fact sheet renaissance

RENAISSANCE SCHOOLS INITIATIVE YEAR II FACT SHEET

Table of Contents

Item Page

Program Overview 2

Promise Academy Models 2011-12 4

The School District of Philadelphia – Universal Companies, Inc. 6Partnership

Overview of Year II Renaissance Match Model 6

Year II Implementation Steps Accomplished to Date 6

Remaining Year II Implementation Steps 7

Notification to Parents and School Staff 7

The Roles of School Advisory Councils (SACs) 7

Inclusion of Community-Based Partners with Turnaround Teams 8

Matching Process for School Communities and Turnaround Teams 8

Renaissance Schools Transition and Opening 9

RENAISSANCE SCHOOLS INITIATIVEYEAR II FACT SHEET

Program Overview

There are three major components of the Renaissance Schools initiative: • Identifying chronically low-performing District schools that are not likely to achieve

dramatic improvements without transformative change;• Identifying individuals and organizations that have a track a proven track record in

demonstrating student achievement and are prepared to turnaround around failing schools in Philadelphia, and;

• Empowering school communities to play an active role in the turnaround and ongoing support of their school.

The District believes that these components must be implemented with rigor and transparency in order to create an effective and lasting process for turning around failing schools in Philadelphia.

Renaissance Schools Definition, Governance, and AutonomiesRenaissance schools will serve students in a neighborhood catchment area but will differ from traditional District schools by having a greater degree of autonomy in school management in exchange for a high degree of accountability for performance. Renaissance schools must use these autonomies to implement school designs that provide high-quality educational experiences for students.

Within the Renaissance Schools initiative, there are four management models. All of the options are alike in offering a change for the selected schools but differ in their structure, governance, and level of autonomy from the District.

Schools operated under the Promise Academy and Promise Innovation models are District-run, with supervision provided by an administrator appointed by the Superintendent.

Renaissance Match and Promise Neighborhood Partnership schools are managed by external turnaround teams that have been pre-qualified for this work through an extensive, competitive process. The turnaround teams must have demonstrated success in managing high-performing, diverse urban public schools.

Renaissance Schools Student Admission and RetentionRenaissance schools will continue to serve as neighborhood schools with a defined geographic boundary for assigning students. Student transfers in and out of the Renaissance school catchment area will be managed in a manner consistent with School District policies and procedures. Student retention will be a key performance indicator for the Renaissance schools. The District expects that successful Renaissance schools will achieve higher rates of student retention as a result of engaging curriculum, high-quality enrichment programs for students, and skilled and caring teachers and school staff.

Renaissance Schools AccountabilityRenaissance schools will be granted increased operating autonomies in exchange for increased accountability for producing dramatic gains in student achievement. Each form of Renaissance school (Promise Academy, Promise Innovation, Promise Neighborhood Partnership, and Renaissance Match) will be held to a Performance Agreement, contract, or charter that clearly

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states performance and growth targets for each school in several areas. The District will monitor performance targets and intervene if schools do not meet targets.

The Selection of Year II Renaissance SchoolsIn selecting the schools to participate in Year II of the Renaissance Schools initiative, the District considered School Performance Index (SPI) scores, dropout rates, Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and Empowerment School supports utilized. Contextual factors such as school climate, feeder patterns and neighborhood characteristics were also examined. The District identified a pool of 34 schools, 18 of which will be Renaissance Schools in 2011-12, and the remainder placed on a Renaissance-alert list for future turnaround.

Assignment of School to ModelBased on the identified progress and needs of the schools, the following assignments were made.

Promise Academy ModelHigh Schools

FitzSimons, 2601 W. Cumberland StreetGermantown, 40 E. High StreetWest Philadelphia, 4700 Walnut Street

Elementary Schools Alcorn, 3200 Dickinson StreetBarry, 5900 Race StreetPennell, 1800 Nedro Avenue Smith, 1900 Wharton Street

Promise Innovation Model: High Schools

Sayre, 5800 Walnut Street South Philadelphia, 2101 S. Broad Street

Elementary SchoolW.D. Kelley, 1601 N. 28th Street.

Promise Neighborhood Partnership Model: High School

Audenried, 3301 Tasker Street Middle School

Vare, 2100 S. 24th Street

Renaissance Match Model: High Schools Gratz, 1798 W. Hunting Park Avenue

King, 6100 Stenton AvenueOlney East, 100 E. Duncannon Avenue Olney West, 100E. Duncannon Avenue

Elementary Schools Birney, 900 W. Lindley AvenueClymer, 1201 W. Rush Street

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Promise Academy Models: 2011 – 2012

Promise Academy (Traditional)

(No changes from current school year)

Promise Innovation Promise Neighborhood Partnership

Staff Employment and Retention

Staff will be employed by the school district. 50% of current staff

can be retained. Principal can remain if they have been at school,

two years or less

Staff will be employed by the school district. There will be no

limits on the percentage of current staff that can be retained. Principal

remains.

