BGA Charter Renewal 2015

Application for Renewal of a Public School Charter

20 Warren Street Brighton, MA 02135

Contact Information: Matthew Holzer, Headmaster Email: [email protected] Phone: 857-210-5261 Fax: 617-635-9868

Application approved by BGA Board of Trustees on: ______Application approved by Boston School Committee on: ______Application approved by Boston Teachers Union on: ______Application submitted to DESE on: ______

May 25, 2015

Dr. Mitchell Chester Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 75 Pleasant St. Malden, MA 02148

Dear Commissioner Chester and Members of the Board of Education,

It is with great pride that we submit to you our application to renew the charter for Boston Green Academy Horace Mann Charter School. We opened our doors in 2011 to an overflowing, uncertain group of youngsters on the third floor of the South Boston Education Complex. While turnaround work was not our initial plan, we responded to the needs and requests of the Boston Public Schools and are proud of what we have accomplished. In the first years of the school, the talented and hardworking staff helped create community and a foundation of academic rigor, which has now taken root. Over the course of these first four years, Boston Green Academy has earned a reputation as a caring school that engages young people in relevant curriculum—and exercises their critical faculties. We are proud to enroll one of the most diverse populations of any charter school in the state, and that we admit them in all grade levels. Our track record of success in an urban setting—reflected in very few drop-outs, a strong graduation rate, outstanding college acceptance rates, and increases in MCAS scores—can be understood as the product of a school culture that takes students seriously and invests in professional learning. We are proud to be one of the most improved high schools in Boston and in all of Massachusetts in terms of student achievement. Now that we are finally expanding into the middle grades as originally envisioned we believe our school will do even more to strengthen student achievement for the students of Boston and their families.

Our first charter term has been an important learning experience. We are now a much stronger school, both organizationally and academically, than we were when we started. We have worked collaboratively with the Department to address all concerns, especially those encompassed within our probationary status. We have made adjustments to our program and policies, and believe we are now both viable and effective as an organization. We have much work to do for our students, but we are proud of the progress we have made and the kind of school we embody – one that is rigorous, inclusive, and effective. We look forward to our next charter term so that we may deepen this work.

The application before you represents the thoughtful work of many staff members, community members, and Board members. In partnership with the Boston Public Schools and Boston Teachers Union, we are proud to present it to you in hopes for continued growth and improvement in the years to come. Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to our continued work together on behalf of our students.

Sincerely,

Molly Schen, Chair Matthew Holzer Board of Trustees Headmaster

Table of Contents

I. Introduction to Boston Green Academy 1

II. School Performance & Program Implementation 2 A. Mission & Key Design Elements 2 B. Curriculum Model & Educational Programs 6 C. Dissemination 9

III. Charter School Performance Relating to Academic Success 11 A. Student Performance 11 B. Program Delivery 16 C. Culture & Family Engagement 19

IV. Charter School Performance Relating to Organizational Viability 20 A. Capacity 20 B. Governance 22 C. Finance 22

V. Plans for the Next Five Years 23

VI. Certifications & Tables 26 A. Charter Public School Renewal Application Certification Statement 26 B. Horace Mann Charter Public School Renewal Application Certificate Statement 27

VII. Appendices 28

1. Introduction to Boston Green Academy

Boston Green Academy Horace Mann Charter School

Type of Charter 20 Warren St., Horace Mann (Commonwealth or Horace Location Brighton, MA Three Mann) 02135 Districts in Region Boston Public Regional or Non-Regional? Non-Regional (if applicable) Schools Year(s) Renewed Year Opened 2011 N/A (if applicable) 393 (Nov Maximum Enrollment 595 Current Enrollment 2015); 500 (as of Sept 2015) 6, 9-12* (7th grade will Chartered Grade Span 6-12 Current Grade Span be added for 2015-2016) # of Instructional Days per 180 (185 Students on Waitlist 706 school year calendared) M-Th 8am- School Hours 3pm; F 8am- Age of School Year Four Noon Current Mission Statement Boston Green Academy’s mission is to graduate all of our students prepared for success in college and the workforce. We are especially committed to recruiting, enrolling, and supporting off-track 6th and 9th grade students before they enter the “drop-out pipeline”. As a public school that is deeply vested in cultivating a highly skilled and actively engaged global citizenry, we will prepare all of our students to be leaders in local and global environmental stewardship and activism, to live their lives responsibly and sustainably, and to take advantage of employment opportunities in the burgeoning ‘green’ economy.

NOTE: BGA is requesting a Charter Amendment to simplify our mission statement without altering its core focus. The proposed mission statement is: Boston Green Academy welcomes diverse students of all abilities, educates and empowers them to succeed in college and career, and prepares them to lead in the sustainability of our community and world.

* Boston Green Academy was originally chartered as a 6-12 school. However, we started as a grades 9- 12 school at the request of the Boston Public Schools when we re-started the struggling Odyssey High School in 2011. Our middle school program was delayed for three years, again at the request of the Boston Public Schools, with the approval of the BGA Board of Trustees and the Boston School Committee. We are very pleased to share that our 6th grade program opened in Fall 2014 with 85 students and we will reach our full enrollment of 595 in grades 6-12 in SY 2016-2017. As a result, our updated enrollment pattern is:

School Year(s) Grade Levels Total Student Enrollment 2011-12, 2012-13, and 2013-2014 9, 10, 11, 12 340 2014-2015 6, 9, 10, 11, 12 425 2015-2016 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 510 2016-2017 6-12 595

2. Charter School Performance Criteria Relating to Faithfulness to the Charter Criterion 1: Mission and Key Design Elements The mission of Boston Green Academy has been clear from the start: to serve students who need a great school the most; to prepare them for post-secondary success; and to ensure that the benefits and opportunities of the innovative green economy in Boston and beyond do not bypass our students, their families or their neighborhoods. BGA seeks to build bridges between underserved populations and historically inaccessible opportunities and to help our students and their communities live more sustainably. We are proud that our mission as envisioned has become a reality for so many students and that our key design elements, while they have evolved over time, remain true to our original vision for BGA. We have accomplished this in the following ways:

Mission BGA has fulfilled our mission over the course of our first charter and we are proud to document our commitment and success. The Charter School Office’s Year Three Site Visit in January 2014, the last to address this criterion, found BGA to have ‘partially met’ the criteria for Mission and Key Design Elements, citing our strength in enrolling at-risk students and our progress towards becoming a green school. Academic rigor was cited as an area of growth. Since then, we believe our performance has now met the criteria fully. We have addressed the CSO’s findings by demonstrably strengthening our academic program (documented in the Year Four Site Visit and in the Academic Performance section), increasing college enrollment of our graduates, expanding our green programs and awareness of them (see Program section), and clearly focusing our school on improving student achievement (details below).

Enrolling At-Risk Students Over the course of the charter, several data points show evidence of our success in enrolling the targeted at-risk population. While we had initially planned to open our school with students only in grades 6 and 9, we accepted the request of the Boston Public Schools to revise those plans by ‘re- starting’ the struggling Odyssey High School in South Boston. Our initial vision was to enroll at least 50% ‘at-risk’ students, however the vast majority of our incoming student population in grades 9-12 came from Odyssey and two other closed BPS high schools, of whom 92.7% were labeled as ‘at-risk’ by the BPS (see chart below). Over the life of our charter, BGA has consistently enrolled a percentage of ‘at- risk’ students that equals or surpasses the BPS average and almost doubles the average in Massachusetts. Currently, 84.7% students at BGA are categorized as ‘at-risk’ by BPS, far surpassing initial expectations in our charter application.

Enrollment: Students ‘At-Risk’ as Defined by DESE and the BPS 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 DESE BPS DESE BPS DESE BPS DESE BPS BGA * 92.7% 81.8% 85.2% 90.4% 85.0% * 84.7% BPS * 78.1% 82.3% 66.6% 85.2% 63.5% * 62.1% MA * NA 47.9% NA 48.8% NA * NA

Source: DESE Profiles web site (5/3/15) and BPS Leading and Lagging Indicators Reports (2011-2015); * Data was not kept by DESE for 2011-2012 and is not yet available for 2014-2015.

BGA has also been successful in enrolling sub-groups that have historically struggled, including those most likely to enter the “drop out pipeline,” as envisioned in our charter application. These include Students with Disabilities, English Language Learners, and Students of Color according to the Balfanz and Parthenon research referenced in our charter. We do this at all grade levels (6, 9-12), not just at the threshold grades (6/9), a practice that makes us almost completely unique among charter schools in Massachusetts. As of 2014-2015, Boston Green Academy is proud to enroll one of the highest percentages of Students with Disabilities of any charter school in Massachusetts and also one of the highest percentages within the Boston Public Schools. Our ELL population is higher than the state average and is increasing. We believe our current percentage is lower than the BPS average due to our inability to offer a language-specific program that is prohibited by DESE enrollment and lottery regulations. Still, DESE statistics show that we are serving a significant number of ELLs compared to other charter schools in MA. Finally, BGA continues to enroll a truly diverse population that mirrors the diversity of Boston, a major feat given the unpredictability of recruitment and the lottery. Overall, the findings from the CSO regarding our recruitment and retention efforts have been very positive and we believe that, consistent with our mission, we have also met the criteria for Criterion 2: Access & Equity.

Enrollment: Students with Disabilities 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 BGA 24.5% 28.2% 31.8% 28.8% BPS 18.7% 19.2% 19.5% 19.5% MA 17% 17% 17.0% 17.1% Source: DESE Profiles web site (5/3/15)

Enrollment: English Language Learners 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 BGA 13.1% 13.3% 15.1% 16.0% BPS 30.6% 29.7% 29.9% 29.8% MA 7.3% 7.7% 7.9% 8.5% Source: DESE Profiles web site (5/3/15)

Enrollment: Diverse Populations 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 BGA BPS MA BGA BPS MA BGA BPS MA BGA BPS MA Low Income 66% 69.5% 35.2% 78.2% 76.4% 38.0% 85.5% 80.6% 39.4% * * * African-American 48.1% 33.7% 8.3% 57.5% 35.6% 8.6% 53.1% 34.5% 8.7% 55.2% 33.6% 8.7% Latino/Hispanic 33.1% 43% 16.1% 25.3% 39.9% 16.4% 28.4% 40.4% 17% 30.5% 40.9% 17.9% Asian 5.1% 8.3% 5.7% 3.9% 8.6% 5.9% 2.80% 8.6% 6.1% 3.6% 8.5% 6.3% White 13.1% 12.6% 67% 13.3% 13.2% 66% 15.1% 13.6% 64.9% 9.4% 13.8% 63.7% Source: DESE Profiles (May 2015); Note: Low-Income data for 2014-15 is not yet available.

Graduating Students and Preparation for Post-Secondary Success Another key component of our mission is to graduate students prepared for both college and career. We believe the demonstrable improvement in our graduation and dropout rates compared to Odyssey High School and the Boston Public Schools is proof that we have fulfilled this part of our mission in both our turnaround work and our core commitment to disrupting the dropout pipeline in Boston. While we look forward to continued improvement, we believe our success in this area is clear: BGA has graduated students, who are mostly ‘at-risk’, in greater percentages than Odyssey High School and the Boston Public Schools in every year of our existence.

