Office of Charter Schools Veritas College Preparatory 2019 Renewal Report 2 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report Table of Contents SCS Renewal Review Process ............................................................................................................................................... 3 Performance Framework .................................................................................................................................................. 3 Veritas College Preparatory Background & Profile ........................................................................................................... 4 Final Renewal Recommendation: ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Academic Performance Summary: School Performance Scorecard ................................................................................. 7 Operations Performance Summary: Operations Scorecard ............................................................................................. 8 Financial Performance Summary: Financial Scorecard ..................................................................................................... 9 Veritas College Preparatory Site Visit Report.................................................................................................................... 10 About Shelby County Schools’ Charter School Renewal Visits ....................................................................................... 10 Visit Structure.................................................................................................................................................................. 11 Veritas College Preparatory Visit Priorities & Findings ................................................................................................... 14 Educational Program ................................................................................................................................................... 14 School Operations ....................................................................................................................................................... 18 Facilities & Finances .................................................................................................................................................... 19 Renewal Visit Team ......................................................................................................................................................... 21 Appendices ......................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Academic Data ................................................................................................................................................................ 22 Operations Data .............................................................................................................................................................. 23 Finance Data.................................................................................................................................................................... 23 3 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report SCS Renewal Review Process Charter renewal marks a critical juncture for a school, and the renewal decision is one of Shelby County’s most important responsibilities as a charter school authorizer. At renewal, SCS must determine whether a school has met its public commitments to the children and families it serves, as well as to the community. The school must also demonstrate that it has met charter expectations, particularly for success in educating children during its current charter, and is prepared for success for children during a new charter term. The renewal process requires thorough analyses of a comprehensive body of objective data based on annual performance reviews over the charter term, a renewal application, and a renewal site visit. It culminates in an SCS board decision to renew or non-renew the charter, which is informed by a recommendation from the administration. Tennessee law does not specify the terms for charter non-renewal, but does provide that the authorizer may revoke a charter at any time based on a determination that the school has done any of the following:     Failed to meet the minimum performance requirements set forth in the charter agreement; Committed a material violation of any conditions, standards or procedures set forth in the charter agreement; Failed to meet or make sufficient progress toward the performance expectations set forth in the charter agreement; or Failed to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management.1 The Office of Charter Schools provided all schools an opportunity to respond to or “grieve” the Renewal Report before OCS finalized the performance summaries. The primary purpose of this response window was to ensure that the information underlying OCS’ recommendations and SCS Board decisions is as accurate, factually, as possible. The Office of Charter Schools has organized the school’s responses in a memo that includes a response to the school’s grievance. In the event that the school identified a factual correction and provided verification, OCS has made the correction for this final Renewal Report. In the event that the school identified a factual correction without verification, OCS has revised the report to acknowledge the school’s representation of the facts. In the event that the school’s response represents either a disagreement with OCS’ judgment (i.e., a difference of opinion) or raises an issue that is not material to OCS’ judgment (e.g., pointing out something about the science program when the OCS finding relates to English language arts) then OCS made no change to the report. The memo in the appendix provides a summary of the school’s responses and report revisions, if any. Performance Framework Shelby County Schools utilizes three performance frameworks to measure the academic, operational, and financial success and capacity of all SCS Charter-Managed schools. The frameworks serve a dual purpose. First, they act as a barometer of success, identifying areas for improvement or areas of concerns and highlighting the success of a school. Second, they act as an accountability metric, so that if a school falls below a certain threshold on any of the performance frameworks, they receive timely corrective action to improve outcomes or risk more permanent District-initiated corrective actions. The School Performance Scorecard (“SPS”) measures academic success by promulgating an aggregate score for a school’s Academic Achievement, Academic Growth, School Climate, and a high school’s College & Career Readiness. Schools 1 TN Code §§ 49-13-122(a)(5), (b). 