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

North Central Charter Essential School - Report on Conditions and Recommendation

The charter of North Central Charter Essential School (NCCES) was renewed with conditions in February 2007. At this time, the school has met three of the four conditions imposed. Progress has been made toward meeting the fourth condition requiring the school to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and make progress toward goals outlined in its accountability plan. Based on evidence provided through the charter school accountability process and my own visit to the school, I recommend that the Board extend the fourth condition to require that the school make AYP on the 2009 MCAS test administration and that the school continue to meet or make progress towards meeting the academic goals in its accountability plan.

North Central Charter Essential School

NCCES, a regional Commonwealth charter school, is located in Fitchburg. The school opened in 2002 and is chartered to serve grades seven through twelve with a maximum enrollment of 400. In 2008-09, NCCES is serving 344 students. The school draws approximately half of its students from Fitchburg, with students also enrolling from Leominster, Gardner, North Middlesex, Ashburnham-Westminster, and other communities in central Massachusetts.

The school's mission statement is: "NCCES is a free public school where students are known personally, challenged intellectually, and expected to participate actively in their learning. Guided by our commitment to diversity and inclusiveness, our goal is to send graduates into the world who think for themselves, care about others, and act creatively and responsibly."

On October 9, 2008, the Charter School Office conducted a site visit to NCCES. Before the visit, the site visit team reviewed the school's 2007-08 annual report; the Year 6, 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 investigate 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

The following conditions were imposed at the time of the school's charter renewal in 2007.

Condition 1: By June 30, 2007, the school shall submit a report on actions taken in response to the recommendations of a consultant, who shall be approved by the Commissioner, hired to complete a review of the school's leadership structure and to provide assistance in the hiring process for school leadership.

Status: Met. In April 2007, the school received approval from the Commissioner and engaged the educational consulting firm, Class Measures, to conduct a review of the school's leadership structure and to provide assistance in the hiring process for school leadership. On June 22, 2007, it submitted to the Charter School Office a report in response to the recommendations. The school's written response included the recommendations made by the consultant, the school's adoption of those recommendations, and a plan for continued collaboration between the school and the consultant.

Condition 2: By June 30, 2007, NCCES must submit to the Department's Charter School Office a school improvement plan created through the Department's process for creation of a District Plan for School Intervention.

Status: Met. The June 30, 2007 deadline was met for submission of the final draft of the NCCES Plan for Charter School Improvement (Plan). Staff members in the Accountability and Targeted Assistance unit of the Department reviewed the Plan in lieu of a state review panel. The school received the comments of these reviewers and was informed in October 2007 that the Plan should be implemented and the school should conduct ongoing evaluation to determine if the Plan is successful and if changes need to be made, in collaboration with the Charter School Office.

Condition 3: By June 30, 2007, NCCES must have a five year accountability plan approved by the Charter School Office. The accountability plan must include annual benchmarks against goals and objectives that align to the school's plan for improvement as referenced in Condition 1. Benchmarks within the accountability plan must include the school making AYP in the aggregate and for all statistically significant subgroups on all applicable tests.

Status: Met. The school submitted its draft plan in a timely fashion, received feedback from the Charter School Office, and submitted a final version by June 30, 2007.

Condition 4: NCCES must demonstrate that it is an academic success by December of 2008 by providing evidence that the school has met or is making substantial progress toward meeting benchmarks in its 2007-12 accountability plan and has made AYP in the aggregate and for all statistically significant subgroups on all applicable tests on the spring 2007 and spring 2008 MCAS test administrations.

Status: Partially met. In 2007, In ELA, NCCES did not make AYP in English language arts (ELA) in the aggregate and for its two subgroups. NCCES made AYP in mathematics that year in the aggregate and for one of its two subgroups. In 2008, the school made AYP in ELA in the aggregate, and for two of its three statistically significant subgroups. In mathematics, the school showed growth but did not make AYP in the aggregate, missing the improvement target by 0.3 CPI points. Two of three subgroups made AYP.

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
   • Stakeholders are familiar with and committed to the school's mission, which is reflective of its status as a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools.
   • Stakeholders express an understanding and commitment to the Think/Care/Act philosophy of the school.
   • Conflict and disciplinary issues are addressed through structures that are aligned to the school's mission, such as peer mediation and the advisory program.
   
   
2. Academic Success
   • The school is in the process of reorganizing, documenting, and reviewing its baseline curriculum using web-based curriculum mapping software.
   • The school has implemented a program that is designed to provide targeted ELA and mathematics instruction to students according to their most urgent needs.
   • Classrooms were observed to be purposeful and focused on learning.
   • The school has expressed a commitment to developing assessments and data analysis systems that are tied to state standards. This year, the school received a $120,000 grant from the Peabody Foundation that is designed to better integrate the school's collection of and use of data.
   • MCAS scores for NCCES students have been inconsistent over the past three years with the overall composite performance index showing improvement as grades progress.
   
   
3. Organizational Viability
   • Administrators have developed a reporting structure for keeping the board of trustees informed about progress on the school's accountability and school improvement plans.
   • The board is clear in its understanding of its role and has developed an effective committee structure.
   • Achieving maximum enrollment continues to be a challenge. The board of trustees identified improving the school's image and increasing enrollment as a priority.
   • Parents and students are very satisfied with the school and deeply appreciate the teachers' dedication.
   
   

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