2013 Accountability System, May 8th Charter Rally, TCSA Legal Summit

April 26, 2013

TCSA New 2013 State Accountability Overview

Be the first to know - Register now for this FREE TCSA Webinar: NEW 2013 State Accountability Overview

Join over 100 of your colleagues who have already registered for this webinar scheduled for today, Friday, April 26th, 2013 at 3pm: NEW 2013 State Accountability System Overview

Texas Commissioner of Education Michael Williams announced on Tuesday, April 23rd the major features and components of the new 2013 Texas State Accountability System. Register now and learn more today about the components, ratings categories, and academic distinctions in the new system.

IMPORTANT: You must register by 2pm today, Friday, April 26th in order to participate in the live webinar. However, the webinar will be recorded and the link will be distributed shortly after.

Commissioner Williams announces 2013 accountability system
This week, Commissioner of Education Michael L. Williams announced the four components that will be part of the new 2013 state accountability system for school districts, campuses and charters in Texas. The first ratings under this system will be issued by the Texas Education Agency on August 8, 2013. The revised system will still use student assessments, but also makes use of additional indicators to provide parents and taxpayers greater detail on the performance of a district or charter and each individual campus throughout the state. The 2013 accountability system will use a performance index framework that considers four areas (including student groups that are part of that index). Because all aspects of the performance index framework cannot be fully implemented at this time, 2013 will be considered a transition year. Accountability advisory groups will reconvene later this year to finalize recommendations for accountability ratings criteria for 2014 and beyond. In addition, work will continue on the conversion of this new system into an A-F rating system for 2014. Williams acknowledged various aspects of the state accountability system are currently being discussed by the Texas Legislature. Any changes in bills passed during the legislative session can and will be incorporated into the system. Read the press release. Read the article.

The House Committee on Public Education heard the charter school bill, Senate Bill 2, on Tuesday, April 23, and took testimony from many TCSA members including: Kathleen Zimmerman, NYOS (Austin) and Mike Feinberg, KIPP (Houston). Chairman Jimmie Don Aycock mentioned that he looks forward to working with his Committee members and voting on this bill on Tuesday.

New School Ratings Emphasize Minority Progress

By Associated Press; April 23, 2013
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A new Texas school accountability system unveiled Tuesday emphasizes how well campuses and districts close achievement gaps between minority students and those from low-income families and their white and wealthier counterparts - but stops short of issuing letter grades as promised for next year. Since taking over as the state's top education official in August, Education Commissioner Michael Williams has been working to revamp the criteria used to rate traditional public schools, charters and school districts. He has spent months promising that they will be held more-accountable for how well their minority students and those from poor families perform as compared to traditionally higher-performing students. Read the article.

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.

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

See the Agenda.

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

Blazing the Trail to Quality and Innovation

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.

Rangel: Charter school issue shows art of political compromise

"Kids bring to the classroom different needs, different interests, and so charter schools have additional flexibility that traditional ISDs don't have," David Dunn said recently while waiting to testify before the House Public Education Committee. "But there is greater accountability," added Dunn, executive director of the Texas Charter Schools Association. "They have flexibility for designed programs to better tailor those programs of individual needs for students and parents like that." This also explains why there are 154,000 students in 209 charters throughout the state. But for Rene Lara and other education advocates, charters are privately-run but publicly-funded institutions taking money public schools need. Read the Article.

New school a major change for charter district

The brainchild of Superintendent Bruce Rockstroh, the Anne
Frank school will do away with a standard bell schedule and offer little in the way of traditional classes. Instead, it will help students plan for and meet individualized learning goals in a variety of ways - from independent study to one-on-one tutoring to small group work. "We refuse to change the way we do K-12 schooling. We gripe about it, but we don't do anything about it," he said. "There's got to be a better way." Read the Article.

House Budget Writers Back $500 Million More for School

By Aman Batheja; April 18, 2013

House budget leaders voted Thursday to send a supplemental budget bill to the House floor with $500 million more for public schools and payments to state agencies to cover costs related to last year's wildfires....House Bill 1025 is the second supplemental budget bill lawmakers plan to pass this session. In March, Gov. Rick Perry signed House Bill 10, a $6.6 billion measure that mostly addressed a large shortfall in the Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program programs. Read the Article.

