The New York City Center For Charter School Excellence

TO SUPPORT THE GROWTH, SUCCESS AND SUSTAINABILITY OF HIGH QUALITY CHARTER SCHOOLS IN NYC.

FOR THE PAST 17 YEARS, THE NEW YORK CITY CHARTER SCHOOL CENTER, THE COUNTRY'S FIRST CITYWIDE CHARTER SUPPORT STRATEGY , HAS SERVED AS A ONE-STOP-SHOP FOR ENSURING THE GROWTH AND VITALITY OF NYC'S CHARTER SECTOR. OUR INTEGRATED APPROACH TO BUILDING A FAVORABLE POLICY ENVIRONMENT, SOLVING INDUSTRY-WIDE CHALLENGES, ENSURING QUALITY, GROWING THE MOVEMENT AND PROVIDING KEY SUPPORTS AND SERVICES HAS "CLEARED THE BRUSH," SO THAT CHARTER SCHOOLS CAN FOCUS ON THEIR CORE WORK OF EDUCATING CHILDREN. OUR WORK IS GUIDED BY FIVE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:1. ADVOCATE FOR FAVORABLE LAWS AND POLICIES: ENSURE THAT NY STATE AND NYC POLICIES PROMOTE THE VIABILITY OF THE STATE'S CHARTER MOVEMENT, BY SERVING AS A VOCAL ADVOCATE AND LEGAL WATCHDOG, AGGRESSIVELY REPROACHING OPPONENTS, GUIDING THE CHARTER MOVEMENT, AND PROACTIVELY FRAMING THE CHARTER DISCUSSION WITH DATA AND RESEARCH. 2. EMPOWER CHARTER SCHOOLS TO SERVE ALL STUDENTS: SUPPORT NYC CHARTER SCHOOLS AS THEY SEEK TO EQUITABLY RECRUIT, EDUCATE AND RETAIN ALL STUDENTS, INCLUDING THOSE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS.3. ENSURE OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE: SUPPORT THE SUSTAINABILITY OF CHARTER SCHOOLS BY ENCOURAGING OPERATIONAL COMPLIANCE AND EXCELLENCE.4. TRANSFER CHARTER SCHOOL INNOVATIONS: SHARE AND TRANSFER THE SECTOR'S LEARNINGS AND INNOVATIONS BACK TO THE DISTRICT IN ORDER TO IMPROVE PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR ALL STUDENTS. 5. SUPPORT NEW SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT: BUILD THE CAPACITY OF NYC PLANNING AND START-UP TEAMS AS WELL AS SCHOOLS' GROWING GRADES IN ORDER TO INCREASE THEIR CHANCES FOR SUCCESS.HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CHARTER CENTER'S WORK INCLUDE:- RAPIDLY RESPONDING TO THE CONTINUALLY-EVOLVING PANDEMIC LANDSCAPE, BY SUPPORTING AND ADVOCATING FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS AS THEY SHIFTED TO HYBRID LEARNING. OUR TEAM REGULARLY ADAPTS PROGRAMMING TO PROVIDE EXTENSIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHARTERS TO LEARN HOW TO MAXIMIZE ONLINE AND HYBRID LEARNING, PARTICULARLY FOR THEIR MOST VULNERABLE STUDENTS. IN FY20, WE CREATED A COVID-19 AND ONLINE LEARNING RESOURCE CENTER, ADMINISTERED A COVID-19 CRISIS GRANT PROGRAM AND HELPED SECURE NYC DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SUPPORTS AND SERVICES THAT CHARTER SCHOOL FAMILIES WERE ENTITLED TO AS PART OF NYC'S PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM.- HELPING SECURE MULTIPLE CAP LIFTS FOR NEW YORK STATE AS WELL AS FACILITIES AID LEGISLATION GUARANTEEING FACILITIES OR FACILITIES ASSISTANCE FOR NEW AND GROWING CHARTER SCHOOLS.- ENSURING NO LEGISLATION PASSES THAT NEGATIVELY CHANGES THE CHARTER SCHOOLS ACT OR HARMS/HAMPERS CHARTER OPERATIONS OR THE MODEL ITSELF. - MONITORING NY'S THREE AUTHORIZERS TO ENSURE THEIR STANDARDS FOR OPENING AND CLOSING CHARTERS REMAIN CONSISTENT AND HIGH.- OFFERING, VIA THE COLLABORATIVE FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION, OVER 180 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAININGS EACH YEAR TO SUPPORT SCHOOLS' EFFORTS TO EQUITABLY AND INCLUSIVELY SUPPORT AND RETAIN ALL STUDENTS.- CONDUCTING CITYWIDE, MULTILINGUAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS THAT HELP EDUCATE NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING FAMILIES ABOUT THE CHARTER OPTION. THE CAMPAIGN SUPPORTS CHARTERS' EFFORTS TO INCREASE THEIR ENROLLMENT OF ALL STUDENTS. - SUPPORTING POTENTIAL AND START-UP CHARTER SCHOOL LEADERS, VIA NEW SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMING, ENCOURAGING THOUGHTFUL SCHOOL DESIGNS AND STRONG OPERATIONAL PRACTICES.- INCUBATING CHARTER TEAMS, SAVING SCHOOLS OPERATING EXPENSES WHICH CAN THEN BE DIRECTED BACK TO STUDENT AND CLASSROOM NEEDS.- FACILITATING AN EASY-TO-USE COMMON ONLINE APPLICATION THAT ENABLES PARENTS TO APPLY TO MULTIPLE CHARTER SCHOOLS AT ONCE. MORE THAN 100,000 APPLICATIONS TO NYC CHARTERS COME THROUGH THE COMMON ONLINE CHARTER SCHOOL APPLICATION EACH YEAR, WHICH IS OFFERED IN 10 LANGUAGES.- OFFERING DOZENS OF WORKSHOPS EACH YEAR, EXPOSING CHARTERS TO BEST PRACTICES IN THE FIELDS OF HUMAN RESOURCES, FINANCE AND OPERATIONS. - COLLABORATING WITH NYC'S MAYORAL ADMINISTRATION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO SECURE RESOURCES, PROTECT AUTONOMY AND ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION.