2003
TEXAS CHARTER CONFERENCE
Monday and Tuesday, May 5^th & 6^th, 2003
Renaissance Hotel
Austin

THE SEVENTH ANNUAL TEXAS CHARTER SCHOOL CONFERENCE will be May 5 & 6, 2003 at the Renaissance Hotel in Austin. We will be celebrating Charter Schools Week 2003 during this event. As you plan your 2002-2003 school calendar you may want to consider scheduling staff development days on May 5 & 6, 2003 so many of your teachers will be able to attend. Starting July 2, 2002 you may begin making your hotel room reservations by calling 512-343-2626. To receive the $125 room rate with up to four people in a room, let them know you are with the Charter School Conference.

SUMMER ACADEMIC/ACCOUNTABILITY ACADEMIES The Charter School Resource Center's Academic/Accountability Academies 2002 will focus on helping charters prepare for the new Texas assessments in reading, writing, and math. The workshops will be held in Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio at no cost to the charters. These workshops will cover grades K - 11 and offer excellent in-service for the 2002-2003 school year. Watch the Friday Fax® for specific titles and dates of upcoming workshops.

Texas Education Agency
Charter Schools Division

TITLE X START-UP FUNDS Many charters have been awarded or are still negotiating for additional Title X start-up funds that must be spent by June 30, 2002. All pending grants must be completed immediately. Any money not spent by June 30^th must be returned to the federal government. Please quickly complete all the paperwork requested by the TEA charter school division to finalize your grant and/or amendment and then spend this money appropriately.

ALTERNATIVE ACCOUNTABILITY DEADLINE This year all Texas public schools, including charter schools, must submit end-of-year data online by June 14, 2002. Consult the following webpage to download the instructions and required forms: www.tea.state.tx.us/alt.ed/curdatsub.html.

CHARTER SCHOOL PARENT SURVEY Some parents of students attending charter schools may have been contacted by telephone recently to provide information for the annual Texas Open-Enrollment Charter Schools Evaluation. Statute provides that this evaluation be conducted. We appreciate charter school parents taking time to provide information for the evaluation. The parent survey which is conducted by the University of Houston's Center for Public Policy was to be completed by May 14, 2002. Please be aware that any further solicitation this year for survey information is not attached to the legislatively-mandated evaluation coordinated by TEA. Contact Ertha Patrick at 512-463-9575 with questions or concerns.