2014-15 Connecticut Charter School Gudiebook

Connecticut Public Charter Schools2014 -15

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Welcome to the 2014-15 Connecticut Public Charter School guidebook. This book serves as a tool for you to get to know Connecticut’s public charter schools and the communities they serve. As you’ll see in the following pages, Connecticut has a wonderfully diverse group of charter schools that serves an equally diverse body of students from all over the state.

This year, Connecticut opened four new charter schools, bringing the state’s total to 22, with two more slated to open next fall. Currently, 71 of Connecticut’s 169 towns send children to charter schools. With charter school enrollment estimated at over 8,000 students this school year and over

4,000 names on charter waitlists, it is clear that demand for charters is strong. Connecticut’s children deserve access to high quality public school options that will prepare them to succeed in college and careers.

Performance is also strong in Connecticut charters, with 84% of schools out-performing their host district in reading, and 78% out-performing their host district in math. And on average, public charter schools in Connecticut have had more success preparing African-American, Hispanic, and low-income students for future success than their district counter-parts.

Connecticut’s charter movement has made progress in closing the state’s worst-in-the-nation achievement gap, and we are pleased to help the movement grow and fl ourish. We look forward to our continuing work with these great schools to ensure that all Connecticut children have a chance to attend a great school and have a bright future.

Yours in the movement,

Jeremiah L. GraceConnecticut State Director

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Connecticut Charter School Facts At A Glance ...................................................................................................4

Eastern Connecticut Snapshot ................................................................................................................................5

ISAAC..............................................................................................................................................................................6

Integrated Day Charter School ................................................................................................................................8

Path Academy ........................................................................................................................................................... 10

Hartford Area Snapshot ......................................................................................................................................... 12

Odyssey Community School ................................................................................................................................. 14

Jumoke Academy ..................................................................................................................................................... 16

Achievement First Hartford Academy ................................................................................................................ 18

Brass City Charter School ...................................................................................................................................... 20

Explorations Charter School ................................................................................................................................. 22

New Haven Area Snapshot ................................................................................................................................... 24

Booker T. Washington Academy ......................................................................................................................... 26

Common Ground High School ............................................................................................................................. 28

Highville Charter School ......................................................................................................................................... 30

Amistad Academy .................................................................................................................................................... 32

Elm City College Prep .............................................................................................................................................. 34

Elm City Montessori School .................................................................................................................................. 36

Fairfi eld County Snapshot ..................................................................................................................................... 38

Great Oaks Charter School ................................................................................................................................... 40

New Beginnings Family Academy ........................................................................................................................ 42

The Bridge Academy ............................................................................................................................................... 44

Achievement First Bridgeport Academy ............................................................................................................ 46

Park City Prep Charter School .............................................................................................................................. 48

Side-By-Side Charter School ................................................................................................................................. 50

Trailblazers Academy .............................................................................................................................................. 52

Stamford Academy .................................................................................................................................................. 54

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Focus on the Facts: Connecticut Charter Schools 2014-2015

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Number of Connecticut Schools and Charter School Enrollment Over Time

2014 Charter School Affi liation

FAST

CHAR

TER F

ACTS

Approved charters to date32

Closed charters to date8

District Schools have converted2

22 Charter schools open statewide

Enrollment 2014-15

8,181Est. enrollment 2015-169,189In 2014-15 4 new charter schools currently chartered to open.

In 2015-2016, 2 more are approved to open.

7 Affi liated with a charter management organization

2 Affi liated with a partner organization

13 Are independent

17% of charter schools have a union

Litchfi eld: 86Hartford: 2,138New London: 592

New Haven: 2,560Fairfi eld: 2,685Windham: 120

Statewide Enrollment:

8Fairfi eld

1Litchfi eld

7New Haven

3Hartford

Middlesex

Tolland 1Windham

2New London

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Focus on the Facts: Connecticut Charter Schools 2014-2015

New London County

New London County is characterized by a nautical history, and is still home to boat manufacturer Electric Boat and a military submarine base. The region also is home to the Mashantucket Pequot tribe and the casino it operates. The New London public school system is incredibly linguistically diverse, due largely to foreign labor at the casino.

Just up the Thames River, Norwich Free Academy (NFA) is not a charter school, but is one of Con-necticut’s earliest experiments with public-private partnerships in public education. There are no traditional public high schools in Norwich, and all Norwich students can automatically attend NFA, a private school, on the district’s dime.

Tolland and Windham Counties

In contrast to the New London area’s mostly coastal communities, Tolland and Windham Coun-ties are made up of small towns and rolling hills and forests. The largest is Windham, best known as the seat of Eastern Connecticut State Univer-sity, the liberal arts branch of the Connecticut university system. This region also has some rural poverty and immigrant enclaves, which have created signifi cant challenges for the local public schools.

Both Windham and New London are now under the supervision of a Special Master: former Hartford superin-tendent Stephen Adamowski. He has recommended a variety of reforms in both towns. Next year, Windham will get its fi rst charter school: Path Academy. Path is a high school for over-age, under-credit youth, and is founded by a Hartford-based group that has successfully reached out to that population with in-school and after-school programs.

Eastern Connecticut currently has two other charter schools as well. In keeping with the rich arts community in the area, both the charter schools in New London and Norwich utilize an arts-focused curriculum.

Eastern ConnecticutCapsule Summary

17% of charter schools have a union

6

The Interdistrict School for Arts and Communication (ISAAC) inspires excellence through the arts and project-based learning in a collaborative, multicultural community.

In 1996, parents from the Regional Multicultural Magnet School petitioned the state to create a magnet middle school in New London with a vision to integrate art, music, and multicultural education.

Teachers from Multicultural Magnet School created a plan and submitted an application to open an arts charter school in New London. ISAAC received its charter from the Connecticut State Board of Education and opened in 1997. Its teachers are unionized and members of the Connecticut Education Association.

ISAAC is a diverse school serving 12 communities in southeastern Connecticut. The school harnesses the natural passion for learning and fosters the importance of community service. ISAAC is an experiential learning community, where students, families, and teachers are challenged to discover and express the best in themselves and each other while valuing the diversity in its school, community, and the world. It also reduces racial and economic isolation in the region and contributes to the revitalization of downtown New London.

ISAAC UTILIZES:

¡ Research-based instructional practices: ISAAC teachers and school leaders are trained to maximize student learning opportunities through the use of eff ective lessons that consider not only the concepts students must know but also the instructional strategies that will help students learn most eff ectively.

¡ Data-driven instruction: Teachers and school leaders also are trained to make instructional decisions based on student needs, as determined by examination of student work and data such as the CMTs.

¡ Project-based learning: ISAAC is part of the Expeditionary Learning Network and teachers and school leaders prioritize learning standards and to develop real-world, interactive, interdisciplinary projects that assess student learning. The school believes students learn best by doing, and these Learning Expeditions are a foundation of learning at ISAAC.

