GREEN DOT PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Transcription

1 GREEN DOT PUBLIC SCHOOLS BUSINESS PLAN

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Executive Summary 3 Market Opportunity 7 The Plan 8 School Model 11 Organizational Model Focus on Results Responsibilities of Green Dot Corporate and Individual Schools Driving Systematic Change 27 Competition 30 Team Management Founding Principals Board of Directors Advisors Financials 38 Appendices A. Parent and Student Testimonials B. Animo Leadership Curriculum

3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Strategy for Transforming Los Angeles Secondary Public Education Green Dot Public Schools is a non-profit charter school developer that is transforming education in Los Angeles by opening 100 exceptional small, charter high schools in LA s highest need areas. Green Dot s has already opened three schools that are substantially outperforming comparable public schools and proving that schools in Los Angeles can do a far better job of educating students if they are small and operated more effectively. Green Dot s efforts will influence LAUSD to implement a small schools model for all schools in the district and raise the public's awareness about the need for high quality, small public high schools. Ultimately, Green Dot s success will help ensure that all young adults in California receive the education they deserve to prepare themselves for college, leadership and life. New School Model for Urban High Schools Every Green Dot school will graduate young adults that are life-long learners, prepared for college, responsible, and culturally aware. To ensure great results, all schools are opened and operated using Green Dot s proven school model: Small Schools: student schools with target student/teacher ratios of 21:1. College Preparatory Curriculum: Demanding college prep education aligned to University of California A-G requirements for all students. Strong support programs in place to enable all students to master challenging curriculum. Substantial Family Involvement: Parents/Guardians are integrated into the management of schools and must participate actively in their children s education. Empower Principal and Teachers: Principals and teachers are empowered in decisions related to curriculum and school culture. Principals are viewed as school CEOs. Talented and Passionate Employees: Educators with strong skill sets and alignment to Green Dot s vision lead each school. Constant professional development is provided. Students as Leaders: Students are held responsible for their schools and given influence in shaping them (create extracurricular activities, help with hiring, etc.). Focus on Results: Results and accountability are demanded from all schools and employees. Data is relied on heavily for decision-making. Commitment to Green Dot Core Values: 1) Unwavering belief in all students potential, 2) Passion for excellence, 3) Personal responsibility, 4) Respect for others and community, 5) All stakeholders are critical in the education process. Proven Results Serving High-Need Student Populations Green Dot is the only organization that has opened three charter high schools in the Los Angeles area (Animo Leadership: Fall 2000, Animo Inglewood: Fall 2002, and Oscar De La Hoya Animo: Fall 2003). All three schools are successfully serving students who have traditionally struggled in the public school system and are achieving far greater results than comparable schools on all key performance metrics. 3

4 API Scores: School Year Base API State Rank Similar Schools Rank Animo Leadership a Animo Inglewood Hawthorne High Inglewood High Roosevelt (a) Animo Leadership s similar schools rank calculated using the API scores of its similar schools. Due to a data entry error, Animo Leadership did not receive an accurate similar schools rank from the CDE for the school year. 8.0 Gains in Reading Proficiency, From 8th to 9th Grade (Class of 2006, Matched Student Scores) Mean NCE Gain (Decline) '02 Linked 8th SAT9 vs. '03 9th CAT Animo Inglewood 1.7 Animo Leadership Statewide (0.5) Statewide Economically (2.5) Disadvantaged Los Angeles Unified Inglewood Unified (3.8) (3.9) Centinela Valley Union* (4.7) Green Dot's early successes have already accelerated systemic change: LAUSD Superintendent Roy Romer stated that Oscar De La Hoya Animo Charter High School is the model school for future LAUSD high schools. The Lennox School District, which chartered Animo Leadership, opened its own charter school in August 2003 that was designed after Animo Leadership. Home Office Enables Creation of 100 High Quality Schools Green Dot Public Schools consists of its individual schools and a central Home Office. The Home Office is focused on continually improving its small school model and on building new schools. Green Dot s Home Office: a) brings standard methodologies, processes and systems in the areas of curriculum and school management to each school it opens, b) provides a number of services to support each school, c) governs each school and drives results, d) shares experiences and best practices across all its schools, and e) works with LAUSD and the State government to drive small school education reform. Support services provided by the Home Office include recruiting, facilities development, 4

