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Respectfully Submitted to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by
Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School Founding Group:
Jim Donahue, Founding Group, Proposed Executive Director
Cynthia Ahearn, Founding Group, Proposed Principal
Keith Blanchette, Proposed Board Member
Pamela Boisvert, Proposed Board Member
Angela Cheng-Cimini, Proposed Board Member
Emily Dunnack, Founding Group
Debra Friedman, Founding Group
Reed Hillman, Proposed Board Member
Tina Krasnecky, Founding Group
Anne McBride, Founding Group
Richard McGrath, Proposed Board Member
Jasmin Rivas, Proposed Board Member
Alberta Sebolt-George, Proposed Board Member
Christine Tieri, Proposed Board Member
Table of Contents
STATEMENT OF ASSURANCES FOR THE FEDERAL CHARTER SCHOOL PROGRAM GRANT .......................... vii
C
OMMONWEALTH AND
H
ORACE
M
ANN
C
HARTER
A
PPLICANT
I
NFORMATION
S
HEET
This information is included with all submissions. The application, including this form, will be posted on the
Department website. Applicants are advised that the primary contact person may be contacted by the public
and/or media with questions about the proposed school.
Name of Proposed Charter School: Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School
School Address (if known): 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road
School Location (City/Town REQUIRED): Sturbridge, MA
Primary Contact Person: Jim Donahue
Role or relationship of contact person to proposal: President and CEO, Old Sturbridge Village
Address: 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road
City: Sturbridge State: MA Zip: 01566
Daytime Tel: (508) 347-0341
Email: jdonahue@osv.org
1. The proposed school will open in the fall of school year: 2016-2017
School Year
First Year
Grade Levels k-2
Total Student Enrollment
120
Second Year
Third Year
Fourth Year
Fifth Year
Sixth Year
Seventh Year k-3 k-4 k-5 k-6 k-7 k-8
160
200
240
280
320
360
2. Grade span at full enrollment: k-8
3. Total student enrollment when fully expanded: 360
4. Age at entry for kindergarten, if applicable: 5 by September 1
Questions #7-10 are for applications for a Commonwealth charter school ONLY.
7. If applicable, will this proposed Commonwealth school be a regional charter school? Yes
If yes, list the school districts (including regional school districts) in the proposed region. Please only list districts that are included in District Information on Enrollment Projections for New Applications and Expansion i
Amendments at http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/new/?section=app when posted. (Use additional sheets if necessary.)
Brimfield Monson Spencer-East Brookfield Wales
Brookfield Palmer Sturbridge Webster
Dudley-Charlton Quaboag Regional Tantasqua Regional
Holland Southbridge Warren
8. For all proposed Commonwealth charter schools, list the districts that are contiguous with the proposed
school’s district or region. Please only list districts that are included in District Information on Enrollment
Projections for New Applications and Expansion Amendments at http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/new/?section=app when posted. (Use additional sheets if necessary.)
Belchertown Leicester
Douglas North Brookfield
Quabbin Regional
Wachusett Regional
Hampden-Wilbraham Oxford
Ware
9. Will the proposed Commonwealth charter school serve a district where overall student performance on the
MCAS is in the lowest 10 percent, as designated in District Information on Enrollment Projections for New
Applications and Expansion Amendments or in any updated analysis performed by the Department? Yes
10. Will the proposed Commonwealth charter school serve a district or districts in which the 9 percent net
school spending cap is, or could be, exceeded by 2015-2016 applications? No
11. Have members of the applicant group previously submitted a prospectus or final application that did not
result in a charter No
12. Is the applicant group currently the board of trustees of an existing charter school?
No
13. Do members of the applicant group currently operate or are they employed by a private or parochial school?
Yes, Cynthia Ahearn is employed by St. Mary’s Elementary in Worcester, MA
14. Are any members of the applicant group present or past members of a charter school board of trustees,
school committee, or other type of public governing body? Yes
If yes, please indicate the person’s name; the charter school name and school location, or school committee
district; and dates of membership.
James Donahue,
Founder and CEO
Highlander Charter School,
Providence, RI
Spring 2000 - July 2007 ii
Commonwealth Charter School Certification Statement
(Completed In Online Tool and
Original Hard Copy with Signature provided to ESE)
Proposed Charter School Name: Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School
Proposed School Location (City/Town): Sturbridge, MA
I hereby certify that the information submitted in this prospectus/final application is true to the best of my knowledge and belief and that this prospectus/application has been or is being sent to the Superintendent of each of the districts from which we expect to draw students. Further, I understand that, if awarded a charter, the proposed school shall 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. I further understand that the information submitted in this prospectus/application serves as an initial application for startup assistance funding under the federal Charter Schools Program grant. This is a true statement, made under the penalties of perjury.
Signature of
Authorized Person___________________________________________ Date Nov. 3, 2015
Print/Type Name James E. Donahue
Address 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge, MA 01566
Daytime Phone 508-347-0341 Fax 508-347-0377 iii
Statement of Assurances
This form must be signed by a duly authorized representative of the applicant group and submitted with the final application. An application will be considered incomplete and will not be accepted if it
does not include the Statement of Assurances.
As the authorized representative of the applicant group, I hereby certify under the penalties of perjury that the information submitted in this application for a charter for Old Sturbridge Academy Charter
Public School to be located at 1 Old Sturbridge Village Rd., Sturbridge is true to the best of my knowledge and belief; and further, I certify that, if awarded a charter, 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(C)).
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 1.06).
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, 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. iv
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 1.05(1)(i)).
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 1.05
(1)(j)) 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 January 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 1.09 (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 1.09(4)).
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 1.05 (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 1.07).
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
1.05(3)(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 1.05(1)(p), 1.05(3)(g), 1.05(3)(h), and
1.09(6)).
23. Will maintain uninterrupted necessary and appropriate insurance coverage (603 CMR 1.05(3)(j)). v
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 1.05(3)(a)).
25. 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 charter school office (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.
26. 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)).
27. 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 1.05(4)).
28. 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)).
29. 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 1.09(7)).
30. 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 1.11.
Signature ___________________________
Date___________________________________
Affiliation___________________________________________________________ vi
STATEMENT OF ASSURANCES FOR THE FEDERAL CHARTER SCHOOL PROGRAM GRANT
These additional assurances are required to ensure compliance with requirements for the federal
Charter Schools Program grant:
1.
Will annually provide the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education such information as may be required to determine if the charter school is making satisfactory progress toward achieving objectives described in this application (The
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, Title V, Part B, Subpart 1 —
Public Charter Schools Section 5203(b)(3)).
2.
Will cooperate with the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education in evaluating the program described in the application (The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, Title V, Part B, Subpart 1 — Public Charter
Schools Section 5203(b)(3)).
3.
Will provide other information and assurances as the U.S. Secretary of Education and the
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education may require (The Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, Title V, Part B, Subpart 1 — Public Charter
Schools Section 5203(b)(3)).
Signature______________________________________ Date:_______________
Affilation_________________________________________________________ vii
Executive Summary for the Charter School
The Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School (hereinafter “OSACPS”) is the result of an exciting partnership between Old Sturbridge Village (hereinafter “OSV”) and Expeditionary Learning (hereinafter
“EL”) – two proven organizations with strong track records of success in educating hundreds of thousands of students.
On the cusp of celebrating its 70 th anniversary, OSV provides educational experiences to over 60,000 schoolchildren each year. These experiences range in academic depth from self-guided school visits to hands-on classes and workshops to summer programs and internships. OSV educators have been developing programs tied to the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for years. OSV has also served as a professional development resource for teachers from around the state, region, and nationally.
Early in his tenure as President and CEO of OSV, Jim Donahue began hearing from the community that there was a need for a high-quality alternative to the traditional public school – especially for at-risk students and for children who learn differently. Families who could afford to send their children to private day schools were doing so. As the founder and CEO of the Highlander Charter School in
Providence, Rhode Island, Jim always believed that OSV would be the ideal setting for a school. As he discussed the idea with colleagues and members of the community-at-large, a vision emerged for a school that would provide children with rigorous learning experiences rooted in the context of the real world. It would be a school where children of differing learning styles and abilities could find academic success. It would be a school where teachers and students would model the values of OSV: authenticity, integrity, quality, compassion, and kindness. And, most importantly, it would be a school where children at-risk for learning due to poverty, language or learning differences would thrive.
While in Providence, Jim had the opportunity to visit Ron Berger’s classroom in Shutesbury,
Massachusetts and talked with Ron about his work in helping schools to create a “culture of quality” in their classrooms and in the building. In fact, in their conversation, they talked about thinking about student work as if it were going to be displayed in a museum. With that in mind, it was no surprise that
EL was recommended to the museum as a school-design partner. Our shared vision for rigorous teaching, authentic learning experiences, differentiated instruction, teacher efficacy and robust assessment practices would lead us to a ground-breaking partnership.
In identifying the communities to be served by the school, the founding group was first interested in serving students whose schools had been identified as underperforming by the state of Massachusetts
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. We then sought to include nearby and neighboring communities that served a significant population of low-income children – recognizing that the rural poor have not been the focus of charter school founders, who tend to open schools in more urban settings. viii
To these children and their families, Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School will offer a learning environment that is both unique because of its access to OSV and exciting because of the many ways that the museum will be able to support teaching and learning. We want children to rise every morning with the same sense of excitement, passion and wonder as they do on a day when they are preparing to go on a field trip – away from school. The work of Reach Advisors has shown the transformative power of early museum visits among children in their book Life Stages of the Museum Visitor: Building
Engagement Over a Lifetime (Susie Wilkening and James Chung, American Alliance of Museums Press,
May 15, 2009). People who visit museums self-identify as lifelong learners, and children who visit museums are more likely to be museum visitors in the future. Our students will actually grow up at a museum – developing essential habits of scholarship and good character. This will be especially true for students for whom the traditional classroom setting can present learning challenges. In addition, OSA would be the only school in the identified region that is using EL as a school-design model.
We will open with grades k-2. Each grade will include two classrooms, with an enrollment of no more than twenty students per room. Total enrollment in the first year will be 120. The school will accept an incoming class of kindergarten students each year until it reaches its full capacity of 360 students in grades k-8.
Our Principal will serve as the day-to-day instructional leader of the school, supported by Jim Donahue and a plethora of management resources from OSV that includes accounting, finance, human resources, food service, information technology, maintenance, and fund development. We will implement the core practices of EL as we establish the five key dimensions of life in the school: 1) curriculum; 2) instruction;
3) assessment; 4) culture; and 5) character and leadership. Consistent with the belief that a culture that supports positive behavior and helps students develop habits of goodness requires intentionality, we will also employ Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (hereinafter “PBIS”) – again, giving students, teachers and parents a common language and a clear framework. We willensure that our
Principal and teachers have support in integrating the tools provided through PBIS with EL’s framework for teaching and assessing positive behavior through Habits of Scholarship and relational character. The two must blend effectively.
Parents and caregivers will be an essential part of our school community. At the end of the summer, teachers will conduct home visits with each of their students to meet families in a setting that is most comfortable for them as they prepare for the first day of school. Full-school events for families - such as barbecues, potluck dinners, exhibition nights, student-led conferences and other celebrations, will happen at least quarterly. Parents will be welcomed as volunteers in classrooms and in the school. Each
OSACPS family will receive a family membership to OSV at no cost to them or to the school, allowing them to visit the museum for free on weekends and during vacations. In the future, we will work to offer parents adult education opportunities and workforce development resources in partnership with OSV.
OSV will be an extension of the classroom for teachers and students. With a campus of over 200 acres, the museum offers an idyllic setting with hundreds of resources to support learning. Not only will we bring our students into the museum, but we will bring the museum into our school. Resources include a robust Research Library, a greenhouse, a full working farm, a number of gardens, a 300-seat theater, a ix
pottery shop and a kiln, a woodworking studio, and several hiking trails – all situated along the
Quinebaug River.
When students graduate from OSACPS, they will do so as excellent communicators, mathematicians, scientists and historians. They will have clear habits of both scholarship and relational character. They will have discovered other passions and talents as well – whether in woodworking or gardening, music or painting. They will have produced academic work that is “museum quality” and will have engaged in real-world learning at every grade level. They will be able to describe how they learn best and will be able to advocate for the tools they need when they are struggling.
OSV looks forward to OSACPS students returning to the museum after graduation as summer interns while they are in high school and college. After college, some will find their way back to Sturbridge to begin careers at the school or at the museum. Others will also enter careers that they love - fueled by a passion for quality and for lifelong learning. Our graduates will be capable and competent, caring and compassionate. x
I-A MISSION:
Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School will provide k-8 students with rigorous, real world learning experiences in a supportive and nurturing school community, helping all students to become reflective inquisitors, articulate communicators, critical thinkers, and skilled problem solvers.
VISION: Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School, an Expeditionary Learning school working in partnership with Old Sturbridge Village, will be a learning environment that represents all aspects of the diversity spectrum where our students will meet or exceed grade-level expectations in all subject areas.
A culture of quality will permeate the school and our students will graduate with an understanding of how they learn best and how to advocate for the resources they need when they are challenged.
I-B KEY DESIGN ELEMENTS:
While we recognize that there myriad design elements that must be considered when starting a k-8 school, there are three that we feel both distinguish our school and will be critical to our success.
1. OSACPS’ Relationship with Old Sturbridge Village
As one of the nation’s leading living history museums, OSV has been providing educational programs to students, teachers and families for almost 70 years. In 2014, OSV had over 60,000 children participate in a range of programs at the museum — from self-guided tours of OSV, to classes within our museum education program, summer camp and internships. With OSV serving as a partner and the charter management organization, OSACPS will be uniquely positioned to provide enhanced and expanded educational opportunities to our students in grades k-8. That students will learn about history is a given; what is great about the learning context of the museum is that it also offers opportunities for learning in areas including science, math, technology, arts, music, engineering, agriculture, and sustainability.
OSV’s 200-acre campus includes over 40 historic buildings and structures, as well as a working farm, an education center, a Research Library, a greenhouse, a 300-seat theatre, natural waterways and hiking trails. These resources and many others will provide our students with hundreds of opportunities to build a real-world context for their classroom and expeditionary learning. From the first grade - when students will focus on how villages were settled and on the natural habitats found in forests, rivers and ponds - to the fifth grade, when they will explore our country’s transition from an agrarian economy to an industrial one - OSV’s campus offers a safe, supportive and resource-laden context for learning within walking distance of every classroom. We envision that our students and their teachers will have access to all of these resources daily, drawing upon the knowledge of costumed historians to better understand seed germination, water power, or even simple chemistry such as saponification: real world learning experiences in a supportive and nurturing school community. In addition, OSV’s extended day program and summer programs will provide our students with meaningful, educational and fun experiences that will also assist in the development of the whole child.
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Working closely with OSV’s program staff, OSACPS’ faculty and Principal will determine how these resources can best support teaching and learning. There will be opportunities in the museum for individual students, small groups, entire classrooms, and even the whole school. OSV will offer extended learning opportunities after school and during the summer, and there will be a number of programs offered in concert with the museum to families - again, all of whom will receive a complimentary OSV membership.
2. OSACPS’ Relationship with Expeditionary Learning
Our decision to partner with EL was an easy one. One of the objectives of EL’s founder is to grant children an opportunity to connect what they are learning in classrooms to real-world applications through high-quality learning experiences. The core practices of EL will effectively guide the Principal and the faculty as they establish the critical dimensions of the life of the school and support the mission of OSACPS: helping all students to become reflective inquisitors, articulate communicators, critical thinkers, and skilled problem solvers.
EL features a national network of over 160 schools that have demonstrated strong results working with students from all backgrounds, especially students from low-income households, English language learners and students with special learning needs. Founded in the tradition of Outward Bound, EL enhances instructional practices and instills a positive school culture by emphasizing:
• A rigorous and engaging curriculum;
• An active, inquiry-based pedagogy; and
• A school culture that fosters compassion and collaboration.
EL’s approach to teaching and learning aligns with the methods used by OSV educators for decades in school programs such as Reading and Writing About History.
Learning is active: Students are historians, scientists and activists, investigating real community problems and collaborating with peers to develop creative solutions.
Learning is challenging: Students at all levels are pushed to do more than they think they can
do.
Learning is meaningful: Students see the relevance of their learning and are motivated by understanding that learning has purpose.
Learning is public: Through formal structures of presentation, exhibition, critique and data analysis, students and teachers build a shared vision of pathways to achievement.
Learning is collaborative: School leaders, teachers, students and families share rigorous expectations for quality work, achievement, and behavior. Trust, respect, responsibility, and joy in learning permeate the school culture.
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3. OSACPS’ Employment of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
As well as rigorous academics, OSACPS will have clear standards for behavior for all students. OSACPS will be a place where kindness prevails and children treat one another with care, compassion and respect. Rules will be clear and consequences for poor behavior will be both logical and consistent. That said, we believe that our expectations for behavior must not only be made clear, but that we must actively teach students how to meet these expectations. We believe that all students can succeed when a positive school culture is promoted, informative corrective feedback is provided, academic success is maximized, and the use of prosocial skills is acknowledged.
In order to achieve this goal, OSACPS will be organized around a third critical design element that supports our mission by creating a supportive and nurturing school community: Positive Behavioral
Interventions and Supports (hereinafter “PBIS”) - to teach with intention behavioral expectations for students in the same manner as any core curriculum subject. Interventions will be used effectively and strategically. These supports include:
Team-based leadership;
Data-based decision-making;
Continuous monitoring of student behavior;
Regular universal screening; and
Effective on-going professional development.
PBIS is a school-wide system of supports that includes proactive strategies for defining, teaching and supporting appropriate student behaviors to create positive school environments. This dovetails well with EL strategies that include setting class norms in relation to school-wide Habits of Scholarship.
Instead of using a piecemeal approach of individual behavioral management plans, a continuum of positive behavior support for all students within a school will be implemented within each classroom, as well as in non-classroom settings, such as hallways, buses, restrooms, and time spent inside of OSV.
Positive behavior support is an approach to enhance the capacity of schools, families and communities to design effective environments that improve the link between research-validated practices and the environments in which teaching and learning occurs.
School-wide discipline has traditionally focused mainly on reacting to specific student misbehavior by implementing punishment-based strategies including reprimands, loss of privileges, office referrals, suspensions, and expulsions. Research has shown that the implementation of punishment, especially when it is used inconsistently and in the absence of other positive strategies, is ineffective. Therefore introducing, modeling, and reinforcing positive social behavior is an important step in a student’s educational experience. Through the EL framework, students will use restorative questioning when behaviors do break down. Teaching behavioral expectations and rewarding students for following them is a much more positive approach than waiting for misbehavior to occur before responding. The purpose of school-wide PBIS is to establish a climate in which appropriate behavior is the norm. We are
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privileged that a member of our founding group has extensive experience with PBIS and stands ready to lead the faculty in its implementation - blending it effectively with EL.
OSACPS will effectively blend these three key design elements and incorporate a number of practices, including an extended school day of 8:00-3:30 with a total of 963 instructional hours, over a minimum of
185 days as well as community and parent engagement programs throughout the year. OSACPS students will wear uniforms to school, creating a sense of camaraderie among students as well as encouraging self-expression through avenues other than clothes.
Students will meet and exceed MCF standards for academic performance while also being held to standards of behavior and good citizenship. They will be expected to demonstrate these traits on a daily basis and will participate in quarterly conferences with parents and teachers to assess performance and set goals for the future. This unique blend of rigorous academics, experiential learning, and behavior standards will be a new model in educational offerings in the communities to be served.
OSACPS believes that learning occurs best by providing a comprehensive effort to influence the “whole child” by nurturing their academic achievement (intellectual), moral traits (character), and resiliency capacity (spirit) so that children can confront their life challenges. A virtues/values based curriculum infused with volunteerism and community service and focused on excellence, responsibility, wisdom, and respect inspires positive habits, confidence, and leadership. The integration of parent programs to support the socio-emotional needs of the students strengthens their resiliency behaviors and empowers families to promote healthy lifestyles.
OSACPS will model a strong academic, college/career culture by, among other activities, discussing inspiring quotes and character building vocabulary each day at Daybreak and morning meetings.
Practicing social and leadership skills such as proper introduction and handshaking techniques, wearing uniforms, and accepting responsibility for their education will instill positive character traits. In year 5, as the junior high grades join the school, partnerships and field trips to businesses, colleges and universities so students can understand professional settings and their connections to higher education will be provided and encouraged often. Students will be immersed in blended learning in their technology based classrooms with accelerated learning software to develop advanced digital and communication literacy to equip them with the desire to push the boundaries of what they can learn and how they can learn it best.
Student goal setting and project based learning are essential skills that will help deliver rigorous instructional strategies and real world learning experiences and can be adapted to each students’ own learning pace, style, and interests. OSACPS will deliver rigorous academic and character skills and assess academics with formative and summative testing to assess areas such as critical thinking, collaboration, problem solving, initiative, innovation, and creativity through developing higher level thinking skills in reading, through activities and apprenticeships in the village, through math, and through questioning and teaching students how to ask questions. These non-academic goals will be measured through
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student achievement, behavioral issues, faculty observations, faculty, parent, and student surveys, and participation in the Village programs and school related extra-curricular activities.
Vision for the School in Five Years
After five years, OSACPS students will be entering middle school, and our rising seventh graders will be excelling in their key academic areas. They will be reading and writing at or above grade level and will have mastered the skills necessary to succeed in a junior high school level math curriculum. They will be leaders in the school, independently running the weekly Town Meetings, mentoring younger students, and taking an active role in development of their own learning expeditions. They will have discovered and nurtured, through experiences at OSV, hidden talents and new interests in crafts (tin, pottery, blacksmithing, and textiles), music, horticulture, and agriculture. Our rising seventh graders will understand and appreciate what quality means in the work that they create and in the relationships that they forge with their teachers and peers. They will be excited about the prospect of what high school and college have in store for them and will be contemplating possible career paths.
Students who previously struggled with their learning and coursework will know exactly what resources they need to learn successfully and will also know how to be self-advocates when learning is challenging.
While they may recall said struggles, they will also remember many moments during their years at the school when they experienced academic success, personal fulfillment and intellectual excitement.
Parents, family, guardians, and/or caretakers will be active partners in the life of the school. There will be a vibrant Parent Advisory Council that provides regular feedback to the board, the CEO and the
Principal. They will organize annual rituals at OSACPS involving all families as well as mentoring students, volunteering in classrooms and lending expertise to learning expeditions. They will refer prospective families to the school and support new families when they arrive. Through our partnership with OSV, parents will be involved in innovative workforce development and adult education programs that the museum offers in concert with a higher education partner.
Teachers will feel supported by their Principal, the other professionals in the school, and by one another. They will report that they have adequate time to plan, to review and modify curriculum, to review and discuss student work, to study and plan around assessment data, and to continuously improve their teaching practices and methods. Professional development for teachers will be robust.
Teachers will be called upon often by EL and PBIS to facilitate training for new practitioners. OSACPS’s teachers will have developed different expertise in specific methodologies such as Orton-Gillingham and
Wilson Reading. New teachers will find mentors in more tenured faculty and tenured faculty will embrace new challenges as the school grows and develops.
EL will often refer teachers and administrators from other schools to observe best practices in action at
OSACPS. Visitors to OSACPS will comment about the vibrancy of the building and the quality of student work that adorns the walls and glass-enclosed cases. The subtle hum of learning will be heard throughout the building - students will sound and seem very happy.
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Our Board of Trustees will represent a broad range of skills and talents from the community. Parents will be represented - and the Board will be actively informed by the Parent Advisory Council. Policies will be clear and appropriate - and the school will boast a strong track record of financial performance, compliance with state and federal laws and regulations, and strategic decisions around facilities, technology and personnel. Prospective charter leaders will look to OSACPS for models to follow in establishing and managing their schools and creating and sustaining an effective governance structure.
For Old Sturbridge Village, charter school families will be part of the fabric of the museum. They will be able to visit the museum at no charge on weekends and for special events such as gallery openings for new exhibitions, lectures, and other celebrations.
I-C: DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMUNITIES TO BE SERVED
Student Population:
South central Massachusetts is an area with a rich history in both agriculture and manufacturing. In fact,
OSV was founded to interpret our country’s transition from an agrarian economy to one based in manufacturing. As both industries have declined, the region has seen an increase in unemployment and underemployment, and as a result, we are seeing more families living near, at or below the poverty level.
The August 2015 unemployment rates for south central Massachusetts shows that 12 of the 15 towns in the proposed district have unemployment rates higher than the state average of 4.5 % including the towns of Southbridge (7%), Palmer (6.1%), Webster (5.8%), Spencer (5.5%), and Warren (5.5%).
In identifying the specific communities be served by the school, the founding group was first interested in serving students whose schools have been identified as underperforming by the state of
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. We then sought to include nearby and neighboring communities that served a significant population of low-income children - recognizing that the rural poor have not necessarily been the focus of charter school founders who tend to open schools in more urban settings. Seven of the 15 communities included in the district have a higher percentage of low income students than the state average of 39% with the town of Southbridge at
76.3%, Warren at 49.6%, Webster at 57.2%, Spencer at 51.5%, Palmer at 48.9%, Wales at 42.5% and East
Brookfield at 40.1%.
OSACPS will be accessible by lottery to families living in the towns of Brimfield, Brookfield, Charlton,
Dudley, East Brookfield, Holland, Monson, Palmer, Southbridge, Spencer, Sturbridge, Wales, Warren,
West Brookfield, and Webster (hereinafter “the Communities”). We will target our recruitment toward students who are considered at-risk for successful learning. This would include: 1) students living near, at or below the poverty level; 2) students with learning differences; 3) students who are Englishlanguage learners; and 4) students for whom the traditional public school system may be challenging.
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While our communities represent a mix of urban and rural towns, the socioeconomic demographics are similar throughout. OSACPS has a unique opportunity to serve children who fit a typically urban profile, but live in a rural community, providing them with rigorous, real world learning experiences in a supportive and nurturing school community.
Within the Communities, five of the towns (Southbridge, Webster, Spencer, East Brookfield and Palmer) are all identified as underperforming. In addition, the average percentage of students considered to be economically disadvantaged is nearly 28% and, on average, 15% receive special education services.
In determining the degree to which we will receive parental support, staff from OSV met formally and informally with parents from the region. Formal conversations took place with leaders of the Tri-
Community YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, M.O.M.S Clubs, Southbridge Community Connections, YOU Inc.,
Catholic Charities, Grandparents in the Know, South Central Early Intervention, Community Health
Network Association (CHNA5), and Hitchcock Academy, as well as parents of students at local community centers and public libraries. These informational sessions drew audiences from as few as less than a half dozen to over 50 parents at some locations, totaling close to 400 interested community members. As a result of these informal informational sessions, OSV has received over 100 emails and phone inquiries from parents who want to enroll their children. The museum also sent an email to our
6,000 member households, a number of which live in the district, letting them know that the museum was moving forward with an application. In response to the email, we received dozens of phone calls and emails from members in support of the project. Everyone was enthusiastic, and parents immediately asked how and when their children might enroll in the school.
Additionally, and completely by coincidence, the Worcester Telegram and Gazette learned that OSV was contemplating pursuing an application and published both an article about our interest and an editorial expressing support for our involvement in helping to start a charter. While we felt this was premature, it did result in additional support for the application and a number of inquiries from prospective families and teachers. We believe, based on the feedback from these outreach efforts combined with multiple schools in the proposed region that are deemed underperforming, that there is a groundswell of support from families in the sending districts for a charter school here in Sturbridge.
Our research shows that approximately 12,500 eligible students are within the sending region—roughly
50% living in the communities that abut the town of Sturbridge. Our school’s total enrollment of 360 students (40 students per grade with 20 students per classroom) will represent approximately 2.8% of eligible students. Given that OSV has received hundreds of phone calls and email inquiries, we are confident that there will be a more than adequate demand for our school and that we will reach full enrollment by Year 7 as outlined in this application.
OSACPS’ goal is to ensure that every eligible family in the district has any and all information about our program in order for them to make an educated decision about what is in the best interests of their children and family. OSACPS, along with OSV, will develop recruitment collateral, both in English and
Spanish that clearly and succinctly states the school is free and accessible to everyone regardless of
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learning differences, language differences or special needs. We will utilize direct mail, multimedia strategies and hold regular information sessions at OSV as well as throughout the proposed region at town libraries, community centers and local churches. Additionally, recruitment efforts will utilize OSV’s social media presence, including the museum’s Facebook page which has approximately 33,000 followers. OSV has already been in contact with key community leaders to secure their assistance in formal recruitment activities, such as information nights, along with informal recruitment methods (e.g. word of mouth and personal recommendations). Cynthia Ahearn, the proposed school principal, is an educator from Spencer who has over 40 years of experience and access to a network of resources will assist in the recruitment as well. OSV’s website will have a link to an OSACPS microsite that will include all of the school’s information and application materials. In the event that the application is approved,
OSV’s IT department would then create a specific website for OSACPS where students, parents, faculty, and administrators can interact.
We are extremely excited that OSACPS will bring Expeditionary Learning to the region as no other school is using EL in any of the districts that we will serve. We look forward to demonstrating for our peer schools in the region the effectiveness of EL. We will also partner with OSV to create new and innovative educational experiences tied to MCF at the museum that can be accessed by students attending other schools in the region. OSV has the capacity in its education program to assist the school with the dissemination of these programs. We envision that OSACPS will partner with OSV to offer conferences and lectures to which we will invite educators from the communities. OSACPS will work with OSV to secure funding in order to offer these conferences and workshops at no charge to participants.
Curriculum developed by OSACPS for expeditions in OSV will be used as prototype to expand education programs for local schools to utilize in connection with planned field trips.
Selection of this Community and Ability to Serve this Community:
We believe that the capacity created by the critical design elements of access to OSV, EL, along with
PBIS, along with strong family engagement, position the school to successfully serve the students from the communities.
OSV is a familiar place to many families living in the communities we want to serve. More likely than not, parents have brought their children to visit OSV on a weekend or during a vacation. They have probably attended one of our many family-focused special events around the holidays or other special programs throughout the year. Approximately 200 people are employed by OSV during our busiest season, and many local families have relationships to the museum. A number of community and business leaders are involved with OSV as members, board members and Overseers.
OSV has also been providing high-quality education programs to students annually for over 60 years. On average, 60,000 students visit OSV each year, taking part in a variety of educational programs focusing on themes that include civics, math, history, science, and the arts. OSV already serves many of the students within the Communities through our museum education programs. We are fortunate to have long-standing and positive relationships with their districts.
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Again, we recognize that there is substantial need to improve the educational opportunities for the
Communities and strongly believe that a partnership between OSACPS and OSV utilizing EL and PBIS can provide families with a better educational pathway for their children in a supportive and nurturing school community, helping all students to become reflective inquisitors, articulate communicators, critical thinkers, and skilled problem solvers.
We firmly believe that a Commonwealth charter will provide OSACPS the freedom and ability to offer an exciting and unique curriculum in an innovative learning environment that fill an achievement gap that now exists in south central Massachusetts. The Founding Group of OSACPS believe a small k-8 school that provides the needed base of knowledge in ELA and math skills in lower grades along with character development can only be achieved through an expanded school day and year. As a result, OSACPS will operate from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30p.m. Monday through Friday with a two hour Discovery Experience in
OSV on Wednesday afternoon to allow for teacher professional development. Class size will be a maximum of 20 students with a teacher as well as a paraprofessional in every class in grades k-1. For grades 2-8, there will be one teacher per classroom with an aide as needed. These features combined with the academically rigorous expeditions, case studies, projects, fieldwork and service learning that are the foundation of Expeditionary Learning are the reason that OSACPS believes the autonomy offered by a Commonwealth is necessary to be successful. l-D: ENROLLMENT AND RECRUITMENT
OSACPS is proposing opening with small enrollment for the first year of k-2 that will increase one grade every year until we reach our capacity of 360 students in grades k-8 by year 7. Information sessions for enrollment will begin in November 2015 after submittal of the final application in order to recruit applicants for OSACPS’ early March lottery. The expansion shown in the enrollment chart below reflects the founding group’s interest in seeking slow, manageable growth on a yearly basis that allows for focused recruitment in order to achieve the diversity in the student population that we envision. By opening with grades K-2, OSACPS can begin to create a foundation for students to become reflective inquisitors, articulate communicators, critical thinkers, and skilled problem solvers from a young age while maintaining the staffing quality and the ability to revise and build curriculum.
In order to be enrolled in kindergarten, the students must be 5 years of age by September 1st. Any vacant seat will be backfilled in order to maintain our maximum enrollment at every grade level.
OSACPS’ vision is to create a school model that can be replicated by other museums throughout
Massachusetts.
Projected enrollment:
The table below indicates the projected number of students to be enrolled by grade each year for the initial five year term of the charter as well as up to the year of operation when the maximum enrollment will be reached.
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Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Fifth Grade
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7
40 40 40 40 40 40 40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
Sixth Grade
Seventh Grade
40 40
40
40
40
Eighth Grade 40
Total # of Students 120 160 200 240 280 320 360
The OSV Marketing Department will support the school’s staff in recruiting potential students. Their plan will include:
Local Media-Upon final approval, OSACPS will request media coverage of informational sessions for enrollment especially targeting local hometown newspapers (Southbridge News, The Journal
Register, Charlton Villager, Spencer New Leader, Webster Times), local radio stations, local access television, and the OSV Facebook page.
Organizational Outreach- OSACPS has reached out to local organizations that are ready to support our recruitment efforts. Included are Wayside Youth and Family Support Services,
Southbridge Community Connections, KDC South Central Early Intervention, The Latino Business
Association of Webster and Southbridge, Catholic Charities, Webster Community Partnership for
Children, Aspira and Centro Los Americas in Southbridge, Hitchcock Academy in Brimfield.
Community-based Outreach-OSV volunteers are prepared to work throughout the region to assist in spreading information regarding the application process for OSACPS.
Multilingual flyer distribution will take place throughout the region including at Worcester
Community Action Council’s Head Start in Southbridge and Webster, food pantries at Catholic
Charities in Southbridge and Mary, Queen of the Rosary in Spencer, Brookside Terrace, and the
Guild of St Agnes as well as public libraries in all fifteen towns.
Drafts of the OSACPS recruitment and retention plan, enrollment policy, and application for admission are attached as required.
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II-A: OVERVIEW OF PROGRAM DELIVERY
At OSACPS, the core principle underlying our educational philosophy is that all students deserve access to high quality public education that will help them exceed academic standards in every discipline while developing into caring community members. Students learn best when they are valued members of a supportive and nurturing community where each child is known and valued for his or her unique skills and where s/he enjoys meaningful and respectful relationships with adults and other children.
For almost 70 years, OSV has been providing authentic and high-quality hands-on learning experiences for students from elementary through high school. Most of the school group visits are clustered in the months of May and early June. Most school groups have departed from OSV by 1:00 p.m. As a result,
OSV has educational resources that are underutilized for the rest of the school day as well as much of the school year. With the opening of OSACPS, the plethora of site and staff assets will be used to their full potential.
As an EL school, OSACPS will provide an educational environment that fosters achievement, quality, character, and service. As the first EL school in south central Massachusetts, OSACPS will draw on over
20 years of EL success in serving over 160 schools around the country. Upon approval of the charter,
OSACPS will begin working with EL to select, hire, and orient staff. OSACPS will serve as a model for other charter or traditional public schools which seek to provide an innovative, experience-based approach to education. Learning expeditions will anchor the curriculum in meaningful work while providing a coherent framework through which essential standards will be taught (National
Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform, 2004; Udall, Mednick, 2000; Ulichy, 2000; Academy for Education Development, 1995[2]). With regard to state standardized tests, students in EL schools routinely outscore their peers by an average of 13 percentage points in Reading/English language arts and 10 percentage points in Math. This is especially true for low-income students, English language learners and students who receive special education services. A recent study by Mathematica Policy
Research provides evidence that EL middle school students gain an extra 10 months of learning growth in Math and 7 months of extra learning growth in Reading after just three years.
Serving the Needs of South Central Massachusetts Students:
The Communities represent a population that is often not the focus of charter school founders yet it is in need of high quality, alternative education programs. When examined individually, the towns’ populations range from primarily middle-class, white residents to Hispanic and other primarily non-
English speaking populations living at or below the poverty line. For example, Southbridge’s population is approximately 45% Hispanic. Building a diverse school community will provide all students with a broader perspective on their local community and the world as whole. They will understand their needs and those of their peers and will help one another succeed in the classroom and in the wider school community. Students will develop the interpersonal communication and cultural understanding that is necessary for their future success in the workplace and the interconnected, global environment in which we live.
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Integrating EL and PBIS in instruction and school culture provides students with special needs, English
Language Learners, and others at an educational disadvantage with the tools they need to succeed.
OSACPS will participate in a universal free lunch program, if the school meets the enrollment requirements, to provide students with healthy, nutritious meals.
Diverse Learners Supporting Structure
OSACPS believes that all students, regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, family background, race, disability, or state of health can learn. OSACPS will provide an inclusive, relevant and rigorous program to all students including additional special education services to all eligible students in compliance with state and federal regulations, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA), No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504),
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
English Language Learners
OSACPS is committed to serving children with a first language other than English (ELL) and is dedicated to providing English language support services for these students, not only as required by law, but above and beyond that requirement.
Students who are English Language Learners will be identified upon enrollment by a Home Language
Survey that will be given to each family. If a language other than English is identified in the home, the students will be assessed for English proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and listening using the
MODEL test, which is the initial assessment in the World Class Instructional Design and Assessment
(WIDA) consortium. A WIDA classification will be given to the student on a scale from 1 to 6 and an instructional program will be planned and carried out accordingly. Depending on the level of the student’s classification, one or more of the following methods will occur:
Structured English Immersion (SEI): OSACPS staff will instruct students with WIDA classifications of Entering-Developing/Expanding English Language Learners using the SEI approach. This includes a combination of placement in a regular education classroom using sheltered content instructional strategies as well as ELL services by a licensed ELL teacher. All ELL services will take place with either a pull-out or inclusion model. All classroom teachers will be trained in evidence-based, best instructional practices for ELLs and become RETELL/SEI endorsed.
Sheltered Content Instruction: Best practices for all English Language Learners will be evident in the classrooms. These best practices will include scaffolding the instruction, using visuals and hands on activities, modifying assignments, preferential seating, differentiated learning centers,
and the reinforcement of language through a welcoming and safe environment. Each classroom will be rich in literature for all reading levels and all teachers will be trained in RETELL to ensure that the best instructional practices are taking place throughout the curriculum. A licensed ELL teacher will be available as needed for coaching and support for students, staff, and families.
Pull out program: Students who are entering OSACPS with a WIDA classification of
Entering/Emerging English learners would benefit from additional, intensive English language
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development and early literacy instruction by following the WIDA standards and Common Core for 2 to 2.5 hours daily. This will be taught by a certified ELL teacher trained in WIDA as well as reading, writing, and the OSACPS curriculum. WIDA “Can Do” descriptors will be utilized for each student so that the lesson can be differentiated as needed for each child depending on their language classification.
Inclusion/Co-teaching program: Students who are English Language Learners in the Bridging and Reaching categories should stay in the regular education classroom with the benefit of a certified ELL teacher who will co-teach with the classroom teacher during the service time. Both teachers will be trained in the co-teaching model and in the strategies for ELL students and
WIDA instruction. During this time, the ELL teacher may group the ELL students to guide them through a reading or writing lesson using leveled readers as well as making sure they have the academic language and vocabulary needed to understand the classroom lesson. The WIDA “Can
Do” descriptors will be used so the lesson can be differentiated as needed.
Students will be assessed each spring to determine eligibility for exit from the program. If exited, these students will continue to be monitored carefully for 2 years or until the student leaves the school.
Family involvement will be encouraged for all students. Special considerations will be made to engage parents and families with limited English proficiency by using community resources for support and by providing a school environment that is rich in multicultural awareness and acceptance.
Students with Special Needs
If a student arrives at OSACPS with an existing IEP from his/her sending district, then the special education teacher and the classroom teacher will review the documents for implementation. A parent conference will be arranged to discuss the present IEP and services that it requires until it is revised or a re-evaluation takes place. OSACPS will establish a Parent Advisory Council (PAC) as required by M.G.L
603 CMR 28.07 (4) to ensure that all parents are well-informed of their and their child’s rights and are collaborative decision-makers in their child’s educational services.
Special education teachers will be responsible for all students with IEPs. OSACPS will contract with providers for counseling and psychological services; speech, language, occupational, and physical therapy; BCBA; and any other services deemed necessary to meet the needs of the students.
