Download - New School Application
New School Application
for schools interested in opening
August, 2014
The CSI New School Application
The first step in applying for
a charter school contract is
to submit an Executive Sum-
mary as set forth in the 2013
Call for Applications. The
New School Application is
intended for applicants who
wish to apply for CSI authori-
zation as a new school. It is
strongly recommended that
applicants use the 2013 New
School Application Rubric
and consult the CSI Services
document while drafting their
application. The Charter
School Institute Board re-
serves the right to request
additional information of the
charter school applicant dur-
ing the application or inter-
view processes, at its discre-
tion.
All application materials
must be submitted to the
Institute on or before Au-
gust 14th, 2013. Within five
days of the date the applica-
tion or any supplement ma-
terials are submitted to the
institute, the Applicant
The supporting documents men-
tioned in this section of the applica-
tion can be found on the CSI web-
site at http://www.csi.state.co.us/
pages/Charter_School_Institute/
Prospective_Schools
Introduction to the Charter School Institute
The mission of the
Charter School Institute
shall be to foster high-
quality public schools
choices offered through
Institute charter schools
that deliver rigorous
academic content and
high academic perfor-
mance in a safe envi-
ronment and on par
with the highest per-
forming schools, includ-
ing particularly schools
for at-risk students.
The Charter Schools
Act was adopted in Col-
orado in 1993. The
General Assembly con-
sidered several alterna-
tive authorizer pro-
posals before adopting
the Charter School In-
stitute (CSI) Act in
2004. CSI authorized
two charter schools in
2005 and now has a
total of 25 schools in its
portfolio throughout
Colorado with more
than 11,500 students in
attendance.
shall provide to its home
district Board of Education
and Accountability Commit-
tee a complete electronic
version of the application,
amendment, or supplement.
The applicant shall provide
to the Institute proof that it
has given such notice to the
the submission. Failure to
provide the district with
notice of the application
will result in denial of the
application by CSI.
An application is considered
filed when the Institute re-
ceives the application either
in hard copy or electronical-
ly. Within 15 days after Board of Educa-
tion and Ac-
countability
Committee of
the school dis-
trict in which the
proposed school
is to be located.
Such proof may consist of a
certified mail receipt, a
hand written receipt or other
written acknowledgement
from the recipient that writ-
ten notification was provid-
ed. The Board of Education
and Accountability Commit-
tee may each comment on
the application, amendment
or supplement to the Insti-
tute, in writing, within 30
days of receiving notice of
receiving an
application, CSI
shall determine
whether the
application sat-
isfies the re-
quirements
Specified in section 22-30.5
-509(1) and is therefore
complete. If the application
is not complete, CSI shall
notify the applicant within
the 15 day period and pro-
vide a list of the information
required to complete the
application. The applicant
has 15 days after the date it
receives the notice to pro-
vide the required infor-
mation to CSI for review.
All application materials
must be submitted by
August 14th, 2013.
1
Who May Apply
An application may be
submitted by one or
more individuals, or by
a nonprofit, govern-
mental, or other entity
or organization. For
new charter schools
geographically located
in districts which have
retained exclusive
chartering authority,
notice of the CSI appli-
cation must be provid-
ed by the applicant to
the district. A list of
districts with their
chartering authority
status can be ac-
cessed via this link:
http://
www.cde.state.co.us/
cdechart/download/
ECA_2012.pdf
Private schools and
current non-charter
public schools may not
apply to CSI through
this process.
The Institute is not required to
take action on the institute
charter application if the appli-
cant does not provide the re-
quired information within the 15
day period. CSI may request
additional information during
the review period and provide
reasonable time for the appli-
cant to respond. The Institute
may, but is not required to,
accept any additional infor-
mation the applicant provides
that the Institute does not re-
quest. Upon receipt of a com-
plete application, and upon
sufficient answers to CSI re-
quests for additional infor-
mation, the CSI Board, in a
public hearing, will rule on the
application on November 12,
2013.
Applicants will be asked to
make a presentation to the
CSI Board during a public
hearing scheduled for Octo-
ber 8,2013. Any additional
dates and times will be coor-
dinated with the applicant
upon receipt of the completed
application.
Essential Elements of a Quality Application
1. A demonstrated understanding of the
population the school intends to serve.
2. A comprehensive and research-based
curriculum and assessment program de-
signed to hold all students to high stand-
ards, including a plan to meet the differen-
tiated needs of all students.
