Transfer School Application

for schools interested in transferring authorization to CSI

in July, 2014

What We Believe

-and-

What We Offer

We believe that our singu-

lar focus on charter

schools translates into

tailored customer service,

a keen understanding of

the unique needs of char-

ter schools, a consistently

transparent and collabora-

tive approach to all is-

sues, and the ability to

better advocate for char-

ter schools’ needs. With

CSI, your school will al-

ways be the “rule” and

never the “exception.”

Our systems and staff are

focused on providing each

school the support it

needs to thrive. Lower

performing schools re-

ceive the additional assis-

tance they require while

higher performing schools

enjoy increased autono-

my, including a less bur-

densome process around

applications for charter

renewal or development.

All schools receive CSI’s

For more detailed information about the ser-

vices offered at CSI, please refer to the CSI

Services document located on our website at

www.csi.state.co.us/pages/

Charter_School_Institute/Prospective_Schools

Introduction to the Charter School Institute

The mission of the

Charter School Insti-

tute shall be to foster

high-quality public

school choices offered

through Institute char-

ter schools that deliver

rigorous academic

content and high aca-

demic performance in

a safe environment

and on par with the

highest performing

schools, including par-

ticularly schools for at-

risk students.

The Charter Schools

Act was adopted in

Colorado in 1993. The

General Assembly

considered several

alternative authorizer

proposals before

adopting the Charter

School Institute (CSI)

Act in 2004. CSI au-

thorized two charter

schools in 2005 and

now has a total of 27

schools in its portfolio

throughout Colorado

with more than 11,500

students in attend-

ance.

customized data analysis

services, which provide

schools with the in-depth

information they need to

better allocate attention

and resources and confi-

dently engage in mean-

ingful data-driven deci-

sion making.

statewide.

As a charter school au-

thorizer, CSI’s main re-

sponsibility is to manage

performance contracts

with autonomous schools

in service of high student

outcomes. Compliance

with state and federal reg-

ulations is also a critical CSI also offers

a Board of Di-

rectors, ap-

pointed by the

Governor and

Commissioner

of Education,

that reflects

the diversity and strength

needed to ensure long-

term stability for our port-

folio of schools. Lastly,

CSI is designed to pass

through a maximum level

of funding directly to the

schools and is therefore

competitive both finan-

cially and with regard to

the services offered to

our schools when com-

pared to many districts

component of

CSI services.

In addition to

providing

oversight in

authorization

matters, CSI

offers services that sup-

port the effective opera-

tion of schools. CSI’s ex-

perienced team offers the

following services to its

charter schools:

Customized Analysis

Governance Training

SIS/Data Management

Exceptional Student Pro-

gram Oversight

SFA Nutrition Oversight

With CSI, charter

schools are the rule

not the exception

1

Who May Apply

An application may be

submitted by an exist-

ing charter school. For

schools geographically

located in districts

which have retained

exclusive chartering

authority, approval of

the transfer by the cur-

rent district in the form

of a board resolution

must be provided by

the applicant. A list of

districts with their

chartering authority

status can be ac-

cessed via this link:

http://

www.cde.state.co.us/

cdechart/download/

ECA_2012.pdf

Private schools and

current non-charter

public schools may not

apply to CSI through

this process.

The primary method for

evaluation of a school wish-

ing to transfer authorization

to the Institute is through

the CSI Annual Review of

Schools (CARS) system.

This system was developed

in order to build upon the

evaluation lens utilized by

the State to provide a more

comprehensive and robust

evaluation that includes

strong indicators of charter

viability and sustainability.

At the foundation of this

evaluation are the CSI Per-

formance Frameworks

(available at

www.csi.state.co.us/

accountability). These doc-

uments were developed in

conjunction with The Na-

tional Association of Char-

ter School Authorizers

(NACSA) to evaluate

school performance in the

areas of Academics, Fi-

nance, and Organization.

