California Charter Leadership Program Teaches Tailored Skills for Success

This guest blog series describes approaches that seek to address one of the most critical issues facing the rapidly growing public charter school movement: its leadership pipeline. The examples from Georgia and California show how partnerships have been developed to create training programs that teach the specific skills public charter school administrators need to run a successful school. If you would like to share additional examples of leadership pipeline programs, post them to @charteralliance or #charterleadership on Twitter.

In 2012, the Charter and Autonomous Leadership Academy (CASLA) sent out a national survey to public charter school stakeholders to determine training needs for charters school leaders. These results presented a strong interest in charter leadership training.  After several years of research and development, the CASLA program has created and implemented an innovative university-based charter leadership program in which participates earn a master’s degree in education (charter leadership) and a state credential authorization.  Just as successful K-12 charter leaders must be entrepreneurial and creative, the CASLA university team successfully navigated the public university institutional system to create an accelerated, efficient, and personalized entrepreneurial program. The CASLA program is based on research, best practices, and creative solutions to meet the needs of charter school leaders in Los Angeles and eventually nationwide.

CASLA is housed at California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), a four-year urban public institution located in the urban city of Carson in Los Angeles County. CSUDH is one of the most ethnically diverse campuses in the California State University system. The school is accredited by both the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. 

Since California has a very high percentage of start-up schools (as opposed to conversion schools), CASLA’s innovative program is focused on start-up schools. During our research, aspiring and current charter leaders requested relevant and current content, and alternatives to weekly evening classes in traditional university credential programs—due to the traffic congestion in Los Angeles and responsibilities of charter leaders.  In addition, current charter leaders requested assistance with career options beyond their tenure as charter school leaders.  The CASLA program is addressing the needs. 

The CASLA leadership curriculum is designed based on the knowledge, skills, and disposition as articulated by current and former successful charter leaders, as well as small area public school district superintendents.  The CASLA program incorporates sophisticated video conferencing using technology-based instruction to personalize and individualize the delivery and content. Participants attend two weeklong seminars in the summer, and content courses are web-based.  One charter conference attendance is required. Content courses are six weeks in length; field research, extensive reading, and personal reflection are critical components.  Charter case study is a major strand throughout the 15-month credential/certificate program.  The critical internship component incorporates shadowing, field-research, and residency. Current and retired successful charter school leaders teach the content courses.  Participants are grouped in a cohort.  Current charter leaders benefit from web-based certificate programs, on topics such as master schedule development, essential elements of instruction, conflict resolution, improve rigor through effective use of data, etc.

The elements of the CASLA program form a comprehensive system that prepares and supports charter leaders who are committed to improving teacher practice and student achievement.  CASLA school leaders are now leading over 10,343 charter students in the greater Los Angeles area, with 57 percent of our CASLA leaders representing the minority groups of our diverse student population. Over 4,000 charter students have been positively impacted by our field research to improve student achievement. CASLA plans to create national regional centers. We invite inquires.  The CASLA program is the beneficiary of a supportive relationship with the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, our California Charter School Association (CCSA), and a federal grant funded through the Office of Innovation and Improvement in the Department of Education.


Image via CASLA website

Georgia’s CharterLeader Program Addresses Charter Leadership Needs

This guest blog series describes approaches that seek to address one of the most critical issues facing the rapidly growing public charter school movement: its leadership pipeline. The examples from Georgia and California show how partnerships have been developed to create training programs that teach the specific skills public charter school administrators need to run a successful school. If you would like to share additional examples of leadership pipeline programs, post them to @charteralliance or #charterleadership on Twitter.

For a number of years, the Georgia Charter Schools Association (GCSA) has anecdotally recognized a high turn over rate in its charters due to a number of factors—including governance issues and the heavy workload associated with running a multi-million dollar non-profit and a public school.  In 2008, research from the University of Washington’s National Center for Charter School Research Project published data to validate GCSA’s concerns in their study, Working without a Safety Net by Christine Campbell and Bethany Gross.  With the growth of the charter sector nationally and in Georgia, increasing the pipeline and retaining quality talent became a practical matter.  The National Governor’s Association and others in the education research field, such as Robert Marzano, all agree that leadership is the second most influential factor in student achievement, next to the classroom teacher.  This further emphasizes the importance of addressing leadership succession and capacity, and that is exactly what GCSA set out to do in late 2008.