3. A clear plan for evaluating pupil perfor-
mance across the curriculum, aligned with
state performance standards, school per-
formance goals, and accreditation require-
ments.
4. A plan for recruiting and hiring a strong
and compatible leader.
5. A strong, knowledgeable, diverse, and
capable board of governance or leader-
ship team committed to best practices in
school governance, business operations,
and financial management.
6. A balanced budget and financial plan
including revenues and expenditures com-
plying with state and federal accounting
and reporting requirements that demon-
strates diligence in financial practice and
alignment to other components of the ap-
plication.
7. Multiple viable school facility options
with a clear needs assessment for space
utilization.
A successful application should reflect the following components:
2
Who reviews the application?
Several members of CSI staff
review the application, includ-
ing representatives from all
primary areas of the applica-
tion components. In addition
to CSI staff reviewing the
application, CSI contracts
with external consultants who
possess applicable expertise
to review applications.
How often will the applicant meet with CSI?
The applicant will initially
meet with CSI staff to review
the process, timelines, and
requirements. A representa-
tive of the review team will
also attend and participate in
a required geographic com-
munity meeting. There will be
an applicant interview with
the review team, which will
allow the applicant to provide
additional clarification or in-
formation to the review team.
Additionally, the applicant will
present to the CSI Board in a
public hearing. All of these
events will occur prior to the
staff recommendation and
Board decision. CSI will work
with the applicant to arrange
these dates.
Timeline of Events
The table below outlines the application process steps that occur during the New School Cycle
3
What if the appli-cant did not sub-mit a Letter of In-tent or Executive Summary?
If the applicant did not submit a
Letter of Intent to Apply, please
include with your application a
copy of this document and Ex-
ecutive Summary. This form
with instruction can be found on
the CSI website via the follow-
ing link:
http://www.csi.state.co.us/
pages/
Charter_School_Institute/
Prospective_Schools
If you have provided this infor-
mation to the Institute already,
the Institute will ensure a copy
of these documents is included
in your application review. If
information is not aligned, or
has since changed since your
initial submission, the Institute
will request an updated copy.
Please note, these documents
help inform additional applica-
tion requirements, such as nec-
essary addenda.
The standard application is
divided into 9 primary ap-
plication components, plus
addenda, if applicable. It is
important to remember that
each of these components
may require upfront train-
ing and education to meet
the quality standard ex-
pected by the Institute and
the State of Colorado.
The proposal must be
typed and supplied in both
paper format (two copies
in 3-ring binders) and in
electronic format to CSI.
Number all pages within
each section. Each sec-
tion should adhere to the
page limits indicated in the
content pages of this ap-
plication.
Each of the 9 primary sec-
tions of the paper for-
mant must be separated
by labeled tab and begin
on a separate page. The
electronic format must
include one file that con-
tains all sections of the
application, as well as a
distinct and separate file
for each individual appli-
cation section. All of these
may be placed into a sin-
gle zipped file, flash drive,
or folder for submission.
To confirm that you have
reviewed your application
for completeness, the Ap-
plication Component
Checklist contained with-
in this document must be
signed and submitted
along with the application.
Writing the Application
Contact Us
CSI staff is happy to supply applicants with additional information, clarification, and direction toward resources
up until the application is submitted to CSI. Please contact CSI at 303.866.3299 or [email protected].
www.cde.state.co.us/cdechart/DistAuthInfo
www.coloradoleague.org/
www.qualitycharters.org /
Websites:
Possible Resources
4
Content of the New School Application
A. Vision and Mission (3 pages)
1. The vision will articulate what the school hopes to
be. The mission should explain how the school will
reach that goal.
B. Evidence of Need & Support (15 pages)
1. Include information about the proposed charter
school’s student body, including the intended stu-
dents’ educational needs and demographics
(racial/cultural, socioeconomic, special needs, and
ELL). The application, in its entirety, should reflect
an understanding of the intended student popula-
tion.
2. Provide a description of the programmatic offer-
ings currently available to the target population
that support the need for the proposed school.
3. Detail the type of broad outreach the founders
conducted to make the student population and
their families aware of the proposed charter
school. This should include future outreach plans
if the charter school is approved.
4. Detail the approximate number of students ex-
pressing an interest in the proposed school. This
information should be disaggregated in a manner
showing demographic information about prospec-
tive students.
