The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
Charter Schools - Charter Amendment Requests for Changes to Maximum Enrollment or Grades Served of UP Academy Charter School of Boston, Salem Academy Charter School, Hampden Charter School of Science, and KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School
Pursuant to the Charter School Regulations, 603 CMR 1.11(1), the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (Board) must approve certain changes in the material terms of a school's charter. This year, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department) received requests from eight existing schools to change their maximum enrollment, districts served, and grades served. At the January meeting, I am recommending approval of requests from four schools, am not recommending requests from two schools, and am deferring until February my recommendation for the remaining two schools.
I recommend approval of requests from one Horace Mann charter school and three Commonwealth charter schools. I recommend approval of the expansion requests of UP Academy Charter School of Boston (Horace Mann), Salem Academy Charter School, and Hampden Charter School of Science to increase student enrollment. I also recommend approval of the request of KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School to expand to K-12 school from their current secondary school model. The charter amendment review process and the four individual school requests are described in detail below, in preparation for a discussion and vote at the Board's meeting on January 27, 2015.
Tabs A through D contain the following information specific to each amendment:
- the amendment request submitted by the school;
- the Department's overview of the request and evidence regarding the school's performance;
- a summary of the school's academic performance, student demographics, attrition rates, and a five-year financial summary;
- a summary of the school's credentials as a proven provider, if applicable; and
- superintendent comment, if received.
My recommendations for charter amendments are summarized in the following table.
| Charter School | Tab | District or Region | Current Grade Span | Current Max. Enrollment | Amendment Request | Commissioner's Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UP Academy Charter School of Boston | A | Boston | 6-8 | 500 | Enrollment increase (40) | Recommend |
| Salem Academy Charter School | B | Salem | 6-12 | 372 | Enrollment increase (108) | Recommend |
| Hampden Charter School of Science | C | Chicopee, Ludlow, Springfield, West Springfield | 6-12 | 350 | Enrollment increase (210) | Recommend |
| KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School | D | Lynn | 5-12 | 850 | Add grades K-4; Enrollment increase (736) | Recommend |
| Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy Charter Public School | NA | Boston | 6-8 | 216 | Add grades 5, and 9-12; Enrollment increase (316)1; and become regional2 | Requires further school action |
| Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School | NA | 39 districts in Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden counties3 | K-12 | 584 | Enrollment increase (384) | Requires further school action |
| Pioneer Charter School of Science | NA | Chelsea, Everett, Revere | 7-12 | 360 | Add grades K-6; Enrollment increase (420) | Relates to other pending matters; deferred to February 2015 |
| Mystic Valley Regional Charter School | NA | Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Stoneham, Wakefield | K-12 | 1500 | Enrollment increase of 400 | Relates to other pending matters; deferred to February 2015 |
Determination Regarding Other Amendment Requests
In addition to the requests I am recommending for approval, I evaluated the charter amendment requests submitted by the boards of trustees of Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy Charter Public School and Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School. I am not recommending approval of these requests at this time. I have encouraged these schools to address concerns identified by the Department before further consideration of these requests.
The charter amendment requests submitted by the boards of trustees of Pioneer Charter School of Science4 and Mystic Valley Regional Charter School5 relate to other pending matters. My recommendation regarding their requests will come to the Board next month.
The Charter Amendment Review Process
Section 1.10 of the Charter School Regulations (603 CMR 1.10) contains several criteria that the Commissioner and the Board may consider in reaching a determination regarding a school's request to amend its charter. First, "the Commissioner and the Board may consider a charter school's compliance with applicable state, federal, and local law." Second, the Commissioner and the Board may consider the evidence regarding the success of the school's academic program, the viability of the school as an organization, and the faithfulness of the school to the terms of its charter. Third, schools must address additional criteria outlined in the Department's guidelines on amendment requests related to the expansion proposal, including the planning and implementation of the proposed changes to the school's charter. Fourth, a board of trustees seeking additional seats in some districts must qualify as a "proven provider" based upon the existing Commonwealth charter school and meet the performance criteria described in 603 CMR 1.04(4).
The Department conducted a comprehensive review of the amendment requests. The amendment review process included the following:
Written comments were solicited from superintendents from districts affected by proposed expansions.
The Department reviewed each amendment request and each school's body of evidence. Reviewers completed an evaluation rubric to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each amendment request and potential questions for school leaders and board members.
School leaders and board members were interviewed by the Department, if necessary, to address specific concerns or questions that arose during the amendment review.
I met with Department staff to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each amendment request when judged against the criteria outlined in the Department's amendment guidelines and the Charter School Performance Criteria.
