Harlem Link Charter School
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Charter Schools Institute State University of New York HARLEM LINK CHARTER SCHOOL FINAL CHARTERED AGREEMENT Section 2852(5) Submission to the Board of Regents Volume 1 of 3 REDACTED COPY 74 North Pearl Street, 4,h Floor, Albany, New York 12207 telephone: (518) 433-8277 fax: (518) 427-6510 e-mail: [email protected] www.newvorkcharters.org .. L 1 Harlem Link Charter School 9/10/2004 Charter Schools Institute State University of New York Charter Schools Unit August 18,2004 AUG2 0 2004 Dr. Lisa L. Long Regional Associate Charter Schools Unit Office of New York City School and Community Services New York State Education Department 55 Hanson Place, 4th Floor Brooklyn, New York 11217 Dear Dr. Long: In response to your request for clarification regarding the application for Harlem Link Charter School, the Charter Schools Institute provides the following. • A cover letter from the applicant, Steven Evangelista. dated August 16. 2004 (the "Applicant Cover Letter"). The Applicant Cover Letter itemizes each of the Department's concerns in numerical order. Where the Applicant has made amendments to the charter application, the letter so notes and directs the reader to those pages. Where the Applicant has declined to make either recommended or required changes, the letter so notes and either provides explanation or directs the reader to the Institute's comments. • Certain revised pages of the charter application, attached to the Applicant Cover Letter. Consistent with Institute practice, where the applicant has made an amendment to a section of the charter application, the entire revised section has been provided. Accordingly, the Department (after reviewing that section) should insert the revised sections into the charter application, discarding in their entirety the sections that have been replaced. • The instant letter from the Institute (the "Institute Response"). The Institute Response also itemizes in numerical order each of the Department's requests for clarification and summarizes the response. As with the Applicant Cover Letter, it indicates the nature of the response, e.g., applicant has made the requested amendment. In a number of cases, the Institute has advised the applicant not to make the requested change. The Institute's comments on the Requests for Clarification follow below. 74 North Pearl Street, 4* Floor, Albany, New York 12207 • Phone: (518) 433-8277 • Fax: (518) 42743510 www.newyorkcharters.org ^ ^ Iteml ^he applicant has revised the first bullet on pa^e three of ^ttachmentl^to indicate that one of the ways in which Harlem ^ink may implement special education servicesfor students with disabilities would be to provide push-in services, when indicated byastudent'sIEP, maddition, the applicant has also revised the third bullet to address the issue ofstudents with disabilities receiving the same educational opportunities as students without disabilities, prevised ^ttachmentl^is submitted hereto, Item^ ^hemstitute directs the f^epartmentto attachments, poster ofmstructional^taff,wher^ applicant clearly indicates that each classroom will be staffed with two full-time teachers, therefore, although the applicantproposesaclasssi^e that ranges from^-^students, with two teachers in each classroom the ratio ofstudents to teachers, at most, would be 1^1, ^nthe advice ofthe Institute, the applicanthas not responded to this request, Items3 ^he applicant has revised pa^e one of attachment 1^^ to indicate thatthe reference to ^1^ more school days'^than^^^ public schools^is an approximation, ^fhe applicant distinctly states in attachment 1^ that ^each school yearwill be at least^^ days" in len^th,^fhe institute does not believe any additional clarification i^nece^^ry, ^ revised attachment 1^ is submitted hereto, ^tem^ ^emstimte finds me Oepai^tment'sin^uiryperple^in^ from two perspectives, Pirst,asinthe past, the Institute has encouraged applicants to includeaplannin^ year during which they can further refine the proposed charter school'seducational program, i,e, curriculum, assessment and instruction, and operational plans, ^fheplannin^year also allows applicants the opportunityto anticipate issues that may have been overlooked during the application process, as well as to finalise staffing andfacility arrangements, ^econdly,but equally important, is the needforthe school to obtainaprovisional charter, or certificate ofincorporation, with an immediate effective date in orderto handle the school'sfinances and to finalise arran^ementsforafacility, Ivlany businesses will not contract withaschool that does not have full le^al status asaschool corporation as evidenced byaprovisional charter, Weare keenly aware that whenaschool takes a planning year it will reduce the number ofdata