CHARTER
AUTHORIZATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
March 2020
APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS
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Convened committees with internal and external experts, including community leaders.
Trained committee members.
Reviewed performance data for existing schools of applicants according to student
growth and School Performance Scorecard results.
Committees discussed bright spots and areas of concern for each application and
developed questions for applicant interviews.
Interviewed all applicants to assess their capacity and growth plans.
Public comments gathered through the Office of Charter Schools website.
APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS
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Scored applications using the State of Tennessee Charter Application Rubric, which
includes three (3) main sections: Academic Plan Design & Capacity, Operations Plan &
Capacity, and Financial Plan & Capacity. A Past Performance section is included for
operators currently operating a school or schools in Tennessee.
Charter school applications were additionally evaluated taking into account SCS Board
Policy #1011, Section IX, B.2 (b) and Section VI, B. 5.
Recommendations made to the Shelby County School Board of Directors for board
resolution.
APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS
Appeals Process
State Board Policy 2.500: If the State Board becomes the chartering authority pursuant to
11(c)(iii) above, the LEA and the charter school may submit a charter agreement signed by
the LEA and the charter school to the State Board stating that the charter school shall be
overseen and monitored by the LEA. If such charter agreement is received by the State
Board within thirty (30) calendar days after the State Board become the charter authorizer,
then the authorization of the charter school shall be officially transferred to the LEA. Such
agreement can be submitted electronically.
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NEEDS ANALYSIS AND FINANCIAL IMPACT
In addition to the State’s Application rubric, the application review team used information
from the District’s Regional Seats Analysis/Educational Priorities Document to determine
what areas are in need of schools based on enrollment and/or performance.
The Finance team used information from the charter school applications to draft a Financial
Impact Analyses for each proposed charter school. The analyses detail the potential loss of
students, loss of funds, amount of BEP funds to be transferred based on proposed
enrollment, and impact on District school building utilization.
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6
Proposed Charter School
Neighborhood or Region for
Proposed School
% of schools <3.00 on
Scorecard in the Neighborhood/
Region
Seats Needed(based on program
capacity)Possible Student Loss
Possible Transfer of BEP Funds (without reducing
operational costs)
Bluff City Collegiate(6-8)
Central City East Region
46% less than 3.00
Central City E 6-8
539 seats neededCCE Region 6-8
120 to 360 students over a 5-year period
$1,150,022 to $3,734,464
Cornerstone Prep School (K-8)
Sherwood/Parkway Village
Multiple regions, multiple ranges
-212 (under enrolled)Sherwood/Parkway V
K-8
150 to 450 students over a 5-year period
$1,397,283 to $4,537,393
Luceo Collegiate School of the Arts (K-8)
Binghampton0.0% less than
3.00Binghampton K-8
489 seats neededBinghampton K-8
120 to 360 students over a 5-year period
$1,150,023 to $3,734,465
Memphis School of Excellence (6-12)
Cordova66.5% less than
3.00Cordova 6-12
-991 (under enrolled)Cordova 6-12
225 to 450 students over a 5-year period
$2,156,292 to $4,927,419
Financial Impact
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Lead
Reviewers
Director of Charter Schools,
Brittany Monda
SCS CabinetSCS Board
Curriculum &
Instruction
Mental HealthIndependent Expert
Reviewers
Parent/Community
FinanceBusiness
Operations
Human
ResourcesExceptional
Children
CHARTER AUTHORIZATION RECOMMENDATION
DECISION FLOW CHART
Charter Leaders Professional
Development
Coordinated
School Health
Student Support
ELL
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PROPOSED SCHOOL DETAILS
Proposed School
Proposed
Grade
Structure
Proposed
NeighborhoodFocus
Year 1
Enrollment
Projection
Capacity
Enrollment
Projection
Bluff City Collegiate 6-8Central City East
RegionCollege Prep 120 360
Cornerstone Prep School K-8Sherwood/Parkway
VillageCollege Prep 150 675
Luceo Collegiate School of the Arts K-8 BinghamptonCreative &
Performing Arts120 540
Memphis School of Excellence Cordova 6-12 Cordova STEM 225 450
Recommendations
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SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
Please refer to recommendation summaries and rubrics for more detailed feedback for each application.
Proposed School/
Neighborhood Rationale
Bluff City CollegiateCentral City East Region
The academic performance of local schools does not include a comprehensive
overview of all schools in the proposed area/zip codes; which makes it unclear of
the proposed neighborhood and need for the applicant’s school.
There is insufficient evidence for supporting the ELL and SPED populations.
Neither of the populations were explicitly included in performance standards nor
goals
There is not clarity surrounding what curriculum will be used (and who will create
it) for both the character development program and leadership through service
program, which seem to be foundational to the overall school culture.
There is operational and financial information that needs to be addressed.
XTN Charter
Application Rubric
XSCS Board Policy
#1011
Deny
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SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
Please refer to recommendation summaries and rubrics for more detailed feedback for each application.