5 financing, purchasing, back office management, governance, curriculum development, professional development, government relations and public relations. The Right Team to Lead Public High School Reform Steve Barr, founder and CEO: Appointee, Charter School Advisory Commission; Founder, Rock The Vote; led successful efforts to pass Motor Voter law. Marshall Tuck, COO: General Manager, Model N; Salomon Brothers; Bain & Co; and volunteer teacher in Zimbabwe and Thailand. Dr. Larry Freeman, New Schools Mentor, is a veteran urban high school reformer and former principal at both Inglewood and Compton High Schools. Board includes: Marco Petruzzi: Partner, Bain & Co. Jeff Shell: CEO, TV Guide, Former President & CEO of Fox Cable Networks Group Oscar De La Hoya: Professional Boxer, Philanthropist and Businessman Shane Martin: Associate Dean, Loyola Marymount University School of Education Glenn Dryfoos: Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Telemundo Funders include: NewSchools Venture Fund: venture philanthropy firm working to transform education through powerful ideas and passionate entrepreneurs Pisces Foundation: leading California based foundation focused on education reform Strong Partnerships Drive Future Success LAUSD: Green Dot has established a unique, collaborative relationship with LAUSD at the Board, Superintendent and Staff levels which helps Green Dot grow within the district and influence the district to rapidly implement LAUSD s small schools initiative. Oscar De La Hoya Foundation: Green Dot has partnered with Oscar De La Hoya to open its third school in East Los Angeles. Manifesting his belief in public education, Mr. De La Hoya joined the Green Dot Board and donated both land and money to promote small school education reform. Working with Teachers Union to Drive Change: As part of a comprehensive strategy to drive change, Green Dot is practicing union reform with its teachers in hopes that it will help provide an example of cooperation in public education. Teachers at Green Dot s schools have organized as the Asociacion de Maestros Unidos, which is its own bargaining unit, but an affiliate of the CTA. Green Dot management and the Asociacion signed a three year contract that is a clear example of union reform. Key reforms written into the contract and agreed to by the union were: no tenure, teacher performance evaluations, professional work days (no defined minutes) and flexibility to adjust the contract over time. Critical Need for New High Schools in Los Angeles Right now there is an enormous opportunity to build new high schools in Los Angeles given the large number of overcrowded and underperforming schools in LAUSD and the 5

6 public s hunger for education alternatives. LAUSD is short over 180,000 seats and it has stated that high schools are its top priority for new schools. Financial Strategy Supports Long-Term, Sustainable Growth Green Dot opened its first three schools using State and Federal Funds and to date has used private fundraising only to fund the growth of its Home Office. The key factors that have allowed Green Dot s schools to be self-sustaining on public funds are: a) high student attendance rates, b) low number of classified employees, c) greater utilization of all employees, d) low non-classroom based operating expenses, e) State Planning Grants accessed to fund start-up costs and f) leasing facilities at below market rates. Green Dot expects to open 2 new schools in Fiscal 2005, 4 new schools in Fiscals 2006 and 2007 and 6 new schools each year thereafter. Given its current assumptions, Green Dot projects that after 10 years, it will be a self-funded organization and will not need to raise any additional philanthropy to maintain its schools and open 6 new schools annually. The total philanthropy required over that ten year period is $26.5 million dollars. Since its inception, Green Dot has raised over $14.5 million in private donations and State grants. The organization is confident that it will raise the additional $26.5 million needed to achieve sustainability. 6

7 MARKET OPPORTUNITY Current Situation Los Angeles High Schools 1 Public high schools in Los Angeles are not delivering on their mission of educating and developing young adults. Instead of fostering a highly educated and empowered group of young adults, their output is a large number of dropouts, truants and graduating classes that perform consistently below the rest of the country on standardized tests. 25% of Los Angeles adults have not completed high school. 75% of LAUSD s ninth graders failed to beat the national average in Reading on the most recent CAT6 test. The reasons behind the failure of Los Angeles s public high schools are numerous and include the following: Schools are too big. 22 high schools in LAUSD serve over 3,000 students each with 11 serving over 4,000. Classrooms are severely overcrowded. 180,000 students in LAUSD are in schools with multi-track systems or bused from their neighborhoods to other schools. Principals do not have autonomy to manage their schools. Teachers are disenchanted with their jobs and teacher retention rates are low. Parents are not actively involved in their children s education. The majority of the students entering the ninth grade are lacking in basic skills and test at below basic levels in Math and English Little accountability at individual schools and throughout LAUSD. Potential for Reform A huge opportunity exists to substantively transform Los Angeles high schools by opening a network of small charter schools throughout LAUSD. Charter schools are public schools that operate outside of the control of traditional school districts. They have much greater flexibility than traditional public schools to try new educational and operational models but are held to a higher accountability standard. LAUSD s substantial overcrowding problems and its large number of overcrowded high schools make it the ideal district within which to open charter high schools in LA. LAUSD s Superintendent views new, high quality charter schools as an asset and the district has a stated goal to have charter schools opened within the district annually over the next five years to accommodate 20,000 to 40,000 students. High schools have been identified as the number one priority because they represent the largest area of need. 1 Statistics from Alliance for Student Achievement website, CDE website. 7

