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MPS Charter School Contract Review Team Comments and Renewal Recommendation

Name of Charter School: Milwaukee Community Cyber High School Date: October 29, 2014 The renewal recommendation is based on a thorough review and analysis of Information and data from the following:

Charter School Performance Summary – Educational, Financial and Organizational Performance Standards

Application for Renewal School Site Visit

Charter School Performance Summary

Educational Performance Rating:

Met the Standard Did Not Meet the

Standard X

Financial Performance Rating:

Met the Standard X

Did Not Meet the Standard

Organizational Performance Rating:

Met the Standard X

Did Not Meet the Standard

Summary Comments on Performance Ratings:

(Instructions: Provide summary comments and rationale for the performance ratings. Provide examples to support the ratings.)

Educational Performance:

MC2 appears to be a very progressive school and looking forward to the expansion of practices happening here to other instrumentalities and non-instrumentalities of the district.

Educational performance is adequate based on growth. Scores were not met in many subject areas for several years; however, school has explained why. There is a need to provide immediate, targeted instruction in literacy and math at the Job Corps site. Several Team members commented that there is a need to separate the necessary data from Job Corps

and Milwaukee Community Cyber High School (MC2). Job Corps is a separate site/program designed specifically for the at-risk population but in this reviewer’s

opinion it should not be considered separate, as any school has a large population of students that meet state criteria to be considered “at-risk”.

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Performance was good for a school that receives students from all areas of Milwaukee and shortly assesses them in the MC2 culture.

Need to strengthen the educational relationship with Job Corps. The educational data indicated MC2 combined with Job Corps did not meet Educational performance

standard. When the data is segregated, the MC2 data indicates that it has met 90% of the educational goals and five of the six did not meet, were in the first year.

The educational performance seems to be trending higher, but needs to be more advanced. Job Corps needs immediate and targeted resources for the students under MC2.

Financial Performance:

The school is financially sound, which was frequently commented on by the Team as a strength of the school.

MC2 met 100% of the target standards. Organizational Performance:

There is a strong Seeds of Health influence and strong staff background. Many Team members noted that the Board make up is disappointing. The organization is working to create

a more diverse (race, gender) Board. MC2 met 90% of the organizational performance standards; the only issue appears to be Health and

Safety, which seems to be based on reporting inoculations.

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MPS Charter School Contract Review Team Comments and Renewal Recommendation

Application for Renewal:

Met the Standard Did Not Meet the Standard The Application for Renewal provides clear, concise and compelling information in the areas of Educational, Financial and Organizational Performance. The school has: - Included ample evidence of increased

student achievement or shown continuous improvement;

- Provided credible examples and documented evidence of its financial performance; and

- Illustrated sufficiently and convincingly that it is organizationally sound.

- The school’s plans for continued success are clearly and effectively outlined with full details, descriptions, and explanations.

The Application for Renewal does not provide clear, concise and compelling information in the areas of Educational, Financial and Organizational Performance. The school did not satisfactorily address application components. Responses lack details. Descriptions and/or examples are underdeveloped. The school provided: - Insufficient evidence of increased student

achievement or continuous improvement; - Unclear examples and evidence of its financial

performance; and - Inadequate evidence that it is organizationally

sound. - The school’s plans for continued success are

unclear and not fully described or developed.

Met the Standard X

Did Not Meet the Standard

Summary Comments on the Application for Renewal:

(Instructions: Provide examples of strengths and weaknesses in the application for renewal.) The finances that were presented in the materials are very much in line and there are no concerns. There is a strong Seeds of Health Board; however, diversity is an issue. Seeds of Heath down to the school sound clear and secure. The Job Corps and MC2 may need to build up the connection between the programs. Both are considered the same school. Application acknowledged areas that need improvement and a desire to seek separate consideration for both campuses in future contracts. Would have liked more examples and descriptions of the educational program, many answers were vague. The school plan met the standard; although reservations occurred from the lack of resources at Job Corps. Slight concerns regarding absence of a solid metrics for some of the goals, the parent engagement, and the plan for engaging Job Corps members (if that partnership continues). Curious about delay in plans for improvement with such an extensive access to data, there should have been more plans established. Doesn’t seem like educational improvement is a priority. Would like to see more evidence-based decisions in plans for continued success. MC2 showed strengths in a lot of areas from leadership to staff and students. Freshman students liked the school and felt it was a productive place for them. MC2 provided clear, concise, and compelling information in the areas of financial and organizational performance. The description of the educational performance was not operational, would like to see goals that are measurable. MC2 has met 90% of its educational goals and 5 out of 6 that were not meet were during the first year. Although there are concerns, the preponderance of evidence provided in the application for renewal has satisfied this reviewer. The application could have had more information on the educational plans for MC2 and Job Corps.

