Application for Amendment to Charter Jefferson County ......Math Grade 5 Text: Saxon Math 65, An...

Two Roads Charter School January 2015 Application for Amendment to Charter

Jefferson County School District R-1

Two Roads Application for Amendment to Charter

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Application for Amendment to Charter Jefferson County School District R-1

January 2015

6980 Pierce Street, Arvada CO 80003 303-423-3377

Two Roads Charter School Application for Amendment to Charter—January 2015


STATEMENT OF CHANGE & EVIDENCE OF SUPPORT

REQUESTED CHANGE #1—Adding Full Time 6th

Grade To Our Current Middle School

Program

Two Roads Charter School has experienced great success in our full time 7th

-12th

grade program,

and we are confident we will continue to do so. Therefore, we are applying to amend our charter

to include 6th

grade full time students as an addition to our middle school program. We know

that the addition of full time 6th

grade students will be a positive change for our school and a

great benefit to our current families and new families in our community.

Over the past few years, multiple parents from our homeschool population have asked us to

consider opening full time elementary classes—especially at the 6th

grade level. Communication

from parents is very clear that they would rather homeschool than have their students attend a

large local middle school. Presently we offer a homeschool option program for our K-6th

grade

elementary students. As students age, parents find it more and more difficult to homeschool them

(subject matter becomes more difficult to teach). Families have asked us for some time now to

consider adding 6th

grade as a full time option.

An informal review of data gathered from families enrolling in TRCS during the 2014-2015

school year indicated several of our families who enrolled a middle or high school student also

had an interest in enrolling a full time 6th

grade student if we had a full-time 6th

grade option. An

additional informal survey of our own staff demonstrated overwhelming support for the new full

time grade level, not only as employees, but also as the school for which they have chosen to

enroll their own children.

Finally, two schools in Arvada (Meiklejohn and West Woods) have considered moving their 6th

grade students up to the local middle schools to allow growth in their elementary K-5th

grades.

We have been contacted by a few of these families asking if we have full time 6th

grade students

as a part of our middle school program. They are nervous about the local middle school option

for their children. They are asking Two Roads to provide an alternative option for their children.

Because Two Roads naturally provides small class sizes (no larger than 22) and individual

attention to students, families feel their 6th

grade students will find success in our environment.

We are excited to offer this option to our families. This continued growth is powerful evidence

in support of the need for viable alternative options for Jeffco middle school students.

REQUESTED CHANGE #2—Adding A Full Time Elementary Program for Full Time

Athletes.

Two Roads Charter School would also like to apply to expand our charter to include full time

elementary grades for full time athletes as an addition to our current elementary homeschool

program. Currently the district has hundreds of full time athletes with little educational options

outside of homeschooling. Because Two Roads specializes in the unique, we are confident that

we can meet these athletes’ needs in our individualized environment. We will adhere to State

Statute 22-33-104 on compulsory school attendance:




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Every child shall attend public school for at least the following number of hours during

each school year:

1. One thousand fifty-six hours if a secondary school pupil

2. Nine hundred sixty-eight hours if a elementary school pupil in a grade other than

kindergarten

3. Nine hundred hours if a full-day kindergarten pupil

4. Four hundred fifty hours if a half day kindergarten pupil

We will also follow the Jeffco Public School calendar, the Common Core Standards, provide

intensive instruction, and set high standards for every student.

A few months into the 2014-2015 school year Two Roads was approached by parents whose

children attend the 5280 Gymnastics Program. These families have asked if we can provide a

full time program centered around their children’s long gym days (some of these gym families

are currently a part of our homeschooling program). Two Roads recognizes the unique needs of

student gymnasts (and other student athletes such as hockey players, dancers, etc.) and

recognizes the need of a quality education that maximizes student training and family time. Two

Roads Charter School has also met with Jeffco Achievement Director, Tim Matlick, to explore

the option of working with full time athletes in the Jeffco Public School District.

HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

Two Roads Charter School’s original charter was approved in the spring of 2010. Since then, the

school has operated successfully, and we are currently in strong financial condition. The full

History and Background can be located in the original Two Roads Charter Application or the

renewal application that was submitted to the district in 2014.

VISION AND MISSION

TRCS Vision

Two Roads Charter School is a highly sought after program providing rigorous

academics addressing the unique educational needs of traditional and homeschooled

students; all students are empowered to develop confidence, define their future and

achieve their highest potential.

Through Two Roads, students will be provided:

Small class sizes

Flexibility to enroll in our full time or homeschool program

Opportunities for high academics and character achievement

Critical thinking, collaborative and 21st Century instructional formats

Early access to college courses and/or career exploration

Environment that is responsive to a student’s unique abilities, gifts and challenges

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TRCS Mission

Two Roads Charter School achieves its vision using 21st Century Learning employing

and valuing critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.

Homeschooled and traditionally schooled students are challenged in a rigorous

academic environment to reach their highest potential.

Creating a school to accommodate our extraordinarily diverse community is an act of

continual renewal and adaptation. Over the years we have reviewed and revised our

Vision and Mission to capture the evolving essence of what makes Two Roads such an

original school. Our Vision and Mission statements convey the understanding that our

community is united in its appreciation for a critical thinking and collaborative learning

instructional format, the flexibility to enroll full or part-time, small class sizes, and an

environment that is responsive to every student’s abilities, gifts, and challenges. Our role

is to recognize and support each student’s unique definition of success and to fully

prepare him or her for post-secondary life. This includes providing a seamless transition

between high school and college, offering opportunities for early access to college and

vocational courses, instruction in life skills like money management and living

independently, and targeted guidance in career exploration.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

A full time 6th

grade middle school education at Two Roads Charter School will be designed to

prepare students to move successfully out of elementary and into middle school. Both options

will include small class sizes, the use of widely available curriculum and classroom resources

and an environment that is safe, orderly and accessible. Additional details about the practical

and philosophical aspects of education at Two Roads Charter School are described in our

original Two Roads High School charter application and in our renewal application.

Courses and Curricula

FOR REQUESTED CHANGE #1:

Middle School Core Courses:

Language Arts Texts:

Write Source 2000; Houghton Mifflin

Write Source 2000 Skills Book; Houghton Mifflin

Vocabulary Workshop, Level A; Sadlier-Oxford

Realms of Gold, Volume 1; Core Knowledge Foundation

Junior Great Books, Series 6; Great Books Foundation

Class novels selected from: Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine; Island of the Blue

Dolphins, Scott O’Dell; Trumpet of the Swam, E.B. White; Stargirl, Jerry Spinelli;

Wonder, R.J. Palacio, and A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle

Math Text:




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Saxon Math 76, An Incremental Development; Hake Saxon

Science Text:

Scott Foresman Science; Pearson

Social Studies Text:

People, Places, and Change, An Introduction to World Studies, Holt

Middle School Non-Core Courses: Advisement, Study Skills, Technology, Physical Education,

Music, Art, Yearbook, Theater, and other Electives

The TRCS Secondary Planning Guide outlines the specific courses and curricula that have been

planned.

According to state law, secondary students must log 1,056 hours of “seat time” per year to be

considered full-time. Study halls, passing periods and planning times cannot be included in this

calculation. Under the Two Roads Charter School schedule, a student enrolled in the required 4

core and 3 elective courses will accumulate beyond this minimum hours of seat time per year.

