DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 2008-09 CONTRACTS FOR EXCELLENCEPUBLIC HEARINGS

JUNE 2008

2

Contracts for Excellence (C4E) Overview

1. Funds must support specific program initiatives.

> Class Size Reduction

> Time on Task

> Teacher & Principal Quality Initiatives

> Middle & High School Restructuring

> Full-Day Pre-Kindergarten Programs

> Model Programs for English Language Learners (new in 08-09)

2. Funds must go to students with the greatest educational need.

> English Language Learners

> Students in Poverty

> Students with Disabilities

> Students with Low Academic Achievement or At Risk of Not Graduating

3. Funds must supplement, not supplant.

> For new or expanded programs only

> Should be used towards meeting school’s overall educational goals as outlined in the CEP

3

2007-08 C4E Approved Plan

How Funds Were Allocated

Funds that schools

could decide how to

spend within the C4E program

areas

Program Area Amount

Class Size Reduction $153 million

Time on Task $48 million

Teacher & Principal Quality $40 million

Middle & High School Restructuring

$17 million

Full-Day Pre-K $0.5 million

Total $258 million

How Funds Were Used

NYC 2007-08 C4E Plan approved 11/19/07 by SED.

Maintenance of Effort$30m

School Support Services

$14m

Targeted Allocations

$67mDiscretionary Allocations

$146m

4

Five Year Class Size Reduction PlanAs stipulated by the Contracts for Excellence legislation, the City submitted a Five Year Class Size Reduction Plan to SED that was approved on November 19, 2007.

The plan combines a series of multi-year strategies to reduce class sizes, including:

> Resource Allocation > New School Construction

> System-Wide Guidance > Collaborative Team Teaching

> Targeted Coaching > Class Size Data Tracking

> Policy Adjustments > Accountability

Baseline 06-07* C4E Target February 2008 Preliminary Change

K-3 21.0 20.7 20.9 -0.1

4-8** 25.6 24.8 25.0 -0.6

9-12

Adjustments to the high school methodology make the baseline/target from last year not directly comparable to preliminary results from this year. At mid-year, HS class size using the new methodology was 26.1 – using apples to apples

data, there was a reduction of .6 students in the average HS class.

*Excludes self-contained special education classes ** Includes 9th grades residing in Jr. High Schools (i.e. 6-9 schools)

Results from our February Mid-year Class Size Report indicate that the approach of empowering and enabling class size reduction is achieving results.

5

NYC DOE’S Budget Since 2002

City funding for education has increased by over $4 billion since 2002

> 79% increase since Mayor Bloomberg took office

> City spending on education has grown at about twice the rate of City spending on other agencies, excluding DOE, since 2002

> The City’s increase in education spending is almost three times the rate of inflation since 2002

Combined City and State funding has increased by over $7 billion since 2002

> State funding alone has increased by over 55%

In 2008-09, we are facing an economic downturn in New York City

> While City and State funding has increased year-over-year from 2007-08, the Department’s non-discretionary new costs are greater than our new State and City funds

We are cutting $200 million from central and other non-school budgets

6

Current State Mandates Restrict Fund Use

NEW STATE FUNDS FY09

$535 million

$242million

$385 M RESTRICTED

$150million

$150 M UNRESTRICTED

$113million

$30million

“Maintenance of Effort” for

existing priorities

New costs eligible for C4E funds

Restricted C4E funds

$385million

Funds subject to C4E

7

NYC’s 2008-09 Preliminary C4E Plan

How We Propose to Allocate Funds

The FY09 Contracts for Excellence allocations described in this plan are preliminary. Funds are subject to a public engagement process and approval by the State Education Department. Please note that distribution of all funds is subject to allocation guidelines as specified in State regulations.

Total: $113m. Covers new

costs that are eligible for C4E

funding.

Targeted Allocations$96 million

School Support Services

$17 million

Maintenance of Effort

$30 million

Discretionary Allocations

(to be released later)$63 million

Discretionary Allocations

(released 5/22/08)$179 million

Total: $242m. Funds that schools can

decide how to spend within the

C4E program areas

8

Discretionary Allocations to Schools

Amount

$179 million in restricted Contracts for Excellence funds were released to schools on May 22, 2008 as a preliminary allocation.

$63 million in additional funds will be allocated to schools pending a public process and SED approval.

$242 million is the expected total within this category.

Description

Funds released directly to schools to be used at the discretion of the principal, School Leadership Team, and greater school community.

Restricted to spending on new or expanded supplemental programs in the six C4E-eligible areas.

The Department created a new Contracts for Excellence allocation category so that these funds will be easy to track within school budgets.

9

Targeted Allocations to Schools

Amount$96 million is our preliminary estimate in this category. The total allocation amount will be determined through a public process and SED approval. Schools receiving allocations were chosen based on a) overall student need and b) capacity to carry out specific program.

Description

Funds allocated by the DOE directly to schools for specific uses that are eligible within the C4E programs areas:

> $64 million - New Collaborative Team Teaching (CTT) Classrooms (inclusive of fringe)

> $20 million - School-Wide Performance Pay Initiative Expansion

> $5 million - Full-Day Pre-K Expansion (inclusive of custodial costs)

> $5 million - New & Expanded Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Classrooms

> $2 million - ELL Summer School Expansion

School Support Services

Amount

$17 million is our preliminary estimate in this category. The total allocation amount will depend on the public process and SED approval. While these funds will not appear on schools’ budgets, they will be attributed to impacted schools as part of the DOE’s citywide C4E plan.

