“MR. MAYOR: STEAL THIS PLAN!”
NYC CHARTER SCHOOL CENTER REVEALS SEVEN WAYS NYC’S “RENEWAL SCHOOLS” CAN LEARN FROM WHAT WORKS IN SUCCESSFUL CHARTER SCHOOLS
(November 12, 2014, New York, NY) – The de Blasio Administration should turn to New York City’s high performing charter schools for ideas for improving the city’s 94 lowest performing schools, according to a new report the New York City Charter School Center released today. In Steal This Plan: Seven Ways NYC’s “Renewal Schools” Can Learn From Great Public Charter Schools, the Charter Center details successful strategies public charters have employed to produce more positive results with some of the city’s most disadvantaged students. Some of these tactics include freeing up principals to make staffing and instructional decisions, lengthening the school day in a meaningful way and connecting with parents more frequently.
A copy of the report can be found here.
“The best answers to pressing questions are often hiding in plain sight, and that’s certainly true in this case,” said James Merriman, CEO, New York City Charter School Center. “Each one of the strategies outlined in this paper have factored into the success rate of many of the city’s highest-performing public charter schools. Our goal in releasing this report is to encourage the administration to help us fulfill the promise of public charters and disseminate what we know is working and applying those ideas to the larger system.”
Among the strategies the Charter Center proposes the City “steal” include:
Freeing Up Principals
- What NYC DOE plans to do: Let principals focus more on instruction. Replace ineffective leaders if supports fail.
- What great charter schools do: Let principals focus full-time on instruction. Replace ineffective principals.
Extended Instructional Time
- What NYC DOE plans to do: Extend the school day by one hour. Add academic summer programs.
- What great charter schools do: Extend the school day by up to three hours. Extend the school year to begin in August. Ensure consistent quality of instruction across extended schedule.
- Fixed Deadlines and Specific Metrics for AccountabilityWhat NYC DOE plans to do: Give struggling schools a three-year window to show unspecified improvement or be closed.
- What great charter schools do: Meet academic goals or be closed, according to a fixed term (often 3 years for a struggling school). Work toward clear metrics with explicit timelines.
Team Technique
- What great charter schools do: Make time for team planning during the summer and throughout the year. Share technical materials team-wide.
- What NYC DOE can do: Bargain with union to bring teachers back to school before Labor Day and ease restrictions on lesson plan collection and video sharing.
Frequent and Rapid Feedback
- What great charter schools do: Let leaders give teachers constant observations, feedback and opportunities for deliberate practice.
- What NYC DOE can do: Bargain with union to extend planning time, allow faster informal observations and reduce paperwork requirements.
Selective Staffing
- What great charter schools do: Give school leaders full authority over teacher hiring and removal.
- What NYC DOE can do: Support principals’ requests for personnel changes, with buyouts if necessary. Do not encourage and reward teacher retention for its own sake.
Maximize Parent Involvement in Academics
- What great charter schools do: Involve parents in academics and respond quickly to their questions.
- What NYC DOE can do: Create a culture of urgency and academic focus that extends to teachers’ partnerships with every family.
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About the New York City Charter School Center
The New York City Charter School Center is an independent non-profit committed to fostering an environment in which public charters can open and flourish, and, through their innovative approaches, provide models for improving all public schools. The Charter Center helps new charter schools get started, supports existing schools, and engages the charter school community around key issues. Learn more about the New York City Charter School Center at www.nyccharterschools.org.
