Designing a Charter School: A Problem-Based Learning Unit
designed for UNCG students in
Trends and Issues in Curriculum and Instruction (CUI 628)
by Dr. Barbara B. Levin

The Problem    Background Info   Group Requirements    Individual Accountability   Resources

The Problem: Your elementary school has decided to convert itself into a Charter School under North Carolina's new laws (House Bill 955).  You are a non-tenured teacher at this school with two years of teaching experience.  You have decided to participate in discussions about the goals and purposes of this new Charter School before you decide whether or not to apply to teach at this new school.  Fifty percent of the teachers must agree to the Charter School proposal for it to go forward. Will you stay or will you leave the school you help to design?

Background Information:

House Bill 955:  An act to increase educational opportunities by authorizing the creation and funding of Charter Schools, which are deregulated schools under public control.

Purpose of a Charter School:
      The purpose of this part is to authorize a system of Charter Schools to provide opportunities for teachers, parents, pupils, and community members to establish and maintain schools that operate independently of existing schools, as a method to accomplish the following:
     1.  Improve student learning;
     2.  Increase learning opportunities for all students, with special emphasis on expanded learning experiences for students who are identified as at risk of academic failure or academically gifted;
     3.  Encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods;
     4.  Create new professional opportunities for teachers, including the opportunities to be responsible for the learning program at the school site;
     5.  Provide parents and students with expanded choices in the types of educational opportunities that are available within the public school system;
     6.  Hold the schools established under this part of HB 955 accountable for meeting measurable student achievement results, and provide the schools with a method to change from rule-based to performance-based accountability systems.

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       The North Carolina Charter Schools application is designed to incorporate elements of an educational plan and a business plan.  These two components are essential in providing a sound foundation from which a Charter School can operate.
       The education portion of your proposal should be focused on describing the school’s plan for addressing student learning.  It describes the school’s mission and goals, contains a statement of the school’s educational approach and design, includes admission and enrollment policies, delineates the instructional program, the annual school calendar, plans for evaluating student performance, and a description of agreements with other agencies if these apply.  The school’s vision should be developed first and should guide the rest of your Charter School proposal.

  A. Description and Background Information
      1.  Mission Statement - philosophy/vision in a brief statement
      2.  Describe the overall goals of your school program
      3.  Give your Charter School a name
      4.  Setting - describe the community, give demographics
      5.  Type of Charter School being proposed including:
            a.  Size of proposed school population
            b.  Range of ages/grades of students
            d.  Description of target student population
            e.  Hours and days of operation
            f.  Description of facility - new building? converted?
      6.  Promise of the Charter School -
          “This school promises to --- and its charter can be revoked if --- “

  B.  Curriculum Focus, Philosophy, and Scope
      1.  Curriculum orientation/focus/philosophical basis
      2.  Content of the curriculum - Standard Course of Study?
           or National curriculum standards (NSTA, NCSS, IRA)? other?
      3.  Structure of classes - self-contained? multi-age? open? other?
      4.  Classroom organization - desks? tables? team teaching? multi-age classes? looping?
           inclusion? etc.?
      5.  Instructional approaches - Didactic?  Paideia?  Discovery? other?
      6.  Other foci - Technology? AG? BEH? Community service?

  C.  Assessment Plans
      1.  Expected student outcomes?
      2.  Ways students will be evaluated? North Carolina End of grade tests? National tests?
           Performance-based assessments? Portfolios?

  D.  Staffing
      1.  Desirable teacher traits
      2.  Teacher to student ratio
      3.  Percent licensed teachers
      4.  Desirable administrator traits
      5.  Teacher/staff/administrator roles and responsibilities.

  E. Governance and  Policies
      1.  Parent/family/community involvement - optional or  required?
      2.  Discipline plans
      3.  Administrative structure
      4.  Administrative roles

      The business portion of the proposal is critical to the success of any Charter School.  It is essentially a small business plan.  This portion of the proposal addresses the impact of the school on the local education agency, any contracted services, budgets, employees, the school’s governance, insurance, facilities, transportation, health and safety issues, and fiscal accountability.  The business plan shows how the Charter School can be economically viable.  Creating a balanced budget is one of the most difficult aspects facing any Charter School.

   F.  Budget
      1.  Tentative first-year operating budget based on $3600 per pupil
            a.  Salaries for faculty and staff
            b.  Transportation
            c.  Insurance
            d.  Facilities expenses including rent, mortgage, insurance, utilities
            e.  Supplies, books, computer resources, other instructional materials
            f.  Food for lunch
            g.  Contracted services - health, psychological, special education
            h.  Other expenses?
      2.  Tentative financial arrangements - grants? tuition?  lab fees? book rentals?
  technology fee? fundraising events?

