Name of Proposed School: Brooklyn Dreams Charter School

(previously submitted as part of the Summer 2008 applicationcycle; updated in November 2008)

Anticipated Opening Date:

September 2010 (2009-2010 will be used as a planning year.)

Lead Applicants:

William Girasole and Richard J. Conti

Educational Service Provider:

National Heritage Academies (NHA)

School Partner(s):

Brooklyn Academy of Music

Location, if known:

NYC CSD 22

Student Pop./ Grades

: Opening with 196 students in K-3

grade and growing to include496 students in K-6

grades

Proposed Board of Trustees:

Richard J. Conti (Co-Applicant) – Chief Financial Officer of a private Catholic boys school(Xaverian High School) with forty years of commercial banking experience.2.

William Girasole (Co-Applicant) – Chief Executive Officer and President of Aldo B. Girasole RealEstate with experience in management, business development, public relations, and operations.3.

Matthew Daus – Commissioner/Chairman of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commissionwith experience managing over 480 employees and a budget in excess of $26 million.4.

Salvatore Ferrera – President of Xaverian High School with more than 20 years of experiencedirecting the operation of public and private schools.5.

Michael Melendez – Founder of Innovative Solutions Group with executive level experience atMorgan Stanley and First Union.6.

Christian C. Nugent – Partner at O’Melveny & Myers, L.L.P in the areas of mergers andacquisitions, growth equity/venture capital and securities.7.

Michael Pedone –Managing Director and head of leveraged loans, high yield and distressed bondsales. Previously head of leveraged loans, high yield and distressed bond sales for LehmanBrothers/New York.8.

Rosalie Rance – Vice President of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce with over 15 yearsexperience promoting major NYC institutions and destinations.9.

Lee Wang – Current Video Producer for

Newsweek

with extensive experience producing, shooting,editing, and writing videos for major networks and magazines.

Program Overview:

After a planning year, the Brooklyn Dreams Charter School proposes to open with196 students in Kindergarten through 3

grades with the following grade sizes: K=40, 1

=52, 2

=52,3

=52, and subsequently grow the school one grade each year. In its third year, once the school hasestablished its academic program and operational systems, the school will increase the number of classes atall grade levels to arrive at its final enrollment structure of three classes at each grade level. Average classsizes would range from 20 to 26 students. The school would enroll 496 students in Kindergarten through6

grades by the end of its initial charter term. Ultimately, the school intends to provide a K-8 program to provide “a solid foundation” and alleviate problems associated with transferring from elementary to middleschool.

Brooklyn Dreams’ mission is “To offer the families of Brooklyn a school with a culture that valuesintegrity, academic excellence, and accountability, where all students are given the opportunity for successin high school, college, and beyond by offering an academically rigorous and challenging K-8 educational program.” The school intends to draw primarily from ethnically diverse Southwest Brooklyn, where about60 percent of the residents speak a language other than English at home. Nearly one-third of public schoolsare not in good standing, and the dropout rate has been increasing. Moreover, there are no charter schoolsin the area. The application includes an extensive petition of local parents of school-age children.The school day for students will run from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and teachers would remain an extra hour each day. Each day Kindergarten through 2

grade students would receive 180 minutes of instruction inEnglish language arts, 75 minutes of mathematics, and 30 minutes each of social studies and science.Students in 3

through 5

grades would receive 150 minutes of instruction in English language arts, 90minutes in mathematics, and 60 minutes each in science and social studies. In addition to core subjects,students will also receive instruction in technology, library, art, music and physical education. 6

through8

grade students would also receive instruction in a language other than English and career/occupationalsciences.According to the application, “the notions of ‘continuous learning’ and ‘individual achievement’ are theunderpinnings of Brooklyn Dreams’ educational philosophy.” The applicants describe their key designelements as culture, academic excellence, and accountability. The school plans to implement a “charter focus program…

by reinforcing and modeling universal human virtues.” The school’s academic program isgrounded in eleven critical areas based on the research of Robert Marzano and described in his book,entitled

What Works in Schools

. Specifically, the school plans to employ a “teacher-directed instructionalstrategy” and utilize regular assessment of student performance. The school will administer the NorthwestEvaluation Association’s (NWEA’s) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) three times per year, inaddition to state and classroom assessments. According to the application, the curriculum has beendeveloped by NHA in alignment with state standards, and will be reviewed by the school leadership teamon an annual basis. No commercial programs are mentioned in regard to implementing the school’s proposed curriculum.Students with disabilities will be served through “collaborative team teaching” in regular classrooms withcertified special education teachers, and English language immersion will be used for students who areEnglish Language Learners along with supplementary instruction. The application describes meeting theneeds of at-risk students within the regular classroom, e.g. differentiation, but also notes an extended daytutoring program and summer school.In addition to a principal, the school will have four deans, one each for assessment and intervention,curriculum and instruction, culture and responsibility, and student services. Grade level teacher teams willhave daily common planning time and teachers will meet weekly with supervisors to be coached, mentoredand supported. In addition, there will be a weekly all-staff meeting. The application notes professionaldevelopment will focus on new teacher induction, analyzing student work, differentiation, and capturingkids’ hearts as well as use of data. Teachers will also participate in professional development opportunities provided by the NHA network.The founders have selected National Heritage Academies, Inc. (NHA) to manage the day-to-day operationsof the school. NHA currently provides services to 57 charter schools throughout the United States,including three schools in New York: Brooklyn Excelsior (Brooklyn), Buffalo United (Buffalo), andSouthside Academy (Syracuse). Brooklyn Excelsior and Buffalo United Charter Schools were authorized