What is a Partnership Agreement?
A Partnership Agreement is an intervention the Recovery School District (RSD) may utilize to turnaround one or
more failing schools that are eligible for transfer to the Recovery School District.
Under state law (La. R.S.17:10.5), BESE may approve RSD intervention in any school that has been labeled
“academically unacceptable” for four or more years. The RSD may intervene in the failing school by taking over
operation of the school, siting an approved Type 5 charter operator to operate the school, or entering into a
memorandum of understanding with the local school district.
A Partnership Agreement is a memorandum of understanding between the Recovery School District (RSD) and
a local school district that serves to define the relationship between the two parties in regard to the
governance, operation, and oversight of a failing school within the local school district. Under a Partnership
Agreement, the school district may retain control of one or more schools that are eligible to be transferred to
the Recovery School District in exchange for complying with certain conditions or requirements outlined in the
Partnership Agreement. The Partnership Agreement may require the local school board to meet specific
academic benchmarks or take certain actions to improve the failing schools throughout the term of the
agreement.
The Caddo Transformation Partnership Agreement
Below you will find an outline of the vision, terms, and requirements of the Caddo Transformation Partnership
Agreement—an agreement between the RSD and the Caddo Parish School Board to transform failing schools in
Caddo Parish. The actual Caddo Transformation Partnership Agreement will be a more formal memorandum of
understanding document.
Values
The Values used to govern this plan were predetermined in conjunction with the Recovery School District,
Caddo Parish School District staff and Caddo Parish School Board:
•
Academic student achievement: Improving student achievement is the highest priority of the
transformation plan. All aspects of the transformation plan and all decisions must contribute to the
goal of making substantial, measurable academic gains for students and raising schools out of failing
status.
•
New solutions: In order to serve students well, we will create and apply new, innovative solutions to
the old problems that have been plaguing the Caddo Parish school system for years.
•
Respect for communities and families: We will implement the transformation plan in a way that honors
and respects communities and families through transparent and open communication.
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•
Urgency: Incremental change is inadequate to produce the substantial gains in student academic
achievement that our students deserve. We will create solutions that are time-bound and implement
every aspect of the transformation plan with urgency.
Term
The agreement will begin in December 2013 and will expire in December 2015, with a possible extension until
December 2016. Upon the expiration of the agreement, the RSD will make a recommendation to BESE for the
operation of the schools for the following school year.
Academic Goal
All failing Caddo Schools (schools with an “F” letter grade) will earn 2015 School Performance Scores of 50.0 or
higher (“D” or better letter grades).
District Closures and Consolidations

Newton Smith 6th Grade Center will be closed at the conclusion of the 2013-14 school year.

Linear Leadership Academy will be closed at the conclusion of the 2013-14 school year.
Developing System Change to accommodate reform in the lowest performing schools
The Louisiana Recovery School district in collaboration with the Caddo Parish School Board recognizes that the
need for system-wide reform is necessary, so the Recovery School District requires that CPSB engages
contractually with a service provider that has proven success working with traditional school districts to turn
around their lowest performing schools. This third-party service provider will be responsible for assessing the
needs of all failing schools in the district and recommending changes for reorganizing and developing the
central office to be able to implement recommended change.
The third-party service provider will be responsible for recommending a design for the central office that
supports autonomous schools and turns around the lowest performing schools academically. At a minimum, all
of Caddo’s failing (AUS) non-alternative schools will be supported by the work of this organization. The work
may include but is not limited to: talent development, financial planning and sustainability, organizational
redesign, school culture/curriculum assessment and redefinition, and central office capacity building. The
third-party service provider should be a proven provider of services for districts similar to Caddo Parish and
have data-driven results of turning schools around in Louisiana.
The Caddo Parish School Board will hold the third-party service provider accountable for producing improved
student academic achievement outcomes and complying with federal and state law and policy. The Caddo
Parish School Board will authorize the Caddo Parish Superintendent to carry out all school-level actions
recommended by the third-party service provider without out requiring board approval. These school-level
actions include changes related to school budgets, school personnel, school programming, and school
curriculum.
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Selection of the third-party service provider and the final contract between CPSB and the third-party service
provider is subject to RSD approval.
Creating an organization-wide focus on talent
Great people drive better outcomes for students. Therefore, the RSD supports CPSB’s mission of recruiting the
best new teachers and principals to schools and retain those that are the most effective with students. The
most highly effective educators should be retained, empowered and rewarded for driving student
achievement. Those individuals who are low-performing, despite support, who fail to meet expectations
should be replaced.
The Recovery School District recommends (but does not require) the Caddo Parish School Board to consider
partnering with alternative certification teacher pipeline programs that work to support the recruitment,
retention and development of the best educators and school leaders and create a supply of new, capable talent
that will serve to diversify and expand the district’s current talent pool.
All positions at the following schools will be vacated at the conclusion of the 2013-14 school year and filled for
the 2014-15 school year through interviews of new applicants, and where appropriate, rehiring of former staff.

Atkins Technology Elementary School

Midway Professional Development Center

Woodlawn Leadership Academy

Fair Park College Preparatory Academy
Developing School Level Reforms to meet the needs of students
The following describes the requirements that Caddo Parish School District will be responsible for
implementing in RSD-eligible schools:
Linear Leadership Academy

Linear Leadership Academy will close at the conclusion of the 2013-14 school year, contingent upon the
Caddo Parish School Board presenting, for approval by the RSD, a plan for reopening the school in the
2016-17 school year by February 1, 2014.

The plan should detail the specific steps the Caddo Parish School Board will take to prepare and
improve the school in order to begin operation as an open-enrollment, autonomous school for the
2016-17 school year.