Staff will be hired and work for charter management organization.

Staff Working Hours

Teachers will work one additional hour a day, along with two

Saturdays per month.

Teachers will work an additional hour one day a week for

Professional Development and will work an additional hour two days a

week to provide academic intervention. In total, staff will work an additional hour three

days a week.Opportunities will be available to provide additional enrichment and

academic intervention two Saturdays a month.

To be determined jointly by the turnaround team and the District.

Staff Work Year

Staff will work a longer school year to include summer academy.

Weeklong summer institute for staff, to take place the week before

school

Staff will work a longer school year to include summer academy.

Weeklong summer institute for staff, to take place the week before

school


Staff Compensation

Teacher recruitment incentive:$4000 (one time only)

Teacher Retention incentive:$2500-after 2nd year$5,000- after 4th year$7,500-after 6th year

Teacher recruitment incentive: $4000 (one time only)

Teacher Retention incentive:$2500-after 2nd year$5,000- after 4th year$7,500-after 6th year


Staff Dress Code Staff will be required to adhere to a dress code

Staff will be required to adhere to a dress code


AdditionalSupport Staff

Parent Ombudsman, Student Advisor, Social Service Liaison, Nurse, and Resource Specialist

Parent Ombudsman, Student Advisor, Nurse, and Resource

Specialist


School Governance

School Advisory Council School Advisory Council School Advisory Council and Charter Board/SRC

School day for students

One extra hour for enrichment and academic intervention required

(Mon-Thu)

One extra hour for academic intervention required

(Tues-Thu)Additional structured enrichment

programs will be offered(Mon-Weds)

Longer school day: enrichment and academic intervention as defined

jointly by the turnaround team and the District.

Saturday Programs

Saturday classes(2x a month) for academic

intervention and enrichment. One family field trip a month.

Saturday classes(2x a month) for academic

intervention and enrichment. One family field trip a month.

Family activities for academic and enrichment opportunities as defined jointly by the turnaround team and

the District.

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Traditional Promise (Traditional)

(No changes from current school year)

Promise Innovation Promise Neighborhood Partnership

Summer Programming

Summer Academy Summer Academy To be determined jointly by the turnaround team and the District.

Student Dress Code

Uniforms for students Uniforms for students Uniforms for students

School Climate and Culture

Promise Academy climate and culture procedures: town hall,

pledge, code of conduct

School events(one per quarter)

Promise Academy climate and culture procedures: town hall,

pledge, code of conduct

School events(one per quarter)


University-centric Culture

College and career exploration and collaborations with local college

and universities


and universities


and universities.Curriculum and Studies

Schools will follow Empowerment School Curriculum

World language studies

Schools will follow Empowerment School Curriculum

World language studies


Parent Education Parent University(on-site)

Parent University(on-site)

Parent workshops and educational opportunities to be determined by

the turnaround team and the DistrictYear II SchoolsByModel

FitzSimons, Germantown and West Philadelphia High Schools and

Alcorn, Barry, Pennell and Smith Elementary Schools

Sayre and South Philadelphia High Schools and W. D. Kelley

Elementary School

Audenried High School and Vare Middle School

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The School District of Philadelphia - Universal Companies, Inc. Partnership

The new Promise Neighborhood Partnership Model will be a mechanism for carrying out a geographically-targeted project inspired by the Harlem Children’s Zone Project.

Under this model, the School District and Universal Companies, Inc. will be collaborating to address education and related needs in a coordinated manner for a targeted area of South Philadelphia—the Grays Ferry and Point Breeze neighborhoods.

As Universal has been awarded a planning grant under the federal government’s Promise Neighborhoods program, the District recognized an opportunity to leverage its resources with those of Universal, a well-respected organization with a track record not only in K-12 education, but also in community development.

Universal is one of only 21 organizations nationwide to receive a planning grant under the Obama administration’s Promise Neighborhoods program. This federal initiative aims at breaking the cycle of poverty and dysfunction in selected areas by identifying and addressing interrelated needs, with education as the key.

While the primary focus of the joint District-Universal efforts will be education, the federal grant awarded to Universal has the potential for strengthening the delivery not only of academic supports, but also social and health supports through the participation of additional stakeholders.

Overview of Year II Renaissance Match Model

Renaissance Match schools are run by external turnaround teams under charter agreement or other contract agreement with the School District. As neighborhood public schools, the Renaissance Match schools continue to serve the same students and communities they did when the schools were affiliated with the School District. The turnaround team determines the curriculum, and the length of the school day, week and year. The buildings remain the property of the District under lease arrangements. The staff members of a Renaissance Match school are employees of their turnaround organization.

Year II Implementation Steps Accomplished to Date

Year II of the Renaissance Schools initiative began on October 5, 2010 with the release of the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to recruit turnaround teams for the second cohort of Renaissance Match schools.

