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Running head: THE FUTURE VISION OF CHANGE PREPARATORY CHARTER SCHOOL

The Future Vision of Change Preparatory Charter School

Melanie N. Joseph

Post University

Future of Education

EDU505

Professor: Therese Ajtum-Roberts

April 19, 14

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Introduction

Change Preparatory Charter School is one of two charter schools located in Queens,

New York City. Dr. Glenn Austin-Smith is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer. As

Founder, and lead applicant she led the school through every stage of its development. Change

Prep went through the extensive charter process and was chartered by NYS Board of Regents on

January 9, 2010. Change Prep strongly believes that all children have the ability to learn. They

also believe that preparation for college starts in Kindergarten. Change Prep Charter School

currently serves Kindergarten through Fifth grade; however it is scheduled to extend to eight

grades at full capacity. Change Prep Charter School’s hour are from 7:15 am to 4:15 pm from

Monday to Friday; and has an extended year of 190 school days. The student population consist

of 75% Black or African American, 20% Hispanic, 2% Asian and 3% other. Total enrollment is

432 students with over 78% of the population receiving free lunch (NY Charter School).

Current State of Change Preparatory Education

The vision of the school demonstrates that students will acquire content knowledge

and character traits vital to becoming independent. By doing this, they place two teachers in each

classroom, one head teacher and one assistant teacher. In each of the eighteen classrooms there

are no more than 25 students. The school offers two hours of enrichment everyday in English,

Math, Art and Music. Change Preparatory Charter School serves the needs of the Far Rockaway

community. The vision also states that students will understand the world through knowledge of

Science, Math and Social Studies and become more competitive with other students from various

backgrounds. These skills will help students to become critical thinkers. Change Preparatory

Charter School ensure that the faculty uses 21st Century education with a stimulating mix of

research, academic rigor, and innovation. The school’s main purpose is to prepare students to

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gain admission to and succeed in competitive public and private high schools. Change Prep’s

educational philosophy encourages high levels of academic achievement and tailors instruction

to ensure that the academic needs of all students are met. Change Prep’s founder believes that

good instruction recognizes content knowledge and higher order thinking and that good

instruction should reflect a balanced approach to learning. Challenge Prep's model delivers

balanced, NYS-aligned curriculum in all subjects. This model has been selected because it

supports the School’s balanced educational approach and builds capacity in teachers to

differentiate instruction in a classroom of heterogeneous learners. The model facilitates

differentiated instruction, and it has been highly effective in supporting academic achievement

for at-risk populations, including ELL, Title I and special education students, as well as for

academically gifted students. Change Prep’s mission is to prepare students to “excel

academically and compete successfully for admission to high-performing public, private and

parochial high schools in NYC. Change Prep offers a rigorous academic curriculum within a safe

and supportive school environment to cultivate intellectual, social, emotional and ethical

development of students and support them in achieving mastery of the 28 NYS Learning

Standards” (changeprepcharter.org).

Futuring in Education

Futuring is a term used to attempt to forecast a particular event that has not occurred. In

futuring, one may attempt to control or direct how an event will happen. Since the future is

unknown, we can only come up with possibilities of what we think may or may not happened.

Futuring is very important to education, because education is constantly changing. “Futuring is an

anticipatory decision-making process that leads to planning and program development” (Sobrero,

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P. 2004). Effective futuring will lead to better decision-making by locating current and future

assets to address developing issues.

Scenarios, and Scanning at Change Prep Charter School

“Scenarios are consistent and coherent descriptions of alternative hypothetical futures

that reflect different perspectives on past, present and future developments, which can serve as a

basis for action” (van Notten, 2005). When developing scenarios, the message should be clear

and in a written format that includes details. One main fact to remember is to ensure that you

target the issues in which change is more likely to occur. In each scenario different assumptions

must be made, such as if the future will be desirable or undesirable. This will be effective

because you will be able to function in both areas within the organization. Here at Change Prep

Charter School, preparing for both the bad and the good is essential for the organization in the

long run. Change Prep will benefit in that they can allocate the best employees and resources for

the future. One pitfall in scenario planning is developing scenarios in education that are not

interesting or relevant to the issue at hand. However, we are creating scenario projects and

dealing with alternative strategies on how to handle them as problems arise. You must make

sure that you check to see if your scenarios are reasonable. If you can give an appropriate answer

to this then your scenario has a firm and positive outcome.

