New Century Academy€¦ · (NCA Alumni), Mr. Jason Becker, director of NCA and a student that was voted by her classmates to receive

New Century Charter School Annual Report 2016-2017 Page 1 of 37

New Century Academy Hutchinson, MN

320.234.3660 phone [email protected] 320.234.3668 fax www.newcenturyacademy.com

2016-2017 Annual Report

Year 15

Submitted to: Minnesota Department of Education Novation Education Opportunities

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.newcenturyacademy.com/

New Century Academy Annual Report 2016-2017

New Century Academy Annual Report 2016-2017 Page 2 of 37

New Century Academy 15th Annual Report

2016-2017 School Year

Table of Contents

Introduction ………………………………………………………3

General Information………………………………………….4

Demographics & School Enrollment…………………7-9

Staff……………………………………………………………………9-10

Innovative practices & implementations……………10-16

Academic Performance & WBWF……………………….. 17-27

Director professional development plan…………….27

Program challenges………………………………………….27-28

Accountability Data…………………………………………..28-29

Test Scores________________________________________30-31

Governance………………………………………………………..32-33

Management & operational performance………… 34

Finances……………………………………………………………..35

Conclusion and future plans………………………………36



INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this report is to inform NEO (our authorizer), and the Minnesota Department of Education of the continued progress and achievements of New Century Academy in its 15th year of operation. This study includes information on the 2016-2017 school year, such as student demographics, student data, school finances, and governance. The report also includes additional data needed to provide a comprehensive description of New Century Academy and its educational programs and practices.

This annual educational audit serves to meet the requirement of reporting progress towards the board goals outlined in the 2016-2017 annual report. This evaluation meets Minnesota’s Department of Education requirement for reporting adequate yearly progress.

During its fourteenth year of operation, New Century continued to receive support from EdVisions, the Minnesota Association of Charter Schools (MACS), and our authorizer, NEO. In addition, the combined efforts and support of the staff, students, families, and community members were instrumental in continuing to implement and develop a strong, supportive school community and a strong academic program.

Mission

“To engage students in critical thinking and teamwork

that empowers them toward life-long learning and global citizenship.”

Vision

“To provide a school that creates an inclusive community

working together to support student achievement and builds a strong

sense of self-worth.”



GENERAL INFORMATION

SCHOOL DESCRIPTION

New Century Academy District #4093 Director: Jason Becker Mission Statement: To engage students in critical thinking and teamwork that empowers them toward life-long learning and global citizenship. Vision Statement: To provide a school that creates an inclusive community working together to support student achievement and builds a strong sense of self-worth. Authorizer: Novation Education Opportunities (NEO) Authorizer Contact: Wendy Swanson-Choi First Year of Operation: 2002-2003

Grades Served:

*Projected total enrollment

New Century Academy (NCA) was founded by a small group of parents, educators and community members who saw the need for another choice in secondary education in the Hutchinson area. New Century was approved as an independent, public charter school, at the eleventh hour in January 2002 under the sponsorship of Hamline University School of Education. Our first full-time employee was hired in April of that year. The school is located in Hutchinson, Minnesota at 1000 5th Ave. SE in a building that we share with New Discoveries Montessori Academy and lease from TRJR properties. During the 2002-2003 school year, New Century maintained an enrollment of 100 students who came from Hutchinson and several surrounding communities. New Century maintained a student population of 127 for the 2003-2004 school year, with the addition of one more grade level served (11th). We reached our projected capacity of 150 students for the 2004-2005 school year, serving grades 7-12.

New Century’s educational program is a unique combination of core class curriculum blended with project-based learning. The school modeled its project-based curriculum after several project-based secondary charter schools, such as the Minnesota New Country School in Henderson, Minnesota. New Century Academy also received a start-up grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through EdVisions (one of the Gates Foundation’s grantees). EdVisions provided money and professional development during the planning and implementation stages.

Since the beginning, NCA has been creative about forming an intentional community of learners, where the value of relationships is a major focus. NCA has accomplished this through a variety of methods. Through purposeful design, the school size is small, with core classes averaging about 20 students, with a maximum size of 28 students in a small number of instances. Students also spend a significant part of their week in their advisory group, where no more than 20 students work with the same advisor during their academic careers at NCA. The

2002-2003 7th-10th 100 students 2010-2011 7th-12th 135 students






2009-2010 7th-12th 144 students

2016-2017- 7th-12th 125 students

2008-2009 7th-12th 153 students 2015-2016 7th-12th 115 students*



advisor is responsible for forming relationships with their students and their families in order to better understand each student’s academic and non-academic needs and goals. Advisors, students, and families form an effective team that is intended to create the best possible learning environment for each student at NCA.

In its thirteenth year of operation, New Century continued to strive towards meeting the goals as outlined in the original charter and as expanded upon in the past twelve annual reports. New Century has benefitted from the assistance of NEO as our official authorizer. They have provided us with general oversight, on-site visits during the school year, and timely responses to varied requests for assistance. Staff, board members, students, and families are all committed to continuing the journey as we move into our 16th year.





STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS AND BACKGROUND

Student Enrollment

Number of Students Enrolled

Grade 2002-2003

2003-2004

2004-2005

2005-2006

2006-2007

2007-2008

2008-2009

2009-2010

2010-2011

2011-2012

2012-2013

2013-2014

2014-2015

2015-2016

7 24 26 26 18 18 16 23 25 16 25 21 17 17 14

8 25 26 27 25 19 18 23 23 18 18 33 23 17 15

9 25 27 27 27 29 22 24 29 20 22 21 34 25 13

10 26 25 27 28 26 38 23 23 30 20 26 22 30 31

11 23 26 29 28 25 33 20 24 33 20 27 21 27

12 19 26 34 27 27 25 27 29 24 24 8 19

Total: 100 127 152 153 154 146 153 145 135 147 145 150 118 122

Grade 2016-2017

7 25

8 19

9 17

10 13

11 32

12 23

Total: 129

*Est



Student Background/Demographics

02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 15/16

Male 68% 57% 58% 59% 52% 49% 55% 54.3% 50.5%

49.94%

53.1%

43% 48%

Female 32% 43% 42% 41% 48% 51% 45% 45.7% 49.5%

50.06%

46.9%

57% 52%

Special Education

12% 11% 14% 12.5%

12% 16% 16.3%

20% 21% 22.22%

34% 30% 31% 32%

African American

1% 0.8% 0.7% 0.7% 1.3% 2% 3.2% 3.4% 3.6% 2% .6% 2% 1% 1%

Hispanic 5% 3.9% 3.3% 2.7% 1.9% 2% 5.2% 7.4% 6.3% 4.6% 6.8% 9% 5% 6%

Asian/Pacific Islander

1% 1.6% 1.3% 1.3% 1.3% .6% 3.2% 1.7% 1.0% 2.3% .6% 1% 1% 0%

White 93% 93.7%

94.7% 94% 94.2%

94.5%

87.8%

86.8% 88.4%

89.7% 90.3%

89% 91% 86%

American Indian

0% 0% 0% 1.3% 1.3% .6% .6% .6% .5% 1.4% 1.3% 1% 3% 3%

F/R Lunch 20% 22.1%

19.3% 23.8%

22% 32% 52% 42.3% 44% 54.3% 57.9%

56% 52% 50.8%

LEP 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%* 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

16/17

Male 39.6%

Female 60.4%

Special Education

37%

African American

2%

Hispanic 7%

Asian/Pacific Islander

0%

White 86%

American Indian

1%

F/R Lunch 62%

LEP 0%



Key Demographic Trends *We had one LEP student who transferred out during the 2006-07 school year.