4 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report receive a numeric score from 1 to 5, where 1 to 1.99 means a school Needs Improvement, 2 to 2.99 is Fair, 3 to 3.99 is Good, and 4 to 5 is Excellent. Achievement measures students who are On-Track or Mastered in the core academic subjects. Growth is measured using TVAAS data. School Climate considers attendance, suspensions, and expulsions. For high schools, College & Career Readiness is measured using graduation rates, ACT scores, and enrollment in post-secondary institutions. For K-8 schools, Achievement and Growth each account for 40% of an SPS score and Climate accounts for 20%. For High Schools, Achievement and Growth each account for 35% of an SPS score, College & Career Readiness accounts for 20%, and Climate accounts for 10%. The Operations Scorecard measures a school’s operational performance and capacity across eleven operations indicators. The Operations Scorecard aggregates a score across all eleven indicators and assigns a numeric score from 1 to 5, where 1 is Needs Improvement and 5 is Excellent. The scorecard considers Benefits; English Language Learners; Special Education; Health Services; Human Resources; Federal Programs; Student Mobility; Student Discipline; Student Information; Student Support Services; and General Compliance. The Operations Scorecard supports school autonomy by tying indicators to statute and regulations. The Financial Scorecard captures a school’s financial capacity and performance by examining audits and a school’s cash flow. Schools receive their score from the District’s financial experts, where 1 is Needs Improvement and 5 is Excellent. A school’s final recommendation for renewal or non-renewal is primarily based on data from the Academics Scorecard, Operations Scorecard, and Financial Scorecard. Performance Level Recommended for renewal Recommended for non-renewal Score Range 3.0-5.0 1.00-2.99 Veritas College Preparatory Background & Profile Veritas College Preparatory Charter School (“Veritas”) is a middle school serving 6th through 8th grades now located in the South Memphis region of Memphis. Veritas opened in 2010 in a downtown location with a 6 th grade class. The school’s mission is to “prepare students to excel in high school and college as accomplished scholars” based on the belief that all students are capable and deserving of a college education. Veritas opened with the intention of serving 90 students per grade for a total enrollment of 270.2 The school intended to locate in the Orange Mound region, but facilities challenges required the school to open in downtown then go through multiple moves before securing a long term lease at its current South Memphis location. The moves and current facilities constraints required Veritas to lower its enrollment expectations and to adjust its budget accordingly. The current budget is for a total enrollment of 150 students. The school reported its 2017-18 average daily membership (ADM) at 149 students.3 At the time of the renewal application, Veritas reported its 2018-19 ADM at 144. The overall lower enrollment expectations are based largely on the physical capacity of the school’s current, long-term facility. Veritas is in the fourth year of a 10-year lease at its current location. Veritas subleases the space from another charter school, Memphis College 2 3 Veritas College Preparatory Charter School: Charter Renewal Application (hereinafter Veritas Renewal Application (April 1, 2019), p.10. Veritas’ 2017-18 School Performance Scorecard has a slight discrepancy, listing the school’s enrollment at 151. 5 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report Prep. The arrangement appears to be collaborative and working well. The current lease runs through what would be the 6th year of the charter renewal term. Based on the information available, the school does not have any facilities-related compliance issues since moving to its current site. Veritas projects modest enrollment growth to a total of 170 students during the charter renewal term for which it has applied – still well below the SCS-approved maximum enrollment in the current charter. The school’s distinctive design elements relate primarily to fulfillment of its focus on high school- and college readiness. The curriculum emphasizes core academic subjects and the school prioritizes the use of data to inform instruction. In particular, Veritas uses data to group students according to their demonstrated status and learning needs and to provide the basis for intervention groups and other forms of Response to Intervention (RTI) support. Veritas’ enrollment is 95% Black. 80.1% of students are identified as Economically Disadvantaged, and 10.3% have been identified with disabilities (SWD). The SWD population is above the 2017-18 district-managed average (11.1%) and the average for the South Memphis region (approximately 12%). As of 2017-18, Veritas was one of only five (out of 35 total) K-8 charter schools to exceed both districtwide and regional averages for students with disabilities. There are two (1.1%) English Language Learners (ELL) To date, the school has not had a sufficient ELL population to receive subgroup ratings in that category. 6 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report Final Renewal Recommendation: Non-Renewal Academics Operations Finance 2.98 4.7 3.6 NON-RENEWAL RENEWAL RENEWAL The Office of Charter Schools recommends that the Shelby County School Board of Commissioners not approve the charter renewal of Veritas College Preparatory for another charter term of ten years to provide instruction to students in grades 6-8 as outlined in their application for charter renewal. Veritas has not met standard on academic performance. Tennessee Charter Law does not have a provision for conditional approvals. In the subsequent sections of this report, there are summaries of each of the three performance scorecards that identifies successes and areas of improvement for Veritas. 7 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report Academic Performance Summary: School Performance Scorecard The school performance scorecard data utilized for Veritas College Prep comprises three years of data (16-17, 17-18, and 18-19). Based on the 1-5 rating scale, Verita’s overall school performance scorecard rating was 2.98. This score falls within the fair range of performance but below the threshold of 3.0 required for a presumption of renewal. It is evident that Veritas has seen a significant decrease in academic performance over the term of its charter. The following is a deeper dive into each of the four components that comprise the scorecard: Achievement, Growth, and Climate. Academic – School Performance Scorecard Category 2010-12 Overall Score 4.66 Achievement Level 4.75 Growth Level 4.89 Climate Level 4.00 2013-15 3.57 4.00 2.76 4.33 2016-2019 2.98 2.75 3.19 3.0 Data used from 2017-18 supports Tennessee law which states, “No adverse action may be taken against any student, teacher, school, or LEA based, in whole or in part, on student achievement data generated from the 2017-18 TNReady assessments. For purposes of this section, adverse action includes, but is not limited to, the identification of a school as a priority school and the assignment of a school to the achievement school district”. Note: there were two different assessment models (TCAP vs. TNReady) over the course of the charter term, with TNReady assessments beginning in 2015-16 school year. Achievement The achievement indicator measures on-track plus mastery rates for the TN Ready exam. Veritas College Preparatory earned an overall achievement score of 2.75. Science had the highest on-track plus mastery performance of 28.6% for their composite, which had two-years of data. Over time, Veritas’ ELA data has significantly decreased from 35.1% proficient and advanced in 2011-12 to a 11.8% in the 2018-19 school year. Math performance was a 13.4% 3-year composite with an 11.3 percentage point increase from the 2017-18 to the 2018-19 school year. Achievement (Proficient + Advanced) 2009-10 ELA Math Science Year 1 was 2010-11 Social Studies 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 30.6% 35.1% 23.6% 28.4% 27.4% 14.5% 54.4% 67.7% 34.7% 39.4% 32.3% 56.1% 62.1% 61.1% 48.6% 85.5% 88.6% 2015-16 5.4% 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 8.2% 8.1% 11.8% 15.2% 6.8% 18.1% 34.8% 23.0% 13.3% 16.1% Growth Verita’s composite growth