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

Charter Schools - Approval of Charter Amendment Requests for Conservatory Lab Charter School, Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School, and Roxbury Preparatory Charter School

Pursuant to the Charter School Regulations, 603 CMR 1.11(1), the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (Board) must approve major changes in the material terms of a school's charter, including changes to a school's maximum enrollment; grades served; and location of facilities, if such change involves relocating or expanding to another municipality. This memo presents charter amendment requests from three charter schools: Conservatory Lab Charter School (grades served), Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School (location of facilities), and Roxbury Preparatory Charter School (maximum enrollment and grades served).

As required by 603 CMR 1.11(5), for amendment requests that seek to change a charter school's maximum enrollment, grade span, or the municipality of its location, the Department solicits written comment from the superintendent of the school districts within each charter school's district or region specified in the school's charter. At the time this memorandum was written, we had not received any comments on any of the requests.

Conservatory Lab Charter School

Conservatory Lab Charter School (CLCS), located in Boston, currently serves approximately 132 students in grades K through 5 and seeks a change in the grades it serves. In October 2005, the Board approved the school's request to increase the maximum enrollment allowed by its charter from 132 to 154 students and to add grade six to the school's K through 5 grade span. Recently, the school's board of trustees voted to request the addition of a K1 program for four-year-old students, instead of adding the previously approved grade 6. The maximum enrollment would remain the same at 154 students. The CLCS proposes to begin the school's Learning Through Music program with students one year earlier in order to improve student outcomes in later grades. The school currently has strong demand for its 22 kindergarten (K2) seats, with an average of over five applicants for each seat in the past five years. CLCS has provided a detailed implementation plan for this expansion in the attached amendment request.

Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School

Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School (PVCI), located in Amherst, is a regional charter school that currently serves 42 students in grades K through 1 and seeks a change in the location of its facilities. The school is in its first year of operation this year. The school's board of trustees requests approval to move the school's facility approximately four miles, from its current location in Amherst, to a new facility in Hadley, effective the beginning of the 2008-09 school year. PVCI is requesting this change in order to accommodate the growth of its student body in accordance with the terms of the school's charter. The school's proposed new facility is centrally located within the school's region of service.

Roxbury Preparatory Charter School

Roxbury Preparatory Charter School (RPCS), located in Boston, currently serves approximately 200 students in grades 6 through 8 and seeks a reduction in its maximum enrollment and the grades it serves. The Board last renewed the school's charter in February 2004, with a maximum enrollment of 432 students and a maximum grade span of grades 5 through 10. Over the past several months, a feasibility study committee of the school's board of trustees met to determine if and how to use the remaining seats allotted to the school. As a result of this committee's recommendations, the school's board of trustees voted to request a charter amendment to reduce the school's maximum enrollment from 432 students to 300 students and to make the grade span in the school's charter consistent with the grade span offered by the school, grades 6 through 8. In lieu of expanding to a high school or substantially increasing its middle school program, RPCS plans to increase the size of its incoming sixth grade class to serve more students in its current middle school structure.

The Department has reviewed these requests, and they appear reasonable and consistent with the charter school statute and regulations. I recommend that the Board approve these requests as presented. If you have any questions regarding these amendments, please contact Mary Street, Director of Charter Schools, at 781-338-3200; Jeff Wulfson, Associate Commissioner, at 781-338-6500; or me.

Enclosures:
Correspondence from Conservatory Lab Charter School
Correspondence from Roxbury Preparatory Charter School
Correspondence from Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School