February 2012
2011-12 Charter School Revolving Loan Fund Application Now Available
Applications for the Revolving Loan Fund are due Friday, March 30.
Welcome to our New LA Team Member!
I am excited to introduce our members to Marisa Quintanar, the newest Regional Director on the Los Angeles Advocacy team. Marisa, a former teacher, was first introduced to charter schools through her work at East LA Community Corporation and with HMC Architects. She has most recently been engaged in political and communications consulting work.
Don't Miss LA Member Events at Conference!
We can’t wait to see many of you at the annual Charter Conference next week in Sacramento! We’re particularly excited to be in Sacramento this year and for the charter funding-equity rally on Wednesday. We’d like to highlight four events that might be of interest to LA members.
The 19th Annual California Charter Schools Conference & Advocacy Week kicks off today!
More than 2,500 charter school leaders and supporters join together in Sacramento.
One-Stop Shop For Charter School Fact Sheets
CCSA has created more than two dozen Fact Sheets on a variety of key charter school topics that are a great tool for schools to use in outreach to parents, elected representatives and the greater community. These are fully formatted to easily download and print and many are also available in Spanish!
Santa Clara County Announces New Superintendent!
When the Board started the candidate search process, some board members stated that they wanted a “game changer”…
Continued Charter Growth in San Diego County
One might worry that with the economic climate charter growth might slow, but that doesn’t seem to be the case in SD County.
Greetings from Your New Managing Regional Director
I am looking forward to meeting many of you at next week’s conference. Please come up and say hello!
Featured Grant: McKinney-Vento: Education for Homeless Children and Youth Grant Program
Funding to (1) facilitate the enrollment, attendance, and success in school of homeless children and youth; and (2) ensure homeless children and youth have equal access to the same free, appropriate, public education as all other students
Portrait of the Movement Report and Member Resources Available Online
Find individual school results; disaggregated reports comparing charter and traditional public school results by region, county and district; an interactive map that shows all charter and traditional public schools; and more.
Capitol Update 2/23/12
Included in the Capitol Update this week:
* Advocacy Week 2012
* Have a Question for California’s Education Leaders?
CCSA Answers: CCLC and Independent Study Schools
Question: Can an independent study (IS) charter school apply for 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) Program funding to help fund their after school program?
OUSD Board Watch
The February 8th OUSD Board meeting was eventful (as usual).
Being Proactive About Student Safety and Open Communication with Parents
A recent alleged sexual child abuse situation at a Los Angeles Unified school has many school leaders thinking about how to ensure they have strong systems in place to protect students and how to have an open conversation with their parents and a healthy environment. Chris Ferris, leader of Our Community School, decided to communicate proactively with her parents about these issues. We’re sharing the text of that letter as a resource for other school leaders.
Performance Bands: Defaults and Customizing Your Own
An important message about an issue with assessment of default performance bands.
Growth in Orange County
For years there were about a dozen charter schools in Orange County. This number remained stagnant, until recently.
Connect with Local San Diego Region Charter Leaders At the Charter Schools Conference
Please plan to join colleagues from around the San Diego Region to gear up for the Funding Equity Rally and connect on issues specific to our region.
CA Charter Schools Conference is Just One Week Away
Not registered yet? Register by Tuesday to avoid the late registration rate! If you have not booked your hotel yet, please make a reservation as soon as possible.
Successful San Jose Area Regional Meeting!
Thank you to everyone who helped make this a great regional meeting. Read on for an overview of what we covered and links to key materials.
How Does Your Prop 39 Rate Compare?
Everyone who submitted a request for facilities under Prop 39 should have received a preliminary offer from their district by February 1 and, as a reminder, charters only have a few short weeks to respond (by March 1).
Connect with Local Charter Leaders At the Charter Schools Conference
Hard to believe that the 19th Annual Charter Conference is only one week away! Please plan to join colleagues from around the Bay Area to gear up for the Funding Equity Rally and connect on issues specific to our region….
Encourage Your Parents to Sign up with Families That Can
To build the long-term advocacy strength of our movement and to continue to increase our impact, we know we need to be able to harness the power of charter school parents. To that end, we’re asking our member schools to contact their parents to have them sign up to Families That Can. We need your help!
Get on the Bus! Riding to the Rally for Funding Equity
Do you believe that charter schools should get adequate and fair funding? Join school leaders, teachers, parents, and students from across the state!
Connect with Northeastern Charter Leaders At the Charter Schools Conference
Hard to believe that the 19th Annual Charter Conference is only one week away!
