CHRIS RI STIE DEPIQ ED LECH to Mr KIM GUADAGNO NJ 03635-0500 D. Cans L1. Gvt'm'nr:r' February 3, 2012 Ms. Frederica Bey, CEO Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School 53 Lincoln Park Newark, NJ 07102 Dear Ms. Bey: After careful review and consideration, I have determined that Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School is not operating in compliance with its charter, state statutes and regulations. Effective immediately, and pursuant to N.J.S.A. I am placing Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School on probationary status for a period of 90 days to allow the school time to develop and implement a remedial plan after which, if the plan is unsuccessful, the charter may be summarily revoked. On January 27, 2012, The New Jersey Department of Education was informed by both the US. Attorney's Office and the special counsel to the Adelaide L. Sanford Board of Trustees, that there are concerns of potential misuse of federal funds and your role as the charter school's CEO as it relates to fiscal exchanges with the non--profit Women in Support of the Million Man March (WISOMM), also referred to as ACE "Alliance, Inc., (herein referred to as ACE). In accordance with N.J.A.C. the Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School must submit a remedial plan within 15 days of receipt of this notice of probationary status. Therefore, the department must receive a comprehensive remedial action plan no later than February 20, 2012. Thereafter, the charter school must demonstrate full implementation of the remedial plan by May 3, 2012. Additionally, at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the board of trustees, this letter must be provided to all members of the board and those in attendance for the board meeting. Board minutes demonstrating compliance with this directive must be submitted to the Essex County Office of Education and the Department ten days after the board meeting. It is imperative that the Board of Trustees conduct this meeting in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act pursuant to P.L. 1975, c.23l (C:l0:4--6 et. seq.). The school also must inform parents and teachers of the school's probationary status and its implications within the next few weeks, and provide this office a narrative description of the procedures used and copies of related correspondence sent to inform teachers and parents of the school's status. Furthermore, the school is directed to limit the expenditure of funds and the occurrence of debt to only those expenditures and debts that are reasonable and necessary for the ongoing day--to-- day operation of the charter school. These expenditures are limited to salaries, benefits, utilities, rent, New Jersey Is An Equal Opportunity Employer Printed on Recycled and Recyclable Paper Ms. Fredrica Bey, CEO February 3, 2012 Page 2 insurance and existing accounts payable. The expenditures must be already authorized in the budget approved by the board. The following issues outline the specific areas requiring action and must be addressed in the charter school 'remedial plan: Issue A review of recent minutes indicates that four board members resigned, leaving only three remaining Board members. The charter school's Board of Trustees is not fully constituted. The school governance structure cannot operate due to a lack of quorum of members to conduct business. This is of immediate concern because the school cannot act without a complete, fully functioning board as per the charter school's bylaws. According to the approved charter, the Board of Trustees should be comprised of at least five voting members. The charter school must adhere to the number of board members stipulated in the approved charter school application. Reference: N.J.S.A. NJ .A.C. 6A:ll-3. Action Required: a. Provide evidence that the Board of Trustees is fully constituted in accordance with the charter. Submit an updated board list identifying seven voting members by name, date of appointment, address and Board status b. Provide evidence that each Board member has been scheduled to attend School Board training. c. Provide confirmation that each Board member has attended training within 10 days of completion of said training. Issue Based upon a review of recent Board minutes and additional documents, it is evident that there are potential conflicts of interest. The relationship between Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School and needs to be clearly defined and delineated. You, Frederica Bey, are both an employee of the charter school and the Executive Director of ACE, the current landlord. In addition, Aminah Bey, your daughter, is also an employee and Board Chair of ACE, as Well as Adelaide L. Sanford's Board of Trustees. With the current information, there are already numerous violations and all conflicts of interest must be revealed and remedied. Action Required: a. Provide the most current lease between Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School and ACE Alliance, lnc. Please include information in regards to the timeline of the lease and its approval by the Board of Trustees, as well as a explanation of the relationship between ACE and the Charter School. b. Provide the resumes/CV5 for all current board members. Please indicate if there are any affiliations with ACE. c. Provide a plan that details the ongoing