4-Year and 5-Year Graduation Rate (unadjusted) 2011 2012 2013 2014 4-Year 5-Year 4-Year 5-Year 4-Year 5-Year 4-Year 5-Year Odyssey 55.3% 58.1% BGA 70.8% 86.1% 69.4% 77.6% 75.0% N/A BPS 64.4% 68.8% 65.9% 70.9% 65.9% 72.3% 66.7% N/A MA 83.4% 86.3% 84.7% 87.5% 85.0% 87.7% 86.1% N/A Source: DESE Profiles web site (5/3/15)

Annual Dropout Rates (4-year unadjusted) 2011 2012 2013 2014 Odyssey 13.5% BGA 1.4% 4.7% 4.4% BPS 15.1% 15.9% 14.7% 12.6% MA 7.2% 6.9% 6.5% 5.6% Source: DESE Profiles web site (5/3/15)

While the increasing number of students staying and graduating from BGA is a source of strength, our post-secondary outcomes also continue to improve. Another key belief at BGA is that we exist to serve all students regardless of whether they fit a ‘college going profile’. We seek to recruit and retain a truly diverse student body and expand their options and opportunities, including students who choose to enter the trades or workforce. We believe this is mission-consistent and we continue to support students in their post-secondary planning without pushing out those who do not fit a four-year college profile. However, our two and four-year trend data is positive. Over four years, BGA has greatly increased the percentage of graduates enrolling in college after graduation. Our current graduating class of 2015, the first to be with us all four years, shows by far the best college acceptance rate. We believe this is solid proof that BGA’s program has demonstrably and consistently improved outcomes for our students.

Graduates Enrolling in College and Joining the Workforce 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 College College Workforce College Workforce College Workforce College Workforce Odyssey 44.7% BGA 67% 32% 58% 37% 69% 26% 89% 8% Source: BGA Data on Post-Secondary Plans; DESE Profiles for Odyssey HS 2010-2011 (5/9/15)

Finally, we continue to strengthen our College and Career Counseling program so that students have as many options as possible upon graduation. Over the course of our charter, and particularly since the

Year Three Site Visit Report, we have increased the staff in our College & Career Counseling Office from 1.5 to 3.0 full-time employees through strategic partnerships with the College Advising Corp and uAspire. As our school has grown beyond the initial years, we have also deepened our relationships with colleges that have strong supports for diverse students, resulting in better admission and retention rates. As our academic program grows stronger, and particularly when the results of our middle school are felt in our high school, we believe our post-secondary results will continue to improve without sacrificing our commitment to the truly diverse group of students as envisioned in our mission.

Leadership in Sustainability, Green Economy, and Environmental Stewardship The final part of BGA’s mission is to prepare students to be leaders in local and environmental stewardship and activism. Our charter application envisioned a green school, numerous partnerships and a strong academic program to prepare students to solve real-world problems. Our commitment to this core part of our mission has never wavered. However, the turnaround work in South Boston, and the required focus on basic skills development considerably delayed our ability to move this work forward. Now that we are finally in a suitable facility in Brighton and our turnaround work is largely behind us, we have begun to make major progress and investments in our green program.

To meet the green charge of our mission we have made many major strides over the course of our charter. In 2012-2013 we added the key position of Director of Green Programming to help drive our work in this key area. In 2013-2014 we greatly expanded the number of green partnerships and programs available to students, and for the first time every student had a green experience during the school year (see Appendix A for details). During this year we developed a framework for green education (our ‘three pillars’) and began to infuse it in all our content areas and grade levels. We also piloted green internships for seniors in 2013-2014; and in 2014-2015 it became a graduation requirement for all seniors. This showed BGA’s commitment to all students participating in green service learning and internship opportunities as a means of college and career preparation. Also this year, our 10th grade team piloted Green Talks, interdisciplinary exhibitions for all students, a model of how we expect our exhibitions to evolve over time from discipline-specific to green and interdisciplinary (detailed further in later sections on future plans). Finally, our middle school program, launched this year, has green opportunities infused in all classes and curricula, and the entire 6th grade has participated in green experiences with Boston University, Thompson Island Outward Board (a three day overnight for all 6th grade students), FoodCorps, Hale Reservation, and others. We are now able to report that every year all students participate in green experiences, that green topics and experiences are now infused in the school at all grades, that the middle school program is built to be green from the start, and that all students now graduate from BGA having demonstrated their green proficiency through a community-based six-week internship. Our extensive dissemination efforts, particularly around Green work, are documented in a later section.

Taken as a whole, we believe this data demonstrates that Boston Green Academy has fulfilled our mission’s three core pillars over the course of our first five-year charter.

Key Design Elements While our mission has been constant and clear, some of our key design elements have undergone considerable evolution since our initial charter application. Our vision, beliefs and values, and governance model have been consistent with what our charter application envisioned. However, our turnaround work to restart Odyssey, while also absorbing students from additional closed high schools within the Boston Public Schools, delayed the implementation of several curricular design elements. While we focused on our students’ immediate needs, some of the envisioned programs did not meet

the reality of our school and were postponed due to other priorities. We intend to apply for an amendment to clarify these programs as part of our renewal application. However, below please find a summary of the evolution we have experienced.

Vision A review of our Vision Statement shows that its key tenets have been implemented faithfully. As detailed above, we have: 1) successfully enrolled the diverse, off-track and at-risk population we sought to serve; 2) We have helped students stay in school and graduate at higher rates than the school we replaced and the BPS averages; and 3) Our commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship has not wavered, as documented in this section and elsewhere, nor has our commitment to being a trauma-sensitive school. Evidence of this includes our enrollment of the populations we set out to serve, but also our continued investment in a strong Student Support Team (seven members strong, including three social workers and 4 Community Field Coordinators, plus another 4-5 interns per year from the Boston College and Simmons School of Social Work); our investment in a substantial and effective Advisory program (revamped with funding over summer 2014); partnerships and programs to support at-risk students such as the MORE Program and Young Man with a Plan (affinity groups that provide mentorship and counseling); and continued training for staff over time on trauma-sensitivity. Our commitment to our community and real-world learning is actualized through our Project Week and Internship programs, as well as our numerous community partnerships. Finally, our vision of an inclusive governance structure has been achieved, with a strong Leadership Team comprised of teachers and administrators, teachers leading all content area and grade level teams, and faculty, parents and students (non-voting but sharing their voice) serving on our Board of Trustees. With only one exception (our one year with Co-Headmasters) we have stayed true to the governance model envisioned by our charter. Even with the departure of our Founding Headmaster after two years, we have had continuity of original leadership for all five years of our charter. (Both Matt Holzer and Natalie Jaeger were founding administrators at BGA and Holzer was a member of the Founding Group and served as Start Up manager). While it has taken some time to enact, we have remained faithful to the vision statement as written in our charter application.

Curricular Model and Educational Programs This is the area where our current school has diverged the most from our original charter application, but for several good reasons. When it was written, our application envisioned a school that would start with 6th and 9th grades and grow slowly into a mature institution. This vision also assumed adequate space for our programs and a budget to support them. Unfortunately, those things did not come to pass immediately. Instead, we became a “Turnaround School,” opening with grades 9-12 all at once, occupying insufficient space in a building with another high school during the midst of several very challenging budget years. While we are proud of our partnership with BPS, we have not been isolated from the district’s wider funding challenges. Facilities challenges within the district also delayed the opening of our middle school program by three years. While we are proud of what we have achieved under these conditions, and appreciate the support we have received from the Boston Public Schools, both the Boston School Committee and the Superintendent have acknowledged that BGA was given a significantly different and more difficult situation to contend with than anyone anticipated. Given these circumstances, changes to our program were made based on the needs of our students and new opportunities that presented themselves.

While our educational philosophy as articulated in the charter application has not changed, the ways in which we have enacted it has evolved. Specifically:

• Replication of the Best Practices of Fenway High School- BGA remains very committed to continuing the successful work of Fenway High School, however we have become our own unique school over time. In our first charter period, we successfully replicated numerous key best practices from Fenway, including: Project Week; Advisory; the Humanities courses; exhibitions; interdisciplinary projects; the Student Support Team model; the Humanities Position Paper; Junior Review; Stepping Up; Senior Institute (called Senior Seminar at BGA); Safety Guidelines for community members; graded seminars; the M.E.A.L. format for writing; our Foundations of Literacy courses (newly expanded next year); and our contribution to the network of progressive and autonomous schools in Boston.

Differences also evolved between Fenway and BGA. We enroll a different and more at-risk population than Fenway (not that Fenway doesn’t, but BGA has many more students who fit that profile, notably in Special Education). We also adopted a different schedule structure to allow for more Advanced Placement courses for college preparation, more arts offerings, and more inclusion and substantially separate courses in response to the needs of our Students with Disabilities and their IEPs. Fenway never had a middle school, and the creation of ours has allowed us to develop different and developmentally appropriate structures that are unique to BGA. In all of our work, the Fenway “Habits of Mind” have been greatly influential, but our faculty gradually developed our own language influenced by the Common Core and new partners; examples include the Boston Debate League’s Evidence-Based Argumentation project, and our work on academic language and cross-content literacy with the Boston University School of Education. We are in the process of articulating our school-wide common vision for teaching and learning and expect to implement it next year. Once we have finalized this work in Year Five, we will file an amendment with DESE to document our changes. We consider this a natural evolution of our work and BGA will continue to be a strong descendant of Fenway while also becoming more and more our own school.

• Trauma Sensitivity- As noted above, this aspect of our initial plan has not wavered and is strongly embedded in our culture. Our trauma sensitivity as a school was established early on with our Advisory program, an investment in a very strong Student Support Team, and our continued partnerships with social service agencies and the Boston College School of Social Work. Our curriculum is also sensitive to student needs, and features culturally relevant texts, units designed to provoke thoughtful discussion about race and class (especially those provided by our partner Facing History and Ourselves), and opportunities for personal reflection and expression through writing (Humanities, Science and Foundations of Literacy), and the Arts. Student surveys reveal that our students feel well known, supported and respected, and we are pleased with our low and decreasing suspension rates (2013-2014 was 16.3% while 2014-2015 YTD is 8.1%), particularly relative to other charter schools. We do acknowledge that we need to create regular space to update and strengthen our staff-wide opportunities for trauma-sensitive training, particularly as new staff members come on board. We will do this as part of our next five year charter. Ultimately, we feel that our school has implemented this part of our design faithfully.

• Universal Design for Learning- BGA proudly enrolls a large percentage of Students with Disabilities (28% this year) and has been consistently committed to their success. When the charter was written, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) was identified as a strong program that could provide a strong pedagogical platform for inclusion and also increase the skills of our staff to serve students with disabilities. Unfortunately, the conditions of our birth as a school made

this part of our design difficult to implement as planned. This current year is the first one in which we have made major and meaningful steps towards inclusion by consistently reworking IEPs with families, hiring staff dual-certified in Special Education, and hiring and deploying four inclusion paraprofessionals to general education classes with large numbers of included Students with Disabilities. Our site visit reports have consistently reflected our commitment to and success with this population; we believe they keep enrolling in high numbers because of our reputation as a good school for Special Education programs. Programmatic support for inclusion has now become more possible. We plan to move forward in Year Five with initial school-wide UDL training that will become part of our core instructional practices. This will expand throughout our second charter and we look forward to the positive results.

• Design Consciousness- Another original strategy envisioned in our charter application was the use of graphic design pedagogies. This was a strength of a Founding Group member and part of BGA’s desire to implement innovative ideas. While our commitment to critical thinking, creativity and innovation persist, BGA was unable to successfully implement graphic design pedagogies as a school-wide practice during the first charter term. The turnaround work and facilities challenges forced us to reorder our priorities. At this time, BGA is moving in different directions that we believe are just as fruitful for students, and we will not pursue graphic design as a school-wide practice (the future amendment referenced above will include this change). We do hope to use our Green Engineering class and other courses as platforms for design work on a different scale, especially as we plan for the installation of a green roof on our new building in Brighton. There is also the potential for a “Maker Space” to be installed (once space becomes available) for projects that include design once we inhabit the entire Taft Building. We will continue to pursue these opportunities to recommit to the spirit of innovation that graphic design embodies.