Interdistrict School For Arts & Communications (ISAAC)

MISSION

FOUNDING & HISTORY

PROGRAM

ISAAC students practicing

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In 2003, ISAAC purchased the former YMCA Building at 190 Governor Winthrop Boulevard, its current location. This tall brick building is located in the heart of downtown New London, near major transportation hubs such as the New London Train Station and the Cross Island Ferry.

In 2013, additions were completed that provided students with a new gym and auditorium. For the fi rst time, ISAAC’s student-written, directed, and produced musical theater piece was performed in their very own auditorium. ISAAC fi nanced the project through bond funding, commercial loans, and private fundraising.

As a school whose expressed mission is to integrate children from across the region, transportation is a perennial sticking point for ISAAC. Despite eff orts, most sending districts outside New London do not fund transportation for their students to attend the school. Some districts allow ISAAC students to ride a bus to a nearby magnet school and walk to ISAAC from there.

FACILITIES & TRANSPORTATION

190 Governor Winthrop Blvd.New London, CT 06320

860-447-1003

[email protected]

Founded: 1997

2014-15 Enrollment: 262 Grades: 6-8

190 Governor Winthrop Blvd.New London, CT 06320

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The Integrated Day Charter School provides a safe, fl exible and academically challenging learningenvironment that meets the unique social, emotional, academic, and physical needs of each child.

The Integrated Day program was initially established within the existing public school system in 1989. When the charter school legislation passed in 1997, veteran teachers, Joan Heff ernan, June Morrone and Joyce Werden, sought to create an alternative school that provided a free public school choice for all members of the Norwich area. These founding teachers and volunteer Sandy Quarto, along with parents and citizens supporting the idea of school choice, joined forces and were granted a charter to establish IDCS. The charter was awarded in February 1997, and the school opened its doors in August 1997 with 175 students and a sizable waiting list. IDCS is truly a community school. Parents, community members, and teachers worked together to ensure the school would open on time, and, against all odds, it did just that. The school has been at full enrollment since its inception.

The goal at IDCS is to facilitate the development of thoughtful students. With a strong sense of self-awareness and respect, these students care and independently seek knowledge. Graduates will be

Integrated Day Charter School (IDCS)

MISSION

FOUNDING & HISTORY

PROGRAM

THE INTEGRATED

DAY CHARTER SCHOOL

THE THE THE INTEGRATED INTEGRATED

DAY CHARTER SCHOOL

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able to adapt to an ever-changing world by becoming confi dent, socially responsible citizens and lifelong learners who apply their knowledge to improve themselves and the world around them.

Two pervasive features animate the IDCS program: integration of the arts throughout the curriculum and use of popular aspects of Montessori education. The curriculum is very project based, with children exploring themes of their own choosing independently and presenting their research. In 2012, IDCS was named a HOT School. This is a signifi cant recognition and a tribute to the hard work of the board and staff .

The open plan of some classrooms allows for both teacher-led and student-driven meetings, planning, collaboratation, and independent work. Diff erent age groups collaborate in learning, and there is a strong emphasis on content integration and critical thinking as exemplifi ed by student research projects presented three times a year. Students and staff alike sit together at age-integrated lunch tables, where they enjoy healthy meals prepared by IDCS.

IDCS enjoys a sweeping view in the bank of the Thames River from a beautifully renovated thermos factory, which it shares with a residential development. The facility has a gym, playground, library, cafeteria and kitchen. The open-plan library is the hub of the main fl oor, where there are also enclosed classrooms (one of which features a wooden “pirate loft”). The second fl oor, occupied by seventh and eighth graders, also has an open common area with an enclosed science lab.

IDCS purchased the building with a commercial loan, and it is straddled with signifi cant mortgage debt. IDCS was awarded bond funding through the state bonding commission to help pay for a portion of the facility. However, the funds were released several years later than promised and ended up paying a much smaller portion of the capital debt than was initially anticipated. IDCS off sets these costs by fundraising, but occaisionally still needs to cut programs, such as giving up its cherished free daycare program.

68 Thermos Ave.Norwich, CT 06360

860-892-1900

[email protected]

Founded: 1997

2014-15 Enrollment: 330 Grades: PreK-8

68 Thermos Ave.Norwich, CT 06360


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The mission of Path Academy is to re-engage over-age, under-credited students in education, supporting them through mastery of the critical skills necessary for success in college, career, and community. Path Academy’s innovative model, academic program and overall vision has been created in service to the Windham region’s over-age, under-credited (OU) students, including the region’s high incidence of English Language Learners. Path Academy will off er these students a supportive environment in which to turn current or future high school dropouts to scholars achieving high academic and non-academic standards.

The founding members for the school, made up of various members of the youth development agency Our Piece of the Pie (OPP), worked together for 18 months to craft a school design focused on helping over-age, under-credited (OU) youth succeed. These members crafted the alternative setting embodied the school’s core PATH values of Personal Development, Achievement, Teamwork, and Humanity, the operations plan followed from the school vision and design.

Over-age, under-credited students are those who have fallen behind in credit accumulation and have there-fore fallen behind their original graduating cohort by failing to be promoted from grade-to-grade. This student population is a key contributor to the state’s dropout crisis. A recent study by Dr. Andrew Sum at Northeastern University’s Center for Labor Market Studies, found that each Connecticut dropout costs the state more than $500,000 over his/her working lifetime.

Planning began with a research period, in which founding members learned about best practices and success-ful strategies. Included in the research period were site visits to high-performing, unique, and innovative high schools serving at-risk youth: KIPP (Houston, TX) and Carpe Diem Collegiate Middle-High School (Yuma, AZ).After research, the design process began with a discussion of what causes OU youth to disengage from educa-tion. Once these foundational items were complete, founding members worked together, and with a number of outside consultants and organizations, to develop detail around the technical aspects of the school design.

Path Academy students earn credits at an accelerated pace with the focus of mastery-based progression versus “time-in-seat” to achieve credits.

With a maximum size of 200 students, the school integrates technology (blended learning), project-based learning, and extended learning time opportunities to ensure mastery of skills and concepts aligned with the Common Core State Standards and Connecticut State Frameworks.

This work is anchored by student supports, such as youth development and postsecondary preparations, which help students to remove barriers, provide long-term guidance, and focus on their academic success.

Path Academy incorporates many recuperative strategies designed to support over-age, under-credited stu-dents, and those students that have fallen behind due to academic diffi culties, including language acquisition

Path Academy

MISSION

FOUNDING & HISTORY

PROGRAM

11

defi ciencies for English Language Learners (ELLs). Growing out of the school’s core PATH values, these strate-gies are refl ected in the eight core beliefs and values about education that guide the innovative school model and educational philosophy:

¡ Core Philosophy 1: Youth must be given the appropriate supports, both within and beyond academics, in order to succeed.

¡ Core Philosophy 2: Students must be active participants in their own learning.

¡ Core Philosophy 3: Technology is a critical 21st century skill, and must be incorporated into every aspect of the school model in order to adequately prepare students for post-secondary success.

¡ Core Philosophy 4: High quality teacher instruction is crucial for students at every stage of learning – particularly for students who are struggling or behind in skill attainment.

¡ Core Philosophy 5: Students must never move back, only forward.