Use the Conference to Find Answers and Connect with People
The California Charter Schools Association’s Annual Conference is here … amazing how fast a year goes by.
Capitol Update 2/16/12
Included in the Capitol Update this week:
* Legislative Update
* Senate Budget and Fiscal Review
* Have a Question for California’s Education Leaders?
Last Chance to RSVP for the Feb. 27 PCSGP Workshop!
Are you thinking about applying for the Public Charter Schools Grant Program (PCSGP)? Then you don’t want to miss the day-long intensive workshop on Feb. 27! RSVP now! You’ll have a chance to hear directly from legal counsel and representatives from the California Department of Education (CDE) on how to apply successfully for this key program.
Gates Collaborative Work Unfolds
As one of 16 cities that has signed a district-charter compact, we, alongside LAUSD, submitted a Concept Paper to the Gates Foundation this week. The focus of the paper is to increase services and supports for special education populations within a pilot group of schools with the intent of increasing academic outcomes for all special education students.
Connect with Local Charter Leaders At the Charter Schools Conference
Hard to believe that the 19th Annual Charter Conference is only one week away! We hope you’ll join CCSA’s LA Advocacy team and your colleagues from around the Los Angeles Region to gear up for the Funding Equity Rally and connect on issues specific to our region. We will convene at two Conference Regional meetings on Tuesday, February 28 at 6 pm in the Conference Center Rooms 305 and 306. Wine and cheese will be served!
Connect with Local Charter Leaders At the Charter Schools Conference
Please plan to join colleagues from around the Inland Empire Region to gear up for the Funding Equity Rally and connect on issues specific to our region.
Featured Grant: National Geographic Student Expeditions Scholarship Program
Financial support to high school students who are seeking educational summer experiences they otherwise could not afford
Feb. 21: Webinar - Measuring Student Growth for School Accountability
RAPSA (Reaching At-Promise Students Association) is sponsoring a free webinar about a statistical growth model called value-added analysis.
Have a Question for California's Education Leaders?
Have a question for the President of the California Start Board of Education, the Assembly Education Committee Chair, or State Superintendent of Public Instruction? This is your chance to ask it!
Free ZOOM! Professional Development Opportunties
Delivered via webinar, these sessions are a great way to see how your school can improve and expand its use of ZOOM!.
Announcing the new Managing Regional Director for the Bay Area Region
We are pleased to announce that Elaine Guarnieri-Nunn has joined CCSA as the new Managing Regional Director for the San Francisco Bay Area region, which includes all of northwestern California.
Classroom Standards Performance Report
As some ZOOM! users have noticed, the Classroom Standards Performance Report is currently not working.
DataScanner Update
Read an update on availability of features in DataScanner.
Feb. 27: Hands-on Tech Plan Writing and E-Rate Practice Workshop
Want some of the $2.27 BILLION E-Rate funding available annually to help your school’s technology program? Baffled about technology planning? Just opening? Don’t miss this workshop! You will actually write a draft technology plan over the course of the workshop with support every step of the way.
Capitol Update 2/10/12
Included in the Capitol Update this week:
A special thank you for your participation on our recent Action Alert.
Key Resources from the LA Regional Meeting
The LA Charter Leaders Meeting on January 26 featured great break-out sessions on the state budget, funding options, and special education, many of which highlighted key member resources. Get the info or find out what you missed!
Feb. 27: FREE In-Depth PCSGP Workshop for Developers and First-year Schools
Are you thinking about applying for the Public Charter Schools Grant Program (PCSGP)? Don’t miss this unique chance to get all the information you need, including Q & A with staff from the California Department of Education (CDE) and a presentation from Middleton, Young and Minney on key legal issues. RSVP now for this day-long workshop!
For Charters, By Charters
A partner organization of the CCSA Oakland Charter Schools Collaborative, East Bay Charter Connect, hosted its first annual symposium for charter school teachers and leaders on January 27, 2012 at the Oakland Military Institute. The 200 attendees from 12 schools…
Regional Meeting Success!
We had over 30 participants and it was wonderful to have so many charter schools from Alameda and Contra Costa counties represented.
Consent, Consent, Consent....Congrats to new charters!
In what was expected to be a particularly controversial Board meeting this past Tuesday, 5 new charters and 2 renewing charter were approved on consent!
