2011
NEW MEXICO
CHARTER SCHOOL APPLICATION
Charter Schools Division
New Mexico Public Education Department
CNM Workforce Training Center
5600 Eagle Rock Avenue, Room 227
Albuquerque, NM 87113
(505) 222-4762
Truly Educated by Founder Dawn Moore
Page i
I. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Titles and Subsection Items
I. TABLE OF CONTENTS
II. APPLICATION COVER SHEET - NOTICE OF INTENT - ABSTRACT
III. ASSURANCE THAT ALL GOVERNANCE BODY MEMBERS HAVE READ
THE COMPLETED APPLICATION
Page Number(s)
2
5-7
8-12
IV. CHARTER SCHOOL MISSION AND STATEMENT OF NEED
13-14
V. EDUCATIONAL PLAN
15-33
A. CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK
15-24
B. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
25-27
C. STUDENT PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS
27-28
D. PLAN FOR EVALUATING STUDENT PERFORMANCE
29-31
E. SPECIAL POPULATIONS
32-33
VI. FINANCIAL PLAN
A. BUDGET
34
34-35
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B. FISCAL MANAGEMENT
VII. GOVERNANCE/MANAGEMENT PLAN
36
37
A. GOVERNANCE/MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
37-38
B. DESCRIPTION OF THE GOVERNANCE BODY
39-40
C. PARTNERSHIPS
41
D. SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
41-45
E. EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
46-48
F. STUDENT ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES AND DISCIPLINE POLICY
G. FACILITIES
H. OTHER STUDENT SERVICES
VIII. REQUIREMENTS
49
50-52
53
54
A. LEGAL LIABILITY AND INSURANCE COVERAGE
54
B. WAIVERS
54
IX. APPENDICES (include Table of Contents for Appendices)
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A. SCHOOL’S PROPOSED PERSONNEL POLICIES
B. SCHOOL’S PROPOSED STUDENT DISCIPLINE
PROCEDURES
C. COMPLETED FORM 910B5
D. COMPLETED 5-YEAR BUDGET PLAN
E. BIBLIOGRAPHY (if applicable)
F. ACRONYM LIST (if applicable)
56
57
58-59
60-64
n/a
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II. APPLICATION COVER SHEET/ NOTICE OF INTENT/ABSTRACT
School Information:
Name of Proposed Charter School: Truly Educated
School Address (if known)
_________________________________________________________
School Location (City/Town) Albuquerque, NM
School District within which the school will be located Albuquerque Public Schools
Contact Information:
Primary Contact Person: Dawn M. Moore
Address: 6613 Kiowa NE
City: Albuquerque
State: NM
Daytime Tel (___505_)____730-8421________________
Zip: 87110
Fax (________)
Alternate Tel (_______)_________________ E-mail_QualityTeach@gmail.com
Secondary Contact Person _____________________________________________________________
Address
_______________________________________________________________________
City___________________________________ State_____________ Zip
Daytime Tel (_______)____________________
__________________
Fax (________) ______________________
Alternate Tel (_______)_________________ E-mail__________________________________
Partner Organizations (if applicable):
______________________________________n/a____________________________________________
Enrollment Information:
Grade span at full enrollment
__6-8__Total number of students at full enrollment __120__
Complete the chart.
School Year
First Year
Second Year
Third Year
Fourth Year
Fifth Year
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
Grade Levels to be
Served
6-8
6-8
6-8
6-8
6-8
Total Maximum Student
Enrollment
120
120
120
120
120
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Notice of Intent (1/2):
January 09, 2011
Dawn M. Moore
6613 Kiowa NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
505.730.8421
NM Public Education Department
Charter Schools Division
300 Don Gaspar Avenue, Room 301
Santa Fe, NM 87501-2786
To Whom It May Concern:
It is with great anticipation that I notify you of my intent to write a meaningful, academically
challenging charter for your review this summer.
The charter school will be located inside the Albuquerque city limits in Albuquerque, NM and
therefore will be housed within the Albuquerque Public School (APS) boundaries.
I have sent a duplicate letter to Dr. Winston Brooks of APS.
You may contact me at the above physical address or at my email address:
QualityTeach@gmail.com
Respectfully,
Dawn M. Moore
Founder of Truly Educated
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Notice of Intent (2/2)
January 09, 2011
Dawn M. Moore
6613 Kiowa NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
505.730.8421
Dr. Winston Brooks
APS Superintendent
6400 Uptown Blvd., NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
Dr. Brooks:
It is with great anticipation that I notify you of my intent to write a meaningful, academically
challenging charter for review this summer by the NM PEC.
The charter school will be located inside the Albuquerque city limits in Albuquerque, NM and
will be housed within the Albuquerque Public School (APS) boundaries.
I have sent a duplicate letter to the NM Public Education Department in Santa Fe.
You may contact me at the above physical address as well as my email:
QualityTeach@gmail.com
Respectfully,
Dawn M. Moore
Founder of Truly Educated
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Abstract:
Our life’s work as educators at Truly Educated is to provide Albuquerque’s middle school
children a world-class academic, physical, and emotional education. Truly Educated will provide
the highest quality staff, resources, and education to students by using a constructivist
approach to academic achievement by providing life-long skills in a physical education
environment, and by educating parents and students on healthy communication and
nourishment skills.
“If they don’t learn they way you teach, teach they way they learn”
Truly Educated is born from the idea that we cannot continue teaching students in ways
they do not learn and are not healthy. This charter is a compilation of humane scheduling,
rigorous academic curriculum, parental education, strong governance, and healthy lifestyle
skills, both nutritional and emotional – all the things Truly Educated believes make a welleducated, healthy child.
Academically, the children of today are complex and technically savvy. However, they
still need strong, rigorous skills in reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies.
Also, students need to do things that give them joy and support a rigorous academic
environment, such as art, music, etc… The best way to present these, according to this charter,
is by providing a passionate, well-educated teacher in a system that is truly designed to meet
the child’s academic needs.
Physically, 33% of the children today are obese and many more are overweight. This is a
crisis in America. This charter proposes to include physical education that children will always
have the opportunity to do around Albuquerque; biking, hiking, golfing, yoga, tennis – real
world physical activities that are meant to be taken with them into adulthood.
Emotionally, middle-school aged children are very different from either elementary
school or high school children. This age group is emotionally looking for ways to become
independent. Kids sometimes find this in bullying – making academic education second to
their emotional welfare and making parents worried about the safety of their child. This
charter has two components to help build an emotionally healthy foundation for children: 1.
Parental education. This component is designed to bring the parents in on the educators’ vast
knowledge of how a teenage brain works and how to deal with it compassionately and
peacefully. 2. A wellness team/curriculum at school with scheduled time every day to inform
and educate the students and their parents on development as well as how to interact in a
healthy, productive manner.
*Truly Educated is a middle-school charter serving grades 6-8 in the Albuquerque metro
area. It is the wish for facilities to be located near a bike/bus route and in a building that
already has a kitchen.
*Truly Educated hopes to keep enrollment at 120 students.
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III. CHARTER SCHOOL MISSION AND STATEMENT OF NEED
Mission Statement:

Truly Educated will provide Albuquerque’s middle school children a
world-class academic, physical, and emotional education. Truly
Educated will use data tools to drive instruction. Truly Educated
will provide the highest quality staff, resources, and education to
students by using a constructivist approach to academic
achievement by providing life-long skills in a physical education
environment, and by educating students and families about
healthy communication and nutrition habits.
Organizational Goals :
*Each grade level will achieve 80% “at grade level” or above according to
the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Measure of Academic
Progress (MAPS) reading and mathematics test every year in the spring
testing session.
*80% of families will participate in 4 parental education classes every
school year.
*50% of students at Truly Educated will receive the Presidential Fitness
Award in physical education every spring.
Truly Educated will know if it is reaching any goal by collecting data in all areas
necessary. The Governance Council and the Administrator will compile data over
the period of 4 years in order to present this information to the Commission for
renewal.
At Truly Educated we believe that by focusing on these three goals we will achieve high
academic performance, build strong community, and have physically healthy
students.
