The Best Practices Initiative: Exploring what works in education in Buffalo and beyond The Best Practices Initiative

explores effective school policies at the local and national levels. This project will create a platform through which educators, elected officials, and policy makers can analyze innovative practices. Parents, community members, and elected officials must look beyond the status quo for solutions in education reform, and by generating awareness around the practices and policies that work, Buffalo ReformED will push for effective solutions, in an effort to improve achievement and educational outcomes for all Buffalo students. We will begin conducting research at the local level, touring public, private, parochial, and charter schools in an effort to identify effective policies in the following areas of focus: attendance, parental involvement, discipline, teacher/administrative evaluations, and professional development. We will expand our research to assess national trends, identifying pilot projects, models, and policies that have been successful in urban districts across the country. The individual school-based reports and national reports will be organized into a compendium, creating a resource for the sharing of relevant strategies and policies.

School Facts 1 Name: King Center Charter School Type of School: Charter School Grades: K-6 Total Enrollment (2010-11): 240 Student Stability (2009-10): 88%
Demographic Factors (2009-10) Eligible for Free Lunch Reduced Price Lunch Limited English Proficient Racial/Ethnic Origin (2009-10) American Indian or Alaska Native Black or African American Hispano or Latino Asian or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander White Multiracial # Of Students 111 14 0 % Of Students 83% 11% 0%

# Of Students 0 129 0 0

% Of Students 0 97% 0 0

3 1

2% 1%

I.
1

Attendance

The New York State School Report Card. Accountability and Overview Report 20092010. February 5, 2011: https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb-rc/2010/c1/AOR2010-140600860814.pdf

Annual Attendance Rate (2009-10): 94%2 Attendance policy overview: King Center ensures high attendance rates by rigorously monitoring data and using it in real time to help keep students on track. Their data use helps prevent high absentee rates by allowing them to target at-risk students early on. Once a student is targeted, the school can implement a variety of interventions, including bringing in the parent or guardian to address attendance issues. The school stresses the development of personal relationships between the teacher, student, and parent/guardian, creating more accountability on the student to attend school, and the parent to encourage attendance. The school makes sure to connect to the community it serves in a variety of ways, utilizing varied forms of communication to reach parents, and employing staff from the community the school serves in order to forge better connections with parents/students.

Guiding Questions: How do you take attendance each day? King Center Charter School uses a database called Power School. Teachers take attendance, and enter the information into the database, which generates a list of absentees. The receptionist then accesses that list, and proceeds to make individual personal calls to absent students homes. It is of importance to note that the receptionist is a woman from the community the school serves who has worked to develop meaningful relationships with the parents at the school. Do you employ attendance teachers? King Center does not employ attendance teachers; it is the administrations belief that when classroom teachers (as opposed to attendance teachers) are involved in attendance matters, it positively enforces the relationship between the teacher and the student/ parent. Do you call parents of absent students in the morning? Yes, the receptionist individually calls parents of absent students in the morning. Given that she has a direct relationship to the community the school serves, parents are generally responsive to her. Do you have strategies to boost attendance? King Center is a data driven school. They compile and use data in real time, tracking students, their attendance, grades, and behavior. They analyze that data frequently,
2

Ibid.

keeping tabs on Early Warning Indicators such as poor grades, low attendance, and behavioral issues, in order to determine if students need special intervention. If students are frequently missing school, administrators will meet with parents. What is your policy on teacher absences? Teachers are allotted a certain number of sick days and personal days. There are no outside substitute teachers used, as the school employs the co-teaching model, meaning there are 2 teachers in each classroom. If one is absent, the co-teacher will run the class. Teachers are expected to work towards the goals of the school, which are achieving college preparedness and ensuring that 75% of all students are proficient in math and writing. Given that buy-in, teachers are expected to consistently attend. II. Parental Involvement

Parental Involvement policy overview: The School builds buy-in from parents by outlining responsibilities and expectations of parents, students, and school staff at the start of the year. The school accepts that given the high concentration of poverty in the community it serves, and challenges facing some parents, such as a lack of transportation, that some parents have more time to dedicate to school affairs than others. King Center reaches out to all parents to become involved, and supports and engages those parents who want to be further involved. Along with a PTO (Parent Teacher Organization), the board of directors reserves 2 seats for parent representatives in order to create a link between the school leadership and the parents. The school is also flexible in its approach to working with parents, specifically with Parent/Teacher conferences. Guiding Questions How would you characterize parental involvement in your school? Every parent at King Center has made an active choice in sending their child to the school. Administrators find the intentionality of that choice to be helpful in empowering parents, and helpful to the school in that the choice is predicated on the parents buy-in of an alternative educational model. Parents are encouraged to volunteer and participate in their childs class, as well as observe classroom activities. How are Parent/Teacher conferences structured? There are 3 sets of parent teacher conferences scheduled each year. Each set of conferences spans two days, allowing for flexibility in scheduling. The conferences have a 97% parent participation rate. If parents are unable to attend during the scheduled time, the school works with the parent to set up an alternative time. This combination of providing options and flexibility increases participation, and appears to suit the needs of parents well.

