AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS Issued September 2012 Revised: January 2015 APS Code: LBD-E CHARTER SCHOOLS (Intent to Apply to Become a District Charter School) Page 1 of 6 Instructions: All district charter school applicants must file this intent to apply form with the district at least 30 days before submitting an application to the Board of Education. The intent to apply form may be returned to the Division of Accountability and Research, 15701 E. 1st Avenue, Suite 112, Aurora, CO 80011. The form should also be the first document included in the district charter school application. February 9, 2018 Today’s Date: ___________________ March 9, 2018 Date when you intend to submit your application:_____________________________ Aurora Community School Name of proposed district charter school: ___________________________________________ NA Name of education management provider (EMP), if applicable: __________________________ Jessica Martin Contact person: ____________________________________________________ Mailing address: _________________________________________ City: __________________________ State: _____ Zip: __________ Daytime phone: _______________ Fax: _________________________ Email: ________________________________________ Please respond to the following; attach separate sheets as necessary. 1. Applicant(s) has/will file an application to charter this school or a substantially similar school with other authorizers:  Yes  No If yes, please list the other authorizer(s): ______________________________________________________________________ 2. Applicant(s) submitting this form: (Check appropriate statement)  is incorporated in Colorado as a nonprofit  has filed application to become a Colorado nonprofit  (state type of entity, if other than above): _____________________________ 3. If applicant intends to contract with an EMP, the corporate status of the EMP is:  incorporated in Colorado as a nonprofit  has filed application to become a Colorado nonprofit  (state type of entity, if other than above): __________________________ 4. The proposed district charter school will be located within the boundaries of the school district in which this intent to apply form is submitted:  Yes  No If no, the proposed district charter school will be located in _______________________. AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS Issued September 2012 APS Code: LBD-E CHARTER SCHOOLS (Intent to Apply to Become a District Charter School) Page 2 of 6 5. Does the school expect to contract with a charter management organization or company for school management or operation?  Yes  No If yes, identify the charter management organization: ________________________________________________________________________ 6. Proposed principal or lead administrator information Name of proposed principal candidate: Jessica Martin + Meredith Stolte ________________________________________________________________________ Current employment: Director, School Support at The Achievement Network ________________________________________________________________________ ____________ Phone (day) ____________ Phone (evening) ____________________________________________ Email address 7. Model or focus of proposed school: (ex. Arts, College Prep, Dual Language, etc.) Community School Model Aurora Community School is built on two principles: Community In and Community Out Community In: We partner with community organizations and agencies to provide families and students with the resources they need to be successful. Community Out: By engaging in experience-based learning curriculum, students will have the opportunity to use their learning and agency to contribute to and positively impact their community. ________________________________________________________________________ 8. Grade levels to be served: K-8 ________________________________________________________________________ AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS Issued September 2012 APS Code: LBD-E CHARTER SCHOOLS (Intent to Apply to Become a District Charter School) Page 3 of 6 9. Projected enrollment and demographics chart K School Year 1 School Year 2 School Year 3 School Year 4 School Year 5 1 2 10. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total 75 75 0 0 0 75 0 0 265 40 75 75 75 0 0 75 75 0 475 40 75 75 75 75 0 75 75 75 580 60 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 660 % ELL School Year 1 School Year 2 School Year 3 School Year 4 School Year 5 3 40 54% % SPED 10% % FRL 84% Name of applicant team or founding entity: ________________________________________________________________________ A. Names, roles, and current employment of all persons on the applicant team: Jessica Martin, Co-Founder Current: Director of School Support at The Achievement Network Meredith Stolte, Co-Founder Current: Director of School Support at The Achievement Network Erin Sciscione, Design Team Current: Principal of Downtown Denver Expeditionary School Brandi Phillips, Design Team Current: Director of School Support at The Achievement Network Joshua Martin, Design Team Current: Special Education Consultant at Aurora Public Schools Kristen Hughes, Design Team Current: Senior Network Associate at The Achievement Network AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS Issued September 2012 APS Code: LBD-E CHARTER SCHOOLS (Intent to Apply to Become a District Charter School) Page 4 of 6 B. Does the applicant team or any members of the team currently operate any other schools?  