PROPOSAL TRANSMITTAL AND SUMMARY FORM 1 OF 9 PROPOSAL SUMMARY AND TRANSMITTAL FORM Proposed School Information Charter School Name: Legacy Academy Charter School for Innovation and Social Progress Education Corp. Name: NONE Proposal Education Corp. Status: NONE Standard New School Proposal Type: School District (or NYC CSD 27 Opening Date: Sept. 9.2019 CSD): Proposed Grades and Proposed Affiliations (if any) Enrollment Charter Charter Management Grades Enrollment NONE Year Company (“CMO”): Year 1 9 108 CMO Public Contact Info NONE Year 2 9-10 216 (Name, Phone): Year 3 9-11 324 Partner Organization: NONE Year 4 9-12 432 Partner Public Contact NONE Year 5 9-12 432 Info (Name, Phone): Lead Applicant Contact Information First Lead Applicant Regina Glover Johnson Name: ☐ ☐ Education Corp./Charter Schoo Applicant is a: ⬛Teacher ⬛School Administrator ⬛ District Resident Parent yes Legacy Academy Charter School for Innovation and Social Progress Organization Name: Applicant Mailing Address: , New York 11691 Primary Secondary Email: Phone #: Phone #: Second Lead Applicant Name: Kendra Barnes ☐ ⬛ School ☐ D istric t Applicant is a: ⬛ Teacher ☐ Education Corp./Charter School Parent Administrator Resident Organization Name: Legacy Academy Charter School of Innovation and Social Progress Applicant Mailing Address: Brooklyn New York 11237 Primary Secondary Email: Phone #: Phone #: List additional lead applicants in the “Other” ⬛n/a Not ☐ A d d itio n a l A p p lic a n ts L iste d in “O th e r” section. Applicable Legacy Academy Charter School of Innovation and Social Progress Response-R-00A-Page 1 PROPOSAL TRANSMITTAL AND SUMMARY FORM 2 OF 9 Media/Public Contact Information (required) rjohnson@ourlegacy Name: Regina Glover Johnson Phone #: 2523143842 Email: academy.org Lead Applicant Signature Regina Glover Johnson Signature: Date: 06-25-2018 By signing this Proposal Transmittal Form, the Lead Applicant certifies that the information contained in this proposal to establish a charter school pursuant to the New York Charter Schools Act with the State University of New York Board of Trustees is true and accurate to the best of his or her knowledge. Program Design MISSION STATEMENT Legacy Academy is dedicated to cultivating a thriving, self-sustaining Far Rockaway by empowering our youth to be current and future leaders. To this end, the mission of Legacy Academy is to graduate each student with the critical thinking abilities, social skills, and civic experience necessary to lead the progression of their community. KEY DESIGN ELEMENTS Key Design Elements Experiential Learning- Experiential learning allows students to learn academic content by engaging in direct application of skills, theories and models. Throughout the year, teachers create 3-8 week project plans that partner with outside organizations, incorporate daily direct instruction and daily project work, have at least one field work event, and bring in guest experts to coach students. SUNY Chancellor Emeritus Nancy Zimpher has stated that experiential learning opportunities have “proven to increase student engagement and success during college and result in a higher rate of job placement following graduation.” Because SUNY universities are also offering applied learning experiences to their students, we agree that this format is “truly college and career preparation at their very best."1 ○ Project Based Learning- PBL is a systematic teaching method that engages students in learning essential knowledge and life-enhancing skills through a student-centered inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed tasks and products.2 This is the primary vehicle which will provide our students access to experiential learning opportunities. PBL has been linked to increased high school student 1 Zimpher N. (2015, May 6). Experiential/applied learning plan. Retrieved from https://www.suny.edu/suny-news/press- releases/may-2015/5-6-15-applied-learning/ 2 Grahame, S. D. (2011). pp.95. Science education in a rapidly changing world. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers. Legacy Academy Charter School of Innovation and Social Progress Response-R-00A-Page 2 PROPOSAL TRANSMITTAL AND SUMMARY FORM 3 OF 9 interest and engagement and shown to have a positive effect on daily attendance for economically disadvantaged students.3 Projects are collaboratively created with students so they may design work that is meaningful to them and a product that will address needs and concerns of the larger community. Our classrooms serve as workshops to gain knowledge and practice the skills needed to complete these projects. ○ Career Connection- Through experiential STEM studies, projects, internships, and immersions, students are introduced to and interact with high-skill