STATE OF THE CHARTER SECTOR:

STATE OF THE CHARTER SECTOR: A SNAPSHOT OF CHARTER SCHOOLS IN, NEW YORK 2014 www.buffaloreformed.org @BuffaloReformEd

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY What is a charter school? Who attends local charter schools? How does student performance in charter schools compare to performance of public schools at the local and state levels? The Western New York Charter Sector Report answers these questions, presenting a snapshot of student performance and demographic statistics in Western New York s charter schools. As of 2013, the last year with full enrollment data, there were 18 charter schools in Western New York serving nearly 9,000 students. One school (Pinnacle Charter School) is closed as of the 2013-14 school year while a new school, the Charter School of Inquiry, is set to open in 2015. While local charter schools have experienced tremendous growth over the past 15 years, there has been a lack of comprehensive analysis on the performance of the charter sector as a whole. The Western New York Charter Sector Report fills this gap, providing the public with a deeper understanding of the options that charter schools provide and the role they play in our public education system. This report compiles and averages data on student performance and demographics at each WNY Charter School in order to provide aggregate information on the performance of the charter sector as a whole. In addition, this report draws comparisons among student performance in WNY Charter Schools, the Buffalo City School district, and New York State. The Buffalo City School district was chosen as a point of comparison as it educates a similar demographic as the local charter sector. This comparison helps control for the impact of students background on outcomes, and isolate differences in student achievement between traditional and charter schools. A comparison to NYS averages was included in order to gauge how local schools measure against statewide standards. The data presented in this report is derived from standardized English Language Arts, Math, and Science examinations at the elementary level, Regents examinations and graduation rates at the high school level, and demographic statistics at individual schools. Buffalo ReformEd recognizes that standardized test scores do not account for factors that contribute to overall school quality; however, test scores serve as a reliable means of determining a school s impact on student performance. Above all, this report aims to serve as a useful resource and tool for parents, students, and community members as they seek to evaluate local educational options, and understand the impact of the charter sector on student achievement. 1 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

WHAT ARE CHARTER SCHOOLS? Charter schools are publicly funded, independently operated, tuition-free public schools created by parents, educators, and community leaders. Charter schools are open to all students; schools must enroll students through a blind, lottery based admissions process. The only legal admissions preference schools can offer is to applicants who have a sibling enrolled in the school. Charter schools are not under the direct control of a local board of education or Superintendent. Each school is independently operated by its own board of trustees. As independent entities, charters are allowed more freedom to innovate, develop their own curriculum, hire staff, and offer a longer school day and school year. In exchange for more freedom, charter schools are subject to more rigorous accountability. Charter schools operate under a five-year contract, or charter. Every five years, a charter school must undergo a rigorous process of renewal to determine if the school is raising student achievement, and is financially and organizationally sound. If the school does not meet the criteria for renewal, it will lose its charter and close. This system helps ensure that high quality charter schools are supported, while low performing schools are phased out. Charter schools are subject to constant oversight by their authorizer. In New York State, there are three entities that can act as charter school authorizers: The SUNY Board of Trustees, the New York State Board of Regents, and local school boards. As public schools, charter schools are funded by public tax dollars that pass through the student's school district of residence. A portion of the per-pupil amount that a school district spends follows a student to the charter school. Because not all monies received by a school district are included in the calculation, charter schools receive only between 60-8 of what school districts actually spend on a per pupil basis. In addition, charter schools do not receive building aid or public funds for capital improvements or renovations. 1 For the 2014-15 school year, there are 248 charter schools operating in New York; another 11 new schools have been approved to begin operating in 2015 16 or later. 2 2 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