Regular education classrooms will be responsive to all students’ needs using the model of center based learning and flexible, fluid ability groupings which will provide individual support and instruction for students in need. Classroom teachers will work collaboratively with the special education staff as part of this inclusion model.
The Response to Intervention (hereinafter “RTI”) model will be utilized during the intervention block times. RTI is a comprehensive student support program that will systematically monitor and assist struggling students.
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Teacher Assistance Team (hereinafter “TAT”) will be established for students who do not have an existing IEP but who may demonstrate potential support needs. The TAT will typically consist of classroom teachers from various grade levels, the school nurse, a special education teacher, the principal, a counselor, and the reading specialist. Classroom teachers who question a student’s level of performance will submit the student’s name to the TAT leader. A meeting will be scheduled with all staff who interact with the student to discuss their perceptions of the child and the teacher’s concerns.
Information from the different perspectives will be shared and will result in new ideas for the teacher to implement in the classroom and/or a coordinated plan for intervention. This may involve such steps as having the special education teacher observe the student, adjusting the level of instructional material presented to the student, developing a behavior modification plan, or moving toward a special education referral.
During the period of intervention, with parental permission, additional academic support will be provided by the classroom teacher, the special education teacher, or any other needed professionals for
6 to 8 weeks. The student’s progress will then be assessed to determine if he/she has responded successfully to the intervention. If, after the allotted intervention period, the child has not demonstrated growth, then the student will be referred for special education testing.
If the student is found eligible for an IEP based on a disability at his/her TEAM meeting, the TEAM will work together to construct an IEP with appropriate goals and objectives to meet the student’s needs.
The IEP will be modified annually to reflect the student’s progress and continued need for services. Reevaluation, with parental consent, will be done every three years. If a student does not qualify for an
IEP, then a 504 Plan may be appropriate.
Low income
Federal funding through the Title I program is available for districts with high levels of low income students and for students with academic needs that are not served by special education programs.
Traditionally, these services are directed toward support in reading and math and for summer programs to supplement academics. OSACPS will seek Title I funding to support students who qualify for the program and will implement a number of activities and services to meet students’ needs. One such program that is under consideration is designed to encourage reading and literacy. Low income students often do not have access to appropriate reading materials or libraries, and this will program mail three books at students’ reading levels to them at the beginning of the summer with a stamped return mailer enclosed with the books. When the student is finished reading the three books, the books can be returned in the mailer and more books will be sent to their home.
Description of the School Calendar & Sample Schedule:
The school calendar will call for 190 days, with the assumption that we will lose five days to inclement weather, leaving 185 instructional days for students. The school day begins at 8a.m. and concludes at
3:30p.m. Extended day programs will be offered by OSV both before and after school on a sliding fee schedule. The before school program will take place in the school building itself so that students can
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take advantage of the any tutorial support they may receive from mentors, volunteers or staff before the start of school. A breakfast program will be provided under a food service contract managed by OSV directly to the students who qualify for free breakfast as well as to those who want to participate for a separate fee; however, the breakfast program will be universal if the school qualifies under federal guidelines.
At 7:50a.m., students will gather in the schoolyard to greet their friends and prepare for the bell to ring at 8a.m. They will be supervised by our paraprofessional staff. While this is happening, the Principal will hold a crew meeting (taken from EL) with teachers for approximately five minutes to address any changes to the plan for the day and inform teachers of any issues with students, etc. In inclement weather, students will gather in the lunchroom.
When the bell rings at 8a.m., students will quickly line up by classroom as the Principal, faculty and other staff join them in the schoolyard or the gathering space. The Principal will welcome students in this short gathering called Daybreak, bring their focus to an item in the schedule for the day, or to a
Habit of Scholarship that she will be looking for in walks through the school that day. A student might be acknowledged for something s/he did the day before. As OSACPS adds older grades to the school, we envision that student crews will run Daybreak themselves. A student might be called to lead the Pledge of Allegiance followed by our own school pledge, modeled after one developed by the late educator
Marva Collins:
This day has been given to me fresh and clear.
I can either use it or throw it away.
I promise I will use this day to the fullest, realizing that it will never come back again.
I realize this is my life to use or to throw away.
Students will then accompany their teachers in an orderly way by classroom into the building. Once inside, they will hang up their coats, organize materials from their cubbies (for lower grades) or lockers
(for the older students), and be circled up for their daily morning meeting (grades k-4) or crew (grades 5-
8). Morning meeting will conclude by 8:15a.m. and its format will reflect best practices for EL combined with what the classroom teacher feels works best for her/his students.
Students will have one classroom teacher and a paraprofessional in grades k-2. Grades 3-6 will have one paraprofessional between two classes. For grades 5 and 6, they will see two teachers – one for humanities and one for math and science. Our current thinking is that seventh and eighth graders will rotate among four content area teachers for math, science, English/language arts and social studies.
Both our school building design and our schedule reflect the importance of common planning time for all teachers on a regular basis. The daily schedule for all grades will include time for conferencing about student work, assessment, crew and expeditions. Math and ELA will be taught daily.
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Typical First Grader Day:
A typical day for a first grader begins at 7:50a.m. as he gathers with his classmates in the schoolyard to prepare for the start of the school day. When the bell rings at 8AM, he and his peers assemble in the gathering room for Daybreak. The Principal leads the school in the Pledge of Allegiance. The Principal greets faculty and students with a warm “Good Morning” and bring their attention to a Habit of
Scholarship for the day. Today’s habit is “I will sustain my focus, pay attention and persist in my effort until I get it.” His classmate was recognized by the Principal for being observed working cooperatively the day before. After Daybreak, the student hangs up his coat and organizes his materials from his cubby before Morning Meeting and breakfast with his teacher and classmates. Morning meeting today is a circle in which everyone shares their favorite thing about the person to their right. The girl to his left shares that he is always helpful when she can’t zip her backpack. They sing the song that they have practiced this week in rounds: “Make New Friends”. Math Block begins at 8:15 followed by Read Aloud and a healthy snack. One hour of Integrated Literacy begins at 10:30. The learning expedition this quarter is From Farm to Table. The writing assignment today is describing the weather during the spring season. After discussion with the entire class about descriptive words that could be used to describe spring, the writing begins. Integrated Literacy is followed by lunch and recess. Recess in the grassy play area outside the lunchroom is always fun. There are a mixture of 19th-century games like hoops and graces alongside a new basketball hoop. After recess, the first Special of the day occurs for 45 minutes, and Tuesday is an art lesson. The lesson is also connected to the learning expedition this quarter, From
Farm to Table. Today they will begin to draw an apple tree, identifying leaves, roots, trunk, and bark.
Last week the class had toured OSV’s heirloom apple orchard and saw more than 100 varieties of apple trees. The horticulturist explained what parts of the apple tree are responsible for food production, support, water transport, reproduction, growth, and protection. Now is the time to remember the Habit of Scholarship for the day and persist until he gets the drawing right. After art is another 60 minute
Integrated Literacy block. For this block, he gets his coat from his cubby along with his notebook and pencil. The class is taking a trip into the Village to study the changes in appearance that animals and plants go through as the seasons change. The sheep that they saw sheared in the spring are now growing a heavy coat of wool for winter. He draws pictures and writes notes. He heads back to the classroom for the second special of the day, music, where he learns a song about the seasons of the year. Thirty minutes of Guided Reading follow music. The last fifteen minutes of his day are devoted to
Crew and Agenda Review meetings. He assembles his homework materials and the teacher checks in with students to ensure that everyone is prepared for their assignments. Crew ends with a circle in which each child does a hand motion that reflects their personality. He imitates a spider because it is his favorite insect since he learned about them in an expedition last quarter. At 3:30 the student heads home, ready and excited for tomorrow.
Typical Teacher Day:
The day begins for a teacher with a brief morning meeting with the Principal and other faculty at
7:50a.m. followed by the schoolwide Daybreak at 8AM. The teacher then facilitates her classroom
Morning Meeting during breakfast and prepares her students for the day ahead. The schedule for the day is posted and includes learning targets and success criteria for each subject area. Her students are
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learning about geometry and shapes in their Math Block. Today, they will assemble quilt squares using polygons. Read Aloud and snack time follow, and she gathers her students in a circle. One hour of integrated literacy, comprehension, and skills work follows Read Aloud, and then the teacher and her class go to the lunchroom for lunch and recess. Today, the teacher has lunchroom duty and monitors the room as students eat and socialize. Her first planning hour occurs after lunch while her students are in their first Special of the day. She grades homework assignments and has a call with a parent. They return to the classroom for another hour of Integrated Literacy, Writers’ Workshop; today, the teacher prepares her students for the Discovery Experience that will happen tomorrow. While her students are in their second Special of the day, the teacher works with her fellow teachers to assess student performance, collect and document data, and plan upcoming lessons. The students return from their
Special for Guided Reading where some students meet with the teacher, some work independently, and some are practicing skills in Centers. The final fifteen minutes of the day are devoted to an end of day
Crew and Agenda Review, and the teacher answers students’ questions about homework and reminds them to give their families invitations to an upcoming school event. After dismissal duty, the teacher returns to the classroom to organize and prepare for the next day.
Our Principal will spend a considerable amount of time in classrooms observing teachers and students throughout the day. She will then meet with teachers during the common planning period afforded by the teaching of specials (see below regarding art, music, Discovery Experiences). OSV has a robust and highly structured mentor and volunteer program that will work with OSACPS to provide trained volunteers (including parents) to assist with individual student support and classroom projects.
The Principal and our teachers will develop the specific instructional schedule, by grade level, with input from our EL School Design Coach. Generally, we expect that literacy and numeracy will be taught in the morning, while science and social studies instruction and learning expeditions happen in the afternoon.
Students will have 40 minutes daily for both lunch and play. Play will be structured for two days of the week; free play will happen twice a week and Town Meeting will happen once a week. Within free play, students will have choices for adult-supervised, organized games. For older students, we will offer what we will call adventure time, which may include adult-led excursions into the museum.
Half the school will eat lunch together at a time—while one group is eating, the other will be at play. On
Wednesdays, the whole school will eat together. Lunch on Wednesday will be followed by Town
Meeting—a full school gathering that serves as a venue for celebrations, acknowledgements and school rituals that include songs, cheers, and the sharing of student work and learning expeditions where appropriate. We will work hard to include family members, staff from OSV and community members in these weekly meetings to deepen family and community engagement.
Art and music are valued by OSACPS as core content areas. While we will provide discrete instruction in art and music for students, they will also be embedded in our learning expeditions whenever possible.
Art and music will be contracted services for the beginning years. Working with core teachers, art and music teachers will support the students in creating final products for exhibitions. In addition, students will have 120 minutes each week of art and music instruction. For younger students, this might be
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scheduled for 30 minutes each day for four days. In the older grades, students might have three sessions for 40 minutes, or two hour-long sessions a week—all depending upon the needs of the students and goals of the faculty.
On Wednesday afternoons at 1:30 P.M., all students will be dismissed to an afternoon of Discovery
Experiences to be provided by OSV education and program staff. These experiences, which will take place on the museum campus, will be approximately ninety minutes with additional walking time built into the schedule. Students can sign up for multi-age experiences that might include workshops in pottery, printmaking, woodworking, sewing, culinary arts, music and theater, video production, technology, and community service. These offerings will be grade appropriate and will take place inside of the museum. For these two hours, teachers will meet with the Principal and one another to review and plan curriculum, discuss students, review student work and participate in ongoing professional development with EL. Students will return to their homerooms for dismissal and a quick crew meeting to bring their day to a close.
All students will end the school day with a review of their Agenda to understand their homework responsibilities and to make sure they have the materials they need to execute it successfully. Students will be dismissed at 3:30 P.M. OSV will offer sliding fee extended day program after school until 6 P.M.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, OSV programming will center on fitness, exercise, sports, and nutrition.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, programming will focus on some dimension of fine arts. Fridays will be dedicated to special themes and surprise programs to end the week.
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Sample Weekly Schedule, k - 2
8 AM
Monday
Daybreak
Tuesday
Daybreak
:15 Welcome Circle Welcome Circle
Math Block
8:15-9:45
Math Block
8:15-9:45
:30
:45
9 AM
:30
:45
10 AM
Read Aloud
Snack Time
9:45-10:15
Read Aloud
Snack Time
9:45-10:15
:15
12
AM
:15
PM
:45
Integrated
Literacy 1
10:15-11:15
Recess/Lunch
11:15-12:00
Special 1
12:00-12:45
Integrated
Literacy 1
10:15-11:15
Recess/Lunch
11:15-12:00
Special 1
12:00-12:45
1 PM
2
:45
PM
:30
Integrated
Literacy 2
Sci/SS/ELA
12:45-1:45
Special 2
1:45-2:30
Integrated
Literacy 2
Sci/SS/ELA
12:45-1:45
Special 2
1:45-2:30
3 PM
:15
:30
Guided
Reading
2:30-3:15
Crew/Agenda
Review
3:15-3:30
End of the Day
Circle/
Dismissal
3:30
Guided
Reading
2:30-3:15
Crew/Agenda
Review
3:15-3:30
End of the Day
Circle/
Dismissal
3:30
Wednesday
Daybreak
Welcome Circle
Math Block
8:15-9:45
Read Aloud
Snack Time
9:45-10:15
Integrated
Literacy 1
10:15-11:15
Recess/Lunch
11:15-12:00
Town Meeting
12:00-1:00
Professional
Development
Time for Teachers
Discovery
Experiences for
Students
1:00-3:00
Crew/Agenda
Review
3:15-3:30
End of the Day
Circle/
Dismissal
3:30
Thursday
Daybreak
Friday
Daybreak
Welcome Circle Welcome Circle
Math Block
8:15-9:45
Math Block
8:15-9:45
Read Aloud
Snack Time
9:45-10:15
Integrated
Literacy 1
10:15-11:15
Recess/Lunch
11:15-12:00
Special 1
12:00-12:45
Integrated
Literacy 2
Sci/SS/ELA
12:45-1:45
Special 2
1:45-2:30
Guided
Reading
2:30-3:15
Crew/Agenda
Review
3:15-3:30
End of the Day
Circle/
Dismissal
3:30
Read Aloud
Snack Time
9:45-10:15
Integrated
Literacy 1
10:15-11:15
Recess/Lunch
11:15-12:00
Special 1
12:00-12:45
Integrated
Literacy 2
Sci/SS/ELA
12:45-1:45
Special 2
1:45-2:30
Guided
Reading
2:30-3:15
Crew/Agenda
Review
3:15-3:30
End of the Day
Circle/
Dismissal
3:30
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Calculation of Annual Instructional Time:
Total time in the school building (185 days X 450 minutes each day)
Less Lunch and Play time (including Town Meeting)
Less Daybreak/Morning Meeting
Less Wednesday Afternoon Discovery Experiences
Less Art and Music
Less Miscellaneous Support Activities
(92.5 hours)
(74.0 hours)
(74.0 hours)
(61.6 hours)
963 hours Total Instructional Time for the Year
This calculates to 5.2 instructional hours per day. For each snow day that we do not take, we will gain an additional 5.2 instructional hours.
1,387.50 hours
(123 hours)
II-B: CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
OSACPS will be an Expeditionary Learning school; EL was the perfect choice for a school design partner given the curriculum principles established by the founding groups:
All aspects of the curriculum, including learning expeditions, are built around or aligned to performance standards in the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework (MCF).
We do not need to choose between mastery of knowledge and skills, developing character, and supporting quality student work. OSACPS values all three of these dimensions of achievement and the school curriculum will support students in making yearly progress in all three dimensions.
In primary education, we do not need to choose between joy and rigor or between academics and play. A quality curriculum provides all of those for students, and we will ensure that this is true at OSACPS.
The school will take an interdisciplinary approach to literacy; reading and writing skills will be taught in all courses.
Skill building happens through project-based learning and learning expeditions that bring the standards to life through relevant topics and authentic community needs.
Whenever possible, our curriculum will draw on the rich resources of OSV and its campus.
OSACPS will use resources from EL and the EL network of schools to build its curriculum with the goal of serving as a k-8 model school for EL when we are at full enrollment. In addition, OSV will make its staff, buildings, programs, and other resources available to students, teachers and families to support teaching, learning and the development of a positive learning community.
With that, much of the curriculum and instruction at OSACPS will be organized around learning expeditions, which are challenging, interdisciplinary, real-world investigations. Expeditions are made up of multiple case studies that ground the learning in concrete and often local subtopics. Each grade level will participate in 3-5 learning expeditions a year. Students will have authentic opportunities to apply
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English and math skills within content-rich learning expeditions, particularly in science and social studies.
That said, discrete skills in literacy and numeracy will certainly be taught outside of expeditions through direct classroom instruction by teachers and through extended learning activities when necessary. The
Principal will ensure that learning expeditions align with the MCF.
A science expedition could be built around the guiding question, “How are changes in weather measured?” (or “Why do people measure changes in weather?”) as well as the MCF Earth and Space
Sciences content standards unit on weather. For this expedition, 3rd grade students would spend the morning visiting with a local meteorologist and then return to the OSV campus to set up a weather station along the Woodland Walk. Weather data would be collected throughout the year and later compared with 19th-century weather diaries and farmer’s day books from the OSV Research Library.
Students would examine the records of 1816, the year without a summer to determine the cause and whether it could happen again today.
The level of development or refinement of curriculum varies for different content areas and grade bands
(k-2, 3-5, and 6-8) depending on the existing resources provided by EL; however, all grade bands will follow the same process for curriculum development, improvement, and refinement. Curriculum in all content areas and grades will share common criteria for quality.
Curriculum Evaluation and Revision Process, Responsibility and Decision-Making:
The curriculum refinement and selection process will be overseen by the school’s founding Principal with support from an on-site EL consultant (known as a school designer). The Principal and founding faculty members will be identified by the early spring of 2016 to complete the initial work of ensuring alignment across EL’s existing curriculum, the MCF and the needs of the incoming OSACPS students.
Museum educators and program staff will be available to provide links to the museum’s resources as part of the planning process. In addition, the Principal will lead the faculty through an analysis of best practices for math curricula at other EL schools to identify the appropriate math curriculum for OSACPS.
In future years, teachers will be more heavily involved in a curriculum review and refinement process during their summer professional development time and throughout the year. Our plan is for the faculty to meet together for the entire last week of June. Teachers would then schedule their four weeks of summer vacation with the Principal for between July 1 and about August 15. This will provide teachers with two weeks of planning and professional development time over the summer, before the entire faculty returns to work full time in mid-August. Between mid-August and the first day of school, teachers will continue to work on curriculum, planning for the upcoming year and professional development, and will make home visits to the students who will be starting with them in late August. The Principal will make every effort to accommodate the summer plans of the faculty while ensuring that there is coordinated time for teachers to design curriculum together, as well as professional development for individual teachers. Our budget for teacher salaries assumes this longer work year for our teachers (See
Operation Budget - Line E).
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OSACPS will use EL’s templates to document learning expedition plans, assessment tools and daily lessons and will archive those planning documents in Google Platforms. The archiving process will be overseen by the Principal. This attention to both the curriculum design process and the curriculum documentation process will ensure that OSACPS is building a library of curriculum and lesson plans for revision and use in future years.
OSACPS will have structures in place for teachers and administrators to review the quality of the curricula, including protocols for critiquing learning expeditions, conducting classroom observations, reviewing student portfolios, and analyzing student achievement data. These multiple measures will be calendared by the Principal before the school year begins and will be used to determine how effectively the curriculum is meeting the needs of students, specifically, addressing MCF standards and the school’s non-academic goals and providing opportunities for both academic enrichment and remediation. When areas of weakness in foundational standards and sub-skills are identified, the curriculum will be realigned to target them; additional information can be found in Assessment System (see page 41).
Overview of Curriculum Content and Skills k-8:
The school’s founding group has identified existing curricular resources from within the EL network as a foundation for the OSACPS curriculum. The areas of the curriculum that are less complete will be developed more fully by the school’s Principal as soon as the final application is approved. The key features of the curriculum in each grade band are included below followed by a description of the overview for grades k-3. The course sequence and subject area outlines for each grade, are included in the appendix.
English / Language Arts:
Consistent with the philosophy of EL, our school will be distinguished by robust direct instruction to students in both reading and writing. There will be opportunities for teachers to embed literacy instruction through social studies and science, particularly through the learning expeditions. All of this will be supported by the many resources available through our partnership with OSV.
To that end, OSACPS will adopt EL’s literacy curriculum in grades k-8. The curriculum draws on 20 years of effective classroom practice in 160 schools nationwide. It draws students to the diverse scope of reading they will experience in high school, college, their careers, and the rest of their lives—from journal articles to news stories to original research. Teachers who are currently using the 3-8 curriculums say they have been able to accomplish more than ever before and are watching students think at a whole new level. EL’s curriculum has also received the highest ratings from state and independent reviewers. New York City, the state of Connecticut, and EQuIP (Educators Evaluating the
Quality of Instructional Products) – a collaboration of education leaders from Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island – have all given top marks to EL’s teaching modules. EQuIP and Connecticut gave EL units the highest “exemplar” rating and the NYC Department of Education recognized EL as among “the highest-quality Common Core-aligned curriculum materials currently available.”
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EL’s k-2 curriculum is currently in the design phase. A prototype will be released later in 2015 and the full curriculum will be ready for the 2016-17 school year. OSACPS plans to implement this curriculum when the school opens.
Lucy Caulkin’s units of study in opinion, informational, and narrative writing in conjunction with readers’ and writers’ workshop will be integrated into the EL curriculum for grades K-8. In Caulkin’s series, the reading and writing work is directly correlated focusing on book clubs that allow students’ access to exemplary writing from which to model their own. Students are taught to read and comprehend published author’s writing which helps them to convey meaning to their readers in their own writing.
Teaching reading and writing as integrated processes gives children many opportunities to read as writers, looking closely at the writing of published authors in order to strengthen their skills as writers.
Research is supported by the Teachers’ College of Reading and Writing Project that focuses on creating exemplary curriculum for teaching reading and writing. It is based on a number of guiding research principles that promote the understanding that writing is a lifelong process that continually evolves and improves. Instruction is direct, guided, and allows for independent practice. Instructors differentiate for all learners including ELL. Goals are clear and feedback is ongoing. Instruction is tailored to the individual needs of the students. Assessment is based on student work that is authentic and demonstrates each student’s knowledge of effective writing.
Grades K-2: OSACPS will use EL’s Integrated Literacy Curriculum, which spans three hours per day, to provide a deep dive into compelling topics addressing the needs of primary learners using the following:
Integrated lessons featuring close read-alouds that link art, movement and drama to literacy, science and social studies. (See preview in the appendix);
Song/ movement and storytelling;
Literacy Labs that incorporate play, art, engineering, exploration, and social-emotional learning; and
Skill blocks in language arts.
Grades 3-5 and 6-8: OSACPS will use EL’s Language Arts Curriculum which combines rigorous content with effective practice to provide a clear vision of the “what” and the “how” of success on the Common
Core and MCF. Taught in one hour modules, with an additional hour for supplemental language and literacy instruction, the curriculum provides unit overview documents and detailed daily lessons.
To supplement EL’s proven ELA curriculum, OSV brings a number of excellent resources and the opportunity for deep experiences and cross-curricular connections. For example, sixth graders reading
Johnny Tremain might engage in a learning expedition anchored in the OSV Blacksmith Shop and Bixby house, the home of early 19th-century Barre, Massachusetts blacksmith Emerson Bixby. Using primary source documents including family diaries, letters, and account books in the OSV Research Library; artifacts from the OSV material culture collections; and the hands-on experience of working in the blacksmith shop, the student will gain a deep understanding of the apprentice experience of the book’s protagonist. Other possibilities include kindergarten students working in our Print Shop to make
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invitations for their parents to an upcoming exhibition. Fourth grade students would have the chance to read the writing of Laura Ingalls Wilder and then spend the morning engaged in a discussion with a reenactor portraying the writer. The opportunities to supplement ELA instruction at OSACPS are endlessand our museum program staff is eager to work with the Principal and the faculty.
Math:
At OSACPS, math will be taught with rigor and integrity in discrete math classes. Along with direct instruction, math will be integrated into projects, case studies and learning expeditions whenever possible. Teachers of all disciplines will support mathematical thinking in areas such as numeracy, statistics, patterns, and problem-solving. Mathematical thinking and learning will be showcased and discussed throughout the building.
OSACPS math curriculum will focus on foundational facts (vocabulary, formulas, and algorithms) and number facts that are always grounded in conceptual understanding. The curriculum will support students developing procedural fluency and calculating with accuracy and efficiency. There will be an equally strong focus on problem-solving skills and critical thinking. Students will learn to use appropriate technology strategically in problem-solving. Technology tools will be used not as a substitute for learning foundational facts, but as an enhancement to conceptual understanding and problem-solving. OSACPS teachers will support students in thinking like mathematicians and will cultivate mathematical habits of mind, such as curiosity, risk-taking, perseverance, and craftsmanship. Students will learn to reason abstractly and quantitatively, model mathematically to empirical situations, and construct and critique mathematical arguments.
OSV also has ample resources to support math education at the school. Imagine students following a
19 th -century recipe for Washington Cake, which uses weights and a scale to measure ingredients and then cooking the food over an open hearth for an afternoon snack. Students can learn about geometry by studying quilts from the OSV collection and later designing and sewing their own quilt square. The trade shops at OSV are great places to practice counting, sorting, estimating, and measuring many types of raw ingredients and finished products, along with more complex three-dimensional geometry that comes into play producing vessels in pottery and tin.
During the spring of 2016, the OSACPS Principal will analyze math curricula at existing EL schools to determine the best match for the school’s primary students. This process will be repeated each year as we prepare to add the next grade band of students (grades 3-8).
Science:
OSACPS science curriculum will focus on supporting students as they learn to read, write, think, and work as scientists. Expeditions, case studies, projects, discrete content, collaboration with professional scientists and engineers, and interactive instructional practices will foster inquiry and enable authentic student research. When possible, student research will contribute to the school community or broader community life. Again, OSV is great partner. Examples could include the kindergarten analyzing
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conditions for optimal growth in the garden at the Freeman Farm or exploring the plant and animal habitat of the certified vernal pool behind the Fitch House; second graders recording honey bee life cycles in the OSV observation beehive; and 5th graders measuring and charting snow fall at different elevations throughout the OSV campus.
The OSACPS science curriculum will reinforce the connections among science, math, engineering, and technology. It will also promote skills in questioning; developing and using models; planning and carrying out investigations; collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data; constructing explanations; designing solutions; engaging in argument from evidence; and synthesizing and communicating information.
Students will learn to be logical in making assumptions, accurate when collecting data, insightful when drawing conclusions, and unbiased when supporting statements with reliable scientific evidence.
With OSV as a backdrop, students and teachers will have direct access to all of the resources of the museum to support making important disciplinary connections around science. OSV sits along the
Quinebaug River and the campus is home to many different natural habitats. From woodlands to vernal pools, the museum presents a number of opportunities for hands-on biology research including close observation of plants and animals, specimen collection, and data collection and analysis. We also have a working farm, a number of gardens, a fully operational greenhouse, and an apple orchard. We have three water-powered mills on the campus and our museum educators have been working during the past several years to integrate the science standards into the museum experience. For example, OSV’s
Simple Machines exhibit introduces elementary school students to physics through hands-on examples of a pulley, screw, wedge, and inclined plane, and connects to the MCF learning standards 4-5 in the
Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics). After exploring Simple Machines, second grade students will then have the opportunity to formulate a hypothesis and then test it out by observing these machines in action in the museum including spinning wheels, water pumps, and water-powered mills.
OSV and its 19th-century setting are full of opportunities to develop engineering and technology connections. Following the MCF Science and Technology eight step engineering design process, third grade students could begin with a common 19th-century challenge such as transporting firewood.
Students would then divide into teams to work through the process of researching the problem, brainstorming possible solutions, constructing a prototype, testing and evaluating the prototype, and redesigning. There could be a whole series of engineering design challenges around similar types of problems, such as building a better covered bridge, or designing a new fence, which could culminate in a school wide engineering fair with student-led demonstrations and exhibitions.
Social Studies:
OSACPS social studies curriculum prioritizes students’ understanding of enduring concepts so that they can apply that understanding to the modern world. The curriculum uses social studies as a way to develop students’ capacity to interpret their world critically and to engage productively in it. It helps students understand the big picture and timeline of history and emphasizes deep understanding rather than memorization of myriad facts and details. By focusing on big ideas such as the elements that make
25
up a culture or a civilization, the curriculum will support students in appreciating and understanding diverse cultures and understanding connections among ancient and modern cultures. Compelling case studies will include narratives that illuminate enduring themes and intertwine history, government, economics, geography, and culture. Students will investigate and address social issues in their local community and become compassionate community members in the process. While learning social studies, students will act as social scientists as they analyze primary sources, consider multiple perspectives, conduct research, and draw their own conclusions. Explicit literacy instruction will be a focus for students at all grade levels. Students will learn to read, write, and think as historians.
Again, the school could have no better partner on this front than OSV. Long considered a leader in history education, the museum possesses a plethora of resources that will be made available to faculty and students of OSACPS. The museum’s expansive and diverse material culture collections have national significance as one of the single largest holdings of materials documenting everyday life in rural New
England prior to the Civil War. Works by known and unknown regional artists depict vernacular landscapes, farmscapes, architecture, and scenes of domestic and public life in early New England. Tools for domestic use and commercial production illustrate economic trends and trading networks. The OSV collections not only document a regional culture in a period of important historical transition and technological advances, but also provide enormous opportunities for learning expeditions.
OSV also has a Research Library of more than 35,000 volumes that is distinguished by a unique collection of primary source documents including periodicals, town and county records, primers and educational books, maps, broadsides, diaries, account books, and letters, as well as secondary sources related to all aspects of New England culture, economy, and society before 1850. Family and business records held in the library relate to a number of the historic buildings that are part of the Village’s campus and objects in the material culture collections. For example, diaries, letters, muster rolls, and other official documents provide unique insight into the impact of the American Revolution on the central Massachusetts region, and town records offer opportunities for discussions of civics, governance, welfare, and agriculture. The historic map collection includes regional, national, and world maps that show changes in geographic and political landscapes in the students’ community and the wider world.
In addition to the sheer number of trained historians and curators on our own staff, the museum has deep relationships with other institutions, such as the American Antiquarian Society and the
Massachusetts Historical Society, where OSV’s President is a member and a fellow, respectively. In addition, the museum offers a number of public programs throughout the year where the school will be invited to participate in an intentional and meaningful way. For example, we celebrate the emancipation of African-Americans with a month-long program in June called Freedom. The museum works with
African-American historians and re-enactors to offer a number of programs related to this important theme. Not only will our students have access to these programs as participants, but they will also have opportunities to contribute their own work and research.
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Imagine that our second grade students complete a learning expedition on immigration and then are invited with their families to attend a naturalization ceremony for new citizens at OSV on the Fourth of
July. Or while working on a study of Native Americans, they spend a morning in our Small House - a replica building of a single-room house that may have served as the home of a Native American family two-hundred years ago. While there, they interact with a Native interpreter who discusses Native life in the 19th century and today. After lunch, they will return to their classrooms where OSV curators have selected a sampling of Native American baskets and burl bowls from our extensive collection for their study.
For both science and social studies at OSACPS, teachers will leverage existing, successful learning expeditions at other EL schools and rich topics and texts from EL’s literacy curriculum, aligning those to the MCF and adapting them to the needs of the students and community at OSACPS.
Grades k-2: Science and social studies will be included in the integrated literacy curriculum. In addition, teachers will expand the curriculum into a learning expedition, adding field work and community connections based on the topics in the curriculum.
Grades 3-5: Science and social studies will be addressed through learning expeditions aligned to the topics in the ELA curriculum and based on the authentic needs of the Communities. The first science expeditions will be built during summer of 2017 before the first 3rd grade class comes on board.
Grades 6-8: Science and social studies will be addressed through projects, case studies, and, when possible, through fully interdisciplinary learning expeditions. When the topic of the EL Language Arts curriculum aligns to the science standards, OSA will build on the literacy curriculum to develop learning expeditions. In other situations, the school will base science curriculum on quality expeditions developed at other EL schools.
Enrichment:
Foreign Language (Spanish) will be introduced beginning in kindergarten along with art and music. In addition, students will have opportunities to raise gardens, work on a farm, and learn to cook, sew, and work with wood and metals through their weekly Discovery Explorations. For example, the kindergarten classes will learn about what the Wampanoag ate by preparing nasaump, a thick and filling food made of corn on a hearth. First graders who are studying the uses for natural materials will have the opportunity to card and spin wool fibers as well as identify non-chemical dye sources such as cochineal for brilliant pink shades. Second graders will experience first-hand how levers, pulleys and wedges make life easier by pumping water, spinning yarn and sawing wood. Working with OSV curators, students will curate mini-exhibits that line the hall of the school and are displayed in public spaces around the museum. Seventh and eighth grades will research and create a children’s guide book to OSV with the goal for it to be made available to families that visit the museum.
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The museum is bordered by three hiking trails and has a number of open fields for play and athletics.
The opportunities for orienteering, primitive building projects, and large outdoor games are endless in the varied terrain and natural environment available. Again, the museum has a 300-seat theatre and other smaller public-gathering spaces which can be used for small and large group practice and performances. Students will connect with the dance, music, and theater MCF content standards by designing, practicing, and ultimately performing in an annual production for families and the community. Using OSV as inspiration, early grades will choreograph a dance routine around the movement of farm animals, machinery, and work they observe at the museum. Older students will learn about historic music and perform a 19th-century song and dance—making connections to current popular music and cultural trends. A small children’s museum featuring many hands-on activities can serve as a place of enrichment for students in K-2.
At the same time, the school will look for meaningful experiences for students away from the campus.
OSV has deep partnerships with a number of other cultural organizations, museums, and outdoor education sites. We want the students to experience the world beyond their school and community.
Curriculum Scope and Sequence:
OSV has identified Cynthia Ahearn as the proposed principal for OSACPS. Ms. Ahearn will begin work on a specific scope and sequence as soon as the EL k-2 curriculum is released in December. The scope and sequence included in this application is a version that is not designed for OSACPS. OSV is also raising money to support the founding group/Principal’s work with Expeditionary Learning and other preoperating period expenses. OSV sent two members of the founding group to EL’s week-long institute beginning on July 27 with funding from a private foundation. Additional members of the founding group will attend a site pedagogy seminar in December at Genesee Community Charter School, an EL school located at the Rochester Museum and Science Center.
Ms. Ahearn, working with EL, anticipates that the founding faculty will be identified by the spring, and will start full time with the school on July 1, 2016. Prior to July 1, some teachers may begin working with the Principal as volunteers or as paid consultants if OSV can raise grant dollars to support this effort.
Working with the Principal and members of the EL team, the faculty will spend the first two weeks of
July finalizing the scope and sequence.
Key to meeting this schedule is leveraging existing curricular resources from EL and other EL schools and refining them as needed to ensure tight alignment with MCF, the needs of incoming students, and the opportunities at OSV. For reference, we have attached an amended social studies and science scope and sequence from another Massachusetts school within the EL network. We hope these documents will illustrate the feel of the curriculum as we envision it at OSACPS.
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Sample Social Studies and Science Scope and Sequence -
K-3 Overview Map 2014-2015
Before the expeditions (August and early September), all grades will teach topics not covered by expeditions or those needed for background knowledge. Often the focus is Geography at all grades. See below for details, as well as provided resources. Teams can also introduce background knowledge or content needed for expeditions, if additional time is needed.
FALL (August 15 th -September 15 th ) 1 month
Grade K 1
Our Community
· Identify the student’s street address, city or town, and Massachusetts as the state and the
United States as the country in which he or she lives.
· Identify the name of the students’ school and the city or town in which it is located.
World Geography
· Identify and locate the seven continents on a map and globe.
· Locate the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Spatial Sense
· Name our continent, country, state, and city.
· Identify cardinal directions (east, west, north, south) and apply them to maps, locations in the classroom, school, playground, and community
Geographical Terms
and Features
· Locate on a map
Washington, D.C. and
Boston, Massachusetts
· Identify major oceans:
Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic.
2 3
Geography of the
Americas
· Locate: Canada,
United States, Mexico,
Central America.
· Define and locate: the
Equator, Northern
Hemisphere, Southern
Hemisphere, North and
South Poles.
· Locate and identify:
· Fifty states: 48 contiguous states, as well as Alaska and
Hawaii
· One current territory
(Puerto Rico)
· Central America
· Brazil (largest country in South America)
Historical concepts
· Explain the meaning of time periods or dates in historical narratives
(decade, century,
1600s, 1776) and use them correctly
in speaking and writing
Geography
· Identify the thirteen colonies by region: New
England, Middle
Atlantic, Southern
· Locate all New
England states on a map of the Unites
States
· On a map of North
America, identify the first 13 colonies and describe how regional differences in climate, types of farming, populations, and sources of labor shaped their economies and societies through the 18th century.
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FALL (Mid September-mid-December (by Expedition Night) 2½ -3 months
Grade
Expedition
Topic
Priority
Standards
K
The First
Americans
1
This Land is Our Land
Wampanoag and Early
Settlers
American symbols & figures; the President
The
Wampanoag
People
· Describe the culture of the
Wampanoag
Tribe, including,
-how they lived
-what they wore and ate
-the homes they lived in
-their beliefs and stories
-the current status of their tribe
· Identify the
Wampanoag and their leaders at the time the
Pilgrims arrived and describe their way of life
The Pilgrims
· Explain the story of how and why the
Pilgrims came to
Plymouth.
· Explain the significance of the Mayflower and Plymouth
Rock
· Identify and describe the
Symbols and Figures
· Recognize and explain the significance of important United States symbols, including:
-The Liberty Bell
-The American flag
-The Bald eagle
-Mount Rushmore
-Statue of Liberty
-White House
· Demonstrate understanding that there are important American symbols by identifying:
-The American flag and its shapes and colors
-The melody of the national anthem
-The picture and name of the current president
-The words of the pledge of allegiance
· Identify the current
President of the United
States of America and describe what presidents do, and explain that they get their authority from a vote by the people
· Explain the significance of important United
States presidents, including:
-George Washington
-Thomas Jefferson
-Abraham Lincoln
2
A Nation of Immigrants
3
Make Thirteen
Immigration, citizenship
Where did the people of
Central MA come from?
13 colonies, life and times prerevolution
Immigration and Citizenship
· Define immigration and explain the various reasons why many people have come and continue to come to the
United States.
· Give a narrative description of the experience of at least two different immigrant groups in the United States.
· Define citizenship and articulate the meaning of being a citizen of a nation.
· Describe how people become American citizens either by birth or naturalization.
· Explain how American citizens have certain rights and responsibilities including voting, eligibility to hold public office and paying taxes.
· Articulate the significance of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty
· Explain the meaning of “e pluribus unum”
The Voyage of Columbus in
1492
- Queen Isabella and King
Ferdinand of Spain
-The Niña, Pinta, and Santa
Maria
- Columbus’s mistaken identification of “Indies” and
“Indians”
-The idea of what was, for
The Thirteen
Colonies: Life and
Times Before the
Revolution
· Identify who the
Pilgrims were and explain why they left Europe to seek religious freedom, describe their journey and their early years in the Plymouth
Colony
· Explain the early relationship of the
English settlers to the indigenous peoples, or
Indians, in North
America, including the differing views on ownership or use of land and the conflicts between them
· Understand the differences between the 13 colonies and how the motivation of settlers contributed to the differences between the colonies.
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events or peoples celebrated during United
States national
Holiday and why we celebrate them:
Thanksgiving
-Theodore Roosevelt
· Identify and describe the events or peoples celebrated during United
States national Holiday and why we celebrate them:
-President’s Day
-Independence Day
· Demonstrate the ability to recite the Pledge of
Allegiance and to sing national songs such as
America the Beautiful, My
Country Tis’ of Thee, God
Bless America, and The
Star Spangled Banner
Europeans, a “New World”
· Tell the story of the colonies in each region.
· Describe the differences in climate from north to south and how they relate to corresponding differences in agriculture
(subsistence farming in New
England, gradual development of large plantations in the South)
· Explain the significance of important cities—
Philadelphia,
Boston, New York,
Charleston—in the development of trade and government.
Colonial Expert
Cards
Final Product ABC Book: ABC
Who Was Here
Before Me?
School-wide election;
Symbol note cards
Immigration stories book
Winter (January and February) 2 months
Grade
Units
K 1 2
Five Senses
Standards:
Recognize that people and other animals interact with the environment through their senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste
Observable
Phases of Matter
Standards:
Identify objects and materials as solid, liquid, or gas.
