Volume 3, Number 44, November 10, 2000
A Publication of the Resource Center for Charter Schools
Phone 210-348-7890 Fax 210-348-7899
© Resource Center for Charter Schools All Rights Reserved

Patsy O'Neill, Executive Director; Jimmie Driver, Assistant Director;
Sally Friedli, Office Manager; and Sara Murphy, Administrative Assistant
                      

ASSOCIATION OF CHARTER EDUCATORS (ACE) Christi Martin will be a guest speaker at regional ACE Roundtables in the following cities. All charter school directors are welcome. For more information call Christi Martin (512-301-6819 or 512-431-3112) or the host of each regional meeting.
      
  • Dallas/Fort Worth and North Texas
                CHANGE OF DATE Monday, November 27, 2000, 12:00 noon
                North Hills School 606 East Royal Lane Irving
                For all schools in ESC Regions 7, 8, 9, 10, & 11
                Rosemary Perlmeter (972-501-0645)
    		•
          
  • Houston and East Texas
                Monday, November 20, 2000, 3:00 p.m.
                Raul Yzaguirre Charter School 2950 Broadway Houston
                For all schools in ESC Regions 4, 5, & 6
                Richard Farias (713-649-6201) Margaret Rohde (713-755-4766)
    		•
          
  • Houston and East Texas
                Friday, December 1, 2000, 2:00 p.m.
                Varnett Charter 5025 S. Willow Dr. Houston
                For all schools in ESC Regions 4, 5, & 6
                Annette Cluff (713-723-4699)
    		•
          
  • Austin/Waco and Central Texas
                TIME CHANGE Monday, December 4, 2000, 9:00 a.m.
                American YouthWorks Charter 216 E 4th Street Austin
                For all schools in ESC Regions 12 & 13
                Teresa Elliott (512-835-6601) Rebecca Benz (512-472-8220)
    		•
          
  • South Texas and the Valley
                Thursday, November 30, 2000, 2:00 p.m.
                Region 1 ESC 1900 W. Schunior Edinburg
                Region 1 ESC 1900 W. Schunior Edinburg
                Teresa Elliott (512-835-6601) Rebecca Benz (512-472-8220)
                Jack Damron (956) 491-6042
    		•
          
  • West Texas
                Charter school directors in Regions 14, 16, 17, 18, & 19 are
                welcome at any of the above meetings. For information, please
                call Christi Martin.
    		•

    TEA UPDATES
  • Division of State Funding memo concerning Reporting Period Attendance Reports is attached.
  • Due to the printing schedule for the State Board of Education meeting on January 11 and 12, requests for amendments must be in the Charter School office no later than the end of the day, Friday, December 1. (Our final copy is due by 9:00 a.m on Monday, December 4.) Please contact Ann Pennington in the Charter Schools Division at (512) 463-9575 if you have questions.
  • AEIS Report information is attached.

    • FRIDAY FAX® BY E-MAIL The Resource Center is sending the Friday Fax® mainly by e-mail. Ninety percent of Friday Fax recipients now receive it electronically. If you are not receiving it by e-mail please call the Resource Center, 210-348-7890, with your e-mail address.

    RAPOPORT ACADEMY
  • Rapoport Academy has received two grants to be applied to the construction of their new facility: Cooper Foundation ($50,000) and Waco Foundation ($25,000). Each of these grants will be matched by another foundation for a total of $150,000. Congratulations to Nancy Grayson.
  • Rapoport Academy had a successful Children's Election Day Celebration on November 7th. Second and third grade students held a mock election, using voter registration.
  • Rapoport Academy uses an efficient accounting firm for their bookkeeping and accounting needs. For more information about this firm call Nancy Grayson at 254-799-4191.


    • TEA - DIVISION OF STATE FUNDING
    RE: REPORTING PERIOD ATTENDANCE REPORTS

    Please be advised that this division will not be accepting "Campus" or "Principal's" reports. The reports required for state funding purposes are the "District" or "Superintendent's" reports. This report is required by the Student Attendance Accounting Handbook, Section II Audit Requirements. If you are having problems generating this report, please direct your software consultant to this handbook.