CHARTER SCHOOLS IN WESTERN NEW YORK There are 17 Charter Schools currently serving students in Western New York. One additional charter school, the Charter School of Inquiry, is set to open for 2015, while one school, Pinnacle Charter School, has closed since our initial report. The long-term fate of Pinnacle is unclear, however, as there is some effort to reopen the school. Local charter schools are diverse in focus and program offerings; some adopt a progressive, child-centered education philosophy or a focus on science, technology or leadership, while others strive to serve unique populations such as English language learners. What is unique about WNY s charter sector is that it is a locally grown, grassroots effort driven by parents, teachers, and community leaders seeking enhanced educational options for students. There is only one local charter school run by a national charter operator whereas in most large urban districts, charter operators and charter networks are common. The table below shows each WNY charter school and its enrollment in 2012-13: School Grades Served Enrollment Aloma D. Johnson Community Charter School K 4 295 Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School 7 12 404 Buffalo United Charter School K 8 643 Charter School for Applied Technologies K 12 1,670 Charter School of Inquiry* K - 3 n/a Community Charter School K 6 321 Elmwood Village Charter School K 6 298 Enterprise Charter School K 8 404 Global Concepts Charter School K 8 848 Health Sciences Charter School 9-10 325 King Center Charter School K - 6 260 Niagara Charter School K - 6 350 Oracle Charter School 9-12 334 Pinnacle Charter School** K 8 550 South Buffalo Charter School K 8 673 Tapestry Charter School K - 12 735 West Buffalo Charter School K-2 138 Westminster Charter K 8 552 WNY Maritime Charter 9-12 292 Source: NYSED School Report Cards (http://data.nysed.gov) *School set to open for 2015-16 school year **School closed as of 2013-14 school year 3 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

ENROLLMENT IN WESTERN NEW YORK S CHARTER SCHOOLS In the 2012-13 school year, there were 9,092 students enrolled in Western New York s 18 charter schools; enrollment in schools serving Buffalo was 7,894. Enrollment in public charter schools in Western New York has steadily increased since the opening of the area s first charter school, King Center Charter School, in 2000. In Buffalo, increased charter enrollment and a steady decline in District enrollment means that charter enrollment as a share of total public school enrollment in Buffalo has steadily increased. The graphs below show enrollment of students in charter schools operating in Buffalo as a share of student enrollment in the Buffalo City School district. The figures for charter enrollment do not include students in the three charter schools operating outside of Buffalo. Although these schools do enroll students from the city of Buffalo, specific data on the number of Buffalo students enrolled in these schools is not available, as was therefore excluded. 45,000 Charter, District and Total Public School Enrollment in Buffalo 9,000 40,000 35,000 8,000 7,000 TOTAL PUBLIC ENROLLMENT BPS ENROLLMENT 30,000 6,000 CHARTER ENROLLMENT 25,000 5,000 20,000 4,000 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Charter Enrollment as Share of Total Buffalo Public School Enrollment 25% 2 15% 1 5% 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 4 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

DEMAND FOR LOCAL CHARTER SCHOOLS Charter Schools admit students on a lottery basis; when a school reaches its enrollment capacity, students are placed on a waitlist. Waitlists for local charter schools continue to grow, reflecting a rising community demand for charter schools as an educational option. In the 2011-2012 academic year, WNY charter schools had over 2,000 students on waitlists compared to a total enrollment of 8,139 students. The following table shows available information on waitlists of charter schools operating in WNY. SCHOOL # Students on Waitlist * Data was not available for 4 of the 17 WNY Charter Schools operating in 2010-11, and thus have N/A in Total column. Source: NYCSA Online. 2012. New York Charter Schools Association. 24 July 2012 <http://www.nycsa.org/>. 5 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

WHO ATTENDS WESTERN NEW YORK S CHARTER SCHOOLS? Western New York s charter schools serve a diverse population demographically similar to the population of students enrolled in the Buffalo City School District. Buffalo Charter Demographics (2012-13) 2% 3% 14% 2 61% Native American African American Hispanic Asian Multiethnic White Buffalo Public Schools Demographics (2012-13) 1% 2% 7% 22% 17% 51% Native American African American Hispanic Asian Multiethnic White 6 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