¡ Core Philosophy 6: Assessment is an ongoing part of good teaching & learning and data is vital in creating a positive and eff ective school environment.

¡ Core Philosophy 7: More time in school leaves less time to fall behind.

¡ Core Philosophy 8: Parent and community engagement is critical to student success, both within and beyond high school.

Considering the high incidence of ELL identifi cation in the Windham region and the likely high incidence of ELL identifi cation within the Windham OU student population, the Path Academy school model took the needs of ELL students into signifi cant consideration. This includes embedding their needs into the above philosophies, such as the built-in structures to provide individualized supports for every student, which include specifi c sup-ports for special student populations and ELLs, in particular.

Each of these core philosophies is founded in research and tackled at Path Academy through research-based methods and strategies. They have all proven successful for at-risk student populations, but have rarely been integrated, specifi cally targeting OU youth.

The former YMCA building located at 832 Main Street, Willimantic is the identifi ed site for Path Academy. The ren-ovation of the building, which has been vacant since the mid -1990’s, is a signifi cant addition to the revitalization of downtown Willimantic. The project was a complete overhaul of the building, restoring the façade to its original brick and limestone, and creating a state-of-the art education facility that created a state-of-the art facility that serves up to 200 high school students.

Transportation follows all state statues and the school works with local districts to help facilitate a smooth transition.


832 Main St Willimantic, CT 06226

860-761-7341

[email protected]

Founded: 2014


832 Main St Willimantic, CT 06226

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Hartford, CT

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The capital city of Hartford is, in some ways, a microcosm of the great contrast in our state. The 2000 Census ranked Hartford second in the nation for poverty rates among cities of more than 100,000 peo-ple, while a 2003 study by Global Insights ranked Hartford second in per-capita economic activity. In 2010, the Hartford metro area was ranked fi rst in the nation for residential segregation in a study by Harvard researchers. Yet more than a third of Hartford children now attend integrated schools, mostly as a re-sult of the landmark desegregation case Sheff vs. O’Neil. In the case, a Hartford student and his mother successfully sued the state to provide integrated education to Hartford students. As in most high-poverty areas, there are schools in Hartford where no child scores at or above “Goal” on the state test and few reach “Profi cient.” But, there are also schools where 80-90% of students are profi cient in most grades and subjects.

Hartford also has been a focus for broader education reform eff orts, many of which have begun to show results. Since 2006, Hartford Public Schools have undergone signifi cant reforms under Superintendents Stephen Adamowski and his successor, Kristina Kishimoto. Hartford Pubic Schools is now a choice-based portfolio district, off ering more than 60 diff erent schools including district-operated choice models, magnets, charters, and others driven by partnerships with other organizations. Since reforms were put in place, Hartford Public Schools have seen four consecutive years of performance gains, including a 22% increase in third grade reading and a 25% increase in the high school graduation rate.

Hartford Area - Capsule Summary

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Odyssey Community School provides a positive elementary and middle school experience that emphasizes academic excellence, the ability to communicate eff ectively, and the development of strong character and self-confi dence.

Odyssey School was founded by Bill Jawitz and Lia Barnes in 1997. At the time, the school was located in the basement of a light company in Manchester. Odyssey made the most of these humble beginnings to establish an atmosphere where teachers and students were encouraged to take risks, view the world from diff erent points of view, and question everything. Throughout the years Odyssey has moved into a new building and expanded to include grades K-8. Odyssey has developed a very strong academic program, while remaining true to its foundation of creativity, inquiry, and, most of all, community.

Odyssey’s academic curriculum is rigorous, with a strong focus on helping students become critical thinkers and problem-solvers.

In particular, Odyssey’s founders and staff believe students need to be intelligent consumers of information in this ever-changing media age. The school provides state-of-the-art digitial tools and teaches students to use these tools to enhance their education.

Not only the intellect, but the heart and mind of each child is nurtured. Odyssey students are taught to become produc-tive members of their community. They internalize the CIR-CLE values: Courage, Integrity, Respect, Curiosity, Leadership and Excellence. These principles guide our staff and parents.

Odyssey is a single K-8 program, without separate elementary and middle schools. This is by design, and is used to reinforce the sense of community that is foundational to the school’s character. Staff fi nd ways to involve the older students in supportive roles, such as escorting younger students into the school, vol-unteering before school in classrooms, and acting as mentors and buddies in academic and enrichment activities. The older students develop very tolerant and helpful attitudes towards the youngest students, exerting positive infl uence while developing their own leadership skills.

Odyssey Community School

MISSION

FOUNDING & HISTORY

PROGRAM

Odyssey Community School

Co

urag

e Integrity Respect Couriosity Leadersh

ip

Ex

cell

enc

e

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Odyssey occupies an unassuming commercial building next to a gas station, and could almost be missed from the outside. However, inside is a welcoming, highly-functional interior painted in soothing blues and greens. Its 2011 expansion allowed Odyssey to fi nance new construction through commercial and pri-vate loans, the smaller of which has been paid off with bond funding. For the fi rst time, Odyssey students have a gym, a nautical themed library, and a dedicated special education resource room – in addition to more classrooms for the new grades. The most welcome addition for the students was the playground, where “each new piece of equipment became the instant favorite.”

All families sending students from outside of Manchester provide their own transportation, even though school districts are legally required to pay for their transportation. The longest commute of any Odyssey student is from Norwich.

579 West Middle TurnpikeManchester, CT 06040

860-645-1234

moffi [email protected]

Founded: 1997

2014-15 Enrollment: 324 Grades: K-8

579 West Middle TurnpikeManchester, CT 06040


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Embracing the philosophy of Jumoke—“a child is loved” in Yoruba, a Nigerian tribal language—the mission of the Academy is to prepare children to successfully compete in the global market place, overcoming any cultural, social or economic challenges.

Jumoke envisions urban learning communities of distinction that, through rigor and cultural affi rmation, deliver on the promise of excellence and empowerment for generations of scholars.

Civil rights leader, educator and child advocate Thelma Ellis Dickerson founded Jumoke Academy in 1997. She previously was a teacher and administrator in Hartford Public Schools before winning election to the school board in 1983. Thelma served for 14 years, including a term as board president.

Not satisfi ed with the slow rate of district change, Thelma opened Jumoke in the north end of Hartford. She envisioned a family-oriented and child-centered school in which every student was nurtured and educated.

In 2012, to satisfy growing demands for Jumoke’s programs—its waiting list of Hartford students exceeds 450 families—they founded several new academies: Steps to Prep Early Education Center (Pre-K), Thelma Ellis Dickerson’s Jumoke Academy (elementary school), and two middle schools: Jumoke Academy Honors Science, Math, and Research Technology (a STEM school), and Jumoke Honors at the Hartford Conservatory.

Jumoke Model Elements:

The hallmarks of the Jumoke model are a “whole child” approach that includes:

¡ Social and emotional support

¡ Personalized interventions

¡ Academic assistants in every classroom

¡ Strong family outreach

¡ Diverse enrichment opportunities

¡ An affi rming culturally responsive curriculum

In order to achieve its results, Jumoke has developed a vision of academic excellence and community engagement that incorporates the following elements:

¡ School leadership that prescribes the “front end” and “back end” of classroom instruction, i.e. the standards (what needs to be taught) and the summative assessment (how learning will be measured).