  G.  Potential obstacles to success

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        1.   Each member of the group must participate in some way in doing research, come to all planning discussions, and have a part in the oral presentation

        2.  Each member of the group will write an individual essay about the promises and pitfalls of the Charter School proposed by the group. You may agree or disagree with the final product and give your reasons why and/or alternatives.

       3.  Each member of the group must include a written statement about his or her own participation in and contributions to the group project and a statement evaluating the experience of completing this PBL assignment in a group.

      This PBL project accounts for 20% of your grade in this course.  You will be evaluated on your contributions to the project and your participation in the group preparation and presentation.  All aspects of Part I including the educational plan and a business plan must be addressed.  This is half your grade.  The other half is based on the individual essay described above in Part II.
 
 

Criteria for Evaluation of Quality and Content of Charter School Proposal

Criteria	Needs Work (0-6 points)	Adequate (7-8 points)	High Quality (9-10 points)
1.  Description and background include mission, goals, type, and promise
2.  Curriculum focus, philosophy, and scope  including structure & instruction
3.  Assessment Plans including expected  student outcomes & evaluation methods
4.  Staffing requirements and desired traits  in teachers and administrators
5.  Governance structure and policies about  family involvement and discipline
6.  Budget for a tentative first year based on  $4500 per pupil
7.  Potential obstacles to success of your  Charter School addressed
8.  Evidence of effective research including list of references consulted

 

Criteria for Evaluation of PBL Oral Presentations

Criteria	Needs Work (0-6 points)	Adequate (7-8 points)	High Quality (9-10 points)
1.  Educational content of presentation is reasonable and all aspects of Educational Plan covered
2.  Business content of presentation is reasonable and all aspects of Business Plan covered
3.  Potential obstacles to success of proposal  are shared explicitly
4.  Effective oral presentation that engages audience interest
5.  Pacing of presentation is brisk and keeps to 25-30 minute time allotment
6.  Clear evidence of team work, including all members participate in presentation
7.  Quality of visual aides or handouts  enhances understanding of the proposal
8.  Able to answer questions from audience  and mock School Board

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1. An overview of charter schools including definitions, benefits, history, statistics, laws, and links to additional resources
http://www.uscharterschools.org/pub/uscs_docs/gi/overview.htm

2.  A government publications: A Study of Charter Schools: First-Year Report (May 1997)
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/charter/

3.  New American Schools (NAS) is a coalition committed to improving academic achievement for all students by providing assistance with reorganizing an entire school rather than a single program or grade level based on their research-based design-blueprints.Over 2,300 schools in all 50 states throughout the country are using NAS designs.
http://www.naschools.org/

4.  National Education Association (NEA) Charter Schools Resource Center has links to many articles with information about the charter school movement:
http://www.nea.org/issues/charter/resources.html

5.  National PTA Legislative Issues site about Charter Schools also contains many links to information about issues related to charter schools:
http://www.pta.org/programs/ISSChtrSch.htm

6.  Charter Schools USA (CSUSA) is a company that provides its clients with professional educational management and school development services, so you they focus on your vision of highly educated students and lifelong learners:
http://www.charterschoolsusa.com/general/services.html#TOP

7.  Central Michigan University's Charter Schools Office (CMUCSO) oversees governance, finance, and educational issues and provides a layer of oversight for many of the charter schools in Michigan:
http://cmucso.org/index.asp

8.  HUDSON INSTITUTE's Charter Schools in Action Project Final Report, 1997:
http://www.edexcellence.net/chart/charttoc.htm

9.   The Center for Educational Reform site with information about school reform movements including charter schools:
http://www.edreform.com/charter_schools/

10.  Information charter schools in North Carolina from the DPI website, including background, legislation, policies, statistics, Q&A, and the application process:
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/charter_schools/maincharter.html

11. A summary of arguments for an against charter schools from Education Policy Analysis Archives
Volume 3, Number 13, July 12, 1995:
http://olam.ed.asu.edu/epaa/v3n13/procon.html

12.  California Charter School Resources "Electronic Toolbox"
http://www.csus.edu/ier/charter/resources.html

13.  Choice in Education, including Charter Schools. The essays listed  are sorted by sponsoring organization. Contact George Klima (klima@interlog.com) if you have any comments:
http://www.interlog.com/~klima/ed/charters.html

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Created and maintained by Dr. Barbara B. Levin, Associate Professor, CUI Dept., UNCG
Last updated 10/28/01