The term scanning means “initial and continuing process of reviewing and analyzing

current literature, Web sites, and other media to identify and describe noteworthy trends and their

possible development and future impacts” (World Future Society). Scanning the different

situations can help this organization to have better scenarios when forecasting. Scanning and

monitoring the environment around you will help you identify the issues and help to repair any

defects within your scenarios.

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Trends in Educational Technology

The Horizon Report shows how important technology is in education. The future of

education is significantly influenced by the world of technology, which is being used to improve

our educational experiences. Educational organizations’ goals are to better comprehend what

future scenarios of education may look like in order to help them establish suitable educational

structures while achieving innovation. The use of data information and results of theory can

develop scenarios for each issue area in which change is likely to take place. These scenarios can

have a great outcome in the future or an undesirable outcome in the future. When developing

scenarios, it should be clear and in a written format that includes details. When developing

scenarios, one main important fact to remember is to ensure that you target the issues in which

change is more likely to occur. In each scenario different assumptions must be made, such as if

the future will be desirable or undesirable. This will be effective because you will be able to

function in both areas within the organization. Preparing for both the bad and the good is

essential for the organization in the long run. The organization will benefit in ways that they can

allocate the best employees and resources for the future.

Data-Driven Learning and Assessment is one of the tools that Change Prep currently

uses. These technology tools help teachers to evaluate and assess each student individually. One

such tool is called Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills or for short, DIBELS. This

tool keeps a running record of each student assessment. It allows teachers to test each student’s

literacy skills by using short stories. The assessment can be administered from Kindergarten

through sixth grades. This program measures, phonemic awareness, accuracy and fluency in

connection text words, reading comprehension and vocabulary. DIBELS is an early intervention

program that targets problems in literacy in children, but the best results are when problems in

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literacy are caught at an early age. This program is an essential part of the organization, because

it helps teachers and administrators to run various data to help improve student academics by

pinpointing the target areas. The school also uses the Star Falls website as a way to get the

students engaged in games and learning activities.

Gaming is a big way that students can take in and process information. Today’s

students are mostly interested in a variety of gaming. Games are now used to support many types

of teaching methods and it is known to help aid students with disabilities. Studies show that

games can provide motivation and help develop skills to encourage student collaboration. “The

motivating power of games and their ability to encourage cooperation were felt to support the

work of schools in developing independent but social individuals” (Kirriermuir, John). Change

Prep Charter School now implements learning activities that can be used with any handheld

device; this is done to encourage and promote student learning. These handheld based activities

are math and literacy games that can be played on any Smartphone, Kindle, Tablet or IPad. One

important thing to remember is that technology is changing and here at Change Prep Charter

School the curriculum is altered to keep up to date with current events in education.

Economic, Budget and Public Policy

Financing school technology programs are an essential part of technology and the

student’s ability to learn. Therefore, funds for technology are allocated on the buying of

equipment or to train teachers on electronic devices. Good technology budgets should not be just

realistic, but moral as well, obviously showing how every dollar spent improves educational

opportunities for students. Budgets on technology plans should be directly tied into the goals and

vision of the schools. The budget should be transparent and easy to understand, this will make it

easier to understand where every penny is spent. Many schools use E-Rate funding to pay for

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technology. “The universal service schools and Libraries Program, commonly known as E-rate,

provides discounts of up to 90 percent to help eligible schools and libraries in the United States

obtain affordable telecommunication and Internet access. The program is intended to ensure that

schools and libraries have access to affordable telecommunication and information services”

(U.S. Department of Education). Most of the participants are public and non-profit K-12 schools

and also public and private libraries. The E-Rate application process has a strict deadline and the

rules change yearly. In 2010, New York State adopted the Common Core Standards. This was

done with the understanding that New York could add an additional 15% boost in ELA and

Math. The standards distinctly show that students are required to learn at each grade level, it also

will help parents and teachers to understand and support the learning process. For students with

disabilities to meet great educational standards and to fully demonstrate the skill in reading and

math, they must incorporate support and accommodation for these students. Accommodations

are made with a 504 forms are filled out with by the child’s doctor at the parents’ request.

“Section 504 is a part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that prohibits discrimination based upon

disability. Section 504 is an anti-discrimination, civil rights statute that requires the needs of

students with disabilities to be met as adequately as the needs of the non-disabled are met”

(greatschool.org). This form gives the student extra time during testing and most parents request

a 504 especially when it comes to the Common Core State Standard.