role and responsibilities that you will continue to hold. with Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School. Provide evidence that these plans enable her to continue to act legally and in compliance with 18A: d. Provide a plan detailing how the Board and the School stakeholders will continue to be informed of issues regarding the School's facilities. Include about: 0 Who will be acting on behalf of the School's interest in regards to facilities; Ms. Fredrica Bey, CEO February 3, 2012 Page 3 I The process for hearing and determining facility issues and concerns during board meetings; and 0 The plan for recusal if other board members continue their affiliation with ACE. Reference: N.J.S.A. ISA: 12-24 The Office of Charter Schools will be in contact with the charter school to meet regarding the remedial plan and the probationary status. It is expected that at least one board member, the charter school lead person and the school business administrator be present at this meeting. While preparing the remedial plan, please consult with Kathy Ambrosio, at (609) 341- 5298 for fiscal--related issues and Colleen Schulz--Eskow for program--related issues at (609) 292-5850. Sincerely, f/ 7/ Christopher D. Cerf Acting Commissioner L. Sanford Charter IZIALSCS Probation 2-3-2012.doc c: Andy Smarick Yut'se Thomas Amy Ruck Lawrence Feinsod fifitzife ufgNet'u' erseg CHRIS CHRISTIE on 130 Box 530 KIM NJ "3635"0500 D- LI. /-lcring May 1 1, 2012 Ms. Amina Bey, President Board of Trustees Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School 53 Lincoln Park Newark, NJ 037102 Dear Ms. Bey: We have reviewed the items submitted in response to the probation letter of February 3, 2012. We have also reviewed the related corrective action plan submitted to the Department of Education dated February i7, 2012- The following items below require further action. Satisfactory completion of all documents requested per this letter is required in order to remove probationary status of this charter school. At this time, your probationary status has been extended for an additional 90 day period' Issue A review of recent minutes indicates that four board members resigned, leaving only three remaining Board members. The charter school's Board of Trustees is not fully constituted. The school governance structure cannot operate due to a lack of quorum of members to conduct business. This is of immediate concern because the school cannot act without a complete, fully functioning board as per the charter school's bylaws. According to the approved charter, the Board of Trustees should be comprised of at least five voting members. The charter school must adhere to the number of board members stipulated in the approved charter school application- Reference: N.J.S.A. l8A:l2-23; N.J.A.C. 6A:l1--3. Action Required: a. Provide evidence that the Board of Trustees is fully constituted in accordance with the charter. Submit an updated board list identifying seven voting members by name, date of appointment, address and Board status . Provide evidence that each Board member has been scheduled to attend School Board training. c. Provide confirmation that each Board member has attended training within 10 days of completion of said training. Status: This issue has not been adequately addressed. The school submitted a list of board members but did not provide evidence that each Board member had been scheduled to attend School Board training, nor did it provide confirmation that each Board member has attended training within 10 days of completion of said training. Action Required: a. Provide evidence that every Board member has been scheduled to attend School Board training. b. Provide confirmation that each Board member has attended training within 10 days of completion of said training. New Ierscy Is An Equal Opportunity Employer Printed on Recycled and Recyclable Paper Ms. Amina Bey, President May ll, 2012 Page 2 Issue Based upon a review of recent Board minutes and additional documents, it i.s evident that there are potential conflicts of interest. The relationship between Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School and needs to be clearly defined and delineated. Frederica Bey is both an employee of the charter school and the Executive Director of ACE, the current landlord. In addition, you, Amina Bey, are an employee and Board Chair of ACE, as well as Board Chair of Adelaide 1.. Sanford's Board of Trustees. With the current information, there are already numerous violations and all conflicts of interest must be revealed and remedied. Action Required: a. Provide the most current lease between Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School (ALSCS) and ACE Alliance, Inc. Please include information in regards to the timeline of tlie lease and its approval by the Board of Trustees, as well as a explanation of the relationship between ACE and the Charter School. b. Provide the resumes/CV5 for all current board members. Please indicate if there are any affiliations with ACE. c. Provide a plan that details the ongoing role and responsibilities that you will continue to hold with Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School. Provide evidence that these plans enable her to continue to act legally and in compliance with 18A: l2--24( d. Provide a plan detailing how the Board and the School stakeholders will