score was a 3.19. Veritas College Preparatory has earned level 3 growth in all subjects for the 2018-19 school year. Math below rate performance decreased from 2018 to 2019 by 6.5 percentage points. ELA below rate performance decreased by 8.4 percentage points in 2018-19, the largest decrease of the growth categories. Growth 2010-12 Avg 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 TVAAS Composite 5 5 5 TVAAS ELA 5 3 TVAAS Math 5 5 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 5 2 4 3 4 4 3 4 3 1 5 2 3 3 8 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report TVAAS Science 5 TVAAS Social Studies 5 3 3 3 4 Growth 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 ELA Below Rate 22.6% 20.2% 21.1% 17.4% 25.1% Math Below Rate 40.3% 6.1% 9.9% 34.2% 25.0% Science Below Rate 41.9% 12.3% 5.6% 16.3% 21.2% Social Studies Below Rate 14.5% 11.4% 2015-16 67.6% 3 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 32.1% 43.0% 34.6% 43.2% 51.4% 44.9% 31.8% 41.2% 46.7% 54% Climate Overall, Veritas College Preparatory earned a climate score was a 3. Their suspension rate increased from 2017-18 to 2018-19 by 9.7 percentage points to 16.4%. Veritas’ attendance had a significantly decreased to 89.1% in 2018-19. Their 3-year mean of 92.5%, and is the school’s lowest climate indicator. Climate Attendance Suspension Rate Expulsion Rate 2010-11 95.5% 2011-12 94.8% 2012-13 95.0% 2013-14 94.6% 0.0% 0.0% 2014-15 95.0% 0.32% 0.0% 2015-16 2016-17 91.7% 6.0% 0.00% 2017-18 96.6% 6.7% 0.00% 2018-19 89.1% 16.4% 0.00% Operations Performance Summary: Operations Scorecard The Shelby County Schools Office of Charter Schools (OCS) has a firm belief that every child deserves access to a highquality education. To ensure this, OCS provides rigorous oversight to all SCS district managed charter schools. As a charter school authorizer, we believe schools can operate with autonomy in exchange for accountability. The 2015-16 school year was the first year the Operations Score Card (OSC) was implemented. The Operations Score Card is the District’s method for evaluating non-academic measures for charter school operators. Each year when formally monitoring and evaluating the schools in our portfolio, we focus on 11 key indicators: Benefits, English Language Learners, Exceptional Education, Health Services, Human Resources, Federal Programs, Student Mobility, Student Discipline, Student Information, Student Support Services, and General Compliance. Each indicator score is based on a scale of 1-5 (1 being the lowest score possible and 5 being the highest). The overall (cumulative) score is an average of all indicator categories divided by 11. Please note that if there is an indicator that was not applicable to a respective school, no points were assigned and the total points possible were adjusted to reflect the null indicator. The scorecard indicated “NULL” for those indicators that are not applied to the overall score. All schools that earn a 3 or higher on the OSC are considered in good standing. School Year 20162017 20172018 20182019 OSC Cumulative Score Benefits English Language Learners General Compliance Exceptional Education Health Services Human Resources Federal Programs Student Mobility Student Info 3.81 5 NULL 3.29 1.8 5 5 NULL 4.29 NULL 4.46 5 NULL 3.5 5 5 5 3.5 4.2 NULL 4.7 5 NULL 4.5 4 5 5 4.2 4.8 5 9 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report Summary of Findings Veritas College Preparatory met the overall operations standard with a 2018-19 score of a 4.7. Health Services and Exceptional Children have sub-indicators with a score of 1; however, the indicator is still above what is considered good standing. In Exceptional Children the sub-indicator that scored the lowest score of a 1 was: Timely IEP and re-evaluation meetings. In Health Services the sub-indicator that scored the lowest score of a 1 was: There is compliance training for school staff assisting students who self-administer medication. For 52 of the 59 scored items on the District’s 2018-2019 operations performance report, the school received a rating of 5.0 (highest on a scale of 1 to 5). Financial Performance Summary: Financial Scorecard It is important that charters authorized by Shelby County Schools are good stewards of public funds and maintain healthy financial performance to be viable academic options for students and parents. Each SCS-authorized public charter is required to conduct an annual financial audit, which is submitted to TN Comptroller of the Treasury and posted on the TN Comptroller’s Division of Local Government Audit’s website (http://www.comptroller.tn.gov/RA_MA_Financial/). Each annual financial audit is conducted by a third-party auditor selected by the individual SCS-authorized public charter. SCS analyzes and summarizes the information in individual charter schools’ financial audits to produce the Charter School Financial Oversight Report that presents consistent and transparent information about SCS-authorized public charter schools’ finances. In preparing this report, SCS incorporated financial performance metrics from the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) as foundational best practices to measure the financial health of charter schools. The Charter School Financial Oversight Report includes financial performance information for each public charter school that was in operation in fiscal year 2016-17 and continued to be in operation in fiscal year 2017-18. Several charter school organizations issue one financial audit, including aggregated financial information for its school campuses in SCS. Consequently, SCS has elected to report a single financial report for charter schools with multiple school campuses in order to maintain consistency and comparability of financial measures. The individual financial oversight report card is the main component of the Charter School Financial Oversight Report. The financial oversight report card indicates compliance with state financial reporting requirements; provides a two-year overview of the school’s financial position, performance, and audit results; and includes a comment section for charter schools to offer additional context on their financial position and performance. The primary focus of the financial oversight report card is the Financial Audit Measures. Each school’s performance on these measures is compared to its prior year results and an associated score based on norms for healthy financial position. Summary of Findings Veritas College Preparatory’s FY2017-2018 and FY2018-19 audit and 990 were not received in a timely manner. The 20182019 State budget was received in a timely manner and was balanced upon receipt. In addition to receiving three 1s under the Financial Report Compliance category, Veritas also received a score of 1 for Financial Sustainability in FY2017 and FY2018. 