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Explanation of Need:
The children of Albuquerque deserve to have a middle school that is geared towards
meeting all of their developmental needs in order to produce higher achievement.
o Overweight and obese children have increased almost 300% since 1970 and test
scores are lower. We have a national crisis with our children and we are right
now teaching students who are not expected to outlive their parents.
o Children who live in poverty are 50% more likely to be overweight or obese. This
is not only a national crisis – but it hard hitting in NM where young children are
now screened for diabetes during routine visits to their pediatrician’s office and
where the average income for families here is $17,000/year.
o Any child in Albuquerque who comes from a mid to low income home is at risk
for having lower test scores. Unfortunately in NM the lowest achievers on tests
are Hispanic males. Truly Educated believes it can close the achievement gap by
providing rigorous physical, academic, and social interventions during middle
school – a time when most students decide if they will stay in school or drop out
as soon as they are old enough.
o Students need to be given skills they can sustain outside of school. We believe
that by teaching real-life skills the students will be empowered to stay healthy
for a lifetime. By including the parents, Truly Educated hopes that the skills and
habits taught at school will carry over into the home and there will be little
conflict and much support.
o It is no longer acceptable to ignore the fact that kids today are physically at risk
for serious disease and disability. Likewise, it is no longer acceptable to ignore
the fact that schools are ignoring these risks – and even contributing to them.
o Children in low income families are more likely to eat fast food on a daily basis.
Fast food is cheap and filling – but it is also dangerously unhealthy for them.
Truly Educated seeks to give students and families facts on nutrition and healthy
habits. Truly Educated will contract with nutritionists and counselors to provide
students and their families with information on how to make good food choices.
o Truly Educated seeks to nourish the students and their families in an emotional
sense as well. It isn’t easy being a middle school student or the parent of a
middle school student. Truly Educated will provide daily Wellness classes for
students and monthly classes for parents to learn about what exactly is going on
in the middle school brain and how to compassionately deal with these changes.
Skills such as conflict resolution, mediation, and journaling will be taught in these
courses. Students will be expected to create a culture where every person on
campus has the same vocabulary and can use the same skill sets to avoid some
of the angst, frustration, and lack of motivation that is prevalent in middle
schools around the country.
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IV. EDUCATIONAL PLAN
A. CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK
1. Philosophy and Approach to Instruction
Truly Educated believes in giving what schools have been traditionally saying they were not
responsible for: the whole child: The physical, academic, and emotional child. Truly Educated
will do its best to support the whole family by educating the parents and the children. We hope
to address a national crisis issues at our school by implementing a varied academic curriculum
with fidelity and rigor and by using instruction and methodology that is geared towards the
middle school mind. The driving force in the development of our work is:
“If they don’t learn the way you teach, teach the way they learn.”
We choose the constructivist approach to academic achievement. This approach is not
based on a one book or one “curriculum” it is based on a method of delivery of instruction.
Teacher in NM have been saying this, “The kids can do the math, but they cannot figure out
what the question is asking.” The constructivist approach presents questions for students in
daily lessons and gives techniques for building on previous knowledge and skill sets that
children already have. Students in Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana have much higher test
scores than students in New Mexico and those states all use a constructivist approach to
education. In a constructivist approach teachers are responsible for overlapping standards,
lessons, and brain development and can use a wide variety of texts and resources to do this.
We choose a physical education curriculum that is not only rigorous but builds a skill set
that will allow the students to be empowered to use these skills throughout their lives. We
choose a real-life physical education so that we combat the obesity epidemic without making
students wrong for who they are.
We choose an emotional curriculum to support middle school development. Middle
school is traditionally the hardest time in a child’s life emotionally. For this reason we choose
to educate the parents as well so that our community has a common vocabulary, routines, and
knowledge sets. Schools can no longer afford to work against parents and students. We must
involve the parents in meaningful ways. Schools must partner with parents in ways that create
an environment at home that is supportive of what the child does at school. Likewise, schools
must stop fighting the child’s natural tendency to explore, move, and be creative.
Truly Educated believes by beginning with the child in mind and how to optimize their
learning time we can develop a system that is more rigorous, more academically challenging,
and supportive of whom they are as citizens. Charter schools have the ability to find out quickly
what is and what isn’t working; therefore, they also have the ability to affect change in a more
rapid manner. If you being a school with the end results in mind you are able to design a
program that will support the end result – much higher test scores.
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The educational philosophy and curricular approach align to the mission in the following
ways:



Academic curriculum should be based on brain development. That is to say,
we as educators should know how the brain works first and then develop a
program rich in strategies that can be easily accommodated by the middle
school min. A constructivist approach is one of the finest curriculums for
teaching students how to teach themselves information. It is also steeped in
years of data and there is a large support network for this approach. Also,
students in high performing states use a constructivist approach. This
curriculum allows for every child at every level to build knowledge at their
own pace while always moving towards excellence. This approach also
allows the advanced group to move at their own pace – something
traditional schools are sorely lacking. Truly Educated is deeply committed to
every child being provided a quality education that meets them where they
are.
Physical curriculum is based on providing children with real-life activities that
will keep them fit for a lifetime. Physical education at Truly Educated seeks
to not only meet standards but to combat childhood obesity, a national crisis.
Emotional curriculum is for students and their families. Middle school is a
tough time in a child’s life as they strive for independence without the tools
or support for appropriate strategies. Our approach helps the school be
supported by families. When families support what is going on at a school
the students are highly accountable for their work, respect, and behavior
expectations. Educating the families at charter schools also serves to create
community, a necessary component of charter schools.
Truly Educated believes that when you implement a focused curriculum, maintain a
small community of less than 150 students, and collect data on your goals you will achieve high
academic performance in all categories. This charter is a combination of what the founder
believes as a parent and as an educator of 15 years has taught her: children need to be active,
listened to, taught not to be reliant on the teacher for answers, supported emotionally, and the
families must be cared for as well.
We believe at Truly Educated that if you create the community and the culture to
support high academic performance and you stay focused on the whole child we can change
what education looks like. Truly Educated believes in public education and the ability for our
state to become leaders of industry, education, and health.
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2. Description of the Development Plan for Proposed Curriculum:
After charter approval, the founder will employ two people who can develop a properly
formatted scope and sequence. The curriculum should be developed by 01.01.2012.
The process will involve using the state standards (common core where applicable), the charter
mission, and best practices according to brain development to guide which curricula will be put
into place in each grade level. Charter philosophy is steeped heavily in Constructivism and will
utilize the “learning-centered” approaches, alignment, and methods.
The output will be:
 Essential Knowledge (Power standards) lists aligned to state
standards/grade level/class taught, including exploratory arts.
 Blocked curriculum maps with time frames.
 “The World of …” for grades 6, 7, 8, and what will be uniquely
offered at each grade level, a description of what each grade will
hold that is developmentally just for them.
 A list of exploratory arts to be offered as electives, such as art,
music, drama, creative writing, computer classes, etc.
 Named curriculum books/programs to use in classrooms.
 Team projects to be completed at each grade, i.e. science fair
project contributions by all core teachers.
 Expectations from each grade, each block, and what data will be
necessary to collect to show standards are met.
3. Alignment with NM Standards
 Truly Educated is fully dedicated to the NM Standards, Benchmarks, and
Performance Standards. This is the foundation for any curricular placement.
 To fully understand how to make an alignment between curriculum and
standards, benchmarks, and performance standards, there must be a
document in place that is easy to understand. The Learning-Centered
advisors (constructivists) have advisors to help with this formatting.
 The founder will employ two people to create the alignment document so
that all staff, teachers, students and parents understand how the curriculum
at Truly Educated was chosen, why it was chosen, and at what grade level
specific topics will be addressed.
 This should be completed by 01.01.2012.
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4. Strategies and Methods:

Strategies/Methods:
 The curriculum methods will be based on the constructivist theory and
that of the Learning Pyramid.


The Learning Pyramid is good reason to select teaching strategies that
involve discussion, practice, and students teaching others; therefore, at
Truly Educated teachers will use the constructivist framework for student
instruction.
What is involved in constructivist strategies and activities is a process
approach to learning. Rather than emphasizing characteristics of the final
products, process-oriented instruction focuses on the language and
problem-solving strategies that students need to learn in order to
generate those products.
This is an example of a middle school lesson plan (it is lengthy to demonstrate the thought that
is involved in creating a single lesson). This lesson plan is taken from a lesson plan bank online
from a Constructivist support website. ---------------------------------------------------------------------A constructivist lesson is rooted in an authentic context that draws upon the students' realworld experience. Such a lesson is especially beneficial for teaching abstract mathematical
concepts, as illustrated in the lessons below, which are designed to teach the geometric
concept of tessellations. Rather than presenting the definition of tessellations directly to the
class, these lessons are structured to facilitate the students' discovery of the concept through a
series of teacher-guided constructivist activities. Students construct their understanding of
tessellations by using Web-based resources, participating in multimedia activities, and applying
their knowledge to a real-world problem.
Lesson One encourages students to formulate a definition of tessellations by comparing and
contrasting different patterns and shapes of real objects provided by the teacher -- that is,
crackers. The discussion prompts the students to probe the various aspects of the relationship
between shapes and patterns as well as their function in the real world.