8 THE PLAN Mission Green Dot is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization incorporated in California in 1999 to create a network of exceptional, small charter high schools and transform secondary education in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Green Dot will drive substantive change in Los Angeles high schools to help ensure that all young adults in LA receive the high school educations they deserve to prepare them for success in college, leadership and life. In carrying out its mission, Green Dot will alter the landscape of secondary education throughout California as successful reform in Los Angeles will influence major changes in other school districts throughout the State. Strategy Green Dot will open 100 successful charter high schools in areas of Los Angeles that currently have high concentrations of underperforming and overcrowded schools. Each new school will be opened following Green Dot s proven school model and will greatly outperform the existing public schools in the area. New schools will be built in clusters of 4-6 in target locations throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area to maximize operational efficiencies and allow students to receive a wider variety of courses and extracurricular activities than they would receive if the schools were isolated. The success of Green Dot s schools will prove that public schools in Los Angeles can do a far better job of educating students if those schools are small and managed more effectively. Within 5 years, Green Dot will be educating approximately 6,000 students in LAUSD and within 10 years it will be educating over 20,000 students in the district. Such a substantial presence of small successful high schools in the market will put significant pressure on LAUSD to accelerate its small school efforts. In addition to pressuring LAUSD from the outside, Green Dot will continue to proactively collaborate with LAUSD to influence the district to transform its large existing (and future) high schools into groups of small learning academies. Green Dot will aggressively publicize its successes to develop the political will required to compel LAUSD to take a small schools approach to all of its schools. With a large number of successful schools in Los Angeles and a proactive effort to drive small school education reform, Green Dot can trigger a domino effect throughout the State for creating high quality, small public high schools. Green Dot s current strategy is to focus exclusively on high schools and collaborate with other charter school networks and LAUSD at the middle school and elementary school levels. Green Dot may expand its strategy to include opening middle schools, however, if the number of high performing middle schools in the district does not increase in the near future. Geographic Focus Green Dot opens all of its high schools exclusively in the greater Los Angeles area. Green Dot built its first two high schools in Inglewood, CA, a small suburb bordering Los Angeles and home to some of the lowest performing high schools in the State. Starting in a smaller city allowed Green Dot to more easily develop the support from 8

9 community members and local politicians that it needed to open up two schools quickly. It also provided Green Dot with a higher profile because it was the only game in town. Green Dot opened its first school within the area served by LAUSD in fall 2003 when it opened the Oscar De La Hoya Animo Charter High School in the Boyle Heights community. Green Dot plans to open all future schools within LAUSD and is currently targeting Boyle Heights, Downtown, South LA and the Southeastern cities as the most immediate targets for new school clusters. Growth Plans Green Dot plans to open 2 new high schools in Fiscal 2005, 4 in both Fiscal 2006 and Fiscal 2007, and 6 schools annually each year thereafter until LAUSD substantially improves its high schools and commits to transforming its schools into smaller learning academies. Green Dot schools are opened with just a 9 th grade in their first year of operation and a new grade is added each year until they are full 9 th -12 th grade high schools in their fourth year of operation. Results Green Dot is the only organization that has opened three charter high schools in the Los Angeles area (Animo Leadership High School Fall 2000, Animo Inglewood High School Fall 2002, Oscar De La Hoya Animo High School Fall 2003). All of Green Dot s schools serve high need students with a large percentage of English Language Learners. The successes at Green Dot s first three schools prove that Green Dot s educational and operational models for small urban public high schools work. Green Dot s existing schools have achieved far greater results than other schools in the local area on all key performance metrics while serving comparable student populations. API Scores: School Year Base API State Rank Similar Schools Rank Animo Leadership a Animo Inglewood Hawthorne High Inglewood High Roosevelt (a) Animo Leadership s similar schools rank calculated using the API scores of its similar schools. Due to a data entry error, Animo Leadership did not receive an accurate similar schools rank from the CDE for the school year. Note: Hawthorne High (Centinela Valley District), Inglewood High (Inglewood Unified) and Roosevelt (LAUSD) are the schools that students from Animo Leadership, Animo Inglewood and Oscar De La Hoya Animo respectively, would have most likely attended if they did not attend a Green Dot school. 9

10 Graph 1: 90% Performance on 2003 California High School Exit Exam (Class of 2006) 80% 79% 78% 71% Percent of Class Passing 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 57% 59% 42% 65% 29% 61% 36% Percent Passed (ELA) Percent Passed (Math) 20% 10% 0% Animo Leadership Statewide Los Angeles Unif ied Inglew ood Unified Centinela Valley Union Graph 2: 8.0 Gains in Reading Proficiency, From 8th to 9th Grade (Class of 2006, Matched Student Scores) Mean NCE Gain (Decline) '02 Linked 8th SAT9 vs. '03 9th CAT Animo Inglewood 1.7 Animo Leadership Statewide (0.5) Statewide Economically (2.5) Disadvantaged Los Angeles Unified Inglewood Unified (3.8) (3.9) Centinela Valley Union* (4.7) * Centinela Valley Union High School district 8th grade scores computed using a weighted average of scores from feeder elementary school districts and are for comparative purposes only. 10

