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CHARTER SCHOOL OFFICE52 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007
Charter School Renewal ReportCharter School Office2009-2010
O
PPORTUNITY
C
HARTER
S
CHOOL
R
ENEWAL
R
EPORT
F
EBRUARY
2010
Joel Klein, Chancellor Eric Nadelstern, Chief Schools Officer Michael Duffy, Executive Director, Charter School Office
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Part 1: Executive Summary
Opportunity Charter School is a middle and high schoolserving approximately 410 students fromgrade 6 through grade 12 in the 2009-2010 school year.
School Overview and History:
It is currently housed in a public school building in District 3.
The school population comprises 78% Black, 20.5% Hispanic, 1% White,and 0.5% Asianstudents. 65.2% of students are designated eligible for free or reduced lunch.
The student bodyincludes 4% English language learners and 55% special education students. Boys account for57% of the students enrolled and girls account for 43%.
The school earned an A on its progress report in 2009 and a C in 2008. The average attendancerate for the school year 2008 - 2009 was 89.4%
. The school is in good standing with state andfederal accountability.
Renewal Review Process Overview:
The NYC DOE Charter School Office conducted a thorough review of this school’s RetrospectiveRenewal Report; annual reporting documents; surveys, student achievement data; and state,local and federal accountability metrics as well as a detailed audit of the school’s finance,operations and governance practices. In addition, the CSO conducted a detailed site visit on thefollowing dates: November 10,12 and 13.The following experts participated in the review of this school:
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Michael Duffy, Executive Director, Charter School Office, NYC DOE
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Aaron Listhaus, Chief Academic Officer, Charter School Office, NYC DOE
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Nancy Meakem, Director of Evaluation, Charter School Office, NYC DOE
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Aamir Raza, Director of Oversight, Charter School Office, NYC DOE
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Benjamin Carson, Statistician, Charter School Office, NYC DOE
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Shona Gibson, Network Team Leader, NYC DOE
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Lynette Lauretig, Director of Instruction, Multiple Pathways to Graduation, NYC DOE
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Fred Lisker, Senior Program Specialist, Office of Special Education, NYC DOENYC DOE CSO recommends that the State Board of Regents approve the application for renewalof the Opportunity Charter School for a period of 3 years consistent with the terms of the renewalapplication.Based on feedback from the NYC DOE-CSO and the SED in 2009, the school identified areas inneed of development, and created an in-depth Corrective Action Plan (CAP) to supportimprovements in student achievement. The NYC DOE-CSO has found that Opportunity CharterSchool has made significant progress towards the attainment of the goals set forth in its CAP,and is in compliance with applicable laws and regulations pertaining to its current charter. Basedon the findings delineated below, Opportunity Charter School is an educationally and fiscallysound organization, is likely to improve student learning and achievement, and meets therequirements of the charter Schools Act and applicable laws.
Renewal Recommendation:
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NYC DOE ATS system
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NYC DOE ATS system and charter agreement
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NYC DOE Location Code Generating System database
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Demographic data drawn from NYC DOE ATS enrollment database as of 10/31/09.
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Demographic data drawn from NYC DOE ATS enrollment database as of 10/31/09.
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NYC DOE School Progress Report. This document is posted on the NYC DOE website athttp://www.schools.nyc.gov and is also included in Part 7 of this report.
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New York State Education Department - www.nysed.gov
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Part 2: Findings
Areas of Strength:
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By the time of this review, the school had made significant progress towards meetingmany of the organizational goals set forth in the Corrective Action Plan (“ CAP”).
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The school re-organized its departments and structures to create more clarity instaff accountability and to better meet student needs. This re-organizationincluded the development of a formal Guidance Department and a Formal FamilyEngagement department. Likewise, the school created Professional LearningCommunities for teachers to collaborate and share best-practices. Teachingstaff is now organized into grade level and subject area teams to facilitate co-planning and co-teaching in support of improved student achievement.
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The school has improved its data system and its ability to track student growthand performance over time. This involved the hiring of key analytical staff andthe implementation of a new data tracking system.
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The school effectively expanded its recruitment efforts to attract a broad range ofstudents with and without disabilities, thus impacting the overall ratio of specialeducation and general education students to meet the goals of the CAP.
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The school effectively maximizes its budget and staffing plan to create the lowestpossible student / adult ratio in order to best serve the unique individual needs ofeach student.
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The school has formalized structures for Special Education in order to better comply withrelevant regulations and to ensure that the educational needs of students with IEPs areeffectively met.
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The school has developed formal self-contained classes where necessary, offersresource room services, and has formalized its co-teaching / CTT model in orderto better comply with all regulations and to more effectively meet the needs ofstudents. Self-contained and CTT classrooms observed were staffed withappropriately licensed teachers and were composed of the appropriate numbersand ratios of students. Self-contained and CTT classes observed were engagingand involved appropriate content material and opportunities for students toparticipate in meaningful activities. For example, in a self-contained Algebra Iclass students solved equations, shared their answers on the chalk board, thendiscussed the processes they used to complete the assignment. In a CTT LivingEnvironment class, students used visual and written material to label the parts ofthe central nervous system, then participated in a class discussion on how thissystem effects their own bodies in everyday life.
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The school has improved record keeping on mandated services and othersupports for all students. For example, the school has improved its ability toserve students mandated to receive services in speech.
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In accordance with the Corrective Action Plan, the school has implemented a coherentframework for instruction which is evident in all classrooms.
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The school has adopted an instructional approach called the “Framework forEffective Instruction” which provides clear structures for lesson planning, rigorand engagement in all subject areas. Evidence of this framework was apparentin every classroom observed. For example, all classes had an agenda based onthe workshop model posted on the board. Likewise, all classrooms haddescriptions of “Bloom’s Taxonomy” posted on the walls. This framework is
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