Proposed School/
Neighborhood Rationale
Cornerstone Prep
SchoolSherwood/Parkway Village
More information is needed to confirm that the operator has reached out to
community stakeholders within the Sherwood and Parkway Village
neighborhoods and rallied support from families and community partners in that
area. It’s unclear that the operator understands the full needs of the
neighborhoods and has done a full analysis of the schools in both areas, since
the comparative analyses doesn’t include all schools.
Lacks details around engaging students with disabilities and ELL students
The applicant relies on limited data (TVAAS and MAP) as evidence to support its
claim of creating a successful educational program for low income students who
find themselves below grade level.
XTN Charter
Application Rubric
XSCS Board Policy
#1011
Deny
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SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
Please refer to recommendation summaries and rubrics for more detailed feedback for each application.
Proposed School/
Neighborhood Rationale
Luceo Collegiate
School of the ArtsBinghampton
What the application has in vision, it currently lacks in specifics and evidence of
ability to execute. The academic plan and capacity is described in broad strokes,
but the application becomes a contract upon approval and, consequently, needs
more fine print.
It does not include evidence of community partnerships that support the vision of
the school. It does not appear to understand the geography of the city or the
proposed neighborhood.
It is unclear if the program proposed is an arts integration program or a creative
and performing arts program due to the conflicting material within the application.
There is operational and financial information that needs to be addressed.
XTN Charter
Application Rubric
XSCS Board Policy
#1011
Deny
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SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
Proposed School/
Neighborhood Rationale
Memphis School of
Excellence Cordova
(6-12)Cordova
Replication
The applicant does not provide a compelling rationale for a middle/high school in
the Cordova area. The description of the proposed academic program does not
adequately describe what the school will do significantly different than the
schools currently serving the neighborhood.
The data used to make comparative judgements were not reflective of current
data. The proposed “STEM” focus is not clearly defined beyond access to a daily
science and technology class. Student access to many STEM related activities
appear more extracurricular and voluntary.
The applicant struggles to identify negative trend data that may be symbolic of
system wide instructional and/or student support concerns. Further review of the
data may require an adjustment to the network’s instructional programming,
student support systems, and/or goals.
Deny
Please refer to recommendation summaries and rubrics for more detailed feedback for each application.
XTN Charter
Application Rubric
XSCS Board Policy
#1011
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Questions?
APPENDIX
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HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE DATA
* Climate Only
CMO/NetworkExisting Schools
w/test data2017-19
Overall SPS
2019 Composite
TVAAS
2018 Composite
TVAAS
2017Composite
TVAAS
2016 Composite
TVAAS
Cornerstone Prep
Cornerstone Prep – Lester Campus ASD 2 3 1
Cornerstone Prep – Lester Prep ASD 5 5 5
Cornerstone Prep – Denver Campus ASD 5 5 1
Memphis School of
Excellence
Memphis School of Excellence 3.95 3 3 5 4
Memphis School of Excellence Elementary 3.53 2
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CORNERSTONE PREP SCHOOL (Network)TNReady/EOC
Percent of Students “On Track” or Mastered”
SchoolELA Math Social Studies
2017 2018 2019 2017 2018 2019 2017 2018 2019
Lester Campus 9.2 12.6 8.9 15.8 21.1 11.5 7.3
Lester Prep 8.3 8.7 7.3 13.9 12.1 17.1 20.3 15.7
Denver Campus ** 9.4 11.3 9.1 18.1 27.9 5.2
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MEMPHIS SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE (Network)
Percent of Students “On Track” or Mastered”
TNReady/EOC
SchoolELA Math Social Studies Science
2017 2018 2019 2017 2018 2019 2017 2018 2019 2017 2018 2019MSE 24.1 18.3 20.2 17.4 15.4 21.8 10.2 24.5 25.5 63.8 39.2
MSE Elem 20.3 39.7 *
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CORNERSTONE PREP SCHOOL
Lester Campus Lester Prep Denver CampusOVERALL COMPOSITE TVAAS
2019 2 5 52018 3 5 52017 1 5 1
LITERACY COMPOSITE TVAAS2019 3 5 52018 3 5 52017 1 5 1
NUMERACY COMPOSITE TVAAS2019 1 4 42018 1 4 52017 4 5 2
SCIENCE COMPOSITE TVAAS20192018 5 3 52017 1 5 2
SOCIAL STUDIES COMPOSITE TVAAS2019 N/A 5 N/A2018 1 5 12017
TVAAS
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MEMPHIS SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE
Memphis School of Excellence
Memphis School of Excellence Elementary
OVERALL COMPOSITE TVAAS2019 3 22018 3
2017 5LITERACY COMPOSITE TVAAS
2019 3 22018 32017 4
NUMERACY COMPOSITE TVAAS2019 3 32018 32017 2
SCIENCE COMPOSITE TVAAS20192018 12017 5
SOCIAL STUDIES COMPOSITE TVAAS2019 3 N/A2018 52017 3
TVAAS