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The constructivist classroom also seeks to examine a problem or phenomenon through multiple
perspectives. Lesson Two integrates Web-based resources that introduce students the world of
art and culture. The works of M.C. Escher, for example, provide a visual representation of
tessellation through another perspective, the medium of art. This encourages students to draw
on their previous insights about crackers to identify more complex patterns of tessellation in
visual representations. Interactive multimedia programs provide "hands-on" experience as
students construct their own tessellations. This transforms an abstract concept into a concrete
process in which students engage directly, thereby enhancing their understanding and
knowledge.
Finally, the constructivist classroom transfers academic learning to the real world. Lesson Three
presents a problem that the class must solve by applying their knowledge and understanding of
tessellations. The students' task is to design a suitable package for a cracker manufacturer,
taking into account certain variables such as the shape of the crackers, cost, efficiency, limited
budget, and ecological considerations.
All of these activities take place through a collaborative effort, as students work in groups. This
allows students to learn from each other through the exchange of ideas and knowledge. It also
enhances and promotes communication skills, since students learn to convey their ideas clearly
and effectively.
Shape Shifters
Overall Unit Question: What are tessellations?
Age Range: Middle school
Standards Addressed:



Students explore the relationships among geometric transformations (translations,
reflections, rotations, and dilations), tessellations (tilings), and congruence and
similarity.
Students investigate and describe geometry in nature and real-world applications.
Students design a tessellation.
Computer Resources
You will need at least one computer with Internet access to complete this lesson. While many
configurations will work, we recommend:
Modem: 56 Kbps or faster. Browser: Netscape Navigator 3.0 or above or Internet Explorer 3.0
or above. Macintosh computer: System 7.0 or above and at least 32 MB of RAM. PC: Pentium
processor with at least 32 MB of RAM, running Windows 95 or higher. Plug-ins: The animation
sites require a Java capable browser, available with Netscape 3.0 and higher and Explorer 3.0,
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or Shockwave, available for free download at http://www.macromedia.com. Java applets may
take some time to load. Remind your students to be patient.
Lesson One: Discovery
How can tessellating shapes help a cracker manufacturer make a profit?
1. Bring in various boxes of crackers. Set the classroom up like a supermarket. Place the
products on desks like aisles so that the students can browse through. Ask the students to
analyze the shapes of the crackers and take notes about what they find. The class might start
identifying similarities among the shapes of the crackers. After the students have had a chance
to generate some patterns, you might categorize the crackers into "tesselating" and
"nontesselating" and see if the students can generate possible definitions by analyzing the
crackers in the two categories. Ask students to determine a definition of tessellation by looking
at different patterns of crackers. Why are tesselating patterns so common in these food
products? Can you think of a way this kind of pattern benefits the cracker manufacturer?
LESSON TWO
Concept Introduction: What do two-dimensional tessellations look like? Where in art can
they be found?
Lesson Introduction for Unit on Tessellations
This exploration of the world of art and culture, including the works of M.C. Escher, provides
students with an opportunity to identify and create original tessellations. Using a wealth of
interactive multimedia applications available on the Web, students will explore the artistic
representations of tessellations and transformations and enhance their understanding of the
underlying mathematical principles.
Bookmarks
Works by and in the style of M.C. Escher
The World of Escher - Artwork Gallery
http://www.WorldOfEscher.com/gallery/
NGA - M.C. Escher -- Life and Work
http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/ggescher/ggescher-main1.html
Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher -- a Platonic Realms Mini-Text
http://www.mathacademy.com/platonic_realms/minitext/escher.html
Computer Art Inspired by M.C. Escher and Victor Vasarely
http://web.inter.nl.net/hcc/Hans.Kuiper/
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Hop's Escher Tessellation Tiles
http://www.tabletoptelephone.com/~hopspage/HopsTiles.html
The Seventeen Wallpaper Tilings
http://www.ScienceU.com/geometry/articles/tiling/wallpaper.html
Boxer Math Toolbox
http://www.boxermath.com/plp/modules/online/workshop/toolbox/mosaictool3
Triangle Tilings and Polyhedra
http://www.ScienceU.com/geometry/articles/tritile/
Interactive Triangle Tiling Maker
http://www.ScienceU.com/geometry/handson/trigrp/trigrp.cgi?group5=on
Resources
Math Forum Suzanne Alejandre: Tessellations
http://mathforum.org/sum95/suzanne/tess.intro.html
Middle Level Mathematics: M.C. Escher: The Poet of the Impossible
http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/midlmath/escher.html
Introduction to Tilings
http://www.scienceu.com/geometry/articles/tiling/
Native American Geometry Designs
http://www.earthmeasure.com/Designs/index.html
Islamic Architecture
http://islamicart.com/main/architecture/index.html
STEPS
1. Explore the works of M.C. Escher on the Web sites provided, or in a book or poster, to
identify similarities and differences in the patterns he created. Begin by showing students
samples of Escher's work and facilitate a discussion about the nature of patterns. Students can
also work in small groups to discuss their ideas about Escher's patterns. In groups, students can
categorize the different kinds of tessellations they find using their knowledge of symmetry,
similarity, and congruency. Student definitions may not use exact mathematical vocabulary. For
example, a student might say a shape "moved from one location to another" to describe
"translation across the plane." Ask each group to write a definition of the word tessellation.
Have the groups share their definitions with the whole class.
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2. Hand out copies of the Student Organizer, "Getting into Shapes," below, with which students
will clarify the vocabulary associated with tessellations by exploring animated examples
provided at The Seventeen Wallpaper
Tilings(http://www.ScienceU.com/geometry/articles/tiling/wallpaper.html) and Run the
Program at the interactive Boxer Math site
(http://www.boxermath.com/plp/modules/online/workshop/toolbox/mosaictool3) to create
designs of their own online. This Web-based activity will help students clarify the vocabulary
associated with tessellations.
3. Have students explore the relationship between two-dimensional patterns and threedimensional objects by using Interactive Triangle Tiling
Maker(http://www.ScienceU.com/geometry/handson/trigrp/trigrp.cgi?group5=on). Provide
time for students to review the background information provided atTriangle Tilings and
Polyhedra(http://www.ScienceU.com/geometry/articles/tritile/) or provide a guided
exploration of the site by displaying it using a single computer connected to a LCD projector or
large screen monitor.
Student Organizer: Getting into Shapes
Check out the animations that demonstrate the seventeen different types of tiling symmetry.
Follow the link to Boxer Math Toolbox and create a tessellation of your own. Can you identify
the pattern unit in your tessellation?
The Seventeen Wallpaper Tilings
http://www.ScienceU.com/geometry/articles/tiling/wallpaper.html
Boxer Math Toolbox
http://www.boxermath.com/plp/modules/online/workshop/toolbox/mosaictool3
Triangle Tilings and Polyhedra
http://www.ScienceU.com/geometry/articles/tritile/
Interactive Triangle Tiling Maker
http://www.ScienceU.com/geometry/handson/trigrp/trigrp.cgi?group5=on
It's Time to Tessellate!
Use the tools provided by your teacher to create your own original tessellation. Can you come
up with other ways to tessellate a pattern?
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LESSON THREE
Concept Application
1. Present the class with the following problem:
A cracker manufacturer has been losing money and has to find a way to save her factory. She
has a small amount of dough and has to produce enough crackers to make a profit. She knows
that if she doesn't waste any dough she can make the greatest number of crackers out of what
she has and make the most money. She cares about her profits, but also cares about the
environment and wants to use as little packaging as possible. (Boxes and plastic wrapping can
be very expensive and the plastic is not biodegradable!) If there is a way that the crackers could
fit in the boxes with little extra space, that would save on packaging.
Your task is to design a new shape for the cracker manufacturer so that as little dough as
possible is wasted and so that the crackers stack in the box requiring the least material.
2. Divide the class into groups to work on this problem.
3. Students can create and print a cracker pattern using the Boxer Math
Toolbox(http://www.boxermath.com/plp/modules/online/workshop/toolbox/mosaictool3).
When designs are completed, print them for display and have students write about the nature
of their tessellation. The results can be impressive when printed on a color printer. You can also
print out the Totally Tessellatedtemplates
(http://library.advanced.org/16661/templates/index.html) for students to transform a pattern
using color.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------end of sample lesson -----------

Truly Educated believes that the students’ curricular need is to be provided with
a rigorous, thoughtful education that will allow them to demonstrate proficiency
at or above grade level in all testing situations.
Truly Educated believes that by using a curriculum that is based heavily in
inquiry, the NM Standards and Benchmarks will be addressed in a way that is
already being measured by the NM Standards Based Assessment (NMSBA). The
NMSBA tests for standard competency in a rigorous, multi-standard approach.