The building may be used for district purposes prior to reopening as a school, but use of the building
and/or any changes in the plan for Linear Leadership Academy must be approved by the Recovery
School District.
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
The school will still be considered to be under the jurisdiction of the RSD for the 2014-15 and 2015-16
school years. At the expiration of the agreement, the Recovery School District will recommend to BESE
whether the school should be returned to Caddo Parish School Board, based on whether the school
board has accomplished the plan approved by the RSD for the school.
AUS 4 Schools
For Atkins Technology Elementary School, Midway Professional Development Center, Woodlawn Leadership
Academy, and Fair Park College Preparatory Academy, the school board will implement one of the following
options for each school:

Option 1 - CPSB will contract with a management organization to operate the school for the 2014-15
and 2015-16 school years.
o Selection of the management organization and the final contract between CPSB and the
management organization is subject to RSD approval.
o
o

At a minimum, CPSB will permit the management organization to have autonomy in the areas
of:

curriculum, including selection and purchase of instructional materials;

school programs, including extracurricular activities;

provision of student special education services for students enrolled at the school with
IEPs;

management of programs or initiatives designated for the school funded through state,
federal, or local grants held by the school board; and

expenditure of funds and school-based budgeting. Caddo Parish School Board will
allocate an amount of funds to the management organization for the operation of the
school at a level equal to or greater than the per-pupil amount for each student
attending the school, minus the actual cost of any services provided by the district to
the school.
CPSB will provide necessary student services to the school, and all staff and faculty of the
school will remain employees of CPSB.
Option 2 - The Caddo Parish School Board will contract with a service provider for the 2014-15 and
2015-16 school years to support the school leader in the design and implementation of strategies to
address, at a minimum:
o
Human Capital Investment
o
Time on Task
o
Tutoring/Small Group Instruction
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
o
Data Driven Instruction; and
o
Culture of High Expectations
o
Selection of the service provider and the final contract between CPSB and the service provider
is subject to RSD approval.
CPSB will reconfigure the grades and programming at Woodlawn Leadership Academy and Fair Park
College Preparatory Academy to create Career and Technology Education (CTE) High Schools serving
grades 9-12. The high schools will have district-wide open enrollment similar to Caddo Career and
Technology Center.
Other Failing Schools
The following describes the requirements that Caddo Parish School District will be responsible for
implementing in all AUS 1-3 schools. These schools include:

Caddo Middle Career Technology

Lakeshore Elementary School

Mooretown Elementary Professional Development Center

Queensboro Elementary School

Werner Park Elementary

Westwood Elementary School
The Caddo Parish School Board will contract with a service provider for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years
to support the school leader in the design and implementation of strategies to address, at a minimum:

Human Capital Investment

Time on Task

Tutoring/Small Group Instruction

Data Driven Instruction; and

Culture of High Expectations
Selection of the service provider and the final contract between CPSB and the service provider is subject to RSD
approval.
Accountability
For any Caddo schools that are AUS 4+ during the term of the agreement, any school closures, site code
changes, or grade reconfigurations must be approved by the RSD.
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
Unless otherwise approved by the RSD, all requests for closures and grade configuration changes made
to LDE for the 2014-15 school year will align with the changes specified above.

All other schools specified in this agreement will retain their current site codes, unless otherwise
approved by the RSD.
Oversight
Throughout the term of the agreement, Caddo Parish School Board will provide the RSD with progress updates
as follows:

Caddo Parish School Board will submit quarterly written reports to the RSD outlining the
implementation and progress toward achieving each of the goals and required actions specified in the
agreement.

The RSD and Caddo Parish school officials will meet quarterly to review the quarterly report, review
progress, and discuss other issues relevant to the agreement.

Caddo Parish School Board will share benchmark assessment data with the RSD for each of the schools
specified in the agreement.

Any other progress tracking or oversight activities agreed to by CPSB and the RSD.
The agreement will expire in December 2015, with a possible extension until December 2016. Upon the
expiration of the agreement, the RSD will make a recommendation to BESE for the operation of the schools for
the following school year.


In December 2015 the RSD will:
o
Release from the agreement any schools that have earned a 2015 School Performance Score of
50.0 or higher (a “D” or better Letter Grade). These schools will not be eligible for transfer to
the RSD for the 2016-17 school year.
o
Determine whether to extend the agreement for any schools that have not earned a 2015 SPS
of 50.0 or higher (a “D” or better letter grade).
At the expiration of the agreement, the RSD will have the option to transfer to the RSD any school in
Caddo that is labeled AUS 4+.
Summary
Collaboratively, the Louisiana Recovery School District and the Caddo Parish School Board have provided the
roadmap and accountability structure for bringing dramatic academic improvements to the highest need
schools in Caddo Parish. If all the components of this plan—which address organizational talent, school level
reforms and district level reforms—are implemented with fidelity and urgency, student academic achievement
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will improve substantially, and the number of Academically Unacceptable Schools in Caddo Parish will be
reduced rapidly.
Important dates and next steps

November 19, 2013 – Deadline for Agreement to be approved and signed by Caddo Parish School
Board

December 3/4, 2013 – BESE considers approval of the Agreement

July 2014 - June 2015 – First full school year that the third party management organization(s) and
service providers provide services for the schools specified in the agreement.

July 2015 – June 2016 – Second full school year that the third party management organization(s) and
service providers provide services for the schools specified in the agreement.

October 2017 – School Performance Scores (SPSs) based on the 2014-15 school year are released.

December 2017 – RSD makes recommendation to BESE regarding the failing schools under the
Agreement (continue under a revised Agreement, transfer to the RSD, return to operation of the local
school board).
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