Recognize that solids have a definite shape and that liquids and gases take the shape of their container.
Identify and describe characteristics of natural materials (e.g., wood, cotton, fur, wool) and human-made
Balance and Motion
Standards:
Describe the various ways that objects can move, such as in a straight line, zigzag, back-and-forth, roundand-round, fast, and slow.
Recognize that under some conditions objects can be
3
Sun, Moon and Stars
Standards:
Recognize that the earth revolves around
(orbits) the sun in a year’s time and that the earth rotates on its axis once approximately every
24 hours.
Make connections between the rotation
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properties of objects include size, shape, color, weight, and texture
Describe how human beings use parts of the body as tools (e.g., teeth for cutting, hands for grasping and catching), and compare their use with the ways in which animals use those parts of their bodies. materials (e.g., plastic,
Styrofoam).
Identify and explain some possible uses for natural materials (e.g., wood, cotton, fur, wool) and human-made materials (e.g., plastic,
Styrofoam). balanced.
Demonstrate that the way to change the motion of an object is to apply a force (give it a push or a pull). The greater the force the greater the change in the motion of the object. of the earth and day/night, and the apparent movement of the sun, moon, and stars across the sky.
Describe the changes that occur in the observable shape of the moon over the course of a month.
Recognize that the earth is part of a system called the
“solar system” that includes the sun (a star), planets, and many moons. The earth is the third planet from the sun in our solar system.
Spring (March to June) 4 months
Grade
Theme
Topics
Standard
K
We are
Biologists
1
From Farm to Table
Vernal pools -
Animal survival, habitat
Living, non-living cont.
Plants, Healthy eating
Recognize that people and other animals and plants are living things that grow, reproduce, and need food, air, and water.
Recognize that the sun supplies heat and light to the earth and is necessary for life.
Recognize that
*Identify some events around us that have repeating patterns, including the seasons of the year, day, and night.
*Describe the weather changes from day to day and over the seasons.
Give examples of how the cycling of water, both in and out of the atmosphere, has an
2
A Working Farm
Animal classification, adaptation
Earth, Wind and Fire
Weather--storm of the century and seismic events
Classify plants and animals according to the physical characteristics that they share.
Describe ways in which many plants and animals closely resemble their parents in observed appearance.
Identify the ways in which an organism’s habitat provides for its
Describe how global patterns such as the jet stream and water currents influence local weather in measurable terms such as temperature, wind direction and speed, and precipitation.
Give examples of how the cycling of water, both in and out of the atmosphere, has an effect on climate.
Distinguish among the various forms of precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, and hail), making connections to the weather in a
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Final
Product water, rocks, soil, and living organisms are found on the earth’s surface.
Differentiate between living and nonliving things. effect on climate.
Group both living and nonliving things according to the characteristics they share.
Recognize changes in appearance that animals and plants go through as the seasons change.
Identify the structures in plants (leaves, roots, flowers, stem, bark, wood) that are responsible for food production, support, water transport, reproduction, growth, and protection.
Identify tools and simple machines used for a specific purpose. basic needs (plants require air, water, nutrients, and light; animals require food, water, air, and shelter).
Recognize that plants and animals go through predictable life cycles that include birth, growth, development, reproduction, and death.
Describe the major stages that characterize the life cycle of the frog and butterfly as they go through metamorphosis.
Vernal pool model
Garden video, individual journals,
Everything Grows in
the Garden call book
Forest and Farm
Animals kids tour at Old
Sturbridge Village particular place and time.
Differentiate between weather and climate.
Explain how air temperature, moisture, wind speed and direction, and precipitation make up the weather in a particular place and time.
Give examples of how the surface of the earth changes due to slow processes such as erosion and weathering, and rapid processes such as landslides, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes.
Recommendations on Extreme
Weather Preparation and
Prevention
Literacy Scope and Sequence:
The following third grade map shows the compelling topics and the priority standards taught and assessed in EL’s English/language arts curriculum. All of the Common Core standards are addressed in each year’s curriculum. Our work at OSACPS will be to ensure that we are addressing the unique
Massachusetts standards in a deep way and, where needed, to adjust the curriculum to meet the MCF.
However, EL’s primary curriculum and a scope and sequence will not be ready until later this year. We are not able to include it in the final application but have been assured that it will be available in
December.
Quarter 1:
● Focus: Becoming a Close Reader and Writing to Learn.
● Topic: The Power of Reading
● Performance Task: Accessing Books around the World Bookmark (RI.3.2, W.3.2 (and a-d), W.3.4,
W.3.5, and L.3.2) scaffolded explanatory paragraph
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● Other Priority Standards: SL3.1, RL 3.2, RL 3.3, W 3.8, L3.4, W 3.2, L 3.6, SL 3.5
Quarter 2:
● Focus: Researching to Build Knowledge and Teaching Others
● Topic: Adaptations and the Wide World of Frogs
● Performance Task: Freaky Frog Trading Cards (W.3.2, W.3.3, W.3.4, W.3.5, and L.3.3)
● research-based scaffolded narrative and explanatory paragraph
● Other Priority Standards: RI 3.1-3.3, RI, 3.5, RI 3.7, W 3.8, L3.4a, W 3.2, W 3.4, W 3.7, L 3.3a, L
3.6
Quarter 3:
● Focus: Analyzing Narrative and Supporting Opinions
● Topic: Staging Stories: A Study of Peter Pan
● Performance Task: Summary and Opinion Writing: Who Is Your Favorite Character in Peter Pan, and Why? (RL.3.3, RL.3.5, W.3.1, W.3.2, W.3.4, W.3.5, L.3.1, L.3.2 and L.3.3)
● Scaffolded literary analysis essay
● Other Priority Standards: RL 3.3, RL 3.6, W 3.1, W 3.3, W 3.4, L 3.6, RF 3.4
Quarter 4:
● Focus: Gathering Evidence and Speaking to Others
● Topic: The Role of Freshwater Around the World
● Performance Task: Voice Thread Public Service Announcement (W.3.1, W.3.4, W.3.6, W.3.7,
SL.3.4, SL.3.5, SL.3.6, L.3.3b )scaffolded speech
● Other Priority Standards: W 3.2, W 3.4, W 3.8, L 3.1, L 3.4c, RI 3.1, RI 3.2, RI 3.7, RI 3.8, RI 3.9
Math Scope and Sequence:
The following tables show a proposed scope and sequence for math in grades k-3. Because part of the curriculum process at OSA includes the Principal working during the spring of 2016 to identify the math curriculum that will be used, the sequencing of this curriculum may shift slightly. However, the key is that all of the MCF standards will be addressed through the curriculum. The first page of a sample scope and sequence for each grade level is included below.
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36
37
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Character Goals for Students:
As one of the three dimensions of achievement in EL schools, character development is supported and assessed daily. Every EL school establishes a set of character values and Habits of Scholarship. These values and habits may include both “relational” and “performance” character. Relational character refers to the way students treat and work with others (e.g. kindness, honesty, and integrity).
Performance character skills (Habits of Scholarship) are needed to obtain a standard of excellence in academic and real-world endeavors (e.g. organization, self-discipline, and perseverance). Both aspects of character are essential and interconnected in the EL model.
Current research shows that a focus on both relational and performance character—taught and practiced with intentionality—positively impacts student achievement (Farrington, et al, 2012; US DOE,
2013). Using the EL model, OSACPS will implement systems and structures to instruct, assess, and report on student Habits of Scholarship. EL encourages schools to align their habits with three they consider to be essential: collaboration, effort, and responsibility.
Once again, there is a clear connection between these habits and what is happening at the museum.
Students will regularly see these habits demonstrated while spending time in the Village, where they will see and sometimes join our staff in the care of animals and crops regardless of the weather or time of year. They will work with interpreters to harvest apples for cider making, learn to cook together by an open hearth, and help the shoemaker create a pair of shoes.
During the summer of 2016, the Principal and founding teachers of OSACPS, guided by the EL school designer will identify three or four overarching character values and Habits of Scholarship that students will develop over the course of the k-8 grade span. These habits will be cultivated through a variety of school structures, documents (e.g. portfolios, school handbooks) rituals, traditions, and celebrated through ceremonies (e.g. charts, honor rolls, awards, privileges).
Learning Environment:
Consistent with EL practice, OSACPS will focus on intentionally building classrooms that are respectful, active, collaborative, and growth-minded. EL refers to this as “the self-managed classroom.” Selfmanagement is an ethos and a belief system that permeates the classroom and that students have the power within themselves to make wise choices that best serve them as both learners and individuals while maintaining a respectful classroom culture. Self-discipline is the end goal. This type of classroom culture is essential as students work toward mastering knowledge and skills, developing Habits of
Scholarship, and producing quality work. Working with the EL school designer, teachers from OSACPS will receive training and support on specific practices that foster this type of classroom environment for students. Because students will also be using the resources of OSV, this self-discipline will be essential for them to have meaningful and successful experiences on the museum’s campus.
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Classrooms at OSACPS will be single grade and will have no more than 20 students each. The school building will reflect the values and mission of OSACPS: a very welcoming entrance that sends an immediate message that the students are motivated, inspired, and engaged in learning. A morning message board will greet all students upon their arrival and set the tone for the day. Rotating displays of high-quality student work will be coupled with other public symbols of students demonstrating exceptional character to support others throughout the building. The classrooms will be flexible in design but organized and clearly labeled with expectations, directions and protocols. OSV will be an extension of the classroom, allowing exploration of nature, science and history to connect with classroom learning. Technology in classrooms will include shared tablets for grades k - 2 as well as Smart
Board technology in every classroom.
The school will be located in the Museum Education Building on the OSV campus. Although it will be on the museum’s campus, the selected location is at the rear of the property along a private access road that can be closed to traffic and does not intersect with public access to the museum (a map of the property is included as an attachment). OSV existing practice is that all museum employees are subject
to CORI checks and specific training for customer services and safety as well as best practices for working with people of all abilities. Museum staff already works with students from across New England to provide educational experiences, and they are familiar with the specific needs and best practices for working with children and teachers. The school’s location on property owned by Old Sturbridge Village will not impact student and staff safety. Using this existing structure will allow OSACPS an opportunity to evaluate with input from teachers, parents, students and our EL school design partners the needs of the school going forward and determine options of additional renovations to this building, additions or even construction of a new facility.
Instruction, Instructional Pedagogy:
For students to reach high standards of achievement, teachers must design and deliver lessons that engage all students in meaningful work. To this end, our teachers will:
Design lessons that create purpose and build curiosity for students;
Maintain a focus on instruction by developing and practicing routines and common instructional practices (such as Do Nows, agenda and learning target review, and Habit of Scholarship checkins) that maximize student responsibility for creating a productive learning environment;
Intentionally and explicitly build students’ background knowledge;
Use models and samples of student work to show students what meeting the learning target looks like;
Monitor student progress against those learning targets;
Help students represent their thinking using graphic organizers, journals, and concept maps and use public forms of documentation (e.g., anchor charts) to display student understanding;
Incorporate technology to support and enhance instruction as appropriate;
Ask students to reflect on their learning and debrief their experiences;
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Regularly check for understanding of all students and remediate gaps in learning immediately; and
Provide structured opportunities for students to receive critique and to revise their work.
OSACPS will incorporate instructional methods that are used throughout the network of high performing
EL schools. To quote from EL’s Core Practices:
Expeditionary Learning classrooms are alive with discovery, inquiry, critical thinking, problem- solving, and collaboration. Teachers talk less. Students talk and think more. Lessons have explicit purpose, guided by learning targets for which students take ownership and responsibility. In all subject areas, teachers differentiate instruction and maintain high expectations in order to bring out the
best in all students and cultivate a culture of high achievement. (p.23)
OSACPS classes will be structured and safe so that students feel comfortable taking risks, asking questions, making mistakes, and openly reflecting on their learning. Student voice will be seen as an integral component of the classroom, and students will participate in frequent self-assessments of their learning. Structured protocols for discussion will be used school-wide, a critical tool for supporting learners with different processing styles. Teachers will often assign classroom roles to ensure order and responsibility, especially in the middle school grades. Likewise, roles during group work will be clearly delineated to facilitate collaboration and teamwork.
Lesson planning will begin by naming clear standards-based learning targets which articulate specific learning goals in student-friendly language (see Assessment, page 41, for more information on learning targets). They will be carefully based on the teacher’s knowledge of her/his students in order to support all students in making progress. Teachers will employ strategies that spark student curiosity and engagement and include multiple opportunities for teachers and students to track understanding.
Teachers will use various lesson formats, including the workshop model, discovery-based lessons, and protocol-based lessons. In addition, they will use technology-based lessons, lectures, videos, labs and games as appropriate to the topic. Finally, they will use the unique resources available through the museum.
II-C: STUDENT PERFORMANCE, ASSESSMENT, AND PROGRAM EVALUATION
Student Performance:
As an EL school, OSACPS will measure student progress in three dimensions of achievement: mastery of knowledge and skills, character and engagement, and quality of student work. We will use a blend of external state assessments combined with more frequent internal assessments in order to track progress of individual students and cohorts of students.
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The school will adopt a Student Information Management System that will store essential data on every student. The Principal will have ultimate responsibility for the integrity of the system. A system will be identified and selected after the charter is approved.
To create performance standards for each grade level, OSACPS will organize the MCF into long- term learning targets that represent the essential knowledge and skills all students must know and be able to apply to complete a course. Learning targets (hereinafter “LTs”) will be rigorous, specific, and measurable, providing all stakeholders with a clear statement about the intended learning. They will be written in student-friendly language based on grade level.
Teachers will break down the major LTs into a series of supporting learning targets that name the discrete learning that has to happen for students to reach the performance standards. Using a fourpoint proficiency-based scale, teachers will then assess students on their mastery of the supporting learning targets. For each major assessment, teachers will develop rubrics (often with student input) that make clear the criteria that a student will have to meet in order to receive a 1, 2, 3 or 4. Assessment of students on the major LTs will depend on their mastery of the supporting learning targets. Grades on major LTs will also be on a four point standards-based assessment system.
Working with our EL school design leader, our Principal and faculty will determine in the spring and summer before opening the Habits of Scholarship upon which we will focus, and how success in developing those habits will be measured. Encouraging participation from the faculty working in conjunction with the EL school designer in the development of the Habits of Scholarship will create a shared vision for school success where all students become reflective inquisitors, articulate communicators, critical thinkers, and skilled problem solvers in an empowered school culture.
Progress reports will be issued quarterly and will include both qualitative and quantitative components.
The Principal will look to exemplary EL schools within the network for best practice examples of grade appropriate progress reports. We will also call upon EL best practice in developing our standards for promotion.
Rising seventh graders will develop a two-year plan for achieving performance standards for graduation to high school. In eighth grade, students will complete a rigorous capstone project as part of their graduation requirement— evaluated with a performance rubric that touches on the learning targets needed to demonstrate academic and personal readiness for high school.
Assessment System:
OSACPS’s approach to assessment is based on the following core principles:
1.
Assessment is used to inform instruction and to engage, support and hold students accountable for rigorous learning;
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2.
LTs inform the school’s formative and summative assessment practices and provide structure for the communication of progress to all stakeholders;
3.
Academic performance assessment measures student proficiency of specific LTs. Habits of
Scholarship are evaluated separately from LTs;
4.
Teachers assess student learning on a daily basis through formative assessment practices;
5.
Students have multiple ways in which to demonstrate proficiency of LTs; a mixed assessment approach that includes traditional exams, project-based assessments, and Passage Portfolios ensure that all students can demonstrate proficiency;
6.
Students have ongoing opportunities to demonstrate proficiency; students who do not are provided with additional instruction and support until they can do so;
7.
Students are engaged in the assessment of their own learning;
8.
Students support the learning of their peers;
9.
Teachers use high quality assessments of learning. Summative assessments measure student progress toward specific targets; and
10.
Teachers use ongoing interim assessment data to modify curriculum and tailor instruction throughout the year.
Once again, the Principal will be responsible for maintaining all school-wide student assessment data, as well as for overseeing the administration and analysis of classroom assessments. OSACPS student assessment scores will be analyzed in grade level teams and by the school leaders throughout the year.
They will also be reviewed longitudinally to identify trends. The Principal will also ensure that all staff members have the resources necessary to meet the needs of all students by using data consistently to create and modify lesson plans as appropriate. Teachers and support specialists will collect and analyze informal and formal student assessments on a regular basis and will meet in grade level teams to discuss student progress.
Curriculum-Embedded Assessments:
A requirement for our teachers will be to utilize regular assessment information to identify any student gaps or challenges and to provide immediate support before students fall behind. In order to support teachers’ regular analysis of and action-planning around assessment information, the OSACPS professional development calendar will provide time for teachers to meet in data-inquiry teams by grade level each week. During these meetings, teachers will analyze student progress on curriculum and embedded formative and summative assessments to determine instructional adjustments for students.
In addition, teachers will check for understanding daily to monitor student progress, and studentcentered coaching cycles will ensure that all teachers receive support to respond effectively to assessment information about each student. Many of these assessments (especially within the literacy and math curriculum) are already created. Part of the summer professional development time will be used for teachers to develop any additional needed assessments.
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Interim Assessments:
Interim assessments will be used to gauge student progress on specific learning targets and to identify trends to inform instructional planning. OSACPS plans to use externally created interim assessments. For grades 4-8 we plan to use NWEA (MAP) tests for ELA and math. For our primary students we will determine the best assessment once the prototype for the primary ELA curriculum is released and we have decided upon a math curriculum. During the spring of 2016, the Principal will analyze the existing embedded assessments in the primary curriculum and will determine which interim assessments will give us the most useful data. Some assessments used in other EL schools for primary students that we are considering are NWEA’s MPG, Fountas and Pinnell, and DIBELS.
Student-Engaged Assessments: Portfolios, Student Led Conferences, and Passage Presentations:
Teachers will support students in reflecting on and archiving their work at all grade levels throughout the year. Students will use that work to reflect on and/or demonstrate their progress. The work in students’ portfolios will be linked to standards-based long-term learning targets and to the Habits of
Scholarship established with the Expeditionary Learning school designer. Students will select pieces of work to share at quarterly student-led family conferences. During these conferences, students will reflect on the progress they have made in relation to specific learning targets during the previous several months and set goals for the future. Students will also begin to develop an awareness of how they learn best and what tools can support them in achieving their learning targets. Parents and crew leaders will support students in monitoring their progress against the goals they have set. During the 5th and 8th grade years, students will make a more formal passage presentation, showcasing work and learning that demonstrates their readiness to advance from elementary to middle school and from middle to high school.
Homework:
At OSACPS, we view homework as an opportunity to practice skills that have already been introduced and taught. Teachers will also use homework as an opportunity to extend learning. This means that a student may have to take a concept that has been introduced in class and think about new and novel ways to apply that skill or knowledge.
OSACPS will follow the guidelines from the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) regarding the appropriate volume of homework. The National PTA suggests as a general guideline assigning approximately 10 minutes of homework per night, per grade. That means that a third grade student should have, on average, approximately 30 minutes of homework per night.
In the middle school, teachers guide students to write down each day’s assignments in the homework agenda, a key component of teaching students how to manage their academic workloads effectively. In order to support students in managing their homework across multiple classes, parents and guardians will be asked to review this agenda daily and sign once a student completes his or her homework.
Homework completion percentages will be reported as a part of a student’s grade for Habits of
Scholarship.
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II-D: SUPPORTS FOR DIVERSE LEARNERS
Each classroom at OSACPS, and the school as a whole, will build a culture that honors the diverse learning styles of all of our students while holding every child accountable for the same long-term learning targets. At OSACPS, differentiation will be adopted as a philosophical belief and an instructional approach through which teachers proactively plan to meet students’ varied needs based upon data from ongoing assessment.
When learning challenges are evidenced, OSACPS teachers will use a three-tiered Response to
Intervention ( “RTI”) approach to support our students. Teachers will determine student needs through the use of various assessment strategies, use flexible groupings of students, and design respectful tasks that allow for different approaches to the same goals (RTI Tier 1). As previously stated, all students will work toward the same long-term learning targets, but teachers will provide multiple pathways for meeting the learning targets based on individual student needs. Teachers will use instructional practices that ensure that all students are thinking and participating (e.g. providing texts for different reading levels and designing tasks based on different learning styles). Teaching materials will to be selected so that students read high-quality literature, assume multiple perspectives, and develop empathy.
Multiple assessment measures (e.g. formative, summative, and standardized) will be used at the beginning of and throughout the school year to identify students who need additional support. RTI Tier
2 interventions will include more targeted support through small group instruction and one-on-one remediation, re-teaching strategies, and increased practice to support skill mastery. RTI Tier 3 interventions will include a more intensive approach generally provided by a special education or ELL teacher in a one-on-one setting. Since the school’s workshop and expeditions will be designed to facilitate learning experiences across a range of skill levels, all intervention tiers will take place in the classroom. This will provide all students with equal access to the curriculum. Our policy is to avoid pulling students out of core class periods.
Our budget includes an allocation for speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, school psychology, and supplemental special education resources.
And, as part of our professional development training for teachers, we will encourage and support the mastery of specific interventions that can be implemented within the classroom. For example, all of our kindergarten and first grade teachers may become certified in Orton-Gillingham or Wilson Reading to support students who are dyslexic or have language-based learning differences.
Our founding group has particular expertise in differentiated instruction. OSV CEO Jim Donahue is the founder of the Highlander Institute in Providence and its laboratory, the Highlander Charter School. Both organizations are known for their success in meeting the needs of students with learning differences and for innovative models for providing special education services. Cynthia Ahearn retired recently as an
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elementary school principal in Spencer, MA; she also has extensive experience implementing appropriate interventions and successfully working with diverse learners.
Old Sturbridge Village has also demonstrated success working with students who learn differently. The museum has had a long-term partnership with the Burgess Elementary School in Sturbridge providing an annual program for their students with special needs. The Burgess Elementary alternative education program partners individual students with costumed historians, working one on one in a household, craft shop or around the farm. The students are dressed in period costumes and spend two hour blocks each week for several weeks, learning about every day in the 19th century. They build confidence and social skills and achieve learning targets through hands-on, individualized activities.
Students who have struggled for success in a traditional classroom setting have found through these experiences new avenues to reaching their learning targets. The museum recently began partnerships with local vocational high schools, including Tantasqua Regional High School, to provide hands-on experiences for students both at the Village and in their schools. Students from several high schools have had up close opportunities to experience first-hand agriculture, husbandry management and crafts such as metalworking and pottery. For the last five years, Tantasqua students have worked with OSV master carpenters and professional roofing contractors to observe and replace wood shingle roofs throughout the museum campus. They develop skills in historic preservation and in their chosen trade.
In 2014, an additional facet of the historic preservation program developed as a Tantasqua student worked with OSV IT and operations staff to document the dismantling of an historic structure that will be added to the museum’s campus. Additional students have worked with OSV curators and artisans to create reproductions for use in the museum. They have honed skills in engineering, woodworking, and metalworking while creating numerous pieces that are used in teaching school children who visit the museum throughout the year. As OSV further refines its culinary and foodways programs, the museum is expanding its work with vocational students to include historic foodways and culinary and event management.
Teacher Training, Support, and Professional Development:
OSACPS will create a collaborative learning environment not only for students, but also for our staff.
Continuous loops of aligned observations, feedback, data analysis and coaching will be the norm. With a band of management resources from Old Sturbridge Village overseeing the non-academic elements of the operation, our Principal will have the time to set a culture of support and continuous improvement and development. Access to the museum’s program staff resources will provide time for teachers to be freed up to routinely observe one another and provide frequent, targeted and structured feedback through the use of protocols. Common planning time will occur three times per week for each grade level team. Every Wednesday, all staff will have an additional two hours to analyze and action plan around student data and to participate in on-site professional development. As described above, our teachers will be hired on an 11 month contract; professional development and planning will be at the core of their summer schedules.
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OSACPS will partner with EL to ensure that teachers receive high quality, targeted professional development throughout the year. At the start of every academic year, the school’s leadership team will work with their designated EL school designer to develop a work plan for the year. This plan will be developed based on an analysis of student performance data that indicates priority areas for improvement. Within the work plan will be the following:
● Learning targets;
● Supporting structures and actions for the leadership team;
● Support that will be provided by EL; and
● The data measures that will be used to indicate success.
The support provided, as described in the work plan, will include inquiry-based study groups, teacher coaching cycles, assistance for curriculum development, learning walks to provide descriptive feedback, and whole faculty and small group trainings. Teachers will also be afforded the opportunity to attend off-site EL professional development institutes exploring a variety of critical practices, including developing assessments, proficiency-based grading, differentiating instruction, content area instruction, and creating learning expeditions. Throughout the year, the Principal and teachers, sometimes joined by the EL school designer, will conduct learning walks to identify patterns in classroom practice, assess progress toward the goals outlined in the work plan, and if additional resources are needed to support student achievement and developing educators. These learning walks will be aimed at examining schoolwide trends and needs.
Teacher efficacy is a top priority for the OSACPS leadership. We recognize that there are both unique opportunities and challenges for teachers, some early in their careers, working in a start-up public charter school. We also recognize that the teacher performance evaluation system is critical to the success of our students. That said the early years of the school’s life will require heavy lifting on multiple fronts for both our Principal and our faculty. We want their focus to be curriculum, instruction, assessment and intervention.
For its first two years, the school will employ the Model System for teacher performance evaluations to be conducted by the school’s Principal. Because of the unique support that will be brought to the school by OSV in terms of administrative services, the Principal will be expected to spend at least 75% of his or her time observing and coaching teachers, facilitating peer reviews, developing mentoring partnerships for new and early-career teachers and providing informal, focused and narrowed feedback to teachers at least weekly.
The founding group envisions that OSACPS will serve as a model of best practice teaching and assessment for other educators. Our team has extensive contacts within the professional development network to customize performance plans for individual teachers who may need supplemental support in specific areas.
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In Year 2, the Principal will lead a committee that includes faculty and other advisors that will be charged with developing a new performance review system, building from the Model System but adding components important to the emerging charter school and its leadership and faculty. The new system will be presented to the Department for feedback in time for implementation at the start of Year 3.
II-E: CULTURE AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
Culture and family engagement are critical elements to our school. Our students, teachers, administrators and families will be connected through shared goals of high academic achievement, integrity, quality, accountability and a strong sense of community and history. Teachers will be supported in embodying the character traits that the school values by the Principal and our EL coaches.
These values will permeate our school culture. Part of OSACPS’s partnership with EL is the belief that the school climate is characterized by safety, kindness, joy in learning and positive leadership. Clear school wide expectations of both relational (e.g. kindness, honesty, integrity) and performance character traits
(e.g. organization, perseverance, craftsmanship) will be set. This begins with the entire school community working together to craft the Habits of Scholarship. Teachers, administrators, students, and parents will have a sense of ownership of the values that form the foundation of OSACPS’s culture.
Like OSV, OSACPS will be a community of learning grounded in Universal Program and Universal Design where all students and parents can participate all of the time. Recognizing that barriers to access affect many more people than those labeled as disabled, OSACPS will embrace inclusivity as a priority.
Through a partnership with CHNA5 (Community Health Network), which serves the 15 towns of the proposed region, resources such as Behavioral/Mental Health, Child Care, Child Development and Early
Education, Domestic/Sexual Violence, Education/Cultural Programs, Emergency Hotlines,
Employment/Job Training, Food/Fuel/Budget, Healthcare/Hospitals, Housing, Legal Assistance, Public
Assistance and Public Health will be available to the families of students. The school nurse, counselor, and Principal will help families understand what resources are available to them and assist them with advocating for their children.
Our breakfast and lunch program, contracted through OSV, will adhere to all USDA National School
Lunch Program nutrition requirements required to meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans as well as to offer free or reduced breakfast and lunch to eligible children.
Parent and Family Engagement:
As partners in the education of their children, parents are vital to helping OSACPS help their children to meet their academic and learning goals. Our school building will be inviting to parents, encouraging them to become not only involved in the school, but also comfortable in the school environment. A culture of hospitality will permeate the building. At the start of each year, parents and students will receive an orientation that clearly outlines our academic and behavioral expectations for all students.
Strong, open communication will be the norm, extended to parents through a wide range of
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publications so that all parents understand the policies, curriculum and assessment system. An annual school calendar of events that involve families will be published that include dates for family nights, expedition nights as well as student led family meetings.
Teachers will offer to make home visits to meet parents and families in the environment in which they are most comfortable in hopes that it will create a solid foundation so that the parents are more comfortable in asking questions in their familiar environment and teachers are more in tune to the student’s home life. Families will also receive the contact information for their child’s teachers and the
Principal so that they can be reached at any time if parents have questions or concerns.
Student-led conferences will be offered rather than traditional parent/teacher conferences. During these quarterly meetings, the student will take an active role in directing conversation rather than being the topic of discussion, reflect on their progress, and set academic and character goals for the coming months. Teachers, families, and student will work as a team in establishing learning targets and goals for
Habits of Scholarship and relational character. Family surveys will be done every semester to provide more formal feedback to the school administration on operations, culture, curriculum and communication. In addition, a monthly coffee hour with the Principal will offer a forum for less formal but more immediate comments.
Parents will be invited to serve as volunteers in classrooms, in the school, and as resources for learning expeditions. Parents may serve as classroom experts or portfolio panelists. Helping families build relationships with one another will strengthen the core of our school community. To achieve this, the school will offer quarterly family nights which will take place in partnership with OSV. An example includes a back to school cookout prior to the first day of school so that families, faculty, board members and community partners can join together in anticipation of the year ahead. Family volunteers recruited and led by a vibrant Parent Advisory Council, will be encouraged to help plan and execute the quarterly evenings throughout the year that will include evenings at the museum, social events, and seasonal celebrations for the whole school community. A member of the Parent Advisory Council will also serve on the school’s board. Regular exhibitions highlighting the learning expeditions will also occur throughout the year.
Through our partnership with OSV, every family will receive a family membership to the museum at no cost to them or to the school. This will allow them to visit the museum throughout the year at no charge. Families will also be able to participate in a number of special programs delivered by OSV as part of their school experience. They will be welcome at the many special events that the Village offers such as Families Cook, a night where parents, children and teachers make a 19th-century meal in our Great
Room and sit by the fire to enjoy it together. Additional programs include Family Farm Fest, a celebration of agricultural heritage where families help with farm chores, meet baby animals, and learn about backyard farming and homesteading practices; and Maple Days, an early spring event featuring a working maple sugar camp, tree tapping and cooking and tasting demonstrations featuring maple sugar.
OSV routinely hosts a number of prominent leaders, scholars, and individuals for speaking engagements and programs. A recent event with Temple Grandin brought more than 300 people to our theater to
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hear her talk about living successfully with autism. Other speakers have included Ken Burns, Doris
Kearns-Goodwin, Nathaniel Philbrick, Laura Linney, Tom Brokaw, and John Williams.
Finally, our long-term goal is to expand programming for parents to include ongoing adult education
(GED classes) and workforce development training in partnership with the Village. This will help create a strong bond between the families and school community.
Behavior Management:
Two design elements are critical to achieving our vision of how student behavior will be cultivated and managed in our school. The first is the presence of a scaffold of common protocols, language, rituals and expectations that unify the school community around our vision for behavior—and that will come through our partnership with Expeditionary Learning. As articulated earlier in this application, EL has core practices that are consistent with the values of the founding group, the professional development support for our faculty and a network of successful schools implementing these practices in diverse and creative ways.
The second critical component is a set of commonly embraced intervention practices for supporting students who struggle with their behavior despite the scaffold. For us, these practices will be driven by
Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS). Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and
Support (PBIS) is a systems approach for establishing the social culture and individualized behavioral support needed for schools to be effective learning environments for all students. The tiered model of prevention offers a hierarchy of prevention and intervention strategies with the intensity of the strategies geared to the level of need. Fox, Dunlap, Hemmeter, Joseph, and Strain (2003) described a tiered prevention framework in their study “The teaching pyramid: A model for supporting social competence and preventing challenging behavior in young children.” They presented the “teaching pyramid” as a continuum of supports and serviced designed to build social competence and prevent challenging behaviors in children.
The primary level would contain 80% of the children. It is the most fundamental category. This category would include positive relationships between the child and the child’s parents, teachers, peers, and other caring adults in the child’s life who guide and model with respect to empathy for others, assistance with problem solving and other social expectations and behaviors. The secondary level is geared for children who are at risk for developing challenging behaviors. The tertiary level refers to those few children who already demonstrate patterns of persistent, challenging behavior and who require more individualized intervention efforts such as behavior plans.
The school-wide system creates a positive school culture by making the school environment predictable using common language, having a common vision so everyone understands the expectations, and having a common experience so everyone knows what will be going on in the school such as celebrations for positive actions. The school environment also needs to be positive with regular recognition for positive behaviors. Violent and disruptive behavior cannot be tolerated in the school so everyone recognizes that
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the school is a safe place. Finally, the school environment needs to be a consistent place where all the adults have similar expectations and use similar vocabulary.
The collection and use of data for decision making is an important piece of Schoolwide PBIS. With the data, such as checklists, surveys, benchmarks, suspension numbers, referrals to SPED, school safety surveys, and standardized testing, questions can be answered such as, Are we implementing SW-PBIS correctly and consistently? Are students benefiting behaviorally? Do students perceive the school as safe? Are students benefiting academically?
Family partnerships are crucial to the success of SW-PBIS. 2005 research from the National PTA found that family involvement has a positive effect on student behavior. When families are involved, students exhibit more positive attitudes and behavior. When students report feeling support from both home and school, they have more self-confidence, feel school is more important, and they tend to do better in school. Student at-risk behaviors such as alcohol use, violence, and other anti-social behaviors decrease as parent involvement increases.
According to Karen Mapp in “Family Involvement Equals Student Success No Matter Background,”
August, 2006, “No matter what the demographics, students are more likely to earn higher grades and test scores, attend school regularly, have better social skills, graduate and go on to postsecondary education when schools and families partner.”
Teachers at OSACPS will teach behavioral expectations in the same manner as any core curriculum subject using PBIS—carefully and intentionally blending the approach with EL. Typically, a team consisting of administrators, regular education, and special education teachers attend a two or three day training. The team will focus on three to five behavioral expectations that are positively stated, easy to remember, and suit the needs of the school. Rather than telling the students what not to do, the team will focus on the preferred behaviors. These preferred behaviors should align with the elements of relational character developed with EL.
The core Principles of PBIS are as follows:
1.
We can effectively teach appropriate behavior to all children. All PBIS practices are founded on the assumption and belief that all children can exhibit appropriate behavior. As a result, it is our responsibility to identify the contextual setting events and environmental conditions that enable exhibition of appropriate behavior. We then must determine the means and systems to provide those resources.
2.
Intervene early. It is best practice to intervene before targeted behaviors occur. If we intervene before problematic behaviors escalate, the interventions are much more manageable. Highly effective universal interventions in the early stages of implementation which are informed by time sensitive continuous progress monitoring, enjoy strong empirical support for their effectiveness with at-risk students.
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3.
Use of a multi-tier model of service delivery. PBIS uses an efficient, needs-driven resource deployment system to match behavioral resources with student need. To achieve high rates of student success for all students, instruction in the schools must be differentiated in both nature and intensity. To efficiently differentiate behavioral instruction for all students, PBIS uses tiered models of service delivery.
4.
Use research-based, scientifically validated interventions to the extent available. Scientifically based curricula and interventions ensure that students are exposed to curriculum and teaching that has demonstrated effectiveness for the type of student and the setting. Research-based, scientifically validated interventions provide our best opportunity at implementing strategies that will be effective for a large majority of students.
5.
Monitor student progress to inform interventions. The only method to determine if a student is improving is to monitor the student’s progress. The use of assessments that can be collected frequently and that are sensitive to small changes in student behavior is recommended.
Determining the effectiveness of an intervention early is important to maximize the impact of that intervention for the students.
6.
Use data to make decisions. A data-based decision regarding student response to the interventions is central to PBIS practices. Decisions in PBIS practices are based on professional judgment informed directly by student office discipline referral data and performance data. This principle requires that ongoing data collection systems are in place and that resulting data is used to make informed behavioral intervention planning decisions.
Again, we feel that EL provides a scaffold for all students in contributing positively to the culture of our school community. Our Principal and teachers will work closely together to align PBIS interventions to EL relational character goals and blend the two models to help all students meet OSACPS’s behavioral expectations.
III-A: CAPACITY
The vision of a charter school in partnership with Old Sturbridge Village was first discussed in 2007 when
Jim Donahue was interviewed for the position of President and CEO of the museum. Mr. Donahue was founding director and principal of the Highlander Charter School in Providence, Rhode Island; the first elementary school issued a public charter in that state. Under his leadership, Highlander Charter School flourished and expanded. In 2005, his collaboration with the Hamilton School at Wheeler (a private program for students with learning differences) saw the launch of the Highlander Institute, providing expanded programming for students struggling with learning challenges and the teachers trying to help them.
In 2012, recognizing that students in nearby communities were in failing public schools, Mr. Donahue raised the prospect of supporting a charter school with the OSV management team and OSV’s Board of
Trustees. Over the subsequent three years, the founding group met with members of the local community and leaders of established charter schools as well as staff from Expeditionary Learning. In
October 2014, the Board of Trustees of Old Sturbridge Village voted unanimously to support the
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development of Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School. Once the groundwork was laid, the members of the founding group began to meet on a regular basis to discuss the project. It was a weekly topic of the museum’s senior management meeting. The members of the founding group then began targeted community outreach, meeting with leaders of local YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, M.O.M.S groups, parents of students at local community centers and public libraries, et cetera.
Jim Donahue, President and CEO of OSV, is the primary author of this application. He was supported in this endeavor by school design consultants from EL; Cynthia Ahearn, proposed Principal who is a retired school principal from the town of Spencer; Emily Dunnack, OSV Director of Museum Education; Anne
McBride, OSV Associate Director of Development; Debra Friedman, OSV Senior Vice President; and Tina
Krasnecky, OSV Vice President of Finance. Of counsel in developing the budget was John Buckley of
Alexander, Aronson Finning (AAF), OSV’s external auditor with familiarity with charter school finances.
The team met in person as a full group throughout the previous year as well as in working subgroups.
Access to the application was shared through Google Docs which allowed team members to dialogue and share comments and feedback throughout the writing process.
The combination of EL’s proven track record, Jim Donahue’s background as an experienced charter school founder and OSV’s track record of managing public funds effectively and responsibly provide a basis of support for OSACPS. OSV has deep ties in the local community. Having operated in central
Massachusetts for nearly seventy years, OSV has employed thousands of individuals who live locally and have strong connections to both the museum and the community.
The founding group has identified a diverse group of trustees for the charter school whose backgrounds span a range of skills and talents including community leadership, community health, finance, education, and law.
Founding Group:
Jim Donahue -President and CEO of OSV, founder of Highlander K-12 Charter School and Highlander
Institute in Providence RI.
Cynthia Ahearn - Proposed Principal. Ms. Ahearn is a retired principal in Spencer, MA and is presently the Assistant Principal of St. Mary’s School in Worcester, MA. B.S in Elementary Education from
Fitchburg State University, Masters in Education from Worcester State University and PhD candidate from Lesley University.
Emily Dunnack- Director of Education at OSV, and previously Director of Education at the Connecticut
Historical Society and a recent graduate of Bank Street College’s Master of Science in Education program.
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Debra Friedman- Senior Vice President at OSV- 35 years of management experience including oversight of Museum Education, Museum Program, Membership, Lodging and Food Service at OSV.
Tina Krasnecky- Vice President of Finance at OSV - 30 years’ experience in financial and operational management; BS Finance Bentley College, MBA Clark University
Anne McBride- Associate Director of Development at OSV with experience in grant writing and reporting, including state and federal funds; MA from the Winterthur Program in American Material
Culture at the University of Delaware.
Proposed Board of Trustees:
Keith Blanchette- is a partner in Stolberg, Ebbeling & Blanchette, LLP in Worcester, MA. Keith is a member of the Executive Committee of the Worcester State University Foundation Board, American Red
Cross Board Member, and an Easter Seals of Massachusetts board member. Keith has a B.S.in Business
Administration from Worcester State University and is a certified public accountant.