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School Site Visit:

Met the Standard Did Not Meet the Standard Charter school site visit provided excellent further evidence that the school is meeting performance standards. - School presentations clearly and

effectively communicated information from its Application for Renewal.

- School sufficiently addressed any issues/concerns raised by the MPS Charter School Contract Review Team members.

- School (if appropriate) provided sufficient supplementary information to further clarify performance results and ratings.

- Samples of student work and classroom visits reflect strongly and positively the school’s teaching and learning practices.

Charter school site visit did not provide compelling evidence that the school is meeting performance standards. - School presentations insufficiently

communicated information from its Application for Renewal.

- School did not adequately address issues/ concerns raised by the MPS Charter School Contract Review Team members.

- School did not provide ample supplementary information to clarify performance results and ratings.

- Samples of student work and classroom visits did not necessarily positively reflect the school’s teaching and learning practices.

Met the Standard X

Did Not Meet the Standard

Summary Comments on School Site Visit:

(Instructions: Provide comments regarding the school site visit.) Observation in the classroom led to examples of project based learning and strong blended learning components. The presentation from the school was complete, but did not need so much Seeds of Health background. Open concept is evident through the whole school. There was a positive feeling throughout the school; almost all the students were well behaved. School addressed concerns and clarified the issues the review team raised. The school visit was extremely informative; excellent display of non-instrumentality moving in a great direction! Diversity and effectiveness of the governing board, curious about what the school plans to do to improve and support Job Corps students. Want to see a better link between learning objectives and tasks that they are performing. Well organized in a small space. Students and staff utilized space well. Administration presented a positive approach to learning. Need to improve academic performance of Job Corps. MC2’s presentation clearly and effectively communicated information from its application for renewal. MC2 sufficiently addressed the issues/concerns raised by the MPS Charter Contract Review Team members. Review team concerns included the lack of operational clarity (quantifiability) of the educational program goals, Seeds of Health board’s perspective that the Job Corps students may need to be considered at-risk, and the lack of real power of the school’s governance council. MC2 explained that they would work on these concerns. This reviewer does not believe these concerns are substantial enough to affect the full renewal of the charter. MC2 school was clean and the students were well behaved. Saw examples of students working in groups, individually, and with their teacher. The school has a learning environment that felt safe and nurturing.

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MPS Charter School Contract Review Team Comments and Renewal Recommendation

Renewal Recommendation by MPS Charter School Contract Review Team The renewal recommendation for _Milwaukee Community Cyber High School is:

___X____ Full-term Renewal – Term of Five Years _______ Short-term Renewal – Term of Three Years ––––––– Non-Renewal / Revocation

Renewal Recommendation Rationale: Summary Comments:

(Instructions: Provide summary comments and rationale for the renewal recommendation. Provide examples to support the recommendation.)

The Team recognizes the unique population served by MC2. The use of the charter status reflects an appreciation for the diversity of student learners. MC2 is applauded for providing a positive educational environment for some of our most underserved students and recognizes that all students deserve a quality education. The school leadership recognizes the key strengths of the school, while utilizing data effectively to identify and focus better planning. The Team appreciated that the leadership is considering a more bifurcated approach to developing academic benchmarks to demonstrate achievement for all students. MC2 has established an environment of collaborative planning to explore how diverse learning needs can be met more effectively. MC2 takes pride in providing a well-maintained facility to its students. Legal council is utilized to support the school in making decisions regarding legal requirements. The school provides effective governance and leadership that promotes student performance and sound business practices. However, MC2 acknowledges the opportunity to involve a broader composition of stakeholders in school discussions. MC2 is planning effectively to improve teacher outcomes. The school has taken the initiative to embrace the Danielson Framework to enhance instruction, grow professionally, and ultimately improve student achievement. MC2 has been able to augment course offerings by providing online resources to service students at a variety of different levels. The curriculum is further enhanced by the use of technology, project based learning, and explicit instruction through a blended learning model. The Team recommends a five-year contract renewal for Milwaukee Community Cyber High School. MPS Charter School Review Team Members: (List names and affiliation of all members) Banasik, Bryan Milwaukee Public Schools Feaster, Lauren Community Member Imp, John Milwaukee Public Schools Kawala, Jill Office of Board Governance Sain, Mark MPS School Board Member Sanders, Marc Milwaukee Public Schools Schock, Bridget Milwaukee Public Schools Spence, Jacqueline Milwaukee Public Schools Woodward, Annie MPS School Board Member

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Signature: ______ ________________________ Date: October 31, 2014 Marla Bronaugh, Director, Office of Contracted School Services

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