The information needed to

engage in this process is

detailed in the remaining

pages of this application.

The CSI Annual Review of Schools

2

Transfer Evaluation

BEFORE YOU APPLY:

Provide a Letter of Intent to CSI. This

form can be found on the CSI website

under the Prospective Schools tab.

Ensure you have obtained a resolution

from your current district authorizing the

transfer of your charter to CSI. Provide a

copy of this to the Institute with your appli-

cation. CSI may assist with this process.

TRANSFER TIMELINE:

• NOVEMBER 14—APPLICATION DUE

• JANUARY 14—PRESENTATION TO CSI

BOARD

• FEBRUARY 4—CSI BOARD WORK SESSION

• FEBRUARY 11—CSI BOARD VOTE ON STAFF

RECOMMENDATION

Introduction to the application WRITING YOUR APPLICATION

The application is divided into four primary

components, plus addenda, if applicable.

To determine whether you need to provide

these addenda, please refer to your Letter

of Intent, the descriptions of the addenda

located on the CSI website, or contact CSI

staff.

Your application must be typed and sup-

plied in both paper format (two copies in 3-

ring binders) and in electronic format to

CSI. Number all pages within each of the

four sections (A-D), and ensure adherence

to the page limits indicated in the content

pages of this application.

Clearly distinguish and separate each sec-

tion in both the paper and electronic ver-

sions of your application. For the paper

version, this should be accomplished

through the use of tabs. In the electronic

version, please provide a separate file for

each distinct section, as well as a file that

contains the full application.

CSI staff is happy to supply applicants with

additional information, clarification, and di-

rection toward resources up until the appli-

cation is submitted to CSI. Please contact

CSI at 303.866.3299 or

csi_info@csi.state.co.us

Transfer Applications must be submitted no later than

November 14, 2013. Schools must also submit a

signed Board Resolution expressing intent to apply

to CSI for transfer. Submit all materials to

csi_info@csi.state.co.us. 3

THE ITEMS LISTED IN THE SUBSEQUENT

PAGES WILL COMPRISE YOUR PHYSICAL

TRANSFER APPLICATION

Transfer applications should focus on providing

evidence of the effectiveness of the school’s mis-

sion and vision. The application should be as

period. The Institute may, but is not required to,

accept any additional information the applicant pro-

vides that the Institute does not request.

concise as possible. All re-

quested documentation

should be provided as at-

tachments to the narrative.

This includes any specific,

documented evidence, ta-

bles, statistics, and other

information which may re-

quire elaboration beyond

the scope of the narrative.

Important note: CSI may

request additional infor-

mation during the review

EMP Addendum

If you currently are contracting

with an education management

provider (EMP), or intend to

contract with an EMP for future

services, you will need to com-

plete the EMP addendum and

include it with your transfer ap-

plication.

Transportation Addendum

If you are currently providing

transportation to students, or

intend to provide these ser-

vices in the future, you will

need to complete the Transpor-

tation addendum with your

transfer application.

Food Services Addendum

If you currently provide a meal

program to students, or intend

to provide these food services

in the future, you will need to

complete the Food Services

addendum with your transfer

application.

Online Program Addendum

If your program has an online

learning component, you will

need to complete the Online

Program addendum with your

transfer application.

All addenda can be found on

the CSI website at

www.csi.state.co.us/pages/

Charter_School_Institute/

Prospective_Schools

APPLICATION ADDENDA Transfer process

components TRANSFER EVALUATION

As mentioned in a previous section of the

application, the primary driver of the re-

newal evaluation is CARS. Additional

documents considered may include:

CDE School Performance

Framework Reports

CSSI pre-post visits and evaluation

Other applicable external evaluations

Parental and community input

Progress with UIP performance ob-

jectives

Previous contract milestones and

goals

Evidence provided in response to the

transfer application

4

Content of the Transfer Application

A. Academic Program (15 pages)

Any student outcomes or academic data must be

supplied in the format of access to raw files, or re-

ports printed directly from the testing interface. In

order to help accomplish this, please provide the

following as attachments:

1. A username and password to access flat files

from the Colorado Education Data Analysis and

Reporting system (CEDAR).