Jumoke Academy

MISSION

FOUNDING & HISTORY

PROGRAM

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¡ Summer academies that allow teachers to plan and prepare their curricula for the new academic year.

¡ Development of the “Art and Science of Teaching” that is strengthened by intense and purposeful planning by teachers. Teachers must anticipate learning needs of scholars and plan diff erentiated lessons so all scholars in the classroom can be properly engaged.

¡ Town hall meetings, which allow families to hear the Jumoke approach and gauge community sentiment about the school.

¡ Site visits to Jumoke Academy schools for prospective parents, staff and other stakeholders, which allow real-time access to the model.

¡ One-on-one meetings with local leadership to gauge stakeholder sentiment about education in general and obtain historical perspective and willingness to become thought partners in Jumoke eff orts.

¡ Door-to-door outreach to parents to share plans for the year, and provide information on uniforms, school calendar and school leadership.

¡ Identifi cation of room parents, who serve as liaisons to other parents in that grade/classroom.

Jumoke operates in several facilities that support the teachinglearning and administrative requirements of Jumoke Academy Schools. The Thelma Ellis Dickerson Jumoke Academy Elementary School is leased from an area church.

Transportation is provided to students who live in Hartford. Families who live outside the city must pro-vide transportation for their scholars and often carpool rideshare.

Hartford Conservatory (5-7)875 Asylum AvenueHartford, CT 06105

860-527-0575

[email protected]

Founded: 1997


Jumoke Academy Honors (5-8)339 Blue Hills AvenueHartford, CT 06112

860-527-0575 ext 130


Dickerson Academy (PreK-4) 250 Blue Hills AvenueHartford, CT 06112

860-527-0575 ext 119

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The mission of Achievement First is to deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all of America’s children. It believes all children, regardless of race or economic status, can succeed if they have access to a great education. Achievement First schools provide all of their students with the academic and character skills they need to graduate from top colleges, to succeed in a competitive world and to serve as the next generation of leaders in our communities.

In 1998, a group of founders came together with a clear goal: to prove that urban students can achieve at the same high levels as their affl uent suburban counterparts. Amistad Academy opened in 1999 and became the fl agship school of Achievement First Charter Schools. Amistad Academy established a strong culture and a set of techniques that have since been replicated throughout Achievement First’s three-state, 25-school network. The Achievement First Hartford Academy opened its doors in 2008.

At Achievement First Hartford Academy Elementary School, there is a tremendous focus placed on read-ing, which occupies three hours of instruction per day, and is broken into alternating blocks of small group instruction. Teachers and students start the day with Morning Motivation, which includes recognition of exemplary REACH (Respect, Enthusiasm, Achievement, Citizenship and Hard Work) and a school-wide song to put all students on track to have a successful day of learning.

Achievement First Hartford Academy Middle School off ers a daily program schedule that provides three-and-a-half hours of literacy instruction for every student in the form of a 90-minute literature class, a 30-minute reading skills block and a 45-minute “literacy” workshop, where small groups of students at similar reading levels receive targeted instruction. Children also receive 90 minutes of math education and 45 minutes of history and science teaching each day. All of this intellectual activity is off set by a 45-minute daily physical education class, and one hour is set aside every Friday afternoon for community-building activities.

Achievement First Hartford is part of a groundbreaking pilot program in Connecticut to encourage partnerships between districts and charters. One of the benefi ts of this program is Achievement First’s access to district owned space. Achievement First Hartford elementary, middle, and high schools are all located in the same building, and it shares this facility with Global Communications Academy.

Achievement First Hartford Academy accepts only Hartford residents, and it has access to busing through the host district.

Achievement First Hartford Academy


MISSION

FOUNDING & HISTORY

PROGRAM

19

305 Greenfi eld St.Hartford, CT 06112

860-695-6685

infoCT@achievementfi rst.org

Founded: 2008


305 Greenfi eld St.Hartford, CT 06112

Opened this school year, Achievement First Summit Middle is the the newest school in the Achievement First network. AF Summit is structured to provide students with a love of learning and the academic and character skills necessary to succeed in college and life. The school provides students with the academic and character skills they’ll need to graduate from top colleges, to succeed in a competitive world and to serve as the next generation of leaders in our community. Students master core skills and knowledge drawn directly from the State learning standards.

At Achievement First Summit, parents are our partners; a three-way partnership is forged among the students, teachers and parents, who work as a team to achieve high academic breakthroughs. In December 2013, Benjamin Cruse was named the founding principal of AF Summit Middle School after completing the yearlong Principal-in-Residence program at AF Hartford Academy Middle. The school will be temporarily located at the Global Communications Academy building.

ACHIEVEMENT FIRST SUMMIT MIDDLE SCHOOL

Achievement First SummitMiddle School85 Edwards StreetHartford, CT 06120

860-695-6200

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Brass City Charter School (BCCS) provides a rigorous academic and holistic social - emotional learning program that will eliminate the achievement gap for underserved students. BCCS enables students to soar academically, develop as people of character, and lead meaningful and productive lives both for themselves and for their community.

Brass City Charter School (BCCS) is based on the educational model of Children’s Community School, a small-private school which has served the families of Waterbury for forty- fi ve years. The school’s Board of Directors, interested in expanding their successful model in order to serve additional children, delegated to Barbra Ruggiero, the school’s Executive Director, that task of developing the application. In June of 2013, the application was approved by the State Board of Education and in the following September, the school opened its doors for the fi rst time as a state charter school.

Brass City Charter School promises a rigorous academic program coupled with support and strong character development to ensure that each student is poised for success in a competitive high school program.

BCCS creates intentionally a culture that demands academic excellence and supports character development and self-empowerment for its students. BCCS is a community of learners based on a culture of high expectations and rooted in the deep belief in the intrinsic worth and potential of every student. Parents are expected to support and participate in their children’s education.

To attain this goal, BCCS prepares its students for academic success in competitive high school programs by engaging them in a standards-based educational program. The Common Core and CT Frameworks provides the curricular foundation upon which mastery learning is built. Students are expected to perform at or above grade level in the core subjects of reading, math, and writing. Frequent assessment, both informal and formal, is the basis for intentional teaching and diff erentiated instruction. An extended school day, extended school year, and summer program provide increased time on task to help facilitate sustained student achievement.

Recent research and refl ection have shown that academic skills alone will not ensure success. BCCS will also focus on the character traits that are the foundation for success. We believe that character is malleable and can be taught, and we are experienced using validated techniques for such teaching. BCCS focuses

Brass City Charter School

MISSION

FOUNDING & HISTORY

PROGRAM

21

consistently on helping our students develop the optimism, zest, grit, curiosity, social intelligence, gratitude and self-control (Seligman and Peterson)necessary for resilience and for creating successful and meaningful lives. In addition, we use brain training based on the most recent brain research to help children understand how their brains work and to aid teachers in assisting students with metacognition.