Pamela Boisvert- is currently CEO of Massachusetts Education and Career Opportunities Inc. She is a former board member of the Washington-based Council for Opportunity in Education (COE). She is currently a member of the advisory boards for the Massachusetts Dept. of Higher Education’s Office of
Student Financial Assistance, the Latino Education Institute, and the New England regional office of the
United Negro College Fund. She and her husband are the 2015-16 co-chairs of the United Way of Central
Mass’ Annual Campaign, the first chairs to be selected from the nonprofit sector. She is a former board member of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, Mass. Higher Education Assistance Corp.,
Mass. Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, Dynamy, Inc., and Girls Inc. of Worcester.
Angela Cheng-Cimini - is presently the Director of Human Resources for Crabtree and Evelyn in
Woodstock, CT. A graduate of Cornell University with a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations, Angela has served as Director of Human Resources for OSV and TIAX LLC, as well as manager of Human Resource
Operations for EMC Corporation, Hopkinton MA. Angela served as chairman of the School Building
Committee for Burgess Elementary School in Sturbridge MA as well as the Chair of the Personnel
Committee for Harrington Memorial Hospital in Southbridge, MA.
Reed Hillman- is a graduate of Suffolk Law School, as well as a former Superintendent of the
Massachusetts State Police, responsible for more than 2,600 law enforcement personnel and an annual budget of over $200 million. Reed served as a Massachusetts State representative from 2000-2004 and was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 2006. He currently teaches criminal justice courses at Mt.
Wachusett Community College in Gardner, MA.
Richard McGrath - is the President and CEO of McGrath Insurance Group, Inc., an agency with annual premiums exceeding $20 million and 22 employees, including specialists in personal, commercial and life
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insurance, and employee benefits. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Southern New Hampshire
University, and completed the Executive Leadership and Development Program at the University of
Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
Jasmin Rivas- is the program coordinator in Southbridge, MA for YOU Inc., one of the leading child welfare, behavioral health, and education agencies in Massachusetts. Jasmin manages Voices with
Choices (VWC), a program targeting children 9-19 and Focus on Youth. She serves on the Board of
Directors for the Tri-Community YMCA. She is the recipient of the Youth Empowerment Award of Aspira of Massachusetts. She holds a B.A. from Worcester State University and is bilingual in Spanish and
English.
Alberta Sebolt-George- is retired from Old Sturbridge Village as President and CEO. Alberta has an extensive background in education, having served as project director for many innovative teacher education programs including assisting teachers in more effective use of cultural institutions, building collaborative relationships, training in inquiry strategies and development of curriculum utilizing community resources. She holds a B.A in Government and Education from the University of
Massachusetts, Amherst, M.Ed. in Elementary Education from Springfield College in Springfield, MA and attended the Executive Management Program at Yale University School of Management.
Christine Tieri -is the President of Idea Agency (formerly Smith & Jones) in Sturbridge. She is a Certified
Brand Strategist. She has served as a board member of Central Mass South Chamber of Commerce as well as the past president of TED- the Tantasqua Education Foundation-a community-sponsored, independent, non-profit organization dedicated to providing financial resources to support projects and programs that encourage students to develop their talents, become lifelong learners, and pursue excellence. Christine has a BA from Syracuse University.
Parent Advisory Council Member - to be determined after the initial enrollment period.
III-B: GOVERNANCE
One of the strengths of OSV is the rigor with which its board embraces its fiduciary responsibility as the governing authority. OSV has built an active and engaged board of trustees who work in committee to support the achievement of the museum’s short and long-term goals. Transparency, inclusion, participation, accountability, and alignment with the mission characterize the OSV board. The founding group envisions that the OSACPS Board of Trustees will be distinguished by these traits as well.
OSACPS’s Board of Trustees (the Board) will be a minimum of nine members, is a public entity and will hold the charter granted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have fiduciary responsibility as well as the legal, ethical and moral liability for the school. The Parent Advisory Council will elect a member who will sit on the school board. The Executive Director, appointed under the management agreement, will be an ex-officio member of the Board. The Board will have sub-committees of Finance,
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Development, Governance, and Community Engagement. The Board will develop school policies and change them when appropriate. The Board will rely on the Bylaws for decision making.
The Board is responsible for hiring and overseeing the Management Organization (OSV) who will be accountable to the Board. The five year management agreement, a draft of which is attached as required, will end on June 30, 2021 unless terminated earlier. Because the accountability of the
Management Organization is essential to the foundation of this partnership, and because the responsibility of the Principal is critical to the success of OSACPS, the Board of Trustees will delegate to the Management Organization the authority and responsibility, consistent with State law, to make recommendations for recruiting, hiring, evaluating and terminating the Principal of the school. The
Management Organization will provide the leadership of the Executive Director who is responsible in assisting the Board in holding the Principal accountable for managing the school’s day-to-day operations and will hold them accountable for meeting established goals that ensure the success of OSACPS.
The Board will have four officers:
Chair of the Board will set the agenda and preside over all meetings of the Board. The Chair will nominate Committee Chairs.
The Vice Chair of the Board will, in the absence of the Chair at any meetings of the Board,
exercise the rights and perform the function of the Chair.
Treasurer will oversee the general financial affairs of the School, subject to the direction and control of the Board of Trustees. The treasurer will chair the Finance committee and will review financial statements on a monthly basis and will then report to the Board on budget and revenue expenditures at each Board meeting.
Secretary will record and maintain records of all proceedings of the Board, give such notices of meeting of Trustees as required by the Charter and no later than seven days before an meeting of the Board, distribute to the members of the Board of Trustees copies of any minutes of prior meetings of the Board of Trustees that have not been approved by the Board of Trustees.
The Board will have sub-committees of :
Finance Committee- Finance Committee will be chaired by the Board Treasurer. Finance Board will review the draft budget created by the Executive Director and present the budget to the
Board for final approval. The Finance Committee will monitor school finances on a monthly basis and the treasurer will prepare a finance report for the Board on a quarterly basis. The treasurer will identify key priorities for long-term financial planning and work with the board to ensure financial stability
Development- Chair to be determined. The development committee drives the board’s vital fundraising activities. Members of this committee oversee the development of fundraising goals, lead activities to meet these goals.
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Governance -Chair to be determined. The Governance Committee drives a comprehensive board self-assessment process, fosters the development of new and existing board members, manages board member recruitment, and nominates candidates for officer positions.
Community Engagement- Chair to be determined. The Community Engagement Committee will work to identify new partnerships for OSACPS and local service agencies, community groups and organizations as well as liaison with established relationships.
The Board shall approve OSACPS budget, ensure that curriculum aligns with mission and goals as well as
MCF, and hiring the school’s independent auditor. The Board will establish a long-range plan and a charter school accountability plan that will ensure the school’s continued stability through its Finance
Committee. It will also ensure that the school is complying with state and federal laws and that the board itself is in compliance with any regulations from the state of Massachusetts. The Board will operate the school in accordance with OSACPS’s charter. Any amendments to the charter will need to be approved by the Board. All teachers, paraprofessionals, and employees working with children will report to the Principal who will report to the Management Organization. The Management Organization will manage the contracted services of accounting, human resources, information technology, food service, and leadership.
The Board will develop, with input from Principal and Management Organization (OSV), policies regarding personnel, budget, vendor selection, and accounting controls. Board meetings and the activities included will be consistent with the provisions of open meetings, state ethics, and charter school laws and designed to foster open, deliberate, and thorough discussions.
Annual functions of the board include developing the annual budget, conducting and annual meeting to elect new members, and evaluating its own performance as the school’s governing authority. Board evaluation will be done on an annual basis and overseen by the Governance Committee. All Board
Members will be asked to do a self-evaluation as well as an assessment of the performance of the board as a whole prior to the annual meeting of the board that will be used to identify areas of improvement, issues for discussion as well as topics for further board education. The Governance Committee will prepare a report of all actions taken by the Board, Trustee attendance at meetings, fundraising efforts, school’s academic performance and stakeholder’s satisfaction.
Ongoing functions of the board during their monthly meetings include monitoring the school’s finances, conducting long-term financial and strategic planning, participating in fundraising, promoting OSACPS to the communities and supporting the functions of the school’s leadership team. Key organizational decisions about curriculum instruction, student achievement, professional development, culture, staffing, fiscal planning, and operations will be made by the Principal in concert with the board and the leadership provided by the Management Organization.
New board members will be recruited formally and informally. The Governance Committee of the Board will be charged with identifying prospective board members, vetting their qualifications, conducting interviews, and making nominations at the board’s annual meeting. The Governance Committee will
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seek to nominate individuals who possess a wide range of expertise and experience relevant to charter schools and nonprofit organizations including legal, educational leadership, finance, development, human resources, technology and nonprofit management. The Governance Committee will maintain a skills inventory of current and soon to be graduating board members so that recruitment efforts can be targeted and strategic. Potential new Board members will tour the school to meet the staff and students. They will be given an overview of charter public schools in Massachusetts in general and
OSACPS in particular. Upon successful election to the Board, new members will meet with the chair of the Governance Committee and review the Board Policy that includes but not limited to by-laws, mission, organizational chart, an overview of the role of trustees and guidance on state ethics as related to charter schools. They will also receive a copy of the Massachusetts DESE Charter School
Administration and Governance Guide. New trustees will also review the most recently financial statements, yearly operating budget and be briefed on any issues or projects that OSACPS is facing.
The founding group has developed a set of proposed bylaws for the board that specify term limits, specific roles and responsibilities, committee structures, and other details critical successful governance.
(See attachment). As stated in the bylaws, individuals or groups may complain in writing to the Board of
Trustees concerning any claimed violations by OSACPS. The Board of Trustees will respond in writing to any such complaint to the complaining party within thirty (30) days of receipt of the complaint. If, after presenting their complaint to the Board of Trustees, the individuals or groups believe that their complaint has not been adequately addressed, they may submit their complaint in writing to the
Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education who shall investigate such complaint and make a formal response, pursuant to the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 71, Section 89.
The Parent Advisory Council will provide opportunities for parents to give feedback to the Principal, and board of trustees. In addition to an area to provide feedback on the OSACPS website, parent surveys will be done on an annual basis. They will also be encouraged to develop and plan events to deepen family engagement in the life of the school. A Parent Advisory Council will elect a member who will sit on the school board. lll-C: MANAGEMENT
The OSACPS Board of Trustees will be completely independent from the OSV Board of Trustees. If
OSACPS is displeased with any aspect of the management relationship, it can sever the agreement.
OSV’s established infrastructure will support the launch of a charter public school through accounting, finance, human resources, development, maintenance and food service; logistics with which other fledging schools struggle. Through a partnership with the museum, OSACPS will have access to local, regional and national resources.
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Role of OSV as Management Organization:
The objective of OSACPS in contracting with OSV as a Management Organization is to manage the school’s daily operations as efficiently as possible, investing as much as possible in programs, people, and things that will directly correlate to increased student achievement. OSV has stable, high performing departments managing accounting, finance, human resources, development, information technology, food service, and facilities. OSV as the Management Organization has the capacity and competency to manage the administrative functions of the school, freeing the Principal and the onsite staff to focus exclusively on teaching, learning, assessment, and school culture. With an annual operating budget in excess of $10M, OSV has structures and systems in place for managing the functions of a large and growing organization.
To that end, we propose an innovative management agreement between OSACPS and OSV as the
Management Organization:
OSV will be responsible for contracting for maintenance and operation of the school facilities.
OSV will make recommendations for selection, hiring, performance reviews and termination of
the Principal of OSACPS.
OSV will provide financial services (including payroll), human resources, development, IT services, marketing, and public relations for OSACPS.
OSV will be responsible for contracting for the administration and oversight of student food services.
OSV designated leadership staff shall by resolution of the OSACPS Board of Trustees be authorized to enter into contracts on behalf of OSACPS subject to budgetary or other limitations outlined in the school’s procedures and policies.
Roles of the School Staff:
Executive Director (Management Organization) Representing the educational program staff to the Board of Trustees, the ED will make recommendations to the Board regarding hiring, managing and developing the Principal, managing contracted resources including finance,
human resources, food services, marketing, development, facilities, and transportation.
Principal-supervising curriculum development; recruitment, training and evaluation of instructional and non-instructional staff; organizing professional development opportunities; managing the school’s assessment system; and overseeing student performance. Until such time that a student services coordinator is brought on, the Principal will oversee ELL/ESL teachers, contracted specialized providers (OT/PT/Psych/Speech) and student support teachers (SPED &
Title 1) as well as the school nurse and administrative assistant.
Process for Selecting School Principal:
The Founding members and Board of Trustees for OSACPS has set the criteria for experience for the school Principal as the following:
Master’s degree and valid Principal license in Massachusetts;
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Minimum five years’ teaching experience including, but not limited to: knowledge of curriculum,
instructional practice, student learning styles, and student assessment;
Minimum of years’ of school administrative experience with staff management including, but not limited to the hiring, evaluation, and development of teaching faculty, preferably in a Title I school;
Administrative skills, including organizational, operational, and fiscal experience;
Excellent oral, written and interpersonal skills;
Strong and tested ability to develop excellent teams and participate effectively on teams; a collaborative management style;
Proven ability to prioritize, balance, and complete complex projects in the face of competing deadlines;
Acute attention to detail and project completion;
Strong partnership-building skills; and
Sense of humor.
The proposed Principal, Ms. Cynthia Ahearn, fulfills the stated criteria. Her work with the development of this final application has been invaluable.
As described throughout this application, the proposed school curriculum support partner is
Expeditionary Learning, a national network of over 160 schools that has strong results in working with students from diverse backgrounds including English language learners, special learning needs and low income families. EL will provide a support organization for the faculty including professional development, curriculum support and targeted coaching. lll-D: FACILITITES AND TRANSPORTATION
The founding group of OSACPS has spent several months examining and identifying various potential locations on site at OSV. Locations were ruled out due to inadequate access for cars/buses, insufficient square footage as the school expands to its full enrollment and poor proximity for convenient access to the Village, especially for the very young students. The space identified as being able to serve the needs of the students of OSACPS as well as to fulfill the vision of an exciting learning environment to complement the unique design of the curriculum is the current Country Bank Education Building. The complex, built in 1973, consists of two structures that are located off of Old Sturbridge Village Road. The complex has excellent street access on the privately maintained road that would ensure safe as well as orderly drop-off and pick-up of students. In addition, convenient entree to the Village via a walking bridge which is easily secured from public access. The main structure is 14,388 square feet, open post and beam construction with multi-levels as well as an elevator allowing access to all levels. This building will house the six classes of students needed for year one, individual instructional spaces, ADA compliant restrooms, administrative offices, nurse’s office and a teacher’s lounge and allow for flexible and creative use of space for other programs offered. This building was originally designed for easy expansion which OSACPS will pursue after Year 1 in anticipation of the annual increase in enrollment.
The second building in this complex is 4,590 square feet and will provide space for lunchroom, assembly space, restrooms and library.
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Surrounding both buildings is open space that will be used to create play areas for the children as well as an exterior dining area for use in good weather. Students, staff, and parents who are physically challenged will have full access to the facility in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations.
The lease agreement with the landlord (OSV) will state that the landlord agrees to "build to suit' (pay for all renovations) and the cost of renovations is included in the rental payments.
Transportation of Students
OSACPS will work closely with the school district to provide transportation for eligible students from the district. OSACPS is committed long-term to providing transportation to students from communities outside of Sturbridge so we have budgeted to purchase two buses in Year 2 that will be used to provide transportation by Year 3. For Year 1 & 2, OSACPS is reviewing options of car-pools and contracted bus services to ensure that transportation is available to students in need. Students who are physically challenged will be provided transportation on handicapped accessible vans and buses according to state and federal laws and regulations.
III-E: SCHOOL FINANCES
Fiscal Management
The OSACPS Board of Trustees will be responsible for financial oversight and will hold management accountable for sound financial management and policy adherence. The board will delegate daily management of the school’s finances to the Management Organization (OSV) which will ensure that the school designs and sustains strong business, operations, and human resources systems. The team provided by OSV under the agreement will have extensive experience in business and financial management. Under the management agreement financial management will be led by OSV’s VP of
Finance. The VP of Finance will work closely with the school’s Treasurer.
A Fiscal Control Manual based on the Massachusetts Charter School Recommended Fiscal Policies and
Procedures Guide will be developed. This manual will delineate all financial control procedures, document all finance-related tasks and ensure that these responsibilities are segregated as required by the law. The manual will outline the procedures for financial management, budget processing and reporting, transaction approval, purchasing, record keeping, issuing checks, employee expenses, payroll and benefits, and inventory management. Roles and responsibilities of staff involved in fiscal management will be clearly documented. The manual will be reviewed and recommended by the
Finance Committee, and approved by the Board.
The Board of Trustees will approve the operating budget on annual basis. The Finance Committee will review financial statements on a monthly basis and the Treasurer will report to the Board on budget and revenue expenditures at each Board meeting.
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The Board of Trustees will contract annually with a qualified independent certified public accountant firm to conduct an audit of the school’s financial statements in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United Stated of America, Government Auditing Standards issued by the
Comptroller General of the United States, 2003 Revision (GAS) and, if applicable, the U.S. Office of
Management and Budget’s Circular A-133. The audit firm will be familiar with these standards, related
State and Charter School regulations, and the Massachusetts Charter School Audit Guide in order to properly conduct the audit. OSV has an established relationship with the firm of Alexander, Aronson and Finning (AAF) and due to their extensive knowledge and experience with charter schools is currently recommending them as the school's’ auditor.
Under the management agreement OSV will purchase, install and then utilize a fully integrated general ledger accounting software (QuickBooks is currently proposed). The software will have the ability to provide a balance sheet, income statement, cash flow, and budget reports. The software also will feature integrated purchasing, cash disbursements, cash receipts, and inventory capabilities and payroll.
The school's’ accounting software will be kept entirely separate from OSV’s accounting software.
Financial data will be set up in accordance with guidelines established in the Massachusetts Charter
School Recommended Fiscal Policies and Procedures Guide: The accounting software will also design a chart of accounts formatted with appropriate fund, function, and object levels in accordance with the
Guide.
The five year operating budget and first year cash flow were developed with the most accurate information available and were as conservative as possible in all assumptions however there are still numerous risks, particularly in Year 1. For this reason contingency funds are budgeted in each year for unanticipated revenue shortfalls or unforeseen expenditures that may negatively impact cash flow. In
Year 1 daily review of the operations will be critical to ensure adequate cash at all times; spending will be carefully monitored and payment terms will be worked aggressively. Additionally, the founding team and board will work with local banks to explore opportunities for short term financing such as a line of credit to help manage cash flow.
Operating Budget and Budget Narrative
Summary:
The OSACPS proposed five-year operating budget has been developed using resources such as personal knowledge of the founding team, outside professional advisors, interviews and research with existing charter schools, as well as resources provided by the DESE and other government agencies. The expectation is that this budget provides a realistic estimate of the school’s projected revenues and expenditures from the first year of operation through the end of the fifth year.
The proposed operating budget assumes that the federal Charter School Program (CSP) grant award will be unavailable to us. However, should we receive this money, we intend to allocate greater funds to
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areas that are subject to the most variability, such as facility needs and staffing for our special education and ELL programs, and build a more substantial contingency fund.
OSV has committed to provide all pre-operating year financial support through private grants and individual gifts as well as in-kind contributions from OSV staff and other founders. To date, $47,000 in private grants has been received through the efforts of the OSV Development staff. An anonymous foundation provided a grant of $25,000 and the Osterman Family Foundation made a grant of $22,000.
For Years 1-5, revenue projections based on estimated enrollment and additional gifts are expected to provide sufficient cash to cover operating expenditures in each subsequent year. A contingency fund has also been forecast to provide for risks in both revenues and expense assumptions. Fundraising for the school will be done using the highly experienced development staff of OSV. Their efforts will focus on raising funds to support capital projects, equipment, family engagement and special programs.
Five Year Budget Summary
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Total Revenue $ 1,400,598 $ 1,892,160 $ 2,406,100 $ 2,928,080 $ 3,459,840
Total Expense $ 1,386,286 $ 1,778,436 $ 2,334,363 $ 2,861,877 $ 3,365,005
Surplus/(Deficit) $ 14,312 $ 113,724 $ 71,737 $ 66,203 $ 94,835
Major Assumptions:
Per Pupil Tuition: Tuition in Y1 of $11,187 is a blended tuition based on the estimated tuition for each sending community in the proposed district. Foundation tuition is assumed to increase
1.5% per year. The Facilities payment included in tuition is assumed fixed at $893 per year.
Student Enrollment: Assumed at 120 in Y1 for grades K-2; each subsequent year enrollment is assumed to increase by 40 students. School will reach full capacity (360 students) in Y7 with grades K-8.
Facility Size: Through a lease with OSV, OSACPS will be located in the Country Bank Education complex (described in Section III D) which has a total square footage of approximately 19,000 square feet. Space will be renovated by OSV each year as necessary to accommodate increased
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enrollment resulting in an estimated space increase of 2,000 square feet per year which the building and grounds can accommodate.
Cost Per Square Foot: Cost per square foot has been calculated based on OSV’s desire to provide the school with an affordable facility in its early years - the final costs will be determined by the cost of renovations and estimated cost of general maintenance of the complex. Year 1 cost per square foot is $5.00 for a total lease cost of $94,890.
Staff FTE: Y1-Y5 staffing plan is based on curriculum, student enrollment and grade expansion.
Assumes 3% cost of living (COLA) increase for all staff each year. Under the current assumptions that Year 1 staffing is 15.5 FTE, and by Year 5 this will grow to 38 FTE.
Operating Revenues:
Tuition: Tuition is based on the per pupil blended rate discussed above multiplied by estimated annual enrollment. Facilities allocation of $893 per student is included in tuition calculation.
Grants – Federal: Federal entitlements for Title I have been budgeted at $900 per pupil. This is a conservative estimate reflecting the average per pupil funding across the 15 communities and the assumption that OSA student population of low income students will be a minimum of 40% of total enrollment.
Grants – Private: No private grant funding is budgeted, although under the management agreement OSV Development staff will identify possible sources of fund and submit proposals on behalf of the school.
Nutrition Funding – State & Federal: The budget assumes that the school will enter into an agreement with OSV’s culinary division to provide food services. Under this contract OSV will be responsible for the financial management and reporting of the program as well as providing meals. This results in no impact to the school’s budget.
Program Fees: Operating budget does not assume any additional programs that are fee based.
Contributions, in kind: We will solicit contributions in kind, but we do not assume any at this stage.
Contributions, in cash: Assumes fundraising beginning at an estimated $15,000 per year increasing each year with support provided by the OSV Development staff as part of the management agreement. Total budgeted contributions do not exceed 1.5% of operating revenues in any year.
Investment Income: Assumes no investment income.
Transportation Reimbursements: None are assumed at this time
Operating Expenditures - Administration
Salaries – Admin (Professional): A Principal is assumed to be hired no later than April 1 of the
POP. The Principal will report to the Executive Director under the terms of the management agreement with OSV. Starting salary is estimated at $80,000; budget assumes annual 3% COLA.
Salaries – Admin (Support/Clerical): In Y1 a full time Administrative Assistant will be hired to support the Principal at an estimated salary of $25,000. Budget assumes annual 3% COLA.
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Accounting – Audit: Audits are proposed to be performed by Alexander, Aronson and Finning
CPA’s (AAF). AAF has provided preliminary costs of $3,500 for Review of the POP, $10,000 for Y1 with each subsequent year at $15,000 based on their experience with schools of similar size/complexity.
Legal: Fees assumed at $5,000 for POP year then $3,000 thereafter
Payroll: Assumed to be provided under Management Agreement.
Other Professional Services: Accounting/Financial Management Consulting: Accounting support will be provided under the Management Agreement however, in order to help provide solid training and ensure fiscal control under charter school and Massachusetts state laws we will engage a firm with experience in school financial management. The budget assumes approximately 120 hours in the POP year at $100 per hour ($12,000) and then 20 hours per month over 10 months at $100 per hour in Y1 ($20,000).
Information Management and Technology: Cost for staff devices at approximately $500 per FTE staff. IT support for devices and network will be provided under Management Agreement.
Office Supplies and Materials: Estimated at $5,000 in Year 1 with an average annual increase of
2% due to increases in enrollment.
Professional Development, Admin/Board: Assumes approximately $5,000 per year for the
Executive Director, Principal, and Board.
Dues, Licenses, and Subscriptions: Assumes dues to Massachusetts Charter School Association at
0.00222 of tuition revenue plus $1,000 annually for miscellaneous subscriptions and dues.
Fundraising: Cost to develop professionally designed flyers, folders, and materials for presentations to potential donors. Y1 estimated at $2,500 increasing by 2.5% each year.
Recruitment/Advertising: Estimated $20,000 in POP and then $2,500 each year afterward.
Travel Expenses for staff/Board: Estimated at $1,000 per year for school visits, training, etc.
Bank Charges – Current (Short Term): None assumed at this time
Other: OSV Management Services Agreement: The budget assumes the development of an agreement between OSACPS and OSV under which OSV will provide executive leadership as well as support for such functions as accounting, finance, human resources, development, and information technology (a draft agreement is attached). Preliminary fees are estimated at 6% of tuition in Y1 ($81,444), increasing to 8% for Y2, then leveling off at 10% thereafter. Although the final agreement must be negotiated and approved by the OSACPS Board, we believe that OSV’s established support departments have both the capacity and competency to manage the administrative functions of the school, and can provide high quality support at a lower cost than if the school were to go out and hire these resources directly.
Instructional Services
Salaries – Teachers: Y1 budget assumes 6 FTE general education teachers based on enrollment projection of 120 students and classroom size of 20. Budget assumes average annual salary of
$43,000. Y2-Y5 teacher resources (general education, special education) are increased each year in support of increased enrollment, grades offered, and estimated student needs. All estimates include a 3% COLA increase each year for all staff.
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Salaries – Other (Professional): Y1 budget assumes 1 paraprofessional for Title 1. Y2 budget assumes the addition of a second paraprofessional. General education resources for Y3-5 increase as student enrollment and need increase. Special education salaried resources begin in
Y2 replacing contracted resources. All estimates include a 3% COLA increase each year for all staff.
Salaries – Paraprofessionals: Y1 budget assume 5 paraprofessionals; 1 per classroom for grades k-1 and .5 per classroom (1 person shared between 2 classrooms) for grade 2. Average annual salary assumed at $25,000 with a 3% COLA increase each year for all staff. Y2-Y5 budget assumes paraprofessionals for general education are added at the rate of .5 per classroom for grades 3-6. Paraprofessionals/Inclusion associates for special education students are increased as special education teachers are hired at a rate of .5 FTE per teacher beginning in Y3.
Contracted Services, Instructional: For Y1-Y5 the school anticipates contracting for services such as Special Education, Speech and Language (S&L), Occupational and Physical Therapy (OT/PT) as well as substitute teachers. These resources will compliment full time staffing as needed.
Budget assumes $17,000 in Y1 for General Education and $40,000 for special education needs.
In later years, amounts for Special Education decrease as full time staff is added.
Instructional Technology in Classrooms: Y1 assumes a total of $37,000 to provide smartboards in all classrooms ($12,000), AV equipment for assembly spaces ($5,000), 20 learning devices/tablets to be shared amongst k-1 classrooms and 20 learning devices/tablets to be shared amongst grade 2 classrooms (total cost $20,000). Each year thereafter smartboards are put into each new classroom. Learning devices are shared amongst classrooms for grades 3-4 however beginning with grade 5 each student is provided with a device. Budget also includes a
5% replacement rate.
Instructional Supplies & Materials: Y1 assumes cost for instructional supplies of $90,000 ($750 per student) and $15,000 for initial cost of math curriculum. Y2-Y5 assumes $30,000 ($750 per student) for new incoming grade and $300 per student for existing enrollment.
Testing & Assessment: Budget assumes $1,500 per classroom for grades K-3; assumption increases to $4,000 for grades 4-6 classrooms added in Y3-5 for testing and assessment. Also included on this line is an estimated cost of $5.00 per student/year for a student data management system,
Professional Development, Instructional: Estimates average $1,500 per teacher per year. Much of our PD will be facilitated by Expeditionary Learning, but this allocation ensures sufficient funds for high quality external PD in addition.
Other: Expeditionary Learning - the partnership between Expeditionary Learning and OSACPS is budgeted to continue through Year 5. Cost estimates have been provided by EL.
Other Student Services:
Salaries – Other Student Services: Assumes hiring 0.5 FTE nurse in Y1 at an average salary of
$45,000. A 3% COLA is assumed each year. This position is assumed to become full time in Y3.
Health Services: Supplies for school nurse; student cots, first aid supplies, etc. Assumes $1,000 in
Y1 with cost increase of 5% per year for increased enrollment.
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Student Transportation (to and from school): Funds have been budgeted in Y1 and Y2 for contracted transportation for high need students. During Y2 the school has budgeted to purchase two buses and will begin providing transportation for all students in Y3. The estimated cost includes costs of drivers, fuel, maintenance, and insurance for two buses.
Food Services: The budget assumes that the school will enter into an agreement with OSV’s culinary division to provide food services. Under this agreement, OSV will be responsible for the financial management and reporting of the program as well as providing meals. This results in no impact to the school’s budget.
Other - Enrichment programs: o Field trip costs are estimated at $1,000 per classroom in each year. o Contracted services from OSV for Discovery Experiences for students. Y1 assumes a cost of $28,500 based on approximately 1,425 hours of instruction at an estimated cost of
$20 per hour. The cost increases each year based on enrollment/number of required staff and cost increases for labor and materials.
Operations and Maintenance of Plant
Utilities: Estimated based on planned square footage and known historical costs for the buildings proposed to be leased. All utilities are separately metered/provided directly to this
complex so school will pay actual invoiced usage.
Rental/Lease of Buildings & Grounds: The school will enter into a multi-year facility lease with
OSV for the space identified (Section III D). The annual lease payment assumes that OSV will ensure that the building is renovated to meet all school and state requirements in each year of the lease. OSV will also provide general maintenance for the complex similar to that provided to existing commercial tenants; building repairs, snow removal, landscaping. This lease will be separate from the management services agreement and will be approved by the school’s Board of Trustees. OSV has proposed a cost per square foot that provides the school with some cost relief in Year 1 ($5.00), and then increases each year at approximately 25% per year as renovations are made. Year 5 assumes a cost per square foot of $12.20. Total lease cost in Year
1 is estimated at $94,890.
Rental/Lease of Equipment: Assumes annual cost of $2,000 for the lease of a copier in Y1, another copier is added in Y3.
Acquisition of Capital Equipment: Classroom furniture will need to be purchased in each year as student enrollment increases and school services expand. The budget assumes a Year 1 expense of $25,000. In addition, in Y2 the school has budgeted to purchase 2 buses to provide student transportation.
Fixed Charges:
Payroll taxes: Assumes 3% of total cost of salaries to cover payroll taxes based on fact that given the OSV management agreement there are very few non-instructional staff.
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Fringe Benefits: Includes health care related benefits; assumed at 13% of salaries in Y1. Benefit costs are estimated to increase by 10% each year which results in fringe rate increase of approximately 1% each year.
Insurance (non-employee): Estimated at $15,000 in Y1 with 5% annual increases thereafter.
Community Service and Dissemination:
Dissemination Activities: Estimated costs for hosting visitors and sharing best practices with other educators.
Civic Activities: Estimated costs for family events and communication, and work with local organizations.
Contingency Fund:
As a preliminary budget, there are numerous risks to both projected revenues and expenditures.
For this reason a contingency fund has been budgeted. The contingency fund for Y1-Y3 is equal to 3% of total operating revenues; this increases in Y4-Y5 to 5% due to more uncertainty in future years.
Year One Cash Flow and Narrative
The Year 1 operating cash flow was developed assuming a fiscal year beginning July 1. As a conservative measure it is assumed that the school has no opening cash balance. This results in a plan with significant cash shortfalls in July and August as teachers are hired and spending for items such as furniture, technology, and curriculum must occur in these months in order for the school to open.
Activities underway to help prevent this shortfall include development activities by both the founding team and the OSV Development staff such as applying for the CSP grant as well as proposals submitted to private foundations. Additionally, the founding team and Board will work with local banks for short term financing such as a line of credit as well.
Key Assumptions
Operating Revenues: Tuition payments are assumed to be paid monthly beginning July 1. Title I funding is conservatively planned to not be available until later in year due to application process. Cash contributions are assumed to come immediately in July due to aggressive fundraising during the period of March - June 2016.
Operating Expenditures: These expenses will begin immediately in July and are expected to be fairly evenly spent over the course of the year. One exception is the purchase of computer equipment for the staff - this will have to occur in July. The other exception is that the amounts owed under the OSV Management Agreement will be paid quarterly (first payment September).
Instructional Services: Teachers and paraprofessional staff are planned to be hired by July 1, additionally all instructional technology, supplies and materials must be purchased immediately.
This is a primary reason for the cash shortfalls in July and August, if approved the CSP grant would be used to help mitigate this cash outlay.
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Other Student Services: Spending for these expenses will begin once the school opens.
Operation and Maintenance of Plant: Janitorial salaries and utilities will be paid beginning in
July. Capital equipment is spending for furniture and fixtures so it will be spent immediately.
Similar to the Management Agreement, OSV will defer the payment of the lease until
September to help with cash management.
Fixed charges : Payroll taxes and fringe benefits payments will begin in July as they are based on salaries that are paid. Insurance payments are assumed to be spread evenly.
Community Services: These expenses are assumed to be spent evenly throughout the year.
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lll-F: ACTION PLAN
Action Plan
Recruit students and complete preliminary enrollment forms/applications
Interview prospective staff.
Prepare lease agreement.
Complete building renovations
Receive furniture and materials.
Sign lease.
Conduct all building inspections.
Request from districts name and addresses of eligible students.
Plan summer training.
Complete Code of Conduct and Student Handbook.
Complete Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan.
Complete School Wellness Policy.
Complete Personnel Handbook and Agreement.
Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun Jul
X X X X
X X X X
X
X X X X X
X X X X
X
X X X X
X X
X X
X
X X
X
X
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We will comply with the MA-DESE Department of Charter Schools and Redesign Opening Procedures
Handbook and the deadlines below that show completion dates for the various actions or documents required as part of the opening procedures process of new charter schools.
BY MARCH 15, 2016 APRIL 15, 2016
Draft board bylaws
Board Complaint Procedure
Organizational chart
Financial disclosures
New Board Members Approval Request
Grants/Tuition Required Finance Documents
Draft management Agreement
Memorandum of Understanding
Pre-enrollment Report
Wait List Report
MAY 15, 2016
Enrollment policy and admission application
Annual school calendar
Sample student schedules
School schedule template
Projected enrollment data for low income, special education, and English language learners
CORI Policy
Contact MTRS Employer Services
Code of conduct and/or student handbook
(Expulsion Policy)
Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan
Fiscal Policies and Procedures
Budget for the first three years of operation
Cash flow projection for the first year of
operation
Contact ESE Nutrition Office
JUNE 15, 2016
District Curriculum Accommodation Plan
English Language Education Policies and Procedures
Evaluation Criteria and Professional Development Plans
Health Plan and Medications Administration Plan
School Wellness Policy
Special Education Program Plan
Special Education Policies and Procedures
Code of Conduct and/or student handbook
Update school profile listing
Medical Emergency Response Plan
Multi-hazard Evacuation Plan
Copy of Lease Agreement
Bullying Prevention or Intervention Plan
JULY 15, 2016 SEPTEMBER 1, 2016
Teacher Qualification Summary
Special Education Administrator Agreement
ESL/ELL Teacher Agreement
School nurse agreement
School physician/medical consultant agreement
National School Lunch Program (NSLP) assurance, if applicable
Nutrition Services Contract, if applicable
Lead Inspection and Report
Insurance coverage
Asbestos Inspection Report and AHERA management Plan
Building Accessibility Assurance and/or Plan
Building Permits and Certificates
Transportation Services Plan
CORI & Background check assurance
MTRS Evidence
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IV. REQUIRED ATTACHMENTS
Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School By-laws
ARTICLE 1
Purpose, Name and Statutory Authority
Section 1: The purpose of Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School is to operate a Commonwealth Charter
School with the mission of being to provide K-8 public charter school students with the rigorous, real world learning experiences in a supportive and nurturing school community, helping all students to become reflective inquisitors, articulate communicators, critical thinkers and skilled problem solvers.
Section 2: Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School is a public school, operated under a charter granted by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (the “Charter”). The name of the School, if ever changed, must include the words “Charter School.”
Section 3: Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School shall be subject to all applicable provisions of
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 71, Section 89, as amended. The Board of Trustees of Old Sturbridge
Academy (the “Board”) holds the charter granted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as described in
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 71, Section 89©. The Board is a public entity which operates independently of a school committee. The individual members of the Board are deemed to be special state employees subject to and in accordance with the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 71, Section 89 and related applicable laws and regulations. The board is a public employer for the purposes of tort liability (M.G.L. Chapter
258) and for collective bargaining purposes (M.G.L. Chapter 150E).
Section 4: Members of the board of trustees will comply with the Commonwealth's state ethics requirements including, but not limited to, meeting all training requirements; complying with G.L. c. 268A, the conflict of interest law; filing all required disclosures under G.L. c. 268A; and filing all statements of financial interest in a timely fashion as required by G.L. c. 71, § 89(u). Failure to comply with state ethics requirements may result in removal of individual board members by the board of trustees or by the Commissioner. M G.L. c. 71, § 89(u); 603 CMR
1.06(2)(e)
ARTICLE 11
Board of Trustees
Section 1: The Board shall consist of at least nine (9) Trustees and no more than fifteen (15) Trustees. All Trustees shall have identical rights and responsibilities in their capacity as Trustees. The CEO/Executive Director will be an advisory, non-voting member of the Board (ex officio).
Section 2: The Board will fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities, including but not limited to, the duty of loyalty and duty of care, as well as the obligation to oversee the school's budget. Citation: 603 CMR 1.06(1)
Section 3: The Board of Trustees shall manage the affairs of the School and shall have and may exercise all the powers of the School, except as otherwise provided by law, by the School’s Charter or by theses By-Laws. Except as otherwise prohibited by law, the Charter or these By-Laws, the exclusive powers of the Board shall include but not be limited to the power to:
(a) Successfully completing the opening procedures process in accordance with G.L.c.70, § 89; 603 CMR 1.00; and any guidelines issued by the Department:
(b) Requesting the Commissioner’s appointment of any new trustees and receiving that approval prior to any new trustees beginning their service as members;
(c) Submitting timely annual reports;
(d) Submitting timely annual independent audits; hiring, evaluating, and removing, if necessary, qualified personnel to manage the OSACPS’s day to day operations and holding these administrators accountable for meeting specified goals;
(e) Approving and monitoring progress towards meeting the goals of the school’s Accountability Plan;
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(f) Adopting and revising school policies, including plans for student recruitment and retention; responding to complaints in writing as required by 603 CMR 1.09;
(g) Ensuring that members of the board receive an orientation and training regarding their duties and obligations as members of a board of trustees.
The board of trustees shall not:
(a) Exercise managerial powers over the day-to-day operations of the school.
(b) Hire any paid employee as trustee(s), unless their position is explicitly stated herein.
Section 4: The Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School nominating committee, known as the Governance
Committee, shall present a slate of potential Trustees for election by the Board. This slate shall be presented for vote at the annual meeting of the board. Trustees shall be elected by a majority vote of the Trustees then in office.
Section 5: Except as provided for the initial Trustees, Trustees shall serve a term of three (3) years from the date of their appointments, or until their successors are seated; provided, however, that the initial terms of the initial
Board members shall be staggered in one (1), two (2) and three (3) year terms to allow for the expiration of terms approximately one-third of the Trustees each year. A full three-year term shall be considered to have been served upon the passage of three (3) annual meetings. After election, the term of a Trustee may not be reduced, except as specified in these bylaws. No Trustee shall serve more than three (3) consecutive, complete three-year terms.
Section 6: Any vacancy occurring in the Board of Trustees and any position to be filled by reason of an increase in the number of Trustees may be filled, upon the recommendation of a qualified candidate by the Governance
Committee, by formal majority vote of the seated Trustees. A Trustee elected to fill the vacancy shall be elected for the unexpired term of his/her predecessor in office.
Section 7: A Trustee may resign at any time by filing a written resignation with the Chair of the Board.
Section 8: The Board may remove any Trustee, with or without cause, by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the entire
Board at any regular or special meeting of the Board, provided that a statement of the reason or reasons, if any, shall have been mailed by registered mail to the Trustee proposed for removal at least thirty (30) days before any final action is taken by the Boards. This statement shall be accompanied by a notice of the time when, and the place where, the Board is to take action on the removal. The Trustee shall be given an opportunity to be heard and the matter considered by the Board at the time and place mentioned in the notice.