Proven Provider Determination
When a board of trustees requests to increase the maximum enrollment of a charter school, I must consider the status of available seats under the relevant net school spending (NSS) cap. Requests are only considered if seats are available within the charter school's current or proposed region that could accommodate the increase in enrollment. Secondly, if the school's charter region includes a district that has performed on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests (MCAS) in the lowest 10 percent statewide for two consecutive previous years, the Department must also consider the status of the NSS cap. If the school's request to increase maximum enrollment would exceed the 9 percent NSS cap, the board of trustees must meet the qualifications to achieve proven provider status as defined in 603 CMR 1.04(4).
In order to determine if a current board of trustees qualifies for proven provider status, I consider affirmative, credible evidence of the existing school's success in each of the three accountability areas: academic program success, organizational viability, and faithfulness to the terms of its charter. Pursuant to 603 CMR 1.04(4)(b), applicants for proven provider status must demonstrate success in student academic performance and evidence of overall academic program success, including, but not limited to:
proficiency levels and growth measures on the MCAS or equivalent assessments for all students and for one or more targeted subgroups as defined in M.G.L. c. 71, § 89(i)(3), which are similar to statewide averages in English Language Arts and mathematics for all students in Massachusetts in comparable grades, over no less than a three-year period for cohorts of students;
attendance, retention, and attrition data;
graduation and dropout data, if applicable; and
in-school and out-of-school suspension rates.
Boards of trustees must also demonstrate "organizational viability, which shall include but not be limited to effective governance, effective financial management, effective implementation of recruitment and retention plans, if applicable, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations."
Proven provider status is required to award additional seats to Salem Academy Charter School, Hampden Charter School of Science, and KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School because districts that comprise their charter region have been identified as districts performing in the lowest 10 percent of all statewide student MCAS performance scores based on the most recent two consecutive school years and because the 9 percent net school spending cap is either already exceeded or would be exceeded if the amendment request were granted. The request made by the board of trustees of the UP Academy Charter School of Boston does not require proven provider due to its status as a Horace Mann charter school (Tab A).
Within Tabs B through D, you will find the relevant student achievement and indicator data compiled by the Department for each school. The graphs of student achievement data permit a comparison of the school's relative performance to the statewide and district averages for the same grades that are served by the charter school. The graphs of student indicator data provide the school's performance in comparison to overall statewide and district averages.
Evaluating each school's performance against the criteria as described in 603 CMR 1.04(4), I have identified the board of trustees of Salem Academy Charter School, Hampden Charter School of Science, and KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School as proven providers.
Recommendation
I have reviewed each of these five requests and they appear reasonable and consistent with the charter school statute and regulations. Attached is the Department's review of the evidence regarding each school's academic program, the viability of the school as an organization, and the faithfulness of the school to the terms of its charter. Given each school's overall academic performance and compliance with applicable state, federal, and local law, I recommend that the Board approve the requests recommended. Motions for approval are attached for your consideration.
If you have any questions regarding these amendments or require additional information, please contact Cliff Chuang, Associate Commissioner (781-338-3222); Jeff Wulfson, Deputy Commissioner (781-338-6500); or me.
Attachments:
TAB A: UP Academy Charter School of Boston
TAB B: Salem Academy Charter School
TAB C: Hampden Charter School of Science
TAB D: KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School
1 The original request of the Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy Charter Public School involved the addition of grades K-5, 9-12; and an enrollment increase of 536. Upon further communication with the school regarding the capping of Boston seats that would be required by any request involving enrollment, the board of trustees submitted a revised request which is reflected in the table.
2 The school proposes a region that includes Avon, Braintree, Brockton, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Holbrook, Lynn, Milton, Quincy, Randolph, Revere, Somerville, and Stoughton in addition to Boston. The Board cannot award additional Boston seats to Commonwealth charter schools due to Boston reaching its net school spending cap.
3 The charter region of Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School includes the districts of Agawam, Amherst, Amherst-Pelham, Belchertown, Chesterfield-Goshen, Chicopee, Conway, Deerfield, East Longmeadow, Easthampton, Frontier, Gill-Montague, Granby, Granville, Greenfield, Hadley, Hampden-Wilbraham, Hampshire, Hatfield, Hawlemont, Holyoke, Leverett, Longmeadow, Ludlow, Mohawk Trail, Northampton, Pelham, Pioneer Valley, Shutesbury, South Hadley, Southampton, Springfield, Sunderland, West Springfield, Westfield, Westhampton, Whately, Williamsburg, and Southwick-Tolland.
4 In January 2015, the Department completed a site visit to both Pioneer Charter School of Science and Pioneer Charter School of Science II. I will review the subsequent site visit reports in my consideration of the amendment request.
5 In December 2013, the Board extended five prior conditions on MVRCS's charter pertaining to governance, and imposed two new conditions pertaining to enrollment. I will report on the school's progress towards addressing the conditions at the Board's February meeting.