The number of students with IEP’s increased by about 5% from last year, and the number of students receiving free or reduced lunch increased by 12%. In 2016-2017, the ratio of males to females flipped and was in favor of the female population. The percentage of students who are minorities stays relatively constant at approximately 10% from year to year. Free and reduced lunch percentages continue to stay in the 50th percentile over the past 5 years. This is undoubtedly due to the continued economic situation in our community and nationwide.

Student Attendance: The Average Daily Attendance percentage for 2015-2016 was 88.94% which was slightly lower than the previous two years. We have looked at having students take part of internships off campus. We strive to focus on building relationships, and meeting each student where they are at, in the hopes that each student will truly WANT to be at school every day. Our Director and Guidance Counselor met individually with families and students who had an undesirable

amount of absences for the year, and this seemed to yield good results. We determined that an incentive based program would be much more effective. As a staff we are exploring this approach and will implement in the future. Our teachers continued to communicate with parents and families about the importance of their children attending school on a consistent basis. We will continue similar efforts during the 2017-2018 school year.

Retention/Attrition: Of the 191 total students served during the 2016-2017 school year, NCA experienced its greatest level of attrition. No students left due to moving to another local community Four students left us during the year because their family moved to another state. Five students were part of the 15 day drop rule. Reasons included dropping out, attendance, mental health, or unknown reasons. Six students declared that they were dropping out of high school with no transcript requested or transferred to private schools. Thirty-six students transferred and stated the following reasons including online learning, homeschooling, the programming changes, and finally the senior project requirement. What must be taken into account for the attrition, is the number of students that were removed from our Greater MN partnership. At this point, NCA makes no decisions about when these students leave the program and that falls to the jurisdiction of the respective county. This directly affected 32 students at various points throughout the year that were housed in the shelter care program. This is an alarming rate of attrition that the school district will consider when planning programming and policy in the future. We finished the school year with 126 students enrolled.

Seventeen students graduated on May 19th, 2016. For the 2017-2018 school year, we have 104 returning students. The remaining slots will be filled with approximately 12 incoming 7th grade students, and 14 new students in grades 8-12, putting us at approximately 130 students for the 2017-18 school year. This growth can be attributed to a new facility, marketing pushes, developed and rigorous curriculum, and parents seeking life-applicable skills and knowledge for their students.

Expulsion/Suspension: Unfortunately, we felt it was in the best interest of the school to recommended several suspensions throughout the year, for various reasons, mostly due to non-compliance and/or verbal fighting among students. Parent participation was always solicited, and we tried to use restorative justice practices as much as possible. Administrators have favored in school suspension (ISS) whenever possible.



NCA 2016-2017 Staff

Staff Roster

Name Assignment File Folder Number

Jason Becker Director 404894

Kelsey Dolge Social Studies Educator / Advisor 480243

Brittany Buxcel Science Educator / Advisor 484840

Kevin Elton Math Educator / Advisor 445748

Caitlin Usset School Counselor 483492

Barb Haugen Language Arts Educator / Advisor 431698

Stacy Huxford Special Education Coordinator 473145

Leah Knutson Speech-Language Pathologist 409234

Erick Sood Music Teacher/Advisor 493069

Mark Curlew Visual Arts Teacher/Advisor 406730

Tanner Schafer Physical Education and Health Teacher 494183

Chase Schumann Special Educator/Advisor 481423

Cole Casteel Special Educator/ Advisor 491847

Joshua Krych Special Educator / Advisor 996225

Ambrosia Doty Paraprofessional/Special Educator 996000

Nikki Erickson Special Educator 420156

Laurie Denning Special Educator 349615

Janet Brown Food Services N / A

Kyler Schenk Paraprofessional N / A

Karen Buxcel Food Services N / A

Nicole Grack Nurse N / A

Lisa Grina Admin Asst / Student Data Management N / A

Tim Kinzler Custodial/Maintenance N / A

Vicky Klabunde Paraprofessional N / A

Kelsey Wood Paraprofessional N / A

Michele Krippner Paraprofessional N / A

Julie Puder Paraprofessional N / A

Linda Riederer Food Service N / A



Jennifer Smith Nursing Services-County Employee N / A

Martin Lien Paraprofessional N / A

Dusty Streich Paraprofessional N / A

Samantha Hartell Paraprofessional N / A

Arial Eling Paraprofessional N/A

Travis Sorenson Paraprofessional N/A

Andrew Johnson Paraprofessional N / A

Christine Giroux Paraprofessional N / A

Brittany Burdick Paraprofessional N / A

STAFF TURNOVER RATE: At the end of the 2016-2017 school year the following teaching contracts were

fulfilled and chosen to decline an offered contract: 1 Physical Education/Health position for a career change, 3

Paraprofessional for various reasons during the school year. These reasons included a new job, family reasons,

and pursuing full-time schooling to further education. 2 teachers (1 music and SPED position) left after the

completion of FY17 but before the 2017-2018 school year for new opportunities and positions still within

teaching. At the close of the school year, we accepted one retirement from a SPED paraprofessional.

Innovative practices and implementations

NCA has identified several areas of strength within our academic programs, our school community, and our

involvement within the larger community.

SUCCESSES:

RECRUITMENT AND PUBLIC RELATIONS: The school has continued to receive generous coverage of school events and activities in the local paper, the Hutchinson Leader. We also had many parents and community members in attendance at our Choir Concerts, our Family Nights, and our Senior Project Nights. Each year, we facilitate an event for 6th graders from New Discoveries Montessori, the Elementary School with whom we share our building. NDMA also participated in a fly up day among several other occasions within our school to help acclimate themselves with NCA. Students took a tour of the new facility that we were in the process of acquiring. The sixth graders were invited to tour the new facilities with the current seventh grade class.

Four of our staff members were directly involved in planning and executing National School Choice Week. This week comes at the end of January every year and celebrates the fact that every student in our building at some point, made the decision to attend our school. It also is a time in which students are welcome to bring one friend from another school to join them for a day as a student at NCA. During this week our director led banner walks, recruitment walks, as well as taking students to speak on a local radio show about their experiences at New Century.



COMMUNITY/SERVICE/OFF SITE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES: NCA has identified community and service learning as important components of its learning program, and was creative in providing ample opportunities for students to become involved in a variety of projects.

Throughout the 2015-2016 school year, small groups of students were involved in reading to students at New Discoveries Montessori Academy, volunteering at local nursing homes and hospitals, providing musical accompaniment around the community, volunteering at Hutchinson Chamber Office, Crow River Arts Gallery, Aveyron Homes, and Hutchinson Parks and Recreation.

This is part of a Service Learning component of our graduation requirements. As such, all of our seniors were involved in providing a minimum of 25 hours of service at these agencies. Students also really stepped up to the plate this year and organized various fundraisers, including movie nights, lock-ins, and fundraising suppers to raise money for items to improve our school, such as field trip opportunities and increased resources for our student council to plan events for the student body.

One new community piece of service learning that was introduced was our connections classes. There was an

event that was put together by this year’s seventh graders as a part of their connections course. This course

serves to introduce them to a middle school way of life and thinking about themselves as young adults with big ideas as opposed to simply seeing themselves as kids. The goal is to connect to yourself, each other, and the world around you. As a final showing in this class, the 7th grade students hosted a benefit for an organization called The Pinky Swear Foundation. This organization raises awareness and money for childhood cancer

research. The 7th grade class made all the calls, served food, and welcomed the Pinky Swear foundation’s

founders, Steve and Becky Chepokas to our school for a dinner and fundraiser with the proceeds going back to the Pinky Swear Foundation.

The teachers and families of NCA students have often expressed the importance of out of the classroom, or experiential learning time for their students. Time in which students can reach out and impact our community in many different ways.