Section 9: The Board of Trustees shall comply with the disclosure and other requirements of the Massachusetts
Conflict of Interest Law set forth in Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 268A. In addition to compliance with the provisions of said Chapter 268A, members of the Board shall file a disclosure of any financial interests or business transactions that they (or any immediate family members) have in any charter school in Massachusetts or elsewhere with the State Ethics Commission, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the
Town of Sturbridge clerk within thirty (30) days of joining the Board and by September 1 annually of each year, including the year after service on the Board of Trustees is completed (unless service is less than thirty (30) days that year). The Board shall request the appointment of a person to the Board only the Board has no reason to know that he/she has a financial interest under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 268A that may preclude a majority of the members of the Board from participating in deliberations or voting on certain matters that come before the Board. The Board shall exercise due diligence prior to determining that a proposed Trustee does not have such a financial interest.
Section 10: Individuals or groups may complain in writing to the Board of Trustees concerning any claimed violations by the School of the provisions of the applicable charter school laws and regulations, and the Board shall respond in writing to any such complaint to the complaining party within thirty (30) days of receipt of the complaint. If, after presenting their complaint to the Board, the individuals or groups believe that their complaint has not been adequately addressed, they may submit their complaint in writing to the Commissioner of
Elementary and Secondary Education who shall investigate such complaint and make a formal response, pursuant to the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 71, Section 89(II).
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Section 11: The Board of Trustees may not discriminate against potential members on the basis of age, sex, sexual orientation, race, national origin, ancestry, religion, marital status, or non-disqualifying handicap or mental condition.
ARTICLE III
Officers
Section 1: There shall be four (4) Officers of the Board: a Chair, a Vice-Chair, a Secretary and a Treasurer. The responsibilities of the officers are as follows: a.
Chair of the Board: Except as otherwise provided by law, the Charter or these by-laws, the Chair shall hold office until the next annual meeting of the Board and thereafter until his successor is chosen and qualified, unless a shorter term is specified in the vote electing or appointing her/him. The Chair shall establish the agenda for all meetings of the Board in consultation with the CEO/Executive Director of the
School and, as appropriate in the discretion of the Chair, other members of the Board. The Chair shall preside over all meeting of the Board and shall have such powers as the Board shall determine. In the absence of the Chair at any meeting of the Board, the Vice Chair shall exercise the rights and perform the function of the Chair. b.
Vice Chair: The Vice Chair shall assist the Chair in overseeing the functions of the Board, and shall have such other powers as the Board shall determine. In the absence of the Chair at any meetings of the Board, the Vice Chair shall exercise the rights and perform the function of the Chair. c.
Treasurer: The Treasurer shall oversee the general financial affairs of the School, subject to the direction and control of the Board of Trustees. The Treasurer shall have such other powers and duties as are customarily incident to that office and may be vested in that office by these By-laws or by the Board. d.
Secretary: The Secretary shall record and maintain records of all proceedings of the Board in a book or series of books kept for that purpose and shall give such notices of meeting of Trustees as required by the
Charter, these By-Laws or by law. No later than seven (7) days before any meeting of the Board of
Trustees, The Secretary shall distribute to the members of the Board of Trustees copies of any minutes of prior meetings of the Board of Trustees that have not been approved by the Board of Trustees. The
Secretary shall attest formally to the legitimacy of the records of the proceedings of the Board of Trustees by affixing his/ her signature thereto. The Secretary shall have such other powers and duties as are customarily incident to that office and as may be vested in that office, the By-Laws or by the Board. The
Secretary shall be a resident of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts unless Old Sturbridge Academy shall appoint a resident agent for the service of the process. In the absence of the Secretary of any meeting of the Board, a temporary Secretary designated by the person presiding at the meeting shall perform the duties of the Secretary.
Section 2: The Governance Committee shall present a slate of Officers to the Board of Trustees. The nominated
Officers shall be drawn from among the members of the Board. The election of Officers shall be held at the annual meeting of the Board by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Board.
Section 3: The newly elected Officers shall take office on July 1 following the close of the meeting at which there are elected and the term of office shall be one year or until respective successors assume office. A Trustee may serve more than one (1) term in the same office but not more than three (3) consecutive terms in the same office.
Section 4: In the event that the office of the Chair becomes vacant, the Vice-Chair shall become Chair for the unexpired portion of the term. In the event that the office of Vice-Chair, Secretary or Treasurer becomes vacant, the Chair shall appoint interim Officers to fill such vacant offices until a scheduled meeting of the Board can be held.
Section 5: The Board shall remove any Officer, with or without cause, by a majority of the entire Board at any regular or special meeting of the Board, provided that a statement of the reason or reasons, if any, shall have been mailed by registered mail to the Officer proposed for removal at least thirty (30) days before any final action is taken by the Board. This statement shall be accompanied by a notice of the time when, and the place where, the
Board is to take action of the removal. The Officer shall be given an opportunity to be heard and the matter considered by the Board at the time and place mentioned in the notice.
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ARTICLE IV
Meetings
Section 1: The annual meeting of the Board of Trustees shall occur in the last quarter of the fiscal year. There shall be at least seven (7) other regular meetings of the Board held each year. All Board meetings will be held in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Board must meet at least once in any given quarter of the fiscal year.
Notice shall be given to each Trustee thirty (30) days prior to the date of every regular meeting of the Board.
Section 2: Special meeting of the Board of Trustees may be called by the Chair or by a majority of the Board filing a written request for such a meeting with the Chair and stating the object, date and hour therefore, due notice having been given each Trustee five (5) calendar days prior to the meeting.
Section 3: A majority of the Trustees then in office shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any regular or special meeting of the Board of Trustees; and at any meeting where a quorum is present; the vote of a majority of those Trustees present shall decide any matter except where otherwise required by these Bylaws.
Absent such a provision defining a quorum, a quorum will be the majority of trustees of the “body as constituted,” irrespective of vacancies.
Section 4: The Board shall select its own meeting format in any method allowed by the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. Any such meeting, whether regular or special, complying with Sections 1 or 2 of this Article IV, shall constitute a meeting of the Board of Trustees and shall subscribe to the policies, procedures and rules adopted by the Board.
Section 5: Notice of all regular and special meetings of the Board, an agenda of all items to be discussed at such meetings, and agenda support materials shall be circulated to all Trustees prior to the meeting. Any Trustee may waive notice of any meeting. The attendance of a Trustee at any meeting also shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except where a Trustee attends a meeting for the express purpose of objecting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened.
Section 6: Trustees may use audio or video conferencing to participate in meetings when physical attendance is unreasonably difficult due to personal illness, personal disability, emergency, military service, or geographic distance. Trustees who participate remotely and all persons present at the meeting location must be clearly audible to each other and that when remote participation is used during a meeting, all votes must be taken by roll call. An absentee Trustee may not designate an alternate to represent him/her at a Board meeting. No proxies shall be allowed.
Section 7: All meetings of the Board and its committees, irrespective of what the title may be, will comply in all respects with the open meeting law, G.L. c. 30A, §§ 18-25, and the regulations, guidance, and directives of the
Office of the Attorney General. This includes, but is not limited to, training, notice of meetings, records of meetings, and executive sessions. All meetings require that notice be given of the date, time and location of all meetings as well as the listing of topics the Chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed at the meeting in accordance with the law pertaining to the open meetings of governmental bodies (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 30A, § 11A½
) as amended from time to time or any successor statute. Except as otherwise permitted by M.G.L.c. 30A § 18-25
(i) any deliberation between or among a quorum of the Trustees with respect to any matter within the Board's’ jurisdiction shall be open to the public and (ii) no executive session will be held until (a) the Board of Trustees shall have first convened in an open session for which notice shall have been given in accordance with law (b) a majority of the Trustees at such meeting shall have voted to go into executive session, (c) the vote of each Trustee shall have been recorded on a roll call vote and entered into the minutes, and (d) the Chair (or other person presiding over the meeting) shall have cited the purpose of the executive session, stating all subjects that may be revealed without compromising the purpose of which the executive session was called, and shall have stated whether or not the Board will reconvene after the executive session. Executive sessions may be held only for purposes permitted by law.
Section 8: The Board will require that a record of every meeting be adopted and kept, including the time, date, and location of the meeting, the members present or absent, a summary of the discussion on each subject, a list of documents and other exhibits used at the meeting, decisions made and all action taken at the meeting, including formal votes taken. These records shall comply with the Open Meeting Law (M.G.L. c.30A § 18-25).
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Section 1: A Board resolution shall appoint committees or task forces of the Board, except that that Governance
Committee shall be established and maintained in accordance with Article V, Section 2 and 3 below. Committees may be composed of Trustees or community members or both. The Board may prescribe the need and/or the composition of such committees.
ARTICLE V
Committees and Task Forces
Section 2: There shall be a standing nominating committee, known as the Governance Committee. This committee shall be composed of at least three (3) persons elected by the Board at its annual meeting. Each Governance
Committee member shall serve a term of two(2) years, and these terms shall be staggered to ensure continuity of committee membership. The Governance Committee shall elect its own chair.
Section 3: The duties of the Governance Committee shall be to: a.
study the qualifications of candidates and present a slate of the best qualified as nominees for the vacant
Trustee positions on the Board; b.
present a slate of nominees for Officers to the Board for Election at the annual meeting; c.
recommend candidates to the Board to fill vacancies that arise outside the regular nominating process; d.
provide ongoing orientation to Trustees; e.
oversee a Trustee assessment process to ensure optimum performance.
ARTICLE VI
No personal Liability
The Trustees and Officers of the School shall not be personally liable for any debt, liability or obligation of the
School. All persons, corporations or other entities extending credit to, contracting with, or having any claim against the School may look only to the funds and property of the School for the payment of any such contract or claim, or for the payment of the debt, damages, judgement or decree, or of any money that may otherwise become due or payable to them from the School.
ARTICLE VII
Indemnification
Section 1: The School shall, to the maximum extent legally permissible, indemnify each of its Trustees, officers, employees and other agents (including person who serve at its request as directors, officers, employees or other agents of another organization in which it has an interest) against all liabilities and expenses, including amounts paid in satisfaction of judgements, in compromise or as fines and penalties, and counsel fees reasonably incurred by him/her in connection with the defense or disposition of any action, suit or other proceeding, whether civil or criminal, in which he may be involved or with which he may be threatened, while in office or thereafter, by reason of his being or having been such a Trustee, director ,officer , employee or agent except with respect to any matter as to which he shall have been adjudicated in any proceeding not to have acted in good faith or in the reasonable belief that his action was in the best interests of the School provided, however, that as to any matter disposed of by a compromise payment by such Trustee, officer, employee or agent, pursuant to a consent decree or otherwise, no indemnification either for said payment or for any other expenses shall be provided unless such compromise shall be approved as in the best interests of the School, after notice that it involves such indemnification: (a) by a disinterested majority of the Trustees then in office or (b) by a majority of the disinterested majority of the
Trustees then in office provided there has been obtained an opinion in writing of independent legal counsel to the effect that such Trustee, director, officer, employee or agent appears to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that his action was in the best interests of the School. Expenses including counsel fees, reasonably incurred by any such Trustee, director, officer, employee or agent in connection with the defense or disposition of any such action, suit or other proceeding may be paid from time to time by the School in advance of the final disposition thereof upon receipt of an undertaking by such individual to repay the amounts so paid to the School if he shall be adjudicated to be not entitled to indemnification hereunder. The right of indemnification hereby provided shall not be exclusive of or affect any other rights to which any Trustee, director officer, employee or agent may be entitled.
Nothing contained herein shall affect any rights to indemnification or limitation of liability to which Trustees or personnel may be entitled by contract or to otherwise under law. As used in this paragraph, the terms “Trustee”,
“director”, “officer”, “employee”, and “agent” include their respective heirs, executors and administrators and an
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“interested” Trustee is one against whom such capacity the proceedings in question or another proceeding on the same or similar grounds is then pending.
Section 2: The School shall purchase and maintain a Directors and Officers Liability Insurance Policy to provide for coverage in the case of personal liability of a Trustee, director, officer, employee or agent entitled to indemnification hereunder.
Section 3: No amendment or repeal of the provisions of this Article VII which adversely affects the right of a person entitled to indemnification under the provisions of this Article VII shall apply to such person with respect to the acts or omissions of such person that occurred at any time prior to such amendment or repeal.
ARTICLE VIII
Fiscal Year
The fiscal year of Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School shall begin on July 1 of each calendar year and terminate on June 30 of the following calendar year.
ARTICLE IX
Rules of Order
In case of conflict or challenge, the rules of order in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the conduct of all meetings of Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School.
ARTICLE X
Amendments
These Bylaws may be amended at a regular or special meeting by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of all Trustees then in office, provided that notice of the proposed amendment, together with a copy thereof, is mailed to each Trustee at least fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting at which the amendment is to be considered, subject to the approval of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
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Draft Recruitment Plan
Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School
2015-2016
School Name: Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School
Describe the proposed school’s general recruitment activities, i.e. those intended to reach all students.
General Recruitment Activities:
Activity 1. A mailing sent to every family in the region in English and Spanish who have children enrolled in grades k-6 that clearly and succinctly states the school is free and accessible to everyone regardless of learning disabilities, language differences or special needs.
Activity 2. Local media and social media coverage especially targeting hometown newspapers (Southbridge News,
The Journal Register, Charlton Villager, Spencer New leader, Webster Times), local radio stations, local access television, Facebook pages, inviting potential students to attend an open house as well as providing additional information on OSACPS website and OSV website.
Activity 3. Outreach to all 15 communities offering informational sessions at local libraries, church communities and community centers such as YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, Hitchcock Academy and Yellow House, engaging them as partners to assist with disseminating application information.
Activity 4. Yearly open house to thank all constituents who assisted in recruitment the prior year and share new opportunities offered for the coming year in an effort to encourage them to continue to be ambassadors of recruitment.
Activity 5. A “shadow day” offered to any potential students and parents to provide a better understanding about the educational experience that is available.
Recruitment Plan –Strategies
List strategies for recruitment activities for each demographic group.
Demographic Group
Strategies
Special education students/
Diverse learners
All community outreach/collateral is clear in its mission to communicate that OSACPS will provide the educational experience that will allow diverse learners to excel. All material will state explicitly in both English and Spanish “Children with special needs are welcome at our school”.
Collaborate with special education advocates as well as service providers in the area to circulate the school’s recruitment collateral and encourage families to attend informational sessions and open houses.
Work with MSPCC, Wayside Youth and Family Support Services,
Southbridge Community Connections, KDC South Central Early
Intervention, Guild of St Agnes to provide enrollment information for parents of children with special needs/diverse learners.
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Limited English-proficient students
Economically Disadvantaged
Students
Students who are subproficient
Students at risk of dropping out of school
Other subgroups of students who should be targeted to eliminate the achievement gap
Distribute collateral and applications in Spanish as well as English.
Identify cultural celebrations to have a presence at in Palmer,
Southbridge, Webster, Spencer and East Brookfield.
Outreach to community organizations that serve non-English speakers-
The Latino Business Association of Webster and Southbridge, Catholic
Charities, Webster Community Partnership for Children, Centro Los
Americas in Southbridge
After year 1, recruit parents/guardians of current students to assist with recruitment.
Offers Spanish translator at open houses/informational sessions. After year 1, recruit parents/guardians of current students to help translate at open house/informational sessions.
Work with Healthy Families of Southern Worcester County,
Southbridge DTA office, Worcester Community Action Council’s Head
Start in Southbridge and Webster, food pantries at Catholic Charities in
Southbridge and Mary, Queen of the Rosary in Spencer, Brookside
Terrace, Guild of St Agnes, WIC, United Way, Centro Los Americas in
Southbridge to disseminate collateral and help encourage applications as well as interest in attending informational sessions.
Provide refreshments, child care and transportation to some informational sessions and open houses to remove barriers that some families may encounter.
Include in all collateral that OSACPS welcomes all students regardless of current academic performance.
Work with local organizations such as Wayside Youth and Family
Support Services, Southbridge Community Connections, St Agnes Guild to assist in recruitment of children who are underperforming.
Collaborate with agencies such as You Inc, and Massachusetts
Education and Career Opportunities to develop strategies aimed to low income individuals whose families have had very limited (if any) experience with post-secondary education or training programs to provide needed assistance and direction in order to reach their full academic and career potential.
Develop strategies from Tools of the Mind to help students build and practice self-regulatory behaviors. Offer programs to parents that will re-enforce the strategies at home. condaryeducation or training programs. These are people who need assistance and direction in order to reach their full academic and career potential.
Students who have dropped out of school
Other subgroups will be identified after the first year of operation and may include boys, girls, and minority groups other than those who identify as
Hispanic.
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Limited English-proficient students
Draft Retention Plan
Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School
2015-2016
For the purposes of a Recruitment and Retention plan, retention shall be defined as the charter school's ability to maintain enrollment of its students with low turnover and limited attrition ( 603 CMR 1.02
).
Overall Student Retention Goal
Annual goal for student retention
(percentage):
95%
Retention Plan –Strategies
List strategies for retention activities for each demographic group.
Demographic Group
Strategies
Special education students
PBIS use in classroom to help address behavior issues that take away from classroom instruction time.
Ongoing assessment and data collection that allows for modifying instruction and addressing students’ needs on a more immediate basis.
Tutoring programs, before and after school programs as well as individual instruction during the school day will be available.
SPED Teacher will assist classroom teacher with differentiated instruction.
Response to Intervention (RTI) model will be adopted.
Establish a special education parent advisory council
Spanish will be included in the curriculum beginning in kindergarten in an effort to create a more comfortable environment for ELL students and non-Spanish speaking students.
Activities for entire families at the school to encourage involvement and create an atmosphere that is welcoming for the entire family.
Multilingual/multicultural activities within the school
Establish a “buddy system” for new ELL students.
ELL classes required for all teachers.
Students eligible for free or reduced lunch 1
With targeted recruitment, set a goal of 40% eligibility for free
/reduced lunch to qualify to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students, thus eliminating any stigma or reporting burdens for families associated with free lunch.
Complimentary transportation for parents/guardians for conferences or school events to allow for participation for all families.
1 Please note: The Department has a new metric, called Economically Disadvantaged. Please see here for information: http://www.doe.mass.edu/infoservices/data/ed.html
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Students who are subproficient
Students at risk of dropping out of school
Provide small group tutoring to those students who did not perform well on the DIBEL test.
Intervention programs such as Wilson Reading System or Fundations.
Seek Title 1funding.
Working closely with Massachusetts Education and Career
Opportunities to develop strategies such as families will receive a home visit from the teacher prior to the beginning of the school year to help alleviate any fear of the unknown from either students or parents.
Parents will have personal contact information for teachers as well as administrators.
Other subgroups of students who should be targeted to eliminate the achievement gap
Students who have dropped out of school
N/A for K-8
Other subgroups will be identified after the first year of operation and may include boys, girls, and minority groups other than those who identify as Hispanic.
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Enrollment and Admissions Policy
Please refer to Attachment for Recruitment and Retention plan as outlined in G.L c. 71, § 89(f) and CMR 603
1.05(1).
Grades Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5 Y6 Y7
K-2
K-3
120 120 120 120 120 120 120
40 40 40 40 40 40
K-4
K-5
K-6
K-7
40 40 40 40 40
40 40
40
40
40
40
40
40
40
K_8 40
Total Students 120 160 200 240 280 320 360
Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School enrolls and educates students in Kindergarten through Grade 8 and enrolls new students through Grade 7 if seats are available. Each year, we will seek enrollment of 40 Kindergarten students. OSACPS will determine the number of additional spaces available each year by grade level. In cases where there are fewer spaces than eligible applicants, students shall be accepted by a lottery process.
Old Sturbridge Academy Public Charter School does 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 needs, proficiency in the English language or a foreign language, or prior academic achievement.
Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School will not disclose or release any student specific information from the application, except as required by law without parental consent. Upon request the school will provide the names and addresses to a third party mail house for mailings unless the parent requests that the school withhold his/her child’s information. In accordance with M.G.L. c.71, Sect 89(g)), upon request, OSACPS will provide the names and address of students to a third party mail house for mailings unless the parent requests in writing at the beginning of the school year that the school withhold their child’s information.
OSACPS will work closely with the school district to provide transportation for eligible students from the district.
OSACPS is committed long-term to providing transportation to students from communities outside of Sturbridge and is exploring costs of bussing children from the other communities in the region. Year 1 & 2, OSACPS is reviewing options of car-pools and contracted bus services. Students who are physically challenged will be provided transportation on handicapped accessible vans and buses according to state and federal laws and regulations.
Enrollment Process
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Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School, using direct mail, information sessions, Old Sturbridge Village enews, local newspapers as well as OSACPS and OSV websites, will publicize its open house schedule and invite families to attend and fill out an enrollment application. OSACPS will provide reasonable public notice, of at least one month, for all application deadlines. The total number of students attending OSACPS in a given school year cannot exceed the total number of students in OSACPS’s pre-enrollment report submitted to the Department in the previous spring in accordance with 603 CMR 1.08 (5) and the total number of students specified in the growth plan of OSACPS charter.
All applicants will be notified in writing of the rights of students with diverse learning needs to attend Old
Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School and to receive accommodations and support services, including students who may have disabilities, require special education, or are English language learners. Old Sturbridge
Academy Charter Public School will develop and implement a student recruitment and retention plan as outlined in G.L c. 71, § 89(f) and CMR 603 1.05(1).
Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School requires:
2.
Kindergarten students who apply must be 5 years of age by August 31st and grade 1 students must be 6 years of age by August 31st in order to enter their respective grades. Proof of age is required for the first year of enrollment
3.
Students must be residents of Massachusetts at the time that they submit a Lottery Enrollment form. Also, reasonable proof of residency, such as a utility bill (excluding cell phone) dated within the last 60 days, signed lease or mortgage bill will be required at the time an offer of admission is made. A pay stub dated within the last 60 days may also be used to demonstrate residency. Proof of residency requirements will be waived for homeless students.
4.
That the primary preference for admission be given to siblings of students “currently attending” the school in accordance with Massachusetts Department of Education regulations. Siblings of students who attend the school at the time an offer of admission is made are given preference for admission over non-siblings. Siblings are defined as students who have a common parent, either biologically or legally through adoption. Whether the children reside in the same household has no bearing on determining if the children are siblings for purposes of a sibling preference. Children who live in the separate households may be siblings and those that live in the same household may not be. If siblings are placed in foster homes and one of them enrolls in the charter school, then the siblings of that student are entitled to admission preference. Foster children are not considered siblings of other children in the foster home unless they share a common parent.In cases where the enrollment of a student, who is not a sibling of another currently enrolled student, from the waitlist would exceed the district charter tuition cap, the student will be skipped but kept on the waitlist. In cases where the enrollment of a student in and of itself who is a sibling of a student currently attending a charter school would exceed the district charter school tuition cap, the sibling may be enrolled and the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts will provide tuition for the sibling, subject to appropriation. G.L. c. 71, § 89(i); 603
CMR 1.05(10)(b).
5.
That the secondary preference for admission is given to students who are residents of the charter community (as defined in 603 1.06(4)) at the time that they are offered admission to the school. Residents of the towns served by OSACPS (Brimfield, Brookfield, Charlton, Dudley, East
Brookfield, Holland, Monson, Southbridge, Spencer, Sturbridge, Palmer, Wales, Warren,
Webster, and West Brookfield) are given preference for admission over non-resident students.
Reasonable proof of current residency is required at the time an offer of admission is made.
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All families will receive an enrollment packet with all the forms necessary to enroll in OSACPS (such as Proof of
Residence, Student Information, and Records Release Form). The school will hold an Orientation session in August
(before the start of school) to prepare new families and students for the transition to the school and to assist families with any remaining paperwork. While OSACPS does highly encourage students and families to attend informational sessions as well as orientation and family nights, we do not require potential students or their families to attend interviews or informational meetings as a condition of application or enrollment nor do we administer tests to potential applicants or predicate enrollment on results from any test of ability or achievement.
We do not use financial incentives to recruit students.
Once a student is enrolled at Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School, that student has the right to continue attending the school. This right to continued attendance exists even if the student’s district of residence within the
Commonwealth changes. The only exception to this rule would be if the new district of residence is at or above its net school spending cap and, for that reason, the school would not receive a per pupil tuition for that student.
Lottery Process
Each year, OSACPS will determine the number of spaces available at every grade level. If there are more eligible applicants than spaces available, a lottery will be held to determine which applicants will receive an offer of admission. OSACPS will publicize the date, time and location with reasonable notice of at least one week before the lottery date.
OSACPS will not set any principal application deadlines or hold any enrollment lotteries for student admission for the upcoming school year until after January 1, and shall conclude its principal enrollment process no later than
March 15 of each year.
The first year of operation the lottery will take place in a public venue. Subsequent years, lotteries will be held at the school. A neutral party draws the lottery. Families will be notified at the lottery and by mail of their admission status (accepted or placement on the waiting list).OSACPS will place the names of students not selected in an enrollment lottery on a waitlist in the order the names were selected. 603 CMR 1.05(10).
If the principal enrollment process fails to fill the available admission spaces, OSACPS may repeat the process more than once providing reasonable public notice at least one month prior to the application deadline. 603 CMR
1.05(8). As spaces become available during the school year, OSACPS may repeat the enrollment process to fill these openings and to meet the requirements of G.L. c. 70, § 89(n)
Waitlist
Applicants who are placed on the waiting list in the order that the names were selected remain on the list and are offered positions in the respective grades if and when they become available. This will also take into account sibling and resident preference 603 CMR 1.06 (4)(d). All waitlists are maintained with results of subsequent lotteries being placed at the rear of the lists. All students selected out of the lottery are sent registration forms, and all students placed on the wait list are sent letters with an explanation of the process and their wait list number. Selected families have three days to notify the school of their decision or to schedule a tour of the facility.
If the family of a selected student does not contact the school within three days, their name is removed from the waitlist and the next eligible candidate is offered the position. Waitlists are maintained through the fourth grade after which they are discarded in keeping with the school’s enrollment policy.
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If a student stops attending OSACPS or declines admission, the next available student on the waitlist for that grade, taking into account the current status of enrollment preferences, will be offered admission until the vacant seat is filled. G.L. c. 71, § 89(n).
No student may be admitted ahead of other eligible students who were previously placed on a waitlist during a prior enrollment process, except in cases where enrollment preferences change or as described in 603 CMR
1.05(10)(b).
OSACPS shall maintain waitlists only for the school year for which the students applied. OSACPS will keep accurate records of its wait list containing students’ names (first, middle, last), dates of birth, cities or towns of residence, and grade levels for students who entered the lottery but did not gain admission. In conformance with G.L. c. 71, §
89, OSACPS shall, when a student stops attending the school for any reason, fill vacant seats up to February 15 excluding grades 7 and 8. Students who have withdrawn from the school would need to reapply for admission.
A vacancy not filled after February 15 moves into the subsequent grade, to be filled the following August if not in grade 7 or 8. Seats for students who have accepted an offer of admission in the charter school but have never attended are exempt from this provision. 603 CMR 1.05(10)(c).
Application for Admission a) The application does not require dual parent/guardian signatures. b) The application does not require submission of the student’s social security number. c) Attached is a copy of the Application for Admission, which OSACPS submits for approval.
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Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School
Application for Admission – 2016-2017
Deadline: 5:00 P.M on Friday, March 04, 2016
Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School is currently accepting applications for students eligible for
Kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2. Students will be randomly selected by lottery. Students’ names not chosen to fill open seats will be placed in order on a waiting list. To apply a student must meet the following criteria:
The student is a resident of Massachusetts.
If applying to Kindergarten he/she will be age 5 by August 31st, 2016.
If applying to Grade 1 he/she will be age 6 by August 31st, 2016.
Applications are sent to: Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School,
1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge, MA 01566.
They may be delivered in person or by mail. Questions? Contact: info@osv.org
Student Information:
First Name: Middle Name: Last Name:
Address:__________________________________, ____________________________,___________
Street, apt. # Town State, Zip
Date of Birth (m/d/y)
______/__________/_______
City and State of Birth Gender
Female________ Male_______
Applying for Grade: □Kindergarten □First □Second
Primary Parent /Guardian:
Name:
Address:
Home Phone: Relationship to Student:
Email:
Other Parent/Guardian:
Name:
Address:
Relationship to Student
Email:
Home Phone:
Cell Phone:
Cell Phone:
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Sibling Information (if applicable)
If the applicant has a sibling that is also applying to OSACPS for the fall of 2016, please include the sibling’s name below. Please note that each child needs to submit a separate application.
Name of sibling:___________________________________________ Age:_____________
Parent/Guardian Signature
I, the undersigned, certify that the above information is correct and I will notify OSACPS of any changes to the information provided on this form.
___________________________________________________________ Date_______________
______ No, I would not like my child’s name read during the public lottery. I would like my child’s anonymous number read instead.
Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School does 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 English language or a foreign language, or prior academic achievement.
Any and all information requested in the application, such as language spoken at home or race/ethnicity is not intended and will not be used to discriminate. G.L. c. 71, § 89(m); 603 CMR 1.05(2).
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Draft School Calendar
2016
July
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
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October
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31
January
2017
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31
April
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30
August
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31
November
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30
September
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30
December
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
February
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28
May
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31
March
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31
June
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30
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Professional Development Day
Student Orientation
Vacation Days/Holidays
Date
8/24-26
8/29
9/5
10/7
10/10
Event
Student Orientation
Professional Development
Labor Day Holiday
Professional Development
Columbus Day Holiday
10/11 Professional Development
11/24-25 Thanksgiving Holiday
12/2 Professional Development
12/24-1/3 Christmas Break
1/13
1/16
Professional Development
MLK Day
2/20-24
4/17-21
5/29
February Break
April Break
Memorial Day Holiday
SCHOOL SCHEDULE TEMPLATE
Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School
2016-2017 Academic year
Summer Institute
Last Day of School 190 days
ITEM 1
Day
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Other (if applicable)
DAILY/WEEKLY SCHEDULE FOR STUDENTS
Typical Total Hours
7 hours
7 hours
7 hours
7 hours
7 hours
No other mandatory programming for all students
ITEM 2
Minimum Number of Days
185
YEARLY SCHEDULE FOR STUDENTS
Scheduled Emergency/Snow Days
5
Total number of scheduled school days
190
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Draft Organizational Charts
Year One Organization Chart
Old Sturbridge Academy Public Charter School
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Year Five
Organization Chart
Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School
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Resume of Proposed Principal
Cynthia Ahearn
135 Marshall St.
Paxton, Massachusetts 01612
Professional Experience
Assistant Principal/Dean of Elementary St. Mary’s Schools, Worcester, MA 2014-present
*organizes and manages assessments and data
*curriculum supervisor
*discipline administrator
*evaluates and mentors elementary teachers
*directs NAEYC accreditation
*started intervention and enrichment blocks for all elementary students
Elementary Principal (retired) Spencer/East Brookfield Regional School District,
Spencer, MA
*directed PreK and K through two NAEYC accreditations
*started full day preschool program
*brought the early childhood Tools of the Mind curriculum to PreK and K as the
first coordinated early childhood program in Massachusetts
Elementary Teacher (PreK – 5) Spencer/East Brookfield Regional School District, Spencer, MA
*dir ected the Nature’s Classroom overnight program for 4 th graders
*started and chaired committee for Morning Sing to promote home/school
connections
Director of Before and After School Programs (PreK-6) Spencer/East Brookfield Regional School District,
Spencer, MA
*managed staff and activities for three sites
*responsible for billing and payroll
*managed breakfast food and snacks for three sites
Education
Lesley University, Cambridge, MA, PhD program (2013-present)
Massachusetts Elementary School Principal’s Association, Certification Program
Worcester State University, Worcester, MA, Master’s in Education
Fitchburg State University, Fitchburg, MA, Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education
Additional Skills and Certifications
Massachusetts Elementary Teacher Certification
Massachusetts Principal/Assistant Principal Certification
First Aid
CPR
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Resumes of Proposed Board Members
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PAMELA K. BOISVERT
491 WEST MAIN STREET
SHREWSBURY, MA 01545
SUMMARY OF SKILLS:
Strong management and interpersonal skills: program planning, development and implementation; ability to work both independently and collaboratively; proven ability to motivate and coordinate diverse groups of people.
PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
GRANTSMANSHIP - Successful grants writer for federal, state, and private funding for MassEdCO, Inc projects, securing over $40 million in multiple year grants.
PROGRAM PLANNING - Developed educational and career counseling programs and services for disadvantaged youth and adults, financial aid services, presentations, college volunteer programs.
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT - Successfully managed both local and state-wide projects, assuring successful service delivery as well as compliance with all federal, state and private funder guidelines.
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT - Developed and monitored annual budgets totaling more than $3,500,000.00.
Responsible for approval of all program expenditures and compliance.
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT - Recruited, selected, and supervised project staff. Assured compliance with AA/EEO and ADA regulations.
PROGRAM EVALUATION - Evaluated all site data for program and service delivery compliance; prepared quarterly, half - year and annual reports for U.S. Dept.of Education and other funding sources; reviewed grant applications and made recommendations for federal, state, and private funding.
COMMUNITY RELATIONS - Established and maintained working/advisory relationships with local, state and federal agencies, and regional and national professional organizations and agencies, including numerous board and advisory/steering committee positions.
CONSULTATION - Advised educational programs, human service agencies, government agencies, and businesses on the establishment of educational access services and creation of counseling tools for disadvantaged populations; . faculty member of a national organization training new project directors, with ongoing monitoring of their programs.
PUBLIC RELATIONS - PRESENTATION SKILLS - Conducted workshops for students and teachers on early awareness issues, and financial aid for parents, counselors, and other professionals; addressed professional and civic organizations; organized regional and local training sessions and conferences; prepared brochures and media presentations;. published articles in professional journals.
EXPERIENCE
Massachusetts Education and Career Opportunities, Inc., (MassEdCO)
CEO 2013-present
Responsibilities include:
Overall responsibility for MassEdCO
Oversee all program activities to ensure implementation, service delivery, and compliance for all MassEdCO projects.
Represent all projects to funding sources, including the U.S. Dept. of Education, Massachusetts Dept. of Higher
Education, school systems, and to state-wide sub-contractors regarding performance and fiscal obligations and reports.
Oversee information systems for state-wide participant data and project accomplishments.
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Monitor all program expenditures to ensure compliance with state and federal budgetary regulations.
Assist MassEdCO to obtain additional resources for educational access programs.
Oversee the operation of state-wide and local service delivery of MassEdCO, including direct supervision of the MassEdCO management team .
Promote and sustain positive working relationships with local, state, and national agencies and institutions to maximize support for educational access activities and project goals.
Work with MassEdCO Board of Directors to ensure strategic initiatives are implemented.
COLLEGES OF WORCESTER CONSORTIUM, INC.
1980 - 2013
Vice President of Higher Education Access Services
Educational Opportunity Centers for Massachusetts
Educational Talent Search
GEAR UP.
Collegiate Success Institute (CSI) Worcester
College Access
HEAS Contract Services
EDUCATION:
NEWTON COLLEGE OF THE SACRED HEART
B.A. - Psychology
WORCESTER STATE UNIVERSITY
M.A. - Human Services Administration
PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS:
Co-Chair, 2015-16 Campaign for the United Way of Central Mass.
Worcester Public Schools Community Representative ,
Mass. Institute of College and Career Readiness (MICCR)
2014- present
Girls, Inc.
Board Member, 2009-2013
Chair, Program Committee
Greater Worcester Community Foundation
Board member, 2002-2011
Chair, Distribution Committee 2004-8
Women’s Initiative of the United Way of Central Mass.
Member, Leadership Council, 2011 – present
Vice chair, 2012-13
Chair 2013-2015
New England Educational Opportunity Association
Board Member, 1985 - 1992, 1995 –2000
State Liaison, 1985
Chair, National Trio Day, 1987 - 1988
President, 1990-91
Chair, Legislation and Education , 1995- 2000
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Council for Opportunity in Education, Washington, D.C.
Board Member, 1988 - 1992
Personnel Committee, Finance Committee, 1990-92
Financial Aid Sub-committee, 1993-2011.
National Chair, COE State Financial Aid Liaisons, 1998 -2011.
Faculty Member , Management Institute for New TRIO Professionals, 1993-present
Massachusetts Educational Opportunity Association
Founding member 1984
President, 1987 - 1988
Board Member, 1984 – 1990
Massachusetts Higher Education Assistance Corporation/
American Student Assistance
Advisory Board, 1985 - 2004
Past Chair, Non-traditional Student Committee
Massachusetts Board of Higher Education/ Office of Student Financial Assistance
Financial Aid Advisory Committee, 1984 – 1997, 2000-present
McNair Reserve Fund Advisory Committee, 1995
National Committee for Community and Justice
Board of Directors 1998-1999
Dynamy, Inc.
Board of Directors, 1994-2000
Development Committee. 1994-96
Education Committee, 1996-2000
LEAD Program board liaison, 1996-1998
Vice President 1999-2000
Notre Dame Academy
Board of Trustees, 1990 - 1996
Chair, Alumna/Parents Committees
Co –chair, Capital Campaign , 1994
Women’s Technical Institute, Boston
Board of Directors, 1988 - 1990
Daybreak, Inc.,
Board of Directors, 1987 - 1989
Massachusetts Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators member, 1980 - present
Legislative Committee chair, 1994-96
League of Women Voters
Past chair, Shrewsbury chapter
PUBLICATIONS
New Directions for Higher Education; Access to Higher Education Through Consortia.
“Leveraging Resources to Create Comprehensive Access Services”
Jossey-Bass, Number 138, Summer, 2007
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San Francisco
AWARDS/HONORS
Founders Award
,MASSACHUSETTS Educational Opportunity Association
President’s Award
New England Educational Opportunity Association – 1997, 2001
Marian Belgrave Howard Award 2002
Knollwood Award, Outstanding Alumna
Notre Dame Academy - 1994
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Angela T. Cheng-Cimini achengcimini@yahoo.com
8 Sidney Road, Sturbridge, MA 01566
508. 243.4694
Over 20 years of proven senior Human Resources leadership, partnering with C-suite leaders to achieve organizational goals. Industry experience in consumer products, high-tech, manufacturing, professional services and non-profit, ranging in organization size from startup to Fortune 500. Ability to establish HR credibility at all levels and quickly add ROI. Comprehensive multi-site field and corporate settings, union and non-union workforces.
Benefits & compensation design • Employee relations • Employment Law • Executive coaching
HR policy, process & systems design • Labor relations • Organizational change • Performance
Management
Professional development • Strategic planning • Succession planning • Talent acquisition
Career Highlights
CRABTREE & EVELYN, November 2015 – present
• Director of Human Resources, Americas, Woodstock, CT o Develop and implement programs to engage and motivate workforce through implementation of business initiatives.
o Direct all human resources activities, including organizational development, recruiting, compensation, employee relations, benefits, training, and employee services.
ACCELERATED CONSULTING (private HR consulting practice), 2008 – present.
• Director of Human Resources for Old Sturbridge Village, Inc., reporting directly to CEO.
o Act as trusted counsel to CEO on mission-critical matters pertaining to organization design, executive development, and change management.
o Partner with senior leadership on all human capital-related initiatives for 180 staff, including work on leadership development, performance management, compensation design, and employee engagement.
o Successfully re-establish legitimacy of HR by addressing policies and procedures, processes, and attitudes. Provide “open door” access to HR outside part-time office hours.
o Recruit for hard-to-find staff at all levels (executive to entry-level) without the use of paid agencies.
Reduced hiring cycle from 3 months to six weeks, and eliminated backlog of open positions.
o Provide training and mentoring to management and supervisory personnel, improving communications and employee engagement.
o Consistently lead annual benefits renewals to less-than-inflation increases with no loss in employee satisfaction.
o Manage all compliance and regulatory programs, e.g., ACA, EEOC, Unemployment, Workers’
Compensation.
o Identified, created and delivered frontline professional development in areas of employee relations, compliance, and team building.
o Created and launched new review system, including 360 Degree feedback component, resulting in 99% participation. Accompanied by frontline manager training in effective performance management.
o Conducted comprehensive salary survey to create 5-year compensation plan.
o Improved employee morale by facilitating an employee satisfaction audit to create 3-year strategic people plan.
o Supported launch of new business unit through effective hiring and onboarding.
o Enhanced compliance and staff performance by updating Staff Guide.
o Conducted Labor Awareness training for supervisors, to heighten sensitivity to union activity at other regional non-profit organizations.
o Oversaw transition to new retirement plan provider without loss in full-time participation.