• Curriculum & Instruction- BGA has implemented most of the key curricular and instruction initiatives detailed in the charter application during the first charter term. These include the plans for Humanities (all grades have essential questions and content as envisioned), Math (we adopted CMP3 instead of CMP2 for Middle School, alongside CME in the high school), and Science (all students take four required years, including Environmental Science, although we did alter the sequence by moving Biology to 9th grade and Physics to 12th). World Languages and the Arts do currently differ from what was originally planned. Because of budget limitations, we offer only two years of required Spanish instead of the three years, and have not implemented the second language of Mandarin as envisioned. While we do offer seven arts courses this year (due to a strong partnership with the Artist Creative Corp from Boston Arts Academy), we have not yet solidified the funding to make this the robust program that was initially envisioned. We do plan to enhance World Languages and the Arts, both graduation requirements, as part of our next five-year charter.

• Other Design Elements- Several other notable design elements were implemented as planned, including services for English Language Learners, Special Education Services, and most of our Graduation Requirements; World Languages, Arts and the portfolios were the only exceptions not yet implemented. Other elements were implemented but discontinued, such as Summer Academy (implemented in Year One but discontinued due to budget cuts and staff fatigue from Turnaround work), while others were implemented in limited ways, such as Town Meetings, which were implemented in years Two and Three, but shifted in Year Four to Advisory. (Town Meetings will return in Year Five in a different format, as we have learned what is most effective

for a school of growing size). Finally, the initial proposal to not accept D’s as passing grades had to be reconsidered given the huge number of students who transferred in from other schools with D’s and could not graduate without them. We do plan to eventually revisit this, but given that BGA admits students in all years of high school (by mission and design), there is complexity to it. We are committed to raising the bar for our courses, as well as the high expectations that our proposal originally embodied.

Upcoming Amendments As noted above, BGA plans to file five amendments in Year Five as part of its charter renewal process. Amendments will be made to: 1) the wording of the mission (we seek to streamline the wording of our mission statement, not to deviate from its core concepts); 2) to the by-laws (required by changes in regulations); 3) to the academic program and key design elements that reflect removals and additions; and 4) the school day to accommodate the planned addition of student tutoring services for grades 9 and 10.

Date Amendment Requested Approved? June, 2015 Mission Wording Revision- requested as part of the re- chartering process June, 2015 By-Laws Revision- requested as part of the re-chartering process June, 2015 School Hours and Calendar Revision- requested as part of the re-chartering process School Year Key Design Elements and Academic Program Revision- removal 2015-2016 of outdated language and addition of new school-wide practices

Criterion 4: Dissemination Over the course of our charter, and this year in particular, Boston Green Academy has made great strides in disseminating our best practices and participating in networks that allow us to grow. In particular, we have partnered with many Boston-area schools to share with and learn from them about our common work. Since 2011, we have become part of several networks where we routinely share our best practices with others. These networks include:

• Charles Hayden Foundation Boston Working Group: Since early 2014, BGA has joined with three Commonwealth Charters (Codman Academy, Boston Collegiate, Boston Prep), one private school (Christo Rey), and three BPS Pilot Schools (TechBoston, New Mission, BCLA) under the auspices of our common funder the Charles Hayden Foundation to meet monthly to share best practices around serving at-risk students and leveraging partnerships collectively. • Facing History Innovative Schools Network: The Facing History Innovative Schools Network is made up of schools that embrace Facing History's core themes and curriculum as foundational to their schools' mission. BGA faculty members present at the biennial conference and participate in network events. BGA will host the Facing History Innovative Schools Network Conference in late October 2015, sharing our work with over 50 schools. • Center for Green Schools, Project Green Schools, and National Green Schools: national networks of schools with similar missions that we participate in and share best practices • Coalition of Essential Schools: CES principles are part of BGA’s core beliefs. BGA is a member and participates in network sharing of best practices and in the annual Fall Forum • Boston Autonomous Schools Network: Convened by the Center for Collaborative Education, this is a group of Pilot, Innovation and Horace Mann Charter Schools in Boston that share best

practices and advocate around common issues. BGA has been a member since 2011 and is very active in working with other schools to leverage autonomies to increase student achievement. • Boston University School of Education: Since 2013, BGA has partnered closely with the BU School of Education so that faculty and university students may research our school, share findings internally and externally, and engage in cycles of inquiry together to help BGA become a model urban public school. BU has designated BGA as their “lab school” for secondary education and now sends more than 20 pre-practicum and 5-10 practicum teachers every year to our school, in addition to BGA faculty helping to co-teach courses at BU and to participate in their professional development. • Boston College School of Social Work: BGA serves as the training ground for 4-6 full-time yearlong interns every year who support our trauma-sensitivity work and directly serve our students. Brian Gonsalves, our Director of Student Support, serves as mentor and program coordinator to them and has built a strong, lasting relationship that greatly benefits our students. • Harvard Graduate School of Education: BGA staff participate in courses and seminars as guest lecturers and participants to share BGA’s experience as a growing innovative charter school. • Fenway High School: BGA partners with our model school to share ideas and programs, particularly around engagement strategies for at-risk youth. Several active partnerships include the MORE Program for young men of color, Project Week, and academic exchanges. • Boston Public Schools High School Network: a monthly gathering of all BPS High Schools to share best practices and participate in professional development. BGA’s turnaround work has been part of this conversation for several years. • BPS High School Affinity Working Group on Assessment: a cluster of BPS schools focused on strengthening authentic and performance-based assessment across the district. • Boston Public Schools Green Committee: A network of 10+ schools in BPS that meet quarterly to enhance and share their green initiatives and programs. BGA is a leading member. • Youth Outdoor Leaders of Boston (YOLB): A network of 10+ schools and non-profits in Boston that meet quarterly to enhance and share their best practices for providing meaningful outdoor experiences for youth. Facilitated by the Appalachian Mountain Club, BGA is a leading member. • LEAF Educator Network: A national network of 20+ environmentally themed high schools created to share best practices. Facilitated by The Nature Conservancy, this group offers online forums and professional development workshops for educators. • Youth Climate Subcommittee: A network of 10+ schools and non-profits created to engage youth in Boston’s Climate Action Plan. The group shares and documents best practices for creating green teams in every school and integrating sustainability and climate change concepts throughout curriculum and youth programming. BGA has a very close relationship with the Mayor’s Office of Energy and the Environment, and frequently participates in events to further these important issues.

In addition to those listed above, dissemination of our green programming work has been particularly robust in this past year. In September 2014, we finally moved into our permanent home and are on track to pilot the first green school building in the Boston Public Schools. The majority of Boston Public Schools are housed in aging infrastructure like our own, and we want our model to be the blueprint for pulling all of these buildings into the 21st century. We have put into place and shared/will share replicable models for: 1) using our building as a teaching tool for students, and 2) using our building as green pilot for other buildings. We have done so in the following ways: • LEED EB Model: We are on track to be the first municipal LEED EB (Existing Building) building in the City of Boston. We are working with Boston Public Schools facilities management and the

Department of Environment and Energy at the City of Boston on this project. We are formally recording all steps in this process and will release a public report and guide upon completion so those in other older public buildings can learn from our work. • Sustainable Roof Model: Boston Green Academy engineering students are redesigning the BGA roof to make it more sustainable. The American Society of Civil Engineers made it the Signature Project for the annual Massachusetts Construction Career Day, and more than 20 high schools from around Massachusetts will compete to redesign the BGA roof. • Clean Energy Pilot: We are working with Boston Public Schools facilities management to pilot clean energy technology at our school building. Several classes are involved in these projects. We are formally recording all steps, including cost/benefit analysis and curriculum, and will release a public report and guide after each retrofit. • FoodCorps Pilot: We are the first school in Massachusetts to host a FoodCorps member. The mission of FoodCorps is to connect students to healthy food by growing food and engaging them in projects to change the food culture at their school. We are working with the Massachusetts chapter of FoodCorps to create a model for other schools to host FoodCorps members.

3. Charter School Performance Criteria Relating to Academic Program Success

Criterion 5: Student Performance BGA students have made progress in their academic performance over the term of our charter compared to the school we restarted and to their peers in the Boston Public Schools, but we are not satisfied with our current achievement levels and are working hard to improve them. BGA was named a level three school in 2013-2014, the first year that we received a level. While this is comparable to other high schools of similar demographics within the Boston Public Schools (which is a Level Four district) and other urban areas in Massachusetts, our performance puts us in the state-wide 6th percentile which is not where our community wants to be. We believe that state data also confirms that BGA student achievement has improved and that our school is unusual compared to schools of similar demographics. An analysis of our state data, which has fluctuated over three years, reveals some patterns:

BGA is one of the most improved schools in the state during our first charter term BGA’s growth in combined CPI scores in ELA and Math over the last three years ranks us #8 of all high schools in Massachusetts (we were #2 overall after only 2 years). Even with the dip in our 2014 MCAS scores, we have still improved over 20 points compared to Odyssey High School’s final year in 2011. We strongly believe that this is not due to enrollment of increasingly higher achieving cohorts. In fact, as detailed in previous sections, BGA continues to enroll a highly diverse student body that consists of largely ‘at-risk’ students based on indicators dating back to 6th grade. We believe our improvement is due to the value added by our school and are proud of the progress in our overall achievement levels.

Comparison of Combined CPI (ELA & Math) 2011-2014 Odyssey HS BGA BGA BGA 2011 vs 2014 Rank 2011 2011 2012 2013 2014 growth vs. 2014* 141.3 153.8 170 161.7 20.4 8 Source: DESE Profiles Data (October, 2014); * growth ranked out of 261 high schools in Massachusetts

BGA successfully turned around Odyssey High School and is now one of the most improved schools in the Boston Public Schools BGA greatly outperforms Odyssey High School on every metric. Our graduation rates, dropout rates, college enrollment, MCAS proficiency and growth rates all exceed Odyssey’s. We did this without

receiving the DESE Turnaround Grant, which we applied for but did not receive because of limited resources, and we are proud of the results we have achieved using other more sustainable resources. DESE site visits have documented both the challenges of our turnaround work (Years One and Two) and its ultimate success (Years Three and Four). As a Horace Mann Charter that exists to help strengthen the Boston Public Schools, we are proud that BGA is a demonstrably better school than Odyssey High School and that we have fulfilled the task that was asked of us by the BPS as part of our original charter.

Turnaround Data: Comparison between Odyssey High School and BGA 2011-2014 Odyssey HS BGA BGA BGA (2010-2011) (2011-2012) (2012-2013) (2013-2014) MCAS • ELA 85% • ELA 93% (+8) • ELA 95% (+2) • ELA 97% (+2) Competency • Math 68% • Math 83% (+15) • Math 82% (-1) • Math 77% (-5) Determination • Science 62% • Science 88% (+26) • Science 90% (+2) • Science 80% (-10) (NI+) MCAS • ELA 53% • ELA 61% (+8) • ELA 86% (+25) • ELA 73% (-12) Advanced/ • Math 38% • Math 44% (+6) • Math 48% (+4) • Math 46% (-2) Proficient • Science 7% • Science (N/A) • Science 45% (+38) • Science 23% (-22) 4-Year 55.3% 70.8% (+15.5) 69.4% (-1.4) 75.0% (+5.6) Graduation Rate BPS: 65.9% BPS: 66.7% 5-Year 58.1% N/A 86.1% (+ 28) 77.6% (-8.5) Graduation Rate BPS: 72.3% BPS: 72.2% Dropout Rate 13.5% 1.4% (-12.1) 4.7% (+ 3.3) 4.4% (-.3) BPS: 14.7% BPS: 12.6% Source: DESE Profiles Website (October 2014)

While this progress is important, we acknowledge that it does not yet place us among the highest performing schools across the state. We continue to be focused on improving student achievement and expect that as we improve so will our state-wide standing. While state comparisons are important, we believe it is also important to contextualize our student achievement. We are part of the Boston Public Schools and operate with many of the same opportunities and constraints as other BPS schools (budget challenges, contractually required salary growth, transportation and facilities challenges, and low achievement of incoming students being largest among them). However, within this context we believe we are having a strong and positive impact on student achievement. Our 2013-2014 PPI score places us in the top third of high schools in the Boston Public Schools (a more fair comparison than to the rest of the state due to the similar student population) and in the middle third of all high schools statewide. While we are a Level 3 school, 53 other schools in the Boston Public Schools share that designation, making level 3 status a concern but not an exclusive rationale for sanction. Lastly, our 2013-2014 MCAS scores outperform many high schools in the Boston Public Schools and our MCAS achievement improvement over three years makes us the second most improved high school in the BPS (closely trailing our colleagues at the Jeremiah E. Burke High School, who just exited Level 4 status). In short, BGA is a greatly improved school compared to Odyssey while also being one of the most improved schools in the state’s largest urban district. BGA was created as part of a district-improvement strategy to strengthen the Boston Public Schools. We believe we have and will continue to fulfill that role.