The majority of students enrolled in Western New York s charter schools live in poverty, as measured by free and reduced lunch rates. In the 2012-13 school year, Buffalo area charters and the Buffalo Public School District served identical populations of student eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, a proxy for measuring poverty. Buffalo Charter Demographics (2012-13) Eligibility for Free/Reduced Price Lunch 18% Eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch Non-eligible 82% BPS District Demographics (2012-13) Eligibility for Free/Reduced Price Lunch 18% Eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch Non-eligible 82% 7 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

The following graph compares demographic information for individual charter schools with average demographic statistics in the Buffalo Public Schools. The majority of local charter schools enroll a higher proportion of minority students than the Buffalo Public Schools. 10 9 8 7 BLACK/HISPANIC AND WHITE ENROLLMENT (2012-13) CHARTER SCHOOLS AND BPS DISTRICT 6 5 4 3 Hispanic/ Black White 2 1 8 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

ENROLLMENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS Overall, Western New York s Charter schools enroll fewer students with special needs or disabilities than the Buffalo Public Schools. Within traditional public schools in Buffalo, however, there is a great degree of variance in the concentration of special education students, with enrollment rates from 4.9% to 3; in the charter sector, the variance is much lower, with enrollment ranging from 1 to 22%. While traditional schools enroll more students with special needs than charter schools, these statistics could be inflated by trends in oversubscription of students, primarily minority students, to special education, as documented by the state Education Department in a 2009 report. 3 Charter leaders have noted that one obstacle to serving students with disabilities is the inability to 'scale' costs: it is prohibitively expensive to serve small populations of students with diverse special needs. Legislation proposed in New York in 2012 would make it easier and more costeffective for charter schools to serve students with special needs by allowing schools to pool resources in order to provide specialized services. 4 25% 2 Enrollment of Students with Learning Disabilities Buffalo Charter Schools and BPS (2012-13) 20.8% 15% 13.3% 1 5% 25% 2 15% 1 5% CHARTERS BPS Learning Disabled Student Enrollment by School (2012-13) 9 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

ENROLLMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS Based on the data available, Buffalo Public Schools enrolled a higher percentage of students with limited English proficiency than local charter schools in 2012-13. * Charter Schools admit students based on a blind lottery admissions system, therefore schools cannot offer admissions preference to English Language Learners (ELL) or students with special needs. In order to increase the percentage of ELL students served in charter schools to more closely mirror the local student population, schools must actively advertise their programs, and conduct outreach in diverse communities. In addition, changes at the state level, in the form of newly revised enrollment and retention targets for special education and limited English proficient students aim to increase the proportion of these populations enrolled in Charter Schools across New York. These changes to charter school law would sanction schools that fail to make a good faith effort to recruit and enroll English Language Learners or students with special needs. 6 14% 12% Limited English Proficiency Enrollment 2012-13 12% 1 8% 6% 4% 2% 4% Limited English Proficient % CHARTERS BPS * 2012-13 English-language learner demographic data is not available for: Buffalo United Charter School, Health Sciences Charter School, King Center Charter School, Oracle Charter School, Pinnacle Charter School, or Westminster Charter School. ELL demographics for these schools are withheld for a variety of reasons. These schools collectively enroll 2,684 students (34%) of charter enrollment, so may significantly change overall charter sector demographics. 10 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT - ELEMENTARY MATH AND ENGLISH In 2012-13 and 2013-14, Buffalo area charter schools significantly outperformed Buffalo City Schools in Math and English proficiency in grades 3 through 8. Buffalo charters also outperformed the other 'Big 5' upstate schools, though performance was significantly below New York City and statewide performance. Buffalo area charters also showed significant growth in both English Language Arts and Math, whereas the other comparison districts largely stayed level in ELA proficiency. 35% 3 25% ELA Proficiency Comparisons (2012-13 & 2013-14) 28.5% 26.5% 31.1% 30.6% 2 15% 1 5% 14.2% 17. 11.5% 11.9% 10.8% 11.2% 4 35% 3 25% 2 15% 1 CHARTERS CSD UPSTATE BIG 5 NEW YORK CITY SD NEW YORK STATE 2012-13 ELA 2013-14 ELA Math Proficiency Comparisons (2012-13 & 2013-14) 36.2% 34.3% 31.1% 29.7% 22.9% 19.5% 13.1% 12.5% 9.6% 9.2% 5% CHARTERS CSD UPSTATE BIG 5 NEW YORK CITY SD NEW YORK STATE 2012-13 Math 2013-14 Math A note about 2012-13 and 2013-14 proficiency rates: 2012-13 was the first year students in grades 3-8 were given new, more rigorous assessments aligned with the new New York Common Core State Standards. State education officials warned that proficiency rates were expected to fall dramatically with the new, more rigorous assessments. As a result, 2012-13 proficiency rates cannot be compared easily to previous years. Rochester, Syracuse, Albany and Yonkers. 11 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