continue to be informed of issues regarding the School's facilities. Include information about: 0 Who will be acting on behalf of the School's interest in regards to facilities; 0 The process for hearing and determining facility issues and concerns during board meetings; and 0 The plan for recusal if other board members continue their affiliation with ACE. Reference: N.J.S.A. l8A:l2-24 Status: The issue has not been adequately addressed. The school provided the current lease as requested, but did not include its full approval by the Board of Trustees. Resumes/CV5 for all current board members have been provided, as well as affiliations with ACE. Details regarding role and responsibilities for the CEO, Frederica Bey, were included in the proposed corrective action plan. A plan detailing how the Board and the School stakeholders will continue to be informed of issues regarding the School's facilities was not adequately addressed. Action Required: 21. Provide evidence of Board approval of the current lease that exists between ALSCS and include full board minutes for the meeting in which the current lease was presented, discussed and approved by the Board. Provide a copy of the specific Board vote that approved the current lease. Include the subsequent Board meeting acceptance of Board minutes in which the current lease was approved. b. Provide a list of Board members that serve on the Facilities Committee. Provide a written process for hearing and determining facilities issues and concerns during Board meetings. Include a plan for recusal from voting on facilities issues if any board members continue their affiliation with ACEIWISOMM. Include Board approval for the facilities process. Provide evidence that all members of the Facilities Committee are not affiliated with ACE or WISOMM. Additional Concerns: OF AC Report: In March 2012, the NJ Department of Education Office of Fiscal Accountability and Compliance Investigations Unit (OFAC) conducted an investigation and submitted their report to the Department of Education and to the charter school on March 30, 2012. In reviewing the report, we noted that Item 3 states "The ALSCS has a lease committing them to occupy buildings mortgaged in the ACE bond issue; however, the board and CEO of ALSCS and WISOMM are attempting to move the school to another location." Further investigation is being pursued at this time regarding other outstanding issues that were disclosed in the report. Ms. Amina Bey, President May I 1, 2012 Page 3 Action Required: a. Provide evidence that ALSCS has a valid and board-approved lease for the 2012-13 school year. Provide a copy of the signed lease, signed board resolution that approves the lease, and moving date, if applicable. Academic Performance:_ In our new school accountability system developed through flexibility from No Child Left Behind (NCLB), we evaluate the performance of all schools using a three-year average based on the 2008-09, 2009-10, and 2010-11 school years. Using that average, 36.9% and 51.2% of students over the past three years have attained proficiency in LAL and Math, respectively. Combined, this performance places ALSCS in the bottom 8.2% of all schools in the state. lndividual student subgroups in the school have similarly low levels of performance. For instance, only 34.4% of economically disadvantaged students have attained proficiency in LAL over the past three years, well below the state average for this population. This subgroup's LAL and Math performance combined ranks below the 17th percentile of performance, relative to other schools' economically disadvantaged populations around the state. While we have seen growth in proficiency rates in some grades and subjects over the past two years, the school continues to lag behind other Newark charters in academic performance. Using the data described above, Adelaide L. Sanford ranks as the 2" lowest of 12 Newark charters serving elementary and middle school students with at least 3 years of NJASK data. Action Required: a. Submit a plan, including corrective action steps that detail what measures will be taken to plan for, deliver and ensure student growth and overall achievement gains. Provide detail regarding proposed instructional improvements and changes, curricular modifications, professional development plans and overall academic expectations. b. Provide goals and a timeline for implementation of above plans. Include benchmarks and milestones. Please submit the required information by the stated probation due date, August 9, 2012. If you have any questions, please contact Kathy Ambrosio at (609) 341-5298. Sincerel And cw arick Deputy Commissioner L. Sanford Charter Probation followup 5-1 1-12 ct Acting Commissioner Cerf Yut'se Thomas Amy Ruck Lawrence Feinsod fitatn srsag ll IR 1 F. on p0 1305; NJ CERF Ls'. August 3, 2012 Ms. Amine Bey, President Board of Trustees Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School 53 Lincoln Park Newark, NJ 07102 Dear Ms. Bey: It has come to my attention that the Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School board of trustees has not yet complied with the probationary terms and related action items as per the attached letter dated May 11, 2012. As stated in the letter, satisfactory completion of all documents requested is required in order to remove the school from its current probationary status. Please note that all evidence must be submitted by August 9, 2012. If you have any questions, please contact Amy Ruck in the Office of Charter Schools at 609-292-5850. s' /735 . 