5. If there are any existing or anticipated partner-
ships or networking relationships, provide an ex-
planation of their role in development, as well as
the planned resources or agreements that have
been discussed or formalized.
6. Include information on community members,
leaders, and parents who publicly support the pro-
posed school and their role in the development
Maximum page numbers are indicated in the parentheses adjacent to each content area.
of the school.
7. Include a description of the efforts made to dis-
tribute information about the school, including
opportunities for community involvement. Evi-
dence may be included as attachments.
C. Leadership (5 pages)
1. Provide a detailed description of the recruiting,
hiring, selection process, and timeline for identify-
ing the school leader.
2. Detail the profile of your school’s ideal leader,
including skills, qualifications, and characteristics.
3. Provide a job description and board evaluation
process for the head of school.
D. Education Program (30 pages)
1. Provide a rationale for selecting the chosen mod-
el, including research-based evidence that sup-
ports the effectiveness of the selected model with
the target population.
2. Describe the core content areas, including the
curriculum and instructional strategies that are
supported by research matching needs of the stu-
dent population for the proposed school.
3. Provide an explanation of how the curriculum is
either already aligned to state model content
standards or will be aligned within the first year of
school operation including a timeline and process
for monitoring progress.
4. Include an explanation or plan for how the curric-
ulum is or will be aligned vertically and horizontal-
ly for all grades the school will serve.
5. Describe the process and methods that will be
5
used to differentiate instruction based on identi-
fied student needs.
6. Discuss the use of supplemental curricula for
electives or “special” courses that is thorough
and based on state model content standards
when available.
7. Detail the plans for supplemental programming
(summer school, extracurricular activities, psy-
chosocial programming, remediation and inter-
vention).
8. Include a description of the organizational struc-
ture that allows for full implementation of the
curriculum.
9. Include information about how the school calen-
dar and schedule will comply with statutory re-
quirements.
10. Describe the plan for selecting and engaging in
professional development activities.
11. Include the process for staff evaluation.
E. Serving Students with Special Needs (15
pages)
1. Include the school policy for a Response to Inter-
vention (RtI) or child study process that meets all
legal requirements.
2. Detail plans to meet the unique needs of stu-
dents with Individualized Education Plans (for
special education), 504 Plans, Advanced Learning
Plans (for gifted/talented), Health Plans and Eng-
lish Language Learners. Include information on
plans for staffing, identification, documentation,
assessment, progress monitoring, adaptation,
and alignment with the budget.
3. Provide research-based evidence that supports
the chosen strategies for interventions and sup-
port materials selected.
F. Goals, Objectives & Pupil Evaluation (20
pages)
1. Use the baseline targets template to provide
academic goals aligning with state and Institute
standards, as described in the Colorado School
Performance Framework and CSI Performance
Frameworks.
2. Provide a rationale for how the goals and objec-
tives of the program were determined, that in-
clude alignment with the school’s vision and
mission, and are based on reliable methods to
measure progress along state, CSI, and school
expectations.
3. Describe the purpose and frequency of assess-
ments used. These selections must meet re-
quirements of the Colorado Reading to Ensure
Academic Development Act (Colorado READ
Act), Individual Learning Plans (ILPs), and federal
requirements, such as the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act (ESEA).
4. Describe the school’s data management plan to
include staff roles and responsibilities, the Stu-
dent Information System (SIS) and data ware-
house to be used, and indicate its alignment
with the budget.
5. Detail the plan to monitor progress towards
meeting these goals, including how the school
will collect, analyze, triangulate, manage, and
use data on an ongoing basis, particularly to in-
form
6
Content of the New School Application
professional development and instruction.
Provide a description of the procedures for tak-
ing corrective action in the event that pupil
performance falls below the goals and objec-
tives outlined in the application, including time-
line, responsible person, and changes as appro-
priate.
Explain how and when student data and school
progress will be communicated to parents and
the broader community.
G. Budget & Finance (10 pages)
Include a five-year budget, a cash flow projec-
tion for the first year of operation, minimum
enrollment needed for solvency, and adequate
staffing. Applications must use the CSI budget
template (www.csi.state.co.us.)
The budget should reflect an understanding of
specific statutory requirements including sepa-
ration of the general fund, Title funds and
grants, Public Employees’ Retirement Associa-
tion (PERA) contributions, and a three percent
TABOR reserve (Colo. Const. Art. X, Sect. 20)
each year as well.