DESE Progress and Performance Index Comparison: High Schools in the BPS School Level 2013-2014 PPI PPI Rank All Students Boston - New Mission High School Level 1 100 1 Boston - Jeremiah E Burke High Level 3 87 2

School Level 2013-2014 PPI PPI Rank All Students Boston - Boston Arts Academy Level 3 83 3 Boston - Fenway High School Level 1 81 4 Boston - Boston International High School Level 1 79 5 Boston- TechBoston Academy N/A 79 5 Boston Green Academy Horace Mann Charter School Level 3 75 7 Boston Day and Evening Academy (Horace Mann Charter School) Level 3 73 8 Boston - Boston Community Leadership Academy Level 2 72 9 Boston - Lyon Upper 9-12 Level 3 71 10 Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers (Horace Mann Level 2 69 11 Charter School) Boston - Brighton High Level 3 67 12 Boston - Snowden International School at Copley Level 3 65 13 Boston - Quincy Upper School Level 3 62 14 Boston - The English High Level 4 61 15 Boston - Urban Science Academy Level 3 61 15 Boston - Another Course To College Level 3 61 15 Boston - Madison Park High Level 3 60 18 Boston - Community Academy of Science and Health Level 3 57 19 Boston - East Boston High Level 3 56 20 Boston - Charlestown High Level 3 56 20 Boston - Dorchester Academy Level 4 55 22 Boston - Excel High School Level 3 53 23 Source: DESE Profiles Web Site (November 2014); Note: Exam Schools are excluded

BGA’s subgroups continue to improve and perform well relative to their peers BGA has equaled or met almost all CPI targets for all students and for all subgroups in each of our three years of state data. The notable exception is for student growth on MCAS, which is a concern detailed below. According to the DESE DART Analysis, notable subgroup performances include: • English Language Learners- CPI has exceeded Massachusetts performance on the 10th grade ELA MCAS for all three years. 10th grade Math MCAS CPI for ELLs is very close to state averages • Students with Disabilities- CPI on the 10th grade ELA and Math MCAS has surpassed their BPS peers and has approached or surpassed state averages in several of the last three years • High Needs and Low-Income- Students on the 10th grade ELA MCAS perform above their BPS peers and equal to state averages based on CPI, but lag in math

MCAS growth and State Percentile are a concern and are being addressed Despite the progress we have made in many areas of our school, great challenges still exist. Our student achievement data over three years has yielded two major areas of concern: Student Growth on MCAS (particularly in Math) and our overall achievement level relative to the rest of the State. We have worked diligently to strengthen our academic program and currently have numerous supports in place that we believe will improve our overall student performance, including student growth. These include: • A strong focus as a school on improving student performance. Resources (time, funds, staff) have been redirected to support the initiatives listed below and to build an ongoing foundation for strengthening instruction, particularly the development of core instructional practices • Purchase of online skill building programs to target instruction in math and literacy

• Piloting of a tutoring program for low-performing students. This year we offered two hours of group tutoring each week and also provided 2:1 tutoring for 20 low-growth students in math. Combined, these initiatives served over 75% of our 10th graders. We hope to expand this program to our entire 9th and 10th grade in 2015-2016. • An Acceleration Academy during April Break for 10th grade students in math. Over one third of the class was served in this four-day instructional program • Development of a common cross-curricular academic language for all 10th grade classes as part of a partnership with the Boston University School of Education and our work with the Boston Debate League’s Evidence-Based Argumentation (EBA) program. This work will become school- wide in 2015-2016 as we more fully articulate our common vision for teaching and learning and increase the rigor of our classes to meet the demands of the Common Core • Revision of BGA’s graduation requirements so that students are held to higher standards, must demonstrate their mastery of skills as they progress through BGA, and receive a full education that meets MassCore standards • Focus on strong math instruction in BGA’s growing middle school program, recruitment of strong math and literacy staff, and investment of resources that will pay long-term dividends (i.e. working to prepare all BGA middle school students to take Algebra I in 8th grade, which would result in serious improvements in achievement). • Hiring of strong staff in areas of need, specifically math and science. Exercising our autonomies of staffing has allowed us to make adjustments that we believe will increase achievement

In addition to growth and overall achievement, we continue to be focused on the performance of our Students with Disabilities, who make up 28% of our current student body. While ELLs are thriving at BGA and our diverse student body is overwhelmingly low-income and high-risk (making targeted strategies less effective for those groups), we have devoted significant additional resources towards serving our Students with Disabilities and will continue to do so. As we move towards being an ever-more inclusive school, we are setting up teaching assistant positions in up to 25 sections for next year, providing training for our entire staff on how to best serve Students with Disabilities in inclusive settings, and working with our families to update IEPs to allow for the least restrictive settings. Continued focus in this area will strengthen instruction and supports for students, which in turn should improve outcomes. Our data is very clear and we are working hard to improve it.

The Charter School Office’s most recent site visit report cited our improved academic program and school culture, which reflects our view that our new facility coupled with years of hard work have yielded greatly improved conditions for learning. Our middle school expansion, curriculum-building work, and renewed focus on instruction this year should contribute to improved gains. We believe that our focus and investment will pay off for our students and are committed to addressing their needs.

While we believe that the core indicators of the DESE Accountability System are accurate, we also believe that the context of our school is important to understand. In addition to our turnaround work, detailed in previous sections, we strongly believe that state-wide comparisons are less valid for a school like BGA, which has a very specific context as a turnaround school within a large urban district. BGA’s success in turning around Odyssey, coupled with our major gains in graduation, dropout and college attendance rates, speak to the broad pattern of improvement at our school. However, these measures are underweighted in the Accountability System, which can produce skewed interpretations. BGA as a school has much work to do. However while our overall levels of achievement do not compare well to more affluent and less diverse communities, the progress and performance of our students relative to

similar schools and communities is favorable. It is our clear desire to not use this as an excuse for poor achievement. However, we do believe that context matters. A review of our data and how we compare to other schools has yielded some important points:

Very few schools are similar to BGA, and BGA compares favorably to those that are DESE’s DART analysis compares BGA to schools that are most similar in terms of enrollment across the state. However, a closer look reveals that even among the “similar” schools generated by DART, there are still major differences. Of the 10 comparative schools generated, four are schools exclusively for Students with Disabilities (Carter, LeBlanc, Devens and Trinity Day) and three are Commonwealth Charters that enroll fewer low-income and/or SPED/ELL students (Sizer, CCSC and Boston Prep). The remaining three schools are Boston Public Schools (Dearborn, Quincy Upper, and the Henderson Upper), all of whom BGA outperforms on MCAS (2014 Advanced/Proficient %). We continue to acknowledge that BGA’s student achievement levels need to improve. However, when compared to schools that actually serve the same population in the same context, we believe that the state DART analysis shows that BGA is making progress at a level that exceeds our true peers.

An analysis of Cumulative Progress and Performance Index (PPI) levels also shows that BGA is making true progress relative to our peers. While our PPI compared to other BPS schools is favorable (see above), our PPI compared to other Charter Schools in Boston is also favorable (see below). BGA is once again in the top third of schools. While overall achievement still lags relative to the rest of the state, compared to our peers in the City of Boston, we are making clear progress. Given our mission and the data presented, we believe that BGA is an effective part of a movement to improve student achievement outcomes for historically underserved students.

PPI Comparison: BGA and other Boston Charter Schools (with grades 9-12) School Level 2013-2014 PPI All 2013-2014 PPI All Students PPI High Students Rank Needs Boston Collegiate Charter School Level 2 82 1 68 Codman Academy Charter School Level 2 81 2 N/A Boston Green Academy (Horace Mann Level 3 75 3 73 Charter School) Boston Day and Evening Academy Level 3 73 4 N/A (Horace Mann Charter School) MATCH Charter School Level 2 73 4 73

City on a Hill Charter School Level 2 73 4 75 Boston Prep Charter School Level 2 71 7 73 Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Level 2 69 8 71 Health Careers (Horace Mann Charter School) Academy of Pacific Rim Charter School Level 2 58 9 51 Source: DESE Profiles Web Site (November 2014)

Non-MCAS Assessment Data As stated in the Year Four Site Visit Report, assessment is an important area of growth for BGA. While curriculum, instruction and supports for diverse learners have grown stronger, we are still working to

develop a comprehensive formative assessment program. We have now begun to remedy that and plan to implement a stronger suite of assessments for 2015-2016. Below is a summary of additional assessment data that we have used over the past four years and what it has shown us. Generally speaking the data mirrors the results of the MCAS, but provides a better picture of specific skill levels so we can target instruction.

Assessment Date Grades Description of Achievement Trends Name Imple- Assessed mented Gates- 2013 9-12 Revealed that students entering BGA are, on average, three grade levels McGinitie behind in reading comprehension, but that they gain one grade level per Reading Test year at BGA. Study Island 2014 6 An online formative assessment program for ELA, 6th graders began taking it mid-way through this year to better target interventions. Results have shown that students are at 50-60% proficiency in skills related to reading comprehension but at a higher proficiency level (60-70%) in more concrete skills like language conventions. TenMarks 2014 9-12 An online tutoring and formative assessment system in Math, students began using this mid-way through this year. Students who use the program regularly have strengthened their abilities to solve increased math basic skills. Data shows progress for regular users. BGA Math 2012 9-12 This teacher-developed assessment measures students' understanding of Placement the salient mathematical concepts typically taught in middle school Tests courses, through Pre-Algebra. Results have shown that the majority of students possess serious gaps in their understandings and skills. About ten students who excelled on the assessment, passed Algebra I in middle school, and earned an advanced or proficient on the 8th Grade Math MCAS were placed into Honors Geometry. ATI-Galilieo 2011 9-12 While these tests are district-wide and misaligned to our curriculum, they have provided some useful data about areas of growth for students in Math and ELA that mirror MCAS item-analysis data. We are working to identify a better alternative for 2015-2016. Woodcock 2011 9-12 Used as required for Students with IEPs, the W-J test has been used to Johnson target specific areas of growth for Students with Disabilities. Results are individualized and are used to inform instruction and plan for interventions and accommodations NOTE: None of these assessments have been discontinued as of 2014-2015

Criterion 6: Program Delivery BGA’s academic program has grown stronger over the course of our first charter and we have successfully addressed feedback on our curriculum and instruction practices. The DESE Year Four Site Visit Report documented major progress in this criterion area and we are continuing to build off of it. Specific progress in the core areas on the Charter School Performance Criteria are documented below:

Curriculum BGA’s curriculum is aligned to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks (MCF) as evidenced by the Year Four site visit review. Now that our middle school has begun, we are working steadily to align our curriculum both horizontally and vertically across grades 6-12. We have several structures in place to

strengthen this work. Specifically, content areas teams meet in departmental retreats each summer to begin planning and revision of the curriculum. With the support of the department facilitators, teachers create curriculum maps and units of study for all courses that are aligned to the MCF and Common Core State Standards. Each unit is grounded in an essential question and a variety of formal and informal assessments that demonstrate student mastery. During the course of the year, teachers submit weekly calendars that outline the daily objective, standard, agenda, and assessment. The curriculum created by teachers is a living document and revisions are made annually to support the needs of all learners through differentiation and inclusive practices.

