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

Boston Renaissance Charter Public School - Information Regarding Probationary Status

This memorandum provides you with an update regarding Boston Renaissance Charter Public School (Renaissance) in Boston. In February 2007, the Board of Education placed Renaissance on probation, imposing four conditions on its charter because the school had failed to meet conditions previously imposed when its charter was renewed. Below is a summary of information gathered regarding the school since February 2007. The Charter School Office will continue to monitor the school's progress. No further action by the Board is required at this time.

The four conditions, one with subparts, imposed on the charter for Renaissance are as follows.

1. By June 30, 2007, Boston Renaissance Charter School shall have submitted to and received approval from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for the following items:

   • A school improvement plan, consistent with the Department's standards for a District Plan for School Intervention, including allocation of resources to achieve the goals of the school's plan.

   • A revised charter school Accountability Plan, including goals and annual benchmarks regarding academic success, organizational viability, and faithfulness to the terms of the school's charter. The Accountability Plan must be aligned to the school's plan for improvement as referenced above, and must include the school's plan for achieving Adequate Yearly Progress in the aggregate and for all statistically significant subgroups in English language arts and mathematics.

   • A report from the school on actions taken in response to the recommendations of a consultant hired by the school, upon approval by the Commissioner, to review the school's leadership structure and effectiveness.

2. By December of 2008, Boston Renaissance Charter School shall demonstrate that it is an academic success by providing evidence that the school has met or is making substantial progress toward meeting all benchmarks in its 2007-2010 Accountability Plan and has made Adequate Yearly Progress in the aggregate and for all statistically significant subgroups in English language arts and mathematics for 2008.

3. By December of 2008, Boston Renaissance Charter School shall have completed the necessary property acquisition and fundraising to permit a relocation of the school no later than September of 2009.

4. Boston Renaissance Charter School shall reduce its maximum enrollment, without terminating the enrollment of any student currently attending the school, from 1,240 students to 880 students, beginning in the 2009-2010 school year.

Condition 1 - Plans and Report

Renaissance substantially met this condition. There are three components to this condition, all of which were to be completed by June 30, 2007. Renaissance has completed all of the required components but did not submit until August 2007 a report on actions taken in response to the recommendations of a consultant.

The first component, requiring Renaissance to submit a Plan for Charter School Improvement, is completed and the school's plan can be found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/reports/2007/brcpc/improveplan.pdf or http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/reports/2007/brcpc/improveplan.doc. Accountability and Targeted Assistance has reviewed this plan and provided the school feedback. The results of this review can be found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/reports/2007/brcpc/analysistool.pdf or http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/reports/2007/brcpc/analysistool.doc.

The second component required Renaissance to submit and have approved a new Accountability Plan aligned with the Plan for Charter School Improvement. The school submitted this plan and the Charter School Office approved it in June 2007. The school's Accountability Plan can be found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/reports/2007/brcpc/accountabilityplan.pdf or http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/reports/2007/brcpc/accountabilityplan.doc.

The third component required Renaissance to hire a consultant approved by the Commissioner and to submit a report by June 30, 2007 regarding actions taken by the school in response to the consultant's recommendations. Renaissance hired the Education Development Center (EDC) as its consultant. EDC produced two reports, on May 8, 2007 and July 18, 2007, with multiple recommendations for Renaissance. In August 2007, Renaissance submitted its report to the Charter School Office with an action plan and deadlines for implementing the consultant's recommendations. The school's report can be found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/reports/2007/brcpc/trusteeresponse.pdf or http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/reports/2007/brcpc/trusteeresponse.doc and additional information can be found in the 13th year site visit report at http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/reports/default.html.

Condition 2 - Academic Success and Adequate Yearly Progress

Condition 2 cannot be fully assessed at this time. Condition 2 requires assessment in December 2008 of Renaissance's progress toward improving academic performance. With respect to condition 2, Renaissance made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in the aggregate in English language arts and mathematics in 2007 but did not make AYP for subgroups. The school is Identified for Improvement-Year 2 for subgroups in English language arts and is in Restructuring-Year 1 for subgroups in mathematics. Future site visits conducted by the Charter School Office will document progress against the benchmarks established in the school's Accountability Plan. Additional information about the school's academic program can be found in the 13th year site visit report.

Condition 3 - Facilities

Condition 3 cannot be fully assessed at this time. Condition 3 requires that the school relocate no later than September 2009. The school is working to sell its current facility in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood and relocate to an identified property. Additional information can be found in the 13th year site visit report.

Condition 4 - Maximum Enrollment

Condition 4 cannot be assessed at this time. Condition 4 requires that the school reduce its enrollment by 360 students, from its current 1,240 students to 880 students, by the 2009-2010 school year. It is unclear how the school plans to accomplish this reduction over the next year.

If you would like a hard copy of the documents referred to in this memorandum, have any questions, or require additional information regarding Renaissance, please contact Jeff Wulfson, Associate Commissioner, at 781-338-6500; Mary Street, Director of Charter Schools, at 78-338-3200; or me.