When we decided to address leadership preparation and retention, it was a huge undertaking.  Where do you start?  We recognized that the issue with leadership turnover and quality in charters was rooted in inadequate skills and competencies to do the job.  But to write curriculum for a training program, you really have to define first what a high quality charter school is and does.  So the first step was to bring stakeholders together from our district authorizers and the State Department of Education’s Charter Schools Division to develop Quality School Standards.  Out of these standards we were able to then identify the key competencies of a high quality leader and the training required to get them there. 

Through a grant provided by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, we started with a 10-day intensive training program with 2 modules – business and leadership – and a strong mentor model from education and business backgrounds to support the leaders.  The program pilot was a success.  We realized, though, that while we could adequately train the leaders we had, we would never really move the bar in the sector toward a pipeline to meet demand and cross the bridge with the traditional public schools until we actually impacted training programs in the university system for a broader reach.  So we set out to find a university partner who would be visionary enough to rethink educational leadership preparation.

In 2012, GCSA partnered with Kennesaw State University’s (KSU) Bagwell College of Education and Lake Oconee Academy (LOA), the partnership’s model school site, to offer an Education Specialist Master’s degree program. It leverages GCSA’s expertise in disseminating information to a statewide network of charter schools, teachers, and leaders and its knowledge and experience with quality schools and leadership; KSU’s strength as one of the largest educator preparation programs in Georgia; and LOA’s outstanding record of leadership and student achievement. This Ed.S. degree program focuses on charter-specific skills and competencies required for leading a high quality public charter school and replicates many of the award-winning charter school leadership practices of LOA, a Georgia Platinum School for Highest Academic Achievement in which approximately 75 percent of the students qualify for federal free or reduced-cost meals. Candidates selected for the Ed.S. program receive grant-funded scholarships for their four-semester graduate program.

Building on educational research in effective leadership, most of the program’s content, developed in collaboration between KSU and GCSA from its original CharterLeader pilot, is delivered in a residency model at each candidate’s “home” school site. There, they are required to demonstrate expertise through “real life” performance projects.  Candidates from both charter and traditional backgrounds come together throughout the program at retreats to share best practices, and to collaborate and to meet with experts in the field.  Throughout the program, candidates receive ongoing coaching from educators with expertise in leading and founding charter schools, as well as veteran leaders in the traditional and independent school sectors.

We are about half-way through our first cohort and ready to recruit for the second cohort.  We are very excited about the progress we have made and the promise the CharterLeader program holds for the future growth and efficacy of the charter movement.  There has been much learning along the way in establishing the program and the partnership.  We look forward to sharing these learnings with our peers in the charter sector and to broaden the reach of our work.

SABIS® Schools: Global Lessons in Education Partnerships

Public Charter Schools Serve as Models Beyond the U.S.

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) is pleased to launch a guest blog series which will feature contributions by leading international education experts. The goal of this series is to expose our readers to the challenges and successes of establishing charter schools in different parts of the world. Our contributors have experience in charters schools either as providers or in the case of Cecilia Maria Velez, former Minister of Education for Colombia, spearheading programs which improved educational quality by allowing private agents to operate public schools serving low-income students.

This series take our readers on a tour well beyond our borders by looking at adaptations of the public charter school model in the United Kingdom and Kurdistan. We begin our series with a contribution by Tony McAleavy, Education Director, CfBT Education Trust, U.K. followed by Carl Bistany, board member of SABIS® Holdings and President, SABIS® Educational Services s.a.l. and SABIS® Educational Systems, Inc.
      
As Manager of the new EdAdvance education resource (formerly EdInvest), it gives me great pleasure to highlight the global impact made by the public charter school model. To receive newsletters and bulletins about developments in the international education market, please write to: edadvancecontact@gmail.com. Our website will be operational shortly.

UK Free Schools and Academies Draw on U.S. Public Charter School Model

NAPCS is pleased to launch a guest blog series which will feature contributions by leading international education experts. The goal of this series is to expose our readers to the challenges and successes of establishing charter schools in different parts of the world.

The USA is not the only country where charter type reforms are taking place. CfBT Education Trust—the non-profit organisation that I work for—is heavily involved in similar reforms in England. For over ten years, the government in England has been encouraging the establishment of ‘academies,’ which are public schools, but they are not controlled by the local education authority. I say ‘England’ and not ‘the UK’ because there is a degree of federalism in the UK, which means that England, Scotland and Wales have different education policy. Tony Blair was a great fan of academies. He encouraged them particularly in high poverty urban areas where some public schools had a long history of failing to deliver acceptable outcomes.