Instruction BGA’s classroom instruction was found by DESE in Year Four to be engaging and conducive to learning, an assessment with which we agree (and a strong improvement from Year Three when concerns were documented by the Department). We continue to deepen our work in this area and are now working to develop and implement a core set of school wide high-quality instructional practices. Our initial charter provided a starting point based on the successful practices of Fenway High School. We have implemented many of those programmatic initiatives (detailed above), but are working to more clearly define our common approach to teaching and learning. We have partnered with Boston University’s School of Education and Boston Debate League’s Evidence-Based Argumentation Program to work over the summer of 2015 and the following year to identify a core set of research-based BGA-specific practices that we wish to implement school-wide. We will include Universal Design for Learning as part of this conversation so that inclusion support is incorporated.

We believe this is achievable due to our autonomy over scheduling, which allows us to have 2.5 hours of weekly all-school professional development, weekly content and grade-level team meetings, and two additional weeks of all-staff professional development in the summer. Our progress to date has been due to talented teachers working hard to respond to student needs. We now look forward to developing school-wide practices so we can be a high-functioning instructional team.

Assessment and Program Evaluation While we have made progress on statewide summative assessments, BGA acknowledges that systematic assessment at the school level is an area of growth and we have moved to address it. In our first three years BGA relied on teacher-developed formative assessments in class that were difficult to coordinate and share, although there were effective for classroom feedback loops. Starting in Year Four, BGA purchased several assessments (TenMarks, Study Island) to compliment existing ones (Gates McGinitie and Woodcock-Johnson). Content teams have already identified formative assessments for 2015-2016 and we will begin implementing them for Year Five. We are planning to institute data analysis protocols in our weekly grade level meetings and looking at student work protocols in our content team meetings so that we can analyze and respond to data more effectively. We also are exploring a partnership with ANet, a formative assessment provider that has been successful with other BPS middle schools, and researching high school formative assessments that are PARCC-aligned. We are focused on strengthening our work in this area and believe that better and timely formative assessment data will improve teaching and student achievement at BGA.

BGA’s summative system of assessment is stronger than the formatives, but we are still working to improve it. We have held annual content-area Exhibitions since Year One, refining the rubrics and tasks every year. After piloting cross-curricular green exhibitions in Year Four, we plan to change the model for the whole school gradually starting in Year Five, so that all students participate in one major portfolio defense and exhibition each year with a green theme, which we believe is more rigorous and mission-

consistent. We have also had a system of major assessment products within each class and department that increases in complexity by grade level. We are now working to align that horizontally across content areas and vertically to include the middle school.

Finally, BGA does have strong program assessment systems in place that have lead to numerous programmatic adjustments each year. Our talented and engaged faculty has partnered with administrators through our Leadership Team, Teaching & Learning Committee, quarterly retreats, periodic Instructional Rounds (which focused on inclusion strategies in 2014 and debate across the curriculum in 2015), summer professional development, and weekly Faculty Meetings to suggest and implement substantive changes to our program in response to student needs. We have had four bells schedules in four years, all designed to improve upon each other. Our partnerships have evolved to be more targeted. Our professional development has become more teacher-driven and our administrative structure has flattened, all in response to weekly, ongoing reflection about the effectiveness of our program. As we continue to mature as an institution, our programs and routines will stabilize, but our commitment to reflection and desire to improve will continue.

Supports for diverse learners As detailed in the Year Four Site Visit, BGA has done very good work in this area. Given our high enrollment of diverse learners (detailed above), BGA has worked for many years to refine our model for serving at-risk students, ELLs and Students with Disabilities, among other diverse groups. We believe that we have served our students well, but need to continue to support them and improve their outcomes. Specifically, we have created an inclusive continuum of supports for our Students with Disabilities, ranging from substantially separate classes when needed to inclusion courses across the school. As of September 2015, approximately 75% of our teaching staff will be dual certified with content and Special Education licenses and we are moving to increase this even more.

We also offer subject-specific intervention blocks (which replaced our Learning Center model in Year Four) and targeted executive functioning classes. In terms of compliance, BGA underwent our first Coordinated Program Review in Year Three and have been working diligently to craft our corrective action responses in partnership with the Department. DESE staff characterized our CPR performance as promising for a new school and we believe the process has helped us strengthen our work. Moving forward, BGA staff is hard at work defining our inclusion model for the coming years. We have been very responsive to changing enrollment, but we want to become more proactive at defining our program and supports. We have partnered with the Mary Lyon Pilot High School, our neighbor in Brighton that is a full-inclusion program, to share best practices and strengthen our program. Feedback from families, backed up by our strong enrollment numbers, continues to be that BGA is a good place for students with disabilities. We will continue to build upon this strong foundation.

As documented above, our English Language Learners have outperformed every subgroup at BGA and continue to benefit from a strong program. We have worked with the BPS (which is being monitored by the federal Department of Justice) to ensure that all ELLs are scheduled appropriately, received quality services from licensed educators, and have access to a high-quality curriculum in the least restrictive environment. In addition to our strong high school program, we are hiring an additional dedicated middle school ESL teacher fro Year Five and continue to further our implementation of WIDA standards across the curriculum. BGA’s CPR for ELLs was generally positive and we are working with the Department to correct the small number of outstanding issues. We believe we are serving our ELLs well, especially given the challenges of running a lottery-based multi-lingual SEI program, and we will continue to build upon our early success in this area.

Criterion 7: Culture and Family Engagement BGA supports students’ social and emotional health in a safe and respectful learning environment that engages families. As mentioned above, as a trauma-sensitive school we are organized to support the socio-emotional needs of our students. Our robust Student Support Team (three social workers, five interns, a school nurse, and a legion of external partners) provide counseling and support, combined with a school-wide Advisory system, our staff Wellness Council, several BPS itinerant service providers and the partnership with the Boston College School of Social Work, allows us to provide a wide continuum of supports. We also offer a number of affinity groups for Students of Color, young men and women, and LGBTQ students and our engagement programs such as Project Week help build strong staff-student bonds that carry over across the rest of the year. Combined with our physical education and arts programming across the middle and high school, we feel we have established a strong and positive climate for student expression that meets their needs.

Our learning environment has greatly improved, as documented in the Year Four Site Visit, now that we have moved into an adequate facility and have put our turnaround work behind us. As documented earlier, we have cut our suspension rate in half from 2013-14 to 2014-15, and have seen a strong reduction in student incidents within our building (many infractions occur outside). Our Community Field Coordinators, assigned to specific grade levels, ensure that students are consistently meeting our behavior expectations by implementing school-wide safety protocols and proactively engaging with students. Community Field Coordinators sweep the hallways regularly and support our positive school by forging strong relationships with students. Teachers now work together to implement grade-level and school-wide common routines and practices and our middle school opened this year with a very strong set of behavioral expectations. We continue to make progress in this area and are working hard to ensure our conditions for learning remain strong.

BGA has developed strong working relationships with families/guardians to promote and support student success. We employ a variety of strategies in order to communicate events, solicit concerns, and provide a platform for two-way communication. In addition, we have an open door policy where families/guardians are always welcome in our school community. Our initiatives have included monthly Family Council meetings, very regular robo-calls to the entire community, bi-weekly Advisor-Family phone calls, quarterly report card conferences and open house evening events, scheduled family conference during the school day for specific struggling students, progress report meetings, and seasonal cultural events such as the BGA Thanksgiving Dinner and Arts Celebrations. While our school location is far from most of our families, we make great effort to be in touch on a regular and individualized basis to support the social, emotional and academic development of our students.

4. Charter School Performance Criteria Relating to Organizational Viability

Criterion 8: Capacity A. School Leadership We believe that BGA has met the criteria for in this area during our first charter term. BGA’s school leadership structure has remained similar to what was planned in our charter application but has also evolved over time as our school has transitioned from intense turnaround work to long-term sustainability. The Board of Trustees holds our charter and is responsible for implementing our mission and selecting the Headmaster (see Governance section below for details on the Board’s work). In Year

Four the Board has worked collaboratively with the Headmaster and staff to revise our mission statement, a collaborative move towards more clarity for the organization. The Headmaster is responsible for day-to-day operations and decision-making. Over the course of our charter, BGA has had a founding Headmaster (Jeff Liberty, who served for two years), Co-Headmasters (Matt Holzer and Natalie Jaeger, both founding administrators, who shared the role for one year), and now a Headmaster (Matt Holzer). Over this time there has been stability and continuity of vision, as all who have held the role were part of BGA’s original team and both Holzer and Liberty were members of the original Founding Group.

Other administrative roles have shifted over time as the school has grown, and we now have a sustainable and focused structure that should carry us forward (please see org charts included in our Annual Report). The Administrative Team has clear lines of authority and shares supervision of teachers and other BGA employees. DESE’s site visit reports continue to document both satisfaction with administrative performance and confidence by the department in school-based leadership, particularly in light of the improvements between the Year Three and Year Four site visits.

The Board works with the Headmaster to set priorities for each school year based on the mission of the school. The Headmaster then works with the Administrative and Leadership Teams to operationalize them into goals and deliverables. Leadership is also distributed throughout BGA in many ways. BGA’s Leadership Team (LT) plays a vital role in the school, meeting weekly and is composed of teachers from all departments plus the Administrative Team. Its role has expanded to become a crucial decision- making body on a wide range of topics, including discipline and uniform policies, space and facilities assignments, educational policies and programs, working conditions, and other major topics. Teachers also serve as Content Team Facilitators for each academic department, participate on all hiring committees, and serve on the Board of Trustees as voting members. Grade Level Teams, composed of teachers also make cross-curricular decisions. Our Family Council meets monthly and is composed of families from all grade levels, generating proposals for the school leadership and supporting our programs. Two parents also serve on the Board of Trustees. Finally, students now serve on the Board of Trustees as non-voting members, but provide crucial voice and representation for our discussions. These structures created a culture of buy-in, shared accountability for student achievement and school success, and we are a stronger school because of all the voices that contribute.

Taken collectively, BGA’s leadership structure has helped the school successfully navigate many significant challenges during the first charter term, including the turnaround work, challenging co- habitation with another high school, the search for and transition to our new facility, addressing the conditions of probation, launch and expansion of the middle grades program and improving student achievement. We continue to grow and learn, but are proud of how we have together led our community through this work.

B. Professional Climate As we approach the end of our first charter, BGA’s professional climate is vibrant and effective. Teachers are part of decision-making at all levels of the school (Board of Trustees, Leadership Team, content and grade-level teams, middle school expansion), have great agency over the curricular and instructional practices of the school, are part of numerous professional development partnerships (BU School of Education, Boston Debate League, Primary Source, Green partnerships), and participate in extended professional development within the school for 150 hours each year, including two additional weeks in the summer. This added time, possible because of our increased autonomy as a Horace Mann Charter,

allows for regular, frequent collaboration, and professional development to improve implementation of curriculum and instructional practices.

In addition, using Title IIA funds, BGA employs a part-time staff development specialist (a retired veteran teacher from Fenway High School) to support our new teachers and those who need extra support; this is provided in addition to the BPS New Teacher Development program. BGA teachers and staff members also have ways to grow without leaving BGA, including a path for paraprofessionals to become teachers (three have done so already), a path for veteran teachers to become instructional leaders (four now have teacher leadership roles around instruction and professional development), and we are partnering with the Boston University School of Education so that our teachers can have a pathway to obtain administrative certification. All of these have been designed with input from staff regarding how best to help them strengthen their practice so as to serve students well.