In keeping with our belief in educating the whole child, BCCS provides opportunities for students beyond the traditional classroom through rich extracurricular programs such as that provided by BRAVO Waterbury! (based on the Venezuelan El Sistema program), fi eld trip experiences, and community service projects and through partnerships with other schools and institutions.

Brass City’s campus has been leased to the school by the Archdiocese of Hartford. The campus consists of a three-story main school building, where the majority of instruction takes place, and a church whose lower level rooms serve as a cafeteria and a multipurpose facility.

Waterbury Public Schools provides transportation, special education services, and a part-time school nurse for the school.

212 Chestnut AveWaterbury CT, 06710

203-527-5942

[email protected]

Founded: 2013


212 Chestnut AveWaterbury CT, 06710


22

Explorations Charter School

MISSION

FOUNDING & HISTORY

PROGRAM


It is the mission of Explorations Charter School to provide an environment that cultivates a positive attitude toward lifelong learning in an experiential, non-traditional educational setting. Explorations will provide an environment that models inter-dependencies as a foundation of society. The program will emphasize activities which foster the acceptance of responsibility.

Explorations Charter School received its initial charter in March 1997. The school was open for students in August 1997. Currently, Explorations is a four-year high school.

Explorations Charter School is one of Connecticut’s fi rst charter schools. Explorations was founded to meet the needs of bright high school students who were full of potential for greater academic achieve-ment but not being motivated in the traditional public school setting. Explorations reaches out to its students by providing personal attention, a curriculum that fosters high levels of motivation, and an en-vironment in which students can derive ownership in their future. We believe that educational success is more attainable when the student is personally invested in the choices that will direct his or her future.

Explorations’ program emphasizes activities which foster the acceptance of responsibility and the de-velopment of positive decision making and problem solving skills. We encourage students to develop a healthy attitude toward their school, community, work, family, and, most important, toward their own sense of self. Through family and community involvement, our students realize how each of us takes ownership in contributing to a better future for all.

It is the goal of Explorations Charter School to develop students into adults who will be good citizens, good and productive role models, and giving individuals who will make a positive contribution to society.

Explorations Charter School is located in the Brian J. O’Neil building in Winsted, CT.

Transportation is an area of concern for Explorations. The school draws from 12 diff erent towns and most provide no public transportation to the school. The school off ers a bus that serves students residing in Torrington, Litchfi eld, and Thomaston.

23

71 Spencer St.Winsted, CT 06098

860-738-9070

[email protected]

Founded: 1997


71 Spencer St.Winsted, CT 06098

24

New Haven is a college town with thriving arts and culture. It famously embraced a collaborative model of reform touted across the country, and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten personally worked with local education leaders to craft a homegrown reform program that explores dif-ferent school models and teacher evaluation programs. There are many magnet and charter schools with overfl owing waiting lists, and the New Haven School District conducts lotteries for all of its choice schools, including the three charters located within the city limits. A third charter, currently located in Hamden, also enrolls mostly New Haven students but is moving to New Haven for the 2014-15 school year. The local and state boards of education recently approved the state’s only local charter, Elm City Montessori, slated to open in 2014.

New Haven Area Capsule Summary

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New Haven, CT

26

Booker T. Washington Academy

Booker T. Washington Academy’s mission is to educate its scholars for leadership and responsible citizenship in society by developing the cognitive, moral, and social skills so they can compete academically and thrive in a diverse global community.

Booker T. Washington was conceptualized by Reverend Eldren D. Morrison, a Pastor of Varick Memorial AME Zion Church in New Haven, Connecticut. The Reverend greatly admired Booker T. Washington for his accomplishments, character, and discipline as an independent African American thinker who triumphed against adversity and became an advocate for education and entrepreneurship.

He decided to bring those ideals to action as he saw the need to improve his community. A committee of parents, educators, community leaders, and charter school experts organized to design a program that would meet those very needs.

On September 10th, 2014, BTWA opens its doors up to 120 students in Kindergarten and 1st grade.

BTWA believes that with a rigorous academic program, high scholar expectations, and strong moral char-acter, all based around the values of Booker T. Washington, they can create pathways to scholar success in school, college, and life. Stemming from this philosophy, the school will provide their students with a world-class education in reading, writing and mathematics, as well as guidance in citizenship and leader-ship. The core features of the program are:

¡ Extended School Day: An extended school day, which begins with breakfast and includes a full day of instruction, tutoring, homework help and enrichment activities after-school.

¡ Enriched Academic Year: A full academic school year, with a Summer Enrichment Program (“SEP”) and Saturday Academies (“SA”) creates additional opportunities for targeted learning.

¡ Challenging Curriculum: A challenging curriculum based on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), will be implemented and embedded in the themes of the Academy in Reading, Writing, Social Studies, English Language Arts, Science, Technology, Oratory, Music and Art.

¡ Challenging Curriculum: A challenging curriculum based on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), will be implemented and embedded in the themes of the Academy in Reading, Writing, Social Studies, English Language Arts, Science, Technology, Oratory, Music and Art.

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¡ Community Partnerships: By supporting parents in their eff orts to insure student success, com-munity partnerships alleviate concerns and address issues that take away from scholar achieve-ment. These partnerships may include: local universities, libraries, cultural centers, health, and counseling services.

¡ Parental Supports: Parent workshops for scholar success extend supports beyond school walls to holistically address scholar needs. Topics may include: health services and nutrition counseling, parenting, homework, child safety, enhancing scholar learning and emotional development, and praise for motivation and positive behavior.

BTWA will be temporarily leasing space from Achievement First on Green St, in New Haven, Connecticut. The district of New Haven and Hamden will provide public transportation for students to and from BTWA.


246 Dixwell AveNew Haven, CT 06511

203-624-6245

[email protected]

Founded: 2014


246 Dixwell AveNew Haven, CT 06511

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Common Ground High School’s mission is to graduate students with the knowledge, skills, and under-standing to live healthy, powerful, and productive lives.

Common Ground’s founders — a group of teachers, environmentalists, concerned citizens, and philanthropists — envisioned programs that would use local parks to teach key ecological concepts and to connect youth to natural resources within their own communities. They believed in the power of place-based education, and in the importance of food as a central environmental and social issue. The group incorporated as The New Haven Ecology Project in 1990 and set the long-term goal that still guides its work today: to promote healthy lifestyles and model envi-ronmental practices at a working demonstration farm, school, and environmental center in New Haven.

They tested their early ideas at High School in the Community and the West Rock Nature Center before venturing out to create something new of their own. In 1994, a full-time staff of one ran pilot programs in teacher training, service learning at several middle schools, and an ecology summer camp at the West Rock Nature Center.

Connecticut passed enabling legislation and approved the fi rst ten charters in 1997, including The Ecology Project’s proposal for Common Ground High School. When it opened in 1997, Common Ground was the nation’s fi rst environmentally themed charter school. Subsequently, the Green Prize in Public Education, the National Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Achievement Award, and the Green Ribbon School Award all have recognized Common Ground’s programs.