TX Senate bill aims to bring more charter schools

By Melissa Daigle; Apr 17, 2013
The state senate recently passed a bill that would lift the cap on open-enrollment charter schools. Current law caps the number of these schools at 215. There are three different types of charter schools. The ones that have a limited number allowed in the state are "open-enrollment" charter schools. SB2 calls for the cap to be lifted on those. But there are also "in-district" and "university charters." Those don't have caps. Read the article.

Board of Ed bristles at losing charter approval

By Will Weissert; April 17, 2013
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The State Board of Education on Wednesday lambasted a high-profile proposal approved by the Texas Senate that strips the body of its power to authorize new charter schools and instead leaves it with the state commissioner of education. Approved overwhelmingly last week, Senate Bill 2 expands the maximum number of charter schools authorized to operate statewide, raising the current cap of 215 to 305 by September 2019. Read the article.

Senate OKs Rainy Day Fund spending for schools

By Paul J. Weber; April 23, 2013
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Texas public schools pummeled by historic budget cuts in 2011 would recover nearly 70 percent of that funding under a Senate plan approved late Tuesday and made possible by Republicans softening on a longstanding reluctance to tap the state's Rainy Day Fund for education.

Read the article.

A look at the county's top female educators

By Whitney Hodgin; April 26, 2013
More women occupy the highest leadership positions in Galveston County schools than ever before. Women head the school districts in Texas City, Friendswood, Dickinson, Hitchcock, High Island and Santa Fe. They also head charter schools and the College of the Mainland. Here's a look at some of the county's top female educators. Read the article.

American YouthWorks' Parc Smith builds on a family legacy of fairness

By Michael Barnes; April 15, 2013
In rural Erath County, white townsmen in hoods once threatened Parc Smith's grandfather. "They demanded: 'Why are you employing a black man when there's white men out of work,'" Smith, 41, recounts. "He called them out by name: 'Billy, Johnny, Bob, I'm going to count to three and start shooting.' At two, he started shooting. They left and never messed with him again." Read the article.

New ratings for Texas public schools unveiled
By Kate Alexander; April 23, 2013
Texas public schools will be graded pass-fail this summer as the state eases in a new system to measure whether students are meeting academic standards.
Read the article

House Members Hear Support for Charter School Expansion
By Liz Farmer; April 23, 2013

After its triumphant passage through the Senate, a bill allowing more charter schools in Texas, and making it easier to close low-performing charters, went before a committee of House members Tuesday night. 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.

For assistance in applying for these grants, please consult Scott Fleming Fishtree.

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

Charter School Facilities Initiative: Initial Findings from Ten States

Charter schools across the nation struggle with inadequate and costly facilities. Recognizing the need for accurate facilities related data, the Colorado League of Charter Schools ("the League") developed the Charter School Facilities Survey. The Survey was first administered to charter schools across the state of Colorado. The League published the results of the Colorado Charter School Facilities Survey in a 2008 report entitled "Shortchanged Charters: How Funding Disparities Hurt
Colorado's Charter Schools." With the help of the Shortchanged Charters Report, the League was able to move forward state legislation and local policy changes that have positively impacted Colorado's charter schools. Read more.

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.

TCSA Webinar: The Quality Framework - Your School's FREE Reflection, Planning, and Data Tool

Register for next Wednesday, May 1 at 10am: FREE TCSA Quality Framework Webinar: How to Use the Quality Framework for Reflection and Planning

Now is the perfect time for charter leaders like you to start planning for how to:

1. Assess and analyze the current school year, and

2. Finalize plans for next year.

The Self-Assessment, Reports, Data Pack and Resources in the Quality Framework portal can help you and your leadership team accomplish both.

Learn how in this month's FREE TCSA Quality Framework Webinar: How to Use the Quality Framework for Reflection and Planning

Register for this month's FREE webinar to learn:

About each of the components of the Quality Framework.
Where to find and how to use the reports, data, and resources in the portal.
How you and your leadership team can be ready to complete a new Self-Assessment at the end of the school year or this summer.

Who should participate?
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.

NOTE: Webinar login information will be sent the morning of the webinar.

Questions? Email

Watch now! FREE TCSA Quality Framework Webinar: Student Growth Percentile (SGP) and Similar Students Measure (SSM) Overview

Watch this month's FREE Quality 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.

Questions? Email the Quality Initiatives Team.