BGA uses its autonomy over budget to set competitive salaries that often exceed, but are never less than, the salaries offered by Boston Public Schools. This allows us to attract and retain the best teachers possible and reduce turnover. While BGA did experience significant staff turnover in Years One and Two due to the great demands of turnaround work, staff turnover dropped significantly in Year Three, and in the current Year Four, 54 of 55 staff members offered contracts agreed to return for next year (6 were non-renewed because of budget cuts, reorganization or performance). Finally, BGA has adopted and implemented the Boston Public Schools Teacher and Administrator Evaluations Systems, which use the DESE model rubrics and regulations. This provides a clear and effective means to give feedback and support to improve teacher practice. As a result of these opportunities and evidence, we believe that BGA’s professional climate is strong and valued by all members of our school community.

C. Contractual Relationship with Boston Public Schools BGA has a strong working relationship with the Boston Public Schools, with whom we have a contractual relationship as our host district. We work directly with key departments such as high school network leadership, facilities, transportation, human resources, and the budget office. We also enjoy and appreciate the support of the Superintendent and the School Committee and work together to support each other. BGA was originally asked by the Superintendent to take over a struggling high school in South Boston, even though that was not our original school design. Since accepting that task, and successfully completing it, the BPS has been supportive of BGA by ultimately finding a permanent home for us in Brighton and providing financial and technical assistance at key moments. While there have been challenges in implementation of our shared goals, such as constraints around facilities decisions, the mutual commitment to the success of BGA has not wavered.

BGA has an MOU Type A with the Boston Public Schools that is valid through June 30, 2016, the end of our first charter, and that clearly articulates the working relationship between BGA and the BPS in all required areas. As part of the renewal process, BGA and BPS have met to review and revise this MOU. Both the BGA Board of Trustees and the Boston School Committee will approve it once it is agreed to. Additionally, BGA has a good working relationship with the Boston Teachers Union. As a Horace Mann Charter, BGA staffare BTU members (where eligible) and receive, at a minimum, the same salary and benefits as other BTU members. BGA and the BTU have negotiated in good faith but without agreement regarding the terms of the MOU Type B, which remains in effect as drafted as part of our initial charter application and approval by the Department. BGA will continue to negotiate with the BTU in good faith regarding the MOU-B and collaborate on all issues that arise.

Criterion 9: Governance BGA’s governance structure and performance has become much stronger over the course of our charter. Even before DESE’s decision to place BGA on probation in October 2014, BGA had made changes to our organization to increase accountability and improve compliance. We agreed with the Department’s concerns about our governance and since the probation decision we have worked extremely hard to address them. We were very pleased with the findings of the Year Four Targeted Site visit, specifically the findings that BGA has met or is in the process of meeting all conditions of probation. This experience, while unfortunate, has made us a stronger school. Below is a summary of the actions we have taken to address the probation conditions and to meet the Charter School Performance Criteria for governance:

• As required by probation, the BGA Board of Trustees has completed a self-evaluation with a DESE-approved consultant, all BGA Board members have completed required trainings in Open Meeting law and submitted all required conflict of interest forms, and all Board members have now been approved officially by the Commissioner of Education. The BGA Board and their meetings are now in full compliance with all DESE regulations. • In regards to Finance (see section below), the Board, in conjunction with the Headmaster, has strengthened the Board’s Finance Committee by adding members with financial expertise, improved the review of monthly reports, and met extensively with our new financial services firm to better understand and monitor financial transactions. The Board now executes its fiduciary duties from a much stronger position. • The Board continues to recruit new members with diverse backgrounds, has conducted quarterly meetings with school faculty to be closer to their experiences of the school, and is in regular and timely communication with DESE about all required matters. • The Board complies fully with its own by-laws and has recently reviewed and proposed revisions to them as part of the charter renewal process • In 2014-2015 the Board engaged in a strategic planning process that set goals and priorities for the future of the school (see Future Plans section below) and directed the Headmaster to align resources to this plan • The Board continues to have a strong and close working relationship with the Headmaster, sets annual goals for him, reviews performance, and performs annual self-assessments • The Board continues to have active subcommittees for governance, finance, development and Headmaster support and evaluation that monitor the implementation of the school without micromanaging managerial decisions • As a result of these efforts, DESE’s Year Four Targeted Site Visit Report found that BGA had met the required criteria for Governance

Criterion 10: Finance Finance has been an area of growth for BGA during our first charter term. While significant issues existed during Year Two (notably documented in an adverse audit for FY13), major changes were made in Year Three to our financial staffing that have resulted in a greatly improved year four (FY15). DESE’s probation conditions for finance are clear and we will meet them. BGA’s Headmaster has been in constant communication with the CSO, DESE, BPS and the Board about this matter for almost two years and significant time and energy have been invested in improving this area of operations (the Board and Headmaster made it a major priority). Below is a summary of what BGA has done and is doing to ensure that the school maintains a sound and stable financial condition and operates in a financially sound and

publicly accountable manner:

• Following the adverse FY13 audit, and a thorough internal review of our financial performance and procedures, the Headmaster (with the support of the Board) outsourced our financial management operations to Insource Services, a veteran financial services firm with experience managing Horace Mann charter schools. Starting in summer 2014, Insource worked with BGA, the BPS and DESE to revamp all financial policies and procedures (including the establishment of clear and effective internal controls), move into compliance on all outstanding issues and submitted the FY14 audit and Charter School End of Year Report on time. BGA has been very satisfied with their services and has renewed their contract for FY16. • Through prudent management, the FY15 budget is projected to be balanced and all federal grants will be completely spent within budget and according to their provisions. Cash flow has been positive and sufficient all year and FY16 is projected to be similar. The FY16 budget has already been approved by the Board and aligns to mission and our priorities for increasing student achievement and supporting our middle school expansion. • BGA has established its own 501c3, the Boston Green Academy Foundation, Inc., for the benefit of the school, simplifying our accounting and procedures. The Boston Green Academy Foundation will also begin to build a funding reserve to support the school and to provide a potential cushion for variations in funding. Insource will manage the Foundation’s books to ensure seamless and accurate reporting. • After extensive secondary audits by the CSO and DESE, BGA settled with DESE all outstanding questioned costs for FY13 in April 2015. We appreciate the strong support of the BPS in this matter. BGA has now addressed all findings from the FY13 and FY14 audits and is working hard to ensure that the FY15 audit is clean and without findings as required by our probation conditions and the Charter School Performance Criteria.

We have worked diligently on this issue for the last two years and are pleased that the Department’s Year Four Site Visit documented our progress in this area. At this time, we believe that BGA has partially met the criteria for Organizational Viability: Finance. Once our FY15 audit is complete, we hope to be able to demonstrate that we have fully met the criteria in this very important category.

5. Plans for the Next Five Years BGA’s next five-year charter will build upon the progress of the first five years, but also focus on improving student achievement and solidifying itself as an institution. After clarifying our mission statement through a collaborative process (see proposed charter amendment), our Board engaged in a yearlong strategic planning process during 2014-15 (our first full process of this type) that has set us on a strong path forward. This process involved the Board, staff, partners, students and families, and generated a set of key focal points for 2016-2021. The Board’s vision for the next five years is:

By spring of 2021, Boston Green Academy will have a well-deserved track record of and reputation for academic achievement. It will be a well-resourced 6-12 school at the Taft Building in Brighton with a diverse student body and skilled staff, effective student supports, caring community, and innovative and well-known programming within the green community. The Board’s strategic initiatives to enact this vision include:

1. ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT & INSTRUCTIONAL PHILOSPHY Academic achievement is the top priority for Boston Green Academy. Academic achievement should be measured through grades, student culture around homework, quality of student work in roundtables, academic mindsets, and graduation rates as well as standardized test scores. We are committed to serving a diverse student population and will continue to recruit heavily for students who are struggling academically and provide them with strong social emotional supports.

We have already seen considerable gains in student achievement in our first four years. Our aim from 2016-2021 is to see further academic gains and growth, to have a strong academic culture “set” with our students. We explicitly include special education students in this strategic priority, and we will continue with our philosophy of inclusion wherever possible. Student achievement at BGA will be nested in a community of practice and well-articulated philosophy of instruction. By 2021, the school’s philosophy of instruction will even stronger so that teaching basic skills and critical thinking skills are firmly situated in each teacher’s repertoire, and shared instructional practices help students transition from one classroom to the next.

2. GREEN ECONOMY Boston Green Academy has a well-articulated pathway for the “green curriculum” which by 2021 will be fine-tuned and made more visible in the school building itself and online. It includes skill- building, projects, internships, fieldtrips, and community partnerships. The school has a vision to be the first LEED-EBOM public school building in Boston. We have also begun planning for a green roof that includes a garden, solar panels, and an outdoor classroom. By 2020, this vision will be made more concrete if not fully realized. Plans will be created and approved, and a capital campaign will be launched. As our vision makes clear, BGA will become active in the local, state-wide, and perhaps even national and global eco-justice networks, learning from others and sharing its best practices.

3. BUILD-OUT AND ALIGNMENT OF GRADES 6-12 In September 2016, we will have our first class of 8th graders, and for the first time will have a full complement of grades 6-12 as laid out in our charter. That year, 2016-2017, will be occupied with providing a rich and appropriate program for 8th graders. In the ensuing three years, 2017-2021, we will fine-tune curricular offerings and expectations within each grade, and align offerings vertically, from grades 6 to 12.

4. FACILITIES, OPERATIONS AND INFRASTRUCTURE In school year 2014-2015 we reached our permanent home at the Taft Building in Brighton after three years at the South Boston Educational Complex. We will need all space at the Taft in 2016- 2017 to accommodate our growing student body, so an immediate need is ensuring that Another Course to College (ACC) has approved a new school location by the fall of 2015. Leadership of all facilities, operations and infrastructure issues has fallen on the shoulders of the school’s Headmaster. Moving forward, we need to make some role adjustments so that others can pick up responsibilities in some of these areas. Having a permanent home is essential to growing a workable transportation system for our students, who come from all parts of the city. We also envision growing the sports teams opportunities for BGA youngsters.

5. ORGANIZATIONAL RESOURCES: HUMAN AND FINANCIAL Boston Green Academy has been a magnet for non-profits and companies within the green sector. We will build on that success and identify additional strategic community partnerships and political constituencies. Some people from these organizations may be recruited to join the Board of Trustees, and others will be cultivated as school advocates and long-term program providers.

Financial oversight of a Horace Mann charter school is imperative. We have made great strides this year in establishing better financial practices and oversight. One key need is recruiting to the Board at least two individuals with financial expertise to provide expert oversight in the next twelve (12) months, before June 2016. We have ambitious plans to increase the financial resources available to the school through a mixture of grants, individual contributions, and in-kind contributions. A capital campaign to green the roof of the Taft will be launched.