Constructivist theory is also rigorous and multi-tasked in its approach to learning.
Truly Educated believes that by giving instruction that is rigorous and multistandard driven, not only will the standards be addressed, the testing will be
aligned to what is taught in the classroom. Also, there is no perfect curriculum –
the children must be able to understand the concept presented to them in ways
that translate to multi-tasks, real world situations, and classic text book
examples. Furthermore, Truly Educated believes that all teachers should all
work on their own lesson/unit planning with the standards in mind first –
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
addressing lesson planning specifically to the NM Standards and Benchmarks in
two ways: 1. Curriculum Mapping – a demonstration of the understanding of a
time frame needed to address all required items and 2. Essential Knowledge – a
more specific tool for teachers to use every week in their classrooms to ensure
students are never provided permission to forget anything that has been/will be
taught over the course of the year. A constructivist approach to curriculum
empowers children to know what is expected of them, how to solve problems in
more than one specific directed way, and how to help others learn what they
know. A data driven classroom allows the students to reach goals and monitor
their own progress while the teacher is informed about what needs to be
reviewed, taught, or re-taught.
Professional Development:
 A newly formed staff must have the proper training to implement the
charter in a way that is aligned to the founder’s vision. There are several
workshops that would be extremely useful to a new staff.
 Work with George Hoffecker, a middle school brain development
specialist. Will be able to assist staff in creating grade specific
behavior lists and compassionate strategies that work for middle
school students.
 Staff should be well-versed in the Malcom Baldrige basics. All
staff should be well versed in Baldrige techniques and
implementing data-driven tools in the classroom.
 All staff needs to attend a constructivist workshop. The Institute
on Learning Centered Classrooms offers the most comprehensive
training. There is a yearly conference each summer for 5 days.
Truly Educated is committed to high quality teacher training.
Truly Educated would never ask a teacher to do something it
wasn’t fully committed to providing training, consulting, updates,
and resources for.
 Apple/Mac training. All staff will be required to use iPads, iMacs
and Macbooks daily. Staff should be the leaders in technological
uses for the classroom. Apple Inc. has classroom specific training
for teachers.
 Due to the other intense physical and nutritional goals of Truly
Educated, the school wishes to provide workshops to the teachers
(and later to parents) on nutrition. The entire school needs to be
echoing the same habits and philosophy.
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B. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
1. Length of School Day and School Year:
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Length of school day: Monday – Thursday: total time 7.5 hours; 7 hours
instruction time, 30 minutes for lunch. Fridays: 4.5 hours total, 4 hours
instruction time, 30 minutes lunch.
Truly Educated is hoping to take a small step in calendar creativity. Knowing
what we know about teenagers and brain development – and also from teaching
exhausted kids (and the effects of that on the brain), Truly Educated has come
up with this plan:
 School will be held from 8:30-4:00 Monday-Thursday
 School will be held from 8:30-1:00 Fridays for students, teachers will stay
until 4:00 pm
 There will be a two week session for the entire school in July of every
year
 School will begin full time on the first Tuesday after Labor Day in
September
 School year will end in early June
 172 total days
 139 days @ 7 hours instruction = 973 hours
 33 days @ 4 hours instruction = 132 hours
 Grand totals: 172 days and 1105 hours instruction time
 Snow days and half days for NMSBA testing are built into the calendar
 Professional development planned into Friday afternoons 1-4 PM
The calendar at Truly Educated is designed to be both humane to teachers and
students but also to maximize the learning time for each child.
 The humane component comes from the amount of breaks built in during
the school year. A week long break at stressful times alleviates the
pressure built into a traditional calendar. Also, a calendar built to keep
students as active during an entire calendar year as possible was the
intent of a more stretched out year. There is only one full month off at
Truly Educated: August (a grueling time to be in school!).
 The maximized learning time component is that we begin at 8:30 with an
hour of physical activity- and the best time of the day for your body to
receive the healthy benefits of exercise. The pre-teen and teenage
body’s natural rhythm is a little later than that of an elementary child,
therefore, an 8:30 start time. Core academic classes begin at 9:30 AM
and are over by 2:30 PM; thus the calendar and the schedule are well
thought out to maximize both rigorous physical and academic ability, but
humanely treat the emotional aspect of learning.
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2. Grade Levels, Class Size and Projected Enrollment:
 Truly Educated will serve grades 6, 7, 8.
 No phase in plan is presumed.
 Projected full enrollment: 120.
 Projected class size: 40.
3. Graduation Requirements (if applicable):
N/A
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C. STUDENT PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS
All students as Truly Educated will show overall growth in all three major areas of the
charter (academic, physical, and emotional) between July and May of each school
year. Students will accomplish this by:
 Student goal 1: Show at least 4 points growth as measured by the NWEA MAPS
assessment in the areas of reading and mathematics for every spring test.
 Student goal 2: Achieve the President’s Challenge Award every year.
School Goals: Truly educated has three measurable areas to address, each with its own
measure of progress. Knowing that in statistics it is necessary to collect 7 points of data
before you can draw an accurate conclusion – Truly Educated will collect 7 points of
data on each child in a variety of manners and all year long for each point.
1. Academic:
a. Short Cycle Assessment – This assessment should be
standardized and non-biased. The NWEA (MAPS) test
given 3x/year: fall, winter, & spring of each school year.
This test is standardized and an indicator of performance
on the NMSBA, and is tied directly to the NM Standards
and Benchmarks. Students and teachers will chart progress
in classrooms. Teachers will use the Des Cartes tool (part
of the NWEA) to be data informed about their students’
academic needs. Students and parents will be trained on
how to understand scores and how to use the tools
provided with the software to understand their specific
learning goals.
b. Essential Knowledge – this is the product of a data
management (Baldridge) workshop on “Data Not
Guesswork”. It involves each teacher knowing what is
absolutely essential about the content they are providing
and generating a list of each individual piece of
information students must know. The children are tested
over the entire Essential Knowledge (EK) at the beginning
and end of each course. Each week a small sample of the
entire content is randomly selected for a quick quiz –
whether or not it has been taught yet. The children mark
their progress in a data folder kept in each classroom. This
form of assessment does not allow students to forget
previously learned material and at the same time get a
glimpse of what is to come.
c. Teacher Generated Assessments/Projects – each teacher
will keep an ongoing portfolio that contains not only the
Essential Knowledge results for each course but also any
tests they have generated, projects and their rubrics,
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parent communication logs, student-selected work and
anything else the teacher/student feels is relevant to their
education. Each child will know exactly what their progress
is at all times.
2. Physical Education:
a. Each student will know the President’s Challenge
performance expectations and will work every quarter to
meet those standards. Each child will know each quarter
how close they are to achieving this challenge award. Each
child will keep a PE data binder and their essential
knowledge will be tracked just the same as in a core
academic classroom.
3. Emotional Education:
a. Each student will be given an Essential Knowledge list for
their Wellness Education classes.
Each child must
demonstrate progress on Essential Knowledge quizzes in
each class by the end of each quarter. Also, students will
be given surveys every quarter to judge school climate and
overall success of the Wellness program.
b. Parents will be given a survey on each of the parent
workshops they attend (minimum of 4/year).
c. Students/parents will use quality tools such as the
Plus/Delta/Rx for events and systems established in the
school for use in continuous improvement. The school will
use the results to guide further instruction and process
management.
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D. PLAN FOR EVALUATING STUDENT PERFORMANCE
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Students will be assessed in a variety of ways at Truly Educated. We feel this is
the only true way to see the whole child. We also feel that assessment is
extremely important, but essential that it be done correctly. We also know from
statistics that if you do not have at least 7 points of data you cannot form any
type of correlation or make an assumption. Therefore, students at Truly
Educated will be assessed in a variety of ways to compile at least 7 points for us
to evaluate them with.
o Each student will be assessed using a standardized form of
assessment for reading and mathematics. This will be done using
the NWEA/MAPS testing program. This test is a national test that
will be able to show each student how they are doing compared to
the school, the state, and the nation for their grade and subject area.
o Each student will be assessed according to their Essential Knowledge
test for each class they participate in. Essential Knowledge is
created by the teacher from the standards, benchmarks, and
curriculum used. This test will be given as a pre-course test in July
and as a post-course exit exam in May as well as weekly EK quizzes
in each class.
o Students will be assessed subjects taught by teacher/curriculum
created tests. These are the tests that go along with what they are
learning in each class.
o Students will be assessed on the Performance Standards in each
core academic subject via rubrics that address each Performance
Standard.
o Students will be assessed at any given time by a short-cycle
assessment given in any subject area taught but will be mandated to
have a short-cycle assessment during the course of the year in both
mathematics and reading.