We had several Off-Site experiences for students during the school year. Some of the major ones came in the form of travel opportunities. All students at NCA had a trip offered to their grade level. The 7-9th graders had the option of accompanying one of our Social Studies teachers on a three-day whirlwind tour of our nation’s capital, Washington DC. The trip was a major success and our Social Studies teacher looks forward to taking more kids next year. The High School students had the option of two trips. The first came over our spring E-Term in which a few of our high school students ventured to a campground in. In the process they were able to see the beautiful outdoors of Minnesota and learn about survival skills. The students returned after E-term with stories for their classmates about what they had seen and brought attention to the importance of a nature-based perspective. In April, our 7th and 8th grade students went to the Ronald McDonald house to help impact families that are facing Medical Challenges. Students got to experience a more artistic side of things when they visited the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Finally, there were 20 students that were able to spend a portion of the winter e-term in Duluth, MN.

We also had several guest speakers in our school, including several local veterans on Veterans Day that was a joint ceremony between NCA and NDMA. We also welcomed guest speakers in several classes that included but not was limited to improv performers in English- Language Arts, an Afghanistan war veteran, a deputy sheriff who spoke to students about the importance of stopping and being aware of bullying within our school. We also had a representative from the City of Hutchinson work with Middle School students about how she came up with ideas for a dog park in our community.

E-TERM: New Century staff created over 40 hands-on experiences for students to participate in during the three E-Terms that were held this year. Students could select from half-day to full-day experiences.

The experiences this year included Criminology/ Forensics, Architecture, Yoga and Meditation, camping, painting, screen printing, several crafting based Eterms, life skills, Film and Literature, Biking, Ice

Skating, woodworking, driver’s education, reading prep, among many others



Each experience involved connecting students with experts in various fields and disciplines to learn about, to touch, to feel and even to taste something new for them. The effort involved coordinating numerous schedules and a myriad of community volunteers to provide rich, meaningful opportunities for students to develop projects in the area or areas they selected. We have noticed that during these eterm weeks there is a spike in attendance that can average around 94% which is really awesome to see for our students.

INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY BUILDING: NCA continued to expand the work that was begun in our very first school year, and continued to instill teamwork, communication, love of learning, respect, and responsibility as core themes and values. We continued an After School Sports program that was well-attended by our students. We developed a basketball program along with archery to gauge student interest. Next fall we are looking forward to bringing in Volleyball and Cross-country to our students. Professional Learning Communities read through 2 books, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and The Leader in Me. During the year, the staff took three days to attend tours of different charter schools that all had unique offerings that we could bring back to our students. The first day was in September and we went to Northwest Passage High School in Coon Rapids, MN. This school has a high emphasis on student relationships driving classroom management. This school was also one of the pioneering charters in MN. The second trip was taken to Avalon Charter School in St. Paul. This trip showed a focus on Project-Based Learning and gave the staff several ideas about how we could bring new curriculum offerings back to our students. Finally, in April the staff went to North Lakes Academy, where teachers and paras learned about Top20 curriculum that we are looking to implement with our student body. Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching was used to evaluate teachers. Peer Partner groups were established and met monthly to discuss peer observations on teaching and learning using the framework. Teachers were formally evaluated 2 times during the school year and met with an administrator that observed their lessons. Needs were addressed to improve instructional quality and areas of focus for teachers. Key indicators included peer and administrator observations to assess performance and progress as Unsatisfactory, Basic, Proficient, or Exemplary. Our staff demographic also changed as we employed six first-year educators in 2016-2017. Requirements included 1 learning walk every other week for both veteran teachers and first years. Peer partners were utilized in both formal and informal check-ins and point people to run questions by and assist students. The focus was to get a young staff up to speed in a high needs environment not only in their content area but also instructional strategies, classroom management and restorative disciplinary practices.

Teachers and Paras both meet in PLC’s in order to explore different informers of culture within our school. This

year’s focus was on finding different norms that we can implement for our students to support the social-

emotional needs. Both groups contained first year teachers, veteran teachers, and a diverse mix of paraprofessionals. There was a lot of brainstorming that occurred during this time. The leadership intervention team (LIT) committee met once a week to review and implement strategies to improve instruction and rigor in curriculum. Evidence of this implementation can be seen in a practice profile rubric developed by the LIT committee as well as an emphasis on cross curricular planning. Teachers looked at ways that we can incorporate English Language Arts standards across the curriculum. Teachers used strategies such as closed readings to help assist students in utilizing context clues and developing the academic language pieces further. The next step is to see where we can implement math more effectively. Our long term plan is to build shared knowledge, continue conduct book studies, continue to travel to other schools, complete learning targets, and build scope and sequence with an understanding of K-6 education standards to build from, develop formative and summative assessments, and invest in social / emotional development through our SPED department, advisories, and our Guidance Counselor.



Students led “Town Meetings” throughout the school year where the entire school was present for announcements and other community building experiences. Our student council was also quite active this year, implementing ideas to involve our school and also assisting with various fund-raising opportunities. Everything from fundraisers at Unhinged Pizza, Culvers, or Buffalo Wild Wings. Student council also reopened the school store for funds.

We awarded “Student of the Month” awards which seemed to really motivate some students to strive for that recognition. Students are voted upon by staff members and are awarded either middle school students of the month, high school students of the month or senior of the month.

We maintain the separation of 7th-9th graders into their own advisories (3) and the feedback from these students and their parents continues to be overwhelmingly positive. These students also participated in the DARE program this year. However, the division of student advisories is something that is directly informed by ratios and numbers and can be subject to change. There are benefits and drawbacks to including 9th graders in a middle school advisory. There are also drawbacks of putting them in with the high school advisory. This decision is one that is always made that is directly derived from student needs.

Relationships were established through the advisor/student interaction as well as through family conferences, family nights, advisory day, field trips and school open houses.

Surveys administered to parents in the fall and spring continue to show general satisfaction with NCA as an educational institution. We had 27 parents complete the parent satisfaction survey. Of these, 23 of them strongly agreed that NCA was meeting their expectations. We continued our conference format this year from an advisor conference to an open conference in which teachers were available to talk to parents throughout the conference meeting. This meant that parents needed to take the initiative to attend conferences and seek out their child’s teacher. This resulted in the lowest attendance rate at conferences that NCA has ever experienced. Areas of strong satisfaction include “High Expectations for Attendance and Academics”, “My child feels safe”, and “Satisfied with Technology”. Areas where we could improve include “Advisory is helpful with educational plan” and “Progress reports kept up to date”.

FAMILY INVOLVEMENT AND VOLUNTEERISM: NCA continues to have great parental involvement, with many family members volunteering at the school in various capacities. Our conference attendance rate this year was about 60%, which is something we always strive to improve upon each year, even though we realize that most middle school and high schools struggle to bring a high percentage of parents in for conferences. We are encouraging teachers to call to set up conference

This increase in attendance by parents we believe can be attributed to the change in conference format. When advisors are taking the initiative to call parents and set up a conference it helps the parents feel important and that we want them involved. It also increases the chance that the parents will attend a conference.

Parents continued their group to support and encourage the school this year. Parents continue to be involved in more teaching and learning based capacities. Parents serve on LIT teams, PLCs, the school board, family night volunteerism, chaperoning lock-ins and events, teach e-terms and are welcomed as guest career lecturers in different capacities.

This year, we also started the Spartans Parents Organization (SPO). SPO serves to help address fundraising needs for the school as well as the starting of different programs within the school. The officers have been seated and there were 3 meetings before the wrap of FY17. This also doubles as our Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) with one Special Education teacher and General Education teacher present to address any concerns that parents may have about curriculum and meeting student needs.