11 Other Key Performance Results: Student Attendance: Average daily attendance at all three Green Dot schools is at or above 96%. Family Involvement: 80% of parents at Animo Leadership and Animo Inglewood completed their volunteer hours last year. Waiting Lists: Each school has over 100 students on their waiting lists (Animo Leadership - 175, Animo Inglewood 125, Oscar De La Hoya Animo 118) Financial Management: Animo Leadership and Animo Inglewood both achieved their results operating on available State and Federal funds. In only three years, Animo Leadership has built up a cash reserve of greater than $500,000. Green Dot's early successes have already accelerated systemic change: LAUSD Superintendent Roy Romer stated that Oscar De La Hoya Animo Charter High School is the model school for future LAUSD high schools. The Lennox School District, which chartered Animo Leadership, opened its own charter school in August 2003 that was designed after Animo Leadership. SCHOOL MODEL Green Dot has developed a model for opening and operating high schools that enables students to receive the educations they deserve to be prepared for college, leadership and life. Each Green Dot student will graduate from high school with the following skills and attributes: Responsible: A developed sense of personal accountability and the ability to act and learn without guidance or superior authority. Able to make rational decisions on her/his own. Prepared for College: All curriculum requirements to enter a four-year college completed. Possesses the skills necessary to succeed in college including independent learning, cooperative learning and time management. Life-long Learners: Possesses the social maturity, passion for personal interests, effective communication skills and responsibility necessary to help her/him continue learning and growing throughout life. Culturally Aware: Able to make connections and comparisons between different cultures and engage with diverse communities. Has an appreciation for diversity. Community Leaders: Understands the value of participating in her/his community and the political process, and knows the basic skills for organizing around different issues. Small Schools and Class Sizes Green Dot schools will be small (approximately students when fully developed), giving each student the best chance of success. A student school ensures that no students fall through the cracks and allows students to receive the personalized attention they need to learn effectively. Students can be held accountable for all of their actions and the administrators and teachers can develop personal 11

12 relationships with each student and their families. Smaller high schools are also safer and decrease the security risks inherent in urban schools as potential problems can be recognized early and mitigated. A 21:1 student to teacher ratio is targeted to provide individual attention to students and help teachers instruct effectively in classes that typically have students at varying proficiency levels. College Preparatory Curriculum Green Dot s education model is designed to give every Green Dot student the chance to go to college. All students will be enrolled in classes meeting the UC A-G requirements and courses are aligned with State Content Standards. It is our goal to provide all students with the opportunity to attend a UC, CSU or other four-year university. The curriculum at Green Dot schools will be challenging and teachers will maintain high expectations for all students and work with students to achieve these goals. All students are required to successfully complete 190 core curriculum credits upon graduation. All schools provide a number of opportunities for academic and personal support to students to help students conquer Green Dot s challenging college preparatory curriculum. The following classes and support programs are offered at Green Dot s existing schools: Reading and Math Intervention Programs: Reading and Math intervention programs are provided to ninth and tenth grade students that are performing below grade level to ensure that they become proficient in these two critical subjects. Study Skills: a class for ninth graders focused on helping students develop the skills critical for academic success such as time management, note taking, planning and retention. College Readiness: a class for tenth graders to help them better understand college, the differences amongst colleges, what it takes to get into college, the application and financial aid processes, and other key elements related to attending college. Advisory groups: Meet once a week to discuss issues related to the pressures of being a young adult in high school. Students remain in the same advisory groups with the same teacher for all four years to maintain a tighter sense of community. Guided Study: All students who do not complete their homework or struggle with it are required to attend Guided Study at lunch where a teacher helps them with their work. All assignments must be turned in the following day. Homework Club: Students who are struggling with a particular class or simply want more work in a subject are assigned to attend homework club, which is offered for an hour every day after school and run by a credentialed teacher and college interns. Appendix B includes a table of the courses that are currently offered at Animo Leadership Charter High School. Animo Inglewood and Oscar De La Hoya Animo offer similar courses in the grades they serve. Future Green Dot schools will likely offer most of these courses as well, but will make adjustments in certain areas to meet the specific needs of their students. 12

