| To: | Charter School Leaders, Administrative Personnel, & Boards of Trustees |
| From: | Mary Street, Director of Charter Schools |
| Date: | August 21, 2008 |
I'm sure all of you are very busy preparing for the coming academic year, but please take the time to review the information and materials in this packet, pass on to others what is appropriate, and respond where requested.
Welcome to Silver Hill Horace Mann Charter School in Haverhill, opening this fall. This is the first Horace Mann charter school authorized since 2001. Two other schools, scheduled to open in 2009, were also authorized in February: Hampden Charter School of Science and Dorchester Collegiate Academy Charter School. Thank you to those of you who have been sharing your best practices with the new schools, as they prepare to open.
Upcoming Trainings and Meetings
Orientation for New Administrators at Charter Schools – Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008, 9 am-3 pm
Please come if you are new, or send new members of your administrative team to the Charter School Office (CSO) annual orientation for administrators new to their positions at charter schools. Nuts-and-bolts information will be presented about a variety of topics including charter school finance, accountability, and special education. CSO staff will also be available for "office hours" throughout the day. More information about the agenda and online registration can be found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/conference/?ConferenceID=214.
Massachusetts Certified Public Purchasing Official (MCPPO) Program – October 15 & 16, 2008
The Office of the Inspector General has developed this two-day seminar to assist charter schools in satisfying the requirement (Section 11 of Chapter 46 of the Acts of 1997) that certain charter school administrators earn a Massachusetts public purchasing official certificate. Information and registration details can be found at http://www.mass.gov/ig/mcppo/regisinf.htm#charterschools.
Annual Fall Charter Leader Meeting - Thursday, October 16, 2006, 9 am-4 pm
Please plan to attend the Fall Leader Meeting. Commissioner Chester will be there, and a full agenda and schedule will be available soon. Check the headlines at www.doe.mass.edu/charter in the coming weeks for more information and to register. We look forward to seeing you all there.
Networking Meetings for Special Education and English Language Education Coordinators
Throughout the school year, the CSO will schedule networking meetings to provide opportunities for special education and English language education coordinators to receive updates on program requirements and to discuss program implementation procedures. A CSO representative will provide technical assistance and current Department information in these program areas. The meetings will be held throughout the state at host charter schools. If you are interested in hosting a networking meeting or have questions, contact Judy Miller at 781-338-3702 or jmiller@doe.mass.edu.
Other Department trainings – various dates during the fall
Please visit http://www.doe.mass.edu/conference/ for the latest training opportunities related to SIMS, EPIMS, and other Department programs.
Regulatory/Advisory Updates and Reminders
Renewal Protocol/Application Revisions – Renewal Federal Programs Inspection Visit
During the past year, the CSO contracted with a consultant to work on revisions to the protocol used for renewal visits and the application for renewal. That work has been completed and is in use by schools up for renewal in 2009. Please review the new Renewal Inspection Protocol and Application for Renewal. They are available on the ESE website at: http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/acct.html
Verification of Board Members and Approval Process
The Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education must approve all new charter school board members. A sample copy of an approval request letter can be found at   . In addition, all members must submit a Disclosure of Financial Interest Form for Calendar Year 2007 by September 1, 2008.
Update your school's Directory!
Please be sure to update your school's Directory Profile (which can be viewed at http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/) with any key staff changes for the new school year. It is crucial that this information is accurate in order to ensure that the general public sees correct contact information and that the appropriate personnel within each school receive official ESE communications via ESE listservs. The school's designated "Directory Administrator" (see http://www.doe.mass.edu/infoservices/data/diradmin/list.aspx) has the ability to make these changes via the ESE Security Portal. Please contact your school's data support specialist (see http://www.doe.mass.edu/infoservices/data/fts.html) or Danita Johnson at 781-338-3223 if you need assistance.