Do you have a PTA or PTO, or other parent organization? If so, how often does it meet and how active are teachers in it? The School has a PTO group that meets 4 times a year on Saturday mornings. The School also holds a reading enrichment program every Saturday, allowing parents to drop of their children at the program while attending the PTO meeting. Each teacher must participate in at least one meeting, and there is an administrator present at each meeting. What modes of communication are used between the school and parents? How up-to-date are phone and email records for parents? Administrators find that emails are not the best method of communication given that many parents at the school do not have ready email access. The school depends on the building of relationships between teachers, administrators, and parents in order to reach out to parents more effectively. Phone records are constantly updated. The school employs other means of communication such as a quarterly newsletter, automated calls for standard information, and communication via the website. Is the student used as mediator (note sent with student) or is direct communication used more frequently (calling the parent)? Yes, notes to parents are often times sent home with students. Do you employ innovative strategies to increase parental involvement? King Center asks parents to sign a School-Parent Compact stating the schools, parents, and students responsibilities as well as information on dress code, discipline policies, transportation, attendance, dress code, and other formal policies. They also employ a fulltime parent liaison whose role is to build Do you have a website? How frequently is it updated? The website is frequently updated to better meet the needs of parents. Effort is made to ensure it provides relevant information, and is easy to navigate.

III.

Discipline

Suspension rates (2009-10): 9%3 Discipline policy overview: King Center minimizes suspension rates by enforcing established classroom routines to instill good behavioral habits in students. Using volunteer disciplinary coaches, and one on one intervention with the Dean of Students or Principal, the school works to promote positive relationships between students and adults, and offers students opportunities to work through disciplinary issues. By consistently logging and tracking behavioral incidents among students, the School is able to assess trends in disciplinary issues, and intervene with students who need specialized attention. Long-term, out of school suspensions are reserved for very serious infractions. Guiding Questions: Do you have a code of conduct? Yes, the code of conduct applies to behaviors in all settings. It outlines disciplinary infractions relating to short term and long-term suspensions, as well as procedures and due processes for both. Do you utilize any innovative methods in dealing with discipline issues? The school employs behavioral coaches who work one on one with students who need extra attention. All teachers abide by established classroom routines so as to enforce consistent behavioral norms. If a student is having consistent behavior issues, the school meets with the parent(s)/guardian to establish a behavior plan. How do you deal with in-class disruptions? Classroom behavior is managed by established routines that students must follow. These routines are enforced by all staff throughout the school day, and cover guidelines for accessing and returning supplies, entering and exiting the room, hallway conduct, leaving the room for bathroom use, dealing with off task behaviors, classroom management incentives, small group rules, and seatwork. Under these routines, students are expected to walk silently through halls, and use established hand signals for bathroom use. If students engage in off task behavior, teachers stop instruction and address the behavior immediately. If a student is having a conflict, the teacher quickly acknowledges it, and directs the student to a problem-solving box, in which the student writes down their issue, and agrees to discuss it during lunch or free time. Teachers also create weekly incentive charts rewarding good behavior. In promoting positive routines, and guidelines
3

Ibid.

for dealing with disruptions, good behavioral habits are consistently enforced, and disruptions are minimized. Students are pulled out of class to meet with the dean of students for more serious behavioral disruptions. Are any staff members working specifically with discipline or behavioral issues? All teachers and staff abide by set routines addressing discipline and behavior in and out of the classroom. If a student needs to be pulled out of class for a more serious behavioral infraction, he or she is escorted to meet with the dean of students. The visit is logged; the student discusses the behavior with the Dean of Students, and ways to improve for the future. Counseling is offered to all students through a partnership with Catholic Charities, and all special-ed students are eligible for in-school counseling. The school also employs volunteer behavior coaches from a group called Family 25 who have a background in juvenile detention counseling, and are connected to the community the school serves. These coaches supervise lunch, and work with students one on one during the day to deal with behavior or disciplinary issues. Do you utilize detention? Detention is a new policy at the school. Students sit quietly for 25 minutes, and work with teachers on character education for 25 minutes. What is your suspension policy? King Center utilizes two forms of suspension: short term, and long-term. Short-term suspensions refer to in-school removal or out of school removal of a student for disciplinary reasons for 5 or fewer days. Disciplinary actions prompting short-term suspension include attempt to assault a student or staff member, vandalism resulting in minor damage, insubordination, cheating, forgery, failure to complete assignments or comply with sanctions, stealing or gambling, obscene language, threats, harassment etc. Before imposing a short-term suspension, the principal provides notice to inform the student of the charges. If the student denies the charges, an explanation of the evidence against the student is provided. A chance for the student to present testimony is provided. Before imposing suspension, the Director notifies the parents or guardian in writing, through personal delivery, express mail, or telephone within 24 hours. This language used in communication is the dominant one of the parent(s) or guardian. Parent(s) or guardians of the student have a chance to ask questions at an informal hearing; they do have the right to appeal any decision in accordance with the schools process, which includes an appeal to the Board of Trustees.