13 Books utilized for each course at Green Dot schools are chosen through a collaborative effort between school principals, founding teachers and Green Dot s Home Office. Green Dot s education team has developed a list of recommended textbooks and teaching strategies for each course offered at Green Dot schools. There is less variety on the Green Dot recommended list in the core subjects of Math, English, Science and History than in elective courses to ensure an appropriate level of consistency in curriculum in core subjects. From the recommended list, the principals and teachers of each Green Dot school determine which textbooks and strategies are most relevant for their particular schools. Principals and teachers do have the flexibility to use books or strategies that are not on Green Dot s recommended list, but are only able to do so after receiving approval from the Green Dot Home Office education team. Substantial Family Involvement Family involvement in a student s education is one of the most important ingredients to student success and Green Dot is committed to actively integrating parents/guardians into all aspects of their students education experiences. Green Dot uses a number of mechanisms to develop strong relationships with the families of each student and ensure that every parent/guardian has a vested, active interest in their children s educational development: Adult Support Agreement: Each parent, guardian or sponsoring adult must sign an Adult Support Agreement, which commits that person to be a part of the Green Dot community and to perform 35 hours of volunteer service at the school each year. Green Dot measures completion of parent/guardian volunteer hours and reaches out to parents that are not on target to meet their commitments. 80% of the parents at Green Dot s existing schools completed their volunteer hours last year. Access to Teachers and Administrators: Parents/guardians have open access to all teachers and administrators and are encouraged to use it. Parents are given employees cell phone numbers and can set up meetings with teachers and administrators at any time. Office hours are held weekly for parents, formal parent conferences are held twice a year and social events for families are held at least once each semester. Parent Input to School Policy: Parents form committees in order to be able to provide valuable input to Green Dot Schools in a number of key areas. Founding parents form a school leadership team with teachers and administrators to guide the development of school policy and culture. Some of the decisions this leadership team makes may include: uniform s design, fundraising for school activities, school schedule, course offerings, feedback loops that can measure school success, and so on. Outreach for Struggling Students: If a student shows signs of struggling, is not doing homework or receives detention, phone calls are placed immediately to the student s parent/guardian. If the problems persist, face-to-face meetings are set up quickly. 13

14 PowerSchool: Green Dot schools use PowerSchool, a student information system from Apple that gives parents/guardians real time access to grades, attendance records and other key information required to track student progress. This tool enables parents to play a critical role in the student accountability process. Empower Principals and Teachers Green Dot has designed its school model to give principals and teachers a significant amount of influence over decisions related to curriculum and school culture. Green Dot provides the leadership of each new school with best practices for curriculum based on experiences of Green Dot schools to date as well as on leading educational research. These best practices include recommendations of appropriate curriculum and teaching strategies for each grade level and subject. Principals, in collaboration with teachers, will have the flexibility to use these best practices or to adjust them in order to determine the most appropriate curriculum for their schools. Principals are considered the CEOs of their schools and are responsible for the academic and financial results their schools achieve. Because they are held accountable for results, principals have the flexibility to determine their school s curriculum, to steer its culture and to hire and develop teachers. Teachers are integral school policy makers and are active participants in such areas as the hiring process, evaluation process, and curriculum development for the school. Teachers are held accountable to the principal, one another, parents, and students. This system of principal and teacher empowerment and accountability assures a culture of trust, innovation, professionalism and a focus on continuous school improvement. Green Dot s model for empowering principals and teachers has proven extremely successful to date as key programs related to student intervention, school safety and school operations that were developed by principals and teachers at Animo Leadership and Animo Inglewood are being integrated into the program for all Green Dot schools. Talented and Passionate Employees Green Dot is committed to attracting employees that are talented, passionate and dedicated to Green Dot s vision. All new employees go through an extensive interview process that includes interviews with principals, teachers, parents and students to ensure that the candidates are the best fit for the organization. As part of this hiring process, potential teachers must give lesson plans to a classroom full of students and parents. Expectations are laid out clearly to new employees and Green Dot s vision is presented explicitly to ensure that all hired candidates align with the school s culture and have the dedication necessary to succeed. All new employees will go through several rounds of interviews. Ongoing Development for Employees Green Dot makes a commitment to develop its principals and teachers throughout their careers. New principals are hired early in order to be mentored at Green Dot s existing schools. Principals also spend at least one day each year shadowing principals at other 14

15 schools. Monthly meetings are held between Green Dot management and the principals to work on development areas critical to managing a school. Green Dot s Home Office and the principals collaborate to manage teacher staff development. A comprehensive teacher development strategy is developed for each Green Dot school and individualized plans are generated for specific teachers days are set aside each year specifically for staff development purposes and teachers attend at least one conference annually. New teachers are paired with experienced teachers throughout the year and teaching mentors are provided to struggling teachers by the Green Dot Home Office. Teacher development is also entrenched in the weekly program as each school has a late start on Wednesdays to allow for ninety-minute staff development meetings. Students as Leaders Green Dot students take responsibility for their schools and are positive contributors to the school community. They are given real power in the management of their schools and thus develop a greater sense of responsibility for their education and a heightened excitement for learning. The following programs and processes are implemented at each site to include students in major decisions at their respective schools: Ownership of Clubs: Students decide what clubs they will have at their schools. Students must develop plans and get petition signatures for clubs to be created. Influence over Sports Teams: Students vote on what sports teams or other extracurricular activities they will have at their schools. The student vote is combined with analysis by the staff of the school budget and overall program to make final decisions. Participate in Hiring New Teachers: Teaching candidates must give a lesson to a class of students. Student feedback on candidates is an integral part of the hiring process. Serve as Counselors / Mentors: Existing students are assigned as mentors for incoming ninth graders. Green Dot also actively incorporates leadership into the curriculum of its schools. A leadership program is offered through a variety of classes, clubs and special projects over four-years. Leadership is built into the curriculum and students engage in activities such as Get Out the Vote precinct walking and voter registration campaigns. The culmination of the leadership program is a legacy project that must be completed by the graduating class of each Green Dot school. At Animo Leadership this year, the seniors have decided to establish a tutoring program with elementary school students as their legacy project. This is a program that has been developed entirely by the students for their community. Focus on Results - Student Assessment and Goal Setting Green Dot schools have rigorous assessment and goal setting programs to measure students proficiency levels and ensure that each student is making progress toward becoming a responsible, well-educated adult. Students are assessed regularly from the 15