The budget narrative reflects the financial poli-
cies and procedures and anticipated manage-
ment plan that will ensure checks and balances
in cash disbursement.
The budget narrative details funding for facili-
ties and FFE acquisition, the curriculum, profes-
sional development plan, and anticipated
growth of the school.
The proposed budget balances each year and
includes a five-year plan to reach at least a five
Maximum page numbers are indicated in the parentheses adjacent to each content area.
percent reserve (in addition to the TABOR re-
serve) that the school can use for emergency pur-
poses or as a long-term reserve.
Include a line item for independent financial audit
of the school’s finances annually.
Include a list of planned services to be contracted
to outside providers.
H. Governance & Operations (30 pages)
Provide a description of the governance and oper-
ation of the school, including the nature and ex-
tent of parental, professional educator, and com-
munity involvement in the governance and opera-
tion of the proposed Institute charter school.
Attach the following:
Governing board bylaws
Articles of Incorporation
Organizational chart explaining the rela-
tionship between the board, the lead ad-
ministrator, and committees
Resumes of applicant team members and/
or founding board members
Draft of initial board policies
Draft of the Board Member Agreement
Draft of Conflicts of Interest and Griev-
ance Process and Dispute Resolution
board policies
Provide an explanation and timeline of the pro-
posed transition from an applicant team to the
founding governing board including the identifica-
tion of individuals making the transition. Further,
7
detail how the transition plan will provide for a
shift of responsibilities and how the founder’s
original vision and mission will be brought to frui-
tion.
Provide a plan for ongoing board training and ca-
pacity building is included in a board calendar.
Include a proposed policy detailing how the char-
ter school intends to select students for enroll-
ment including, but not limited to, proposed
timeline, description of wait list or lottery pro-
cess, any enrollment criteria, or pre- or post- en-
rollment testing.
Provide an explanation of how the community
will receive information about the formation of a
new charter school and any upcoming lottery or
enrollment deadline.
Include a proposed policy for student discipline,
expulsion, or suspension that meets state law.
Provide an explanation of how the school will
provide the expelled student with alternative ed-
ucation, if applicable.
Except as otherwise provided in C.R.S.22-30.5-
509 (r), a plan should be provided to settle any
disputes between a charter school and its author-
izer, concerning governing policy provisions of
the charter contract, to include a reasonable
written notice which gives a brief description of
the matter in dispute and the scope of the disa-
greement between parties.
Include a list of anticipated requests for waivers
from state statutes including rationale for re-
questing the waiver, replacement policy or expla-
nation of intent, expected financial and imple-
mentation impact, and how the waiver will be
evaluated.
Include a list of the types of insurance for which
the charter school will contract and their fiscal
impact.
I. Facilities (5 pages)
Provide a facility needs assessment including
number of classrooms, bathrooms, and offices
needed; minimum size of each room; library,
outdoor, and common space needed; overall
size; cost per square foot; zoning and occupancy
requirements; and how each facility aligns with
the facility needs assessment is included in the
narrative.
Include proposed locations for the school that
are given based on school design and intended
population with an explanation of prospective
school sites and assistance to find them.
Arrange legal review by an experienced attorney
of all contract negotiations and terms before
final approval by the governing authority.
8
Application Components Checklist
To confirm that you have reviewed your application for completeness, this checklist MUST
be signed, dated, and submitted along with your application materials.
Signature
Date
9
1580 Logan St, Suite 210
Denver, Colorado 80203
303.866.3299 ph
303.866.2530 fax
www.csi.state.co.us
C OL O RA D O
C HA TE R S C H OOL
INS TI T UTE
Th e m i ss io n o f th e Ch a r te r
S ch o o l I ns t i t u te sh a l l b e to
f o s te r h i g h -q u a l i t y p u b l i c
s ch o o l ch o ic es o f fe re d t h roug h
I n s t i tu t e s ch o o l s th a t de l i v e r
r i g o ro us ac a dem ic co n ten t a nd
h i g h a ca d em ic pe r f o rma nc e in
a s a fe e nv i ron me n t an d on pa r
w i t h t he h ig h es t pe r f o rm i n g
s ch o o l s , i nc l ud i ng p a r t i cu l a r l y
s ch o o l s fo r a t - r i sk s tu de n ts .