By 2010 there were 200 academies, and they were beginning to deliver better outcomes as measured by the national tests that English students do at age 16. They were nearly all ‘secondary schools’ for students aged 11-18. While the academies were making a difference, they still represented a small fraction of the public school system in England which has over 20,000 public schools. (Of course, I am using the term ‘public school’ in the American sense; as you may know, we English quirkily use ‘public schools’ as the phrase to describe our elite private schools!)

Everything changed in 2010. There was a change of national government. The Labour Party lost power and the new government was dominated by the Conservative party. Conservative politicians were great fans of the charter school movement and the Swedish ‘free schools.’ Prime Minister David Cameron and his education secretary Michael Gove set about a massive expansion of the academies programme. Gove has visited the States many times to find out about how charters work. Shortly after the 2010 election, the leading UK newspaper The Guardian ran story headlined: ‘Can Gove’s American dream work here?’ Michael Gove is particularly enthusiastic about the KIPP schools, and he often describes their impact on life chances in his public speeches.

Michael Gove has encouraged a massive expansion of the academies. Two years on, the number has gone from 200 to 2000. He has also introduced a new category of academy known as a ‘free school.’ Most of the Blair academies were ‘new start’ versions of failed existing schools. The free schools are different; they are brand new schools set up in response to parental pressure for change at local level. The first 24 free schools were opened in September 2011. A further 52 free schools opened in September 2012.

There is huge controversy around these changes. The teaching unions are very unhappy about the academies and free schools. Some of the free schools have a religious affiliation and in the press there is some criticism of this religious dimension. There is also a big debate about whether or not ‘for profit’ companies should be allowed to operate free schools and academies. At the moment they cannot. Only non-profit organisations can get involved but this might change.

 

Image: Author Tony McAleavy, Education Director of CfBT Education Trust

Tony is CfBT’s Education Director, with corporate oversight of the educational impact of all our activities. Tony also has responsibility for corporate business development and advises the Trustees on CfBT's public domain research programme. He has played a major part in the development of our international consultancy practice, and he has worked extensively on our growing portfolio of education reform projects in the Middle East. Prior to joining CfBT, Tony held senior school and local authority posts in England. He has published extensively on the subject of school history teaching and has an MA in Modern History from St John’s College, University of Oxford.

Pushing the boundaries of virtual teaching and learning at Myron B. Thompson Academy

NAPCS is using the Charter Blog to feature public charter schools that prepare students for college using a range of instructional strategies. NAPCS asked school leaders to tell us in their own words how they use different instructional methods to create a “college-prep” focus. By combining data on instructional strategies from a national survey with on the ground stories of the work of charter schools, NAPCS wants to show the scope of possibilities in how charter schools can provide great learning environments for students.

Myron B. Thompson Academy (MBTA) recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. The school, which began as an idea in a white paper on virtual learning back in the early 1990s, has blossomed into the oldest online school in Hawaii. Test scores are stellar, the curriculum is rigorous, teachers and students are thriving, and dynamic change is always in the air.

At Thompson Academy, grade 7-12 CORE courses are taught online, while many electives are face-to-face. Five years ago, the school realized that “canned” courses, with computer-graded quizzes were not adequately preparing students. The redesign of curriculum began with grade 7. Select teachers and the curriculum director spent a year researching and developing meaningful content, interactive teaching strategies, and quality assessments. The first group to complete the redesigned curriculum is currently in the tenth grade. These students have provided input on the degree of challenge in their classes, requested the development of specific course offerings, and provided the impetus for continued curricular redesign. Most courses are now developed and field-tested by teachers with assistance from the curriculum office. Professional development is ongoing, primarily in small groups, and courses are continuously updated, using data from assessments and student comments.

A week in the life of MBTA students begins on Monday morning, with a log-in to courses and a check of the weekly plan for each class. Students work in depth and at an accelerated pace. There will be content to read, Google Docs “discussions”, WebEx sessions, homework, projects and tests. All teachers offer one-on-one live or virtual tutoring. Students may contact their teachers via e-mail, instant message, telephone, or in person. Many teachers keep the lines of communication open in the evening. The Academy has students on the four major Hawaiian Islands, so working across distances on collaborative projects is the norm.

MBTA is currently at work on the design of two Institutes for 11th and 12th graders: one in STEM, with initial courses focused on the operations of a smart grid for electrical systems, and one in humanities, offering AP courses and interdisciplinary competitions in International Extemporaneous Speaking, Debate, and History Day projects. Institutes will be both virtual and face to face. In the near future, students at Myron B. Thompson Academy will complete all required courses by the end of junior year, allowing for specialization in the senior year.