16 time they enter the school through graduation and teachers monitor their progress closely. The following assessments are currently used at Green Dot s three existing schools: Placement exams: All freshman and new students are given placement exams in order to determine their proficiency levels in core subjects. Comparable tests are given at the end of the year to measure progress. State Required Tests: All state required tests are given and analyzed closely (STAR, CAHSEE, etc.). 8 th grade scores for incoming freshman are gathered so that growth can be compared between Green Dot schools and the district schools. Other Standardized Tests: PSAT annually beginning in 9 th grade, AP tests, etc. Traditional Classroom Assessments: Quizzes, essays, projects and exams are delivered regularly in classes. Students are also measured regularly in non-curriculum areas such as class attendance and discipline. Scores from all student assessments can be uploaded into Green Dot s information management system (PowerSchool) so that students progress within particular subjects and across all subjects can be monitored at any given time. Teachers critically analyze student data, identify strengths and opportunity areas and develop individualized learning plans and defined goals for their students. Goals, and student progress towards those goals, are clearly communicated to students and parents on a regular basis. Regular assessments and analysis help administrators manage their schools more effectively as they can clearly identify problem areas for certain students or subjects and allocate resources to fix those areas. Ambitious goals are set for all Green Dot schools. Short term goals are set through collaborative efforts between the principals and the Green Dot Home office, while longterm goals are set by the Home Office and are consistent across all Green Dot schools. Below are the long-term goals for each Green Dot school: 100% of all students attending a Green Dot school for at least four years will graduate from High School and 75% will complete college 80% of students will score in at least the 50 th percentile on the total reading, total math, and total language batteries of the STAR Tests or any test used to measure growth against the California Content Standards. All students will pass the California High School Exit Exam Each Green Dot School will receive at least 8 out of 10 Similar School API score and at least 6 out of 10 State Rank API score. All Green Dot Schools score above the interim Statewide Performance Target of 800 by the end of their fifth operating school year. 90% of all parents complete their required service hours annually. 16

17 Average annual student retention rate of 95% Emphasis on Technology Technology is tightly integrated into the curriculum at Green Dot schools to drive higher levels of achievement and prepare students for the information driven economy of the 21 st Century. It is also used as a critical tool for gathering data for school management. At each of its schools, Green Dot invests in technology in the following areas: All Green Dots schools are networked and laptops are made available to students to use at school or at home. Each teacher is provided with a laptop and given training on effectively using technology in the classroom. Courses often include Web based research projects and assignments. A technology class is offered in the ninth grade to train students on computers and different software programs. A web based student information and school management system (PowerSchool) is implemented at each school. Cell phones / walki-talkies are provided to all employees to provide greater accessibility for parents and ensure rapid responses to incidences on campus. Utilizing technology effectively can help deliver exceptional student results that couldn t be achieved otherwise. Through the use of technology, students can learn basic skills better and faster, get more excited about learning, show a higher level of comprehension and take more pride in their work. 2 Special Education Green Dot schools provide services to special education students through partnerships with local district SELPAs or by contracting directly with special education teachers / experts. Animo Leadership and Animo Inglewood are both members of the Southwest SELPA. This strong working relationship has proven to be been both effective and affordable for the two schools. Due to capacity constraints at the LAUSD SELPA, Oscar De La Hoya Animo has hired a special education teacher who will manage all special education efforts. Green Dot is investigating other alternatives for managing special education (including an all charter SELPA, etc.), in order to ensure that it is able to cost effectively provide the required services. Reliance on Best Practices Best practices in areas such as curriculum development, teaching strategies, professional development and school management are shared across all Green Dot schools. Green Dot s best practices are developed through the experiences of each of its schools and extensive analysis of what is working at comparable schools throughout the rest of the country. 2 The Impact of Technology on Student Achievement: A Summary of Research Findings on Technology s Impact in the Classroom, Apple Computer,