Truly Educated students will meet all grade level NM Standards and Benchmarks.
At Truly Educated the staff, parents, students, and administration will know
which skills need to be taught, which skills have been learned, and which skills
need to be re-taught. It is possible to know and understand what is expected of
your academic endeavors when you use the Standards to begin with, Essential
Knowledge to constantly check progress with, and appropriate amounts of
assessment to reach conclusions in a classroom. The focus is on learning and
retention and not on one assessment.
Truly Educated students, staff, and parents will achieve high test scores because
they will not be driven by the test but rather by the knowledge required at each
grade level.
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If a student falls below expected performance levels corrective action will be put
into place as follows:
o Truly Educated is highly committed to ensuring all students receiving any
and all support necessary for high academic performance at school.
o It is important to note that no child shall be punished or made to feel
shame based on test scores. We will evaluate systems to meet corrective
action, never the person.
o A child study will be done at the grade level the student is in. This means
that all the teachers/support staff of that grade level will look at the child
in every class. They will note grades, attitude, performance, attendance,
parental communications, test scores, data folders, and anything
anecdotal about the student. A PDSA cycle should be run at this point.
Once the data has been reviewed the team will open up lines of
communication with the student – asking for their input in the matter. A
plan will be put into place to help support the student where the team
decides support is necessary. This is the best time for the student to
express their needs. A time frame is suggested for these interventions,
and if these interventions do not work for the given time frame (less than
9 weeks):
o A child study will be done at the school level. What can others do to help
with this particular student? A second, larger round of PDSA will be run
at this point; included in this round will be administration, parents, and
any other staff member necessary.
o IF both PDSA’s fail, the Student Assistance Team (SAT) team comes to the
team’s attention and the SAT process/documentation will begin.
o Truly Educated is dedicated to providing extra assistance where it is
needed for any child whether that be in the classroom, after school, or at
home. We also believe that remediation plans are really personal and can
be very stressful for students and parents and teachers. We hope to take
a better approach to remediation at our school by strongly supporting 6 th
grade so that 7th and 8th graders are in less need.
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Remediation Plan: Any student who comes in below grade level in any core
subject area will be remediated through classroom instruction with any level of
support given deemed necessary. The best and fastest way to remediate is to
specifically locate exactly what skills the student is missing and work towards
correction immediately, and the NWEA testing is a great tool for pinpointing
exactly which skills a student is missing. Remediation often is grueling and not
focused on exact skills. Truly Educated will remediate with the best quality
curricular tools that align to teacher materials, EK, and Students will be
expected to continue with regular classroom instruction (modified if necessary)
while receiving remediation help as well.
o Truly Educated will employ a full time Educational Assistant to help inside
the classroom for remediation purposes if necessary.
o Truly Educated will employ the services of a Wellness team that can
screen students for disabilities if necessary
o Truly Educated will employ specialized reading and math teachers if
necessary to help support all students in reaching literacy and
mathematics goals that are falling behind normal growth rates. At Truly
Educated it will be easy to identify the students in need with the data
portfolio each child will keep.
o After-school tutoring with certified staff can be made a priority if deemed
necessary by student need.
In addition to state-wide mandated testing, teachers should use a variety of
assessments to view the achievement of the students. These will include:
o NWEA/MAPS testing
o Short-cycle assessments
o Teacher generated tests
o Curriculum generated tests
o Essential Knowledge tests
o PDSA cycles
All students at Truly Educated will be given a data binder at entrance and will be
expected to collect and keep the data from each year in the binder. The data
binder will house all NWEA/MAP scores, all EK test scores, all pre-post course
exams, student selected works, report card copies, and goals set/met by each
student. Twice each year the parents will meet with an academic advisor
assigned to their child (a teacher) and the student will lead a conference based
on the data they have collected. The parents will have the opportunity to
review, ask questions about, and complement the data produced with their
child.
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E. SPECIAL POPULATIONS
o Modifications to proposed educational program to meet individual needs:
 Truly Educated is committed to always meeting the needs of all individuals
and their learning needs.
 Truly Educated will ensure bilingual and limited English proficient students’
needs are met by:
 Making sure the school understands the needs of the student by
reviewing any current services they are currently receiving upon
enrollment at Truly Educated.
 Once a need is established, in an expedited manner Truly
Educated (T.E.) will place support where it is needed with a
variety of services ranging from differentiated instruction to
supplemental curricula to tutoring or any other service deemed
necessary to help a student succeed.
 Truly Educated would like to hire as many teachers as possible
who are Special Education, TESOL or Bilingual certified to ensure
the highest possible quality of instruction for ELL students.
Special Education Outline:
 All school-age children who are individuals with disabilities as defined by
Section 504, regardless of the nature and severity of the person’s disability,
and IDEA are entitled to FAPE.
 The school will provide a continuum of services for students with
disabilities. Based on each student’s needs, the IEP (Wellness) team will
determine placement in a program that supports the student in the least
restrictive environment. The school will use school based child studies and
the formal “child find” program to place any student in need into Special
Education services.
 At Truly Educated, Special Education is very impactful. 20% of NM public
education students are identified as needing Special Education services.
Charter schools must be aware of and able to support any child who is
enrolled in their programs. We hope to make this process at our school
truly beneficial to the students who need this support. We also hope to
ease the social stigma attached to special services by fully including all
students in all programs as much as possible.
 How T.E. will provide these services:
 The school will directly hire or contract necessary service
providers such as speech language pathologist,
occupational/physical therapist, school social worker, and
recreational therapist, etc., to meet the needs of students
identified as needing special education and related services to
benefit from their education.
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A continuum of services from least to most restrictive
environments;
o Full time regular classroom with outside support from
special education staff
o Regular class with pull-out
o Resource room
o Special classes/regular activities
o Special education in full-time separate room
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V. FINANCIAL PLAN
A. BUDGET
The total SEG start up funding for Truly Educated is $726,803.25. This is assuming 120
students in grades 6-8 every year for five years. With this total the budget is worked out in the
forms you will find in appendix C, the Excel Workbook labeled FINAL BUDGET.
The small budget covers 1 administrator, 1 secretary, 1 business manager, 6 teachers, 1
educational assistant, and 1 custodian for the five years. In order to be as realistic as possible
with salary schedules they are aligned to local school districts and follow all applicable laws.
The budget takes into account having 2 Level I teachers, 2 Level II teachers, and 2 Level III
teachers for the purposes of the budget worksheet. The total for year one salaries is $551,200
– and is 75% of the total budget. Truly Educated is confident this is aligned to the mission of
providing students the best possible education by placing the most amount of money directly
into quality teaching staff.
Each salary begins at step 0 and ends on step 4 which is aligned to the chart found in
part IV, Section E (page 35). The budget assumes a 3% increase every year for all positions and
30% is calculated for benefits on each salary.
The budget is small, even for a small school as there is only SEG funding proposed on
the worksheets. This means there is not yet a calculation for any Special Education instructors
or students. Those figures have been intentionally left out and will be calculated at such time
as the PED deems necessary for the school. Special Education is a priority for Truly Educated in
the form of our “Wellness Team” and we hope to utilize funding in a way that supports any
student in need of services.
Truly Educated has placed the money from the budget into student centered categories
such as contracted services (for guest teachers, nutritionists, workshops for students), in
equipment, library, and software categories to maximize the amount of money being filtered
into the classroom.
As the salary figures increased and the SEG funding remained the same it became more
and more difficult to fully fund all desired categories. Truly Educated knows and understands
this to be a regular occurrence in all schools and hopes the staff, students, and parents at T.E.
will help to make those hard decisions when the time comes.
Most materials for the first year should be covered by the federal grant for charter
schools. The budget leaves little room for anything but supplemental money such as for the
library and teacher workroom supplies. Truly Educated will work with our foundation to secure
outside funding for future projects or materials needed that are not supplied by SEG funding.
There is money set aside each year for professional development. Truly Educated
stands by the fact that if you are to require a teacher to implement something you must
provide all training, tools, and support to that teacher.
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At this time are no other explicitly stated monies from any source other than SEG
in the budget. Truly Educated does hope to become a model of financial
efficiency in the world of schools by being very fiscally conservative – a fact
helped by such a small budget.
The federal charter school grant money awarded to new charter schools is an
outside source for the first year only and is assumed to be for capital outlay for
new charters to start-up expenses: furniture, equipment, technology, supplies
for students are all clearly outlined in Section VI, part G (page 40).
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C. FISCAL MANAGEMENT
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Truly Educated will employ a business manager to address all legal and financial
issues related to all business at Truly Educated.
The business manager will work closely with the administration, secretary,
foundation, and governance council to ensure the sound fiscal health of Truly
Educated.