• Manage a small portfolio of clients and assist them with their urgent and long-term HR needs, including
Longyear Museum and Harvard Yard Child Care Center
YANKEE SPIRITS, Inc ., (family fine wine and spirits business, $35MM in annual sales), 2006 to 2008 o Part-time Director, Human Resources, Sturbridge, MA, responsible for all human resource and payroll functions.
TIAX LLC (formerly of Arthur D. Little, technical management consulting practice), 2002 to 2005
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• Director, Human Resources, Cambridge, MA o Successfully built all-new HR infrastructures, i.e., performance management system, career stage model, comprehensive benefits plan and implementation of HRIS system, and new hire orientation program.
o Engineered significant workforce reduction, resulting in no litigation and successful organization recovery.
o Facilitated first proceduralized calibration session, achieving consistency in measurement and understanding of effective employee performance.
EMC Corporation (provider of IT storage hardware solutions), 2002
• Manager, Human Resources Operations, Hopkinton, MA o Conducted training needs assessment for Corporate Marketing function to identify and address strategic skill gaps.
o Partnered with clients to aggressively manage headcount to meet corporate targets.
o Implemented 360 Degree Feedback process for Corporate Marketing organization.
The EXTRAPRISE Group Inc ., (management and marketing consulting practice), 2000 to 2002
• Director of Employee Services, Boston, MA (2001 to 2002) o Designed overhaul of account executive compensation plan to realign incentives with business goals.
o Drove major retention initiative in response to high defection rate. Turnover improved by 50%.
o Led employee education effort regarding complex stock re-pricing initiative.
o Led corporate culture integration efforts to ensure success of new domestic and international acquisitions.
• Manager of Employee Services, Boston, MA (2000 to 2001) o Developed multi-module management development workshop on HR processes (e.g. Performance
Management, Salary Administration, Coaching and Feedback, Recruiting & Onboarding).
o Conducted first total compensation analysis to address equity issues. Implemented new incentive plan for all Consulting staff to align with revenue and business goals.
o Developed “Fast Track” program for high-potential employees.
The PERRIER GROUP of AMERICA, Inc ., (now Nestle Waters North America), 1996 to 2000
• National Benefits Manager, Greenwich, CT (1999 to 2000) o Youngest Manager ever appointed to design, implement and manage all health and welfare plans,
401(k) and profit-sharing plan.
o Led and developed staff of four exempt Benefit specialists and two non-exempt HRIS specialists.
o Seamlessly installed Benefits module of new PeopleSoft implementation mid annual enrollment.
o Successfully executed 1999 benefits plan that led to $1.8 million improvement over prior year.
• Area Human Resources Manager, Norton, MA (supported Poland Spring Water brand) (1996 to 1998) o Supported Northeast region (largest in Company) with 800 employees in Route Sales, Manufacturing,
Customer Service and Transportation for both union and union-free workgroups.
o Led and developed staff of five: HR Manager, HR Supervisor, Training Manager and two Administrative
Assistants.
o Created the education and communications for the first company-wide Performance Management system as member of national project team.
o Member of bargaining team for Poland Spring, Maine negotiations with local UFCW chapter; successful in achieving company’s objectives with no work stoppage.
o Contributed to conversion of new compensation plan for Route Sales workforce from commission to salary-based system. Created cornerstone communications vehicle to aid in implementation.
o Designed employee kit for Appeals procedure for Division-wide implementation.
HASBRO, Inc.
, 1995 to 1996
• Employee Relations Manager, Pawtucket, RI o Supported Preschool and Infant categories of Playskool brand with 250 employees.
o Successfully recruited “hard-to-find” toy designers, toy engineers and marketing managers.
o Established and led Diversity Recruitment committee to attract and retain diversity hires.
o Created “Leaders’ Guide to Managing Your People,” all-encompassing reference tool for front-line managers.
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o Organized “Camp Blue Sky,” a creativity retreat to formulate business plans and brainstorm new product ideas.
FRITO-LAY, Inc., 1992 to 1995
• Human Resources Supervisor, Killingly, CT (1993 to 1995) o Youngest HR generalist with sole responsibility for second largest manufacturing facility.
o Assisted in overhaul of corporate College Hire and Summer Internship program.
o Partnered with plant leadership to train and develop formal work teams with goals and performance objectives.
o Designed and implemented Part-time with Benefits program pilot for national rollout.
• Human Resources Associate, Princeton, NJ (1992 to 1993) o Handled all employee relations for North Division headquarters office.
o Hired upon graduation following completion of successful summer internship (June – August, 1991).
Education
CORNELL UNIVERSITY, B.S. Industrial and Labor Relations, January, 2002.
• Accelerated studies to complete degree in seven (7) semesters.
Other Information
Fluent in Mandarin Chinese. Chair of Elementary School Building Committee. Chair of Personnel
Committee, Harrington Memorial Hospital. References available
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Reed Verne Hillman
rh1346@aol.com
49 Bushnell Road
Sturbridge, MA 01566
Summary of Qualifications:
508-347-7233
508-450-3027(m)
Experienced instructor in a variety of criminal justice topics at locations to include
Professor/Chairman, Criminal Justice, Mount Wachusett Community College; Instructor,
Quinsigamond Community College; Legal Instructor, Massachusetts State Police
Academy; Legal Instructor, Criminal Justice Training Council Academies; and other venues.
Massachusetts State Representative; law enforcement and security specialist in
Massachusetts Legislature active in various committees and during floor debates to ensure passage of critical public safety legislation.
Superintendent, Massachusetts State Police; with progressive responsibility from
Trooper to Superintendent and significant staff and line responsibilities requiring strong leadership and communication skills to achieve organizational goals.
Possess significant experience in many criminal justice applications including strategic planning and implementation, budgeting, interagency cooperation, fugitive apprehension, legislative relations, union/management negotiations, urban policing initiatives, anti-terrorism planning, developing and implementing public safety plans for large special events and critical incidents, and criminal justice training and education.
Expert knowledge of criminal law, law enforcement, security, and public safety.
Formerly lawyer in private practice for over 20 years.
Teaching/Presentation Experience
As Assistant Professor at MWCC taught “Criminal Law,” “American Policing,”
Criminal Investigation,” “Internship in Criminal Justice,” “Criminal Procedure,”
“Technical Writing for the Law Enforcement Professional,” and also “Introduction to Policing” at Quinsigamond Community College.
Developed syllabus and instructed hundreds of local officers in legal updates for several southern Worcester County Police Departments.
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Instructed in criminal and constitutional law at various Massachusetts Criminal
Justice Training Council Academies, including night courses at MWCC.
Developed syllabus and instructed Criminal Law course to hundreds of state police recruits.
Instructed many subjects including statutory law, civil liability, and legal updates at state police In-Service training.
Developed syllabus and instructed Leadership Skills as part of supervisory and management training for the state police, reaching all supervisors from Sergeant to Deputy Superintendent.
Guest lecturer in numerous public school and college classrooms.
Certified trainer in Sexual Harassment.
Numerous public presentations on many different issues to a wide variety of audiences; civic and educational presentations and professional addresses.
Extensive public speaking experience including press conferences with Governor,
U.S. Attorney and others, civic and educational presentations, and professional addresses.
Witness in hundreds of judicial hearings and trials at juvenile, district, superior and federal courts and various administrative proceedings.
Instructor at campaign workshops and other major political party events.
Numerous media appearances to include network TV, cable TV, radio and
newspaper interviews and campaign press conferences.
Keynote commencement speaker, Western New England College.
Professional History
2006 Candidate for Lieutenant Governor, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
1999 - 2005 Massachusetts House of Representatives
Ranking minority member Joint Committee on Homeland Security, handling legislation concerned with the safety and security of the Commonwealth and its citizens.
Ranking minority member Joint Committee on Criminal Justice, handling legislation concerning crimes, penalties, sentencing and related matters; worked as key mover of 'per se' legislation and the expansion of the DNA database.
Ranking minority member Joint Committee on Public Service, handling legislation concerning the salaries, civil service and retirement of public employees, and collective bargaining.
Member, House Ways and Means Committee, handling all legislation affecting the finances of the Commonwealth.
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Formerly ranking minority member Public Safety Committee, handling legislation concerning the safety of the public, including civil defense, firearms and gun control, fire laws, and motor vehicle laws.
Ongoing active relationships with Massachusetts Police Chiefs, Fire Chiefs, police and fire unions, Executive Office of Public Safety officials, and Federal law enforcement.
1974 - 1999 Massachusetts State Police
Colonel/Superintendent (1996 - 1999) - Head of the Massachusetts State Police, responsible for 2600 law enforcement and support personnel and an annual budget of over 200 million dollars. Jurisdiction over most state-wide public safety issues and initiatives, Crime Laboratory, and dozens of specialized public safety units. Responsible for external relations with all other Federal and state public safety agencies, Office of the
Governor, Attorney General, District Attorneys, House and Senate leadership, MassPort,
MassPike, MEMA, and other elected and appointed offices. Responsible for proper utilization of numerous federal public safety and homeland security grants. Responsible for state building security and investigations, including the Commonwealth’s 120 plus courthouses, judges, and other personnel. Responsible for relationships with all other public safety organizations; local, state and federal, including local police and sheriffs,
Fire Marshal, Department of Corrections, New England State Police Administrator’s
Conference, and New England State Police Intelligence Network. Responsible for training protocols and standards for Campus Police Officers and Private Investigators.
Earlier ranks/assignments included Captain/Troop Commander, managing seven substations and over 200 enforcement and support personnel. Responsible for public safety issues throughout the Southeast portion of the Commonwealth, including the state’s only nuclear power plant; also Lieutenant/Headquarters Staff, Office of the Colonel; Staff
Sergeant/Station Commander; Sergeant/Station Shift Supervisor; Corporal/Patrol
Supervisor; and Trooper/Patrol Officer and later Court Liaison Officer for several area courts.
State Police Accomplishments/Experience
Changed organizational focus from reactive, number of tickets written to proactive, problem solving, community oriented public safety organization dedicated to significantly reducing crime and motor vehicle collisions. From 1996 to 1999 crime rates continuously declined in Massachusetts.
Instituted and oversaw a bottom-up restructuring and reorganization of the
Massachusetts State Police, decentralizing command functions from headquarters to regional centers, empowering mid-level supervisors to best determine how to meet organizational goals, while flattening the hierarchy and
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reducing the number of command positions.
Implemented new discipline, reward and recognition, and employee evaluation systems, diversified ranks of civilian personnel, created an Ombudsman office, and a Harassment Unit to investigate internal complaints. Submitted first MSP
Affirmative Action plan to receive state approval. Civilianized several key positions to return sworn personnel to the street.
With Department-wide concentration on fatality reduction efforts, utilizing internal communication, a revamped Employee Evaluation System, partnerships with local police, and strong leadership, helped reduce Massachusetts fatality rate to the lowest rate seen in decades.
Co-developed Department’s Five Year Strategic Plan, including authoring the
Ethics and Leadership sections. Extensive writing and editing of Rules and
Regulations, Special and General Orders, and Superintendent’s Memos.
Formerly elected Station Representative, Troop Representative, and Treasurer of the State Police Association of Massachusetts, the union for Troopers and
Sergeants.
As Trooper, earned certifications in such areas as radar, breathalyzer, and accident reconstruction, and engaged in over 20,000 enforcement contacts over twenty-five year career together with investigation or assistance in hundreds of crashes.
Education/Training
Babson College, Wellesley, MA - Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
Suffolk University Law School, Boston, MA. Juris Doctor.
Police Executive Research Forum - Senior Management Institute for Police, taught by Harvard Business School, 120 hour course.
Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 40 hour Instructor Development Program.
Massachusetts State Police Academy - Total Quality Management; Non-
Commissioned Officers School; Commissioned Officers Training; and numerous specialized training blocks.
New England State Police Administrators Conference (NESPAC) - Supervisors
Training Program.
Mount Wachusett Community College 40 hour specialized training in Instructor
Development, Title III grant.
Civic Activities
Former Trustee, Harrington Memorial Hospital.
Former Trustee, Old Sturbridge Village.
Director, Southbridge Savings Bank.
Former Member Sturbridge Finance Committee.
Member, Town of Sturbridge, Personnel Committee
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JASMIN RIVAS
40 Roger Street
Southbridge, MA 01550
Jasminrivas555@yahoo.com
508-981-4081
____________________________________________________________
SKILLS
Bilingual-Spanish/English
Proficient in Microsoft Applications (including Word and PowerPoint)
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Y.O.U. INC./YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES UPHELD
Program Coordinator, April 2011 to present
Implement evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention curriculum in middle and high schools serving the
Town of Southbridge. Oversee Voices With Choices Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. Organize community events and collaborate with other teen serving agencies in the community. Provide staff supervision and oversite. Comply with the Massachusetts Department of Health Contract Conditions for implementation of program and services.
Health Educator, December 2010 to April 2011
Assist Program Coordinator in implementation and facilitation of Voices With Choices Program.
YWCA-BATTERED WOMEN’S RESOURCES
Community Educator, January 2009 to November 2010
Implement violence prevention curriculums in schools and community throughout North
Worcester County. Work in collaboration with LUK Inc. to train peer leaders on violence prevention, bring information and trainings on teen dating violence to communities throughout North County.
OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT
Forensic Coordinator/Interviewer , June 2003 to January 2007
Conduct interviews of children, disabled adults and elderly victims in collaboration with police, social services and assistant district attorneys. Conduct trainings for police officers and social workers on the
Sexual Assault Intervention Network (SAIN) process. Participate in the planning and presenting of the yearly Child Abuse Conference for hundreds of law enforcement, school and hospital personnel in
Worcester County. Assist the director of the Community and School Program in weekly school mock trial programs, teacher training, and school presentations regarding child abuse, domestic violence and child safety. Represent the District Attorney’s Office in community crime watch meetings and public forums.
Develop and compile materials and presentations for inter-office diversity training. Assist in planning and photographing special events (mock trials, public appearances etc.).
Victim/Witness Advocate
,
November 1997 to June 2003
Assist victims of crime throughout the criminal justice process. Provide updated information to victims through letters and phone calls on the status of cases. Serve as a liaison between crime victims and assistant district attorneys, police and other court personnel.
Write letters to various agencies on behalf of victims of crime for services. Assist victims of crime in compiling and presenting victim impact statements in court.
Participate in trainings and public programs as a representative of the District Attorney (such as mandated reporter trainings for clergy and school staff and a public television interview in Spanish).
EDUCATION
Worcester State College , Worcester, Massachusetts
Bachelors of Arts in English May 2007
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Resumes of Founding Group
JAMES E. DONAHUE
43 Marcy Street
Cranston, RI 02905
(401) 323-3494
jimdonahue@cox.net
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Old Sturbridge Village 2007 – present
President and Chief Executive Officer
Serve as the CEO of the largest living history museum in New England and national cultural attraction.
Report to 26 member Board of Trustees and coordinate work of all trustee committees.
Oversee a staff of 200 on a campus of 200 acres distinguished by over 100 buildings and structures.
Increased operating revenue while decreasing expenses through improved and expanded programs and more strategic spending.
Rebuilt fund raising, marketing and public relations divisions.
Reopened museum education center and increased school-group attendance for the first time in over a decade. Renamed it the Country Bank Education Center in 2012 as a result of a new philanthropic partnership.
Reopened restaurant division and reversed operating losses.
Reopened our 60-room lodging business after securing a seven-figure gift to renovate the facility.
Increased overall annual attendance by 24% since taking over.
Rebuilt curatorial department resulting in changing exhibitions every six months, first original research in over ten years and new and important acquisitions to the collection.
Introduced museum-wide performance review system for all employees and instituted customer service initiative throughout the organization..
Increased number of membership households by almost 20%.
Oversaw grant-funded technology upgrade, software upgrade and website redesign.
Replaced investment manager for the endowment resulting in improved performance, greater transparency and lower fees.
Completed millions of dollars in deferred maintenance projects through donor and grant-funded initiatives.
Secured six-figure partnership with the HBO network to use museum as a set for an upcoming television series.
Highlander K-12 Charter School and Highlander Institute
Providence, RI
2007
2000 to
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
In 1999, I was asked by the RI Department of Education to shepherd the launch of the state’s first independent charter school. Working closely with the Commissioner’s staff and members of the RI General Assembly, I was able to secure statutory funding for the school. My start- up responsibilities included the development of a curriculum, the recruitment of a faculty and a student body; the formation of a high-performing Board of Directors; and the oversight of site plan development and renovation of the school’s first campus.
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In 2005, I created the Highlander Institute to generate additional revenue for the school through the provision of supplemental education services under No Child Left Behind and the sale of teacher professional development programs. I also led the school through its first charter renewal process – akin to a review for accreditation.
I secured a $2M philanthropic sponsorship from the CVS Charitable Trust for the school, and a $300,000 annual sponsorship from the Hasbro Charitable Trust to support the work of the Institute. Additional fund raising resulted in the successful completion of two capital campaigns to fund the acquisition and renovation of Highlander’s north and south campuses. The school has since sold the campus in the north end and is expanding its footprint in south
Providence.
Community Preparatory School
Providence, RI
2000
Assistant Head of School
EDUCATION
Colby College
Harvard Business School
1984 - 1988 B. A. Economics
2006 Executive Development
Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management
BOARD AND COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS
Fellow, Massachusetts Historical Society
Member, American Antiquarian Society
2014 - present
2013- present
2013-2014
2011-2013
1993 to
Chairman, Fung for Governor Campaign
Councilman At-Large, City of Cranston
Finance Committee
Ordinance Committee
Audit Committee
Tri-County Chamber of Commerce
Harrington Hospital
Greater Worcester Convention and Visitors Bureau
RI Branch International Dyslexia Association
Providence City Arts for Youth
RI League of Charter Schools
Treasurer
Interim President
Wheeler School
Providence Summerbridge
City Year Rhode Island
Chair of the Board
Executive Committee At-Large
2007-present
2009-present
2007-2008
2005-2007
2005-2007
2000-2007
2005 – 2007
2004-2005
2002-2004
2002-2004
2002-2004
2001-2005
2003-2005
Saint Pius Church, Providence
Lector/Eucharistic Minister/Parish Councilor
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism Larry Metcalf Award
1995-1999
2013
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Worcester Business News Nonprofit Leader of the Year
Paul Sherlock Award for Excellence in Educational Leadership
Providence Business News Forty Under Forty
City Year RI Moccasin Award for Outstanding Leadership
RI Foundation Nonprofit Leadership Fellow
2005
2004
LECTURES AND PRESENTATIONS
“Museums in Transition” Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library Spring Lecture
2010
2003
“Navigating Through Challenging Financial Times”
2011
2005
2011
Greater Worcester Community Foundation
“The Turnaround of Old Sturbridge Village” Turnaround Associates of New England
“Saving Old Sturbridge Village” New England Museum Association
2010
2010
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Debra L. Friedman
18 Leela Lane
Rochdale, MA 01542
508-892-3804 e-mail:
dfriedman@osv.org
Experience
Senior Vice President, Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, MA
November 2011-Present
Oversee Interpretation, Education, Membership, Collections, Costume and Visitor
Services Department
Oversee operation of Old Sturbridge Inn and Reeder Family Lodges and Oliver Wight
Tavern
Director of Public Program, Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, MA
September 2009-November 2011
Oversee Interpretation, Education, Membership and Visitor Services Department within the Department of Museum Program
Prepare yearly department budget and outside contracts
Development of daily program, education programs, special events, member events, staff and volunteer training
Head of Interpretation Department, Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, MA
August 2006-September 2009
Oversee Interpretation Department within the Department of Museum Program including daily program, staff training, special events
Supervise Visitor Center and Visitor Services Department staff.
Supervise Costume Department Staff
Prepare yearly department budget and outside contracts
Program Coordinator for Special Events, Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, MA
June 2005-2006
Plan and coordinate details of major museum wide events
Liaison between departments regarding upcoming events to ensure proper communication
Contract with vendors and outside performers for special events
Prepare budget and post-event analysis
Schedule and review staff
Coordinate Household, Textile, Foodways and Horticulture programs
Program Coordinator for Household Programs and Horticulture Old Sturbridge Village,
Sturbridge, MA 2001-2005
Supervise daily staff demonstrations of 19 th
century household, textile, cooking and garden activities
Co-ordinate details of special events related to household and horticulture programs
Review of household and horticulture staff
Responsible for overseeing training for content and hand-skills
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Developed and maintained several interactive cooking programs including “Hearthside
Bounty” and weekly demonstrations at Oliver Wight Tavern
Program Assistant for Historic Foodways Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, MA 1992-2001
Supervise daily demonstrations of hearth cooking demonstrations
Research 19 th century foodways and implement techniques in household programs
Train costumed staff on content and build hand-skills in regards to food related tasks
Maintain supplies of foodstuffs for household and fee-based programs
Developed series of craft workshops on hearth cooking including “Families Cook”.
Lead Interpreter for Historic Foodways Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, MA 1981-1992
Supervise daily demonstrations of hearth cooking demonstrations
Research 19 th
century foodways and implement techniques in household programs
Train costumed staff on content and build hand-skills in regards to food related tasks
Maintain supplies of foodstuffs for household and fee-based programs
Developed fee based program “Dinner in a Country Village”
Additional Related Experience
Scholar in Residence at North Andover and Andover Historical Societies
Consultant to Shelburne Museum, Burlington, Vermont
Consultant to Strawberry Banke, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Consultant to Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, MA
Consultant to Newport Preservation Society
Consultant to Boston Children’s Museum
Presenter at NEMA, ALHFAM, NOFA conferences
Contributor to several publications including Food History News, NOFA newsletters, Old
Sturbridge Village Visitor
Co-editor of Old Sturbridge Village Cookbook, 3 rd Edition
Board of Directors of the Association of Living History Farm and Agriculture Museums
Executive Board of the Worcester Cultural Coalition
Speaking engagements to historical societies, schools and libraries on food history and 19 th century diet
Developed Food History Program for Boston Public Schools
Education
Worcester State College, Worcester, MA continuing education program 1993-1999
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 1974-1978 Hotel and Restaurant
Management
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Emily Dunnack
1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge, MA 01566 ▪ (508) 347-0206 ▪ edunnack@osv.org
Career Summary:
Passionate mid-career museum education professional with a proven track record of increased responsibility and demonstrated leadership skills. Values community dialogue and relationship building, visitor engagement, and the educational potential of all areas of museum work.
Education:
Bank Street College, New York, NY
Master of Science in Education, Leadership in Museum Education, June 2015
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
Bachelor of Arts, Art History, May 2002
Work Experience:
Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, MA
Director of Education, May 2015-present
Serves as a member of the senior management team, working to align departmental work across the organization.
Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, CT
Head of Education Programs, August 2009-May 2015
Served as a member of the senior leadership team, worked to align institutional goals to the strategic plan.
Managed a division of 7 FTE staff including a budget of $310,000. Each fiscal year ended under budget with an increase in earned revenue ($102,000 in 2014).
Increase in school, youth, family, adult program, and teacher professional development attendance each year. For 2013 Education Programs served 19,200 people.
Forged lasting partnerships with community organizations including Regional Education Service
Centers, public school districts, home schooling organizations, colleges and universities, History
Day in Connecticut, Jr. Apprentice Program, and Connecticut Council on the Social Studies.
Worked across departments to collaboratively plan exhibitions, programs, grants, and
publications.
Served on the staff and board strategic planning committee for the 2015 strategic plan.
Coordinator of Interdistrict Programs, July 2006 – July 2009
Secured funding and coordinated three successful $65,000- $150,000 grants-funded Interdistrict
Partnership Programs. These programs brought 1,200 4 th and 5 th -grade students from urban and
rural/ suburban classes together each year for history-centered, multi-visit field trips.
Worked closely with an outside evaluator to develop, implement, and assess a rigorous professional evaluation program. Results of various evaluation methods demonstrated that learning objectives were met and there was a high satisfaction rate among participants.
Associate Coordinator of Interdistrict Programs, April 2005 – July 2006
Worked independently and collaboratively to administer, design, teach, and evaluate program
effectiveness.
Designed and wrote bi-monthly newsletters read by 3,000+ teachers, students, and parents.
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Interdistrict Program Assistant, September 2003 – April 2005
Assisted in the teaching and administrative duties of the Interdistrict Programs.
Northampton Center for the Arts, Northampton, MA
Assistant to the Director, Summer 2002
Supported the dynamic working environment of a small community-focused, non-profit arts organization. Duties shifted as needed including coordinating and publicizing events and rentals, fundraising, and daily administrative tasks.
Memorial Hall Museum, Deerfield, MA
Research Associate, September 2001 – May 2002
Helped in the production and upkeep of the museum’s digital collection. Transcribed and scanned historical documents, updated collection databases, and conducted historical research while gaining a practical understanding and a lasting appreciation for the collections and archives side of museum work.
Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum, Hadley, MA
Museum Assistant, 2001 Season (April – October)
Assisted in the operation of a small historic house museum- writing press releases, producing and facilitating museum tours, fundraising, historical research, and organizing large-scale community events.
Continuing Education:
Seminar for Historic Administration, Indianapolis, IN
Certificate of Completion , November 2012
Learned management and leadership skills in an intensive, 3-week program focused on history organizations.
Institute for Cultural Entrepreneurship for Museum Leaders, Cooperstown, NY
Certificate of Completion, May 2011
Learned business applications and principles of entrepreneurial thinking which has helped expand vision and leadership skills.
Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) Training Institute Level 1, Boston, MA
Certificate of Completion, Spring 2007
Gained a strong understanding for the foundations of Visual Thinking Strategies.
Professional Activities:
Connecticut Council for the Social Studies
Secretary, Fall 2012-present
Serves as a board officer for the Connecticut chapter of the National Council on the Social Studies, a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting the social studies through service to teachers.
Northeast Regional Conference on the Social Studies
Museum Chair , Spring 2011-Spring 2012
Served on the planning committee for 2012 conference April 3-5, 2012 in Sturbridge, MA.
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T INA M.
K RASNECKY
5 Glendale Road
Sturbridge, MA 01518
508.397.5974 (c) tkraz62@gmail.com
SUMMARY
Results oriented senior finance/accounting executive with experience with large multinational corporations, as well as start-ups. In-depth knowledge of private equity start-up, manufacturing cost accounting; mergers and acquisitions. Proven track record in developing and executing on strategic plans and willingness to challenge established thinking. Recognized as an outstanding leader and communicator, able to thrive in challenging business environments, who maximizes employee involvement with a focus on bottom-line results.
Areas of expertise include:
Cash Management
Cost Accounting
Management Reporting
Stock Option Accounting
Mergers & Acquisitions
P&L Management
SEC Reporting
Compensation and Benefits
Strategic Planning
Complex Debt Accounting
Contract Negotiations
Internal Controls/ICFR
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
OLD STURBRIDGE VILLLAGE, Sturbridge, MA February 2014 - present
(Old Sturbridge Village, the largest outdoor history museum in the Northeast, depicts a rural New England town of the
1830s. OSV is a 501(3)(c) non-profit organization.)
Vice President, Finance
Member of executive team responsible for Accounting/Finance functions. Position reports to CEO, manage direct staff of 3.
PLURES TECHNOLOGIES/ADVANCED MICROSENSORS, Shrewsbury, MA 2011- 2014
( Plures Technologies (OTCC: MANY) is a public company specializing in creating and acquiring high-potential innovation. Advanced MicroSensors is a majority owned subsidiary acquired in May 2011. PTI became public via a reverse merger in August 2011).
Corporate Controller
Vice President, Finance and Administration
Member of executive team responsible for Accounting/Finance and Human Resource functions. Position reported to CFO, manage direct staff of 2.
Developed accounting/financial processes for consolidation of parent and subsidiary
Financial lead for reverse merger - coordinated external audits of AMS and Plures as well as preparation of financial statements for required SEC filings.
Responsible for preparation of timely and accurate GAAP compliant financial statements for SEC filings.
Develop and maintain effective internal control policies and procedures.
Develop and maintain employee benefit plans including medical benefits and incentive stock option plans
Prepare budgets/forecasts, provide results and analysis to executive team and Board of Directors.
T
INA
M.
K
RASNECKY
P
AGE
T
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ADVANCED MICROSENSORS, INC., Shrewsbury, MA 1999 – 2011
(AMS specializes in the design, development and production of MEMS and thin film magnetic sensors. Largest shareholder was strategic investor /customer based in China. Acquired by Plures Technologies via an Asset Purchase in
May 2011.)
Chief Financial Officer
Vice President, Finance and Administration
Founding member of AMS, a privately held company incorporated in 1999. Responsible for strategic and financial planning, logistics, IT and human resources. Reported to President/CEO.
Established the finance organization for the newly created AMS; developed financial infrastructure and accounting principles to be used. Selected and oversaw implementation of Peachtree Accounting System.
Ensured that financial statements were in compliance with GAAP rules; no outstanding financial/accounting or internal control issues were raised by external auditing firm during 10 year tenure.
Designed production control and planning, purchasing and inventory management systems. Modeled factory capacity in order to optimize use of personnel and capital.
Developed effective cost accounting procedures to provide useful data to management regarding product cost and margins
Lead negotiator for contracts with customers including responsibility for supplier, development and intellectual property agreements. Consulted with outside counsel, as necessary.
Managed the human resources function including compensation, benefits, performance management, and organizational design and planning .
Reviewed on annual basis the cost of various benefit programs in order to balance employee benefits versus overall yearly expense increase; presented recommendations and cost benefit analysis to senior management for review and final approval.
Active participant on Board of Directors in three distinct roles; treasurer, secretary and member; responsible for preparation and presentation of company business strategy including the operational, financial and human resources plans on an annual basis.
Developed and presented business plan to potential investors; discussed all financial implications; handled due diligence preparations and inquiries. Primary contact for investor community in efforts to raise capital. Prepared responses on other non-financial topics such as the engineering and operational condition of business.
Formulated and executed financial strategies and key tactical activities to ensure acquisition and recapitalization of AMS by Plures Technologies.
MKE – QUANTUM CORPORATION COMPONENTS , Shrewsbury, MA 1997 – 1999
(MKQC was a strategic joint venture between Matsushita Kotobuki Electronics of Japan and the Recording Heads Group of Quantum Corporation – annual revenues of approximately $300M.)
Director of Finance, FP&A and Business Operations
Responsible for overall financial planning of business; revenue, expenses and profitability including three plants located in Shrewsbury, MA., Louisville, CO., and Batam, Indonesia for the joint venture with U.S-based and Japan-based parent organizations. Managed staff of 4 managers within a complex joint venture organizational structure; total indirect reports ~25. Reported to each parent company CFO.
T
INA
M.
K
RASNECKY
P
AGE
T
HREE
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2002 - 2002
Transferred all accounting functions to joint venture from Quantum Corporation - established and implemented appropriate finance and accounting infrastructure to satisfy reporting requirements of each parent company. Finance team recognized for smooth transition, as well as ability to work effectively in multi-cultural environment.
Participated in securing $120M financing agreement with Sumitomo Bank to provide working capital for joint venture.
Reported to dual on-site management team (e.g., CFO representing Quantum Corporation and CFO representing MKE). Communicated on frequent basis with Japanese senior leadership to expedite decision making.
Assumed lead financial role in developing dissolution strategy and execution of phase-out of business when it was determined that the joint venture was not financially viable. Negotiated cash flow in order to pay vendors, and downsized entire U.S. employee population (approx. 300 employees) during 9 month period. Worked with operations counterparts to sell equipment in Shrewsbury and Louisville plants.
Appointed to Board of Trustees after operations ceased; responsible for oversight of deferred compensation and benefits and other payments.
QUANTUM CORPORATION – RECORDING HEADS GROUP, Shrewsbury, MA 1994 – 1997
(A leading manufacturer of hard disk drives; acquired Digital’s Storage Business Unit in 1994 to provide for vertical integration; headquartered in California. Recording Heads Group was headquartered in Massachusetts with manufacturing plants in Colorado and Indonesia – annual sales $250M.)
World Wide Manufacturing Controller 1996 - 1997
Financial Planning and Analysis Manager 1994 - 1996
Responsible for financial management of manufacturing operations in Shrewsbury, MA., Louisville, CO,
Milpitas, CA, Bantam, Indonesia and Singapore. Direct reports included 3 plant controllers and the FP&A manager in role as WW Manufacturing Controller. Total number of indirect staff ~ 25.
DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION,
FP&A Manager/Plant Controller, Storage Heads Business 1993 - 1994
Cost Accounting Manager, Storage Heads Business 1992 - 1993
Senior Financial Analyst, Storage Heads Business 1990 – 1992
Senior Financial Analyst, MEMORY Product Business Unit 1987 - 1990
Financial Analyst, Financial Development Program 1984 - 1987
1984 1994
EDUCATION
MBA, General Management, Clark University, Worcester, MA – 1989
BS, Finance (Cost Accounting & Operational Analysis), Bentley College, Waltham, MA – 1984
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Anne C. McBride
32 Roger Street, Floor 1
Southbridge, Massachusetts 01550
508.347.0300 amcbride@osv.org
Experience
Old Sturbridge Village Sturbridge, Massachusetts
Associate Director of Development September 2014 - Present
•
Prepares, submits, and tracks, proposals and reports for corporate, foundation, and government grants and proposals including securing a $1M anonymous grant,; meets with institutional funders and individual donors; prospect research; assists with and plans donor cultivation programs and special events; and other duties as assigned.
Plimoth Plantation Plymouth, Massachusetts
Institutional Giving Officer June 2013-August 2014
• Prepared, submitted, acknowledged, tracked, and reported for corporate, foundation and government grants and proposals; met with institutional funders and individual donors; successfully obtained a
NEH Museums, Libraries, and Cultural Organizations Planning Grant; coordinated Free Fun Friday , a free admission day, implemented a new corporate support program for regional businesses; prospect research; crafted acknowledgment letters for general and directed individual gifts, assists with special events; other duties as assigned.
Old Sturbridge Village Sturbridge, Massachusetts
Decorative Arts Trust Curatorial Intern June 2012 to May 2013
•
Conducted an inventory of approximately 50,000 object collection, reconciled database records, installed several one case exhibits, assisted with research for the Four Centuries of Massachusetts
Furniture Project, donor relations, successful grant writing, and other duties as assigned
Winterthur Museum, Garden, & Library Winterthur, Delaware
Lois F. McNeil Fellow July 2010–May 2012
• Training in the connoisseurship of objects and material culture; attended events for professional development; conducted original research on museum objects and archival collections
Apprentice Interpreter September 2010–May 2012
•
Interpreted the collection for visitors of all ages and interests during 45 to 60 minute tours of the historic house and museum collection
Development Division Intern September–December 2011
•
Prepared and submitted grant proposals and reports; created a corporate relations newsletter; assisted with preparation and implementation of an annual event for major donors; research, evaluate and summarize information about donors, corporations, and foundations into prospect profiles; research and prepare trustee and donor profiles for special events; and other duties as assigned
Historic Deerfield, Inc. Deerfield, Massachusetts
June–August 2008 Summer Fellowship Program
Greenbank Mills & Philips Farm
Historical Interpreter, Intern, Program Assistant
Education
University of Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
August 2003 – December 2008
Newark, Delaware
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Master of Arts
Winterthur Program in American Material Culture
Honors Bachelor of Arts in History
Honors Bachelor of Science in Business Management
Software & Database Experience
2012
2010
2010
Proficient in Microsoft Office & Publisher, iWork, Windows, Mac OS, Aleph, Altru, Raiser’s Edge,
KeEmu, PastPerfect, FileMaker Pro, Wealth Engine, Prospect Research Online (IWave), Foundation
Center Online
Presentations & Papers
“Consigned to the Account and Risk of John Innes Clark”:
May 2012
Networks, Trade, & a Merchant in Providence, Rhode Island, 1768-1808
Furnishing the Original Winterthur: The Dining Room
May 2011
The Pottery by the Sea: The Herculaneum Pottery, 1796 to 1840
February 2011
The Bicentennial Pageant of George Washington,
2009
Textile Dyeing in Deerfield, Massachusetts: The Account Book and Patrons of Justin
2008
Hitchcock, 1775-1804
Exhibitions
Explorations: Art & Minerals from the University Museums
October 2008–October 2009
University of Delaware Museums
A Family Keeps: Objects from the Littell Collections
May 2009–July 2009
Special Collections, University of Delaware
Professional Affiliations
Association of Fundraising Professionals
American Alliance of Museums
Decorative Arts Trust
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Completed Questionnaires for Proposed Board and Founding Group
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Office of Charter Schools and School Redesign
Questionnaire for Proposed Board Member,
School Employee, or Other Founding Member 2015-2016
Biography
*Please submit a current resume with this form. *
Name
Present Employer and Job Title
Education/Professional Training
Pamela K. Boisvert
CEO, Mass. Education and Career
Opportunities, Inc. (MassEdCO)
B.A, Newton College of the Sacred Heart,
MA., Worcester State University
Past or Present Employment by, or Board
Membership in a Charter School, Public
School District, Higher Education Institution,
Educational Management Organization, or
School Support Organization
Previously employed by the former Colleges of
Worcester Consortium, Inc. (parent corp. of
MassEdCO)
Town of Residence
Questions
Please answer each question as fully as possible.
Shrewsbury, Ma.
1. How did you become aware of the proposed school?
Debra Friedman, VP of OSV, informed me of it, as did a Charlton resident who has been very involved in education
2. Why do you serve as a member of this founding group?
MassEdCO has done extensive work in Southbridge High School for several years, working with low income students and families to help them prepare for and succeed at the postsecondary level. I was very interested that a new option (Charter School) may be an alternative for some families.
3. Provide specific examples of past actions that you have taken that demonstrate your commitment to public education and serving your targeted community.
For more than 30 years I have been involved in expanding and managing a network of higher education access services across the state, operating in 11 high need cities and serving over
14,000 educationally/economically disadvantaged individuals each year. I have been responsible for securing the funding (approx. $3,500,000 annually) and overseeing the delivery of services either directly or via partnerships in the target cities.
I wrote the proposal that brought College Access Challenge Grant funded services to
Southbridge High School five years ago. This funded a full time college advisor position, embedded in the school. This advisor was an employee of MassEdCO, and oversight was provided from this office. I also wrote the proposal that was funded by the Health Foundation of Central Mass. to provide academic support services to pregnant and parenting teens in
Southbridge and surrounding communities. This program began in October, 2015.
We have long been aware of the academic needs in Southbridge and have worked to bring supplemental services to that school district.
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4. If a charter were granted, what anticipated role would you play within the school community?
How long do you anticipate serving as a member of the board, an employee of the proposed school, or a partner organization?
As most of MassEdCO’s involvement has been at the middle and high school levels, I would expect that my role with the Charter School would be advisory – in terms of helping to promote early awareness of the importance of postsecondary education, how to prepare for it, how to include parents in that process, etc. I anticipate serving for as long as there is a productive role for me to play.
If a proposed board member, name the anticipated office you would hold if any, e.g. such as chair person or treasurer
I do not anticipate holding any office other than Board member.
If a proposed school employee, name the anticipated position you would hold, e.g. school leader, administrator, or teacher. N/A
If a proposed partner for contracted services, describe the scope of anticipated services to be provided to the school and your anticipated involvement if chartered. N/A
5. Describe how your unique qualifications and anticipated role within the school community will support the implementation of the proposed school.
I believe my background in college and career readiness will be useful to this initiative, even though it will be several years before the students will be at the middle school or high school level. If we can instill the concept of higher education/postsecondary education as a “given” for reaching one’s academic and career potential, as opposed to it merely being a distant option, starting in Kindergarten, I think that we will have performed a great service to these students and families and the community at large.
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6. Please indicate if you or an immediate member 2 of your family knows generally, and/or is disfavored by members of the proposed board, proposed school employee(s), or individual(s) affiliated with the proposed educational management organization or school support organization, if applicable. Indicate the individual(s) and describe the nature of the relationship(s) if one exists.
I am a distant relative of Debra Friedman, VP for OSV.
7. Please indicate if you or an immediate member of your family has or may have a financial interest 3 in the proposed school; proposed educational management organization or school support organization, if applicable; or individual(s) or any other company that may contract or provide service to the proposed school, if applicable. Please include employment, the possible leasing or selling of any real property, and the purchase of equipment or services for the proposed school. If yes, please explain.
No financial interest exists.
8. Have or will you or any member of your immediate family receive funds, gifts, loans, services, or any other benefit for any purpose from the proposed school, or any other company proposing to contract or provide services to the proposed school? If yes, please explain.