18 Unique Look and Feel Despite being built with the same school model and following many of the same best practices, each Green Dot school still maintains its own unique look and feel. Principals and teachers are encouraged and empowered to mold school cultures and adjust curriculum to make them most relevant to each schools unique student population and community. Particularly in areas such as electives, clubs and other extracurricular activities, Green Dot schools have several differences. Commitment to Green Dot Core Values Ubiquitous throughout Green Dot s school model are its core values, which serve as the cornerstone for Green Dot s culture and the culture of each of its schools. All stakeholders in Green Dot s schools (student, teachers, administrators, parents and Green Dot management) share a firm commitment to these core values and use them as guiding principles in carrying out their responsibilities. Unwavering belief in all students potential All young adults can be successful learners if they are provided with an excellent academic environment and the necessary tools. Passion for excellence Strive for excellence in all endeavors. Challenges can be overcome through commitment and passion. Personal responsibility Take responsibility and initiative in our lives and encourage accountability for our actions. Respect for others and community Respect others in our daily interactions and be positive impacts on our communities. All stakeholders are critical in the education process Young adults will receive the best educations when all stakeholders (students, teachers, administrators, parents, management) make a genuine effort to participate in the education process. Green Dot highlights its core values in personnel interviews and professional development sessions, during assemblies, at parent meetings and at other activities throughout the year to reinforce them to all Green Dot stakeholders. Green Dot is in the process of developing a performance metric to allow it to measure how well the organization is aligning its actions with its core values. ORGANIZATIONAL MODEL Green Dot is building a central, Home Office organization that will serve as the engine for opening 100 new schools and will ensure quality results at those schools. Green Dot s Home Office will replicate the school model used for its existing schools and continually improve on that model in order to open new high schools that will change the landscape of secondary education in Los Angeles. Green Dot s Home Office will: a) bring standard methodologies, processes and systems in the areas of curriculum and school management to each new school it opens, b) provide a number of services to support each school, c) govern each school and drive results, d) share experiences and 18

19 best practices across all its schools, and e) work with LAUSD to influence the district to aggressively adopt the small schools model for all of its schools. Green Dot s Home Office is different from a traditional school district in the following ways: Far more autonomy is given to each school site, particularly on decisions related to curriculum. The Home Office is very lean and will maintain a higher total employee to Home Office (district) employee ratio than districts. Innovation is encouraged relentlessly. Home Office employees interact more frequently with all school stakeholders. Green Dot adopts best practices and methodologies from the private sector more aggressively. Schools will be required to deliver results and employees at the school sites as well as the Home Office will be held accountable for their results. Key services the Green Dot Home Office will provide to open and support each school are described in detail below: Recruiting Green Dot prioritizes recruiting and the Home Office focuses on it year round. Green Dot engages in the following activities to ensure it has access to the largest pool of great principal and teacher candidates: Information Sessions and Formal Recruiting: Information sessions, events and formal recruiting at top graduate schools and credentialing programs such as LMU and UCLA. Work Study Programs: Work-study students serve as teaching assistants at Green Dot schools. During their employment, many students generate interest in permanent employment at Green Dot, while enabling school site administrators an extended interview period. Advertising: Green Dot allocates funds to advertise at graduate schools, in periodicals such as Education Week, with unions and other trade organizations, on job boards, etc. Partnerships: Green Dot has developed partnerships with placement groups such as RISE that have a strong base of potential teachers. Green Dot tries to hire all of its new principals approximately six months before the opening of a new school and works with those principals to hire teachers from the candidate pool that has been developed. Green Dot s goal for all of its employees is to either retain them at Green Dot throughout their careers or to help prepare them for other careers within the education industry. 19

20 Leading up to the school year, Green Dot successfully attracted over 40 applicants for its one Principal opening at Oscar de La Hoya Animo and also hired over 20 credentialed or emergency credentialed teachers for its schools. Facilities The Home Office is responsible for securing facilities for each school and for all major renovation projects. Given that Green Dot opens its schools a grade at a time, it is likely that all schools will need to move at least once. Green Dot s current model has each new school moving into a temporary facility for its first two years before moving to a permanent site (which will be either leased or purchased). Temporary facilities are typically shared facilities (Universities, Junior Colleges, Boys & Girls Clubs, etc.) buildings that require minimal tenant improvements (such as churches with classrooms), old private schools, similar use buildings or modular classrooms. Green Dot will find one to two temporary facilities within the vicinity of a cluster of schools in order to reuse those facilities for other Green Dot schools opened in that particular cluster and spread tenant improvement costs of temporary schools across multiple schools. Green Dot begins looking for a permanent facility for each school during the schools first year of operation with the goal of moving each school into a permanent site after its second year of operation. Green Dot s permanent sites will be smaller than district public schools (likely 2 to 3 acres) and multi-story. Schools in the same Green Dot clusters will share fields, assembly halls and other large spaces. To identify properties, Green Dot works closely with leading real estate brokers such as CB Richard Ellis and Cushman Wakefield and local brokers who can find properties and facilities that are not listed on the market. Additionally, the Home Office works with the City of Los Angeles, LAUSD, the LA Business Improvement District and other organizations to identify potential locations for its schools. Green Dot is in active discussions with LAUSD about the possibility of sharing space at some of the district s existing schools or occupying some of the district s new schools that will be opening over the next few years. Within the next two years, Green Dot expects that at least one of its schools will operate in buildings owned by the District. Below is a breakout of the facilities used at Green Dot s existing schools: Animo Leadership Charter High School: Animo Leadership shares a facility with the West LA Law School. West LA Law School is a night school and thus Animo Leadership has access to the entire campus during the day. Animo Leadership recently received $10,000,000 allotment from the State of California (Proposition 47: half grant, half loan) to purchase a permanent facility. Animo Inglewood Charter High School: Animo Inglewood is currently leasing classroom space from the First United Methodist Church in Inglewood. The Home Office is in the process of securing a permanent facility for next year. 20