Yes  No C. Explain the individual and collective qualifications of the applicant team members to establish a high-quality charter school, in particular the capacity to assume responsibility for public funds, administration and governance. The Design Team consists of five lifelong educators. Each of the team members brings a particular skill set, needed to create a vision that not only makes sense on paper but can be implemented in a way that supports all students within the building. Erin currently runs a K-5 (soon to be K-8) charter in Denver. Joshua has spent his career working with students who receive special services, including students with IEPs, ALPs, and those who receive language supports. Jessica brings strong instructional and curricular knowledge to all content areas, grades K-4. Meredith and Brandi have an immense amount of instructional expertise in Middle School Literacy and Math, respectively. All of these team members have worked as teachers, building leaders, and district leaders and have a variety of experiences in traditional and charter schools. Kristen, the additional design team member, although not an educator, has a plethora of non-profit experience, with a focus on project management, communication support, community networking, and event planning. However, we know there are many other aspects to consider, when creating a school--therefore, we are working very closely with our advisory board (noted in Section F) and outside consultants to ensure we are prepared both instructionally and operationally. AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS Issued September 2012 APS Code: LBD-E CHARTER SCHOOLS (Intent to Apply to Become a District Charter School) Page 5 of 6 D. Include as attachments resumes for each individual on the applicant team. Have you included the attachments? E.  Yes  No Explain the circumstances and motivations that brought the applicant team together to propose this charter school. The team working to create Aurora Community School, although diverse in many ways, all have one very strong passion in common - providing all students, regardless of background, race, culture, socioeconomic status, learning needs, etc. an equitable learning experience. We believe that, in order to do this, a school must exist that offers more than the traditional space for teachers to teach and students to learn content. We seek to: (1) raise the level of social and emotional competence in all children as part of their regular education – not just children who have a potential opportunity gap (2) improve academic performance by creating caring, confident learners who are self aware and comprehend their impact on others; and (3) to support the development of a compassionate, ethical, socially responsible, collaborative learning community. AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS Issued September 2012 APS Code: LBD-E CHARTER SCHOOLS (Intent to Apply to Become a District Charter School) Page 6 of 6 F. Which applicant team members will become founding board members? The core design team will not transition to the Board; however, they will continue to contribute to the school in the coming years, in a multitude of ways. We do, however, anticipate several of the current advisory board members (listed below) will be part of the founding board. Jason Guerrero, Advisory Board (Finance) Current: Owner of G&G Consulting Christine Levy, Advisory Board (Development) Current: Senior Associate at McKinsey & Company Christine DeLeon, Advisory Board (Non-Profit) Current: Founder and CEO, Moonshot edVentures Ashley Piche, Advisory Board (Policy, School Planning) Current: Director of Accountability and Data Analysis at Colorado Department of Education Papa Dia, Advisory Board (Community Relations, Business) Current: Founder & CEO at African Leadership Group Lacy McDonald, Advisory Board (Community) Current: Project Exodus 11. Identify any organizations, agencies, consultants or institutions of higher education that are partners in planning and establishing this charter school, along with a brief description of their current and planned role and any resources they have contributed or plan to contribute to the school’s development. The Community School Model brings educators, families, and partners together to offer a range of opportunities, supports, and services to students, as well as their families and the broader community. Because of that, much of the work of the applicant team has been better understanding the needs of the community, and working to find the right partners to fill the gaps. We currently have promising potential partnerships with 40+ local organizations, including Food Bank of the Rockies, Project Worthmore, Communities in Schools, Young Aspiring Americans for Social and Political Activism (YAASPA), African Leadership Group, and Soccer without Borders, just to name a few. As community partners commit to working alongside and learning from our students and families, we hope to create a true community center, where families and students can gain access to the resources, services, and other opportunities they need to be successful. Below are some of the community organizations/agencies which we are in partnership with and have supported in the planning, development and establishment of ACS. Janiece Mackey (YAASPA) - Supports students to engage in their community (socially and politically) through electives and/or afterschool programs. Papa Dia/Sylvia Karanja (African Leadership Group) - Provides strong connection to the immigrant/refugee community and will work closely with ACS through after school programs . DiAnna Royster (FoodBank) - Committed to partnering in service of distributing food and essentials to students and families. This may include Mobile Pantry; Kid's Cafe; and Totes of Hope. Mary McVeigh (Soccer without Borders) - During afterschool programs, Soccer without Borders will provide students with educational support, civic engagement, cultural exchange and team building experiences - all through the sport of soccer. Gary Chapman (Communities in Schools) - Works in partnership to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school while also providing basic needs, family engagement, behavioral intervention, academic and mental health support. Lacy McDonald (Project Exodus) - An after school option, focused on mentorship and creating strong leaders of tomorrow. Corbin Davis (Parkview Church) - Community partner interested in hosting after school programs for families within the school. Project Worthmore - Local non-profit providing supports for services for refugee families - including ESL classes, a food share program, work on the Delaney Farm, access to community navigators, along with health and dental clinics.