all years during this charter term.

III. Faithfulness to Charter

• The renewal inspection team found that the FRCPS have effectively incorporated the school's three themes of nature, technology, and community into its curriculum and instruction.
• Site visit teams from the Charter School Office and members of the renewal inspection team found FRCPS has effectively incorporated the principles of Expeditionary Learning across the curriculum.
• FRCPS has successfully completed all Coordinated Program Review requirements for this cycle.

IV. Dissemination

• In March of 2007, four teachers presented two master classes to educators from across the country attending the Expeditionary Learning National Conference.
• Under teacher guidance, this year students from FRCPS collaborated with a local organization to put forward a "Road to Freedom" photo/text exhibit that is on tour nationally in universities and museums.
• In the 2006-07 school year, a teacher completed an interdisciplinary learning expedition called "Watershed Wildlife," which was an illustrated investigation of species found in the Connecticut River watershed. The final product of the expedition is a CD which is being distributed to a local environmental center, area schools and libraries as a resource for students and a vivid representation of Expeditionary Learning practices.

If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact Jeff Wulfson, Associate Commissioner, at 781 338-6500, Mary Street, Director of Charter Schools, at 781 338-3200, or me.

Enclosure:    Summary of Review