FOR REQUESTED CHANGE #2:

Elementary School Core Courses: Science, Math, English, and Social Studies

1st Grade

Language Arts Grade 1 Texts:

Write Source, Write One; Houghton Mifflin

Write One Skills Book; Houghton Mifflin

Junior Great Books, Pegasus and Sun Series; Great Books Foundation

Math Grade 1 Text:

Saxon Math 1; Hake Saxon

Science Grade 1 Text:


Social Studies Grade 1 Text:

Pearson Learning Core Knowledge, History & Geography 1, Pearson Learning

Group

2nd

Grade


Write Source, Write Away; Houghton Mifflin

Write Away Skills Book; Houghton Mifflin


Math Grade 2 Text:

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Group

3rd

Grade


Write Source, Write On Track; Houghton Mifflin

Write On Track Skills Book; Houghton Mifflin


Math Grade 3 Text:






Group

4th

Grade


Write Source, Writer’s Express; Houghton Mifflin

Writer’s Express Skills Book; Houghton Mifflin


Class novels

Math Grade 4 Text:






Group

5th

Grade


Write Source, Writer’s Express; Houghton Mifflin




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Writer’s Express Skills Book; Houghton Mifflin


Class novels

Math Grade 5 Text:






Group

Elementary School Non-Core Course Options: Technology, Physical Education, Music, Art,

Drama, and other Electives

According to state law, elementary students must log 968 hours of “seat time” per year to be

considered full-time. Passing periods and planning times cannot be included in this calculation.

Under the Two Roads Charter School schedule, a student enrolled in the required core and

elective courses will accumulate this minimum required Jeffco hours of seat time per year.

Calendar

Elementary and newly added 6th

grade middle school students will follow a similar Jefferson

County Public School calendar.

Two Roads Homeschool Students

Two Roads Homeschool will continue to offer our K-12th

grade homeschooling students the

same range of classes and support as are currently offering. This information can be found on the

tworoadscharter.org website.

PLAN FOR PUPIL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

Full-time elementary and 6th

grade middle school students will be expected to comply with state

testing and assessment requirements, and test results will be reported in accordance with state

law. The school’s administrators and special education coordinator will manage all testing efforts

and track and maintain the status of testing on all students.

During the course of the year, several methods will be used to evaluate and report student

performance including report cards, regular testing in all classes, and teacher/parent/student

conferences.

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On our most recent TCAP testing, Two Roads received a PERFORMANCE rating.

Types of Assessments

Two Roads Charter School believes that standardized assessments offer one lens through which

to evaluate student academic progress and ability. Therefore, the school will administer several

standardized assessments. In addition to the required state assessments, Two Roads utilizes

MAP (Measure of Academic Performance) testing for all students. The immediate feedback

obtained from this assessment drives teacher instruction.

In addition, teachers will use a variety of other assessment methods to more precisely determine

students’ progress towards meeting class objectives and benchmarks. These may include, but are

not limited to: written objective examinations, essay examinations, essays, oral examinations,

research projects and contributions to small group projects and presentations.

Timeline

Standardized assessments will be managed according to the following annual schedule:

Newly enrolling students will be tested prior to the start of the school year in order to

identify proper placement and/or need for remediation.

Up to three times annually, students will be tested utilizing a formative assessment

program MAP, through the NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association), to provide

incremental data to adjust classroom instruction.

Late fall - Test results obtained, baseline established and results reported to the family,

the student’s faculty advisor, the District and the State.

Spring – CMAS

Early Fall – CMAS test results obtained and disseminated.

BUDGET AND FINANCE

Two Roads Charter School is in a strong financial position at this time. We had a healthy carry-

forward at the end of the 2013-3014 school year (see table below), and we are in good standing

with the District. We paid off the final installment of our loan from the District in October of

2014. Since initially borrowing money from the District we have been building a reserve and

working diligently to be in a positive place financially. To view our current financial statements

please refer to our website at tworoadscharter.org. Also, the table below shows a comparison

between last year’s and this year’s financials.

To add a full time elementary and 6th

grade middle school program Two Roads will need to hire

a minimum of three additional teachers (at approximately $31,000 a piece). Other classes can be




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filled with current teachers. Adding 22 additional 6th

grade and up to 90 elementary students will

more than offset the expense of hiring teachers.