PRESENTATION NIGHTS: This was our tenth year of “senior projects” and we hosted two presentation nights for 12th grade students to showcase what they had learned for staff, friends, family, and community members. Each senior also selects a junior or sophomore student to shadow them during the year and introduce them on presentation night. This is usually one of the highlights of the year for staff and students alike! STUDENT ACTIVITIES AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES: Our Physical Education teacher offered a middle school course focused on cooperative skills and motor skill development. This course was divided by semester for the two middle school classes with 8th graders taking it first and 7th graders taking it



second semester. The students alternated days with Health/PE but had a full semesters worth of coursework. Students at the high school level participated in a Lifetime Fitness course and Community Fitness course in which they were transported to local fitness clubs to explore fitness opportunities in the community. Students continue to utilize our beautiful gym every single chance they could get, coming in early to school to “shoot hoops,” playing basketball (with staff members!) and hanging out after school to toss footballs around. Weekly dodgeball games during advisory have also become tradition. We continued to offer programs such as Archery, Flag Football, and Music. We also started advisory challenges. These tournaments had an equal split of physical basis (flag football, basketball) and mental (trivia, chess). Trophies were awarded at the end of the year to the highest scoring advisories.

One major addition to the school Physical Education program was Archery. Students in all grades participated in an Archery unit during the course offerings. Students also joined the after school Archery program and developed great skill and had lots of fun. The goal is to expand the Archery program next school year and involve the students in competitions.

We were often able to utilize our large outdoor space at NCA for organized games such as soccer, basketball, volleyball and football, as well as introducing the students to many yard games such as bocce ball, croquet, and horseshoes. We also took advantage of local facilities, and utilized the community Recreation Center and various area parks for volleyball, basketball, softball, ice skating, and floor hockey. Students went bowling and made use of America’s Fitness Center and Anytime Fitness for weightlifting. We continue to focus on providing our students with physical education activities with an emphasis on life-long fitness goals. The fall Lifetime Fitness class also took a strong interest in outdoor trips and activities such as kayaking, biking, and walking.

DISTRICT #423 RELATIONSHIP: NCA continued its 15th year of a cooperative agreement with the local school district in order to provide additional opportunities for our students. The New Century Academy School Board decided to discontinue our co-curricular cooperative as well as many of the extra-curricular activities due to high costs for the agreement. In addition to this arrangement, NCA students can participate in extracurricular activities such as music, theatre and a limited number of sports. We have a staff member that continues their employment as the District #423’s Athletic Trainer. Our director also met with District #423’s superintendent several times during the school year to build on the relationship that has been established thus far. Because of the continued success of NCA’s Lacrosse program started 4 years ago, District #423 decided to start a Lacrosse program at their high school and compete in the Minnesota State High School League. While NCA and District #423 continued their cooperative agreement in Lacrosse, the students at NCA no longer identified with the team after the switch and many chose not to participate. District #423 also decided to begin charging NCA for their participation in the cooperative at the rate of $3,000 per gender activity. Despite this unfortunate arrangement, NCA will continue to strive to build a healthy relationship with the home district.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Great teachers help create great students. Research shows that an inspiring and informed teacher is the most important school-related factor influencing student achievement, so it is critical to pay close attention to how we train and support both new and experienced educators. NCA has always valued relevant learning opportunities for its staff and faculty. Overall the 2016-2017, was rich with professional development opportunities. Administration was very strongly in favor of PD for teachers and paras. Teacher-Induction Programs Support for beginning teachers is critical to the successful development of a new teacher. NCA has created opportunities for novice teachers to learn from best practices and offers time to analyze and reflect on their teaching in a formally organized procedure.

• Ongoing mentoring from peer partner teachers has helped support staff in completing authorizer model inspired learning walks.

• Formal and informal coaching from a veteran teacher was implemented during this school year. Novice teachers were given access to the coaching and expertise made available with time each day assigned to support this program.

• Peer coaching was implemented through information obtained at an MDE workshop. Teachers were paired with directions to observe twice during the year. The Charlotte Danielson platforms of teaching



rubric was utilized as a tool to evaluate practice. All teachers participated in the peer coaching program and new teachers were the specific beneficiary of this coaching relationship.

Ongoing Professional Development NCA believes that it is critical for veteran teachers to have ongoing and regular opportunities to learn from each other and from professional seminars outside our school building. NCA has supported ongoing professional development that keeps teachers up-to-date on new research on how children learn, emerging technology tools for the classroom, new curriculum resources, and more. We believe that professional development should be ongoing, experiential, collaborative, and connected to and derived from working with students and understanding their culture. In addition to individual school visits to that gathered innovative teaching strategies and a building of collaboration, the following seminars, workshops, conferences and in-school professional learning opportunities were experienced this past year:

• PBL Professional Development • Technology support conferences • SSOS Conferences • Data Day at MDE • Prevention of Bullying • Health Services Review, including Bloodborne Pathogens, Right to Know, General Nursing Office

Functions, AED and First Aid Overview • NWEA Analysis • Crisis Management • Effective Strategies for Working Successfully with Difficult & Disruptive Students • Special Education Procedures • Technology in Our Classrooms • Critical Thinking • Social Studies Curriculum Development • Instructional Collaboration • MCA Test Proctor Training • Build Your Own Curriculum Top20 conferences

• Special Education Law Conferences • Washington DC Trip for Social Studies Professional Development • K-12 Science Workshop • Content days with professors at Ridgewater Community college • Love and Logic Conferences • PBIS conferences • What's new in adolescent literature

GRADUATION: At the close of our fifteenth year, we celebrated by honoring our class of 2017 seniors, at the Hutchinson Event Center. 17 magnificent seniors received their diplomas. Notable speakers were Josh Hartlet (NCA Alumni), Mr. Jason Becker, director of NCA and a student that was voted by her classmates to receive the honor of giving closing remarks. 8 of our graduates plan to attend either a 2 year or 4-year college this fall. 5 of the 17 students not pursuing higher education successfully acquired employment. 3 seniors were returning to NCA to finish their plan of study. The ceremony was a beautiful celebration of all of these students’ hard work, effort, and perseverance. NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY: National Honor Society invitations are offered to students who excel in the areas of leadership, scholarship, service and character. Our induction each year will be planned for each spring. We inducted our twelfth group of students in March of this year. Two deserving members are now a part of one of the oldest honor societies in our nation’s history. National Honor Society invitations are offered to students who excel in the areas of leadership, scholarship, service and character. Our induction each year will be planned for each spring.



2016-17 World’s Best Workforce Report Summary

District or Charter Name: New Century Academy

Grades Served: 7-12

Contact Person Name and Position: Jason Becker, Director

1. Stakeholder Engagement

1a. Annual Report [Note: For each school year, the school board must publish a report in the local newspaper, by mail or by electronic

means on the district website.]

http://www.newcenturyacademy.com/nca-annual-report-2/

1b. Annual Public Meeting

[Note: School boards are to hold an annual public meeting to communicate plans for the upcoming school year based on a review of

goals, outcomes and strategies from the previous year. Stakeholders should be meaningfully involved, and this meeting is to occur

separately from a regularly scheduled school board meeting. The author’s intent was to have a separate meeting just for this reason.]

April 19th 2016

1c. District Advisory Committee

[Note: The district advisory committee must reflect the diversity of the district and its school sites. It must

include teachers, parents, support staff, students, and other community residents. Parents and other community

residents are to comprise at least two-thirds of advisory committee members, when possible. The district

advisory committee makes recommendations to the school board.]



Complete the list of your District Advisory Committee members for the 2016-17 school year. Expand the table to include all committee members. Ensure roles are clear (teachers, parents, support staff, students, and other community residents).