Students feed into the online secondary program from Thompson’s elementary division, which is a combination of at-home and at-school instruction. Parents and teachers work together to deliver approved curriculum to K-6 students. While the elementary is primarily “high touch” instead of “high tech”, teachers also offer virtual lessons. Students are issued iPads and use these to document their learning.

MBTA strives to be an incubator of ideas, to push the boundaries of virtual education, and to truly teach our students. We have had many successes and look forward to many more.

Sharon Abrigo, Director of Curriculum

Find Myron B. Thompson Academy on the Public Charter School Dashboard

Sheridan Japanese School: A Focus on Culture and Community

Jan Smith, Sheridan Japanese School Foundation Board Member (Secretary); Kathryn Bervin-Mueller, Executive Director
www.sheridanjapaneseschool.com

Find Sheridan Japanese School on the Public Charter School Dashboard

From Kindergarten to College: What it Takes

At DREAM Charter School, my expectation as school principal, and the expectation of everyone who works in this building is that each and every one of our students is going to college. High academic achievement will get our kids ready, but that's not the only critical piece of setting our scholars up for success. We add to high academic expectations three things: health and wellness, family engagement, and full inclusion. It takes all of these elements working together to truly develop young learners and get them ready for life in the 21st century. At DREAM, we make no argument that academics reign supreme. But we also want to create a healthy environment of support so that our scholars can successfully brave the rigors of academic excellence. 

At DREAM, health and wellness includes character development. We tell students to never give up; mistakes are how we learn; when something is hard, that just means we're learning. We let our scholars know from the very beginning – as early as kindergarten – that this work is really hard, but we are going to push them, and they can take the challenge. We let them know that if the work is easy, they’re probably not learning; and if it’s hard, they can’t opt out.

Physical well-being includes active recess even in the cold of winter, a full curriculum of physical education, and healthy meals that are modeled by every adult working here. Emotional and mental well-being is supported by a robust social work department that brings social workers into the classroom, lunchroom and school yard – our social workers don’t just show up when a student is in trouble. And they’re not only committed to the student, they’re committed to their families.

Which brings us to our families. Our Director of Family Engagement makes sure our students’ families feel welcome at DREAM. We recognize that parents are our students’ first teachers, and by doing so, we need to hear their voice when it comes to educating their child. Because what happens at home is just as important as what happens at school, we provide monthly family events that support our parents, such as legal clinics, reading and math workshops and nutrition classes. Beyond these formal gatherings, our families know they’re welcome at DREAM any day of the week.

Finally, DREAM values diversity – we are a full inclusion school where special education and ELL students learn side by side with general education students. We believe that all students have something to learn from students who are different from them. By having diverse students learning together, we are cultivating a generation of compassionate, rounded adults. This is supported by two teachers in each classroom – one general education teacher and one ELL or special education teacher – who partner to individualize each scholar's education in a shared learning environment.

This all sounds great, right? Well, we’re proud to say that it works. This year the New York City Department of Education gave us an A on our Progress Report. And our recent state test scores ranks DREAM out of 90 NYC Charter Schools second highest in improvement in ELA and sixth highest in improvement in Math. At DREAM, academic excellence does not come at the cost of recess, physical education, family programs and diversity – it comes through them. 

As far as I’m concerned, college is on the horizon for all students at DREAM Charter School. Making that a reality is my job.



Eve Colavito, Principal, DREAM Charter School
www.dreamschoolnyc.org

Find DREAM Charter School on the Public Charter School Dashboard

The Intergenerational School: Connecting Generations, Building Relationships

The mission of The Intergenerational School (TIS) is to connect, create and guide a multi-generational community of lifelong learners and spirited citizens. To teach and live out the concepts of lifelong learning and spirited citizenship, we surround our young students with opportunities to engage with the broader community and to learn with and from individuals of all ages who exemplify this ideal. TIS is located in Cleveland, Ohio, one of the poorest cities in the nation. Over the 12 years that TIS has been operating, we have developed the intergenerational learning model from a seed of an idea into a vibrant and successful school with not only 224 “young” learners (grades K-8) but approximately 300 adults and older adults who participate in a wide range of intergenerational programs each year.