10 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report Veritas College Preparatory Site Visit Report About Shelby County Schools’ Charter School Renewal Visits A site visit is an important opportunity for the authorizer to experience a school’s day-to-day operation, to observe the culture, and to gather evidence that helps to document and illuminate school performance. When charter renewal is at stake, the visit plays a particularly important role in providing context for the school’s overall record of performance and its plans for a new charter term. SCS renewal visits are designed to accomplish the following:    Generate additional evidence of performance in relation to charter contract and state standards. Document and assess fidelity of the educational culture and program particularly in relation to the essential program terms. Assess viability of plans for the new charter term particularly with respect to proposed material changes in program, school size or grades served. Most renewal site visits will have components both summative and formative. Summative components. Summative components are elements of the renewal visit that directly inform the district’s decision to renew or not renew the school’s charter, or that inform a district decision to approve or deny a material aspect of the school’s proposed plans for the new charter term. Formative components. Formative components are elements of the renewal visit that inform the district’s understanding of the school’s educational process or school’s operations, but do not directly affect the district’s ratings of school performance, and are not material to the district’s decision to approve or deny a material aspect of the school’s plans for the new charter term. School Autonomy. When SCS engages in formative assessment, including site visits, it frames the scope of reviews in ways that respect charter school autonomy. This framing includes:      Focusing the visit on areas that either directly pertain to school performance as defined in the district’s performance scorecard or that pertain to programmatic plans and priorities identified by the school in its core materials such as the charter agreement, the renewal application, and/or the essential program terms. Providing advance notice, whenever possible, on requests for access to documents and other materials. Limiting document requests to the format in which the school has created them rather than requiring the school to create new documents solely for purposes of the visit. Providing for school input on the sequencing of visit activities in order to maximize fulfillment of the visit’s purpose and minimize disruption of teaching and learning. Referencing judgments either to standards set out in the district’s performance scorecard or to programmatic or operational priorities that the school has identified. Findings and Recommendations. The renewal site visit culminates in this renewal site visit report. The findings contained herein focus on the formative and summative priorities identified for the visit based on the school’s program, planning, and performance. The 11 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report recommendations, if any, focus on material considerations or decisions affecting a new charter term.4 This renewal site visit report does not make a recommendation regarding whether the SCS Board should renew or non-renew the charter. That recommendation is based on assessment of the school’s performance record over the current charter term. The district will present a renewal recommendation to the SCS Board as part of the full Renewal Report of which this site visit report constitutes one component. Site Visit Priorities Based on Veritas’s performance and plans for a new charter term, the Charter Schools Office identified the following priorities for the renewal site visit:      How has Veritas defined success with respect to high school and college readiness? How does Veritas’ current approach to curriculum selection and delivery support both standards-aligned instruction and teacher autonomy? Is Veritas’ plan for implementing TEAM evaluations likely to strengthen instructional quality? Is Veritas taking deliberate steps to improve attendance that are aligned with and likely to support the school’s meeting SCS attendance expectations? Is Veritas meeting its special education obligations and communicating effectively with the SCS Office of Exceptional Children about this work? Visit Structure The performance status and renewal plans of each school dictate the visit structure and activities. That said, there are standard components that Shelby County Schools incorporates into most, if not all, visits. The Charter Schools Office tailors these components to the priorities identified for each school. Introductory Meeting. The introductory meeting provides an in-person opportunity for the full site visit team to review the purpose and structure of the visit with the school’s leadership. It also provides an important opportunity for the school’s leadership team to share any information about the schedule or the school day that they believe should inform the visit team’s review. The visit team and school leadership use this time to confirm the schedule and/or make adjustments as needed. School Walkthrough. The school walk through provides an informal opportunity for the school’s leadership to orient the visit team to the school, both physically and culturally. Observations. Observations provide direct evidence of how adults and children function in the school environment. Observations have specific objectives based on the school’s program and plans. For example, classroom observations incorporate review of essential elements of the educational program, or programmatic elements related to plans articulated in the school’s renewal application. By tailoring the focus of observations to school-identified priorities and plans, the district can provide formative feedback that aligns with school-generated criteria, rather than imposing external judgments about educational inputs and process. 4 For example, if the school has proposed expansion of grades or enrollment during the new charter term, the report may include a recommendation related to approval of the proposed material change. Alternatively, if the school is currently under monitoring for noncompliance, the visit may include updated compliance information along with a recommendation for monitoring status under a new charter term in the event the SCS Board renews the charter. 12 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report Document Review. Document review provides an opportunity for the site visit team to review primary source materials that may be difficult to review remotely or whose relevance becomes apparent during the visit. For example, the lesson plan for a particular class may be relevant to an observation of that class. Teacher and Leadership Interviews. Teacher and leadership interviews offer a way to better understand the school’s experience, beliefs, and plans related to school program and operations. As with observations, each interview has a primary purpose, or purposes aligned with the overall priorities identified for the renewal visit. Student and Parent Focus Groups. Focus groups provide an opportunity for visitors to engage directly with students and parents. They can provide important perspective, particularly about the educational program and school culture, from the people for whom the school ultimately exists. Board Discussion. The visit includes a meeting with members of the school’s governing board. One purpose for the board conversation is to assess the role and engagement of the board in defining and monitoring expected academic, organizational, and financial outcomes. A second purpose is to understand the board’s role and capacity in relation to the school’s proposed changes for the new charter term. 13 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report VERITAS COLLEGE PREPARATORY CHARTER SCHOOL: VISIT SCHEDULE TIME 7:40 am 7:50 8:00 8:20-9:05 ACTIVITY VISIT TEAM ARRIVAL WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS SCHOOL TOUR & ORIENTATION Classroom 1) 7th Social Studies 1) 7th ELA Observations 2) 6th Social 2) 6th Math Studies/Science 9:10-9:30 Classroom Observations 7th ELA 8th Math 6th Social Studies/Science 9:35- 10:00 