District Advisory Committee Member Role in District

Jason Becker Director

Kelsey Dolge Social Studies Teacher/Advisor

Stacy Huxford Special Education Coordinator

Barbara Haugen English Teacher/Advisor

Brittany Buxcel Science Teacher/Advisor

Kevin Elton Math Teacher/Advisor

Kathy Prellwitz Community Member

Tony Ebert Community Member

Joseph Patino Community Member

Josh Krych Parent

Michele Krippner Parent

Marci Collette Parent

2. Goals and Results

[Note: SMART goals are: specific and strategic, measurable, attainable (yet rigorous), results-based and time-

based. Goals should be linked to needs and written in SMART-goal format. Results should tie directly back to

the established goal so it is clear whether the goal was met. Districts may choose to use the data profiles

provided by MDE in reporting goals and results or other locally-determined measures. Be sure to check the box

with the most appropriate goal status.]



2a. All Students Ready for School

Goal Result Goal Status

Provide the established SMART goal for

the 2016-2017 school year.

Provide the result for the 2016-2017

school year that directly ties back to

the established goal.

Check one of the following:

Goal Met

Goal Not Met

Goal in Progress

(only for multi-year

goals)

District/charter

does not enroll

students in

Kindergarten

2b. All Students in Third Grade Achieving Grade-Level Literacy


Provide the established SMART goal for the

2016-2017 school year.

Provide the result for the 2016-2017

school year that directly ties back to

the established goal.

Check one of the

following:

Goal Met

Goal Not Met

Goal in Progress


goals)

District/charter

does not enroll

students in grade 3



2c. Close the Achievement Gap(s) Among All Groups


The percentage of Free and Reduced Lunch students

enrolled October 1 in grades 7-12 in New Century

Academy who earn an achievement level of Meets the

Standards or Exceeds the Standards on the Math MCA III

will increase from 25.0% in 2015-2016 to 30.0% in 2016-

2017.

The percentage of Free and Reduced Lunch students

enrolled October 1 in grades 7-12 in New Century

Academy who earn an achievement level of Meets the

Standards or Exceeds the Standards on the Reading MCA

III will increase from 50.0% in 2015-2016 to 53% in

2016-2017.

The percentage of Free and Reduced Lunch

students enrolled October 1 in grades 7-12 in New

Century Academy who earn an achievement level of

Meets the Standards or Exceeds the Standards on

the Science MCA III will increase from 33.3% in

2015-2016 to 38.3% in 2016-2017.

The percentage of FR students in grades

7-12 enrolled October 1 that received a

meets or exceeds standards was 7.5%.



meets or exceeds standards was 53.8%

in 2016-2017.




in 2016-2017.


Goal Met

Goal Not Met

Goal in Progress


goals)

Goal Met

Goal Not Met

Goal in Progress


goals)

Goal Met

Goal Not Met

Goal in Progress


goals)



2d. All Students Career- and College-Ready by Graduation


1. The percentage of all students in grades 7-12 at New

Century Academy enrolled by October 1 who are

proficient on the Math MCA III will increase from 28.6%

in 2015-2016 to 33.6% in 2016-2017.

2. The percentage of all students in grades 7-12 at New

Century Academy enrolled by October 1 who are

proficient on the Reading MCA III will increase from

48.9% in 2015-2016 to 51.9% in 2016-2017.

3. Average growth in math, according to NWEA testing

to meet or exceed 5 RIT Points during the 2016-2017

school year.

4. The percentage of all students in grades 7-12 at

New Century Academy enrolled by October 1 who

are proficient on the Science MCA will increase from

38.9% in 2015-2016 to 43.9% in 2016-2017.

The percentage of all students in grades


meets or exceeds standards was 8.6% in

2016-2017.




2016-2017.

The growth students showed

went from .02 in 2016 to 1.8 in

2017 for an overall growth of

1.78 points.




in 2016-2017.


Goal Met

Goal Not Met

Goal in Progress


goals)

Goal Met

Goal Not Met

Goal in Progress


goals)

Goal Met

Goal Not Met

Goal in Progress


goals)

Goal Met

Goal Not Met

Goal in Progress


goals)



2e. All Students Graduate


The goal established by administration in 2016-2017 was

to graduate 70% of the students who were enrolled with

New Century Academy on October 1st of their 9th grade

year.

New Century Academy retained 18

students from October 1st of 2016. Of the

18 retained, 15 graduated. Which totals

83% graduated.


Goal Met

Goal Not Met

Goal in Progress


goals)

District/charter

does not enroll

students in grade 12



3. Identified Needs Based on Data

[Note: Data that was reviewed to determine needs may include state-level accountability tests, such as Minnesota

Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) and/or local-level data, such as local assessments, attendance, graduation,

mobility, remedial course-taking rates, child poverty, etc.]

MCA proficiency- Consistently, English has been maintaining their success but math is a major area of need. Growth based tests (NWEA) tend to show an accurate picture of what the year at NCA has done for our students.

Mobility- we have students who have chosen not to attend a school in their district for whatever reason. Students can see it as a possibility to move again if this does not meet their expectations. However, this mentality has lessened in recent years.

Supporting our Special Education students- our school has a higher than average rate of special education students. We currently employ multiple staff in school to achieve their special education license. We have at least 1 paraprofessional in every room, occasionally 2. The determination of paraprofessional placement is driven by student needs and data that supports the decision.

Supporting needs of our FR students. We come in above average in this category as well. In quite a few cases our Free and Reduced students are also Special Education students.

4. Systems, Strategies and Support Category

4a. Students

Describe the areas below. Include only the district focus areas for the 2016-2017 school year and limit

response to 300 words. Bulleted points are welcome and appreciated.

o Currently, NCA is working really hard to address the needs of our free and reduced lunch population

as well as our Special Education Population. These two groups are the major special populations that

we serve. A couple ways that we have done this is by creating pull-out Math and English courses

when needed for a student to experience a higher success by having a smaller environment with

work tailored to their individual goals. We also implemented a new program within our pull-out

English-Language Arts Courses called iLit. Students who took the program seriously grew by as much

as 2 grade levels in a year.

o Historically, NCA staff has worked with this data within the LIT team and during MDE data day we

are able to see specifics about what areas we need to work on and what specifics population scored

on the MCAs.



4b. Teachers and Principals



o System to review and evaluate the effectiveness of

Instruction: Teachers were asked to submit lesson plans during the first semester and to

electronically share them (on googledocs) with the intention of encouraging cross-curricular

planning. These lesson plans asked for teachers to cite their standard, written objective, how

we implement intentional questioning, increase the depth of knowledge we get to in the

lesson and activities we created.

Curriculum: Each department was staffed by 1 teacher. Teachers used a plethora of

resources to develop a curriculum. Given there is not a straightforward, MN aligned PBL

curriculum for each content area, we have to be creative. However, staff have worked

intentionally to ensure that projects meet state standards. Teachers were able to see 3 other

PBL charter schools in action to collaborate and develop a support network.

Teacher evaluations: Teachers are evaluated 2 times per year by an administrator and

informally by peer partners every other week. This increases the professionalism between

staff and performance by teachers. The administrator evaluates teachers by using the 4

domains of the Charlotte Danielson method.

Principal evaluations: Our director was evaluated by staff members that completed the year

with us. The staff were asked to fill out a google form and document to speak to the

director’s performance. After the survey was reviewed a board member and board chair

conferenced with the director via phone to address areas of strengths and concerns.



4c. District



o Include the district practices around high-quality instruction and rigorous curriculum which

integrate:

Technology: NCA was able to acquire around 40 chromebooks to help assist in students

developing projects, partaking in IXL math, and iLit for our special education students to help

close gaps in reading and writing. In addition to this, a few NCA classrooms were equipped

with SMARTboards to better enrich the student’s learning. We also continued our Rosetta

Stone Subscription for World Language. We also started a collaborative agreement with

Edynamic Learning to offer a plethora of Online Learning classes.

