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MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

Program Quality Assurance Services

COORDINATED PROGRAM REVIEW

CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN

Charter School or District: Atlantis Charter (District)

CPR Onsite Year: 2011-2012

Program Area: Special Education

All corrective action must be fully implemented and all noncompliance corrected as soon as possible and no later than one year from the issuance of

the Coordinated Program Review Final Report dated 04/25/2012.

Mandatory One-Year Compliance Date: 04/25/2013

Summary of Required Corrective Action Plans in this Report

Criterion Criterion Title CPR Rating SE 32 Parent advisory council for special education Partially

Implemented

MA Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, Program Quality Assurance Services Atlantis Charter (District) CPR Corrective Action Plan

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COORDINATED PROGRAM REVIEW CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN

Criterion & Topic: SE 32 Parent advisory council for special education

CPR Rating: Partially Implemented

Department CPR Findings: The document review indicated the charter school's PAC, as a group, does not meet regularly with school officials to participate in the planning, development, and evaluation of the charter school's special education program. Description of Corrective Action: Atlantis Charter School?s Director of Special Education has met with the Parent Advisory Council Parent Co-Leader four times throughout the school year as well as PAC groups during a school-wide Parent group meeting on January 12, 2012 and a PAC Dinner on April 23, 2012. During these group meetings and meetings with the PAC leader several initiatives were planned, developed and implemented. The PAC and Director of Special Education also discussed evaluations of the program that are annually completed by every parent who has a child with an IEP and even those parents who have attended an Initial however, the student was found ineligible. The PAC co-leaders also collected data from parents through an evaluative survey about services and presented the results at the April PAC Dinner. The Special Education Director also presented information regarding DRAFT results of the CPR, results of the parent surveys conducted by the Special Education Department and upcoming plans for the spring and fall. Title/Role(s) of responsible Persons: Student Services Director

Expected Date of Completion: 05/17/2012

Evidence of Completion of the Corrective Action: I respectfully submit this documented evidence and am hopeful this will represent our efforts and confirm our activity as a PAC meeting group. I am unsuccessful in my attempts to cut and paste the invitation and sign in sheets I have already submitted through the WBMS, however if you would like me to email an attachment for you I would be happy to resubmit this evidence. Please let me know what your preference is and I will follow up accordingly. Description of Internal Monitoring Procedures: ACS SPED PAC meetings and activities for the summer and fall have already been discussed. Meetings will be planned for next year's PAC over the next few weeks. Continued meetings with the SPED PAC will be in place through planned activities, meetings and discussions during the next school year.

CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN APPROVAL SECTION Criterion: SE 32 Parent advisory council for special education

Corrective Action Plan Status: Approved Status Date: 08/14/2012

Basis for Partial Approval or Disapproval: The charter school submitted narrative evidence of the Parent Advisory Council's (PAC) meetings/activities for January 2012 and April 2012 to indicate that the PAC does meet with school officials to participate in the planning, development, and evaluation of the charter school's special education program. Department Order of Corrective Action: Required Elements of Progress Report(s): Submit by September 28, 2012, the calendar of tentative dates and topics for the Parent


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Advisory Council meetings for the 2012-2013 school year. The calendar will include dates that the charter school's PAC, as a group, will meet with school officials to participate in the planning, development, and evaluation of the charter school's special education program. Submit by March 29, 2013, the evidence (agendas and sign-in sheets) of the PAC's meetings. Progress Report Due Date(s): 09/28/2012 03/29/2013


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MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

COORDINATED PROGRAM REVIEW

Charter School or District: Atlantis Charter Public School

Corrective Action Plan Forms

Program Area: English Learner Education Prepared by: Name of School/District Staff Member

CAP Form will expand to as many lines as necessary. Before completing and emailing to

[email protected], please see separate Instructions for Completing Corrective Action Plans.