Classroom Observations 8th Math 8th ELA 6th ELA 10:0510:25 10:3011:20 VISIT TEAM CHECK-IN Board Conversation Teacher Conversations: Sped & 7th grade Teacher Conversations: 6th & 8th grade Leadership Conversation Parent Focus Group Student Focus Group Conversations 11:30 am- Conversations/ 12:15 pm Focus Groups 12:2012:35 pm 12:3512:50 pm VISIT TEAM CHECK-IN LEADERSHIP WRAP UP & NEXT STEPS 1) 8th Math 2) 8th ELA 14 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report Veritas College Preparatory Visit Priorities & Findings SUMMARY OF PRIORITIES AND FINDINGS 1. Visit Priority: Educational Outcomes. How has Veritas defined success with respect to high school and college readiness? Finding. Veritas has successfully created a culture of expectations that students will pursue postsecondary education. With respect to the school’s mission to prepare students to excel in high school and in college, the work of defining and evaluating success is nascent. The school’s first graduates are now old enough to be completing college, providing an opportunity to define and begin assessing results related to the school’s core mission 2. Visit Priority: Curriculum. How does the current approach to curriculum selection and delivery support both standards-aligned instruction and teacher autonomy? Finding. Classroom observations revealed a number of common practices around instruction. Notwithstanding these common practices and consistent elements, teacher autonomy still predominates with respect to curriculum and instruction. The visit observations and conversations suggest that there may be opportunities either to move more deliberately and explicitly toward common curricula or, in the alternative, to provide teachers more focused professional development and support around curriculum development. 3. Visit Priority: Teacher Evaluation and Development. Is Veritas’ plan for implementing TEAM evaluations likely to strengthen instructional quality? Finding. The school’s leadership described a thoughtful, deliberate plan for TEAM evaluation implementation, and the school’s implementation to date has created strong teacher buy-in for the new system. 4. Visit Priority: Attendance. Veritas taking deliberate steps to improve attendance that are aligned with and likely to support the school’s meeting SCS attendance expectations? Finding. The visit team found that Veritas is giving appropriate, deliberate attention to improving attendance in a way that is likely to restore its strong overall record in this area. 5. Visit Priority: Students with Disabilities. Is Veritas meeting its special education obligations and communicating effectively with the SCS Office of Exceptional Children about this work? Finding. Veritas appears to be meeting the direct service hours required by students’ IEPs, and parents praised the progress their students have made as part of the special education program. However, the visit team had some concerns about the quality of special education instruction based on a classroom observation. Educational Program Educational program analysis includes any aspect of school programming that touches directly on learning content or outcomes. Veritas’ mission focuses on preparation to excel in high school and college. Veritas earned an overall academic performance rating of 2.54 (“Fair”) on the 2018-19 School Performance Framework, slightly higher than its 2017-18 score of 2.48. The 2018-19 results were based on an Achievement Score of 2.25 (up from 2.0 the previous year); Growth rating of 2.61 (up from 2.38 the previous year); and a Climate rating of 3.0 (down from 3.67 the previous year). The decline in the Climate score is largely attributable to a significant drop in attendance rates from 96.6% in 2017-18 to 89.1% in 2018-19, and an increase in suspension rates from 6.7% in 2017-18 to 16.4% in 2018-19. 15 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report In its renewal application, Veritas presents a thorough and thoughtful review of its academic performance history beginning with its strong start and continuing through 2017-18, the latest year for which data were available at the time of its application. The school earned academic scores of 4.75 (“Excellent”) and 4.89 (“Excellent”) in its first two years. In fall of 2014, Veritas received Reward School for Progress status from the State of Tennessee. During that period, Veritas consistently had TVAAS ratings of 4 or 5. More recently, under the TNReady standards, the school’s proficiency rates and performance status have dropped substantially as exemplified by its 2017-18 rating. Veritas’ application recognizes the need for improvement and has identified both potential causes and steps that it is taking to strengthen growth and improve overall proficiency. Students from the school’s inaugural class attending four-year high schools and colleges would graduate from college in 2020-21. One area for inquiry during the site visit was to understand how the school defines what it means for students to “excel” in high school and college, and what student information the school is gathering that will enable it to define and evaluate success in this area. Veritas earned a 3.67 (“Good”) on its 2017-18 School Climate score. The school’s 94.74% attendance average over the last seven years is slightly below the SCS target of 95%. The school attributes falling slightly short of the target to 2016-17 when the school first moved to its current facility and had a 91.7% attendance rate. According to Veritas, regular transportation to the new location was particularly challenging for some families. Average attendance for the other six years through 2017-18 had been 95.25%. Notwithstanding the generally strong attendance record during the other six years, 2018-19 attendance was only 89.1%, down significantly again from 2017-18, making this a priority for inquiry during the site visit. 1. Visit Priority: Educational Outcomes. How has Veritas defined success with respect to high school and college readiness? Finding. Veritas has successfully created a culture of expectations that students will pursue postsecondary education. With respect to the school’s mission to prepare students to excel in high school and in college, the work of defining and evaluating success is nascent. The school’s first graduates are now old enough to be completing college, providing an opportunity to define and begin assessing results related to the school’s core mission. Discussion. Veritas has successfully created a culture of expectation around high school and college attendance. With respect to high school, 8th graders report that the school helps them apply to high schools. Students have the opportunity to attend high school fairs and the school maintains a spreadsheet to track the high school enrollment of its 8th graders. With respect to college, teachers and school leadership foster student expectations for postsecondary education. Classrooms are named after colleges or universities, typically one that the homeroom teacher attended. When 8th graders talk about college, they not only indicate an expectation of going, but often have an idea of which college(s) they want to attend based on the ones that teachers they respect and admire attended. According to parents, Veritas teachers and staff help review college essays and redirect their children to ensure they remain on track for continuing their education. During the visit, teachers described keeping in touch with former students, and parents shared stories of how older siblings who previously attended Veritas still remain in contact with their former