Are out of school suspensions used frequently? Long-term, or out of school suspensions refer to the removal of a student from school for disciplinary reasons for a period of more than 5 days. Out of school suspensions are used infrequently, and only for serious offenses such as the use or possession of firearms or dangerous objects, assault, vandalism, or criminal behavior such as arson. A suspension is only imposed after a student has been found guilty at a formal suspension hearing. Similar to the process for short-term suspensions, the school informs the student and parents of the charges and then a formal hearing takes place at which the student has a right to be represented by counsel, question witnesses, or present evidence. If the Director initiates the suspension proceeding, he or she personally hears the proceedings and makes a final decision. Director may impose a long-term suspension only after the student has been found guilty at a formal suspension hearing. The parent(s)/guardian and student have a right to appeal. In extreme cases, the Director may expel the student from the school. The school ensures that alternative educational services are provided within 24 hours to child who has been suspended (in or out of school). What is your policy on cell phone usage? Students are not allowed to bring cell phones to school. Parents may, however, request a waiver from the teacher and if granted, cell phones will be given to the teacher at the start of the day, and will be returned to the student at the end of the day. An unauthorized phone will be confiscated, and only the parent(s) may retrieve it. IV. Teacher and Administrative Evaluations

Teacher/Administrative evaluation policy overview: King Centers evaluation policy places importance on the input of teachers, while still adhering to standards outlined by the State Education Department. Their approach involves regular in-class observations, constructive feedback, peer-to-peer support, and Guiding Questions What is your process for evaluating teachers? The School is currently making changes to its evaluation model to align it with the new statewide Teacher Evaluation legislation that mandates the use of students test scores as a part of the evaluation, as well as locally set measures. Using the statewide assessment as an outline, the School is working with teachers to develop a new evaluation method that will include feedback and observations from teachers. Teacher evaluations are

conducted every week at an average of 2 per week. The Director of Instruction

evaluates grades K-3, and the principal evaluates grades 4-6. The teachers then meet with the observers in a private meeting 1-2 days after the evaluation to discuss the results.
What is your process for evaluating administrators? The Board of Directors evaluates administrators. Administrators expressed that one evaluation strategy they would favor would be to set concrete goals, and be evaluated as to whether or not they complete these goals. Do you have a rubric or specific format used for assessment? The Principal and Director of Instruction use a set form to guide the evaluation process. It covers topics such as classroom management, enforcement of established behavioral norms, delivery of curriculum, mastery of key concepts, etc. Are peer evaluations utilized? Peer evaluations are only used Teachers observe one another using the anchor teacher observation form. Final evaluations are done. Do teachers/administrators take part in creating the evaluation system? Yes, teachers and administrators take part in creating the evaluation system. Their feedback and observations are logged and referenced in developing and assessing the evaluation model. How often do you conduct evaluations? The Principal and Director of Instruction evaluate a different sampling of teachers on a weekly basis. Most teachers are formally evaluated upwards of 2 times a year. Who conducts evaluations of teachers? The Director of Instruction and Principal conduct evaluations. What bearing do evaluations have on employment matters such as termination? If a teacher is found to be grossly incompetent, it would result in firing. If a teacher is found to need improvement, they will receive further professional development and coaching.

Do teachers get rewarded for doing a superior job?

If a teacher is found to be doing an excellent job, they are encouraged to share their techniques, given more responsibilities, or a promotion given staffing needs.

V.

Professional Development

Professional Development policy overview: Professional development is a priority for all staff. Weekly professional development opportunities are offered to staff, and all must participate in once monthly half-days of professional development. Teachers are observed on a weekly basis, and consistently receive coaching so as to better assess strengths and weaknesses. Teachers are encouraged to observe, and learn from each other. Guiding Questions: What types of Professional Development opportunities are offered to staff? The Director of Instruction and Executive Director attend workshops and trainings administered through BOCES. They use these trainings as a basis for developing their own training sessions tailored to the needs of staff, and the school as a whole. Is staff required to complete set hours of professional development? Staff is required to participate in a half day of professional development once a month. Professional development is included in mandatory weekly staff meetings. Is professional development targeted at individuals or staff as a whole? Professional development is targeted at the staff as a whole at school-wide staff meetings, but is tailored to individual teachers through weekly classroom observations, and one on one interaction with veteran teachers and the Director of Instruction. Is one on one or peer-to-peer mentoring utilized? The School uses a co-teaching model, meaning there are 2 teachers working together in the same classroom. The lead teacher is designated as the anchor teacher. The anchor teacher is expected to help mentor the co-teacher. Using an Anchor teacher observation form the co-teacher observes the anchor in action, and can better absorb different teaching strategies, as well as communicate with his or her peer about areas of improvement. How do you assess the professional development needs of the staff? The Director of Instruction walks through each classroom on a weekly basis. The Director fills out observation forms that help assess the strengths and weaknesses of the teachers, informing what areas of professional development should be prioritized, and what strategies for improvement should be implemented. The co-teacher evaluation form is also used as a means of assessing the professional development needs of staff.