All corrective action must be fully implemented and all noncompliance corrected as soon as possible and no later than one year from the issuance of the Coordinated Program Review Final

Report to the school or district. Mandatory One-Year Compliance Date: November 1, 2013


(To be completed by school district/charter school) Criterion & Topic: ELE 5 Program Placement and Structure

Rating: Partially Implemented

Department CPR Finding:


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The charter school has a low incidence of English language learners (ELLs). They are enrolled in middle school. Documents indicated that ELLs receive sheltered content instruction one-on-one and in small groups. The ESL teacher provides support. The type of support offered was not specified. The school reported that content instruction is based on the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework and that it uses materials such as IDEA by Ballard and Tighe to support ELLs learning the English language. The school has not developed an ESL curriculum, and reported that in collaboration with the Education Alliance at Brown University, it will developed one, which will be based on the English Language Proficiency Benchmarks and Outcomes (ELPBO). However, new Department regulations are in place, which may affect the district’s corrective action plan (CAP). Please refer to: http://www.doe.mass.edu/retell/ for more information The school did not report hours of direct ESL instruction that are provided to ELLs, but reported that students are in level three on the Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessment (MEPA). Therefore, ELLs should be receiving 1-2 hours of ESL instruction per day or 5-10 hours per week. See ELE 15 for comments on professional development of content area teachers. In sum, the school has not developed an ESL curriculum. It is unclear whether ELLs are receiving hours of direct ESL instruction that are consistent with Department guidelines, and content area teachers instructing ELLs have not completed any SEI category training. Consequently, the Department concludes that the school does not have an ELE program that is consistent with Chapter 71A. Narrative Description of Corrective Action: Atlantis Charter School is included in “Cohort 1” of the RETELL initiative and has identified two instructors through the Education Alliance at Brown University (Donalda Silva and Sara Smith) for the necessary programmatic support. The school anticipates beginning the necessary training once the rollout officially begins on 2/25/13. Per DESE memo dated May 7, 2012, the school refers to the following guidance: “Beginning immediately, we are asking districts that are in the progress report phase to postpone plans for curriculum development that is aligned with the English Language Proficiency Benchmarks and Outcomes (ELPBO) in light of the planned implementation of WIDA. The implementation of WIDA will include new English language proficiency standards to which the curricula of schools should be aligned in order to comply with Title III requirements.” The school intends to amend its curriculum in conjunction with the training provided through RETELL with an expected completion date of 9/1/13. Title/Role of Person(s) Responsible for Implementation: Executive Director, Robert L. Beatty

Expected Date of Completion for Each Corrective Action Activity: 9/1/2013

Evidence of Completion of the Corrective Action: Meeting minutes of internal leadership group. Successful completion of Cohort 1 of RETELL initiative as indicated by administrator and teacher attendance logs. Revised curriculum implemented 9/1/13. Description of Internal Monitoring Procedures: Monthly ELL meetings to track progress toward RETELL implementation. Regular communication with the Education Alliance at Brown University to track progress.

CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN APPROVAL SECTION (To be completed by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education)

Criterion: ELE 5 Status of Corrective Action: Approved Partially Approved Disapproved

http://www.doe.mass.edu/retell/


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Basis for Partial Approval or Disapproval: Districts must ensure that all LEP students receive ESL instruction corresponding to their needs. The Department’s guidelines recommend that students receive hours of instruction that correspond to their MEPA level of English proficiency as follows: ELE students in Level 1 and Level 2 should receive 2.5 hours of ESL instruction a day or 12.5 hours a week; those in Level 3, 1-2 hours per day or 5-10 hours a week, and those in levels 4 and 5, should receive 2.5 hours per week or half an hour a day. (See Guidance on Using MEPA Results to Plan Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Instruction and Make Reclassification Decisions for Limited English Proficient (LEP) Students.)” Since the new regulations as they pertain to WIDA were passed subsequent to the on-site visit, the Department will be neither approving nor disapproving any curriculum documents/plans that were made for on-site visits conducted before the state’s adoption of the WIDA standards in June 2012. The Department will be communicating with all districts during the upcoming school year to provide them with further guidance on developing Department approved ESL/ELD curriculum. No further submission is required at this time. The Department accepts the district’s plan to ensure that all core academic teachers with ELLs and administrators that supervise core academic teachers of ELLs are endorsed. No further submission is required at this time.

