Collegiate Academies Response to Livingston School Facility RFA Submitted January 23, 2015

Transcription

1 Collegiate Academies Response to Livingston School Facility RFA Submitted January 23, 2015! I. APPLICANT INFORMATION Please provide the information below. Name of charter operator Application contact name and title Application contact phone number and Reason for seeking new site (e.g. expansion of existing school, relocation of an existing school, new school launch) Grade levels served by the proposed school Proposed growth plan Collegiate Academies Morgan Carter Ripski, President Relocation of an existing school 9 12 None II. OPERATOR PERFORMANCE, EXPERIENCE, AND CAPACITY (60%) A. Complete the tables on page 4 with information about the schools your organization currently operates. Provide a brief accompanying narrative describing successful strategies employed by your organization to provide highquality educational opportunities to demographically similar students to the population you intend to serve at the new site. (150 word limit) Collegiate Academies (CA) believes that all children deserve the opportunity to choose ambitious post-secondary pathways. To achieve the student growth necessary for this outcome, CA has four focal areas: 1) Hire and develop great teachers Our lengthy hiring process includes providing feedback to candidates so both quality and responsiveness to feedback of candidates is assessed. All CA staff benefit from 250+ hours of team PD, weekly individualized coaching. 2) Culture that promotes growth CA believes that intellect is not finite, but can be developed with hard work; our culture reinforces a growth mindset for both scholars and staff. 3) College readiness for all scholars Our school standards prepare scholars for the state assessments and, moreover, mastery of the academic, social, and emotional skills required to succeed in college. 4) Data driven decisions Network-wide interim assessments and goals for academic success, college readiness, and college matriculation drive our day-to-day work. B. If your proposal includes expanding an existing school or launching a new school, please describe the steps that you will take to scale your model to a new site, including identifying a leader, staffing the school with effective teachers, and building central office capacity. (300 word limit) 1"

2 ! Collegiate Academies proposes moving an existing school including our current school leader, staff, and scholars into the Livingston facility, beginning in summer We will be able to fill every seat in the building immediately and, where there is excess space in grades 9-12, we will commit to serving interested Miller McCoy students as a priority (assuming we are granted this capacity via the Recovery School District and OneApp). III. CITYWIDE NEEDS (20%) A. Describe the school s enrollment and transportation policies. The school must participate in OneApp, provide free transportation, and be open enrollment. (250 word limit) As a Type 5 Recovery School District charter, Collegiate Academies serves a student population representative of the students enrolled in the Recovery School District New Orleans. In the school year, Collegiate Academies serves a student population that is 99% minority, 85% economically disadvantaged, and 20% receiving special education services. All Collegiate Academies schools will use the New Orleans One App for student enrollment, and will comply with the policies of this application process. Currently, One App offers priority for siblings of current students. Moreover, all Collegiate Academies scholars receive free, yellow bus transportation to and from school. B. Describe any unique academic or extracurricular programs the proposed school will provide. (200 word limit) Collegiate Academies provides unique programming to support college readiness and students with special needs, while also and providing robust co-curricular programming. College Readiness: In addition to Advanced Placement courses, CA schools currently partner with Bard College and Delgado Community College to provide college credits during high school. Specialized Services: Beyond our regular instruction courses, CA schools provide programs for students with individualized needs: Essential Skills -- Full-day program for scholars with severe cognitive disabilities. Journey Program -- Full-day program for students with Emotional Disturbance. REACH Partial day program for scholars with less severe cognitive disabilities. Explorers Partial day, less intensive version of the Journey Program. CARE Restorative program addressing the need for non-traditional discipline structures that encourage all scholars to attend school, and that directly increase academic results, attendance, and student stability rates. Co-curriculars: CA scholars may participate in sports such as Volleyball, Football, Basketball, and Track. Non-athletic clubs and electives at current CA schools include: Improv, Choir, Band & Marching Team, Photography, Student Council, Peer Mediation, Gay/Straight Alliance, Mu Alpha Theta, National Honor Society, Spoken Word, Youth Rebuilding New Orleans, and ReThink. What s more, scholars and staff work together each year to create student organizations, clubs, and co-curricular offerings. 2"

3 ! IV. COMMUNITY SUPPORT (20%) A. Provide evidence of demand for the proposed school from parents and/or community stakeholders. Evidence may include data on parent demand for your organization s other schools or similar school programs. All of Collegiate Academies schools are in high demand by students and families in New Orleans. Sci Academy is one of the most popular 9th grade choices in the RSD's OneApp enrollment process, and its popularity increases every year. Last year, as of January 21, 2014, 22 students ranked Sci Academy #1 on their OneApp. This year, as of January 15, 2015, 89 students ranked Sci Academy #1, which represents about two thirds of the total number of available 9th grade seats a month and a half before the main round application deadline. Carver Collegiate and Carver Prep have also become more popular this year. As of January 21, 2014, the schools had received 23 and 21 total apps (all rankings) respectively. As of January 15, 2015, each school has received 76 total apps. Additionally, in , demand by 9 th grade scholars was so high that each Collegiate Academies school enrolled extra 9 th graders beyond our 130-student enrollment target. At Sci Academy, we enrolled th graders; at Carver Collegiate, 156; and at Carver Prep, 140. Strong relationships with community partners is a cornerstone of our programming at Collegiate Academies. In building new student services this year, Collegiate Academies relied upon the wisdom of several organizations in New Orleans dedicated to serving children, including The Louisiana Center for Children s Rights, The Micah Project and the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana. Additionally, CA s existing partnerships with the Children s Bureau and Communities in Schools continue to shape our mental health support services and our programming for scholars who struggle the most. Collegiate Academies also has strong support from New Orleans East community members and nonprofit agencies supporting families and community development for our application to occupy the Livingston school facility. Please see attached letters of support from Youth Rebuilding New Orleans, STAND for Children Louisiana, Rebuild Church and Ministries and a small business owner in New Orleans East. 3"

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8 1/22/2015 Mr. Dana Peterson Recovery School District 1615 Poydras Street, Suite 1400 New Orleans, Louisiana Dear Mr. Peterson, I am writing to express my deep and unequivocal support for the Livingston School Facility application submitted by Collegiate Academies. Youth Rebuilding New Orleans proudly partners with Collegiate Academies and it is our desire that we can continue our partnership on the new Livingston School Facility. It is with my hopeful anticipation that I wholly endorse their proposal. In , there will be nine public elementary schools operating in New Orleans East. One of these schools (Einstein) will build a high school (at the Reed facility) to serve its children. Children attending the other eight elementary schools in New Orleans East will have one neighborhood option: Sci Academy. Sci Academy simply is not large enough to serve all of these children. By locating a school at the Livingston site, Collegiate Academies will ensure that all children in our neighborhood have access to a high quality education without having to travel for miles. As a partner of Collegiate Academies, I can personally attest to the high quality of teaching and learning and strong relationship development that occurs in Collegiate Academies high schools. In my view, Collegiate Academies proposal for the Livingston building meets each of your criteria: (1) it offers a superior program lead by experienced educators; (2) it fulfills a neighborhood need for an open-enrollment school that effectively serves every child who walks in their doors; and (3) it meets the demand from our neighborhood for more high quality, public options for students and families. I have witnessed firsthand the dedication and determination of its staff to always provide every student with the absolute best education possible, the care and attention that Collegiate Academies offers to every student no matter the physical or emotional impediments, and the unique and engaging programming opportunities that meet the needs of every student or family. It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I support Collegiate Academies application for the Livingston School Facility. Sincerely, William Stoudt Executive Director Youth Rebuilding New Orleans