To complement the Board’s priorities, BGA’s Leadership and Staff have identified the following mission- consistent goals for the next five years, work on which is already underway: • Continue to increase rigor and growth across the school. We do not want to lose momentum around our push to strengthen student outcomes. We will continue to add programmatic supports (including tutoring for increasing numbers of students) and instructional supports that support diverse learners and increase achievement. • Successfully complete the middle school expansion. Now that our original growth plan is underway, it is our priority to complete our expansion in a deliberate way that links to the high school program while also increasing the preparedness of our students when they enter 9th grade. It is our plan to methodically increase the expectations in the high school program so that what is done in 9th grade now is eventually done in 8th grade (including allowing all 8th graders to take Algebra 1, which will eventually allow all 12th graders to take calculus). Similar shifts will take place in literacy, Humanities and Science. • Identify and implement a consistent core of Teaching and Learning practices across the school that can also be differentiated developmentally between middle and high school classrooms. This will include classroom routines, support for inclusion that incorporate Universal Design for Learning practices, common academic terminology, a targeted system of formative assessments, and protocols for data analysis and Response to Intervention (RTI) work. • Align our 6-12 school to best support students and raise expectations. This will include the adoption of new BGA promotion and graduation requirements, some of which will be performance-based. The BGA Future Committee met throughout 2014-2015 and has made recommendations to add to our existing graduation requirements. These include new requirements that high school students pass four Foundations of Literacy classes, three cross- curricular Green Exhibitions, successfully defend a portfolio in 8th and 11th grade, complete a five-week internship, and complete a ten-page position paper. These will be part of a future charter amendment proposal including a multi-year phase-in implementation plan. • Green our building and realize our Green vision. We are excited to build upon the advances in this area. We have especially large plans to green our new facilities, move forward with the green roof and outdoor classrooms, and connect our students to their community so they can alter behaviors and minds on issues of sustainability.

After a first charter term filled with progress and lessons learned, we are excited to continue to build the school we envisioned in our second charter term and beyond.

Renewal Application Certification Statement

Name of School: Boston Green Academy Horace Mann Charter School Location: 20 Warren St., Brighton, MA 02135

I hereby certify that the information submitted in this application for renewal of a public school charter is true to the best of my knowledge and belief; that this application has been approved by the school’s Board of Trustees; and that, if awarded a renewed charter, the school shall continue to be open to all students on a space available basis, and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, age, ancestry, athletic performance, special need, proficiency in the English language or a foreign language, or prior academic achievement. This is a true statement, made under the penalties of perjury.

Signature: Chair of Board of Trustees (or designated signatory authority) Date

Molly V. Schen Print/Type Name:

Title (if designated): Chair, Boston Green Academy Board of Trustees

Date of approval by Board of Trustees:

Horace Mann Renewal Application Certification Statement

Name of Boston Green Academy Horace Mann Charter School School: Location: 20 Warren St., Brighton, MA 02135

School Committee Approval Certification I hereby certify that this application for renewal of a public school charter has received approval from a majority of the school committee in the district in which this Horace Mann charter school is located. This is a true statement, made under the penalties of perjury.

Signature of chair of the school committee ______Date ______Print/type name ______Address ______City ______State ______Zip ______Daytime telephone ______Fax ______

Collective Bargaining Unit Approval Certification I hereby certify that this application for renewal of a public school charter has received approval from a majority vote of the local collective bargaining unit in the district in which this Horace Mann charter school is located. This is a true statement, made under the penalties of perjury.

Signature of president of the local teachers’ union ______Date ______Print/type name ______Address ______City ______State ______Zip ______Daytime telephone ______Fax ______

Appendix A Accountability Plan Performance

Note: BGA’s Accountability Plan was not finalized until September 2014. Earlier draft measures were phased out at the point, resulting in some gaps in data reporting. Years marked ‘NA’ denote when data was not available or was not collected, as reported in previous Annual Reports. Below is data pertaining to the new approved objectives and measures. Faithfulness to Charter

Charter Term Performance (Met/Not Met) Evidence (provide year to year data,

if needed) Year Year Year Year 1 2 3 4 Objective: The school is faithful to its mission, vision and educational philosophy defined in the charter application and any subsequently approved amendments. Measure: By the end of the 2013-2014 This data is derived from the BPS school year and every subsequent year, Student School Climate Survey which 90% of all Boston Green Academy is administered in the Spring of each students will report, via a student survey Parti Parti year. Results are not yet available. designed and administered by the ally ally We are working with BPS to include NA TBD school’s administration and responded to Met Met them here before submission by to st by at least 75% of the student body, that (75%) (73%) DESE by August 1 . they are known well by at least one adult within the school community.

BGA’s first class to be with us all four years graduated in June 2015. Based on BPS data (Leading & Lagging Measure: By June 2015, 90% of twelfth Indicators Report 2011) and BGA grade students who entered the school college enrollment data (2015), 85% Partia in ninth grade in 2011 and who were of 12th graders who started at BGA in lly identified as being at “high risk” of NA NA NA 2011 graduated from BGA and Met dropping out of high school will graduate enrolled in a post-secondary (85%) from BGA and enroll in a post-secondary institution. This is less than the 90% institution for the following fall. target we had set, but very high compared to the predicted outcomes for ‘at-risk’ 9th graders outlined in Parthenon and Balfanz research. Measure: By June 2013, all students will Implementation of BGA’s green annually have at least one off-campus programming was delayed due to our education experience in environmental Parti Turnaround Work in years one and two. Not Not th th stewardship and/or another sector of the ally Met By year three, all 9 and 10 graders had Met Met at least one off-campus green experience, green economy. By June 2014 these Met th th while 11 and 12 graders had pilot experiences will be tracked by students projects that were not universal. In 2014- and the Director of Green Programming. 2015, all BGA students in every grade

level (including our new 6th grade) have participated in at least one off-campus green experience. Each grade has had the following off-campus, green experience:

6th Grade: • Hale Reservation: On 9/24/2014, all 6th grade students visited Hale Reservation in Westwood, MA. Hale Reservation’s mission is to provide educational experiences that foster responsibility, leadership and appreciation for the natural environment. All students participated in outdoor teambuilding activities, nature hikes and a water quality study of the local pond. • Green Building Study: In October, all 6th grade students visited the Community Row house in Brighton to learn about the green building features on the LEED platinum building. • Thompson Island 3-Day Environmental Connections Trip: On June 1st-3rd our entire 6th grade class and teachers will embark on an adventure to Thompson Island in the Boston Harbor Islands. The program combines collaboration and communication skills with hands-on learning in the natural world to create opportunities for success in school, in future careers, and in the community. Students will spend their days exploring and learning about the ecology of the island, as well as working on a service-learning project to help improve the environmental health of the island. 9th Grade: • On 9/25, all 9th grade students visited Hale Reservation in Westwood, MA for teambuilding and outdoor, environmental learning. Hale Reservation’s mission is to provide educational experiences that foster responsibility, leadership and appreciation for the natural environment. • In January, 9th grade SPED science students visited the aquarium to learn about marine ecology and conservation efforts in the Boston area and beyond. 10th Grade: • In May, all 10th grade students will

visit Dudley Square in Roxbury for a Toxic Tour hosted by the organization ACE (Alternatives for Community and Environment). Students will learn about brownfields, visit community gardens, and plan an action project to complete at school. • In January, 10th grade SPED science students visited the aquarium to learn about marine ecology and conservation efforts in the Boston area and beyond. • In March, twenty 10th grade environmental science students visited Vertex Lab to complete an environmental science lab in a world- class laboratory. 11th Grade: • Community Service: All juniors will complete an off-campus community service project through their advisory. • All chemistry students visited Vertex Lab to complete a STEM focused lab in a world-class laboratory. 12th Grade: • Senior Internships: This year BGA will launch its Senior Internship Program, which requires all full-time seniors to complete an internship during Term 4. The internship experience started in September with the implementation of a curriculum taught through advisory designed to teach and refine their job search skills. It will culminate in a six-week, full-time, unpaid internship, designed and organized by the students themselves (with support from the Senior Advisors and staff). The internship is for-credit, graded, and a graduation requirement. The Program is to prepare our students for life after high school by providing them with hands-on work experience and mentoring in a variety of sustainable industries. All: Project Week: All students and staff participate in project week the 2nd week in April. During project week, students are off campus learning from the city of Boston and beyond. Students select from a variety of projects, many with a green focus. These projects include: Green cooking, Boston Bikes, Dominican

Republic Service Learning Trip, Animal Welfare, Boston Harbor Islands, outdoor hiking adventure, sustainable fashion, etc. As part of our required Green Internship Program (piloted in 2013- Measure: By June 2015, each graduating 2014 and fully implemented for all senior will be able to accurately describe seniors in 2014-2015), all seniors and discuss three Green Careers and Not complete an evaluation of green NA NA Met what skills and abilities are needed in Met service opportunities that include the these careers. The evidence of this will measures described. Results of the be in their digital Green Portfolio. Green Internship Project were presented by each senior in June as a condition of passing the internship.

Academic Program Success

Charter Term Performance (Met/Not Met) Evidence (provide year to year data,

if needed) Year Year Year Year 1 2 3 4 Objective: Student performance is strong and demonstrates improvement due to strong classroom practice through data inquiry cycles. BGA uses the new state-mandated Teacher Evaluation Rubric and Measure: As tracked by classroom incorporates the Habits of Mind (and observations of all teaching staff other school-wide goals) into the conducted by supervising administrators assessment. 97% (30/31) of BGA’s at least five times per year, all teachers Parti teaching faculty (exhibited proficiency observed will explicitly address at least NA NA ally Met or above on Standard II: Instruction, 80% of the five BGA Habits of Mind as Met Indicator IIA, which encompasses the described in our school’s charter in their Habits of Mind and other BGA school- each of their classes by the end of the wide practices and expectations. The 2013-14 school year and each Habits of Mind are undergoing subsequent year. revision as detailed in our Charter Renewal Application. In 2014-2015 BGA held 7 large-scale exhibitions in World Languages, Humanities, Math and Science as well Measure: In each of the four as numerous small performance performance assessment content areas, based assessments in individual the number of students performing at Parti classrooms. Based on student-level “Proficient” or “Advanced” levels will NA NA ally Met performance data taken in aggregate increase by 5% points per year until 80% Met for all exhibitions, greater than 80% of of students achieve at the “Proficiency” students passed their exhibitions with or “Advanced” performance levels. at least a proficient grade.

Objective: Increase student attendance in order to support improved student achievement. 2011-2012: 88% 2012-2013: 88% Measure: Boston Green Academy 2013-2014: 87% Not Not Not students will reach an average daily Met 2014-2015: 90% Met Met Met attendance rate of 90%. Improved tracking, engagement and interventions resulted in improved average daily attendance.

Appendix B General Statement of Assurances

This form must be signed by a duly authorized representative of the charter school. An application for renewal will be considered incomplete and will not be accepted if it does not include the Statement of Assurances.

As the authorized representative of the charter school, I hereby certify under the penalties of perjury that the information submitted in this application for renewal of a public school charter for Boston Green Academy Horace Mann Charter School located at 20 Warren St., Brighton, MA 02135 is true to the best of my knowledge and belief; and further, I certify that the school:

1. Will not charge tuition, fees, or other mandatory payments for attendance at the charter school, for participation in required or elective courses, or for mandated services or programs (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 71, § 89(m), and 603 CMR 1.03(3)).

2. Will not charge any public school for the use or replication of any part of their curriculum subject to the prescriptions of any contract between the charter school and any third party provider (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 71, § 89(l)).

3. Will permit parents to enroll their children only voluntarily and not because they must send their children to this school (The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, Title V, Part B, Subpart 1 — Public Charter Schools Section 5210(1)(h)).

4. Will enroll any eligible student who submits a timely and complete application, unless the school receives a greater number of applications than there are spaces for students. If the number of application exceeds the spaces available, the school will hold a lottery in accordance with Massachusetts charter laws and regulations (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 71 § 89(n), and 603 CMR 1.05).

5. Will be open to all students, on a space available basis, and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, age, ancestry, athletic performance, special need, proficiency in the English language or a foreign language, or academic achievement (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 71, § 89(m)).

6. Will be secular in its curriculum, programs, admissions, policies, governance, employment practices, and operation in accordance with the federal and state constitutions and any other relevant provisions of federal and state law.

7. Will comply with the federal Age Discrimination Act of 1975 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

8. Will adhere to all applicable provisions of federal and state law relating to students with disabilities including, but not limited to, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1974, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and chapter 71B of the Massachusetts General Laws.