When making a school-by-school comparison, seven of twelve charter schools serving grades 3-8 outperformed the District in ELA proficiency 2012-13, with nine of twelve outperforming the District in 2013-14; nine of eleven charter schools operating in both years saw ELA proficiency rates improve. 5 45% 4 35% 3 25% 2 15% 1 5% ELA Proficiency School-by-School Comparison 2012-13 ELA 2013-14 ELA In Math proficiency nine of twelve charter schools outperformed the District in 2012-13, with ten of twelve outperforming the District in 2013-14; eight of eleven charter schools operating in both years saw ELA proficiency rates improve. 60. 50. 40. 30. 20. 10. 0. Math Proficiency School-by-School Comparison 2012-13 Math 2013-14 Math 12 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT - REGENTS EXAMS AND GRADUATION Buffalo area charter schools consistently outperform the District on secondary assessment proficiency, and even exceed state proficiency rates. High school students must take five Regents assessments in four areas: one English, one Math, two History (Global History and U.S. History), and one Science. For the 2008 and 2009 cohorts (graduation classes of 2012 and 2013) Buffalo area charters performed significantly above the Buffalo Public Schools and other upstate urban districts, and on par with or above the statewide proficiency rates. 2008 Cohort 2009 Cohort Secondary ELA Proficiency Secondary Math Proficiency 100. 100. 80. 80. 60. 60. 40. 40. 20. 20. 0. CHARTERS CSD UPSTATE BIG 5 NEW YORK STATE* 0. CHARTERS CSD UPSTATE BIG 5 NEW YORK STATE* Global History Proficiency U.S. History Proficiency 100. 100. 80. 80. 60. 60. 40. 40. 20. 20. 0. CHARTERS CSD UPSTATE BIG 5 NEW YORK STATE* 0. CHARTERS CSD UPSTATE BIG 5 NEW YORK STATE* 13 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

100. Secondary Science Proficiency 80. 60. 40. 20. 0. CHARTERS CSD UPSTATE BIG 5 NEW YORK STATE* Turning to high school completion rates, charters again significantly outperform the District, other upstate urban districts, and even the state average in the percent of students receiving a Regents diploma, though they lag behind the state average in Regents diplomas with distinction. 100. 80. 88.1% High School Completion Rates (2012-13) 95.2% 82.9% 82.4% 76.8% Any Diploma 60. 40. 20. 0. BASCS CSAT Oracle Tapestry WNY Maritime 54.3% CSD Regents Diploma Regents w/ Distinction Local Diploma 100. 80. 60. 40. 20. 0. 86.2% CHARTERS High School Completion Rates (2012-13) 54.3% 64.9% 79.7% CSD UPSTATE BIG 5 NEW YORK STATE Any Diploma Regents Diploma Regents w/ Distinction Local Diploma 14 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

