1. 2015 Annual Report Guidelines Overview The Office of Charter Schools and School Redesign

2. Objectives of webinar Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 2  Clarify expectations of the 2014-15 Annual Report Guidelines.  Explain changes to 2014-15 Annual Report Guidelines  Explain requirements of the recruitment and retention plans (R & R plans)  Answer your questions

3. Please make sure….  You are using the Annual Report Guidelines that were posted on June 15, 2015.  We found a few typos and made clarifications:  Page 4 – Accountability Plan should be only included in Appendix A – NOT throughout the document. We revised the language on p. 4.  Page 6 - Approved School Budget for FY16  Provide a copy of the school’s budget for fiscal year 2016. Provide the date the board of trustees approved the budget.  New DESE metric – Footnotes about Economically Disadvantaged (explained below) Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 3

4. Just the facts  No later than August 1 of each year, each charter school must submit an annual report to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department). DUE JULY 31 st this YEAR.  The charter school statute includes a requirement that all charter schools have an R & R plan in place and that it is updated annually.  The school’s annual report should contain a report on the school’s implementation of its previous R & R plan, and also include an updated R & R plan for the upcoming school year. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 4

5. Just the facts  By August 1, a charter school must also submit a copy of the annual report to its local school committee, and also make the annual report available to the public, as set forth in the charter school statute (M.G.L. Chapter 71, Section 89(jj).  Please note: New regulatory requirements (603 CMR 1.08) state that each charter school must make the annual report available on the school’s website. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 5

6. Changes to the 2014-15 Annual Report Guidelines  Formatting and Clarifications:  Directions for appendices (Accountability Plan, R&R plan, etc.) are found in the appendices, not the body of the Guidelines.  Trimmed Academic Success narrative – now focused on changes, if any, to the academic program (p. 5).  Added a question about teacher evaluation systems (p. 5).  Clarified directions/information in Appendix D (Additional Information).  Asking for submission in Word – particularly Appendix A: Accountability Plan. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 6

7. Areas to Emphasize  Please report on the Accountability Plan in Appendix A – please do not put this in the body of the Annual Report.  Same request for all appendices – please do not place this information in the body of the Annual Report (such as the R&R plan). Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 7

8. Mission and Key Design Elements  P. 4: provide evidence that the school is successfully implemented its mission and key design elements during the 2014-2015 school year.  Key Design Elements = Important elements of the school that make it unique and distinct  Broad buckets: governance model, beliefs and values, vision, educational program, curricular model, or whole school design Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 8

9. Dissemination – what is it?  P. 4 – School must describe its efforts to disseminate.  The provision of innovative models for replication and best practices to other public schools in the district where your charter school is located or to other schools, districts, and organizations beyond the sending district(s). This may include:  partnerships with other schools implementing key successful aspects of the charter school’s program,  active participation in district turnaround efforts,  sharing resources or programs developed at the charter school,  hosting other educators at the charter school, and  presenting at professional conferences about its innovative school practices. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 9

10. Appendix A: Accountability Plan  Evidence should reflect performance during the 2014-2015 school year.  Submit Appendix A as a Word document.  Schools that did not make progress toward reaching their measures should include an explanation of why this was the case and what the school is doing to attain these measures in the coming year.  Avoid using jargon or acronyms when providing evidence. Audience = general public.  If needed, attach any additional evidence to explain performance as a part of Appendix A. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 10

11. Appendix B - R & R plan: Recruitment Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 11 From Annual Report Guidelines, page 10, box 1 Red highlights = new language Please provide a brief narrative report on implementation of recruitment strategies from last year’s plan. Please provide any additional information that gives context for subgroup enrollment figures, e.g., high number of siblings enrolled in entry class, re- classification of student subgroup status, etc. Implementation Summary:

12. Prevalent Languages - FYI  Boston  Chelsea  Everett  Fitchburg  Framingham  Holyoke  Lawrence  Lowell  Lynn  Malden  Marlborough  New Bedford  Salem  Springfield  Worcester Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 12 As specified in M.G.L. c. 71, § 89 (i)(3), if the school is located in a district with 10 percent or more of limited English-proficient students, the school’s recruitment strategies must include a variety of outreach efforts in the most prevalent languages of the district. http://www.doe.mass.edu/apa/dart/

13. Appendix B – Recruitment Plan Directions  Create goals and strategies for each subgroup below (unless indicated):  Special education students  Limited English-proficient students  Students eligible for free or reduced price lunch  Students who are sub-proficient  Students at risk of dropping out of school (This includes elementary schools.)  Students who have dropped out of school (not elementary schools)  Other subgroups of students who should be targeted to eliminate the achievement gap Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 13

14. Economically Disadvantaged Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 14 Example of CHART with new Economically Disadvantaged metric

15. Appendix B: Retention Plan Directions From Annual Report Guidelines, p. 12.  Look at CHART.CHART  Review your school’s attrition in CHART.  Calculate your school’s retention rate by subtracting the attrition rate from 100. For example:  if the attrition rate is 8.3%, then the retention rate would be calculated as 100-8.3 = 91.7%.  Establish a retention goal for the 2015-16 school year. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 15

16. Resources for your R & R plan  Prevalent Languages (from DART Detail: English Language Learners): http://www.doe.mass.edu/apa/dart/http://www.doe.mass.edu/apa/dart/  Select your SENDING district (not your own LEA)  Compendium of Recruitment Strategies: http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/sped/RecruitmentStrategies.pdf http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/sped/RecruitmentStrategies.pdf  Attrition data by grades and subgroups:  School/district profiles  Student Tab  Attrition Rates (left hand side)  R &R webinar from July 2014: http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/sped/2014-RandR- PlansWebinar.pdf http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/sped/2014-RandR- PlansWebinar.pdf Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 16

17. Questions and Next Steps  Any questions?  Next steps:  The annual report must be received, through the drop box function in the security portal on the Department’s website, on or before July 31, 2015.  If any part of your school’s AR needs revising, your school’s liaison will contact the school leader outlining next steps. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 17