 The business manager will report to the GC once a month on all budget
items, decisions, and rationale for procedures.
 The business manger will have two signatures required on all checks: the
business manager and the administrator.
 The business manger will report to the administrator frequently and
attend all workshops for professional development, updates, or efficiency
in fiscal procedures that are offered by the state.
 During an audit procedure the business manager shall report any findings
by the audit committee to administration and to the GC in an effort to
not ever make the same mistake twice (if a mistake should be found).
 The budget (including salaries) shall be public information at GC
meetings.
 Business manager will have frequent communication with the PED.
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VI. GOVERNANCE/MANAGEMENT PLAN
GOVERNANCE /MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
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The Governance Council will hire the administrator. The administrator will
oversee the day-to-day operations and the supervision of all other staff
members and the Foundation for Truly Educated.
Administration will be accountable to the Governance Council for duties
performed as outlined in an employment contract. The Governance Council
will have the responsibility of evaluating the performance of the
administrator and therefore the committee must be prepared with questions
and progress reports at every meeting. The president of the Governance
council can meet more frequently with the administrator if necessary.
All staff members and the foundation will report to the Governance Council
at monthly meetings for information sharing and transparency.
Administration is in charge of making all decisions deemed necessary to run
the day-to-day operations, discipline, and staff issues. Including but not
limited to: purchasing decisions, curriculum decisions, discipline, nutrition,
classes, scheduling, hiring of staff, and facilities plans.
Staff may offer input into decision making at any staff meeting.
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The administrator will make transparent decisions, rationale, and progress so
the staff is well-informed and able to speak with parents or students as
necessary. All staff members must echo the same policies, rules, and
procedures at Truly Educated.
 The Foundation shall work to raise funds for the school. It is necessary to
have a foundation that reports to administration and the governance council
for fundraising possibilities. The foundation shall employ one person to lead
grant writing and that person shall be paid no more than 25% of any grant
awarded to the school. That person shall sit in on GC meetings to report
updates, budgets, and needs.
 There shall be one teacher, one parent, the administrator, and one
foundation person at each GC meeting. Information shall be recorded in
note format and each representative from each party (teacher, parent,
foundation), will report those notes back to their group at their next meeting
or within five work days.
 Each group of representatives shall report the progress, needs, questions, or
concerns to the GC if it is relevant to the work of the GC. All other reports of
progress, needs, questions, or concerns need to go to the administrator.
Governance Council will meet on the 2nd Monday of each month during the
planning year and may amend this date to better accommodate the members
when necessary.
The agenda for each meeting will be sent out at least two week prior to the
meetings via email to staff and families.
Requests for agenda time may be submitted to the Council secretary three
weeks prior to the 2nd Monday of each month.
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B. DESCRIPTION OF THE GOVERNANCE BODY
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The Governance Council (GC) will comply with all NM Open Meetings Act
rules/laws.
The GC will consult with the Nation Charter Schools Institute on how to build an
effective governance council for assistance in creating an effective and efficient
system of governing.
Specific responsibilities of the Governance Council:
o Protect the school’s mission and purpose
o Select the school administrator
o Support the administrator and review their performance
o Ensure effective organizational planning
o Ensure adequate resources
o Manage resources effectively
o Determine and monitor Truly Educated’s programs and services
o Enhance Truly Educated’s public image
o Assess its performance.
The Governance Council will have three officers:
 President: the president will be responsible for ensuring each task of
the council is addressed each fiscal year and for ensuring the
separation of governance/management. The president shall work
with the other four members of the council to ensure work is
distributed and all the intentions of the council are transparent. The
president will work with the foundation and the administration to
ensure the financial soundness of the school. The president will
schedule professional development for the governance council each
year.
 Secretary: The secretary will create and distribute the agenda for
each meeting in a timely manner, will also take notes at every
meeting and be responsible for the electronic delivery of the notes to
each body that reports to the council.
 Treasurer: The treasurer will oversee the financial stability of the
school and keep constant contact with the business manager and the
foundation to make strategic plans for money spent, received, and
needed to support the school.
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The Governance Council will consist of 5 voting members, all of whom will apply
to be on the council. One of those 5 will be President, one will be secretary.
There will be 4 non-voting seats given to a.) Lead teacher b.) Lead parent,
c.)Administrator and d.)Foundation representative.
The Lead Teacher may be accompanied by the student council president when
appropriate/necessary.
Governance Council meetings will be open to school and community, and the 5
voting members may schedule closed sessions for each meeting.
o The criteria and the process that will be used to select the school’s head
administrator;
o Budgeting and operation of the school; and
o How decisions will be made.
Governance Council must be able to further the strategic plan of Truly Educated.
The first Governance Council will work to establish the laws/bi-laws/systems for
the planning year. However, after the planning year, any GC member must apply
and be approved by interview by the current members.
GC officers shall rotate every two years by nomination and by vote.
GC shall apply Robert’s Rules of Order to all meeting and procedures during a
meeting.
GC has the right to call for closed session that only include board members and
are intended to protect the privacy of anything confidential, legal, potentially
embarrassing, or unethical that needs to be discussed.
The GC will have formal training on how to talk through their conflicts. These
conflicts shall be kept out of public meetings.
The GC will look for an administrator that possesses the following qualities:
o Can support the mission/vision of the school
o Has working knowledge of the charter school movement, its laws and its
struggles
o Has teaching experience
o Is visionary
o Is compassionate in their views towards children and their families.
o Is flexible in curricular demands and can adjust to provide what students
need according to what the data tells them.
o Has presence in a crowd
o Can communicate effectively with the PED/PEC/surrounding school
districts
o Is ready to participate in an exercise, mentoring, and rigorous academic
training program
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PARTNERSHIPS
There are no partnerships with any organizations attached to Truly Educated.
C. SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
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The supervisory roles of the members of the organizational charter in section 4
can be viewed here:
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The GC will hire the administration and will be directly responsible
for the formal evaluation of administration’s job performance.
The administration is directly responsible for the teachers, staff
and foundation work at the school.
All of the bodies shown in the supervisory roles are responsible
for evaluating each other. This means that just because the
Governance Council is on top of the hierarchy pyramid does not
mean it will not be evaluated by the principal, the teaches, staff,
foundation, parents, and students.
All job descriptions and all employees of Truly Educated shall be
surveyed once a year to help determine a plan of continuous
improvement.
The administrator is responsible for including the students in the
evaluation of the staff and the parents in the evaluation of the
staff (principal included) as well as the GC.
The GC will be the keeper of each year’s data.
The principal is responsible for the actions that are warranted
from the disaggregation of the data collected at the school.
The principal will privately meet on a weekly basis with the lead
teacher to be pro-active with questions, pressing issues, or
concerns.
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
Job Descriptions:
o Principal:
 First and foremost, the role of the principal will be one of promoting
meaningful, rigorous, active, and sustainable education for the school
community.
 The principal will be a competent and dedicated teacher with
classroom experience exceeding 6 years. He or she could actually
engage in teaching and would find it desirable from time to time.
Relying on this teaching experience, the principal will become the
leader of the teachers, will provide educational leadership.
 Facilitate professional development.
 Be highly visible and communicative to staff, students, and the
community
 Have authority to hire and terminate teachers, assistants, and
contractors
 Have a voice in teacher assignments, when necessary, so that they
take place in a way most likely to advance the educational objectives
of Truly Educated
 Ensure the financial security of the school under the advisement of
the Licensed school Business Manager and the Governance Council.
 Provide observations and annual evaluations of teaching staff and
other personnel, as appropriate
 Develop, revise and enforce the policies and procedures of the school
 Adhere to local, state and federal laws, regulations, and guidelines
 Act as communicator between Truly Educated and the Public
Education Department
 Be active in communications with the foundation of Truly Educated so
that outside funds are raised to advance the educational objectives of
the school community
 Be responsible for the implementation of programs that support the
mission/vision of the school
o Teacher
 First and foremost, the role of the teacher will be one of promoting
meaningful, rigorous, active, and sustainable education for the school
community
 Will collect meaningful data to be used to guide instruction and
inform students, parents, and the school on individual and classroom
progress
 Will design and implement constructivist lessons that address the NM
Standards and Benchmarks
 Will participate in professional development to ensure competency in
constructivist theory and methodology
 Will participate in professional development to ensure competency in
child development for the middle school mind.