ATTENDANCE AND SUSPENSION RATES Average daily attendance in Buffalo area charter schools is significantly higher, while suspension rates are also notably lower. Data is for the 2011-12 school year, with newer data not yet available. 10 9 8 7 6 2011-12 Attendance and Suspension Rates 5 4 3 CHARTERS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2 1 Average Daily Attendance Rate Suspension Rate Suspension rates vary significantly across area charter schools. This may be for a number of factors, particularly the schools' approach to discipline. WNY Maritime Charter School, which has the highest suspension rate, is particularly strong on discipline, following the Naval Academy model. Suspension rates on their own, without the context of what the school's disciplinary policy is, therefore tells very little. Charter Suspension Rate Comparisons (2011-12) 5 4 3 2 1 15 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

LOOKING FORWARD In the two years since Buffalo ReformEd first published our 'State of the Charter Sector' report, charter enrollment in Buffalo has continued to grow even while growth in the number of schools has stalled. With West Buffalo Charter School opening in 2012-13 and Pinnacle Charter School closing in 2013-14, the number of charters has remained the same. Enrollment has continued to grow, however, as schools continue to add grade levels, with a few schools also expanding the size of their grade level enrollment. One new charter (Charter School of Inquiry) has been approved to open for 2015-16 and the fate of Pinnacle Charter School remains up in the air, possibly reopening under a new charter manager, meaning charter enrollment will likely continue to steadily increase over the coming years. Funding Freeze The charter sector in Buffalo faces a few issues over the short term that should be addressed. First, charters continue to struggle with budget issues as New York State enters a seventh year of a 'charter funding freeze,' freezing the amount per student charters receive. This makes it increasingly difficult for charters to adequately serve students with special needs, as well as for charters serving high school grade levels, where a greater variety in course offerings necessitates greater staffing levels as well as unique facilities. As a result, some of the Buffalo area charter schools serving high school grades have explored expanding into lower grade levels. Facilities In Buffalo, as with other upstate cities, charters continually struggle with securing adequate facilities. Charters face a number of issues on this front. First, unlike in New York City, the city school district in Buffalo and other upstate cities have thus far refused to share space in underutilized schools or rent unused facilities to charters. On the surface, this refusal makes little sense in Buffalo, where the District has significant excess capacity and facilities and maintenance costs tie up a significant share of the budget. Instead charters must find adequate facilities to purchase or rent. This leads to two issues. First is the lack of available facilities adequate to house a school. Second is the difficulty in securing a lease for or purchasing a facility, since charters are only guaranteed a five year charter before they must renew. As a result, many charters must often rely on partnerships to secure adequate facilities or renovate facilities to meet the needs of the school and assist with financing. This is one area where a partnership between the District and charters appears to be a win-win: charters can get access to adequate facilities for reasonable cost, while the district can not only clear the expenses of maintaining unused facilities from its budget, but actually earn a return on these facilities. Adapting to Common Core While charters are free from many regulations and restrictions of state law, which sets them apart from district schools, they are held accountable for the same state assessments and graduation requirements. Therefore, charters must also adapt to the newly adopted New York Common Core State Standards, aligning their curriculum to ensure students are prepared to 16 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

meet proficiency standards on the new Common Core aligned assessments. In the first few years of adapting to the new standards, charters already have shown to be better equipped to adjust, largely because charters already have firmly established school-wide approaches to curriculum development. Whereas many district schools struggle with an unclear school-wide mission, inconsistent or unclear mandates from the central office, or a combination of the two. Nonetheless, charters still must make the necessary changes to ensure their students are prepared for the more rigorous standards. This is all the more vital for charters coming up for renewal, as the renewal of their charter depends on showing continued academic performance. Serving Special Needs Students As the report shows, while charters serve demographics ethnically and economically similar to the District, they tend to serve fewer proportions of special needs students, including students with learning disabilities and English language learners. While many factors may contribute to some of this disparity (self-selection by high-need families; limitations of enrollment by lottery; the tendency of urban districts like Buffalo to over-identify students with learning disabilities), the fact remains that the charter sector can improve its efforts to recruit and serve higher need populations. One possible solution in the works is legislation that would give charters greater ability to combine services or connect with other service providers to provide specialized education services at scale. Charters should also regularly review their recruitment and application systems to ensure these are not creating unintentional barriers to enrollment of high-need students. Some charters, such as West Buffalo Charter School, have proven, however, that recruitment campaigns can successfully target particular high-need students: 26% of West Buffalo students are English language learners, far surpassing the charter sector and district averages. 17 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

