This CACSA Update has information on five items:

1. Next CACSA/CDE Quarterly Authorizer Meeting, Wednesday, March 11, 2020; 9:00 am to 3:00pm;
2. Follow-up Conference Call on Policy Proposal, Thursday, February 6, 2020; at 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
3. WestEd released a report that describes Four Domains for Significant and Sustainable Charter School Improvement: A Systems Framework for the Charter Context;
4. Job openings: Denver Public Schools, Lyra Colorado, and Empower Schools are all hiring in Colorado for work on charter authorizing, innovation schools, and innovation zones; and
5. Littleton Public Schools (LPS) filed a motion asking the State Board of Education to dismiss the challenge to their exclusive chartering authority.

If you have any questions or comments, or if you would like to add someone to this list or be removed, reach me via email at Alex.Medler@coauthorizers.org, or via phone at 720-635-8329.

We are also delighted to welcome the Boulder Valley School District as a new CACSA member. As of now, CACSA members represent more than 70 percent of the state’s charter schools.

Best wishes,

Alex

1. Next CACSA/CDE Quarterly Authorizer Meeting, Wednesday, March 11, 2020; 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Please hold the date and plan to join us for the next quarterly CACSA/CDE charter authorizers’ meeting. We will be meeting at the Westminster Recreation Center, located 10455 Sheridan Boulevard, Westminster, CO 80020. In addition to the regular meeting, CACSA is presenting in a couple of breakout sessions at the Colorado League of Charter Schools Annual Meeting, which takes place March 12-13, at the Westin Westminster, located at 10600 Westminster Blvd, Westminster, CO 80020.

 

2. Policy Conference Call #2

CACSA is convening a second conference call on recent policy proposals. On Thursday, February 6, 2020; at 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm, we will be hearing from the bill sponsor and supporters of legislation that would affect charter schools and charter school authorizing.  Representative Shannon Bird, the bill’s sponsor, as well as representatives of the school boards from the Boulder Valley School District and Adams 12 Five Star School District, will be on the call to explain what they trying to do with the bill and answer questions. This call is a follow-up to our previous call with Dan Schaller from the League. Please note, CACSA does not take positions on policy proposals, and this conference call is designed to provide CACSA members with information about developments in the field that may affect charter schools and authorizing. You can join the conference call with the following information:

When: Thursday, February 6, 2020, 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Login: https://zoom.us/j/236559675?pwd=cCtkV1BDTm9PUWdnbzNjckUrcm1LQT09

Meeting ID: 236 559 675

Password: 198061

Phone: 669-900-9128

 

3. Report on Charter School Improvement

WestEd released a report that describes Four Domains for Significant and Sustainable Charter School Improvement: A Systems Framework for the Charter Context, which is attached. The report applies an approach to school improvement that WestEd had developed for public schools in general that divided work into four key domains. In this report, WestEd’s team apply those same four domains to the charter sector. The report asks what a state education agency, a charter authorizer, and the team at a charter school can do to pursue improvement for:

1. Improvement leadership;
2. Talent development;
3. Instructional transformation; and
4. Culture shift.

Not all charter schools may be good candidates for such efforts. The authors observe, “To distinguish good improvement candidates from those that are not, authorizers will want to determine whether a school has enough existing capacity (e.g., academic bright spots, board commitment, stakeholder support) to undertake the hard work of improvement.” For those that are ready, the report outlines a comprehensive set of concrete strategies.

4. Jobs in Authorizing and Supporting Innovation Schools

Several searches are underway for positions related to charter school authorizing and support of innovation schools and innovation zones. Below are links to information on three jobs with the Portfolio Management Team at DPS; two jobs with Lyra Colorado; and one job with Empower Schools. Lyra Colorado is a new organization that is supporting innovation schools and the innovation zones in Denver. It is supported by the Gates Family Foundation and RootED.  Empower Schools is a national organization that supports schools and advocates for changes that empower educators through innovation schools and related approaches to school improvement.

1. DPS, Program Manager, School Improvement
2. DPS, Program Specialist, Accountability
3. DPS, Program Director, School Improvement
4. Lyra Colorado, Director
5. Lyra Colorado, Manager
6. Empower Schools, Colorado State Director

 

5. LPS Motion to Dismiss Challenge to Exclusive Chartering Authority

Attached is a copy of the motion filed on January 31, 2020, by LPS in response to the Colorado League of Charter School’s (CLCS) challenge of their exclusive chartering authority (ECA).  The motion asks for the case to be dismissed, as well as requesting an increase in the page limit for its written response if the motion to dismiss is not granted.  The motion argues that the CLCS does not have standing, in part based on the argument that the LPS charter schools are not joining the League in filing the complaint. LPS also argues that the substantive issues raised by the complaint should have been first raised by the charter schools directly with the district, and solutions sought through various mechanisms appropriate for each topic, before a challenge to ECA was raised on those issues.