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
Will be an active participant in school activities. Some of those may
be after school hours. Compensation time will be built in to the
schedule to accommodate our teachers
 Will take an interest in all the students of the school and be a role
model for each student
 Mentor educational assistants
 Plan one school event per year and be the keeper of the
procedure/data collected from this event
 Have a hobby or craft you can share with the students that is
appropriate to our curriculum
 Be active at school by participating in school-wide PE every day
 Enforce all the rules and policies of the school
 Be a communicator with the staff, parents, and students via
electronic methods
 Be willing to use high end technology in the classroom – and be
willing to participate in trainings to ensure the highest quality
instruction
 Create class mission/vision statement
 Collect data on each student that is relevant to the core subject area
and that student’s personal development
 Mentor 20 students to be able to guide them to student-lead
conferences
 Be willing to be flexible and be a team player
 Keep a tidy classroom that is inviting to parents, students, and other
teachers
 Be willing to participate in animal therapy with animals in the
classroom (ex: therapy dogs)
 Be the ordering lead for own classroom by submitting needs lists to
office each summer
 Be an active participant in the design of efficient systems in the
school
o Educational Assistant
 Be willing to participate in any training relevant to your duty
 Have an outside/indoor duty every day
 Fully support the programs implemented by a teacher
 Take an interest in all students of the school and be a role model
 Participate in after-hour activities knowing that compensation time is
available to them
 May have to work with more than one teacher/more than one grade
 Be active at school and participate in school-wide PE every day
 Have a hobby or craft you can share with the students that is
appropriate to the school’s mission/vision
 Hold confidentiality for students and staff by not engaging in
conversations with parents without a teacher’s consent
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
Be an active communicator with administration and with teachers
o Secretary:
 Greet and be the face of our school
 Be responsible for all paperwork for the school that is intended for
parents, students, or staff distribution
 Be responsible for attendance reporting
 Be responsible obtaining health assistant training
 Answer phone calls/take messages
 Order supplies for the school
 Work closely with administration and the business manager
 Deal with student emergencies as they arise (be able to find the
support the student needs)
 Be active in the school activities (such as physical fitness or
celebrations)
 Be able to type at least 40 WPM, and use a variety of processing
programs such as Word, Excel, and an instant messaging program for
communication.
 Run data reports, enter information on the school’s STARS
accountability program
 Find substitutes for the school
 Log hours that staff are absent
 Be able to communicate to the staff the most efficient methods for
your systems
o Business Manager:
 Have at least 3 years experience in the charter school business world
 Have working knowledge of all laws, rules, procedures, and formats
the state requires
 Have a successful audit process
 Be able to communicate directly with the governance council and
administration about any concerns or celebrations for the school
 Be able to attend all trainings that are relevant to your job
 Be able to become a part of the school’s culture by participating in
events and celebrations
o Custodian:
 Keep the school in good repair
 Keep all areas clean, sanitized, and ready for quality education
 Keep bathrooms especially clean
 Use environmental friendly products to clean the school with
 Keep the grounds free of debris
 Possible to do small repairs
 Keep heating/air conditioning unit working well
 Have knowledge of alternative power sourcing (solar, wind)
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




Be able to keep the grounds in a variety of eye-pleasing method
(planting, landscaping, etc.)
Be willing to communicate with teachers the most efficient methods
of assisting
Be able to communicate a needs list to the secretary for ordering
purposes
Be able to become a part of the school’s culture by participating in
events and celebrations
Staffing Plan: Truly Educated has a maximum enrollment of 120 students. For
each grade there will be a maximum of 40 students; thereby necessitating 6 core
teachers (2 per grade) and 3 other highly qualified teachers (one per grade) to
teach elective courses such as PE, Health, and technology.
o Truly Educated is anticipating the education of students in need of special
services and will anticipate the need to hire any and all appropriate Special
Education services necessary as per IDEA.
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E. EMPLOYEE RELATIONS



Administration will hire the teachers for the purposes of the first year. If after
that there is staff turn-over, the administrator will form a hiring committee and
any personnel involved directly with a new hire shall have the opportunity to
provide input on the decision.
o Teachers at TE will be asked to sign one year contracts from July 1 to June 30
of each year.
o Teachers will be asked to have many duties outside the classroom and
therefore will have input in those processes.
o Truly Educated values the experience and wisdom of the teachers and
expects the teachers to be able to evaluate systems and procedures so the
most benefit is always focused on the students.
o Teachers will be asked to help supervise any other person besides a certified
teacher that is involved in the instruction of their students; for example, an
educational assistant or a contracted workshop leader.
o The evaluation process at Truly Educated should be very transparent and
should be viewed as continuous improvement for everyone. Each person at
the school (staff, students, parents, administration) will have the power of
input in the evaluations of systems and organization.
All Truly Educated personnel policies and procedures will comply with all
applicable federal statutes and regulations, including the School Personnel Act.
o Link to 2006 NM School Personnel Act
Proposed minimum salary requirements as per the School Personnel Act and
neighboring school districts in the Albuquerque Metro Area:
o Truly Educated is deeply committed to paying living wages to all workers as
well as being committed to avoiding over-spending previous funds on what
could be construed as wasteful positions.
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Step:
Administration Teacher
I
0
1
2
3
4
5
60000
61800
63654
65563
67529
69554
32000
32960
33948
Teacher
II
37000
39161
40335
41545
42791
44074
Teacher III
52000
53560
55166
56821
58525
60280
Business
Manager
50000
51500
53045
54636
56275
57963
Secretary
Assistants
Custodial
24000
24720
25461
26224
27010
27820
.
This is a six year salary scale beginning at step 0 and ending at step 5 to show a typical salary
for a small charter school with an annual increase (step) of 3%
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Staff Evaluation/Overall Evaluation:
o All staff members at Truly Educated shall be evaluated each year in
accordance to NM statutes and also in accordance to the mission and core
values of Truly Educated.
 All staff members will have a Professional Development Plan (PDP)
each year that is directly aligned to both the mission of the school
and the data the teacher is collecting in their work.
 The principal will be the keeper of the pre/post data as well as the
PDP for each staff member.
 The Governance Council will be the keeper of the pre/post data s well
as the PDP for the principal.
 The principal and the Governance Council will act at all times to
ensure that transparency is apparent for all pieces of data submitted
as part of any evaluation process.
 The principal and the Governance Council will collect data from
parents and students regarding the performance of the principal, the
Governance Council, the parent community, any contractors, or
events that occur at Truly Educated as part of a systemic approach to
continuous improvement.

Staff Discipline Policy:
o The principal and the Governance Council will work together to develop and
accept policy regarding the process of student and staff discipline that will
encompass the following:
 Truly Educated is deeply committed to the process of communication
and compassion involved in any discipline case involving its own
students or staff.
 Due Process for both parties involved in any discipline situation.
 All employees will be given due process for all events. Events are
considered singular until there are 5 on file, at which point
consideration may be given to a “growth plan” as modeled by nearby
school districts.
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F. STUDENT ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES AND DISCIPLINE POLICY
 Truly Educated will follow all laws governing the lottery process to ensure that all
children are given the same opportunity to attend our school. At no time shall
any questionnaire, screening process, or interview interfere with a fair and
lawful lottery process.
o Families may apply for the lottery process between January and February
of the preceding year of attendance. 1st round lottery will be drawn on
March 1st of every year. The drawing will be at Truly Educated and will be
drawn by a designated person in front of an audience of staff,
administration, Governance council, and families. Each name drawn will
be written down in the order drawn. Families will have until March 15th
to confirm attendance and being enrollment procedures.
 If necessary further lottery submissions will be taken and each
subsequent lottery will be drawn on the 1st of each month until
enrollment is capped and there is a waitlist.
 At that time when enrollment is at maximum capacity (120), a
waitlist will be documented and enrollment will be based on the
waitlist until January of the following year – at which time a
completely new lottery will be drawn.
 Waitlist will be given priority by order drawn and any family
whose child is offered a slot from a waitlist has 5 business days to
respond before their slot is offered to the next in line.
 Priority is given to the siblings of those students already enrolled
from the previous year before lottery is drawn – as per NM law.

All Student discipline at Truly Educated will be taken seriously by the
administration and the staff. Truly Educated will conform to all NM laws and
statutes regarding regular and Special Education students.
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G
Facilities - a site has not been chosen.





The needs of a facility for 120 students, a wellness team, administration, and
lunch program will be between 11,000 -20,000 square feet. A basic building with
approximately 740sq.ft per classroom would be adequate. The only requirement
other than accommodations for students is a kitchen. We must have a kitchen
for our lunch/nutrition program. We can create a kitchen if a building is found
that does not have a kitchen already but the wish is to move into an existing
building that already has a separate kitchen space (for example, an old
restaurant).
Truly Educated desires to house a fantastic fitness program on-site. This would
require ample space to provide the necessary framework for events. It would be
optimal to acquire 2+ acres of land to house a building, areas for gathering,
eating, working, gardening, and playing sports. However, realizing the enormity
of the dream – we will be able to build a program in a variety of places.