Public policy is the action taken by government to address a particular public issue.

Local, state, federal, and international government organization all craft and implement public

policy to protect and benefit their population. There is certainly no shortage in opinions when it

comes to technology policies. New York State has always been recognized as a very progressive

state in education technology. While other states have been experimenting in the classroom with

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technology; New York policies and lawmakers fight for technology improvement within

education. One of the biggest contacts is with Apple technology, ensuring that all students have

the abilities to use MacBook Pro Laptops.

Threats Trends and Literature Review

One major trend that’s important is enrollment and class size. Class size has always been a

problem in New York City public schools. The enrollment size is much larger in Queens and

Brooklyn, but the graduation rate is extremely low. Charter schools have grown in enrollment

and with smaller classer size with less than 24 children; many parents opt to send their children

to charter schools. However, the new Mayor is not a fan of these schools and wants to stop the

growth of them. In some public schools the classroom size can reach up to 33 students with one

teacher. In most charter schools including Change Preparatory Charter the enrollment in each

class is 24 students and that makes a big different in a learning environment.

Another trend that is important are the diverse population. “Trends in immigration and

birth rates indicate that soon there will be no majority racial or ethnic group in the United States

—no one group that makes up more than fifty percent of the total population” (Center for Public

Education). About six states from 2000-2010 had a population decline for non-Hispanic whites,

one which is New York City. New York City is one of the most diverse cities in the entire

country and that clearly shows in the New York City public school classrooms. The United

States may be a nation of immigrants, but Americans have disagreeing attitudes towards

immigration. “In surveys, the public consistently makes a sharp distinction between legal and

illegal immigrants, according to Public Agenda, a nonpartisan opinion research group. In

addition, although six in 10 Americans say immigration is good for the country, other surveys

show that about half of the public believe there are too many immigrants” (Center for Public

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Education). With the population becoming so diverse and classroom size growing, there is a

bigger need to open more schools within each district.

Five-Year Vision

The five-year plan outlines the goals, objectives and ways to execute the plan. To

ensure that this vision can be accomplished, understanding where you want your school to go is

important. This ensures that the school continues to provide the best technology for the students

and teachers. Partnership with other educational companies to train teachers; helping them with

classroom management and technology training is essential. Improving leadership and

management is the key objective, having a well-educated school leader is a vital role in the

vision of the school. The goal is to aim for a very low turnover rate, most problems within

schools are due to poor leadership; poor leadership results in high turnover rate for teachers and

staff. To integrate technology into their classroom, teachers must feel comfortable with

technology. “Principals who wish to enhance their teachers readiness can provide ongoing

training, opportunities for teacher to collaborate, and access to technology support and

modeling” (NCES. 2000).

Challenges

In spite of increasingly well-known acceptance of technologies in almost every aspect

of K-12 education, challenges are preventing effective implementation. “According to

researchers, though some of those challenges are systemic and some related to the technologies

themselves, teachers and education leaders share in the blame as well” (Nagel, David 2013).

Many of these changes come from administrators who are sometimes reluctant to change.

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Professional Development: Adequate amount of professional development for teachers is

important. They need to get familiarized with new technology processes in order to integrate

the lesson with technology they are using.

Population Growth: With the population rate growing more schools are needed in many

parts of the country. The increase of charter schools is necessary, allowing parents to get a

better education option for their children.

Personalizing Learning: Teachers and administrations much learn to personalize the lesson

to cater to student with disabilities. Not everyone has the same learning style, and teachers

need to focus on what is best for each student, classrooms should have the necessary tools to

help students in the learning process.

Data and testing ways: Administration should always have a backup plan, if a particular

system is not giving you the progress you need; for instance Change Prep uses DIBELS to

keep track and monitor student process. Administrators now need to focus on other resources

that would best suite both students and teachers.

Resistance to Change: We have all heard the term “change is good”, some teachers may feel

they way of teaching is relevant to today’s student. They may not want to adopt and change

the way they think or feel. In addition, some administrators may be narrow-minded and this

may cause problems with teachers. The ability to adopt to change and know what is best for

the students is necessary.

Opportunities

Today more schools are modifying their business structure and know they are

many great opportunists in the field of education.

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College Ready: Change Prep is preparing students for college readiness. Time is

focus on visiting well-known colleges and University in the New York areas. From kindergarten,

we make it known that students will attend and graduate college.