21 Oscar De La Hoya Animo: Oscar De La Hoya Animo began operations in the Selesian Boys & Girls Club, using the facility in the morning while the Boys & Girls Club used it in the afternoon. The school moved to a site that was donated by the Oscar De La Hoya Foundation in November. Facilities Financing Green Dot s Home Office is also responsible for acquiring the capital required to purchase and lease facilities. With its first three schools, Green Dot has proven that it is very effective at obtaining public funds or structuring creative deals to pay for facilities. Green Dot employs the following strategy to overcome the significant challenge of paying for property in a very expensive and crowded Los Angeles market. 1.) Aggressively leverage all legislation / public funds available Prop 39 / Measure K: Use Prop 39 to force the district to provide facilities for new schools at a reasonable cost or use it to enact concessions from the district such as co-signatures on loans or cash payments. o Result: Using Prop 39 as a negotiating tool, Green Dot secured a commitment $120,000 from Centinela Valley District to be applied to Leadership s facilities expense if the school does not receive SB 740 funds. Prop 47: Apply for Prop 47 funds for all schools. o Result: Green Dot secured $10,000,000 through Prop 47 to purchase / build a new facility for Animo Leadership. SB 740: Apply for SB 740 funds for all schools (as long as legislation exists). o Result: Green Dot received $75,000 for Animo Leadership in Fiscal 2003 through SB 740 and anticipates receiving close to $200,000 for Animo Leadership and $100,000 for Animo Inglewood in Fiscal ) Structure Creative Deals to Offset High Costs of Land Engage in innovative deals and partnerships with LAUSD, New Schools Venture Funds REIT, non-profits, land developers, and other key organizations in order to lower the costs of facilities. o Result: Green Dot entered into a partnership with the Oscar De La Hoya Foundation in which it named Oscar De La Hoya Animo after Mr. De La Hoya in exchange for free land on which the school could be built. 3.) Utilize attractive financing and leasing options Develop close relationships with groups such as the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) and ExEd that have money set aside to provide low interest loans to charter schools. o Result: Green Dot received a letter of interest for $2.5 million from LIIF to finance a new facility for Animo Inglewood. 21

22 4.) Influence additional legislation reform to help solve the facilities challenge Collaborate with groups such as Edvoice to lobby for the creation of more legislation such as Prop 47 that ease the facilities financing burden. As Green Dot has already proven, it is well positioned to take advantage of the above strategies for finding and financing properties. Curriculum Development Green Dot s Education team is developing a menu of curriculum options to be used by each new Green Dot school. The recommended curriculum includes a variety of options for courses (particularly electives), textbooks, and teaching strategies that Green Dot believes will deliver the best student results. The education team works with principals and lead teachers before the start of each new school to determine the most appropriate curriculum for each school. The education team also meets with principals and teachers regularly to further refine their curriculum and ensure that the curriculum is being delivered effectively. The Home Office learns from the experiences of each of its schools and shares those experiences in order to improve results at all of its schools. Additionally, it learns from leading research and best practices utilized outside of its network in order to ensure that each of its schools are employing the most effective innovations in secondary curriculum. Professional Development Green Dot s Home Office manages professional development for all principals. Principals are hired at least three months before the start of the schools year so that they can be mentored at Green Dot s existing schools and by Green Dot s CAO. Monthly development meetings are held with principals throughout the year. Professional development for teachers is managed collaboratively by the Home Office and the individual school sites (led by the principals). The Home Office carries out development relevant to all Green Dot teachers, while principals are responsible more specific teacher professional development at each school site. Fundraising All major fundraising campaigns are managed through the Home Office. Individual schools will be encouraged to engage in smaller, more local fundraising efforts. Budgeting Green Dot s Home Office develops budgets for all of its schools with substantial input from principals. The principals have the best visibility into where resources are needed most at their schools and provide critical guidance to Green Dot in the budget creation process. During the school year, principals are given the flexibility to allocate financial resources as they see fit. Principals are expected to analyze trade-offs and make decisions within the parameters of their budgets (by reallocating line-items). However, principals are not allowed to increase the overall size of their budgets without 22