Common Ground is a small, college preparatory high school, where students experience a combination of individual support and high expectations that help them achieve aca-demic success. It does so through authentic learning that develops:

¡ Academic excellence

¡ Ecological literacy

¡ Strong character

¡ Commitment to community

Common Ground High SchoolMISSION

FOUNDING & HISTORY

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Common Ground High School takes the urban environment as its organizing focus, using three sites as laboratories for learning: the 20-acre urban farm that is the school’s campus, the natural environment of the adjacent West Rock Ridge State Park, and the urban setting of New Haven, Conn. Close study of these places develops understanding of local and global issues. Through this and core academic work, students ex-perience a rigorous high school curriculum that prepares them for competitive colleges, meaningful careers, and purposeful lives.

With only 180 students, Common Ground is able to challenge and support each individual, linking them with on- and off -campus opportunities that push them as far and as fast as possible.. Students master state standards as they design new green buildings on the school’s site, partner in the research of university scientists, launch successful environmental business ventures, and create outdoor museum exhibits.

During the past six years, Common Ground students have made some of the state’s largest test score gains. Last year, nearly 97% of students were accepted to college and the school’s four-year graduation rate exceeded the state average by nearly 10 points.

Common Ground maintains Connecticut’s longest-running community farm, producing more than 35,000 servings of vegetables each year, and this harvest provides free lunch to every student. Children also deliver fresh, healthy food to those who need it most – through a mobile farm market, an on-site farm stand, CitySeed Farmer’s markets, and donations to emergency food providers.

In 1997, The Ecology Project negotiated with the New Haven Department of Parks, Recreation, and Trees to lease 20 acres of abandoned parkland at the base of West Rock Ridge State Park. Today, this 20-acre site includes a community environmental education center that serves 10,000 children and adults each year, an urban farm, more than 20 student-designed interpretive exhibits, and a variety of model sustainability strategies.

In the coming year, construction will launch on a new school building, featuring two science labs, an art studio, and a multi-purpose community gathering space. Students and community experts helped design a sustainable plan – from low impact storm water management practices, to geothermal and solar power generation. The plan meets quality standards for LEED Platinum certifi cation, the highest level of environmental design. This will be made possible by state bond funding, competitive government grants, and generous donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses.

Like all charter schools with signifi cant intake from outside their host district, transportation is a perennial problem. Common Ground, uniquely among charters, reserves a 70% quota for New Haven students and 30% for non-New Haven students. Currently, students travel from 17 diff erent surrounding towns. However, transportation is a challenge for some suburban students. Common Ground provides free passes on city transit busses, but, in the absence of state transportation funding, many suburban families must make their own transportation arrangements.

358 Springside Ave, New Haven, CT 06515

203 389-4333

[email protected]

Founded: 1997


358 Springside Ave, New Haven, CT 06515


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Highville Charter School is an enterprising and caring community with strong parent and community in-volvement. It prepares and instills a desire for all learners to confi dently use technology, think globally, utilize world languages and study various world cultures. Such globally-conscious citizens are values-oriented, wellness conscious, career directed, skillful creative and critical thinkers, culturally sophisticated and acutely aware of global interdependence.

Highville Charter School has the phoenix as its mascot, a potent symbol for the center of learning that rose from the ashes of a struggling school. The school is a successful reboot of Highville Mustard Seed Charter School, where previous leadership had mismanaged fi nances to the detriment of its students. Veteran superintendent Bill Troy was appointed by the Department of Education to take over the school. After stabilizing the situation, he was inspired by the strong school community and the potential of the Highville vision and the charter governance model. What was to be a short term assignment turned into a fi ve-year stint – during which time he saw the total transformation of his school. In 2011, the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) recognized Highville as a “Success Story School,” in the category of achievement for African-American students. Since Troy’s 2012 retirement, Craig Drezek, another former superintendent, has assumed leadership at Highville. He is leading Highville’s high school expansion, with plans to serve pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in 2016-17.

Highville blends tradition with an awareness of an interconnected world. Each classroom focuses on a diff erent country or region, whose study is integrated across academic subjects. By the time they graduate, Highville students have studied much of the world, its languages and cultures. Students also participate in the internationally renowned Model UN program.

The school gives students diverse opportunities that incorporate multiple modes of learning, including the meaningful use of technology – all while keeping global perspectives at the center of the curriculum.

These learning opportunities are frequently revised as part of a guiding philosophy of continuous improvement. Staff are committed to professional learning that is continuous, frequent and always aligned with the mission and goals of the school.

Highville places emphasis on using time eff ectively to support student learning, and maintains a balance between declarative and procedural knowledge. To measure achievement, Highville strives for varied and thoughtful assessments. Data is used to guide goal setting, decision making, and practice. This data includes not only test scores and other academic performance measures, but also parent and student satisfaction surveys, parent and student attendance and participation in the life of the school.

Highville Charter School

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The school has a committed and experienced staff and an involved parent community that works collaboratively to help all students achieve. Involving the community in school governance is a cornerstone of Highville’s model, in tandem with open and eff ective communications with parents and the school community.

Highville is located in a converted administrative and industrial building on Leeder Hill Road. The rented space is similar to Odyssey’s. The school recently added a cafeteria, kitchen, gym, and playground.

Transportation is a particular issue because while Highville is technically located in Hamden, the majority of students come from New Haven. The longest commutes are from Lebanon and New Britain. The school is planning on relocating to a new facility in New Haven’s Science Park development for the 2014-15 school year.

130 Leeder Hill Dr.Hamden, CT 06517

203-287-0528

[email protected]

Founded: 1998


130 Leeder Hill Dr.Hamden, CT 06517


32

The mission of Achievement First is to deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all of America’s children. They believe all children, regardless of race or economic status, can succeed if they have access to a great education. Achievement First schools provide all of its students with the academic and character skills they need to graduate from top colleges, to succeed in a competitive world and to serve as the next generation of leaders in our communities.

In 1998, a group of founders came together with a clear goal: to prove that urban students can achieve at the same high levels as their affl uent suburban counterparts. Amistad Academy opened in 1999 and became the fl agship school of Achievement First Charter Schools. Amistad Academy established a strong culture and a set of techniques that have since been replicated throughout Achievement First’s three-state, 25-school network.

Amistad Academy (middle school) was profi led in the PBS documentary “Closing the Achievement Gap” (2004) and was named Connecticut’s 2006 Title I Distinguished School after having the greatest performance gains of any middle school in the state. The elementary and high schools opened in 2006.

The key to Amistad Academy Elementary’s success is a school culture built on a strong foundation of sharing and caring, working hard, refl ecting and having fun. Every morning, the music teacher kicks off Morning Motivation with a chant called “Are you going to have fun today?” For teachers, collegial ob-servation is common, and best practices are constantly shared.

At the middle school, all students and staff gather every week for Morning Circle, where students are recognized by teachers and peers for aca-

demic achievement and strong character skills. Town Meetings take place every six weeks and build school spirit with music, skits, cheers and awards. Amistad Academy Middle’s robust after-school enrichment program, Encore!, off ers students daily expert instruction in theater, karate, dance, orchestra, volleyball, step team, graphic design and other arts and athletic activities.