Finances: “The budget will provide $1.5 billion for statewide funding over five

years to fund pubic charter school” (Decker, Greoff 2014). This will help the increase of

technology, books, and other media within Change Prep

Online education portfolios to evaluate students: Paper base portfolios are a thing

of the past. Portfolios are a platform to demonstrate student growth. Online portfolios have

some advantages and it allows students to be more creative when it comes to difficult subjects.

Online portfolios can include many formats such as music, videos and an interactive feature.

Common Core State Standard: Teachers should embrace the state standards by

writing lessons that would comply with state and districts standards. “Having a single set of

standards eliminates redundancy and conflicting guidelines. Furthermore universal adoption of

common standards will support future technological innovations that aid teachers. From a

technical perspective, standards facilitate the development of new technologies. Innovators can

focus on developing tools that better serve students rather than solving technical challenges of

interoperability created by multiple sets of standards” (West, Darell. M. 2013).

Schools must use technology to empower teachers: The best education

technologies allow educators to do more with less resource. “Communication platforms like

Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr enable dynamic communication with students” (Bleiberg, Joshua

2013). Teacher technologies may include mobile apps that is able to have a lesson plan database.

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Call to Action

The call to action for Change Prep Charter School is to be able to build a firm

foundation now and in the future. Support partnership by creating a better learning environment

in the communities; and other organization within the public and private charter sectors that

would invest in our school and the lives of the children. Our school is to ensure that every child

gets a world class education, and ensuring that elected officials is committed in delivering the

resources that will better the lives of our students. Finally, Change Prep focuses on employing

high-quality teachers now and in the future. Well educated teachers is the key component in

educational reforms; and with small classes, computers in the classroom, highly qualified

teachers, and a state of the art faculties the school will continued to be an A+ school within the

community.

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References:

Van Notten, Ph.W.F. (2005), “Scenario development: a typology of approaches”. Retrived from:

http://www.oecd.org/site/schoolingfortomorrowknowledgebase/futuresthinking/

scenarios/37246431.pdf

Sobrero, P. (2004). The steps for futuring. Journal of Extension, 42(3).

Retrieved from http://www.joe.org/joe/2004june/comm2.php

New York City Charter School. School Facts Retireved from:

http://www.nyccharterschools.org/sites/default/files/resources/FACTS082713.pdf

World Future Society. (n.d.). Scenarios.

Retrieved from http://www.wfs.org/node/404

Bruner, Anneliese. (2013, September 10). School Leadership. Retrieved from

http://www.edtrust.org/school_leadership

NCES. 2000. Teacher’s tools for the 21st Century.Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of

Education.

Mietzner, D., & Reger, G. (2005). Advantages and disadvantages of scenario approaches for

strategic foresight. International Journal of Technology Intelligence and Planning, 1(2),

220-239. Retrieved from http://www.lampsacus.com/documents/stragegicforesight.pdf

Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Cummins, M., Estrada V., Freeman, A., and Ludgate, H.

(2013). NMC Horizon Report: 2013 K-12 Edition. Austin;Texas: The New Media

Retireved from http://www.nmc.org/horizon-project ,

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2013).The Condition of

Education 2013 (NCES 2013–037)

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http://www.wfs.org/node/404

http://www.nyccharterschools.org/sites/default/files/resources/FACTS082713.pdf

http://www.joe.org/joe/2004june/comm2.php

http://www.oecd.org/site/schoolingfortomorrowknowledgebase/futuresthinking/scenarios/37246431.pdf

http://www.oecd.org/site/schoolingfortomorrowknowledgebase/futuresthinking/scenarios/37246431.pdf


Decker, Geoff. (2014). Pre-K funds, charter school protections, and common Core changes in

state budjet. Retrieved from: http://ny.chalkbeat.org/2014/03/29/charter-school-

protections-pre-k-funds-and-common-core-changes-part-state-budget-deal/

West, Darrell, M. (2013). Five ways teachers can use technology to help students. Retrieved

from: http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2013/05/07-teachers-

technology- students-education-west-bleiberg

Nagel, David. (2013). Technology challenge facing education. Retrieved from

http://thejournal.com/articles/2013/06/04/6-technology-challenges-facing- education.aspx

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http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2013/05/07-teachers-technology-

http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2013/05/07-teachers-technology-

http://ny.chalkbeat.org/2014/03/29/charter-school-

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