1) Department Order of Corrective Action: Please provide a detailed plan that shows that the district is providing sufficient ESL instruction to all ELL students during the 2013-2014 school year based on the Department's Guidance on using MEPA Results to Plan Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Instruction and make Reclassification Decisions for Limited English Proficient (LEP) Students from September 2009 found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/mepa/2009/guidance.doc

2) Please complete district information in the attached spreadsheet labeled ELL List by school for each ELL student in the district.

1) Required Elements of Progress Report(s): See above.

Progress Report Due Date(s): October 4, 2013.


(To be completed by school district/charter school) Criterion & Topic: ELE 10 Parental Notification Rating: Partially Implemented

Department CPR Finding: Record review and interviews indicated that the charter school has not developed a parent notification letter that includes:

• The reasons for identification of the student as LEP; • The child’s level of English proficiency; • Program placement and/or the method of instruction used in the program; and • The parents’ right to apply for a waiver, or to decline to enroll their child in the program.

http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/mepa/2009/guidance.doc


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Narrative Description of Corrective Action: The school will draft a parent notification letter that includes all required components, including proficiency levels as indicated by ACCESS, for DESE review by April 1, 2013. Upon approval from DESES, the school will implement the revised letter district-wide. Title/Role of Person(s) Responsible for Implementation: Executive Director, Robert L. Beatty


Evidence of Completion of the Corrective Action: Draft parent notification letter sent to DESE on or before 4/1/13 Description of Internal Monitoring Procedures: Regular meetings of school leadership, including internal revisions to draft parent notification letter. Meeting minutes that reflect internal approval of letter for submission to DESE.



Basis for Partial Approval or Disapproval:

Department Order of Corrective Action: Required Elements of Progress Report(s): By October 4, 2013, the district will submit a copy of a parent notification letter that includes:

• The reasons for identification of the student as LEP; • The child’s level of English proficiency; • Program placement and/or the method of instruction used in the program; and • The parents’ right to apply for a waiver, or to decline to enroll their child in the program.

By December 20, 2013, the district will conduct a follow up review of a sampling of English language learner student records for each grade level. The district will review each student record to ensure each contains a parent notification letter that includes the above requirements. The district must submit to the Department the following information:

• The number of records reviewed. • The number of records not in compliance. • For all records not in compliance with this criterion, determine the root cause(s) of the

noncompliance and provide results of the determination(s). • The district’s plan to remedy the noncompliance with regard to each record and to ensure

100% compliance with this criterion. Progress Report Due Date(s): October 4, 2013; December 20, 2013


(To be completed by school district/charter school) Criterion & Topic: ELE 11 Equal Access to Academic Programs and Services

Rating: Partially Implemented


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Department CPR Finding: A review of documentation indicated that classroom teachers are not sufficiently trained in sheltering English content. Therefore, students with limited English proficiency are not taught to the same academic standards and curriculum as all students and are not provided with the same opportunities to master such standards. Narrative Description of Corrective Action: The school will participate in Cohort 1 of the RETELL initiative, which begins on February 25, 2013, according to latest guidance from DESE. Further, the school has identified two approved instructors: Donalda Silva and Sara Smith of the Education Alliance at Brown University. Title/Role of Person(s) Responsible for Implementation: Executive Director, Robert L. Beatty


Evidence of Completion of the Corrective Action: Attendance logs for RETELL training; successful completion confirmation from the Education Alliance. Description of Internal Monitoring Procedures: Regular meetings of school leadership to ensure compliance with required implementation of RETELL.