Collaborative and Professional Culture: Teachers work together to ensure the betterment of

all students in several ways. The first is that teachers are involved in informal evaluations of

each other. These “learning walks” were initiated by our authorizer and fit into our culture of

professionalism. The next major collaboration is our PLC’s. Teachers and Paras meet the 2nd

and 4th Tuesday each month so they are able to discuss different pieces of literature that we

can implement. Finally, our Response to Intervention (RTI) team meets twice monthly as well

to learn more about the process of RTI and identify students who are in need.

5. Equitable Access to Excellent Teachers

On June 1, 2015, MDE submitted a plan to the U.S. Department of Education that required all states to address long

term needs for improving equitable access of all students to excellent educators. The Every Student Succeeds Act

(ESSA), signed on December 10, 2015, now requires states to evaluate and publicly report whether low-income and

minority students are disproportionately served by ineffective, out-of-field, or inexperienced teachers.

To reach the goals of the WBWF, it is important to ensure that all students, particularly students from low income

families, students of color and American Indian students have equitable access to teachers and principals who can help

them reach their potential. WBWF now requires:

1. Districts to have a process to examine the equitable distribution of teachers and strategies to ensure low-

income and minority children are not taught at higher rates than other children by inexperienced, ineffective, or

out-of-field teachers.

2. District advisory committees to recommend to the school board the means to improve students' equitable

access to effective and more diverse teachers.

In this 2016-2017 summary report submission, please provide the information below.



Describe the areas below. Limit response to 300 words. Bulleted points are welcome and appreciated.

o Currently, NCA distributes teachers equally between departments with each academic area (Math,

Science, English, Social Studies, PE/Health, Art, and Music) represented by 1 teacher. Our special

education department currently has 4 full-time teacher’s/case managers and 1 special education

coordinator who is overseen by a director. In all of our teaching positions, teachers are either

licensed in their content or are enrolled in licensure programs that will result in them obtaining a

teaching license in their respective areas. We justify having a 4 teacher special education

department due to a high special education population that hangs right around 1/3rd to 40% of our

students.

o Given there is only one teacher per department that makes it so all students are seeing the same

teachers for their core areas and elective classes. We try to provide as inclusive of an environment as

we can, only having pullout classes for students that are at least 2.0 grade levels or more below their

peers and/or based on the decision of the IEP team.

o However, even students who are pulled out from Mainstream classes, have equal access to special

education staff as any one of our 4 teachers may teach students who are both on and off their

caseload. They also teach all grades at various times throughout the year.

Student performance

District Advisory Committee

• The District Advisory Committee was made up of six teachers, two administrators, and one community member. There were no parents on the committee. Members of the committee included Jason Becker (Director), Stacy Huxford(SPED), Barb Haugen(LA), Kevin Elton(MA), Brittany Buxcel(SC), Kelsey Dolge(SS),

Teachers and Principals

• Describe the support offered to teachers and principals during the 2016-2017 school year to meet the goals.

o Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching was used to evaluate teachers. Peer Partner

groups were established and met monthly to discuss peer observations on teaching and

learning using the framework. Teachers were formally evaluated 2 times during the school year

and met with peer partners to help direct teaching and learning. The informal meetings and

observations were much more common and. Teachers reported becoming more and more

comfortable with administrators being in their rooms and even though observations are more

informal, they offer a truer sense of what is truly happening within a classroom. Teachers also

have rubrics developed as a part of their practice profile to help them direct what their look for

would be.

o Our staff demographic also changed as we employed six first-year educators in 2016-2017, the

majority of these being special education teachers pursuing licensures. The young staff has

worked hard to put together sufficient lessons to better support student learning within the PBL

model. In meeting with peer partners it allows newer teachers to be mentored by someone

similar to them professionally. Being paired with a first year allows for younger teachers to be in

leadership positions they would not otherwise be in as mentor veteran teachers. Teachers

communicate with each other with the common goal of improving instruction for teaching.



Director Professional Development Plan: Director Development

Following the evaluation of the director in the ’15-’16 school year, the director and the ad-hoc director review

committee identified the following areas of growth and strength for the director.

1. Strengths

a. Bolstering student enrollment- Throughout this year, the director has taken our enrollment from

106 to 118 through presenting innovative and dynamic curriculum that students and parents find

to be beneficial.

b. Financials- The director has made a point to spend conservatively and work through several

financial setbacks that the school had faced in previous years. Our fund balance was taken from

2.0% to near 16%.

2. Areas of Growth

a. Communication amongst staff- The director has been reviewed that his communication is very

“to the point,” and “blunt.” This communication has been perceived as both beneficial and

hindering depending on the staff member. It was the intention of the board to encourage the

director to work on these skills

Results seen in the ’16-17 school year.

Following the evaluation of the director in the ’16-’17 school year, the director and ad-hoc director review

committee identified the following areas of growth and strength for the director.

1. Strengths

a. Ambitious to pull the school forward. The director has continued to create innovative ideas and

encouraged staff to follow their passions. Staff members see him as a “yes-man” who will support

the innovation his teachers bring forward. He is also looking to find ways to better the school which

include but are not limited to: adding more extracurricular activities, attempting to move NCA to a

new home with a better market, and incorporating more technology into the curriculum

b. Financials- following the ’16-’17 audit, the NCA board was proud to hear there were no findings and

doubly proud to see the wise allocation of funds that resulted in an 18% fund balance

c. Staff communication- following the ’15-’16 review, the director made great strides in the ways of

communicating with staff. Following this year’s survey there were no results that yielded concern in

this area.

2. Areas of Growth

a. The only area of growth identified for the director is not one that he is directly able to control.

There were comments given by staff that given the workload and the possibility of overseeing a

building project, it may be pertinent for the director to consider placing a dean or an assistant

into the administrative budget in coming years. This would be to ensure that the workload is

partially divided and that the director would be able to continue working in the position with the

ability to have more time for the day-to-day running of the school.

District

• Describe the support offered at the district level during the 2016-2017 school year to meet the goals.

o Teachers and administrators met to work out cross curricular plans to further enrich student

learning. These meetings allowed collaborative efforts to create thematic units that aligned with

each department’s academic standards. Students presented classroom projects at our annual

meeting along with giving testimonies about what NCA has helped in developing them.

o The LIT team met once a week to review and implement strategies to improve instruction and

rigor in curriculum. Evidence of this implementation can be seen in a practice profile rubric

developed by the LIT Team.



o Technology efforts included the implementation of iLit, Rosetta Stone, the implementation of a

computer lab space designated for projects. We currently have a classroom set of iPads, and

the 40 student chrome books along with a subscription to math IXL to build materials that are in

line with MN academic standards.

o The Response to Intervention (RTI) Team met once a week to identify at-risk students and plan

for interventions. These interventions included attendance, behavioral, and academic strategies

as well as the identification of potential disabilities. This allowed the district to implement

strategies specific to a student’s needs before it would impact their graduation potential.

PROGRAM CHALLENGES

• NCA staff has also identified some challenges and difficulties from the 2016-2017 school year.

• STAFF RETENTION: Although we started the year with many new staff members we were able to curb the rate of turnover. The majority of staff who did leave during the year did so for career opportunities that were part of personal goals for those staff members. The members who left were to pursue new jobs closer to family members or to change careers altogether. Again, the reasons cited most closely relate to professional opportunities, however some comments cite the absence of Health Insurance, student behaviors, and general dissatisfaction with a clear direction for the school as additional challenges for NCA.

• EXTRACURRICULARS: Over the course of the 2016-2017 school year, there were a few extracurricular programs that were put into the rotation. Students participated in Basketball for the first time in 5 years and we continued with our Archery program. There were also options given to be involved in choir, a musical, or the Anime/Videogame club. These groups met consistently to develop their skills in both arts and athletics. We also had several students who participated in the student showcase at the Hutchinson Center for the Arts.