points available at the time of renewal, however, me university trustees created ^^hort-^ermPlannin^^ear renewal" as one ofits options to address this situation, therefore, on the advice ofthe Institute, the applicant has not responded to this request, Item^ ^elnstimte takes issue wim the f^epartment'sassertion that the applicanthas not adequately described the school'splans to ensure that needed staff, curricular materials andfacilities to serve English l^an^a^e^earners^^^imited English Proficients^ students would be in place and properly usedby the proposed charter school, ^e^innin^ on pa^e two of attachment l^,theapplicantspecifies that one of the co-teachers in one ofthe two classes at each ^rade level at Harlem ^ink charter school will be an ^^ teacher, ^ased on this staffing plan, the school ^B ^ will haveagreaterpercentage^^^ of competentstaff that are knowledgeable about diverse studentpopulations than most traditional public schools. In addition, the founding teamhas indicated its awareness that although Spanish maybe the mostprominent language of immigrants to Ilarlem, students may speak French, Creole, ^embera, Arabic or other languages, ^ased on matknowledge, the school is committed to ensuring that itsfaculty reflects the demographics ofits location and may hire more than one bilingualteacherofHispanic descent. In addition toahigh percentage of^SI^ teachers, the school also plans to hire part-time translators, as needed. ^Seepage five of attachment 1^ ^im regard to professional development, the applicant stated on page two of attachment I^that me school will use me expertise ofits^SI^ teachers to inform otherstaff regarding ^SI^ identification methods and ^SI^methodologiesB'^heschool'sprofessionaldevelopmentwill incorporate elements of^SI^ teaching strategies thatwill be helpful to all students when used appropriately, although the applicant has provided in the application substantial information regarding me proposed school'splansforidentifying, placing, instructing, and assessing students who are ^1^, as well as communicating with theirfamilies, the school would not open until the I^allof^^. therefore, during me planning year, the founding team will use the information provided in me I^epartment'srequest for clarification to furmerrefme its plans and to recruit and hire knowledgeable and competent staffin this area, therefore, on the advice ofthe Institute, the applicant has notresponded to this request. Item^ In me professional opinion of me Instimte, me applicanthas provided sufficient information. In addition, it is ourunderstanding that charter schools are not sub^ectto the competitive bidding requirements contained in the general municipal I^aw. ^er department counsels however, the school is required to have adequate fiscal internal controls in place as part ofthe Initial Statement process within^days of the effective date of the charter, ^he Institute has advised the applicant not to respond to this request. Item7 In me applicant ^overl^etter, me applicanthas indicated thatno related party transactions that result from less^than^arms^length transactions are anticipated. Item^ ^he department is requesting that the applicant demonstrate that adequate internal controls e^ist fbrthe protection of school assets. Sucharequest is premature and demonstratesaclear misunderstanding ofthe concept ofintemal controls. I^or such controls to e^ist, the school itself must e^ist and have people in place to implement the internal control process, further, there is no legal requirement that an applicant document all controlse^ist as part of the application process, ^fhe Institute has advised the applicantnot to respond to this request. ^hemstimte shares me I^epartment'sdesirethatschools have an appropriate purchasing policy, segregation ofduties, and adequate internal controls for the protection of school assets. However, the Institute believes that these issues are addressed more effectively asapart ofthe ^Initial Statements process ratherthan in piecemeal fashion as part ofthe application, ^ach chartered school must address whether ithas documented appropriate internal financial controls ^ 5 and procedures^among other items^as part ofits ^Initial Statements to the Trustees. Subsequently^anagreed^upon procedures engagementperformed by an independent certified public accountant is required to assist the Trustees inevaluating the Initial Statement. Follow-up on any deficiencies is monitored by the Institute, please see paragraphs.lofthe proposed charter agreements Itern^ The Oepai^tmentraisesaconcem regarding its intei^retation of me school^splansforsecuringa facility laid out in Attachment^l^.The^epartment^sinterpretationoftheschool^splan to ^...lease space temporarily and move toanew location every coupleofyears in orderto accommodate student body