3P0poff Chief Innovation Officer probatiunfAdelaide L. San ford! Probation warning ct Amy Ruck Lawrence Feinsod New Iersey Is An Equal Opportunity Employer - Printed on Recycled and Recyclable Paper nit-in 3 erectOctober 11. 2012 Dr. Alcil Khalfani. President Board of Trustees Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School 53 Lincoln Park Newark. NJ 07102 Dear Dr. Khalfani: We have reviewed the items submitted in response to the probation letter of May I l. 2012. The following items require further action. Satisfactory completion of all documents requested per this letter is required in order to remove probationary status of this charter school. At this time. your probationary status has been extended for an additional 90 day period. Issue A review of recent minutes indicates that four board members resigned. leaving only three remaining Board members. The charter schools Board of Trustees is not fully constituted. The school governance structure cannot operate due to a lack of quorum ofmembers to conduct business. This is of immediate concern because the school cannot act without a complete. fully functioning board as per the charter schoo1's bylaws. According to the approved charter. the Board of Trustees should be comprised of at least five voting members. The charter school must adhere to the number of board members stipulated in the approved charter school application. Reference: l8A:l3-33: N.J.A.C. l-3. Action Required: a. Provide evidence that each Board member has been scheduled to attend School Board training. b. Provide confirmation that each Board member has attended training within 10 days of completion ofsaid training. Status: _This issue has been adequately addressed. Issue Based upon a review of recent Board minutes and additional documents. it is evident that there are potential conflicts of interest. The relationship between Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School and needs to be clearly defined and delineated. Frederica Be)' is both an employee of the charter school and the Executixe Director the current landlord. in addition. Amina Bey is an entployee and Board Chair as well as Board Chair ofAdelaide L. Sanford's Board of Trustees. With the current information. there are already numerous violations and all conflicts of interest must be revealed and remedied. jersey is An Equal Oppartmtify Employer - Printed on and Recyclable Paper .. - I). Dr. Akil Khalfani. President October I l. 2013 Page 3 While we have seen growth in proficiency rates in some grades and subjects over the past two years. the school continues to lag behind other charters in academic performance. Using the data described above, Adelaide L. Sanford ranks as the 2" lowest of I2 charters serving elementar_v and middle school students xx ith at least three years data. Action Required: a. Submit a plan. including corrective action steps that detail what measures will be taken to plan For, deliver and ensure student growth and overall achievement gains. Provide detail regarding proposed instructional improvements and changes. curricular modifications. professional development plans and overall academic expectations. b. Provide goals and a timeline for implementation ofabove plans. Include benchmarks and milestones. Status: The school submitted a Corrective Action Plan detailing instructional improvements. curricular modifications. professional development plans and overall academic expectations. Over the next 90 days. the Department will monitor the progress of the implementation of the action plan and re-evaluate the school's academic performance based on 301 l-2012 state assessment data. As such. this item remains open. Based upon the Department's findings and observations. further information may be required. Please submit the required information by the stated probation due date, January ll, 2013. Ifyou have any questions, please contact Kathy Ambrosio at (609) 34161298. Since <1 Evo Popoff Chief innovation Officermssistant Commissioner L. Sanford Charter Probation follow up HE C: YuI'se Thomas Amy Ruck Kathy Ambrosio Lawrence Feinsod CHRIS OF pg mg NJ "l3535'0-W3 D. Km GUAFJAGNO Le', January 25, 2013 Dr. Akil Khalfani, President Board of Trustees Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School 53 Lincoln Park Newark, 07102 Dear Dr. Khalfani: I am in receipt of your letter dated January 9, 2013, requesting an extension to your October ll, 2012 probation. At this time, you are in violation of the probation terms. All of the outstanding items listed in the letter, including the Additional Concerns specific to the OFAC report, must be completed and successfully addressed within 30 days of this letter. If the issues cannot be addressed, the charter may be summarily revoked. I Please submit the required information within the stated extension period. If you have any questions, please Contact Kathy Ambrosio at (609) 34] -5298 or Amy Ruck at (609) 292-5850. Sincerel Evo Popoff Chief Innovation Officer [euer!l'ALSCS Probation followup January25 2013 c: Amy Ruck Sam Skabla Yut' se Thomas Monica Tone Cami Anderson wHnv.nj.gow'education New jersey 15 An Equal Opportunity Ernplayer Printed on Recycled and Recyclable Paper