LAUSD Board Approves Policy on Founding Parents at Charters
On Tuesday, February 7, the LAUSD Board approved a new Founding Parent policy for LAUSD authorized charter schools…
Busy Times in San Diego Unified
Last week was a busy charter board meeting for SDUSD. We had four public hearings for four renewing charters and one for a new charter school.
Winter Regional Meeting Wrap
We had some great opportunities to get updates on the new legislative session and the Governor’s proposed budget. There is good news and bad news…
Avoid Late Registration Fees. Register today for the conference!
The Conference is in Two Weeks! Join us and register today!
Capitol Update 2/9/12
Included in the Capitol Update this week:
* Legislative Update
* Advisory Commission on Charter Schools (ACCS)
* Success at the California School Finance Authority (CSFA)
* Conference Is Around the Corner…
CCSA Answers: Charter School Name Change
Question: Does a charter school name change constitute a material revision to the charter school’s petition?
Featured Grant: Community Action Grants
Funding for organizations contributing to their communities for education and neighborhood improvement, economic development, youth development, community problem-solving, assistance to disadvantaged people, environmental conservation and cultural enrichment
An Invitation to Learn More about Montessori Education
If you have been curious about Montessori Education, this is a great opportunity to find out more.
LAUSD Redistricting Meetings kick off this week
Key public meetings about redrawing the lines for LAUSD boardmember districts start tonight, Monday, Feb. 6.
Feb. 4 Rally is a HUGE Success - Thanks to you!
WE DID IT. More than 100 LA charter schools turned out more than 5,000 parents, teachers and students for the rally Saturday. All of you should be incredibly proud of what we achieved with this event - we showed our strength, but more importantly, we showed the depth of our commitment to making sure every student in Los Angeles has a high-quality public school.
External Opportunity: Strengthen Your Governance with Training from the Experts
The High Bar is offering a new online training institute with courses developed exclusively for charter school boards, school leaders and senior staff of charter schools.
Prop. 39 Preliminary Offer Response Assistance Available
The February 1 Prop. 39 deadline has now passed, and it is time to focus on the response from charter schools to their district. CCSA has resources to help in those efforts.
New Board Meeting Agenda Posting Requirement Under the Brown Act
Reminder to CCSA members on Brown Act compliance requirement regarding posting upcoming board meeting agendas
Conference Hotel Rooms
Our blocks at the Sheraton Grand the Hyatt Regency have sold out, so check our listing for other options!
My Evening with a Charter School Critic
I believe it’s critical for people in general - but advocates, in particular — to “seek first to understand, and then to be understood”. So I organized a hodge-podge of local school reformers to buy $5 tickets, and on a drizzly January night, we joined over 2,000 people to hear what Diane Ravitch had to say.
Superintendent Search Update (Santa Clara County Office of Education)
The SCCBOE has approved more charters than any other county office board in California so it is critical for the entire movement that the new superintendent sees charters as essential and as partners in improving public education.
San Jose Area Regional Meeting is Only a Few Days Away (Feb. 9, 10 a.m. at Latino College Prep)!
There is a lot going on in our area not to mention across the state so it is an important time for us to be getting together.
Preliminary Proposition 39 Offers in San Diego Unified School District
Get the details on the preliminary offers to SDUSD schools.
Feb 29: Rally at the State Capitol During CA Charter School Conference
Are you inspired by the giant rally in Los Angeles last weekend to take action on behalf of charter schools? We have a great opportunity for you coming up in just three weeks.
It's Not Too Late to Register for this Week's Charter Leader Meetings
Several leaders have already RSVPed for this Week’s Charter Leader meetings. If you not yet done so, it is not too late.
Central Valley Charter Leaders Meeting Included Sharing Innovative Financial Solutions from Charter Leaders
Along with the updates provided by the Association, there was the sharing of a variety of financial solutions by by charter leaders happening at their school sites.
Funding Equity - Is it a Possibility?
Come to your regional meeting and find out.
Connecting Central Valley charters with legislators During Advocacy Week at the Upcoming CCSA Conference
Don’t miss your opportunity to develop relationships with your legislators!
CCSA Answers: Charter Schools Developing Partnerships with Private Entities
Question: May charter schools develop partnerships with private entities for the purpose of licensing curriculum to be used at the charter school?
Featured Grant: The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program
Offers current science, math and technology teachers an opportunity to spend a year in Washington D.C., sharing their expertise with several government agency or congressional offices, as a service in the national public policy arena
Feb. 13, 15: Highly Qualified Teacher Workshops
Get your teacher credentialing questions answered!