teachers and administrators. Parents believe the expectation for attending college is deeply ingrained in students before they leave the school. With respect to the school’s mission to prepare to prepare students to excel in high school and in college, the work of defining and evaluating success may be best characterized as nascent. Both the school’s governing board and the leadership team identify the tracking of its graduates as an area for growth. The school maintains strong informal ties with many of its graduates which has to-date been the primary source of information about their 16 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report former students post-graduation. Leadership indicates that the school is beginning to formalize connections and document how and what students are doing in high school and beyond. For example, leadership reports that they have connected with 50 of 57 students in the first graduating class. Of those 50, leadership reports that 45 indicated that they have either postsecondary education or armed forces service plans. The school is also planning a 10-year reunion to reconnect with alums. These efforts represent positive initial steps towards more consistent tracking of high school and college experiences of Veritas graduates. The opportunity for improvement is to formalize this tracking. Another opportunity for development may be in supports for high school transition. Veritas works with its 8 th grade families to identify high school opportunities and matches and supports students through the high school transition process. The school does not yet appear to provide more structured support for the high school admissions/enrollment process. In other words, there is an opportunity for the school to approach high school counseling in a more formal way akin to the way college preparatory schools approach college counseling. Even as it begins to gather information on what students are doing, Veritas has not yet defined what fulfillment of preparation to excel in high school and college looks like in terms of outcomes. One set of criteria and metrics might relate to students’ preparation in terms of their course work completed, their grades, their proficiency on state assessments, and college entrance exams scores, like the ACT. Another set of criteria might relate to the kinds of high schools and colleges that students attend: whether they are selective, their graduation rates, and other metrics for school quality. A third set of criteria might relate to students’ persistence and successful completion of high school and college. After identifying the criteria, a subsequent step will be to develop the means to track students more formally in relation to these criteria. The school’s first graduates are now old enough to be completing college, providing an opportunity to define and begin assessing results related to the school’s core mission. 2. Visit Priority: Curriculum. How does the current approach to curriculum selection and delivery support both standards-aligned instruction and teacher autonomy? Finding. Classroom observations revealed a number of common practices around instruction. Notwithstanding these common practices and consistent elements, teacher autonomy still predominates with respect to curriculum and instruction. The visit observations and conversations suggest that there may be opportunities either to move more deliberately and explicitly toward common curricula or, in the alternative, to provide teachers more focused professional development and support around curriculum development. Discussion. With respect to the core educational program, Veritas aims “to foster a teacher’s autonomy and creativity” around curriculum and instruction.5 In light of the need to better adjust to TNReady standards and assessments, the school reported that it had been working with teachers to implement standards-aligned curricula based on EngageNY for English language arts, and Eureka Math and Illustrative Math for mathematics.6 A priority for the visit was to better understand the school’s expectations for teacher adoption and use of these curricula. Classroom observations revealed a number of common practices around instruction. Guided notes were standard in the majority of the classrooms the team observed. The notes documented the day’s objective (SWBAT) and highlighted the standard(s) associated with the lesson. These observations reinforce leadership’s description of standards-alignment as a “non-negotiable” of instruction. Teachers and leadership described a common lesson planning process that includes feedback from department leads, and leadership expressed that lessons in a subject area should be addressing the same standard across the grade on a given day, even if the 5 6 Veritas Renewal Application, p.9. Id. 17 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report instructional materials might vary between sections. The visit team also observed common classroom management language and practices such as the expectation for students to be “tracking”; clap-and-response or brief countdown to refocus attention for a transition; and use of a timer to manage individual or small group work. Notwithstanding these common practices and elements of consistency, teacher autonomy still predominates with respect to curriculum and instruction. Although the objectives were aligned to the standards, teachers used their own text, activities and pacing to lead students to mastery. One teacher described curriculum development as the “hardest part of being a teacher [at Veritas].” Another described the effort to find standards-aligned content appropriate to students’ different levels as being “like a treasure hunt.” Consistent with teachers’ descriptions, the visit team observed an array of instructional materials and resources in use. The team did not observe consistent implementation of the Engage NY, Eureka Math, or Illustrative Math programs referenced in the renewal application. Classes were generally orderly and conducive to learning; however, in some cases, the structure led to implementation challenges, particularly with respect to time management. For example, in some math classes the team observed, students had enough time to work together but inadequate time to explain their responses and correct misconceptions. In several ELA classes, the timing of content delivery did not allow teachers to fully get into the depth on the standards. In one class, students took notes, read text, answered questions, talked about vocabulary words, and acted out a short play but never had the opportunity to discuss the main focus of the lesson: characterization and mood. The visit team’s observations and conversations suggest that there may be opportunities either to move more deliberately and explicitly toward common curricula or, in the alternative, to provide teachers more focused professional development and support around curriculum development. 