    Please make sure that you review your reports thoroughly and do not submit incomplete reports. Several charters have submitted reports with erroneous ADA and the funding has dropped significantly. In these situations, make-up payments will not be made and the Superintendent must submit a written explanation with the revised reports.


    Charter School Procedures for Submitting Attendance Reports

    Attendance reports are to be mailed or faxed to the Division of State Funding within 10 days after the end of each attendance reporting period as indicated on the Charter School's individual calendar.

    Before forwarding the attendance reports, please make sure that the report includes all of the information outlined in the District Summary Report of the Student Attendance Accounting Handbook, Section II - Audit Requirements.

    Please check all the following before submitting your report:

  • The attendance report indicates the attendance reporting period.

  • The attendance report indicates the beginning and ending dates of the attendance reporting period and the dates match the calendar on file with the division.

  • The number of days taught is indicated on the report and the number matches the calendar on file with the division.

  • The county district number and the instructional calendar track

    .

  • The report should be reviewed for irregularities (make sure to compare to previous reports).

  • The report should include an affidavit signed by the record keeper and Superintendent.

  • The resident district numbers are valid.


    If you have any questions, please contact Nora Rainey.

    Phone:(512) 463-9238
    Fax :(512) 463-9233
    E-mail: nrainey@tmail.tea.state.tx.us

    Address:
    Texas Education Agency
    Division of State Funding
    1701 N. Congress
    Austin, TX 78701


    PERFORMANCE REPORTS

    The following is a summary of requirements for dissemination of information contained in charter schools' Annual Report and School Report Card. The information provided below is not exhaustive and should not be relied on as the sole source of guidance in determining publication and dissemination requirements. Schools may obtain a copy of the TEA Guidelines for AEIS, which describe schools' responsibilities in detail, from the TEA Division of Performance Reporting.

    I. Annual Report and Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) Report

    Content of Annual Report:

    Each charter school must publish an annual report that meets the requirements of Section 39.053, Texas Education Code (TEC). The AEIS Report provided by TEA comprises the main part of this annual report. The AEIS Report must be published by the school in the same format in which it was received from TEA. In addition to the AEIS Report, the Annual Report must include campus performance objectives and--new this year--a report on violent and criminal incidents that contains the following information:

  • the number, rate, and type of violent or criminal incidents that occurred at the school (to the extent permitted by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974);
  • information concerning school violence prevention and violence intervention policies and procedures that the school is using to protect students; and
  • the findings that result from evaluations conducted under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act.

    It is up to the charter school to determine the format of this new report on violent and criminal incidents. In addition to the AEIS report, campus performance objectives, and the new report on violent and criminal incidents, the school's Annual Report may include other data, charts, diagrams and narratives that give further explanation of the data provided by TEA.

    Public Hearing and Dissemination

    Charter schools must hold a hearing for public discussion of the Annual Report. This hearing must be held within 90 days after the AEIS report is received from TEA. The hearing may be held as part of a school board meeting. The school must provide notice of the hearing to a newspaper of general circulation in the charter school's geographic area and to radio and television stations serving the area. The notice may be in the form of a press release or other announcement and must clearly state the date, time, and place of the hearing and must explain the nature of the hearing.

    Additionally, within two weeks after the public hearing at which the report is considered, the school must disseminate the report by posting it in public places, such as each school office, local businesses, and public libraries. The school may additionally distribute the reports through mailouts and other means of dissemination.


    • II. School Report Card

    Content of School Report Card:

    TEA provides campus report cards to charter schools (and district campuses). This report, required by Section 39.052, TEC, is called the "school" report card (SRC). The School Report Card contains a small subset of the information provided on the AEIS report.

    The SRC presents the student, staff, financial, and performance information required by statute, as well as any explanations and additional information deemed appropriate to the intent of the report. The school may not alter the report provided by TEA; however, it may concurrently provide additional information to the parents or guardians that supplements or explains information in the SRC.

    Dissemination:

    Charter schools (and districts) must provide a copy of the School Report Card to the parents/guardian of each student. The SRC must be distributed by the charter school within six weeks after it is received from TEA. The charter school administration may provide the SRC in the same manner it would normally transmit official communications to parents and guardians, such as: including the SRC in a weekly folder sent home with each student, mailing it to the student's residence, providing it at a teacher-parent conference, or enclosing it with the student report card.