The annual Charter School Conference is the only statewide gathering of the entire Texas charter school community. More than 1,300 charter school advocates including teachers, administrators, board members, policy makers, and vendors will gather for training, networking, and sharing best practices for charter effectiveness and compliance. A special TCSA members only low rate of $325 each (for 1-4 school members) or $275 each (for 5+ school members) is available until April 19. These are the only discounted rates that will be published. Registration at the regular (non-discounted) rates will open in September. All early bird registrants will have the opportunity to substitute another colleague to attend in their place prior to the conference.
Use Professional Development Days
In lieu of one day of student instruction, send your staff to the Texas Charter Schools Conference for professional development. This is permitted by section 25.081 of the Texas Education Code so long as your calendar is approved by your charter school board and the charter school notifies TEA's Waiver Unit.
Countdown: Public Charter School Rally, Texas State Capitol, Wednesday, May 8, 2013
With Special Guests Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst
The policies that impact charter schools will be deliberated on during this legislative session. Hearing directly from charter school leaders, parents and teachers is one of the best ways for state legislators to understand how vital charter schools are to providing a great public education for Texas students. Join us as we stand together in support of Texas public charter schools! To confirm your participation, contact Nellie Reyes. See the agenda. Download the Flyer. Download the Spanish Flyer.
High School Curriculum Bill Headed to Senate Floor
After a day of testimony in the Senate Education Committee, comprehensive legislation reducing state standardized tests and restructuring high school graduation requirements has now cleared its first hurdle in the upper chamber.
Senators voted out House Bill 5, which recently passed the full House, after substituting much of its language with that of Senate bills the committee had already approved.Read the Article.
Teachers Groups Raise Concerns About Charter School Bill
By Kate McGee; April 16, 2013 Some teachers organizations are lobbying Texas House members to stop the progress of Senate Bill 2, a bill that would expand the number of charter school licenses in Texas. State Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) sponsored the bill. He says some school district superintendents told him they want the same flexibility as open-enrollment charter schools. David Dunn with the Texas Charter Schools Association agrees with Sen. Patrick. "In terms of teacher contracts, class size, school year, some of those things are some of the very flexibility that school districts are using to better meet the needs of parents," Dunn said. "And if local school districts want to use some of that same flexibility to better meet the needs of parents and students then we're all better for it." Read the Article.
TX Senate bill aims to bring more charter schools
By Melissa Daigle (KYTX 19); April 17, 2013
Charter schools are still considered public schools. Kids take the STAAR test and the schools are funded by the state.The state looks at what it costs across Texas to educate a student and they take the average. Charter schools receive the amount it takes to educate an average student. The challenge is charter schools can't hold bond elections or collect money from taxpayers. So, they often struggle with facilities. SB2 also aims to change that. SB2 also calls for a seven-member board of people to oversee Texas charters. And, a way to more easily close under-performing charters. Read the Article.
Patrick: Texas not 'dumbing down' education standards
By Kate Alexander; April 16, 2013
Senate Education Committee Chairman Dan Patrick, R-Houston, on Tuesday disputed claims from some business leaders and national media outlets that Texas was "dumbing down" its standards by lowering the number of high-stakes tests needed for graduation and loosening course requirements. "That's just false. Nothing could be further from the truth," Patrick said as his committee considered House Bill 5, which the Texas House recently passed with a nearly unanimous vote.
Education Department Announces Next Rounds of Race to the Top, Including Another Key Investment to Expand Access to High-Quality Early Learning Opportunities
April 16, 2013
The U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced they will invest the majority of the 2013 Race to the Top funds for a second Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge competition. About $370 million will be available this year for states to develop new approaches to increase high-quality early learning opportunities and close the school readiness gap.
The Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge is a key part of the Obama Administration's comprehensive early learning agenda. The program is jointly administered by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the two agencies are continuing to work closely together on new initiatives to expand and improve services for children from birth through age 5. Read Press Release.
A Step Forward for Charter School Quality in Texas
By Amanda Fenton; Apr 12th, 2013
The Senate has sent a strong bill to the House. This is a comprehensive overhaul of charter school authorizing in Texas. The bill doesn't contain everything in NACSA's policy agenda, but it has several provisions that align with NACSA's One Million Lives Campaign and would be a tremendous step forward for charter schools and charter school authorizing in the state.Read the Article.
CALL FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS PROGRAM PEER REVIEWERS
The Charter Schools Program (CSP) at the U.S. Department of Education is seeking peer reviewers (field readers) to read and evaluate discretionary grant applications submitted under the program's discretionary grant competitions.Serving as a peer reviewer is an excellent opportunity to contribute to our nation's education reform efforts by ensuring the effective allocation of federal grant funds to the most promising grant project. Read More.
Attention Generation 17 & 18 Charter Schools: Next Generation Learning Grants
Breakthrough Schools Launch Grants
20 launch grants will be awarded to support new, whole-school learning models that will open in the fall of 2013 or in the fall of 2014. Our ultimate goal is to build a robust pipeline of new breakthrough schools that serve secondary school students (within grades 6-12). Such schools must employ the seven design principles for personalized learning described in our RFP, and must be committed to achieving breakthrough results for all students.