3. Visit Priority: Teacher Evaluation and Development. Is Veritas’ plan for implementing TEAM evaluations likely to strengthen instructional quality? Finding. The school’s leadership described a thoughtful, deliberate plan for TEAM evaluation implementation, and the school’s implementation to date has created strong teacher buy-in for the new system. Discussion. The renewal application implies that the school’s drop in performance from its earliest years is due to, among other things, the departure of some of its strongest teachers. According to Veritas, the school had a corps of highly regarded teachers during its first five years including the 2013 charter school Teacher of the Year and Runner Up Teacher of the Year. 7 Subsequently, Veritas experienced relatively high teacher turnover. Leadership observed that a number of teachers were leaving primarily because they were not originally from Tennessee and wanted to move closer to home or because they wanted to pursue other professions.8 Veritas reports that it is taking several strategic steps to address staff retention. One step has been to prioritize hiring teachers with connections to the Memphis area. The school has also worked to strengthen professional development opportunities. In addition to having high standards and favorable compensation and benefits,9 Veritas has adopted the TEAM model of teacher and leader evaluation for 2019-20 10 with its emphasis on professional growth and improvement. As part of the renewal visit, the visit team prioritized learning more about the school’s plans for implementing the TEAM evaluation system. 7 Veritas Renewal Application, p. 8. Id. at 13. 9 Id. 10 Id. at 7. 10 Veritas Renewal Application, p. 8. 10 Id. at 13. 10 Id. 10 Id. at 7. 8 18 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report The school’s leadership described a thoughtful, deliberate plan for TEAM evaluation implementation. At the time of the renewal visit, leadership had recently held an initial orientation with teachers to describe the rollout plan and to review and discuss the evaluation criteria. The rollout will include at least four full-length observations for each teacher over the course of the year. The Executive Director is conducting all formal evaluations this year because the school did not want to create confusion or tension for the instructional coaches between their current roles, exclusively focused on coaching and support, and the evaluative role that is part of the TEAM reviews. The Executive Director plans to review assessments across teaching teams in order to norm feedback and to facilitate connections between the evaluations and professional development work. Thus, the school is approaching this work strategically with the objective of developing and maintaining high quality instruction. The school’s implementation to date has created strong teacher buy-in for the TEAM evaluations. In conversations, teachers expressed familiarity with and enthusiasm for the new system. They discussed orientations that leadership had already conducted and indicated understanding of the evaluation criteria. They seemed particularly enthusiastic about the criteria being both more rigorous and more formative than under the school’s previous evaluation system. They described the criteria as “giving you something to push for” while appreciating that the evaluation process happens over time rather than being “one and done.” They feel that it provides a genuine opportunity and encouragement for them to grow and improve. 4. Visit Priority: Attendance. Veritas taking deliberate steps to improve attendance that are aligned with and likely to support the school’s meeting SCS attendance expectations? Finding. The visit team found that Veritas is giving appropriate, deliberate attention to improving attendance in a way that is likely to restore its strong overall record in this area. Discussion. Veritas earned a 3.00 (“Good”) on its 2018-19 School Climate score. The decline from its 3.67 rating the previous year is largely attributable to a low attendance rate of 89.1%. After averaging 94.98% attendance from 2010-11 through 2014-15, the school’s attendance has been erratic over the last several years. It dropped to 91.7% in 2016-17; rose to 96.6% in 2017-18; and dropped again to 89.1% last year. School leadership credibly attributed the 2016-17 dip in attendance to some families’ challenges with transportation after the school moved to its third location. However, location does not explain the most recent drop as 2018-19 was the school’s third year at this location, making this a point of inquiry during the site visit. In conversations with the site visit team, Veritas leadership identified attendance as a critical issue. They recognize that a successful school culture and learning outcomes depend on students being at school every day. The school is working to continuously improve attendance through establishing and communicating expectations schoolwide, and by creating incentives for strong attendance. The visit team found that Veritas is giving appropriate, deliberate attention to attendance in a way that is likely to restore its strong overall record in this area. Veritas’ attendance should be an area of focused attention for both the school and the District during a new charter term. Such District oversight could include more frequent (e.g., monthly or quarterly) review of the school’s attendance numbers. School Operations The SCS Operations Scorecard covers school compliance with non-academic measures for charter operators in the following areas: benefits, federal programs, finance & audits, health services, human resources, special education, student information, and student services. Veritas’ SCS Operations Performance score was 4.7 (“Excellent”), based on its 2018-19 results. This included “Excellent” ratings (4.0 or higher) in every subcategory including Benefits, Exceptional Education, Health Services, Human Resources, Federal Programs, Student Mobility, Student Information, and General Compliance. 19 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report In 2017-18, Veritas had earned similarly strong scores; however, it had earned a score of 3.5 in Exceptional Education. In its renewal application which preceded the 2018-19 results, Veritas reported that it had not received notification of any special education compliance issues prior to receiving its 2017-18 score of 3.5.11 Although the school’s rating in this area did not indicate significant concern and all outstanding issues have apparently been resolved, the size of the school’s special education population and the school’s indication that it had not received prior notification of non-compliance made the issue a topic of inquiry during the site visit. The objective was to confirm the status of the school’s compliance and the school’s relationship with the Office of Exceptional Children. 5. Visit Priority: Students with Disabilities. Is Veritas meeting its special education obligations and communicating effectively with the SCS Office of Exceptional Children about this work? Finding. Veritas appears to be meeting the direct service hours required by students’ IEPs, and parents praised the progress their students have made as part of the special education program. However, the visit team had some questions about the quality of special education instruction based on a classroom observation. Discussion. Teachers described the special education instructional process for ELA and math as a co-teaching structure for 50% of the math and ELA blocks (one hour out of two). In addition, there is a 45-minute Response to Intervention (RTI) pull out class for skills development. Teachers reported that RTI class is the primary time for remediation. There is a disconnect between the school’s compliance status and the visit team’s qualitative observations with respect to special education instruction. Veritas is meeting the direct service hours required by students’ IEPs as indicated by the 2018-19 Operations Scorecard Exceptional Education rating of 4.5 Parents also praised the progress their students have made as part of the special education program; however, the visit team had some concerns about the quality of special education instruction