Amistad High School combines rigorous academics and high expectations with a host of supports, including SAT prep,

Amistad Academy

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FOUNDING & HISTORY

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intensive college counseling, tutoring, explicit character education and a school culture in which it is “cool to be smart.”

Achievement First has purchased existing school buildings from New Haven and fi nanced facilities via a special legislation pilot. All Amistad students come from New Haven, and are therefore provided trans-portation by their sending district.

49 Prince St.New Haven, CT 06519(9-12)

203-772-1092


Founded: 1999


130 Edgewood AvenueNew Haven, CT 06511 (K-8)

203-772-7000


34

The mission of Achievement First is to deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all of America’s children. They believe all children, regardless of race or economic status, can succeed if they have access to a great education. Achievement First schools provide all of our students with the academic and character skills they need to graduate from top colleges, to succeed in a competitive world and to serve as the next generation of leaders in our communities.

In 1998, a group of founders came together with a clear goal: to prove that urban students can achieve at the same high levels as their affl uent suburban counterparts. Amistad Academy opened in 1999 and became the fl agship school of Achievement First Charter Schools. Amistad Academy established a strong culture and a set of techniques that have since been replicated throughout Achievement First’s three-state, 25-school network. Elm City College Preparatory opened in 2004.

The elementary reading curriculum centers around a three-hour, sacred reading block that uses a pho-nics-based literacy program and text-rich classrooms. Immersed in sounds and words, students are quickly provided with a solid, early foundation for more advanced reading. At Elm City College Preparato-ry Elementary, teachers fi nd creative ways to encourage and reward hard work, such as taking students on trips to local book stores and participating in “Funtastic Friday” celebrations.

Elm City College Preparatory Middle School boasts a “warm demanding” culture where respect, teamwork and hard work are the platinum standard. As with all Achievement First middle schools, students at Elm City College Preparatory Middle School look forward all year to the end-of-year college fi eld trips – a criti-cal component of the college-focused curriculum. The school’s fi fth-grade scholars visit Temple University in Philadelphia, sixth graders travel to Bowdoin College in Maine, seventh graders visit Morehouse and Spelman Colleges in Atlanta and eighth graders visit the University of California at Berkeley. During these trips, students tour the campuses, attend lectures, participate in mock interviews with admissions staff and stay in the dormitories. While the college visit is the core of each trip, students’ horizons are broad-ened in countless other ways. For example, sixth graders go camping, hiking and biking through Acadia National Park, and eat lobster while in Maine.

ECMS is located at 375 Quinnipiac Avenue in facilities provided by New Haven Public Schools. As a local charter school, the city of New Haven provides transportation for Elm City Montessori School’s Kindergarten-age children.

Elm City College Preparatory School


MISSION

FOUNDING & HISTORY

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794 Dixwell Ave.New Haven, CT 06511(5-8)

203-772-5332


Founded: 2004


407 James St.New Haven, CT 06513 (K-4)

203-772-7010

36

The mission of Elm City Montessori School (ECMS) is to off er New Haven families a high quality public Montessori education for children ages three to thirteen. ECMS is building a racially, ethnically and eco-nomically diverse community deeply committed to realizing the inherent potential of all children. Stu-dents at ECMS will develop within themselves the power to shape their lives and the world around them.

In 2011, a local parent group led by three moms—two born and raised in New Haven—began exploring public school options for their preschoolers. Committed to public education, but challenged by lack of access to their schools of choice, the group began envisioning the ideal school for their young children. They imagined a racially, ethnically and economically diverse school with a nurturing, child-centered approach to early education and strong parent engagement. In exploring diff erent school models, they discovered Montessori education and several successful public Montessori schools in Hartford. In the fall of 2012, parents and other community supporters organized, requested and received the support of the New Haven Board of Education to establish a public Montessori school in New Haven.

The result of this collaborative work is Elm City Montessori School. The New Haven Board of Education approved Elm City Montessori School’s local charter application in May 2013, followed by State Board of Education approval in July 2013. Working in close partnership with New Haven Public Schools, ECMS is not only New Haven’s fi rst public Montessori option, it plays a signifi cant role in the district’s eff orts to forge meaningful, coherent school improvement for all New Haven Families. Grounded in a research-based, time-tested curriculum model, fueled by a visionary commitment to early childhood education and robust family engagement, Elm City Montessori School is an integral part of New Haven’s eff orts to provide a portfolio of exemplary education options. Together, New Haven Public Schools and Elm City Montessori will work to ensure that all New Haven Students complete high school equipped with 21st century skills and ready to lead successful lives.

Montessori instruction is, by design, entirely diff erentiated and individualized. Teachers use an array of self-correcting, sequenced, developmentally appropriate, learning materials and lessons as part of a holistic approach to education. Instruction is tailored to the individual needs of students. Students are grouped according to skill level and receive small group instruction at their level. They receive assign-ments that vary in complexity according to their ability levels and/or learning styles. Students are en-couraged to devote as much time as necessary to achieve mastery of a task, before moving on to more diffi cult tasks. Such diff erentiation increases the eff ectiveness of instruction for individual children and dramatically enhances achievement. The most important aspect of the teacher’s work becomes that of gathering data and continuously assessing students’ performance in order to make appropriate and

Elm City Montessori School

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FOUNDING & HISTORY

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timely instructional interventions that ensure that every child achieves academic success.

Dr. Maria Montessori developed her educational method initially through working with disabled children in the early 1900’s. Montessori’s hands-on, carefully sequenced program of exploration and experimentation proved to be remarkably successful in addressing developmental challenges and in supporting the academic and social development of students of all abilities. Today, many of the interven-tions used to support children who are not achieving stated performance standards are components of the Montessori Method. Children who enroll with developmental delays, language defi cits, and any other learning challenge that threatens appropriate progress will be served through a rigorous support process that begins with basic classroom modifi cations, and may progress to more intensive interventions based on the child’s needs. ECMS functions in full accord with federal (IDEA), state, and local laws and regulations with regard to children with special needs. ECMS is committed to providing an inclusive learning community where every child develops their full potential and individual diff erences are respected and embraced. The School plans to fully support children identifi ed with special needs with special education and related services.

ECMS is located at 375 Quinnipiac Avenue in facilities provided by New Haven Public Schools. As a local charter school, the city of New Haven provides transportation for Elm City Montessori School’s Kindergar-ten-age children.

375 Quinnipiac Ave New Haven, CT 06513

203-903-4031

[email protected]

Founded: 2014

Projected 2014-15 Enrollment: 63

375 Quinnipiac Ave New Haven, CT 06513


Grades: PreK-K

38

To many Connecticut residents, Fairfi eld County is synonymous with wealth. This “Gold Coast” is home to Wall Street professionals and others who commute to New York’s fi nancial district, including several Forbes-ranked billionaires. Yet at the heart of this affl uence is Bridgeport, Connecticut’s largest and second-poorest city. A 2010 Harvard study that found the greater Bridgeport area to be the most residentially segregated in the nation. It is emblematic of Connecticut’s simultaneous status as having both the nation’s greatest per capita wealth and its largest achievement gap.

