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

Charter Schools - Approval of Charter Amendments for Hill View Montessori Charter Public School, MATCH Charter Public High School, and Rising Tide Charter School

Pursuant to the Charter School Regulations, 603 CMR 1.11(1), the Board of Education must approve major changes in the material terms of a school's charter. Each of the following schools has requested an amendment to increase its maximum enrollment. These amendment requests meet the criteria defined in the regulations. If granted, all of these amendments would take effect for the fall of 2008, although in some cases the requested expansion would be phased in over the course of the next few years.

As required by 603 CMR 1.11(5) for requests that seek an increase in maximum enrollment, comment was solicited from the superintendents in the school districts within each charter school's district or region, as well as from superintendents in districts from which the charter school draws a substantial number of students. No letters were received in response to this solicitation.

After analyzing the effect of the proposed increases in maximum enrollment on the 9% net school spending cap for sending districts, the Department has determined that there are sufficient seats available to grant each of these requests.

Hill View Montessori Charter Public School

The Board of Trustees of Hill View Montessori Charter Public School (HVMCPS) requests approval for a charter amendment to increase enrollment by 53 students, from 243 students to 296 students, and to add grade 8 to its grade span, as was originally envisioned in its charter application. HVMCPS opened in 2003 and is chartered for the district of Haverhill. Prior to opening, the school received an amendment to include kindergarten in its grade span and is currently chartered to serve students in kindergarten through grade 7. Consonant with the growth plan outlined in its original charter, the school enrolled 189 students in kindergarten through grade 5 in 2006-07, and 220 students in kindergarten through grade 6 in the fall of 2007. If this amendment is granted, the school plans to enroll 254 students in kindergarten through grade 7 in 2008-2009 and to be fully enrolled at its new capacity and grade span in 2009-2010. The school currently is fully enrolled and has a waiting list of 274 applicants seeking admission to all grade levels, but concentrated in grades kindergarten through four.

HVMCPS's original charter application requested 266 students in grades 1-8. However, when HVMCPS was chartered in 2003, it was granted 243 seats in grades 1-7 to accommodate the school's projected growth plan for its first charter term as outlined in the charter application. At that time, it was anticipated that the school would be granted a request to amend its charter to allow for an increase in enrollment and grade span at the time of charter renewal. The current request to enroll 296 students in grades K-8 would allow the school to grow to the size anticipated by its charter proposal, as amended to include kindergarten.

This year's maximum cap calculation indicates that there are a total of 499 available seats in Haverhill. The school's plan to expand to include grade 8 and to enroll approximately 34 children per grade level is consonant with the intent of the original charter. The school has been preparing to serve this grade span since it opened.

I recommend that the Board of Education approve an enrollment increase of 53 students and the addition of grade 8 for Hill View Montessori Charter School.

MATCH Charter Public High School

The Board of Trustees of MATCH Charter Public High School (MATCH) requests approval for a charter amendment to increase enrollment by 240 students from 220 students to 460 students, and its grade span from grades 9-12 to grades 6-12, beginning in the fall of 2008. The school currently admits students into grade 9 only, and is fully enrolled with a waiting list. MATCH opened in 2000, had its charter renewed in 2004, and is chartered for the district of Boston. If the amendment is granted, MATCH would implement this proposal by admitting its first class of 93 students into grade 6 in 2008-2009, and would be fully enrolled at its new capacity in 2010-2011.

In its request, the school states that if students enter at an earlier grade level and are able to benefit from the same extended day and daily tutoring programs that are already in place at the school, they will be better prepared to meet the standards set by the school's college-preparatory high school curriculum. In this way, the school hopes to reduce its current high student attrition rate, which it attributes to the difficulty students encounter in trying to reach the school's rigorous promotion and graduation standards. Also, because it will have more time to prepare students, the school states its intention to offer additional physical education and other extracurricular options to its students. Finally, with the proposed expansion of the MATCH Corps Tutoring Program to serve the new middle school, the school will create a new teacher training program aimed at expanding the pool of urban educators.

The Department has completed an analysis of the impact of the net school spending cap and has found that there are 587 seats currently available in Boston. With 441 seats remaining in Boston after a 25% reserve has been set aside to allow for fluctuations, there are enough seats available to grant the request, with 201 seats remaining to allow for the possibility of a new Boston-based charter school in the future.

I recommend that the Board of Education approve an enrollment increase of 240 students and the addition of grades six through eight for MATCH Charter Public High School.

Rising Tide Charter School

The Board of Trustees of Rising Tide Charter School (RTCS) requests approval for a charter amendment to increase enrollment from 300 to 320 students. Rising Tide opened in 1998 and had its charter renewed in 2003. The school serves students in grades 5-8, and is chartered to serve students from the district of Plymouth.

In 2003, RTCS was granted an amendment to increase its enrollment cap from 228 to 300. Since then, the school has been gradually increasing enrollment, reaching 300 students for the first time in 2006-07. The school asserts that an enrollment of 300 students is required to maintain a stable student base, allowing for mid-year attrition, which will also ensure financial stability. The school expects to maintain an average annual enrollment of 300-310 students. The proposed plan would add several additional students to each grade level. The resulting increase would not significantly increase class size, impact the use of the facility, or change the staffing pattern.

This year's maximum cap calculation indicates that there are a total of 539 available seats in Plymouth.

I recommend that the Board of Education approve an enrollment increase of 20 students for Rising Tide Charter School.

Acting Commissioner's Recommendation

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 the amendment requests as presented.

If you have any questions regarding these amendments 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.