SUNY Trustees Approve Eight New Charter Schools
June 13, 2016
New York – Upon recommendation of the SUNY Charter Schools Institute, the SUNY Board of Trustees’ Charter Schools Committee (the “Committee”), acting on behalf of the full SUNY Board of Trustees, today approved eight resolutions to approve eight new charter schools. All of the schools will be located in New York City with four in the Bronx, two in Brooklyn and two in Queens.
SUNY is the largest authorizer of charter schools in New York State. SUNY authorizes 156 charter schools and currently serves over 56,000 New York students and their families. 90% of SUNY authorized charter schools outperform their district of location in math and 73% outperform in English language arts.
Brief summaries of each decision follow. Full Committee resolutions and reports can be found here: http://www.suny.edu/about/leadership/board-of-trustees/meetings/meetingNotices.cfm
Approved New Charters
- Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy Charter School (Brooklyn) will open in July 2017 to serve 100 students in 9th grade. The school will grow to serve 371 students in 9th through 12th grade during an initial five-year term. The anticipated location for the school is in New York City Community School District (“CSD”) 16. Key design elements include a rigorous single sex, college preparatory academic program for young women including science, technology, engineering and mathematic pathways, service learning and community engagement projects, and the option to pursue International Baccalaureate diplomas.
- Forte Preparatory Academy Charter School (Queens) will open in August 2017 with 90 students in 5th grade. The school will grow to serve 360 students in 5th through 8th grade during an initial five-year term. The anticipated location for the school is in CSD 30. Key design elements include high expectations for academic success, structure, and personal behavior. There will also be a strong emphasis on teacher quality, data driven instruction, extended and purposeful learning time, meaningful and integrated arts and digital opportunities, and literacy.
- Legacy College Preparatory Charter School (Bronx) will open in August 2017 with 120 students in 6th grade. The school will grow to serve 600 students in 6th through 10th grade during an initial five-year term. The anticipated location of the school is in CSD 7 or 8. Key design elements include a culture of PRIDE (Professionalism, Respect, Integrity, Determination and Engagement) that will allow leaders and staff to build a disciplined culture to teach students the importance of working hard, making others better, and doing the right thing. Legacy will also provide highly effective, mission-driven teachers, frequent and purposeful data analysis, proactive partnership with parents, enrichment through mission-aligned activities, an advisory structure, and trimester based community service projects with local organizations.
- Bronx Charter Schools for Excellence 3, 4 and 5 (Bronx) will open in August 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively, each with 120 students in Kindergarten and 1st grade. Each school will ultimately serve 540 students in Kindergarten through 5th grade during its initial five-year term. Bronx Charter Schools for Excellence 3, 4 and 5 will replicate the successful model of the SUNY authorized Bronx Charter School for Excellence, which opened in 2004, and has since earned two full-term charter renewals. The anticipated locations of the schools are in CSD 10, 11, or 12. Key design elements include high academic standards, a broad liberal arts education, foundational academic and critical thinking skills that expand to a 21st century global perspective, longer school days, performance-based compensation for staff, and clearly articulated standards for students that encourage holistic growth.
- Our World Neighborhood Charter School 2 (Queens) will open in August 2017 with 153 students in Kindergarten and 1st grade. The school will grow to serve 477 students in Kindergarten through 5th grade during an initial five-year term. Our World Neighborhood Charter School 2 will replicate the instructional program implemented at SUNY authorized Our World Neighborhood Charter School, which opened in 2002 in CSD 30 and has since earned two full-term renewals. The anticipated location of the school is in CSD 27. Key design elements include emphasis on literacy across the curriculum, a liberal arts education focus, use of the Gradual Release of Responsibility Instructional Model (Workshop Model), use of assessments to inform instruction, and a robust intervention program.
- Uncommon New York City Charter School #1 (Brooklyn) will open in August 2018 with 130 students in Kindergarten and 5th grade. The school will add two grades per year and ultimately serve 814 students in Kindergarten through 9th grade during an initial five-year term. Uncommon New York City Charter School #1 will contract with Uncommon Schools, Inc., a New Jersey not-for-profit charter management organization based in New York City. The anticipated location of the schools will be in CSD 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19 or 23. Key design elements include the expectation of excellence, development and retention of great teachers, research-proven curricula, family involvement, focus on literacy, character development, and extensive learning supports.
SUNY is the largest charter school authorizer in New York State and the largest university-based charter school authorizer in the country. The SUNY Charter Schools Institute was created by the SUNY Board of Trustees to assist it in carrying out its responsibilities under the New York Charter Schools Act (the “Act”). Guided by the rigorous standards set by the SUNY Board of Trustees, the Institute’s oversight of SUNY authorized charter schools is comprehensive, including: evaluating initial applications for the opening of charter schools; ongoing oversight and evaluation of operating schools; conducting a comprehensive evaluation when a school applies to renew its charter; and reporting to the school and the public on each school’s performance and progress. Charter schools in New York trade greater autonomy for greater accountability for academic outcomes. Each charter school education corporation has a charter contract that is signed by its board of trustees and the authorizer of the school. As part of the contract, the accountability plan for eachschool establishes the academic goals that must be met and how those goals will be measured. Contracts last a maximum of five years as set by the Act. In order to continue operating, a charter school must apply to renew its charter at the end of each charter term. Receiving approval to continue operating is the core of accountability required by the Act.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2023, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
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Holly Liapis
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