careers. When students are given access and experience with possible career outcomes and passions, students may associate this experience with perceptions of education usefulness4, which is then associated with a higher value on academic work, which was then associated with higher GPAs5. ■ Immersion - Immersion week presses pause on regular academic programming and offers a meaningfully designed opportunity for students to intensely explore new and exciting topics or delve even deeper into subjects in which they already have great interest. Immersion week is devoted exclusively to diving into a subject of passion, which can be as common as NYC sightseeing and baking or as uncommon as trapeze and clay doll making. ■ Internships- Internships are another form of immersion, but instead of pursuing a passion with a teacher, students work with a local professional to immerse themselves in the workplace and have an authentic context in which to use skills learned in school. Students start full day internships in the Spring semester for two weeks, growing to six weeks by 12th grade. By doing projects and collaborating with stakeholders, we will continuously grow our list of partner organizations that students may intern with. Students are also encouraged to forge new pathways by initiating contact with an organization/professional mentor and securing their own internships. During their internship, students complete a capstone project that connects to their academic work and resembles a project a professional would complete. Culturally Relevant Pedagogy- We believe that closing the opportunity and achievement gaps for students of color necessitates culturally responsive practices. Our staffing model, academic plan, and school culture are all meant to counteract the power relations that exist within the broader society. A University of Colorado study found that when “culturally relevant practices are implemented school- wide, they can mitigate historically derived socioeconomic and educational disparities by empowering, rather than repressing the voices of all stakeholders.”6 3 Creghan, C., & Adair-Creghan, K. (2015). The Positive Impact of Project-Based Learning on Attendance of an Economically Disadvantaged Student Population: A Multiyear Study. Interdisciplinary Journal Of Problem-Based Learning, 9(2), 4 Brown, W. T. (2001). Temporal orientation, ethnic identity, and perceptions of minority status: Examining ethnicity as a multidimensional construct and its relationship with African American high school students’ academic engagement and performance (Doctoral dissertation, University of Delaware, 2001). Dissertation Abstracts International, 61(12-B), 6697. 5 Brown, W. T., & Jones, J. M. (2004). The Substance of Things Hoped for: A Study of the Future Orientation, Minority Status Perceptions, Academic Engagement, and Academic Performance of Black High School Students. Journal Of Black Psychology, 30(2), 248-273. 6 Mayfield, V. M., & Garrison-Wade, D. (2015). Culturally Responsive Practices as Whole School Reform. Journal Of Instructional Pedagogies, 16 Legacy Academy Charter School of Innovation and Social Progress Response-R-00A-Page 3 PROPOSAL TRANSMITTAL AND SUMMARY FORM 4 OF 9 ○ Focus on Self Identity- Our students are empowered to think creatively, critically, and self- reflectively7. School-wide cultural practices like giving students the responsibility to decide what they will wear and the authority to initiate conflict resolution helps to develop a strong sense of positive self-identity as a person with full agency.8 ○ Culturally Aware Practitioners- Training for adults at Legacy Academy is guided by foundational texts of Paulo Freire and William DuBois, and supported by current ongoing research by scholars such as Chris Emdin and Gloria Ladson-Billings. We will work to eliminate stereotype threats through a school wide cultural practice of emphasizing acceptance and celebration of cultural differences. Our teachers involve students in the development of their curriculum, ensuring that it reflects the culture, experiences, and interests of our students. Our goal is to have a staff that is largely African American and culturally reflective of the student population by leveraging our school’s relationship with Profound Gentlemen9. Through home visits and consistent communication with families, our teachers fully get to know their students and “use the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of our ethnically diverse students as conduits for interacting with them and teaching them more effectively”.10 ○ HBCU Exposure- Students in northern cities have little systematic exposure to the vibrant culture and successful legacy of Historically Black Institutions. Knowing of and visiting places where 10,000+