Prior Year 2013-14

For Period Ending December 31, 2013

General Fund Annual

Budget

Actual Percentage of

Budget

Beginning Fund

Bal

101,370.22 101,370.22 100

Revenue 2,740,343.00 1,405,705.10 51

Expenditures 2,777,998.00 1,285,641.01 46

Ending Fund Bal 63,715.00

221,434.31 348

Capital Funds Annual

Budget


Budget

Beginning Fund

Bal

10,000.00 10,000.00 100

Revenue 29,920.00 19,658.88 66

Expenditures 29,920.00 0 0

Ending Fund Bal 10,000.00 29,658.88 297

Title II Grant Annual

Budget


Budget

Beginning Fund

Bal

4795.00 4795.00 100

Revenue 0 0 0

Expenditures 4795.00 1610.30 34

Ending Fund Bal 0 3184.70

Current Year 2014-15

For Period Ending December 31, 2014

General Fund Annual

Budget

Actual Percentage

of Budget

Beginning Fund

Bal

217,738.02 217,738.02 100

Revenue 3,006,519.40 1,655,380.33 55

Expenditures 2,861,478.61 1,389,355.41 49

Ending Fund Bal 362,778.81 483,762.94 134

Capital Funds Annual Actual Percentage

10

Budget of Budget

Beginning Fund

Bal

10,000.00 10,000.00 100

Revenue 59,412.80 32,486.59 55

Expenditures 59,412.80 0 0

Ending Fund Bal 10,000.00 42,486.59 425

Title II Grant Annual

Budget

Actual Percentage

of Budget

Beginning Fund

Bal

4795.00 4795.00 100

Revenue 0 0 0

Expenditures 4795.00 394.44 9

Ending Fund Bal 0 4400.56

TRANSPORTATION

For our new full time 6th

grade students, transportation to and from campus in a manner that

ensures the student’s ability to attend classes on time and from start to finish is the sole

responsibility of the student and his/her family.

For our full time athletes, students from the 5280 gym will be transported to our Arvada or

Littleton locations via 5280 gym vans. 5280 has two gym locations—both gym locations close

to our Arvada and Littleton campuses. The gym owner has agreed to transport her gym students

to our school. Full time athletes, other than the 5280 gym students, must be transported to and

from school by family or friends. Two Roads Charter School does not provide any public

transportation for its students.

PLAN FOR ADDRESSING SPECIAL NEEDS OR AT-RISK STUDENTS

Full time elementary or 6th

grade middle school students of all ability levels and backgrounds

will be welcome at Two Roads Charter School. The addition of a full time elementary and 6th

middle school program will entail expanding existing policies and procedures to accommodate

our newly added students. Please refer to this section of the Two Roads charter application for

complete information.

ENROLLMENT POLICY




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Enrollment of full-time elementary athletes and 6th

grade middle school students will follow the

Jeffco Public Schools District policies.

SOURCE OF PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS

Two Roads Charter School expects to draw full time athletes and 6th

grade middle school

students from the following sources:

o Our current Two Roads homeschool program

o Homeschool students looking for a full time 6th

grade option from both in and out of the

District

o Students currently attending the 5280 Gymnastics program (at both locations)

o Full time athletes in the district who are looking for a different option

o Wait-listed students from elementary charter schools in the area, including Excel

Academy, Lincoln Academy, Woodrow Wilson Academy and Manning Jr. High.

FACILITY

Full time 6th

grade middle school students of Two Roads Charter School will occupy the same

Arvada facility as is currently utilized for 7th

-12th

grade Two Roads full time students and K-12th

grade Two Roads homeschool students. Our Arvada campus is located at 6980 Pierce Street,

Arvada 80003).

Full time elementary gymnasts will have the option of utilizing our Arvada facility or our

Littleton campus (located at 5890 S. Alkire Street, Littleton 80127).

STUDENT DISCIPLINE, EXPULSION AND SUSPENSION

Two Roads Charter School follows the District policies surrounding discipline, expulsion, and

suspension. The Jeffco Conduct Code is closely followed in all three areas.

OBLIGATION TO THE TWO ROADS HOMESCHOOL PROGRAM

The addition of a full-time 6

th grade middle school or an elementary program for full time

athletes will not impact Two Roads Charter School’s original commitment to our Two Roads

Homeschool Program.

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