NO
9. Describe what you would do if you believed one or more members of the school’s proposed board was acting unethically or not in the best interests of the school.
I would report it to the Board Chair and the ED of OSV.
10. [Proposed board members ONLY] To the best of your knowledge, are there any situations which may give the appearance of a conflict of interest or that would make it difficult for you to discharge the duties of a board member and make decisions that are solely in the best interest of the school? If yes, please explain briefly. Individuals are encouraged to contact the State
Ethics Commission ( http://www.mass.gov/ethics/ ) about how conflict of interest law applies to their situation.
No
Expertise
Please indicate in which areas you possess professional expertise:
Community Service
Fundraising
Educational Leadership
Finance/Business
Management
Charter Schools
Other Innovative Public
School Models (ELT, Innovation
Early Childhood/Elementary
Education
Secondary Education
Law
School Improvement
Blended/Virtual Education
Other: college preparation and access
Special Education
English Language Learner
Education
Human Resources
School Governance
Real Estate
2 Immediate family is defined as the proposed school employee, board member, or other founding member and his or her spouse, and the parents, children, brothers, and sisters of the proposed school employee, board member, or other founding member and his or her spouse.
3 Financial interest is defined as anything of economic or monetary value.
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Schools, Magnet or Pilot
Schools)
Certification
I recognize that all information, except home address, personal email, or personal telephone, submitted with this questionnaire becomes a matter of public record, subject by law to disclosure to members of the general public. I certify that the information contained in this document and attached resume is true and complete to the best of my knowledge under the penalties of perjury.
Original Signature Required
Oct 29, 2015
Date
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Curriculum Outline for Grades 4-8
4
Reading Reading Literature &
Nonfiction. Word analysis skills; fluency; critical textual analysis.
Writing Writing. Produce a variety of written texts
(e.g., opinion pieces, explanations,
Math narratives, and short research projects); use specific facts and descriptive details, and correct spelling and punctuation.
Math. Problem solving using the four operations, factors & multiples; place value understanding for multidigit numbers; ordering fractions; decimal notation for fractions, conversion of measurement; angles.
5 the
6 models.
7 8
Reading Literature & Reading Nonfiction (2 separate classes). Read challenging texts closely, including great works of literature in upper grades; cite specific evidence from text to support assertions; recognize interplay between setting, plot, and characters; provide an objective summary to text; trace development of an argument; distinguish between denotative and connotative meaning.
Writing. Use a systematic writing process to produce stories and essays; write short- and long-form pieces; respond critically to literary and informational sources; hone skills in grammar, usage, and punctuation. (Writing expectations and volume will increase over this grade span.)
Math. Numerical expressions, patterns & relationship; operations with multi-digit numbers and decimals to hundredths; add, subtract, multiply & divide fractions; positive
& negative integers; volume; graphing on coordinate plane.
Social
Studies
What People Believe:
Religion. Polytheism
(Egypt, Greece, Native
American Civilizations,
Hinduism); monotheism
(Judaism, Christianity,
Islam); conflicts over
Religion (Crusades,
Puritan Settlements of
America, Holocaust,
Taliban and Afghan war).
How Money Impacts
People. Saving and
Spending; Trading,
Bartering &
Development of
Currency; Land &
Natural Resources as
Money: European
Exploration of Americas;
Economies in American colonies; Taxation:
Causes of American &
French Revolutions;
Louisiana Purchase,
Westward Expansion;
Great Depression.
Science Integrated Science. Earth and Space Science.
Earth’s History; The Earth in the Solar System;
Adaptations of Living Things; Energy and Living
Things; Structures and Functions; Life Science
(Biology) : Evolution and Biodiversity; Energy and
Living Things; Changes in Ecosystems Over Time.
Physical Sciences (Chemistry and Physics) : States of
Matter; and Forms of Energy.
Technology/Engineering.
Materials and Tools.
Math. Ratio, multiplication & division with fractions, common factors & multiples; applying understanding of arithmetic to algebraic expressions; one-variable equations
& inequalities; dependent & independent variables; area, surface area, and volume problems; statistical variability.
How People Organize:
Comparative
Government.
Monarchies; Feudalism;
Democracies (Ancient
Greece & Rome,
America); Communism.
Earth and Space
Science. Mapping
Earth; Earth’s
Structure;
Heat Transfer in the
Earth System; Earth’s
History; and The
Earth in the Solar
System.
Note: Technology/
Engineering units will be incorporated into the curriculum each year from grades 6-8.
Pre-Algebra. Proportional relationships; add, subtract, multiply and divide rational numbers; generate equivalent expressions; problem-solving using numerical and algebraic expressions and equations; area, surface area, and volume problems; random sampling to draw inferences; probability
Slavery. Slavery & Slave
Trade; Slavery in Nation
Formation; Expansion of US and Expansion of Slavery;
Civil War: Division of US over Slavery;
Reconstruction, Jim Crow &
Limits on African America
Freedoms; Civil Rights Era;
Case Study: Affirmative
Action; Modern Slavery.
Biology. Classification of
Organisms; Structure and
Function of Cells; Systems in Living Things;
Reproduction and Heredity;
Evolution and Biodiversity;
Living Things and Their
Environment; Energy and
Living Things; and Changes in Ecosystems Over Time.
Algebra. Non-rational numbers; radicals and integer exponents; connection between proportional relationships, lines, and linear equations; functions; congruence and similarity; Pythagorean theorem; problem solving using volume of cylinders, cones, and spheres; patterns of association in bivariate data.
How America Interacts
with the World. How
America Interacts with
People from Other
Countries: How it treats people, interacts economically, and interacts militarily.
Chemistry and Physics.
Properties of Matter;
Elements, Compounds, and Mixtures; Motion of
Objects; Forms of Energy; and Heat Energy.
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4th Grade
Reading Literature & Nonfiction . Use detail and example from texts to explain and draw inferences; determine theme; summarize; explain structural elements of different types of text; compare and contrast point of narrators; locate similes and metaphors; compare and contrast treatment of similar themes, topics, and patterns of events; use phonics and word analysis skills (e.g., letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns and morphology) to read unfamiliar words; use context to confirm or self-correct; for informational text, describe structure of events, ideas, concepts or information in a text; compare/contrast first- and secondhand accounts; integrate information from two texts on the same topic; paraphrase parts of text read aloud; identify reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support points; recount a story or experience, or report on a topic or text, using facts, detail, and description
.
Writing . Write opinion pieces supporting point of view with reasons and information; write informative/explanatory text to clearly examine a topic and convey ideas and information; write narratives to develop real or imaged experiences using proper technique, descriptive detail, and clear event sequences; use similes and/or metaphors in writing; strengthen writing by planning, revising and editing; conduct short research projects to build knowledge; draw evidence from literary/informational texts to support analysis; use conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing (adding use of relative pronouns, the progressive tense, and modal auxiliaries; and when using capitalization, punctuation, and spelling (adding use of commas and quotations to indicate direct speech); use language and conventions for precision and effect; acquire new vocabulary by using context clues, Greek and Latin affixes, and reference materials; show understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
Math . Use the four operations with whole numbers to solve problems; gain familiarity with factors and multiples; generate and analyze patterns; generalize place value understanding for multi-digit whole numbers; use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic; extend understanding of fraction equivalence and ordering; build fractions from unit fractions by applying and extending previous understandings of operations on whole numbers; understand decimal notation for fractions, and compare decimal fractions; solve problems involving measurement and conversion of measurements from a larger unit to a smaller unit; represent and interpret data; understand concepts of angle and measure angles; draw and identify lines and angles; and classify shapes by properties of their lines and angles.
Social Studies. What People Believe: Religion. Describe the polytheistic religion of ancient Egypt with respect to beliefs about death, the afterlife, mummification, and the roles of different deities; describe the polytheistic religion of ancient Greece with respect to beliefs about creation, death / the afterlife, heroes, and the roles of different deities; describe the polytheistic religion of several Native
American tribes with respect to beliefs about animal souls, spirits, sacrifice, and creation; describe
Hinduism as a polytheistic religion that includes gods such as Vishnu, Krishna, Shiva, and Ganesha; describe Judaism as the monotheistic religion of the Israelites; describe the origins of Christianity and its central features; describe the origins of Islam and its central features; describe the Crusades as a conflict over religion; describe why the Pilgrims left Europe to seek religious freedom; describe their journey and their early years in the Plymouth Colony; describe the Holocaust as the intentional and systematic killing of Jews and select other populations by the Nazis in the 1930s and 1940s; explain the impact of the Holocaust; describe several of the main beliefs held by the Taliban; explain the reaction of other Muslims to the Taliban.
Integrated Science . Identify categories of rocks based on how they are formed and explain the natural and physical processes that create these rocks; explain ways in which soil is formed; describe how global patterns (e.g., jet stream) influence local weather; explain impact on earth of erosion, weathering, landslides, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes; identify the structures in plants (leaves, roots, flowers, stem, bark, wood) that are responsible for food production, support, water transport, reproduction, growth, and protection; differentiate between observed characteristics of plants and animals that are fully inherited and characteristics that are affected by the climate or environment; explain how inherited characteristics may change over time as adaptations to changes in the environment that enable organisms to survive; explain how energy can be transferred from one form to another; recognize that electricity in circuits requires a complete loop through which an electrical current can pass, and that electricity can produce light, heat, and sound; identify and classify objects
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and materials that conduct electricity and objects and materials that are insulators of electricity; explain how electromagnets can be made, and give examples of how they can be used; recognize that magnets have poles that repel and attract each other; identify and classify objects and materials that a magnet will attract and objects and materials that a magnet will not attract.
5th Grade
Reading Fiction & Reading Nonfiction . Use quotes from text when explaining what text says; determine themes; summarize; determine meaning of words including similes/metaphors; explain how a series fits together; describe narrator/speaker’s point of view; locate/analyze foreshadowing; compare/contrast stories of same genre on approach to similar themes/topics; use phonics and word analysis to decode (letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns, morphology); read with accuracy and fluency to support comprehension; use strategies like context clues, Greek and Latin affixes and roots, and reference materials to determine or clarify word meaning; show understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in meaning (e.g., explain meaning of common idioms); for informational text, determine two or more main ideas from text; explain relationships/interactions between individuals/events/concepts/ideas; compare/contrast structure of texts; analyze multiple accounts of same topic/event; integrate information from several texts to write/speak about topic; engage in discussions; summarize text read aloud and points speaker makes.
Writing . Write opinion pieces and support point of view with reasons and evidence; write informative/explanatory texts to clearly convey topics/ideas (adding use of facts, definitions, details, quotations); write narratives using strong technique, descriptive detail, and clear event sequences
(adding use of dialogue and pacing, transitional words, and sensory words that convey detail); draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support work; show command of conventions of standard English grammar when writing or speaking (adding use of perfect verb tense and correction of inappropriate shifts in verb tense) and in capitalization, punctuation, and spelling (adding use of punctuation to separate items in a series; underlining, quotation marks, or italics to indicate titles of works); use words that signal contrast, addition, and other logical relationships (e.g., however).
Math . Write/interpret numerical expressions; analyze patterns and relationships; understand place value system; perform operations with multi-digit whole numbers and with decimals to hundredths; use equivalent fractions as a strategy to add and subtract fractions; apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division to multiply and divide fractions; gain familiarity with concepts of positive and negative integers; convert like measurement units within a given measurement system; represent and interpret data; understand concepts of volume and relate to multiplication/addition.
Social Studies: How Money Impacts People. Define the role of a bank and what banks do with money; define interest, and explain the benefits of saving money in a bank account; explain the benefits and limitation of using currency; explain how changes in supply and demand affect prices of specific products; on a map of North America, identify the first 13 colonies; explain how regional differences in climate, types of farming, populations, and sources of labor shaped the economies and societies through the 18th century; define what a tax is and the purposes for taxes, and give examples of different kinds of taxes (e.g., property, sales, or income taxes); explain the reasons for the French and Indian War, how it led to an overhaul of British imperial policy, and the colonial response to these policies; explain and give examples of how America expanded through purchasing land, settling land, and conquering land; label and correctly spell all 50 states on a United States map; explain the causes of the Great Depression and explain how the Great Depression affected life in America.
Integrated Science . Recognize that earth is part of “solar system”; recognize that earth orbits the sun and that earth rotates on its axis; make connections between the rotation of the earth and day/night, and the apparent movement of the sun, moon, and stars across the sky; describe the changes that occur in the observable shape of the moon over the course of a month; give examples of how changes in the environment (e.g., drought, cold) have caused some plants and animals to die or move to new locations (e.g., migration); describe how organisms meet some of their needs in an environment by using behaviors in response to information received from the environment; recognize that some animal behaviors are instinctive and others are learned; give examples of how organisms can cause changes in their environment to ensure survival; explain how some of these changes may
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affect the ecosystem; describe photosynthesis and energy transfer within a food chain from producers to consumers to decomposers; explain what sound is; relate rate of vibration to pitch of the sound; explain how light travels and that it can be reflected, refracted, and absorbed.
6th Grade
Reading Fiction & Reading Nonfiction . Cite textual evidence to support analysis; determine theme; provide summary; determine figurative and connotative meaning; analyze word choice on meaning and tone; explain development of point of view; identify conventions of legends and epics
(e.g., hero, quest, journey); determine meaning of unknown words using context clues, reference materials, Greek or Latin affixes and roots, and patterns of word changes; show understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings (adding personification, cause/effect, item/category); for informational text, determine technical meaning; distinguish between claims supported by evidence and those that are not.
Writing . Write arguments to support claims with evidence (e.g., use credible sources, organize reasons and claims clearly); write informative/explanatory texts to examine topic/convey ideas
(adding formatting, such as headings, to organize ideas); write narratives to develop experiences
(adding practice of engaging and orienting reader by establishing context and using narrative technique); show understanding of traditional literature by writing short narratives, poems, scripts that use conventions of myths, legends, or epics; draw information from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research; show command of conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking (adding proper pronoun use) and in capitalization, punctuation, and spelling (adding punctuation to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements).
Math . Understand ratio concepts and use ratio reasoning to solve problems; apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division to divide fractions by fractions; compute fluently with multi-digit numbers and find common factors and multiples; apply and extend previous understandings of numbers to the system of rational numbers; apply and extend previous understandings of arithmetic to algebraic expressions; reason about and solve one-variable equations and inequalities; represent and analyze quantitative relationships between dependent and independent variables; solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, surface area, and volume; develop understanding of statistical variability; summarize and describe distributions; draw, construct and describe geometrical figures and describe the relationships between them; solve reallife and mathematical problems involving angle measure, area, surface area, and volume; use random sampling to draw inferences about a population; draw informal comparative inferences about two populations; investigate chance processes and develop, use, and evaluate probability models.
Social Studies: How People Organize: Comparative Government. Define government and explain the general social needs that governments fulfill; define monarchy, explain how power is transferred in a monarchy, and give several examples of both ancient and modern monarchies; compare and contrast the social positions, property rights, military obligations, and roles of serfs, vassals, and lords; compare and contrast the ideals of democracy with the ideals of feudalism; compare and contrast the democratic political principles developed in ancient Greece and in the
Roman Republic; describe the government of the Roman Republic and its contribution to the development of democratic principles, including separation of powers, rule of law, representative government, and the notion of civic duty; explain the meaning of the key ideas on equality, natural rights, the rule of law, and the purpose of government contained in the Declaration of Independence; describe the basic political principles of American democracy and citing specific examples, compare and contrast those principles with the democracies of Ancient Greece and Rome; describe the responsibilities of government at the federal, state, and local levels; Identify the three branches of the
United States government as outlined by the Constitution, describe their functions and relationships, and identify what features of the Constitution were unique at the time (e.g., the presidency and the independent judiciary); identify the rights in the Bill of Rights (citing exact wording from the Bill of
Rights) and explain the reasons for its inclusion in the Constitution in 1791; compare and contrast the ideals of communism and the ideals of democracy.
Earth and Space Science. Recognize, interpret, and be able to create models of the earth’s common physical features in various mapping representations; describe layers of the earth; differentiate among radiation, conduction, and convection; explain the relationship among energy provided by the sun, the global patterns of atmospheric movement, and the temperature differences
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among water, land, and atmosphere; explain effects of movement of the earth’s crustal plates; explain deposition of sediments, rock formation, erosion, and weathering; explain theory of evolution; explain gravity and its relation to the solar system; explain how the tilt of the earth and its revolution around sun result in seasons; explain and distinguish between universe and galaxies.
7th Grade
Reading Fiction & Reading Nonfiction . Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of text and inferences of text; analyze themes/central ideas over course of text; analyze how elements of story or drama interact; determine meaning of words and phrases, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze how drama or poem’s form or structure contributes to its meaning; analyze how author develops and contrasts point of view; analyze how author uses literary elements (e.g., mood, tone, symbolism); compare/contrast fictional portrayal versus a historical account; engage in range of collaborative discussions, having read or researched material beforehand; acknowledge new information and be willing to modify own view; develop vocabulary by verifying an inferred word meaning through context or in a dictionary; show understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuance in word meanings (adding use of relationships between words to better understand words; distinguishing among connotations); for informational texts, compare audio or video version of a text to that text; trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether reasoning is sound and evidence is relevant and sufficient.
Writing . Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence (adding acknowledgement of alternate or opposing claims, use of logical reasoning and credible sources, and use of formal style); write informative/explanatory texts and convey ideas through selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content (e.g., introduce topic, preview what is to follow, compare and contrast, develop topic thoroughly, and use appropriate transitions); write narratives using strong technique, descriptive details and clear event sequences (adding use of variety of transition words/phrases, sensory language, and dialogue); write short narratives, poems, scripts, or reflections that show understanding of point of view, personification and symbolism; gather relevant information from variety of sources, assess its credibility, and quote/paraphrase accurately with a citation to avoid plagiarism; show command of conventions of English grammar and usage when writing (adding signaling relationships among idea by choosing among simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences; putting phrases and clauses within a sentence; recognizing and correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers) and in capitalization, punctuation, and spelling (adding comma use to separate coordinate adjectives).
Pre-Algebra . Analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems; apply and extend previous understandings of operations with fractions to add, subtract, multiply, and divide rational numbers; use properties of operations to generate equivalent expressions; solve real-life and mathematical problems using numerical and algebraic expressions and equations; know that there are numbers that are not rational, and approximate them by rational numbers; work with radicals and integer exponents; understand the connections between proportional relationships, lines, and linear equations; analyze and solve linear equations and pairs of simultaneous linear equations; define, evaluate, and compare functions; use functions to model relationships between quantities; understand congruence and similarity using physical models, transparencies, or geometry software; understand and apply the Pythagorean Theorem; solve realworld and mathematical problems involving volume of cylinders, cones and spheres; investigate patterns of association in bivariate data.
Social Studies: Slavery . Compare and contrast the justification and role of slaves in several ancient civilizations; describe who participated in and who benefited from the American slave trade; explain how those who profited from the slave trade justified the enslavement of others; describe the establishment of slavery in the Constitution and provide the justifications for and opposition to the
Constitutio n’s treatment of slavery; cite the text of the Constitution when describing the establishment of slavery; cite the writings of the Founding Fathers when explaining the arguments for and against allowing slavery in the Constitution; describe the rapid growth of slavery in the South after 1800 and analyze slave life and resistance on plantations and farms across the South, as well as the impact of the cotton gin on the economics of slavery and Southern agriculture; describe the role of the fear of slave revolt and racial insurrection in the formation of attitudes and policies in the United States, and
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include direct explanation of the role of the Haitian Revolution and the Nat Turner Revolt; describe the formation of the abolitionist movement, the roles of various abolitionists, and the response of southerners and northerners to abolitionism; include direct explanation of the Underground Railroad,
Harriet Beecher Stowe, and John Brown; explain how westward expansion deepened the American divide over slavery and include direct explanation of the role of the Missouri Compromise, the
Compromise of 1850 (the Fugitive Slave Act), and the Kansas-Nebraska Act; describe and analyze
Lincoln’s view of the Civil War, including direct citation from at least three primary documents; describe the content of, reasons for, and debate over the 14th and 15th amendments; summarize and evaluate the argument of Plessy v. Ferguson and explain the impact of this ruling; analyze the tactics and effectiveness of the Civil Rights Movement in expanding the social, political, and legal rights of
African-Americans; consider the role of boycotts, protests, marches, legal cases, writings, and speeches in analyzing which tactics were more and less effective.
Biology . Classify organisms into kingdoms according to shared characteristics; explain make up of organisms and how single celled organisms carry out functions of life; compare and contrast plant and animal cells; recognize that within cells, many of the basic functions of organisms are carried out; describe hierarchical organization of multicellular organisms; identify general functions of the major systems of the human body (e.g., digestion, respiration, reproduction) and describe ways that these systems interact with each other; explain purpose chromosomes serve; explain heredity; compare sexual reproduction with asexual reproduction; give examples of ways that genetic variation and environmental factors are causes of evolution and the diversity of organisms; explain theory of evolution and concept of extinction; explain interaction of organisms in an ecosystem; explain the roles and relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers in the process of energy transfer in a food web; identify ways in which ecosystems have changed throughout geologic time in response to physical conditions, interactions among organisms, and the actions of humans; describe how changes may be catastrophes such as volcanic eruptions or ice storms; recognize that biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed through gradual processes over many generations.
8th Grade
Reading Fiction & Reading Nonfiction . Cite textual evidence that most strongly supports analysis of what text says; analyze development of theme or central idea; analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in story or drama propel the action, reveal character, or provoke decision; determine meaning of words/phrases, including figurative and connotative meaning; analyze impact of word choice on meaning and tone; analyze how different points of view create effects like suspense or humor; analyze extent to which filmed or live production of story or drama stays faithful to text or script; identify/analyze irony and parody; analyze how fiction draws on themes, patterns, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works; engage in range of collaborative discussions, having read or researched material beforehand; acknowledge new information and qualify or justify their own views; show understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances of word meanings (e.g., interpret figures of speech like verbal irony or puns; distinguish among connotations of words with similar definitions); for informational texts; evaluate advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums to present a topic or idea.
Writing . Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence (adding use of tools to create cohesion and clarify relationships among claims, counterclaims, reasons, and evidence); write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information (adding organizing text into broad categories, developing topic with concrete details and well-chosen facts, and using formal style); write narratives to develop experiences using effective technique, descriptive details, and well-structured sequences (adding use a variety of transition words, phrases and clauses, and sensory language); write short narratives, poems, scripts, or reflections that show understanding of irony or parody; use drafting techniques to make sure purpose and audience have been adequately addressed; gather information from a variety of sources, assess its credibility, and quote or paraphrase it using citation to avoid plagiarism; show command of conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing (adding explanation of function of verbals, use of verbs in active and passive voice, and indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional and subjunctive mood) and in capitalization, punctuation, and spelling (adding correct use of ellipses and dashes).
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Algebra . Extend the properties of exponents to rational exponents; use properties of rational and irrational numbers; reason quantitatively and use units to solve problems; interpret the structure of expressions; write expressions in equivalent forms to solve problems; perform arithmetic operations on polynomials; create equations that describe numbers or relationships; understand solving relationships as a process of reasoning and explain the reasoning; solve equations and inequalities in one variable; solve systems of equations; represent and solve equations and inequalities graphically; understand the concept of a function and use function notation; interpret functions that arise in applications in terms of the context; analyze functions using different representations; build a function that models a relationship between two quantities; build new functions from existing functions; construct and compare linear, quadratic, and exponential models and solve problems; interpret expressions for functions in terms of the situation they model.
Social Studies : How America Interacts with the World . Describe the causes of the immigration of
Southern and Eastern Europeans, Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and describe the treatment of those immigrants; describe the causes of the immigration of Asians and Latinos in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and describe the treatment of those immigrants; develop, articulate, and defend own position on current issues in immigration policy; analyze America’s consumption patterns compared to other countries and relative to population; outline arguments for protectionism versus free trade; develop, articulate, and defend own position on current issues in trade and aid; define isolationism and internationalism and explain the arguments of both regarding entry into World War II; summarize and evaluate the arguments for and against U.S. engagement in Vietnam; summarize and evaluate the arguments for and against
U.S. engagement in Iraq in both the first and second Gulf Wars; develop, articulate, and defend own position on current military issues.
Chemistry and Physics. Differentiate between weight and mass and volume and use rulers, graduated cylinders, balances to calculate; define density; explain and give examples of how mass is conserved in a closed system; explain the function of the elements that make up all living and nonliving things; differentiate between an atom and a molecule; give basic examples of elements and compounds; differentiate between mixtures and pure substances; explain melting point and boiling point; differentiate between physical changes and chemical changes; explain how motion of an object can be described by its position, direction of motion, and speed; graph and interpret distance vs. time graphs for constant speed; differentiate between potential and kinetic energy; identify situations where kinetic energy is transformed into potential energy and vice versa; recognize that heat is a form of energy and that temperature change results from adding or taking away heat from a system; explain the effect of heat on particle motion through a description of what happens to particles during a change in phase; give examples of how heat moves in predictable ways, moving from warmer objects to cooler ones until they reach equilibrium.
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DRAFT
DRAFT MANAGEMENT SERVICES AGREEMENT
By and Between
OLD STURBRIDGE, INC. and
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF OLD STURBRIDGE ACADEMY CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL
This Management Services Agreement (the “Agreement”) is made and entered into on the
Effective Date (the “Effective Date”) by and between Old Sturbridge, Inc., a Massachusetts not for profit corporation (“OSV”), and the Board of Trustees of Old Sturbridge Academy Public Charter School (the
“School”), a Commonwealth Charter School in Massachusetts (the “Board,” and the Board together with
OSV, each a “Party” and collectively the “Parties”). This Agreement shall have an initial term commencing on the Effective Date and ending on the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date (the “Initial
Term”), and may be approved and renewed by the Board for additional renewal terms ending on
June 30 of each five year term (each a “Renewal Term” and collectively with the Initial Term the
“Term”). If either Party intends to not renew this Agreement that Party must give written notice of intent to terminate or renegotiate not later than the December 31 prior to the end of the Initial Term or the December 31 prior to the end of any Renewal Term.
WHEREAS, it is the Parties’ intention to create a relationship based on trust, common educational objectives, and clear accountability, through which they will work together to bring educational excellence to the School;
WHEREAS, the Trustees desire to have OSV provide certain services to and on behalf of the
School, in accordance with the provisions of the charter School Law, School Policies, and any and all other applicable laws and regulations and upon the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth and OSV desires to provide such services to the Trustees;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the recitals and the mutual covenants, representations, warranties, conditions, and agreements hereinafter expressed, the Parties agree as follows:
1.
DEFINITIONS
“Agreement” has the meaning set forth in the recitals.
“Arbitration Rules” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.2.
“Authorizer” means the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
School
“Board” meaning the individuals awarded the charters of Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public
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“Charter” means certain material terms as described in the charter application or as amended in compliance with 603 CMR 1.00. These material terms are the School’ educational philosophy and mission; governance and leadership structure; a contract with an education management organization that is providing or planning to provide substantially all of the School’ educational services; curriculum models or whole-school change designs; location of facilities, if such change involves relocating or expanding to another municipality; districts specified in a regional school’s charter; bylaws; schedule
(e.g., length of school year, school week, or school day); enrollment process; code of conduct; school name; or membership of the board of trustees. The charter is granted to the School’ Board by the
Authorizer, which requires the Board to ensure that the School under its governance are academically successful, organizationally viable, and faithful to their charters.
“Charter School Law” means the laws permitting the creation of charter School in
Massachusetts and governing the development and operation of charter School in Massachusetts
“Claims” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.2.
“Confidential Information” means (i) any business or technical information of a Party that is not generally known or publicly available; (ii) any information that a Party maintains as confidential, proprietary, restricted, or otherwise as not to be disclosed generally; (iii) any information disclosed to or known by a Party that is not generally known or publicly available and that in any way relates to either
Party’s products; services; techniques or know-how; trade secrets; ideas; processes; computer programs; documents; materials; business information; marketing materials (including costs, pricing, and customer lists); and (iv) the Marks and Proprietary Information. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement to the contrary, Confidential Information shall exclude any information that is required to be disclosed by law including but not limited to state and federal public records and student records laws, or final order from a court or governmental agency.
“Deductible” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.4.
“Dispute” has the meaning set forth in Section 11.2.
“Effective Date” means when charter approved
“Facility” means a building or other structure, of sufficient size to house the Minimum
Enrollment Level, suitable for use by the School and meeting all applicable building codes, zoning ordinances and laws, environmental laws and regulations, and all other laws and regulations applicable to the operation of a charter School in Massachusetts.
“Facility Contract” means the lease or other contract for the use of a Facility under an agreement with a lessor.
“FERPA” has the meaning set forth in Section 6.6.
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DRAFT
“Indemnified Claims” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.2.
“Indemnified Party” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.6.1.
“Indemnifying Party” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.6.1.
“Initial Term” has the meaning set forth in the recitals.
“Marks” means all trademarks, service marks, design marks, trade names, domain names, registrations, and applications for registration thereof, and any common law rights pertaining thereto, belonging to OSV.
“Party” and “Parties” has the meaning set forth in the recitals.
“Principal” means the person in charge of the day-to-day operation of a School.
“Proprietary Information” means all copyright and other proprietary rights to all instructional materials, training materials, curriculum and lesson plans, and any other materials developed by OSV, its employees, agents or subcontractors to the extent permitted by statute and regulations of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
“Regulatory Authority” means any United States federal, State or local government, or political subdivision thereof, any authority, agency or commission entitled to exercise any administrative, executive, judicial, legislative, regulatory or taxing authority or power, any court or tribunal (or any department, bureau or division thereof), any arbitrator or arbitral body, or any similar body.
“Renewal Term” has the meaning set forth in the recitals.
“School” has the meaning of the Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School.
“School Indemnified Persons” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.2.
“Service Fee” has the meaning set forth in Section 7.4.
“State” means Massachusetts.
“Term” has the meaning set forth in the recitals.
“Termination Assistance Period” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.6.
“Termination Notice” has the meaning set forth in Section 10.1.
“Third Party Claim” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.6.
“OSV” has the meaning set forth in the recitals.
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DRAFT
2.
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
2.1
Representations and Warranties of OSV.
OSV represents and warrants as follows:
(a) Organization. OSV is a non-stock, not for profit corporation duly organized under the laws of the state of Massachusetts, OSV shall notify the School of any change in its corporate status. OSV shall not change its corporate status such that this Agreement is materially affected.
(b) Authority. OSV is authorized to do business in the State. OSV has all requisite power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement, to perform its obligations hereunder, and to otherwise consummate the transactions contemplated hereby. This
Agreement constitutes a valid and binding obligation of OSV, enforceable against OSV in accordance with its terms.
(c) Full Disclosure. No representation or warranty of OSV herein and no statement, information or certificate furnished or to be furnished by OSV pursuant hereto or in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby contains any untrue statement of a material fact or omits or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements contained herein or therein not misleading.
(d) Litigation. There is no suit, claim, action or proceeding now pending or, to the knowledge of OSV, threatened before any court or Regulatory Authority to which OSV is a Party or which may result in any judgment, order, decree, liability, award or other determination which will or may reasonably be expected to have an adverse effect upon
OSV. No such judgment, order, decree or award has been entered against OSV which has, or may reasonably be expected to have, such effect. There is no claim, action or proceeding now pending or, to the knowledge of OSV, threatened before any
Regulatory Authority involving OSV which will or may reasonably be expected to prevent or hamper the consummation of the agreements contemplated by this Agreement.
(e) Conduct of OSV. OSV has complied, and at all times during the Term will comply, with all local, state and federal laws and regulations that are applicable to OSV, which include, but are not limited to the Internal Revenue Code, the non-profit corporation law of Massachusetts OSV has maintained and will maintain adequate records of the activities and decisions of OSV to ensure and document compliance with all such laws and regulations. The School agrees to provide OSV with copies of all such records, and to allow OSV to, at OSV’s discretion, assist with the preparation and retention of such records.
2.2
Representations and Warranties of the Board.
The School represents and warrants as follows:
(a) Organization and Tax Exempt Status. The Board will, at all times during the Term, govern Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public School, duly organized under applicable
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(b) Authority. Subject to clause (a) above, the Board has all requisite power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement, to perform its obligations hereunder, and to otherwise consummate the agreements contemplated hereby and thereby, with appropriate approval of the Authorizer, this Agreement constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Board, enforceable against the Board in accordance with its respective terms.
(c)
Charter School Law, with the purpose and legal ability to govern charter schools and to contract for educational management services.
Litigation. There is no suit, claim, action or proceeding now pending or, to the knowledge of the Board, threatened before any court or Regulatory Authority to which the Board is a Party or which may result in any judgment, order, decree, liability, award or other determination which will or may reasonably be expected to have an adverse effect upon the Board. No such judgment, order, decree or award has been entered against the Board which has, or may reasonably be expected to have, such effect. There is no claim, action or proceeding now pending or, to the knowledge of the Board, threatened before any Regulatory Authority involving the Board which will or may reasonably be expected to prevent or hamper the consummation of the agreements contemplated by this Agreement.
(d) Full Disclosure. No representation or warranty of the Board herein and no statement, information or certificate furnished or to be furnished by the Board pursuant hereto or in connection with the agreement contemplated hereby contains any untrue statement of a material fact or omits or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements contained herein or therein not misleading.
(e) Conduct of the Board. The Board has complied, and at all times during the Term will comply, in all material respects with all local, State and federal laws and regulations that are applicable to the Board and Commonwealth Charter School, which include, but are not limited to the Internal Revenue Code, the public records and open meetings laws of
Massachusetts, and Charter School Law, and any other applicable laws and regulations.
The Board has maintained and will maintain adequate records of the activities and decisions of the Board to ensure and document compliance with all such laws and regulations. To the extent permitted by law, the Board agrees to provide OSV with copies of all such records, and to allow OSV to, at OSV’s discretion, assist with the preparation and retention of such records.
(f) Due Authorization. The Board is authorized to organize and operate Commonwealth
Charter School and is vested by the Authorizer with all powers necessary to carry out the educational program outlined in the Charters. Regardless of the delegation of any duties to OSV, the Board shall at all times retain all rights and responsibilities under the
Charters.
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3.
AUTHORITY
3.1
Delegation of Authority to OSV
The Board hereby authorizes OSV to undertake the functions specified in this Agreement in regards to the business services of the School, it being understood that, at all times, OSV remains accountable and subject to the approval and oversight of the Board, as provided for in this Agreement and by law. Board also authorizes OSV to take such other actions that may not be expressly set forth in this Agreement, but which are necessary in OSV’s good faith and reasonable judgment to properly and efficiently manage or operate the School, provided such actions are consistent with the Charters, applicable laws and the annual budget(s) approved by the Board, and that OSV provides prior notice to the Board if any such other material action is to be taken by OSV, subject to Board oversight as described herein.
3.2
OSV Authority to Subcontract.
Except to the extent prohibited by law or this Agreement, OSV may negotiate on behalf of the
Board, subcontracts for academic and operational functions or services it is obligated to provide hereunder, provided that no such subcontract permitted hereunder shall relieve or discharge OSV from any obligation or liability under this Agreement. OSV shall, upon the request of the Board, provide an annual list indicating the functions or services it expects to subcontract the following fiscal year that it is obligated to provide hereunder, subject to Board oversight as described herein. OSV shall provide the
Board with prior notice to review subcontracts, and the Board retains its exclusive authority to bar any subcontract.
3.3
Massachusetts Board and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Authority
Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed in any way to limit the authority of the
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, including, but not limited to, the authority to take and enforce action pursuant to G.L. c. 71, §89, as amended.
3.4
Conflict with Charter
To the extent there are any conflicts between the terms of the Charters or state or federal law and the terms of this Agreement, the terms of the Charters or state or federal law shall control.
4.
DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS OF OSV
In exchange for the Service Fee described in Section 7.4 and paid by the School to OSV, OSV will provide the following services as and to the extent more specifically described in the balance of this
Section 4 (which more specific descriptions shall control):
(a) Supporting the, start-up process of the School
(b) Providing the oversight, measurement, and management of School quality;
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(c) Fundraising and assisting with entitlement grant proposals and reporting;
(d) Recruiting the Principal, teachers, and other administrators;
(e) Training and providing an evaluation of the Principal (to the Board);
(f) Coordinating professional development for academic and administrative staff;
(g) Preparing a budget and monthly financial statements for the Board’s review and approval;
(h) Providing payroll and accounting services;
(i) Assisting with the selection of the auditor retained by the Board;
(j) Coordinating and implementing contracts with prior Board approval, consistent with
Board’s Fiscal Policies and Procedures;
(k)
(l)
Preparing selection of benefits plans for Board approval for employees of the School governed by the Board;
Assisting with the maintenance of human resource files for employees of the School to the extent permitted under state and federal law;
(m) Facilitating the purchase and procurement of information technology equipment and services in accordance with all applicable Massachusetts statutes and regulations, and providing certain computer and information technology support to the School, including troubleshooting, website and network design, and completion of the E-Rate application;
(n) Completing required foundation and government reports, including, but not limited to the annual report(s) of the School;
(o) Administration and oversight of transportation services for students
(p) Facilitating student recruitment;
(q) Providing marketing and advocacy for the Board
(r) Administration and oversight of food services for students; and
Maintenance and operation of the School facilities including oversight of custodial services, supplies and equipment
OSV may, but is not obligated to, provide additional services for additional compensation. OSV may perform functions off-site, except as prohibited by law. OSV may utilize web-based systems to provide support and counsel to the School to the extent permitted by law. OSV shall, upon the request of the
Board, provide an annual report indicating the services OSV has provided to the School, as contemplated by this Agreement.
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4.1
Curriculum.
OSV shall support the Board and Principal in implementing a school program and curriculum that provides access to the Museum at no cost to the School (unless the Museum must provide additional resources). The curriculum will include scope and sequence, an assessment system, a daily schedule, a variety of curriculum materials and related documents, and summer curriculum planning time and workshops for school program and curriculum modifications.
4.2
Student Evaluation.
OSV shall implement student performance evaluation systems, which permit evaluation of the educational progress of each student enrolled in the School in accordance with the goals set forth in the
Charters, the Board’s documented Accountability Plan, and any additional guidelines set forth by the
Authorizer. The Board shall, with OSV’s assistance, ensure that the students take all State required standardized tests in accordance with State laws and regulations. The Board, with OSV’s assistance, shall maintain detailed statistical information on the performance of (i) the School, (ii) each individual student, and (iii) each grade. OSV and the Board shall cooperate in good faith to identify other measures of and goals for student and School’ performance, including but not limited to parent, teacher, and student satisfaction. The Board shall annually evaluate OSV and determine whether or not its services contribute to academic success of the School.
4.3
Annual Audit.
OSV shall cooperate and provide all reasonably requested information; to the extent such information is in possession or under the control of OSV, needed to complete an annual audit of the
School. OSV shall recommend accounting practices for the School for the Board to approve in accordance with Massachusetts requirements and provide annual audit information in accordance with these requirements. The Board will select and retain the auditor.
4.4
Budget and Financial Statements.
On or before May 15 of each year, OSV will work closely with the Board to provide the School with a proposed projected budget for the next fiscal year, for review and approval by the Board. The annual budget for the Board shall provide for payment of all operating expenses related to the operation the School, including, but not limited to: OSV’s Service fee; compensation for all School’ employees, including salary and benefit costs; ; marketing and public relations costs; contract obligations negotiated on behalf and approved by the Board; supplies; maintenance; staff development; curriculum materials; assessment materials and consulting fees; other third party consulting expenses; transportation and travel; printing and duplicating; postage; legal fees; and accounting fees. With the exception of payment of the service fee to OSV or any other payments to OSV, which shall remain under the sole control of the Board to disperse, OSV may act as the contracting and disbursement agent on behalf of the Board to timely pay all such agreed upon budget expenditures out of funds available
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The budget shall grant certain levels of discretion to the Principal, within parameters established by the Board of Trustees.