CONCLUSION For local charter school founders, the goal in creating new schools is to prove that change is possible with the public school population in Buffalo and to model how that change can be accomplished. By and large Western New York Charters have done this. Data on school performance showed that on average, the WNY Charter sector consistently outperformed the Buffalo city school district in all academic categories, at both the elementary and high school levels. While WNY charter schools are extremely competitive at the local level, aggregate scores still lag behind statewide averages in some categories. Local charter schools serve far more students living in poverty than represented in statewide averages, but high expectations for student achievement, regardless of race or income, must be maintained. Both charters and traditional public schools, especially in urban districts like Buffalo, have room to improve. However, the impressive academic results on state assessments for charter schools across the state compared to their respective districts is unmistakable, and indicates the important role that charter schools play in improving the quality of education in locally and across New York State. While on average local charter schools enroll similar, sometimes higher, rates of students living in poverty compared to their home districts, they enroll lower rates of students with special needs and English language learners. Local charter schools must work to address these gaps and fill the need for adequate programming for an increasingly diverse local student population. At the state level, providing charter schools with equitable per-pupil funding and enacting legislation to make it easier and more cost-effective for charter schools to serve students with special needs will support charter schools as they seek to better serve the special needs population. In addition, new enrollment and retention targets in charter schools will create processes through which schools can enroll greater numbers of English language learners, along with necessary accountability measures. As charter schools continue to enroll a greater portion of public school students in Buffalo, a concerted effort must be made on the part of local and state education authorities to support and strengthen local charter schools. Collaboration across charter and traditional public schools has been limited; in order to fully realize the local potential for reform that exists within successful charter schools, education leaders must promote the sharing of best practices across sectors. Western New York s Charter Schools are a valuable part of the local education landscape, offering parents and students with urgently needed quality educational options. Local demand for charter schools is outpacing supply, indicating that there is much room for the sector to expand in the coming years. 18 State of the Charter Sector: 2014

ENDNOTES 1 What is a Charter School? Www.Nysca.org. New York Charter Schools Association. Web. September 15, 2012. < http://www.nycsa.org/charterschool.aspx>. 2 Charter School Facts. Www.p12.nysed.gov. New York State Education Department. July 24, 2012. Web. September 9, 2012. <http://www.p12.nysed.gov/psc/charterschoolsfact.html>. 3 Special Education Annual Performance Report: Statewide Classification Rate of Students with Disabilities by Race/Ethnicity. Www.p12.nysed.gov. New York State Department of Education. October 2009. Web. October 10, 2012. <http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/techassist/statewide-oct09/textonly/slide45.html> (Noting that in comparison to white students, black and Latino students are disproportionately placed in special education, especially in the state s high-needs, urban districts). 4 S7122-2011: Relates to the provision of special education services at charter school. Open.nysenate.gov/open. New York State Senate. Web. October 12, 2012. <http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/s7122-2011>. 6 Slentz, Ken. Enrollment and Retention Targets for Charter Schools. Www.Regents.NYSED.gov. NYS Board of Regents. July, 16 2012. Web. October 18, 2012. <http://www.regents.nysed.gov/meetings/2012meetings/july2012/712brca11.pdf>. 19 State of the Charter Sector: 2014