• REPUTATION IN THE COMMUNITY: Many in the community still see NCA as an “Alternative Learning School” and also may not realize that we are a free public school. However, one way in which marketing has approached the idea is showing the community and surrounding areas what NCA can offer that is unique to its own educational style. Students and staff put together efforts during the 2016-2017 school year to make connections with local area businesses, community members, and personnel at Ridgewater College in Hutchinson. These efforts saw several of these constituents visit our school for various events. Students and staff also had opportunities to visit these individuals where they work, live, and play in the Hutchinson community. Each positive interaction our community has with our students allows us to re-shape our image in the community. New Century also participated in the first ever Student Leadership Institute at Ridgewater Community College. 14 students were recognized as graduates during our end of the year award ceremony. This is relationship, we are looking to keep utilizing and participating in over the next school year. Staff members and students have been working consistently to get coverage in local media to advertise the educational opportunities that students have here.

• PROJECT-BASED LEARNING: Every year, as we try to meet the state standards and prepare students to succeed in the state tests, we struggle to find a nice balance with incorporating meaningful project work into the daily schedule. This school year saw us move further and further away from the initial idea of how project based learning was implemented. Staff has started with assigning advisory time that is completely devoted to PBL and helping students create projects that will challenge them and make them feel more confident in projects by the time their senior year rolls around to complete

their senior project and portfolio. Staff are currently using PLC’s, late starts, and professional

development days in order to encourage the growth and reestablishment of project based learning within our school.

• STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND COMMITMENT: NCA has placed a relentless effort on increasing student achievement, and based upon our recent MMR and FR percentage ratings, we need to



continue to improve in this arena. All staff members are working effectively in establishing learning targets, assessments, and using data together to increase learning within an inclusive education model. We will redouble our efforts to analyze test data and present it in a way that will help teachers better understand the areas in which our students are struggling. We continue to build shared knowledge within our staff through weekly PLC’s, and also have continued to bring experts in from other school districts, as well as having our staff travel to various school districts for observations

ACCOUNTABILITY DATA

2016/2017 Goal Results

Adopted by NCA Board of Directors in 2017

School Board Goals – 5 year Plan: Fall, 2013 – Spring, 2019

1) MCA math scores improve by over 10 percentage points or meet state proficiency levels.

Results: NCA did not meet state proficiency levels and did not improve by ten points. Math is an area that we are looking to work on over the next year.

2) MCA reading scores improve by 10 percentage points or meet state proficiency levels.

Results: NCA was able to improve by ten percentage points but we did not meet state level.

3) Surpass resident district in math and reading MCAs.

Results: NCA did not surpass the resident district in MCA scores during the ‘16-17

school year.

4) MCA’s in Math or Reading meet standards or are improved by 10 percentage points from the

baseline year.

Results: We were able to improve reading by 10 percentage points during this time.

5) NCA outperforms Hutchinson Public Schools in Math and Reading MCAs amongst FR lunch populations.

Results: NCA did not improve over 10 percentage points within this group.

6) NCA outperforms Hutchinson Public Schools in SPED population on the MCAs

Results: NCA outperformed Hutchinson in Reading MCAs by over 10 percentage points, but not in math.

7) NCA outperforms State in SPED population on the MCA’s.

Results: NCA outperformed the state in Reading but not in math.

8) NCA will have more than 50% of students make their growth targets on NWEA tests.

Results: More than 50% of students met growth targets in math, more than 60% in reading.

9) Students below grade level experience over 1 grade level of growth in Math and Reading will make 150% growth.

Results: Students made at least 150% growth if they were below grade level in both Math and Reading per NWEA scores.



10) NCA will have 50% of its students who are at or above grade level meet growth targets.

Results: NCA did not have 60% of their students who are at or above grade level meet their growth targets.

11) Graduation rate improves by 10-20 percentage points from the baseline year.

Results: NCA’s graduation rate improve by 18% from the baseline year.

12) NCA will maintain a 95% attendance rate.

Results: NCA did not maintain a 95% attendance rate and is looking into alternatives to measure attendance.

13) NCA parent’s satisfaction surveys had a 90% or above favorable response.

Results: This previous year came in at 85% satisfaction but overall is hanging at 91%

14) NCA will keep their mobility rate under 10%

Results: NCA does have a mobility rate that is over 10%. However, there is a portion of students from our Shelter Care agreement who are affected by this. We do not control length of stays for these students. Nor do we control referrals to this service.

15) NCA has no board compliance issues.

Results: NCA had no cited board compliance issues.

16) NCA have at least enough money to cover one full payroll as measured by end of year reserves.

Results: NCA has a fund balance large enough to cover 1 full payroll and that is knocking on the door of 20%

17) There were no findings on the financial audit that were material.

Results: There was 1 nonmaterial finding on the 16-17 audit.

18) NCA received the MDE finance award and/or the NEO stewardship award.

Results: NCA received the MDE finance award.

Test Scores: 2016-2017 NWEA.



Data:

Grade level/subject

Fall 2016 RIT Mean

Winter 2016 RIT Mean

Spring 2017 RIT Mean

2016 National Normative Study RIT Mean

7 Math 217.8 N/A 219.33 228.6

7 LU N/A N/A N/A 217.6

7 Reading 203.5 N/A 205.8 218.2

7 Science 213.9 N/A 223.33 210.9

8 Math 224.15 N/A 218.3 230.9

8 LU N/A N/A N/A 218.7

8 Reading 213.18 N/A 214 220.1

8 Science 206 N/A 207 213.5

9 Math 234.25 N/A 235.16 233.4

9 LU N/A NA N/A 220.6

9 Reading 225.5 N/A 234.2 221.4

9 Science 220 N/A 216.45

10 Math 235.3 N/A 235.7 232.4

10 LU N/A N/A N/A 221.9

10 Reading 230.4 N/A 222.33 221.3

10 Science 220.1 N/A 219.9

11 Math 233.14 N/A 234.57 232.4

11 LU N/A N/A N/A 222.1

11 Reading 227.5 N/A 220.8 223.4

11 Science N/A N/A N/A N/A



Section II: PLAN Test Results: NCA did not partake in the PLAN last year due to the cost. It is something we are encouraging our DAC for the ’17-’18 school year to do.

PLAN Explore

Mean NCA Mean Nation Mean NCA Mean Nation

Reading NA NA Reading NA NA

Math NA NA Math NA NA

English NA NA English NA NA

Science NA NA Science NA NA

Composite NA NA Composite NA NA

ACT scores:

NCA had a total of 17 students take the ACT assessment during the 16-17 school year. Below is a table which shows the average scores of NCA students compared with state and national averages:

English average Math average Reading average Science average Composite

NCA 18.47 18.53 19.71 18.59 18.94

State average 20.63 21.84 21.95 21.91 21.71

National average

20.3 20.7 21.4 21.0 21.0

Section III: Student Progress on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments

Assessment State Proficiency 2013

State Proficiency 2014

State Proficiency 2015

NCA Proficiency 2013



Reading 57.6% 58.8% 59.5% 41.1% 44.9% 41.9%

Math 60.2% 60.5% 60.2% 26.1% 12.7% 34.0%

Science 52.4% 53.4% 53.4% 18.8% 33.9% 21.3%



Assessment State Proficiency 2017

Reading 46.3%

Math 9.0%

Science 25.9%

GOVERNANCE

2016-2017 Board Membership

Name Position in 2014-2015

Affiliation End of Term

Kathy Prellwitz (Chair)

83872 County Rd 24 Buffalo Lake, MN 55314 [email protected] 320-359-0063 (C)

Chair Community Member 6/2019

Tony Ebert

72581 – 250 St Dassel, MN 55325 [email protected] 320-266-0513 (C)

Vice-Chair Community Member 6/2017

KEVIN ELTON

205 Dale St SW Hutchinson, MN 55350 [email protected] 218-790-4748 (c)

Treasurer Teacher Member 6/2018

Kelsey Dolge

824 Hilltop Dr. NE Hutchinson, MN, 55350 Kelsey.dolge@newcenturyacademy,com 612-616-0799

Secretary Teacher Member 6/2019

Jodi Grams

645 Tyler ST SW Hutchinson, MN 55350 [email protected] 320-587-4366 (H) 320-583-4781 (C)

Member Community Member- resigned and relocated to Wisconsin.

