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

Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School - Report on Conditions and Recommendation

The charter of Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School (BBCPS) was renewed with three conditions in January 2006. At this time, the school has not met two of the three conditions, including the requirement that the school make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2008 and make substantial progress toward meeting its academic improvement accountability plan goals. Based on evidence provided through the charter school accountability process and my own visit to the school, I recommend placing the school on probation with the condition that the school make AYP in the aggregate and for all subgroups for the 2009 MCAS test administration and meet or make progress toward meeting the academic goals in its accountability plan and that enrollment remain at 325 students.

Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School

BBCPS, a Commonwealth charter school, is located in and chartered to serve Cambridge. The school opened in 1996 and the charter was renewed with conditions in 2001 and 2006. BBCPS is chartered to serve kindergarten through grade six with a maximum enrollment of 325. In 2008-09, BBCPS is serving 313 students. The school draws its students primarily from Boston (179) and Cambridge (66) as well as from twenty additional districts.

The school's mission statement reads: "the Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School is an urban K-6 science and technology school, committed to excellence in education. We believe all students can excel as learners and citizens when provided with a rich, supportive, and stimulating educational environment. The BBCPS is the inspiration of concerned community leaders, parents, and educators, with the common vision and purpose of providing all Cambridge and local youth, regardless of race, culture, language, or socioeconomic status, with a high quality education."

On October 23, 2008, the Charter School Office conducted a site visit to BBCPS. Before the visit, the site visit team reviewed the school's 2007-08 annual report; the school's accountability plan; the Year 12, 2007-08 Site Visit Report; board of trustees materials; and recent internal and external assessment data. On site, the team reviewed curricular documents and other information provided by the school; conducted group and individual interviews with trustees, administrators, teachers, students, and parents; and observed classes.

The site visit had four purposes:

• to review the progress that the school has made in meeting the conditions imposed by the Board,
• to corroborate and augment the information contained in the school's annual report,
• to determine the school's progress relative to its accountability plan goals, and
• to provide evidence that will support decisions regarding the school's charter.

Report on Conditions

Condition 1: The Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School will make Adequate Yearly Progress in the aggregate and no longer be identified in English language arts and mathematics under the Massachusetts School and District Accountability System when results are reported for the 2007-08 school year.

Status: Not met. BBCPS did not make AYP in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics in the aggregate or for any subgroups in 2008.

Condition 2: The Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School will meet, or make substantial progress each year towards meeting, the goals in its Accountability Plan for 2006-11 in the area of student academic success.

Status: Not met. According to data submitted at the time of the site visit and in the 2007-08 annual report, BBCPS has achieved three of the ten measures related to academic success in its accountability plan. One measure was partially met, three were not met, and it is not possible to assess whether the school achieved an additional three measures.

Condition 3: For the 2006-07 school year, enrollment at the Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School is limited to 325 students. When the school demonstrates that both academic success conditions above have been met, enrollment may increase to a maximum of 350 students.

Status: Met. The school reduced its maximum enrollment to 325 students.

Additional Information

The attached site visit report provides additional information in the three areas of charter school accountability, including the following:

1. Faithfulness to Charter
   • In year thirteen, the school is in the process of redefining the science and technology aspect of its mission. Last spring, the school convened a meeting of a science advisory board to discuss this aspect of the school's mission and what types of partnerships the school could further formalize or forge with outside organizations. The school is counting on improving its image as a science and technology school to bring in more students from Cambridge.
   • In keeping with its mission, the school is well equipped with instructional technology. Teachers regularly incorporate devices such as personal computers, Alphasmarts, Smartboards, and a Promethean Activboard with an Activote system into lessons.
   
   
2. Academic Success
   • CPI trajectories show declining performance for ELA and no significant change in mathematics for the past five years. Scores declined in 2008 after showing some gains in 2007. The overall CPI in ELA is 67.3 and in mathematics is 60.6.
   • In ELA, 58 percent or fewer students reached proficiency in all tested grades for all years from 2005-08; in mathematics, 51 percent or fewer students reached proficiency in all tested grades for all years from 2004-08.
   • In the past five years, between 16 and 29 percent of grade five students have reached proficiency on the MCAS science exam.
   • In year twelve, the school articulated in writing its definitions of and expectations for teaching and learning. The year thirteen site visit team found that the school's teaching and learning model had been partially implemented. School leaders acknowledged and site visitors confirmed that the goals of differentiating instruction; reducing teacher talk time; and increasing the extent to which students think, speak, and are engaged in classroom activities have not yet been attained.
   • Student behavior has had an impact on the quality and quantity of learning. During the year thirteen site visit, visitors observed a significant amount of student misbehavior in approximately one-third of the twenty-seven lessons observed.
   
   
3. Organizational Viability
   • Although chartered to serve the district of Cambridge, BBCPS continues to draw a high percentage of its students from Boston (57%). Enrollment from Cambridge is 21% of the student body, with the remaining 22 percent coming from approximately twenty other towns. In order to support those students travelling long distances, the school offers free transportation to all students, at an annual cost to the school of over $300,000.
   • The school's leadership and curriculum team have created a root cause analysis document to reflect on why BBCPS did not achieve AYP in either ELA or mathematics in 2008. Among other factors, the drop in scores is attributed to the fact that 2008 was a transitional year, with a new executive director and many new and inexperienced staff members who received insufficient support and training.
   
   

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

Attachment: Site Visit Report