The 10 RFQ finalists were announced on November 15, and the following day the District released to them the Request for Proposals (RFP). Eight of the 10 RFQ finalists submitted proposals by the District’s December 21, 2010 RFP deadline.

The Year II pool of Renaissance Match turnaround teams (the RFP finalists) will be announced in late January.

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Remaining Year II Implementation Steps

The following information summarizes the remaining steps in the Year II Renaissance Schools Initiative implementation process that must be taken in order to meet the goal of opening the Year II schools in August/September 2011.

Date ActivityJanuary 25, 2011 Announce 18 Year II Renaissance Schools Late January 2010 Announce qualified turnaround teams for the Year II Renaissance

Match Model Late January – February 2011

Conduct school-based community meetings at Year II Renaissance schools

February2011

School Advisory Council (SAC) orientation and training

February - March 2011

Matching process between RFP finalists and Renaissance Match schools; SACs evaluate turnaround teams

Mid-March 2011 SACs’ final recommendations submitted to the SuperintendentMid-March 2011 Superintendent finalizes provider-school matches, makes

recommendations to SRC Spring 2011 SRC reviews and votes on Renaissance Match agreements Spring –August 2011

Renaissance Schools transition phase

August/September 2011

New Renaissance Schools open

Notification to Parents and School Staff

The District is committed to keeping parents informed and involved throughout the Renaissance Schools initiative. Today, after bring briefed on their schools’ status, the principals of the Year II Renaissance schools received letters to be sent home immediately to parents. The letters, accompanied by Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), inform parents of the designation of their child’s school, and invite them to an information meeting. These meetings, occurring between January 31 and February 17, 2011, are part of a community involvement process that is central to the entire initiative.

Similarly, school staff members are receiving letters and will be invited to information meetings held specifically for them at each school between January 31 and February 17, 2011.

The Roles of School Advisory Councils (SACs)

School Advisory Councils (SACs) are key players involved in pairing the Year II Renaissance Match schools with turnaround teams.

Members of the SACs reflect the larger school community and include parents, high school students (where applicable), area residents, school alumni, local businesses, representatives from

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faith-based/community-based organizations, members of the local university community, and representatives from offices of locally elected officials.

Specifically, SACs have the following responsibilities in the Renaissance school process:• Meet regularly to discuss and determine the community’s educational needs;• Review turnaround team proposals to identify potential matches and turnaround team

finalists that the larger community should meet and interview;• Host community meetings, public forums and community outreach activities to

collect community input on potential turnaround teams; • Provide recommendations to the Superintendent on matches between their schools

and potential turnaround teams; • Assist in incubation and transition of Renaissance schools; and• Participate in periodic monitoring of Renaissance school progress, including an

annual report to the Superintendent and quarterly reports to the School District on school progress against performance targets.

• Play a role in the transition, monitoring and ongoing support of their Renaissance schools.

Inclusion of Community-Based Partners with Turnaround Teams

Last year, the District completed a Request for Information (RFI) process to identify community-based partners interested in supporting Renaissance schools. These support organizations have demonstrated the ability to address specific areas of the turnaround, such as providing professional development, after-school programming, and mental and behavioral support services. The District is again opening the RFI process for new community-based partners.

Matching Process for School Communities and Turnaround Teams

Renaissance turnaround teams and Renaissance Match schools will be paired based upon how the turnaround team’s proposed school design meets the needs of the school. The process will allow communities, turnaround teams, and the School District to identify optimal matches.

SAC members at the proposed Renaissance Match schools hear presentations by each of the turnaround teams and have a chance to pose questions in a forum where representatives of all of the teams are present. In addition, in evaluating each team, some of the SAC members may make site visits to schools currently operated by the turnaround teams. This is a way to see first-hand how the turnaround teams are operating high-quality schools in urban environments similar to those of District schools.

After interviewing the turnaround teams, the SACs make recommendations to the Superintendent about the turnaround teams they feel are the best fit for their schools. The Superintendent will incorporate the SACs’ findings into her final recommendation to the School Reform Commission (SRC).

A vote by the SRC (expected for spring 2011) will finalize the pairings of the Renaissance Match

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schools and their respective turnaround teams.

For schools under the Promise Academy, Promise Innovation, Promise Neighborhood Partnership Models, the SACs will provide support to the principals and the school leadership teams as they implement their respective new designs.

Renaissance School Transition and School Opening

After the SRC finalizes matches between the turnaround teams and the Renaissance match schools, the District will work with the turnaround teams to quickly implement the new Renaissance school design.

The District believes that the most critical factor in school success is the quality of a school's leadership, teachers and support staff. The District recognizes the importance of implementing a smooth process for transitioning staff in and out of Renaissance schools. The objectives of the transition process are to be respectful of the professionals that currently work in a Renaissance school and to facilitate the formation of a high quality, cohesive faculty and staff that are committed to the new mission and design of the Renaissance school.

The School District looks forward to a successful opening for all Year II Renaissance schools in August/September 2011 as neighborhood schools with new configurations of management, curriculum and programs.

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