Description

Funds allocated to Central programs that directly benefit schools.

> $7 million - New & Expanded Multiple Pathways to Graduation Initiatives (for over-age and under-credit students)

> $10 million - New & Expanded Principal Training Initiatives

$113 million is the expected total in these two categories

10

Maintenance of Effort

Amount $30 million

Description

The City is allowed under State law to spend $30 million for “maintenance of effort” to fund existing City programs that meet the C4E program eligibility requirements. 

Preliminary allocations of these dollars have not yet been determined.

11

School Spending GuidanceAn important part of the City’s Children First school reforms is allowing principals to make decisions about what they need for their schools and students to succeed.

Given the special considerations of C4E funding, the Department is working to ensure that principals and SLTs have the full range of information and support needed to optimally allocate their C4E dollars:

> CEP Process: C4E planning is included in the 2008-09 Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP) process, which requires input from the School Leadership Team (SLT). SLTs are also being provided with C4E training.

> SSO and ISC Support: SSO and ISC teams are being trained on C4E provisions and are proactively working with schools to plan for allocation of C4E funds. These teams in turn work with DOE liaisons to the State Education Department to answer specific school questions about program eligibility, approved fund uses, etc.

> Public Feedback: Principals have been informed that they are required to take into account public feedback as well as input from their teams and greater school communities when deciding how to spend C4E funds.

> Program-Specific Guidance: The Department is offering program planning support to schools in three areas of strategic focus: class size reduction, middle school reform and support of English Language Learners (ELLs)

CEP Process: C4E planning is included in the 2008-09 Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP) process, which requires input from the School Leadership Team (SLT). SLTs are also being provided with C4E training.

12

Program Guidance: Middle Schools & ELLsThe Office of Teaching & Learning is working with SSOs to provide program guidance and technical assistance to help schools design effective instructional strategies. Specific outreach will be focused on schools serving middle grade (6-8) students and English Language Learners.

Programs and Services Offered to Schools

> Professional Development Opportunities Across All Content Areas

> Exemplary Site Visitations

> Sample Program Models

Resources Offered to Educators

> Identification of innovative programs

> Dissemination research

> Development of resource guide to support middle schools

> Distribution of policy briefs

These supports will be framed by the work from two larger Department initiatives:

> Middle School Success Plan – Blueprint for redesign

> Language Allocation Policy – Support in analyzing efficacy of services to ELLs and developing appropriate policies and practices

13

Program Guidance: Class Size Reduction2008-09 Class Size Reduction Guidance Memo

> Updated and refined citywide guidance on class size reduction strategies released in Principals’ Weekly on Wednesday, May 28, 2008

> Provides suggestions and resources for schools considering class size reduction or other personalization strategies and describes how system-wide policies around enrollment and space allocation will impact schools’ class size reduction efforts

2008-09 Class Size Reduction Coaching Program

> The Department expects to add roughly 50 schools to the targeted coaching program in 2008-09, who will be asked to prioritize CSR in the coming year and will receive focused support for implementing CSR or co-teaching strategies

> Participating schools identified based on low performance on city and/or state accountability metrics, relatively high class size, and in some cases, availability of space

Enhancements to the Five-Year Class Size Reduction Plan

> Class size reduction and personalization guidance integrated into budget and school planning documents for the 2008-09 school year

> The Department intends to use central planning processes to adjust enrollment plans and propose alternate zoning when appropriate to facilitate reduced registers, better use of school facilities and reduced class size

> 11,471 seats are coming on-line in new buildings in September 2008, with enrollment patterns designed to optimize reductions in surrounding schools. An additional 32,000 seats are scheduled to be completed between 2009 and 2011.

> We continue to improve the accuracy and transparency of our class size reports, particularly around middle school class size data and the reporting of over- and under-size classes

14

Building Up To District and Citywide PlansThe DOE is required to submit a citywide C4E plan—which includes individual spending plans for each school receiving funds—by July 22 to the State Education Department (SED).

May 23 – June 16 CEC budget hearings

May 23 - June 27 School-level C4E planning for use of funds

June 27 CEP-C4E planning document due

July 1 Initial public comment period ends

June 27 – Early JulyDOE review of proposed school-level allocations

Public comments incorporated into proposal

Early to Mid July Additional public hearing (TBD)

July 22

NYC C4E proposal due to SED

Will contain> District and citywide “roll up” of all preliminary allocations

(discretionary, targeted, school support, maintenance of effort) by program area and strategy

> For each school receiving preliminary C4E funds: Proposed spending by program area and strategy Targeted student populations Performance targets

August 15 SED approval deadline (expected)

15

Public Comment

We will take public feedback into account in the coming month as we continue to work with schools to develop a citywide Contracts for Excellence plan.

Please let us know what you think before July 1. We must submit a final plan to the State Education Department for review on July 22.

The public may comment on any aspect of the plan, including:

> How schools are planning to spend their discretionary funds within the six allowable program areas

> How the DOE is allocating targeted Contracts funds to schools

> How the DOE is allocating funds for School Support Services

> NYC’s Class Size Reduction plan

> The public comment process itself

Educators, parents, and all other members of the New York City community with feedback should e-mail us at ContractsForExcellence@schools.nyc.gov