It must be noted in this section that Truly Educated wishes to be a sustainable
entity. That is to say: we wish to be economically and environmentally
sustainable. We wish to house programs that benefit not only us but the
community as well. We are willing to pilot solar and other permaculture
programs to be an example of how schools can be run more efficiently, proactively, and with attention of the resources around us. Designing a school that
is less urban and more permaculture in action will always be the intent of Truly
Educated. We strive to be a national leader in this way.
Ramtech Building Systems provides portable buildings and permanent design
layout assistance to sites in NM. They have higher quality options available than
others and can serve all of our school building needs for classrooms. They offer
classrooms that are 744sq. ft. each and come with restrooms. You can lease or
purchase outright from Ramtech. An extraordinarily important aspect of these
portables is they come with restrooms.
o Their website is http://www.ramtecheducation.com/floorplans.html
o This website does not allow copying of their plans; therefore I provide
you the site for viewing if necessary. The example of a 12 classroom
portable structure can be found at:
 http://www.ramtecheducation.com/floorplans/cla-11440acolor.pdf
o We can add other portable buildings to lease/purchase if funds become
available; however, the 12 classroom option would house the entire
school and make access easy – and indoors, a safety perk.
The Governance Council will work with the Principal to look for locations that will
work for our needs. A realtor will be brought in if necessary to assist in the
process. Also, Truly Educated is committed to working with the Facilities
Commission to ensure the safety and adequacy of the building selected.
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
Capital Outlay: The school assumes the first year capital outlay will be furnished
with funds from the charter school grant. Truly Educated has come up with a
general list of needs, excluding most minor and miscellaneous supplies such as
pencils and pens for the office. The basic needs for the school are as follows for
start up:
o Indoor/Building/Classrooms
 Front office furnishings such as: reception desk, business
manager desk, administration desk, administration conference
area. Misc. office furnishings (such as lighting and seating and
label maker).
 Copy machine, lamination machine, paper cutter
 Work space, area furniture for teachers to work on
 Recycle bins, waste bins
 Teacher desks/chairs
 Student desks/chairs
 Storage cabinets
 File cabinets
 Science lab equipment furniture (tables, glass wares, protective
eye masks).
 Tables for group projects
 Student portfolio receptacle
 Library shelving
 Library study corrals
 Library seating
 Large commercial stove, refrigerator, ovens, dishwashers
 Kitchen equipment such as mixers, plates, utensils, warming
stations, cooling stations, salad bar, napkins
 Laundry station for kitchen
o Outdoor furnishings
 Playground equipment such as rock climbing structure, tether ball
poles, basketball hoops, and misc. equipment that accompanies
such sports
 Bicycles/helmets/bicycle repair/maintenance equipment
 Lunch tables for students to eat at
 Public announcement system (PA) for outdoor communication
 A yurt for yoga classes (they’re portable!)
 Various other small outdoor sports equipment for children to use
during P.E. such as: jump ropes, hula hoops, footballs, volleyballs,
field hockey…etc.
 Gardening equipment/supplies/water source
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o Technical Equipment:
 iPads for every student
 Wireless network stations and connections
 iMacs and Macbooks for every teacher, the classrooms, the office
 Walkie-talkies for staff
 Printers for each room
 Video cameras for students
 Movie making/editing software for students
 Protective sleeves for iPads and Macbooks
 USB flash drives
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H. OTHER STUDENT SERVICES



Transportation to and from school shall be provided by the families of the
students.
Lunch services will be contracted by the school to provide students with healthy
options for lunches. This program will be paid for by families if necessary or by
fundraising/grants provided by the PTA or Truly Committed (foundation). A
healthy lunch is an essential component of our school and we will work tirelessly
on providing the students with low cost healthy meals while at school. This is a
top priority for us. We plan to model after Escuela del Sol – who provide a
healthy, vegetarian, hot meal for their students. They have a well thought out
and highly successful lunch program.
Truly Educated is deeply committed to providing a Wellness Team for the
students. As per the “Special Populations” section, Truly Educated will work
hard to ensure all students receive middle school counseling, social work,
recreational therapy, social work, speech and language therapy, occupational
therapy, and any other service they require to be indeed, Truly Educated.
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VII. REQUIREMENTS
A. LEGAL LIABILITY AND INSURANCE COVERAGE
Truly Educated will participate in coverage provided by the NM Public Schools Insurance
Authority (NMPSIA) and will comply with all applicable rules of this authority.
B. WAIVERS

No waivers are foreseen as necessary in the implementation of this charter.
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VIII.
APPENDICES
A. The School’s proposed personnel policies;
B. The School’s proposed student discipline procedures;
C. A completed Form 910B5; - see Excel Workbook
D. A completed 5-Year Budget Plan; - see Excel Workbook
E. Acronym List
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Appendix A:
School’s Proposed Personnel Policies
This policy applies to any and all employee conduct that the school, in its sole discretion,
determines must be addressed by discipline. Of course, no discipline policy can be expected to
address each and every situation requiring corrective action that may arise in the workplace.
Therefore, Truly Educated takes a comprehensive approach regarding discipline and will
attempt to consider all relevant factors before making decisions regarding discipline.
Most often, employee conduct that warrants discipline results from unacceptable behavior,
poor performance or violation of policies, practices or procedures. However, discipline may be
issued for conduct that falls outside of those identified areas. Equally important, Truly Educated
need not resort to progressive discipline, but may take whatever action it deems necessary to
address the issue at hand.
Progressive discipline may be issued on employees even when the conduct that leads to more
serious discipline is not the same that resulted in less sever discipline. That is, violations of
different rules shall be considered the same as repeated violations of the same rule for
purposes of progressive action.
Probationary employees are held to the highest standards for behavior and job performance.
Progressive discipline is the exception rather than the rule for probationary employees.
1. Verbal Caution – will not be placed in personnel file
2. Verbal Warning – will not be placed in personnel file
3. Written Warning – will remain in personnel file and travel with staff member to future jobs.
4. Outside mediation – will remain in personnel file and travel with staff member to future jobs.
6. Suspension- will remain in personnel file and travel with staff member to future jobs.
7. Termination - will remain in personnel file and travel with staff member to future jobs.
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Appendix B:
School’s Proposed Discipline Procedures
This policy applies to any and all employee conduct that the school, in its sole discretion,
determines must be addressed by discipline. Of course, no discipline policy can be expected to
address each and every situation requiring corrective action that may arise in the workplace.
Therefore, Truly Educated takes a comprehensive approach regarding discipline and will
attempt to consider all relevant factors before making decisions regarding discipline.
Most often, student conduct that warrants discipline results from unacceptable behavior, poor
performance or violation of policies, practices or procedures. However, discipline may be issued
for conduct that falls outside of those identified areas. Equally important, Truly Educated need
not resort to progressive discipline, but may take whatever action it deems necessary to
address the issue at hand.
Progressive discipline may be issued on employees even when the conduct that leads to more
serious discipline is not the same that resulted in less sever discipline. That is, violations of
different rules shall be considered the same as repeated violations of the same rule for
purposes of progressive action.
For any infraction of the school rules the following procedure will be adhered to:
A teacher or the administrator shall be notified of any situation in which harm, injury,
destruction, or bullying has occurred. That adult shall handle the situation in the most
appropriate manner necessary.
All staff members shall fill out a discipline slip (provided by the office and made in duplicate) to
record the event.
If there is harm – that is to be dealt with first by initiating first aid for anyone harmed.
If there is emotional harm a mediator will be called in to follow mediation procedures.
If a rule has been broken in defiance there are the following actions that may occur:
Verbal warning
Written warning
Phone call home
Mediation
Formal apology by instigator(s)
In-school suspension
Home suspension
Parents will be notified of all infractions via telephone calls from teachers or other staff
members. Parents are expected to acknowledge infraction and discipline issued.
If there is a situation in which there is no formal procedure Truly Educated will refer to Rio
Rancho Public Schools discipline procedures for reference.
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Appendix C:
Completed form 910B5
(see below and in Excel Workbook)
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Appendix D
Completed 5-Year Budget Plan
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Appendix E
Acronym List
Essential Knowledge-----------------------------------------EK
Governance Council------------------------------------------GC
Measure of Academic Progress -------------------------MAPS
New Mexico Standards Based Assessment ---------NMSBA
Northwest Evaluation Association ---------------------NWEA
Plan/Do/Study/Act-----------------------------------------PDSA
Public Education Department------------------------------PED
Student Assistance Team ----------------------------------SAT
Truly Educated-------------------------------------------------TE
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