OSV, shall also:
(a) prepare monthly financial statements for review and approval by the Board, ;
(b) prepare and provide unaudited monthly financial information, including balance sheet, profit and loss, and cash flow statements on an accrual basis in a timely manner
(c) record and track income and expenses related to all contracts and grants;
(d) record all cash receipts and accounts payable invoices;
(e) prepare vendor checks and present the same and supporting documentation to the
School for signature as required by policy
(f) reconcile the checking accounts each month;
(g) provide payroll service and maintain payroll records;
(h) process all MTRB filings;
(i) interface with an outside accounting firm, as approved by the Board in accordance with
Massachusetts laws and regulations, and prepare all schedules required for year-end audit work, providing information and assistance requested by the Board selected auditor in a timely fashion;
(j)
(k) provide, as reasonably necessary, telephone, email and fax support; supervise and maintain temporary custody (for the joint benefit of the Board and OSV) of all files and records relating to the business operation of the School, as permitted by law. OSV acknowledges that all records, data, communications, and other property of the Board entrusted or loaned to OSV during the term of this Agreement are the Board’s property and OSV agrees to return any such material to the Board immediately upon the termination of this Agreement; all files are to be held in the permanent custody of the
Board, with files located on school premises as required by law.
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(l)
4.5
Principal
Because the accountability of OSV to the Board is an essential foundation of this relationship, and because the responsibility of the Principal of the School is critical to its success, the Board delegates to OSV the authority and responsibility, consistent with State law, to make recommendations for the recruitment, hiring, supervision, and termination of Principal for Board approval and to assist in holding them accountable for the success of the School.
OSV shall recommend initial selection criteria for the Principal, select and interview final round candidates, make hiring recommendations to the Board, and present the proposed terms of the
Principal’s employment to the Board, including therein the duties and compensation of the Principal.
The Board may interview the Principal candidates recommended by OSV. The Board shall vote whether to approve hiring recommendation.
The Principal shall be an employee of the Board; the Principal shall report to OSV and coordinate programmatic management of the School under the supervision of the Executive Director. OSV shall have the right to make the recommendation to the Board to fire the Principal. The Board shall vote whether to approve OSV's firing recommendation.
OSV will draft for presentation to and vote by the Board an evaluation of the Principal once per year, using a performance assessment consistent with documented policies of the Board; and (c) provide ongoing coaching and training for Principal.
4.6
Teachers and Other School Personnel.
OSV shall have the responsibility to recruit teachers and non-teaching administrators and personnel for the School. The Principal shall have the final authority to hire such teachers and other personnel. All employees working at the School shall be employees of the School. The Principal shall have the final authority to terminate School’ employees, consistent with documented policies of the
Board. OSV may also recommend termination of a School employee.
OSV, in conjunction with the Principal, shall perform the following personnel functions:
(a) determine staffing levels within the constraints of the annual budget;
(b) determine staff responsibilities;
(c) provide counsel as to evaluation and discipline of personnel;
(d) ensure initial training in instructional methods, curriculum, program, and technology to all teaching personnel, subject to all relevant state and federal guidelines including but not limited to special education and English Language learners; and ongoing training as necessary; and
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(e) train all non-teaching personnel as OSV determines is necessary.
4.7
Equipment and Information Technology.
OSV will manage the start-up process for the School, and facilitate the purchase, at expense of the School, of furniture, equipment, library and media materials, and other similar materials and furnishings integral to the operation of a school in accordance with purchasing requirements in
Massachusetts.
OSV will facilitate the School’ purchase and procurement of information technology equipment in accordance with purchasing requirements in Massachusetts and as defined in the School’ annual budget(s). In addition, OSV will provide the following computer and information technology support to the School:
(a) maintaining and providing training in the use of a central file server containing electronic curricular and administration resources for the School;
(b) providing training in the use of a student information system;
(c) providing general desktop support to staff;
(d) recommending and ensuring the effective implementation of a data back-up protocol.
All technology software and equipment will be paid for by the School.
4.8
School Inspection.
OSV will conduct a thorough school inspection and evaluation every two years, utilizing a recommended protocol approved by the Board; OSV will present findings of inspections to the Board.
4.9
Fundraising.
OSV will conduct fundraising activities on behalf of the Board and the School. Monies raised by
OSV on behalf of the School will be used and distributed as the Board deems appropriate or as restricted by the donor.
4.10
Executive Director.
OSV shall assign an Executive Director who shall be primarily responsible for supervising and managing the Principal, with the approval and oversight of the Board, and for developing and implementing the educational program for the Board. At the date of this Agreement, OSV has named
Jim Donahue as Executive Director. If Jim Donahue ceases to serve as the Executive Director under this
Agreement, the Board may terminate this Agreement for cause pursuant to Section 10.1 unless OSV assigns a reasonably acceptable OSV Executive Director within 60 days. The Executive Director shall attend and participate in all Board meetings.
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5.
DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE BOARD
The Board shall have the following duties and obligations:
5.1 Provision of Suitable School Facilities. a) The Board and OSV will work jointly to determine a suitable facility for the School on the campus of OSV. b) The Board shall procure and maintain insurance, or otherwise hold OSV harmless, for damage or loss to the property and Facility. OSV shall not be liable under any lease or other document pertaining to the property and Facility.
5.2
Annual Audit.
The Board shall pay for an annual audit of the School to be conducted in compliance with State law and regulations. The annual audit shall be performed by a certified public accountant selected by the Board. OSV shall help to identify and recommend the certified public accountant.
5.3
Legal Services.
The Board shall arrange and, if necessary, pay for its own legal services.
5.4
Accounting, Bookkeeping, Procurement, and other Financial Functions.
The Board shall be responsible and accountable for the following financial functions:
5.4.1
payment of expenditures of the School with School’ funds;
5.4.2
maintenance of adequate cash balances to cover payroll and payments to vendors;
5.4.3
payroll, in accordance with Section 5.5;
5.4.4
transfer to OSV of all relevant financial information;
5.4.5
availability for consultation with OSV staff during normal business hours.
5.5
Payroll, Employee Salaries and Benefits.
The Board shall be responsible and accountable for the funding of the salaries, fringe benefits,
MTRS payments, and State and federal payroll taxes for all individuals employed at the School. All such payments shall be made by OSV with School funds, in accordance with all State and federal laws and regulations, including all tax requirements.
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5.6
State and Federal Waivers.
Subject to prior notice, the Board, with OSV’s assistance, timely apply for and support the waiver of any federal or State rules or regulations that interfere with the OSV except as required for the ordinary operation of the governed Commonwealth Charter School.
5.7
Evaluation of OSV
The Board will offer an annual written evaluation of OSV’s performance after the conclusion of each school year and no later than October 1 of the following school year. The evaluation will assess
OSV’s performance against the Board’s accountability goals and operational support described herein, including, but not limited to: success of academic program; organizational viability; faithfulness to charter; financial management; human capital and professional development; fundraising; and compliance.
6 OPERATION OF THE SCHOOL
6.1
Students with Special Needs and English Language Learners.
The Board recognizes its obligation to provide an appropriate education to all enrolled students, regardless of special need or proficiency in English, in accordance with the requirements of the
Individuals with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the MGL Chapter
71 §89. As required by law, the School shall be open to individuals with handicapping conditions and other special needs. The Board shall provide special education and language services to students subject to the requirements of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 71B and its regulations pertaining to charter School. OSV may, on behalf of the Board, subcontract as necessary and appropriate to a municipal, public or private contractor or otherwise for the provision of special education services, subject to approval by the Board, which shall not be unreasonably withheld.
6.2
Recruitment and Admission.
OSV, the School and the Board shall be jointly responsible for the recruitment and selection of students in accordance with applicable law.
Application by or for students shall be voluntary and shall be in writing. Admission shall be open to all individuals who reside within the identified communities by lottery without regard to race, color, national origin, creed, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, age, ancestry, athletic performance, special need, proficiency in the English language, academic achievement, or any other basis that would be illegal. Admission and enrollment will be pursuant to the School’s enrollment policies as approved by the Authorizer. The Board and OSV shall seek to recruit a diverse student body that reflects the racial, ethnic, academic, and economic diversity of the community which is most directly served and is in accordance with the recruitment and retention plans of the School. If there are more applications for enrollment in the School than there are spaces available, students shall be selected to attend using a lottery held in accordance with applicable law.
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6.3 School Day and Year for Students.
The normal school day shall be approximately 7.5 hours. The normal school year will consist of approximately 185 days of regular instruction for students, allowing five days for possible closing due to snow days or other exigencies. The calendars of the School shall be developed annually by the Principal in consultation with OSV and in conformity with the minimum standards for time and learning required or amendments to the Charters approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education and shall extend from on or about August 23 to on or about June 30 with scheduled vacations.
6.4 School Policies.
The Board and OSV are committed to the success of the educational program set forth as part of the Charter, and which are incorporated by reference herein. Consequently, OSV shall make reasonable recommendations to the Board concerning calendar, policies, rules, regulations, procedures, personnel, and budget and the Board shall exercise good faith in considering and adopting OSV’s recommendations.
6.5 Due Process.
With regard to student disciplinary matters, the School shall act in accordance with State and federal law. The School shall provide students due process hearings in conformity with the requirements of State and federal law regarding discipline, special education, confidentiality and access to records.
6.6 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
The School hereby designates employees of OSV as agents of the School to the extent that they have a legitimate educational interest that permits them to access educational records under 20 U.S.C.
§1232g, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) and the Massachusetts Student
Records regulations. OSV, its officers and employees shall comply with FERPA and Massachusetts
Student Records regulations at all times.
7 FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS
7.1
Funding Eligibility.
The Board shall ensure that the Principal comply with applicable requirements for the purpose of receiving or maintaining the School’ eligibility to receive from Massachusetts the per pupil allowance which the School are entitled under applicable law. The School shall apply for all State aid or other monies it is eligible to receive from the Authorizer. Utilizing centralized accounting and public grant assurance, OSV shall provide such assistance to the School in the preparation or review of State aid
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7.2
Donations and Grants.
Board.
The Board may solicit and receive grants and donations consistent with the mission of the
7.3
Extracurricular Fees.
As allowed by law and consistent with local practice, the School may charge fees only to the extent permitted by state law.
7.4
Service Fee.
For the period of this Agreement, the School shall pay OSV a Service Fee equal to a percent of all revenue the School receives during the Period of this Agreement, excluding in-kind contributions and funds from competitive public grants.
This fee shall be as follows:
Year 1 6%
Year 2 8%
Years 3-5 10%
The Service Fee shall be due and payable in four approximately equal installments on September 30,
December 31, March 31, and June 30 of each year of the Agreement. The first three of these payments each year to OSV shall be based on the School’ good faith estimate of the School’ anticipated school year enrollment. The June 30 payment to OSV shall include adjustments to correct any over- or underpayments. The service fee will cover all costs and expenses as enumerated as obligations of OSV in
Section 4, including:
7.5
OSV Not Required to Make Loans or Advances.
OSV shall have no obligation to advance or loan any funds to the Board.
8 PROPRIETARY INFORMATION AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
8.1
Marks and Proprietary Information.
The Board agrees that to the extent permitted by law, OSV shall own all Marks and all
Proprietary Information provided that the School shall have the non-exclusive, perpetual, and royalty-
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The Board shall own all intellectual property developed by it or its employees or developed for and paid by the School. OSV shall have the sole and exclusive right to license its exclusive materials for use by other school districts or customers or to modify and/or sell such material to other school districts and customers. During the Term, OSV may disclose its Proprietary Information, including that which is currently in existence as well as that which may be created by OSV in the future outside of intellectual property created pursuant to this contract. The Board shall not disclose, publish, copy, transmit, modify, alter or utilize OSV’s Proprietary Information during the Term or at any time after the expiration of this Agreement other than to the extent necessary for implementation of this Agreement, the operation of the School, Massachusetts regulations that require the dissemination of best practices by Commonwealth Charter School, or state or federal law. The Board shall use such efforts as may be reasonably requested by OSV to assure that personnel or agents disclose, publish, copy, transmit, modify, alter or utilize OSV’s Proprietary Information without OSV’s prior written consent, except as required for the operation of the School or by state or federal law.
8.2
Treatment of Confidential Information.
8.2.1
Confidential Information. The Board acknowledges that prior to the Term, OSV may have disclosed, and during the Term OSV may disclose, Confidential Information to the
Board. The Board agrees that it will not at any time or in any manner, directly or indirectly, use or disclose any trade secrets or other Confidential Information to anyone, and that the School will not use Confidential Information for any purpose other than those provided for herein for the operation of the School or information that must be released in accordance with public records law or as requested or required by the
Authorizer.
8.2.2
Protection of Confidential Information. The Board shall preserve and take all reasonable precautions to prevent the disclosure of the Confidential Information to any persons, entities, and/or firms other than those authorized by OSV to receive such information, except in connection with the operation of the School or information that must be released in accordance with public records law or as requested or required by the
Authorizer.
8.2.3
Use of Confidential Information. The Board agrees that the Confidential Information:
(i) shall be used solely in furtherance of this Agreement or the operation of the School, and shall not otherwise be used for the material benefit of others; (ii) shall not be copied or reproduced by the Board without the express written permission of OSV, except for such copies as may be reasonably required for accomplishment of provisions of this Agreement or the operation of the School; and (iii) shall not be disclosed to any third party without the prior written consent of OSV, except in connection with the operation of The School or information that must be released in accordance with public records law, Massachusetts regulations that require the dissemination of best practices by Commonwealth Charter School, or as requested or required by the Authorizer. The
Board agrees that it will not knowingly infringe upon, or permit any of its employees or agents to infringe upon, any rights of any third party or knowingly violate the patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, or other proprietary right of any third party in
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8.2.4
Return of Confidential Information. The Board will promptly deliver to OSV any and all
Confidential Information, including all written and electronic copies, in the Board’s possession or control upon termination or expiration of this Agreement or upon request by OSV, except in connection with the operation of the School or information that must be released in accordance with public records law, Massachusetts regulations that require the dissemination of best practices by Commonwealth Charter School, or as requested or required by the Authorizer.
8.2.5
Rights to Confidential Information. Except as required for the Parties’ performance hereunder or the operation of the School or information that must be released in accordance with public records law, Massachusetts regulations that require the dissemination of best practices by Commonwealth Charter School, or as requested or required by the Authorizer, nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to require OSV to provide, or to entitle the Board to obtain, any Confidential Information or any rights therein. The Board agrees that these confidentiality obligations shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement for five years.
8.2.6
Specific Performance. In addition to all of the remedies otherwise available to OSV, including, but not limited to, recovery of damages and reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred in the enforcement of this Section 8, OSV shall have the right to injunctive relief to restrain and enjoin any actual or threatened breach of the provisions of this Section
8. All of OSV’s remedies for breach of this Section 8 shall be cumulative and the pursuit of one remedy shall not be deemed to exclude any other remedies. The Board acknowledges and agrees that OSV’s rights under this Section 8 are special and unique and that any violation of this Section 8 by the Board would not be adequately compensated by money damages alone.
INDEMNIFICATION 9.
9.1 Survival of Representations and Warranties.
All representations and warranties hereunder shall be deemed to be material and relied upon by the Parties with or to whom the same were made, notwithstanding any investigation or inspection made by or on behalf of such Party or Parties. The representations and warranties covered in this Agreement will survive the termination or expiration of this Agreement.
9.2
Indemnification of the School.
To the full extent permitted by law, OSV shall hold the School and its affiliates, and the trustees, directors, officers, successors, assigns, employees, agents and subcontractors of each of them (the
“School Indemnified Persons”) harmless and indemnify each of them from and against any and all claims, losses, damages, liabilities, penalties, fines, expenses or costs (“Claims”), plus reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred in connection with Claims and/or enforcement of this Agreement,
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Agreement or any intentional, reckless or negligent act or omission in performing its obligations hereunder.
9.3
Indemnification of OSV.
To the full extent permitted by law, the School shall hold OSV, trustees and affiliates, and the shareholders, directors, officers, partners, successors, assigns, and agents of each of them, harmless and indemnify each of them from and against any and all Indemnified Claims incurred or to be incurred by any of them resulting from or arising out of, directly or indirectly, any intentional, reckless or grossly negligent breach or violation of the School’ representations, warranties, covenants or agreements contained in this Agreement.
9.4
Limitation on Claims of the School.
Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, OSV shall have no liability for any
Claim and OSV shall have no obligations or liabilities pursuant to Section 9.2:
(a)
(b) until the aggregate of the Claims suffered or incurred by the School exceeds Five
Thousand Dollars ($5,000) (the “Deductible”); or to the extent such liabilities exceed the greater of (i) the Service Fee paid to OSV during the academic year in which the action or omission giving rise to the Claim occurred and
(ii) the amount of any insurance proceeds received by OSV for an insured event under insurance policies required to be obtained by OSV pursuant to this Agreement or which would have been received had such insurance been obtained.
9.5
Limitation on Claims of OSV.
Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the School shall have no liability for any Claim and the School shall have no obligations or liabilities pursuant to Section 9.3:
(a) until the aggregate of the Claims suffered or incurred by OSV exceeds the Deductible; or
(b) to the extent such liabilities exceed the greater of (i) the Service Fee paid by the School during the academic year in which the action or omission giving rise to the Claim occurred and (ii) the amount of any insurance proceeds received by the School for an insured event under insurance policies required to be obtained pursuant to this
Agreement (or which would have been received had such insurance been obtained); or
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(c) if the claim for indemnification is made pursuant to Section 9.3, to the extent that the
School can demonstrate that OSV had, prior to the effective date of this Agreement, actual knowledge that the applicable representation or warranty was untrue or incomplete or had been breached prior to the effective date of this Agreement.
9.6
Indemnification of Third-Party Claims.
The obligations and liabilities of any Party to indemnify the other under this Section 9 with respect to a Claim relating to or arising from third parties (a “Third Party Claim”) shall be subject to the following terms and conditions:
9.6.1
Notice and Defense. The Party to be indemnified (the “Indemnified Party”) will give the
Party from whom indemnification is sought (the “Indemnifying Party”) prompt written notice of any such Claim, and the Indemnifying Party may undertake the defense thereof by representatives chosen by it. Failure to give notice shall not affect the Indemnifying Party’s duty or obligations under this Section 9, except to the extent the Indemnifying Party is prejudiced thereby. If the Indemnifying Party undertakes the defense of a Third Party Claim, then the Indemnifying Party shall be deemed to accept that it has an indemnification obligation under this Section 9 with respect to such Third Party Claim, unless it shall in writing reserve the right to contest its obligation to provide indemnity with respect to such
Third Party Claim. So long as the Indemnifying Party is defending any such Third Party Claim actively and in good faith, the Indemnified Party shall not settle such Claim. The
Indemnified Party shall make available to the Indemnifying Party or its representatives all records and other materials required by them and in the possession or under the control of the Indemnified Party, for the use of the Indemnifying Party and its representatives in defending any such Claim, and shall in other respects give reasonable cooperation in such defense.
9.6.2
Failure to Defend. If the Indemnifying Party, within thirty (30) days after notice of any such
Claim, fails to defend such Claim actively and in good faith, then the Indemnified Party will
(upon written notice to the Indemnifying Party) have the right to undertake the defense, compromise or settlement of such Claim or consent to the entry of a judgment with respect to such Claim, on behalf of and for the account and risk of the Indemnifying Party, and the
Indemnifying Party shall thereafter have no right to challenge the Indemnified Party’s defense, compromise, settlement or consent to judgment therein.
(a) Indemnified Party’s Rights. Anything in this Section 9 to the contrary notwithstanding,
(i) if there is a reasonable probability that a Claim may materially and adversely affect the Indemnified Party other than as a result of money damages or other money payments, the Indemnified Party shall have the right to defend, compromise or settle such Claim, and (ii) if the Indemnified Party gives notice to the Indemnifying Party that the claim may materially and adversely affect the Indemnified Party other than as a result of money damages or other money payments, the Indemnifying Party shall not, without the written consent of the Indemnified Party, settle or compromise any Claim or consent to the entry of any judgment which does not include as an unconditional
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9.6.3
Payment. The Indemnifying Party shall promptly pay the Indemnified Party any amount due under this Section 9. Upon judgment, determination, settlement or compromise of any
Third Party Claim, the Indemnifying Party shall pay promptly on behalf of the Indemnified
Party, and/or to the Indemnified Party in reimbursement of any amount theretofore required to be paid by it, the amount so determined by judgment, determination, settlement or compromise and all other Claims of the Indemnified Party with respect thereto, unless in the case of a judgment an appeal is made from the judgment. If the
Indemnifying Party desires to appeal from an adverse judgment, then the Indemnifying
Party shall post and pay the cost of the security or bond to stay execution of the judgment pending appeal. Upon the payment in full by the Indemnifying Party of such amounts, the
Indemnifying Party shall succeed to the rights of such Indemnified Party, to the extent not waived in settlement, against the third party who made such third party claim.
9.7
Adjustment of Liability.
In the event an Indemnifying Party is required to make any payment under this Section 9 in respect of any damages, liability, obligation, loss, claim, or other amount indemnified hereunder, such
Indemnifying Party shall pay the Indemnified Party an amount which is equal to the sum of (i) the amount of such damages, liability, obligation, loss, claim or other amount, minus (ii) the amount of any insurance proceeds the Indemnified Party actually receives with respect thereto, minus (iii) any third party payments actually received by the Indemnified Party with respect to such damages, liability, obligation, loss, claim or other amount . The Indemnifying Party may make demand or notice to such third party (with the consent of the Indemnified Party which will not be unreasonably withheld).
9.8
OSV Insurance.
OSV shall maintain insurance consistent with applicable law, including:
● Commercial general liability insurance with limits of at least one million dollars
($1,000,000) per occurrence and two million dollars ($2,000,000) aggregate with employee coverage;
● Automobile liability insurance of at least one million dollars ($1,000,000);
● Professional liability insurance with limits of at least one million dollars ($1,000,000);
● Workers compensation insurance for OSV employees; and
● Excess liability insurance with limits of five million dollars ($5,000,000) (applicable to all of the coverages described above, except professional liability).
The School will be shown as an additional insured on all of the above insurance policies where it can be added at no cost to OSV with the exception of professional liability insurance and workers compensation insurance.
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School.
Certificates of insurance evidencing compliance with this Section will be furnished by OSV to the
10. TERMINATION
10.1 Termination by the Board.
The Board may terminate this Agreement in accordance with the following provisions:
(a) Termination for Cause. Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b) below, the Board may terminate this Agreement for cause at any time during the Term. For purposes of this Section 10.1 the term “for cause” shall mean:
(i) OSV becomes insolvent, enters into receivership, is the subject of a voluntary or involuntary bankruptcy proceeding, makes an assignment for the benefit of creditors, or does not have sufficient financial resources to perform its obligations under this Agreement in the ordinary course;
(ii) a Regulatory Authority has revoked any license which may be required for OSV to carry on its business and perform its obligations and functions under the
Charters;
(iii) OSV violates any material provision of law with respect to the Board from which the Board was not specifically exempted and which results in material adverse consequences to the Board;
(iv) OSV materially breaches any of the material terms and conditions of this
Agreement, which results in material adverse consequences to the Board;
(v) The School fails to make reasonable progress toward achievement of the goals in the documented by the Board , after a period of at least one year from the
Effective Date of this Agreement;
(vi) The Authorizer notifies either Party of its intention to revoke the School Charter or to place the School on probation or to impose conditions on the any of the
School Charter or does so;
(vii) The Authorizer declines to renew any of the School Charter at the end of a fiveyear Charter term; or
(viii) The enactment, repeal, promulgation or withdrawal of any federal, State or local law, regulation, or court or administrative decision or order finding that this Agreement, the operation of the Board in conformity with this Agreement or the Board’s Charter with the Authorizer violates the Board’s, the Authorizer’s or the State’s responsibilities, duties or obligations under the federal or State constitutions, statutes, laws, rules or regulations, or any contract or agreement.
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(b) OSV’s Right to Cure. Prior to exercising its right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 10.1(a), the Board shall give OSV written notice of its basis for terminating the
Agreement (a “Termination Notice”). The Termination Notice shall specify the section of this Agreement upon which the Board is relying on for the termination and the requirements for correction of the breach. Upon receipt of the Termination Notice, OSV shall have 60 business days to remedy the breach. If the breach is not corrected within the cure period, the Board may immediately terminate the Agreement.
10.2 Termination by OSV.
OSV may terminate this Agreement in accordance with the following provisions:
(a)
(b)
Termination For Cause. Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (b) below, OSV may terminate this Agreement for cause at any time during the Term. For purposes of this
Section 10.2 the term “for cause” shall mean that:
(i) the Board materially breaches any of the material terms and conditions of this
Agreement;
(ii) the Board fails to comply with its Bylaws and such failure materially and adversely affects the ability of the School to operate as contemplated by this
Agreement;
(iii) the Board violates any material provision of law with respect to the Board from which the Board was not specifically exempted and which results in material adverse consequences to OSV or to the Board;
(iv) the Board takes any action which materially interferes with the ability of OSV to perform under this Agreement;
(v) the Authorizer notifies either Party of its intention to revoke the School
Charters with the Board, or does so; or
(vi) the enactment, repeal, promulgation or withdrawal of any federal, State or local law, regulation, or court or administrative decision or order finding that this
Agreement, the operation of the School in conformity with this Agreement or the Board’s Charter with the Authorizer violates the School’, the Authorizer’s or the State’s responsibilities, duties or obligations under the federal or State constitutions, statutes, laws, rules or regulations, or any contract or agreement.
School Right to Cure. Prior to exercising its right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 10.2(a), OSV shall give the Board a Termination Notice specifying the section of this Agreement upon which OSV is relying on for the termination and the requirements for correction of the breach. Upon receipt of the Termination Notice, the
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Board shall have 60 business days to remedy the breach. If the breach is not corrected within the cure period, OSV may immediately terminate the Agreement.
10.3 Termination Upon Agreement of the Parties.
This Agreement may be terminated upon written agreement of the Parties.
10.4 Avoidance of Disruptions to Students.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 10, each Party shall use its good faith best efforts to avoid a termination of the Agreement that becomes effective during the school year because of the disruption to the educational program and the students. Therefore, in the event this
Agreement is terminated by either Party prior to the end of the Term, absent unusual and compelling circumstances, the termination will not become effective until the end of the school year.
10.5 Payment of Service Fee.
Upon termination of this Agreement, the Board shall pay OSV any previously unpaid portion of the Service Fee for services performed by OSV until the time of termination.
10.6 Assistance Following Termination by OSV.
In the event of termination of this Agreement by OSV, OSV shall provide reasonable assistance to the Board for the shorter of the remainder of the current school year or 90 days after the effective date of termination of the Agreement (the “Termination Assistance Period”), to assist in the transition to another Board management plan. During the Termination Assistance Period, OSV will be entitled to receive and the Board shall continue to pay OSV’s Service Fee
10.7 Records upon Termination.
Upon termination or expiration of this Agreement for any reason, OSV shall return to the Board as soon as practicably possible all originals and copies of student, fiscal and other records that are the
School’ under this Agreement including but not limited to Sections 4.4 and 6.7.
10.8 Marks and Proprietary Information.
Subject to the License and pursuant to powers of the Authorizer, upon termination or expiration of this Agreement, the Board will not have any right to make any use whatsoever of the Marks. To the extent that the Board’s corporate name includes any of the Marks, including but not limited to the OSV name, and unless expressly agreed to in writing by OSV, the Board shall immediately change such name so that it does not include any of the Marks, or any portion of the Marks, following termination or expiration of this Agreement.
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11. MISCELLANEOUS
11.1 Governing Law.
This Agreement shall be governed by, construed, interpreted and enforced in accordance with the laws of Massachusetts, without giving effect to the principles of conflict of laws thereof; provided, however, that the Federal Arbitration Act, to the extent applicable and inconsistent, will supersede the laws of Massachusetts and shall govern. If any action is brought to enforce an arbitral award rendered pursuant to Section 11.2, venue for such action shall be in the courts of Massachusetts located in the
Board’s county or the courts of the United States serving Boston. The Parties hereby irrevocably waive any objection which either may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any actions or proceedings arising out of or in connection with this Agreement brought in the courts referred to in the preceding sentence and hereby further irrevocably waive and agree not to plead or claim in any such court that any such action or proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.
11.2 Alternative Dispute Resolution.
(a) Good Faith Negotiation of Disputes. The parties agree to cooperate in good faith in all actions relating to this Agreement, to communicate openly and honestly, and generally to attempt to avoid disputes. If, nevertheless, a dispute should arise in connection with this Agreement, either Party may give notice to the other Party of intent to negotiate, and the parties agree to use their best efforts to resolve such dispute in a fair and equitable manner. In the event any dispute or claim arising out of or relating to this
Agreement or the relationship resulting in or from this Agreement (a “Dispute”), except for a claim by OSV relating to its intellectual property rights (including under Section 8 of this Agreement), is unable to be resolved by the Parties (or if one of the Parties refuses to participate in such negotiations) within twenty days from the notice of intent to negotiate, either Party may give written notice to the other that the Dispute shall be resolved in accordance with the following alternative dispute resolution procedure.
(b) Binding Arbitration Except With Respect to Intellectual Property. Any Dispute, except for a claim by OSV relating to its intellectual property rights (including under Section 8 of this Agreement), will be resolved by binding arbitration in accordance with the
Commercial Arbitration Rules of The American Arbitration Association (the “Arbitration
Rules”), except as stated below in this clause (b). A claim by OSV relating to its intellectual property rights (including under Section 8 of this Agreement) shall not be subject to arbitration absent further agreement by the parties. Within ten business days following the giving by either party of a written notice to arbitrate, (1) each party shall designate its panel representative and (2) those two panel representatives shall jointly designate a third representative. The arbitrators shall convene a hearing as soon as possible thereafter. Each Party may present witnesses, documentary, and other evidence in its behalf, but strict rules of evidence shall not apply. The arbitrators shall
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(c)
(d)
(e) permit the filing of briefs upon request of either Party. The arbitrators shall issue a written opinion concerning the matters in controversy together with their award. They shall issue their award within 30 days following the close of the hearing, and judgment upon the award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
Notices. All notices, arbitration claims, responses, requests and documents will be sufficiently given or served if mailed or delivered in the manner described in the Notice provision of this Agreement.
Award, Confirmation. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Arbitration Rules or otherwise, the arbitrators are not empowered to award punitive damages. Any award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered as a judgment or order and confirmed or enforced by either Party in any State or federal court having competent jurisdiction thereof. This Agreement concerns transactions involving commerce among the several states.
Expense Shifting For Arbitration Avoidance. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Arbitration Rules or otherwise, and except for a claim by OSV under Section 8, which claim is not subject to arbitration, no Party may seek judicial relief. In the event any
Party violates this provision and brings any action for judicial relief in the first instance without pursuing arbitration prior thereto, such Party will be liable to the other Party for, among other things, all of the other Party’s costs and expenses (including, without limitation, court costs and attorneys’ fees) incurred to stay or dismiss such judicial action and/or remove or remand it to arbitration. It shall not be a violation of this arbitration provision for the Party entitled to collect such costs and expenses to seek to have them included in a judicial order of dismissal, removal, or remand. In the alternative, such Party may seek an immediate and separate award of such costs and expenses at the outset of the arbitration, which the arbitrators must grant, and the
Party may seek immediately to confirm such award of costs and expenses. In addition, if either Party brings any judicial action to vacate or modify any award rendered pursuant to arbitration, or opposes a judicial action to confirm such award, and the Party bringing or opposing such action or opposing confirmation of such award does not prevail, such
Party will pay all of the costs and expenses (including, without limitation, court costs, arbitrators fees and expenses and attorneys’ fees) incurred by the other Party in defending against the action to vacate or modify such award or in pursuing confirmation of such award. The cost-shifting provisions of the preceding sentence shall apply equally to appeals of judicial decisions to which the preceding sentence applies. It shall not be a violation of this arbitration provision for the Party entitled to collect such costs and expenses to seek to have them included in a judicial order dealing with confirmation, vacation, or modification of an award, or any order on an appeal to which the preceding sentence applies.
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(f) Waiver of Jury Trial. The Parties knowingly and willingly waive the right to a jury trial of any Dispute, whether or not subject to this arbitration provision and including any
Dispute included within this arbitration provision but found not to be subject to arbitration for any reason.
11.3 Breach and Waiver.
No failure on the part of any Party to enforce the provisions of this Agreement shall act as a waiver of the right to enforce any provision. Further, no waiver of any breach of this Agreement shall
(a) be effective unless it is in writing and executed by the Party charged with the waiver, or
(b) constitute a waiver of a subsequent breach, whether or not of the same nature. All waivers shall be strictly and narrowly construed. No delay in enforcing any right or remedy as a result of a breach of this
Agreement shall constitute a waiver thereof. No waiver of any provision of this Agreement shall be deemed or shall constitute a waiver of any other provision. Nor shall such waiver constitute a continuing waiver unless otherwise expressly stated.
11.4 No Third Party Beneficiary Rights.
With the exception of the Authorizer, no third party, whether a constituent of the Board, a member of the community, a student or parent of a student of the School or otherwise, may enforce or rely upon any obligation of, or the exercise of or failure to exercise any right of, the Board or OSV in this
Agreement. This Agreement is not intended to create any rights of a third party beneficiary.
11.5 Negligent, Wrongful or Unlawful Acts of a Party.
Nothing in this Agreement shall affect or alter in any way responsibility of either Party of this
Agreement for the negligent, wrongful or unlawful act of that Party’s employees, agents or contractors.
11.6 Delegation of Authority.
Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as delegating to OSV any of the powers or authority of the Board, which are not subject to delegation by the Board under applicable State law or under the Charters.
11.7 Compliance with Laws.
Unless specifically waived by appropriate governmental authority, OSV shall comply with all applicable laws, rules, regulations, ordinances, orders or other requirements of Massachusetts and any governmental authority relating to its delivery of the goods or services specified in this Agreement.
11.8 Incorporation of Recitals.
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The recitals to this Agreement are hereby incorporated herein as an integral part of this
Agreement.
11.9 Inspection and Access to Records.
Upon reasonable notice, the Parties shall make available to each other and to the Authorizer for inspection and copying, all books, records, and documents relating to the Parties’ obligations and performance under this Agreement.
12. NOTICES.
All notices, demands, consents or other communications (“notices”) which either Party may be required or desire to give to the other Party shall be in writing and shall be deemed delivered when (a) personally delivered, (b) if mailed, five business days after deposit in the United States mail, postage prepaid, certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, (c) if delivered by a reputable overnight carrier, one business day after delivery to such carrier, or (d) if delivered by facsimile, on the date the facsimile transmission is confirmed, provided that, on such date, a separate copy is also delivered pursuant to clause (b) or (c). Delivery by mail, overnight carrier or facsimile shall be addressed to the
Parties as follows:
OSV: 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge, MA 01550
The Board:
Any Party may change its address for notice by notice given in accordance with the foregoing provisions. Notwithstanding the manner of delivery, whether or not in compliance with the foregoing provisions, any notice, demand or other communication actually received by a Party shall be deemed delivered when so received.
13. DEFINED TERMS AND USE OF TERMS.
All defined terms used in this Agreement shall be deemed to refer to the masculine, feminine, neuter, singular and/or plural, in each instance as the context and/or particular facts may require. Use of the terms “hereunder,” “herein,” “hereby,” and similar terms refer to this Agreement.
14. SECTION HEADINGS.
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The headings in this Agreement are for the convenience of the parties only, and shall have no effect on the construction or interpretation of this Agreement and are not part of this Agreement.
15. EXHIBITS AND SCHEDULES.
Each exhibit and each schedule to this Agreement to which reference is made in this Agreement is hereby incorporated in this Agreement as an integral part thereof. In the event of a conflict between the terms and provisions of this Agreement and the terms and provisions of any exhibits or schedules, the terms and provisions of this Agreement shall control.
16. ENTIRE AGREEMENT.
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the Parties with respect to the subject matter herein, as of the Effective Date, and there are no understandings of any kind except as expressly set forth herein. Further, any and all prior understandings and agreements between the
Parties, expressed or implied, written or oral, are superseded hereby.
17. MODIFICATIONS AND AMENDMENTS; NO PAROL EVIDENCE.
This Agreement (including any exhibits and schedules to this Agreement) is the entire agreement between the Parties, and may be altered, changed, added to, deleted from or modified only by agreement in writing approved by the Board of Trustees and by OSV’s Board of Directors.
Accordingly, no course of conduct or custom shall constitute an amendment or modification of this
Agreement, and any attempt to amend or modify this Agreement orally, or in a writing not so approved, shall be void. This Agreement may not be modified, supplemented, explained, or waived by parol evidence.
18. ASSIGNMENT.
This Agreement, including without limitation, the rights granted herein, may not be assigned, delegated, transferred, pledged, or hypothecated by either Party, whether voluntary or involuntary, without the prior written consent of the other Party. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and shall be binding upon the Parties and their successors and assigns, and the name of a Party appearing herein shall be deemed to include the name of such Party’s successors and assigns to the extent necessary to carry out the intent of this Agreement.
19. COUNTERPARTS.
This Agreement may be executed in Counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original and both together shall be deemed to be one and the same Agreement.
20. NO PARTNERSHIP.
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This Agreement does not constitute, and shall not be construed as constituting, a partnership or joint venture between the Parties.
21. FURTHER ASSURANCES.
The Parties agree that they will execute and deliver or cause to be executed and delivered from time to time such other documents, including but not limited to a License in customary form, and will take such other actions as the other Party reasonably may require to more fully and efficiently carry out the terms of this Agreement.
22. SEVERABILITY.
In case any one or more of the provisions or parts of a provision contained in this Agreement shall, for any reason, be held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable in any respect in any jurisdiction, such invalidity, illegality, or unenforceability shall not affect any other provision or part of a provision of this Agreement in such jurisdiction, but this Agreement shall be reformed and construed in any such jurisdiction as if such invalid or illegal or unenforceable provision or part of a provision had never been contained herein and such provision or part shall be reformed so that it would be valid, legal, and enforceable to the maximum extent permitted in such jurisdiction.
23. SURVIVAL.
The provisions of Sections 2, 8 and 9, Sections 3.3, 3.4, 10.6, 10.7, 10.8, 11.1, 11.2, 11.4, 11.5,
11.6, 11.8, 11.9, and any other sections or exhibits to this Agreement that by their nature extend beyond the expiration or termination of this Agreement shall survive any expiration or termination of this Agreement; provided that any provisions that is stated to extend for a specified period of time shall survive only for such specified period of time.
24. NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT.
The provisions of this Agreement were negotiated by the Parties and this Agreement shall be deemed to have been drafted by the Parties, notwithstanding any presumptions at law to the contrary.
- SIGNATURES ARE ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE -
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have executed and delivered this Agreement as of the date first written above
THIS AGREEMENT CONTAINS A BINDING ARBITRATION PROVISION WHICH MAY BE ENFORCED BY THE
PARTIES
OLD STURBRIDGE, INC.
By:
Title:
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF OLD STURBRIDGE ACADEMY PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL
By:
Title:
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Letter of Support
October 30, 2015
To Whom It May Concern:
On behalf of South County Connects, also known as The Community Health Network of Southern
Worcester County, I am pleased to write a letter of support for the proposed Old Sturbridge
Academy Charter Public School.
South County Connects is a network of public, non-profit, private organizations and individuals from fifteen communities in South Central Massachusetts which partner together to share information and promote improvement of the health, productivity and quality of life for all citizens.
The fifteen Massachusetts communities in the South County Connects network include the towns of
Brimfield, Brookfield, Charlton, Dudley, East Brookfield, Holland, North Brookfield, Oxford,
Southbridge, Spencer, Sturbridge, Wales, Warren, Webster and East Brookfield. Membership in our network includes residents, health and human service professionals, government officials, business leaders, clergy members and educators.
South County Connects adopts the World Health Organization’s broad definition of health: “ Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Our organization is ever cognizant of the need for, and supportive of the efforts to provide, access to high-quality education for vulnerable children in our communities. While our fifteen member communities differ in geographical size, population, resources and ethnic composition, the home office of our organization is centrally located in the Town of Southbridge.
This community, which neighbors the Town of Sturbridge, has a poverty rate of 16.1% compared with the Commonwealth’s statewide rate of 11.9%. The Town’s child poverty rate is 23.3% compared with the state’s average of 15.4%. The Southbridge Public School system has been des ignated “chronically underperforming” by the Massachusetts Department of Education (DOE).
According to the 2014 Massachusetts DOE District Report Card, 76.3% of students in Southbridge are low-income, 18.9% of students have a disability and 12.7% are English Language Learners
(source: http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/reportcard ).
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Old Sturbridge Village’s plan to provide an alternative public education through OSACPS is very commendable. CHNA5 is committed to extend all available resources to students and their families to ensure improved academic outcomes and learning environments to all students, particularly those in our communities who are living in poverty.
Sincerely,
Lauren McLoughlin, Coordinator
South County Connects/CHNA5
346 Main Street
Southbridge, MA 01550
774-230-7272
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