Finance
Commonwealth Charter Tuition
Full details and recently updated FY09 projections can be found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/finance/tuition/. Please recall that these annualized projected FY09 tuition payments to Commonwealth charter schools are based on the pre-enrollment figures that charter schools submitted to the Department in March 2008 and projected tuition rates for FY09. Each school's September 30, first quarter, FY09 payment will be one-fourth of its total projected FY09 tuition. Tuition amounts are updated throughout the year at http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/finance/tuition/ as financial and enrollment data are submitted to the Department. A description of the tuition payment process can be found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/finance/calculation.html. For your convenience, please note that you can also access information about all the payments that you receive from the Commonwealth via an online application called VendorWeb (https://massfinance.state.ma.us/VendorWeb/vendor.asp). Please contact the Charter School Office at charterschools@doe.mass.edu or 781-338-3227 if you have questions.
Charter School Developer Program (Fund Code 534)
The priority of this grant program is to provide support (up to $20,000) to charter school founding groups in developing their charter applications for the 2009-20109 charter application cycle. The deadline to apply for round 1 is October, 31, 2008, and the deadline for Round 2 is January 30, 2009. Full details can be found at http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/Grants/grants09/rfp/534.html.
Sponsor agencies are needed!Please consider having your charter school serve as a sponsor agency for an aspiring charter school founding group.
FY08 Audit and Charter School End of Year Report (CSEOYFR)
Information about updated submission requirements for each school's FY07 audit and CSEOYFR by January 1, 2009 will be posted shortly at http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/.
Volunteer Site Visitors
Volunteers are also needed to participate in annual site visits for schools in years 2 and 3 of their charter terms. The commitment is one full work-day, plus a few self-scheduled hours for homework before the visit and report review after the visit. A stipend is available and a training session for volunteers will be held during the annual fall charter leader meeting. Please contact Joshua Lavine at 781-338-3219 or jlavine@doe.mass.edu with questions or to volunteer.
New School News
Seven charter prospectuses were submitted to the CSO on August 1, 2008. Each charter prospectus will undergo a rigorous review process over the next few weeks. Founding groups who are invited to submit a final application will be notified on or about September 15th. Final charter applications will be due on November 14th. If you are interested in reviewing applications for new charter schools this winter, please contact Ruth Hersh at 781-338-3217 or rhersh@doe.mass.edu. For more information about a particular prospectus, or to receive a copy of a prospectus, please contact us at charterschools@doe.mass.edu or 781-338-3227.
Charter School Office Staff News
Please join me in welcoming the following new staff to our office. Alison Bagg and Tony Ashton have joined the office as accountability specialists and Danita Johnson is assisting with governance and site visit work.
Each charter school has also been assigned to one of our four accountability staff who will serve as a primary liaison. Please contact Emily Lichtenstein at elichtenstein@doe.mass.edu or 781-338-3226 if you don't know who your liaison is or if you have questions.
Get the News Quickly - ESE RSS Feeds
RSS, also known as Really Simple Syndication, is a popular means of sharing content (such as news headlines) without requiring readers to constantly visit a website to see what's new. ESE now offers five feeds, including Charter School Headlines. RSS readers can be downloaded from the web for free. To view one of the ESE feeds in your RSS Reader you must copy the URL/shortcut and paste the URL into your reader.
Visit http://www.doe.mass.edu/rss/ to learn more about RSS Feeds, what applications you need in order to receive them and to view our URL/shortcut feeds.
URL/shortcut to Charter School Headlines: http://www.doe.mass.edu/rss/cs_headlines.rss
Reporting Requirements
Finally, I have enclosed a document that provides an overview of the major charter school ESE reporting requirements for the 2008 – 2009 school year. This is a compilation of reporting requirements that all schools and districts must meet, as well as those that are specific to charter schools. Though we have attempted to ensure that this list is comprehensive, please note that it is subject to change as the year progresses.
 Charter School Reporting Requirements for the 2008 – 2009 School Year
last updated: August 28, 2008
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