Breakthrough Schools Planning Grants
30 Breakthrough School Planning grants will be awarded to schools (districts, charter management organizations, aspiring charter entrepreneurs, non-profit and for-profit school developers, state education agencies and other institutions, agencies, or entities) that are planning on opening a new, whole-school learning model in the fall of 2014 or the fall of 2015. The goal of the planning grant program is to support school developers earlier in the development process and to encourage non-traditional institutions to consider opening new, breakthrough schools. Read More.
Education Department Launches 2013 Investing in Innovation Competition
The U.S. Department of Education announced the start of the $150 million 2013 Investing in Innovation (i3) grant competition. The announcement incorporates several improvements the Department has made to the grant competition in its efforts to support school districts and nonprofit organizations in partnership with schools to pursue innovative ideas that increase student success. Read More.
The Google Science Fair
is an online science competition open to students ages 13-18 from around the globe. We're looking for ideas that will change the world. Enter Here.
Harmony Public Schools develops STEM resource for public
Harmony Public Schools has developed a website, www.stemtx.org, where any one in the STEM field can register and become involved. Please review this site and encourage your colleagues to register as well. When you register you are able to upload any volunteer requirements for any STEM program(s) that may be planned. This is not only for Harmony; it is for everyone in the state of Texas to register and take advantage of. This is a great opportunity to link STEM programs and schools over the long term.
Nominate businesses that support employee volunteerism in public schools
Applications are now being accepted by the State Board of Education (SBOE) for the 2013 Employers for Education Excellence (EEE) Award. Texas employers who encourage and support employee participation in school activities are eligible to be nominated for the 2013 award. Read the press release.
COLLINS WRITING PROGRAM INTRODUCTORY INSTITUTE; Improving Student Performance Through Writing and Thinking Across the Curriculum (Grades 4-8)
The institute provides participants with practical strategies and techniques to help their students gain writing fluency, become comfortable thinking on paper, and develop the essential writing skills they need for future academic success in any subject area. Most importantly, this workshop gives teachers the help they need to efficiently and fairly evaluate writing so that students become more skillful as a result of the process. REGISTER.
Other Summer Conferences:
Leadership Charter: New Mexico Leadership Institute Albuquerque, New Mexico; June 17-21 REGISTER NACS National Conference Las Vegas, Nevada; June 22-24 REGISTER YES Prep Inagural Conference Houston, Texas; June 26-28 REGISTER National Charter Schools Conference Washington, DC; June 30-July REGISTER National Institute for Direct Instruction San Antonio, Texas; August 4-8 REGISTER Texas Charter School Coaches Conference Austin, Texas; August 19-20 REGISTER
TCSA Statewide Charter School Legal Summit, Dallas
($250 Member; $350 Non-Member)
May 20-21, 2013
Commissioner Hours Credit: Totaling 9 possible hours
This 2 day training hits on the hot topics that have a huge impact on your charter schools operational compliance. REGISTER
Business Week, Dallas (FREE) May 22-24, 2013
This intensive three day charter finance workshop is developed and delivered by seasoned charter finance leaders. This year's version of Business Week is designed to accelerate the learning of novice charter business officers and employees with a mix of foundational charter finance knowledge and interactive real world guided examples. REGISTER
Charter Start Beginner, Dallas (FREE)
May 3, 2013
Ideal for persons seeking general information about the Texas Charter School movement and for persons preparing a Generation 19 application to the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE). REGISTER
Charter School Facilities Institute Series
Of all the challenges that come with operating a charter school, securing a safe, adequate, and affordable facility proves to be one of the most persistent challenges encountered by the charter school community. Although charter schools in most states receive funding per pupil, that allocation rarely includes a separate amount for securing and improving a school facility. During the past two decades, the charter school community has responded to the facilities challenge by developing a variety of innovative approaches to this seemingly ever-present concern.
The U.S. Department of Education, through the National Charter School Resource Center and its partners, invites you to participate in the Charter School Facilities Institute Series. The institute will be presented through a series of four informative and interactive webinars that will help participants understand and manage the complex challenges of designing, financing, and implementing charter school facility projects. Join us to learn about how some charter schools are creating great learning environments. Read more.
Watch now! FREE TCSA Quality Framework Webinar: Student Growth Percentile (SGP) and Similar Students Measure (SSM) Overview
Watch this month's FREEQuality Framework recorded webinar to learn more about the exclusive TCSA Quality Framework Data Pack charts and graphs for SGP, SSM and percentile comparative reports for schools previously rated under AEA procedures.
What are SGP and SSM?
SGP helps charter leaders understand how their students are progressing, regardless of whether students are well below-or above-expected grade level or beyond minimum state test performance. SSM shows charter leaders whether or not their students are performing where they should be, by comparing performance with other campuses that serve a similar student population.
What will I learn? In this webinar, you will learn: how to access SGP and SSM reports in the Quality Framework portal; how SGP and SSM are calculated; where to find and how to use the TCSA Data Pack; and, how to request a Quality Framework user account.
Who should watch? Superintendents, executive directors, principals, compliance officers, grant officers--anyone on the charter school staff who leads, implements, or participates in charter or campus comprehensive needs assessments and uses data for reporting or planning purposes.
High School Curriculum Bill Headed to Senate Floor
Education Department Announces Next Rounds of Race to the Top, Including Another Key Investment to Expand Access to High-Quality Early Learning Opportunities
A Step Forward for Charter School Quality in Texas
Charter Start Beginner, Dallas (FREE) 