6/2019

Joseph Patino 336 E 4th St

Litchfield, MN 5535 [email protected] 612-710-4305 (C)

Member Community Member 6/2017

MARCI COLLETTE

PO Box 7 540 Bowman ST Stuart, MN, 55385 [email protected]

Member Parent Member 6/2018









320-583-2874 (c).

Jason Becker (Ex-Officio))

48994 196th ST Glencoe, MN 55336 [email protected] 320-510-0155 (C)

Ex-Officio Director N/A

The 2016-2017 school year saw a seven-member board in place during the year. Director Jason Becker served as an ex-officio member. The board has created a multi-year plan of rotating three-year board member positions. The board no longer continues to function as a teacher majority board. We continued to operate with a board appointed Finance Committee, Joint Facilities Committee, Policy Review Committee, Director Review Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, and Public Relations and Marketing during 2016-2017. All of these committees served in advisory capacities for the NCA board.

All board members sign conflict of interest statements each year, and new board members participate in the required board training.

NCA hosted its tenth Annual Meeting in April 19th 2016. At this meeting, Tony Ebert (Community Member) and Josh Krych (Teacher) were elected to the school board of the 4 candidates that ran. The event was attended by students, family, and community members, in addition to staff and board members. We added the addition of student testimonies and projects which got strong reviews from families and community members.

Board attendance is as follows:

BOARD MEMBER MEETINGS REQUIRED * MEETINGS ATTENDED

Kathy Prellwitz 15 13

Tony Ebert 15 8

Kelsey Dolge 15 15

Kevin Elton 15 15

Marci Collette 5 5

Joseph Patino 12 6

Jodi Grams 15 10

Jenny Richardson 8 7

Jason Becker 15 10

The board met the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 4:30 p.m. at NCA at 1000 5th Ave. SE. Hutchinson’s local newspaper publication, The Hutchinson Leader, was designated as the source to use for our Open Meeting public notices and was notified in a timely manner. Citizen’s Bank of Hutchinson served as the school’s depository. We continue to pay service fees to Minnesota School Board Association (MSBA) and the Minnesota Association of Charter Schools (MACS).



Training Type Presenter Date

Dolge Kelsey Governance: Roberts Rules Director 10/26/2016

Strategic Planning Board Vice-Chair 11/9/2016

Governance: Open Mtg Law Director 11/16/2016

Elton Kevin Governance: Roberts Rules Director 10/26/2016



Grams Jodi

Employment MACS 10/11/2016

Governance MACS 10/26/2016

Finance MACS 10/31/2016



Prellwitz Kathy Governance: Roberts Rules Director 10/26/2016


Ebert Tony Governance: Roberts Rules Director 10/26/2016



Patino Joseph Governance: Roberts Rules Director 10/26/2016


Richardson Jenny Governance: Roberts Rules Director 10/26/2016



Management and operational performance

The licensed staff represents all the major content areas, and has a broad base of knowledge and experience that translates into meaningful learning opportunities for students. The paraprofessional staff working with students within the Title I program meet the state of Minnesota requirements for “highly qualified” paraprofessional. NEO, in its annual review, and currently we have no compliance issues that were cited by

NEO. We are encouraged by the progress that was made in just a few years’ time and continue to strive to ever

improve all that we can.



SCHOOL FINANCES

New Century Academy made great improvements to the financial health of the school over the 2016-2017 school year. We recalculated our budgeted ADM to be conservative at 118 even though we anticipated more students. We committed as a school board and administration to not increase our budgeted ADM. Our goal was to increase our fund balance as high as possible. This was in response to our FY15 fund balance ending around 2%. Historically, New Century Academy has never been above a 10% fund balance. Our authorizer and MDE have advised us to work toward a 20% fund balance. We revised and implemented a new fund balance policy that would keep us in check and always making decisions based on the effect on the fund balance. This effort netted an extremely positive result, one which we are extremely proud of. We finished the fiscal year at a 18% fund balance. We recognize that this will be difficult to maintain but are committed to the process. We have established some excellent protocol regarding school finance between in-house personnel and our contracted services with Charter School Accounting and Aaron Leisen, Finance Coordinator. He can be contacted for more information at 763-259-5715.

Activity

General Fund

Revenue $2,201,738

Expenditure

$2,097,337

Food Service Fund

Revenue $55,929

Expenditure $ 69,795

Total Revenue $2,213,279

Total Expenditures $2,340,094

Total Beginning Fund Balance July 1 2016 $275,453

Total Ending Fund Balance June 30 2017 $379,854

Fund Balance Pct June 30 2018 20.3%



CONCLUSION and FUTURE PLANS

Based on the results of our fifteenth year of operation, staff recognizes that we have made a tremendous effort to provide a quality educational alternative to students in our region. Although we have not met all of our goals as outlined in our charter, we are continuing to develop and implement effective policies and procedures in order to meet and or exceed those goals during our sixteenth year of operation. We will also focus on more feasible ways to collect the data needed to support our assessment of achievements. Students and families have recognized the value of the educational program offered at New Century, and are continuing to make the commitment to be informed and involved in school activities. It is clear that New Century Academy has come a long way in the past few years. Through strong management and governance: we have grown our enrollment, fund balance, curriculum offerings, and extracurricular programming. This is something we are going to continue to do for many more years. We have a commitment to making life-long learners of our students. Students and families come to our school expecting what is laid out in any brochure or marketing piece. However, it is abundantly clear that they leave our school with so much more. They will leave with tools and skills that will not just enrich their lives, but will enrich the lives of everyone with the great fortune of working with them.

We are very excited to move forward with rebuilding our school to incorporate the values of our mission and vision and also return to our roots of student centered learning and project based learning. At the end of the 2016-2017 school year we were presented with an opportunity to move to a new location. This location provided excellent exposure being on School Road right in the middle of the education community with our local district just down the road. Our traffic would change from industrial to student and family. This building also allows for remodeling and an additional 20,000 square feet. The ownership of the property has allowed for up to $500,000 in improvements to be included in our base rent which is only slightly higher than what we pay now. Preliminary plans have us adding a full regulation gymnasium, full service kitchen, several project based learning spaces for collaboration and a new science laboratory. Our plans also include the addition of a school store in which we will serve coffee and other items to our staff, students, families and the community. Our plan is to incorporate as many work based learning opportunities in which students will develop business and job skills they will carry with them after graduation. We will expand our activity offerings and ability to host events for students and the community. Students will work in the coffee shop, food service, maintenance and community event areas. Another big opportunity we will provide is for students to interact with animals. We plan to bring in canine companionship to help our students with mental and emotional support. Students will also work with the animals and learn how to train and take care of the dogs. Our hope is to offer, for the first time, a band program. Additional academic plans include the addition of a math and reading instructional coach to better service our students who do not qualify for special education services but still need assistance in moving closer to proficiency. We are excited to take this next adventure in the evolution of New Century Academy.

Go Spartans!

Documents

New Century Academy€¦ · (NCA Alumni), Mr. Jason Becker, director of NCA and a student that was voted by her classmates to receive