A “walk through” at TIS demonstrates the ways in which we operationalize this mission. Walking into one primary classroom, it is reading workshop. Students are scattered throughout the room; some are engrossed in reading his or her own self-selected book, others are reading with a partner, a few are working with the teacher. Looking more closely, you will see that the class includes students of a variety of ages and some of the older students are reading with and helping some of the younger students. This is the first step toward instilling an inclination of “community service” in the children: if you know how to do something and someone younger does not, you have the opportunity to teach what you know. Hence at TIS a fundamental belief is that everyone is at once a teacher and a learner at all times.

Meanwhile in the hallway, ensconced in comfortable sofas and chairs are some of our oldest participants, senior citizens who have been trained to mentor our young readers. Together one elder and one child explore the wonderful world of books, which prompts discussion and the sharing of life stories between the two. Over the course of weeks, months, and even years, the elders notice the growth of their mentees as readers, and as poised and thoughtful partners in increasingly rich conversations. Further on, area college students are tutoring math students and developing relationships that will inspire TIS students to see college as a part of their own future.

Yet another class is preparing to leave to visit their nursing home partners. That day they will be deepening their own understanding of the civil rights movement by collecting the stories of those residents who were a part of it. These stories will be rewritten into picture book format to be shared with their primary cluster reading partners later on.

These are just a few examples of intergenerational learning activities that take place on a daily basis. Intergenerational experiences not only deepen and personalize learning, but have spillover effects on overall school culture and outcomes. From the academic perspective, TIS students consistently post some of the highest test scores in the state of Ohio. The school has had 6 years of Excellent ratings, and 2 years of achieving Excellent with Distinction status out of 9 years of being rated. But test scores do not tell the full story. TIS students develop a profound respect for their elders and benefit from the patience, caring, and consistency that characterize these relationships. The come to value people of all ages and from all walks of life. The presence of older adults contributes to a calm and respectful school climate. Meanwhile the older adults, including some with memory loss, know that they are making a profound contribution to the next generation and leaving a true living legacy.

We have coined the term “intergenerativity” to denote the powerful synergy that emerges when the generations learn together. To us, this represents community service at its most profound and personal level.


Cathy Whitehouse, Founder, Principal and Chief-Educator, The Intergenerational School www.tisonline.org

Find The Intergenerational School on the Public Charter School Dashboard

Professional Development Center Benefits Charter School and Greater Community

In 2010, Peak to Peak Charter School in Lafayette, Colorado, launched its Center for Professional Development (CPD), an office dedicated to creating collaborative educational partnerships designed to maximize student achievement. As a nationally recognized charter school (the high school is consistently ranked among the top 100 high schools by Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report), Peak to Peak regularly receives requests for advice, support, or resources from other schools and educational institutions. Because the school recognizes its responsibility as an educational leader, the CPD was designed to respond to those requests. 

The CPD’s purpose is basically two-fold. First, it provides professional development to Peak to Peak faculty and operational staff by creating opportunities to serve as consultants, mentors, workshop leaders, and instructional coaches. Second, it facilitates partnerships to provide collaborative, research-based professional development services to other schools and institutions (schools, districts, universities, etc.). Partnerships are custom-tailored to the needs of each partner institution, and are designed to be relevant and transformative for educators in all stages of their careers. 

CPD partnerships take on a variety of forms, from providing curriculum consultants to offering workshops in best practices to providing state-approved induction services. For example, the CPD’s free Wednesday Workshop series attracts a diverse audience made up of Peak to Peak teachers, district teachers, pre-service teaching candidates, graduate students from university education programs, university professors, and faculty and staff from neighboring schools (charter and traditional public). CPD consultants collaborate with partners across the state of Colorado, whether partnering with the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) to provide pre-AP training to BVSD middle school teachers, leading workshops on student engagement at an alternative high school in the Denver Public School District, exploring pedagogical best practices with the Health Professions faculty at Metro State University, or providing induction programs for initially-licensed teachers in rural charter schools. 

When the CPD brings education professionals together to improve organizations through authentic needs assessments and systematic implementation of best practices, schools get better and students get smarter. What’s more, it’s not just the partner school that sees improvement. As a result of the leadership and consulting opportunities provided by CPD external partnerships, Peak to Peak teachers and administrators become inspired by new insights and valuable experiences, which they then use as a lens through which to reflect upon and improve Peak to Peak’s own internal programs and practices.   

For more information about the Center for Professional Development at Peak to Peak Charter School, please visit www.cpdcolorado.org. 



The Center for Professional Development will be a featured collaborative practice at the upcoming national Best Cooperative Practices for Charter & Traditional Public Schools Conference. Click to learn more and register for the conference.

Author Megan Freeman is the Director of Professional Development at Peak to Peak Charter School in Lafayette, Colorado.