Department Order of Corrective Action: Required Elements of Progress Report(s): None required. Progress Report Due Date(s): N/A


(To be completed by school district/charter school) Criterion & Topic: ELE 14 Licensure Requirements Rating: Not Implemented

Department CPR Finding: The school did not provide evidence that the ESL teacher holds an appropriate license. Narrative Description of Corrective Action: The school has and will continue to advertise for appropriately certified/licensed personnel (under current/updated DESE guidelines). Concurrently, the school will support existing staff in pursuing the appropriate licensure. In order to avoid disruption of service to ELL students, the school is partnering with a consultant with over 25 years of ESL experience in Rhode Island. Title/Role of Person(s) Responsible for Implementation: Executive Director, Robert L. Beatty


Evidence of Completion of the Corrective Action: Certification/Licensure documentation for part- or full-time Atlantis staff that meets the ESL requirements set forth by DESE. Description of Internal Monitoring Procedures: Regular updates with school’s HR department on qualified candidate search and support of development for existing school personnel.


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Department Order of Corrective Action: Required Elements of Progress Report(s): Provide evidence of the licensure of all current ELL teachers (or any other staff person providing ESL instruction to ELLs) by October 4, 2013. To the extent one of the ELL teachers is not yet licensed, provide a report of the program director’s monitoring of the teacher’s progress towards certification until licensure is secured, and a copy of any job posting and application information that may remain on file in the event the currently uncertified teacher fails to acquire proper certification by summer 2013. Provide the above by October 4, 2013. Progress Report Due Date(s): October 4, 2013


(To be completed by school district/charter school) Criterion & Topic: ELE 15 Professional Development Requirement

Rating: Not Implemented

Department CPR Finding: The school did not submit evidence of having a multi-year professional development plan. According to documentation submitted no content area teachers have been trained in sheltering content. The school reported that all content area teachers working with ELLs would be trained in 2011-2012 school year. Please note that the Department’s regulations concerning SEI professional development have changed. Refer to: http://www.doe.mass.edu/retell/ for more information. Narrative Description of Corrective Action: Atlantis Charter School is included in Cohort 1 of the RETELL initiative, has identified two approved instructors (Donalda Silva and Sara Smith of the Education Alliance at Brown University), and is prepared to begin training as of the official start date identified by DESE: February 25, 2013. Title/Role of Person(s) Responsible for Implementation: Executive Director, Robert L. Beatty


Evidence of Completion of the Corrective Action: RETELL attendance logs, confirmation of completion by the Education Alliance. Description of Internal Monitoring Procedures: Regular leadership meetings tracking the progress of RETELL at the school.



http://www.doe.mass.edu/retell/


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Department Order of Corrective Action: Required Elements of Progress Report(s): None required. Progress Report Due Date(s): N/A


(To be completed by school district/charter school) Criterion & Topic: ELE 18 Records of ELL students Rating: Partially Implemented

Department CPR Finding: Record review indicated that the student records did not contain a home language survey or parent notification letter. Narrative Description of Corrective Action: Atlantis Charter School includes home language questions in its application/registration materials. However, the school will draft a revised home language survey per DESE requirements to be submitted with the draft parent notification letter (noted above in ELE 10. Title/Role of Person(s) Responsible for Implementation: Executive Director, Robert L. Beatty


Evidence of Completion of the Corrective Action: Draft home language survey sent to DESE on or before 4/1/13 Description of Internal Monitoring Procedures: Regular meetings of school leadership, including internal revisions to draft home language survey. Meeting minutes that reflect internal approval of survey for submission to DESE.




Department Order of Corrective Action: Required Elements of Progress Report(s): By October 4, 2013, the district will submit a copy of its home language survey to DESE. By December 20, 2013, the district will conduct a follow up review of a sampling of English Language Learner student records for each grade level. The district will review each student record to ensure each contains a home language survey and parent notification letter. The district must submit to the Department the following information:

• The number of records reviewed. • The number of records not in compliance. • For all records not in compliance with this criterion, determine the root cause(s) of the

noncompliance and provide results of the determination(s). • The district’s plan to remedy the noncompliance with regard to each record and to ensure

100% compliance with this criterion. Progress Report Due Date(s): October 4, 2013; December 20, 2013