9. Will adhere to all applicable provisions of federal and state law relating to students who are English language learners including, but not limited to, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974, and chapter 71A of the Massachusetts General Laws.

10. Will comply with all other applicable federal and state law including, but not limited to, the requirement to offer a school nutrition program (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 69, § 1 (c)).

11. Will meet the performance standards and assessment requirements set by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for all students in public schools including, but not limited to, administering the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 71, § 89(v), and 603 CMR 1.04(3)(k)).

12. Will submit an annual report to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on or before the required deadline (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 71 § 89(jj)).

13. Will submit an accountability plan no later than the end of the first year of the school’s charter, establishing specific five year performance objectives as specified in the state regulations (603 CMR 1.04 (3)(l)) and guidelines.

14. Will submit an annual independent audit to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Office of the State Auditor no later than November 1st of every year, as required by the charter school statute (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 71, § 89(jj), or at such other time as designated in 603 CMR 1.08 (3)).

15. Will submit required enrollment data each March to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by the required deadline (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 71, § 89(o), and 603 CMR 1.08(5)).

16. Will meet enrollment projections through demonstration of support for the proposed charter school in the communities from which students would be likely to enroll (603 CMR 1.04(3)(c)).

17. Will operate in compliance with generally accepted government accounting principles (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 71, § 89(jj)).

18. Will maintain financial records to meet the requirements of Mass. Gen. Laws c. 71, § 89 and 603 CMR 1.00.

19. Will participate in the Massachusetts State Teachers’ Retirement System (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 71, § 89(y)).

20. Will employ individuals who either hold an appropriate license to teach in a public school in Massachusetts or who will take and pass the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) within their first year of employment and meet all applicable staff requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 71 § 89(ii), and 603 CMR 1.06(4)).

21. Will provide the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education with written assurance that a criminal background check has been performed, prior to their employment, on all employees of the school who will have unsupervised contact with children (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 71, § 38R, and 603 CMR 1.04(7)(d)).

22. Will obtain and keep current all necessary permits, licenses, and certifications related to fire, health, and safety within the building(s) and on school property (603 CMR 1.04(7)(e), 1.04(7)(f), 1.05(7)(g), and 1.05(7)(h)).

23. Will maintain uninterrupted necessary and appropriate insurance coverage (603 CMR 1.04(7)(h)).

24. Will submit to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education the names, home addresses, and employment and educational histories of proposed new members of the school’s board of trustees for approval prior to their service (603 CMR 1.06(1)(b)).

25. Will ensure that every member of the school’s board of trustees shall meet all training as required by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and any other requirements by other state agencies, including the requirements under the Commonwealth’s open meeting law and conflict of interest law (603 CMR 1.06).

26. Will ensure that all members of the school’s board of trustees file with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the State Ethics Commission, and the city or town clerk where the charter school is located completed financial disclosure forms for the preceding calendar year according to the schedule required by the Office of Charter Schools and School Redesign (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 71, § 89(u)). The disclosure is in addition to the requirements of said chapter 268A and a member of a board of trustees must also comply with the disclosure and other requirements of said chapter 268A.

27. Will recognize, if applicable, an employee organization designated by the authorization cards of 50 percent of its employees in the appropriate bargaining unit as the exclusive representative of all the employees in such unit for the purpose of collective bargaining (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 71, § 89(y)).

28. Will provide the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education with a federal taxpayer identification number issued solely to the charter school and all required information regarding a bank account held solely in the name of the charter school (603 CMR 1.04(8)).

29. Will, in the event the board of trustees intends to procure substantially all educational services for the charter school through a contract with another person or entity, submit such contract for approval by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to provide for any necessary revisions and approval prior to the beginning of the contract period (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 71, § 89(k)(5)).

30. Will notify the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education immediately in writing of any change in circumstances that may have a significant impact on the school’s ability to fulfill its goals or missions as stated in its charter (603 CMR 1.08(11)).

31. Will submit in writing to the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education a request to amend its charter if the school plans to make a change to its operations as defined in 603 CMR 1.10.

Signature: Molly V. Schen

Title: Chair, Boston Green Academy Board of Trustees

Date:

Appendix C Documents

Appendix C must contain documentation of compliance with all building, health, safety, and insurance requirements as well as Department Guidance. If these are not up to date, please provide evidence that you have scheduled the necessary inspections for the fall of 2015. Please attach the following as a part of Appendix C: q Up-to-date Certificate of Occupancy (attached) q Up-to-date Fire Inspection Certificate (attached) q Up-to-date Building Safety Inspection (attached- same as Occupancy Permit) q Up-to-date Health Inspection (attached) q Up-to-date Insurance Certificate(s) (attached)

DATE (MM/DD/YYYY) CERTIFICATE OF LIABILITY INSURANCE 10/16/2014 THIS CERTIFICATE IS ISSUED AS A MATTER OF INFORMATION ONLY AND CONFERS NO RIGHTS UPON THE CERTIFICATE HOLDER. THIS CERTIFICATE DOES NOT AFFIRMATIVELY OR NEGATIVELY AMEND, EXTEND OR ALTER THE COVERAGE AFFORDED BY THE POLICIES BELOW. THIS CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A CONTRACT BETWEEN THE ISSUING INSURER(S), AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OR PRODUCER, AND THE CERTIFICATE HOLDER. IMPORTANT: If the certificate holder is an ADDITIONAL INSURED, the policy(ies) must be endorsed. If SUBROGATION IS WAIVED, subject to the terms and conditions of the policy, certain policies may require an endorsement. A statement on this certificate does not confer rights to the certificate holder in lieu of such endorsement(s). PRODUCER CONTACT NAME: John Avilla PHONE FAX Cabot Risk Strategies, LLC (A/C, No, Ext): (800)222-5963 (A/C, No): (781)376-9907 E-MAIL 15 Cabot Road ADDRESS: [email protected] INSURER(S) AFFORDING COVERAGE NAIC # Woburn MA 01801 INSURER A :Hanover Ins. Companies 22292 INSURED INSURER B :

Boston Green Academy INSURER C :

Taft Building INSURER D :

20 Warren St. INSURER E :

Brighton MA 02135 INSURER F : COVERAGES CERTIFICATE NUMBER:14-15 GL, UMB REVISION NUMBER: THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THE POLICIES OF INSURANCE LISTED BELOW HAVE BEEN ISSUED TO THE INSURED NAMED ABOVE FOR THE POLICY PERIOD INDICATED. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY REQUIREMENT, TERM OR CONDITION OF ANY CONTRACT OR OTHER DOCUMENT WITH RESPECT TO WHICH THIS CERTIFICATE MAY BE ISSUED OR MAY PERTAIN, THE INSURANCE AFFORDED BY THE POLICIES DESCRIBED HEREIN IS SUBJECT TO ALL THE TERMS, EXCLUSIONS AND CONDITIONS OF SUCH POLICIES. LIMITS SHOWN MAY HAVE BEEN REDUCED BY PAID CLAIMS. INSR ADDL SUBR POLICY EFF POLICY EXP LTR TYPE OF INSURANCE INSR WVD POLICY NUMBER (MM/DD/YYYY) (MM/DD/YYYY) LIMITS GENERAL LIABILITY EACH OCCURRENCE $ 1,000,000 DAMAGE TO RENTED X COMMERCIAL GENERAL LIABILITY PREMISES (Ea occurrence) $ 500,000 8/5/2014 8/5/2015 A CLAIMS-MADE X OCCUR ZHN924673704 MEDEXP(Anyoneperson) $ 15,000 PERSONAL & ADV INJURY $ 1,000,000 GENERAL AGGREGATE $ 3,000,000 GEN'L AGGREGATE LIMIT APPLIES PER: PRODUCTS - COMP/OP AGG $ Included PRO- $ X POLICY JECT LOC AUTOMOBILE LIABILITY COMBINED SINGLE LIMIT (Ea accident) $ ANY AUTO BODILY INJURY (Per person) $ ALL OWNED SCHEDULED BODILY INJURY (Per accident) $ AUTOS AUTOS NON-OWNED PROPERTY DAMAGE $ HIRED AUTOS AUTOS (Per accident) $

X UMBRELLA LIAB OCCUR EACH OCCURRENCE $ 2,000,000 A EXCESS LIAB CLAIMS-MADE AGGREGATE $ 8/5/2014 8/5/2015 DED X RETENTION $ 0 UHN924673904 $ WORKERS COMPENSATION WC STATU- OTH- TORY LIMITS ER AND EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY Y / N ANY PROPRIETOR/PARTNER/EXECUTIVE E.L. EACH ACCIDENT $ OFFICER/MEMBER EXCLUDED? N / A (Mandatory in NH) E.L. DISEASE - EA EMPLOYEE $ If yes, describe under DESCRIPTION OF OPERATIONS below E.L. DISEASE - POLICY LIMIT $

DESCRIPTION OF OPERATIONS / LOCATIONS / VEHICLES (Attach ACORD 101, Additional Remarks Schedule, if more space is required)

CERTIFICATE HOLDER CANCELLATION

SHOULD ANY OF THE ABOVE DESCRIBED POLICIES BE CANCELLED BEFORE THE EXPIRATION DATE THEREOF, NOTICE WILL BE DELIVERED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE POLICY PROVISIONS.

AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE

Appendix D Additional Information

Board of Trustees Turnover Using the Board of Trustees Turnover table below list the number of board members joining and leaving the board in each school year of the current charter period.

School Year Total Membership Members Joining Members Departing

2011-2012 13 (Original 13 0 Membership)

2012-2013 11 0 2 (Crystal Johnson, Jim Hunt)

12 5 (Mark Rooney, 4 (Larry Myatt, Alicia Sarah Ottow, Mike Scott, Anna Golden, 2013-2014 Gatanio, Matthew Denise Cohen) Johnston, Shameka Nurse)

2014-2015 13 2 (Brian Swett & 1 (Richard Johnston) Martha Pierce) *Add rows as necessary

Appendix E Application Content Checklist

The completed Application should present the required information in the following order: q Cover page labeled “Application for Renewal of a Public School Charter” that lists the following information: q School name ✔ q School address ✔ q School contact information: name, title, telephone, and email address ✔ q Date of Application approval by the school’s board of trustees q Application submission date q Cover letter (optional) ✔ q Table of contents listing all major sections and appendices q Introduction to school (Table) ✔ q Performance and plans section (not to exceed 25 pages) ✔ q Faithfulness to Charter ✔ q Criterion 1: Mission and Key Design Elements ✔ q Criterion 4: Dissemination ✔ q Academic Program Success ✔ q Criterion 5: Student Performance ✔ q Criterion 6: Program Delivery ✔ q Criterion 7: Culture and Family Engagement ✔ q Organizational Viability ✔ q Criterion 8: Capacity ✔ q Criterion 9: Governance ✔ q Criterion 10: Finance ✔ q Plans for the Next Five Years ✔ q Appendices ✔ q A. Accountability Plan Performance ✔ q B. Statement of Assurances and Certifications ✔ q Statement of Assurances

q Renewal Application Certification Statement (required of Commonwealth and Horace Mann charters) q Horace Mann Renewal Application Certification Statement (required of Horace Mann charters) q C. Documentation of compliance with all building, health, safety, and insurance requirements: q Up-to-date Certificate of Occupancy ✔ q Up-to-date Fire Inspection Certificate ✔ q Up-to-date Building Safety Inspection ✔ q Up-to-date Flammable compounds and Liquids Certificate (if applicable) N/A q Up-to-date Health Inspection ✔ q Up-to-date Insurance Certificate(s) ✔ q Asbestos Inspection and Management Plan (if applicable) N/A q Lead Paint Inspection (if applicable) N/A q D. Additional Information, as required in these Guidelines q Board of trustees turnover ✔