2. A username and password to access interim

assessment files directly from the testing ven-

dor.

3. Your three most recent Unified Improvement

Plans

4. All reports/data dashboards provided to the local

board in the last year related to academic per-

formance.

Your narrative should include:

1. A description of major academic trends and key

findings.

2. A list of assessments used, including frequency

and grades administered. These selections must

meet requirements of the Colorado Reading to

Ensure Academic Development Act (Colorado

READ Act), Individual Learning Plans (ILPs),

and federal requirements, such as the Elemen-

tary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

3. An explanation of how the curriculum is either

already aligned to state model content stand-

ards or will be aligned within the first year of

school operation under CSI including a timeline

and process for monitoring progress.

4. A list of supplemental programming (summer

school, extracurricular activities, psychosocial

programming, remediation and intervention).

Maximum narrative page numbers are indicated in the parentheses adjacent to each content area.

5. A description of programmatic & curricular

changes anticipated under the new charter.

B. Serving Students with Special Needs

(15 pages)

1. Include the school policy for a Response to In-

tervention (RtI) or child study process that

meets all legal requirements.

2. Detail plans to meet the unique needs of stu-

dents with Individualized Education Plans (for

special education), 504 Plans, Advanced Learn-

ing Plans (for gifted/talented), School Nurse/

Health Plans and students identified for English

Language Acquisition. Include information on

plans for staffing, identification, documentation,

assessment, progress monitoring, adaptation,

and alignment with the budget.

3. Provide research-based evidence that supports

the chosen strategies for interventions and sup-

port materials selected.

4. Include a description of the process used to

modify the curriculum to accommodate varied

learning styles of exceptional students.

C. Finance

Please provide a copy of the most recent version

of the following documents as attachments:

1. Independent financial audit,

2. Quarterly profit and loss statement including

budget to actual,

3. Quarterly balance sheet,

4. 3-Year projected budget, and

5. All reports/data dashboards provided to the lo-

cal board in the last year related to financial per-

formance.

5

D. Governance & Operations (15 pages)

Please provide a copy of the most recent version

of the following documents as attachments:

1. Strategic plan,

2. Lease agreement (as applicable),

3. Organizational chart and staff roster,

4. A copy of the current charter contract,

5. A copy of any contracts or instruments that

describe preexisting obligations or relation-

ships,

6. Evaluations from the current authorizer,

7. CSSI site visit reports,

8. Board minutes and agendas for the past year,

9. Board profile matrix,

10. Board policy book,

11. All reports/data dashboards provided to the

local board related to organizational perfor-

mance,

12. Membership roster and minutes for the past

year for the School Accountability Committee,

and

13. School leader evaluation and succession

plan.

Your narrative should include:

14. Progress towards strategic goals

15. Organizational changes anticipated under the

new charter

6

1580 Logan St, Suite 210

Denver, Colorado 80203

303.866.3299 ph

C OL O RA D O

C HA R TE R S C H OOL

INS TI T UTE

Th e m i ss io n o f th e Ch a r te r

S ch o o l I ns t i t u te sh a l l b e to

f o s te r h i g h -q u a l i t y p u b l i c

s ch o o l ch o ic es o f fe re d t h roug h

I n s t i tu t e s ch o o l s th a t de l i v e r

r i g o ro us ac a dem ic co n ten t a nd

h i g h a ca d em ic pe r f o rma nc e in

a s a fe e nv i ron me n t an d on pa r

w i t h t he h ig h es t pe r f o rm i n g

s ch o o l s , i nc l ud i ng p a r t i cu l a r l y

s ch o o l s fo r a t - r i sk s tu de n ts