based on a classroom observation. The visit team observed only one general education class for which a special education teacher was present. In that class, the special education teacher circulated and briefly engaged in short conversations with a few students. The special education teacher’s actions did not reflect co-teaching or any discernible instructional role. The teacher’s interactions appeared to be casual and without an orientation to individualized needs. All students were completing the same exercises and no differentiation was evident. These observations did not seem to align with the practices as described. The disparity between the school’s compliance status and parent satisfaction with the special education program, on the one hand, and the visit team’s observations as well as SWD academic outcomes, on the other hand, raised a question about the quality of special education instruction. The school's strong compliance with procedural requirements for special education contrasts with the observed quality of those services as they are currently being delivered. Facilities & Finances The financial plan refers both to the school’s financial operations and financial management. The analysis is limited to issues raised and discussed during the renewal visit and is not intended to be a comprehensive assessment of financial viability. Budget. In its renewal application, Veritas reports on financial challenges precipitated primarily by its facilities challenges and the accompanying obstacles that multiple moves presented for sustaining its projected enrollment. Resolution of 11 Id., p.15. 20 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report the facilities uncertainty, conservative enrollment projections, and a favorable fixed-rate 10-year lease appear to have been the levers for financial stability. The school reports that it has operated with a surplus based on meeting modest fundraising targets over the last couple of years. Fixed rent and utilities costs give the school clarity and predictability for budgeting in the coming years. The school’s planned changes will have a modest -- and what appears to be manageable -- budget impact during the new charter term. Projected enrollment will increase gradually from 150 to 170; the school has planned one administrative and one instructional staffing addition to accommodate the additional students.12 The information presented indicates that the school will be sustainable based on per pupil revenue and that the school will continue to build a surplus based on modest fundraising goals. In its renewal application, Veritas acknowledged delays in completion of its two most recent audits (2016-17 and 201718 school years) that it believes it has now been addressed. During the visit team’s meeting with Veritas board members, the board described how the school got lost in the transition as its accounting firm was acquired by another firm. This transition led to audit delays. The school credibly reports that it has remedied the issues with its audit firm and does not anticipate any issues going forward, including with the FY19 audit. Facilities. With respect to facilities, Veritas is in the fourth year of a 10-year lease at its current location. Veritas subleases the space from another charter school, Memphis College Prep. The arrangement appears to be collaborative and working well. The current lease runs through what would be the 6th year of the charter renewal term. Based on the information available, there were no facilities-related priorities for the renewal visit. 12 Veritas Renewal Application, pp. 17-18. 21 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report Renewal Visit Team Shelby County Schools conducted the charter renewal site visit at Veritas College Preparatory Charter School on September 18, 2019. Charter Renewal Visit Team William Haft, Tandem Learning Partners (Independent Evaluator) Tonye Smith McBride, Highly Specialized Advisor, Strategy & Performance Management Brittany Monda, Director of Charter Schools, Office of Charter Schools Alicia Nutall, School Operations Manager, Parent Welcome Center DeVonté Payton, Advisor, School Development, Office of Charter Schools ABOUT TANDEM LEARNING PARTNERS Tandem Learning prepares school leaders and governing boards; school systems and management organizations; authorizers, funders, and lenders to make sound educational decisions and to implement those decisions well. The object of our work is to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for children.  Resourceful. We ground our work in the recognition that schools operate with limited resources. Each decision about people, time, and money affects what schools accomplish minute by minute and year by year. The best decisions often require a combination of objectivity, creativity, and courage.  Collaborative. We work collaboratively with stakeholders and with particular attention to how choices and decisions will affect the teachers and school leaders who will ultimately be responsible for success.  Education. We believe that quality education can take many shapes and forms. There is no one right way, but the best ways share in common an understanding of where children are and belief in what they can become. 22 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report Appendices Academic Data 2019-20 RENEWAL CHARTER SCHOOL ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE SUMMARY School: Veritas College Prep - 8054 Academic – School Performance Scorecard Category 2010-12 2013-15 Overall Score 4.66 3.57 Achievement Level 4.75 4.00 Growth Level 4.89 2.76 Climate Level 4.00 4.33 Achievement (Proficient + Advanced) 2009-10 ELA Math Science Year 1 was 2010-11 Social Studies 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 30.6% 35.1% 23.6% 28.4% 27.4% 14.5% 54.4% 67.7% 34.7% 39.4% 32.3% 56.1% 62.1% 61.1% 48.6% 85.5% 88.6% Growth 2010-12 Avg 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 TVAAS Composite 5 5 5 TVAAS ELA 5 3 TVAAS Math 5 5 TVAAS Science 5 TVAAS Social Studies 5 2015-16 5.4% 2015-16 2017-18 2018-19 8.2% 8.1% 11.8% 15.2% 6.8% 18.1% 34.8% 23.0% 28.6% 13.3% 16.1% 2017-18 2018-19 5 2 4 3 4 4 3 4 3 1 5 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 ELA Below Rate 22.6% 20.2% 21.1% 17.4% 25.1% Math Below Rate 40.3% 6.1% 9.9% 34.2% 25.0% Science Below Rate 41.9% 12.3% 5.6% 16.3% 21.2% Social Studies Below Rate 14.5% 11.4% 2010-11 95.5% 2016-17 2016-17 Growth Climate Attendance Suspension Rate Expulsion Rate 2016-2019 2.98 2.75 3.19 3.0 2011-12 94.8% 2012-13 95.0% 2015-16 67.6% 3 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 32.1% 43.0% 34.6% 43.2% 51.4% 44.9% 31.8% 41.2% 46.7% 2013-14 94.6% 0.0% 0.0% 2014-15 95.0% 0.32% 0.0% 2015-16 2016-17 91.7% 6.0% 0.00% 2017-18 96.6% 6.7% 0.00% 54% 2018-19 89.1% 16.4% 0.00% 23 – Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report Operations Data School Year 20162017 20172018 20182019 OSC Cumulative Score Benefits English Language Learners Exceptional Education Health Services Human Resources Federal Programs Student Mobility Student Info 3.81 5 NULL 3.29 1.8 5 5 NULL 4.29 NULL 4.46 5 NULL 3.5 5 5 5 3.5 4.2 NULL 4.7 5 NULL 4.5 4 5 5 4.2 4.8 5 Finance Data General Compliance 24 Veritas College Preparatory Renewal Report Updated 2018 Scorecard Veritas IEI-E IJII. Eli 153:: D. HIDE- 5' I. .53 51.? 4'.i II- 331:! ?Mm? "ml Elli 5 I233 I: - E4 Hal.- 3 I233 - E.4 ll' - - E.4 :I'd .I w: :l Il45.33:- Hi Hm} HI -E.4.4-.-.II. WWII-HIV "It"lI luvHm- -E.4.I- d' .E EIHEInn:dl:Id raw-n lI4-.- . I: Hum 3?1" I d' .4 5 I: Il'r a warmed-1.4m I: .d"r'E1 4n .: I: d.I. I MI