Bridgeport itself has had a contentious history in recent years. After several years of turnover and tumult, the board of education’s most recent elections resulted in a signifi cant change in the board’s policy stances. Meanwhile Superintendent Vallas has left Bridgeport to become the running mate of Gov. Pat Quinn in Illinois.

But the past few years have not been without progress in the Park City, which now enjoys a balanced (if lean) school budget and a new magnet high school. The city also is moving toward a student-based budgeting similar to Hartford’s.

Bridgeport is also the home of Tanya McDowell, a homeless woman who was indicted for enrolling her son in Norwalk schools. Although she was convicted, her case inspired legislation decriminalizing this kind of “education theft.”

Fairfi eld county hosts seven charter schools with very diverse models and missions, four of which are in Bridgeport.

Fairfi eld County Capsule Summary

39

40

Great Oaks Charter School

The mission of Great Oaks Charter Schools is to prepare students for college success, to train highly eff ective classroom teachers and to invest in the communities in which our schools operate.

The Great Oaks Charter Foundation opened their fi rst charter school in Newark, New Jersey in 2011, and expanded to New York’s Lower East Side in 2013. Now, the Great Oaks Foundation has partnered with various community leaders, education experts, and advocates to bring another quality education option to Bridgeport’s East Side.

Great Oaks Charter School has a culture of high academic and behavioral expectations, based on the belief that every child can learn and earn a degree from a competitive four-year institution. The school’s Tutor Corps model along with its Teacher Residency program helps to foster a strong environment for learning. Great Oaks’ academic model is also inspired by the Match School of Boston.

The Teacher Residency program was created by partnering with NYU to provide a pathway to teaching certifi cation and a Master’s degree through a blend of coursework, mentoring and more experiential learning than more traditional theory-based graduate schools of education.

Great Oaks’ model puts strong importance on building relationships with families as well as having a highly individualized instruction provided by the Tutor Corps, which ensures that every student receives a high-quality education.

¡ Individualized Instruction: Every Great Oaks student will receive at least two hours of individualized tutoring every day delivered by our full-time Tutor Corps.

¡ The Great Oaks Tutor Corps Fellowship is a one-year program that recruits the best and brightest college graduates from across the country. Tutors provide daily individualized instruction to students, while also taking on secondary responsibilities, including academic planning, leadership and coaching of extracurricular activities, and teaching assistant and administrative roles.

¡ More Time on Task: Our school day and year will be signifi cantly longer than those of the Bridgeport Public Schools. Our school day will run from 7:30am-4:45pm, with additional enrichment opportunities from 4:45pm-6:00pm.

¡ Unrelenting Focus on College Readiness: Every GO-BPT student will know that his or her goal is to graduate from college.Summer Boost Academy: Boost Academy keeps students actively learn-

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ing through the month of August, providing 20 more instructional days each year than district schools.

¡ Character Development: We will actively develop character traits through a school culture that reinforces our core values.

¡ Relationships: GO-BPT believes that family engagement is a critical component of student suc-cess. Our principal, teachers and tutors will engage in at least weekly individual parent outreach.

The school is temporarily located at 510 Barnum Avenue. The space is classroom and technology ready to ensure a state-of-the art education. The district of Bridgeport will provide public transportation for students to and from Great Oaks Charter School.


510 Barnum AveBridgeport, CT 06608

203- 870-8188

[email protected]

Founded: 2014

2014-15 Enrollment: 100 Grades: 6

510 Barnum AveBridgeport, CT 06608

42

New Beginnings Family Academy

New Beginnings Family Academy (NBFA) prepares students for outstanding academic success in high school, college and beyond. Intelligence plus character is its ultimate goal.

NBFA opened Bridgeport’s fi rst elementary charter school in September 2002, serving 156 students in grades K-3. By 2005, NBFA had expanded into the city’s fi rst charter middle school, serving roughly 260 students. NBFA now serves over 400 students in pre-kindergarten through 8th grade.

NBFA distinguishes itself through rigorous academic and character building curricula, an extended school day and year, strong instructional leadership, and a diversely talented teaching staff .

Its classrooms are named after history makers - people like Sojourner Truth, Ben Ochoa, Isaac Newton, Helen Keller – and its walls are fi lled with fl ags from colleges all across the country. That’s because NBFA believes it takes both intelligence plus character to properly educate a child in the 21st century.

The school also believes its entire community (students, faculty, parents, administrators, staff and board) must commit to a culture that is positive, uplifting, forward thinking and hard working, ever reaching for the stars. NBFA asks parents to commit time to the school in order to support both student learning and the strong community that sustains achievement.

To meet the expectations of its mission and culture, NBFA has standards and goals that are both demon-strable and measurable. Strategies for meeting these include:

¡ More time on task: students have an extended regular school day, in which they receive eight hours of instruction compared to 6.75 hours off ered in district schools.

¡ Targeted remediation and enrichment: NBFA provides 2.5 hours of additional daily instruction for students who need it the most.

¡ Data driven instruction: The school administers frequent student assessments to create skill-appropriate instructional groups, inform classroom instruction and identify areas for professional development.

¡ Summer Boost Academy: Boost Academy keeps students actively learning through the month of August, providing 20 more instructional days each year than district schools.

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¡ Professional development: NBFA provides teachers and leaders with ongoing, frequent training to support enhanced student learning.

¡ The Arts: The school provides every student with studio art and musical instruction from full-time, certifi ed staff .

NBFA graduates demonstrate the lasting value of a quality, well-rounded education, receiving scholarships to Fairfi eld College Preparatory School, Greens Farms Academy, St. Luke’s School and Notre Dame High School.

In May 2005, Friends of NBFA, the school’s support organization, raised money to purchase and transform a century-old building and two adjacent parcels into a beautiful “urban campus” for New Beginnings Family Academy. The refurbished facility off ers 51,000-sq. ft. of instructional space,including bright, oversized classrooms, a Library and Media Center with computer stations, an additional second-fl oor computer lab, a fully-equipped commercial kitchen, and a 3,000-sq. ft. annex for physical education.

Most NBFA students come from Bridgeport and are provided transportation. The small handful of families from other towns drive their children to school.


184 Garden St.Bridgeport, CT 06605

203-384-2897

[email protected]

Founded: 2002


184 Garden St.Bridgeport, CT 06605

44

The Bridge Academy

The Bridge Academy brings about academic and personal growth in young people by providing a small, caring public charter school with a rigorous learning environment.

Bridge Academy founders Timothy Dutton and Rachel Allison developed the concept for the school in 1996. Tim began his teaching career in Darien, Conn, where he earned the Sally Mae Award for Excellence in First Year Teaching. After three years, he started teaching at Harding in Bridgeport, Conn. Here he met Rachel, a fellow teacher.

Tim and Rachel believed the fl exibility of a charter school aff orded the opportunity to create an educational model that would create better outcomes for high school students in Bridgeport. Over three years, they discussed what it would take to open a new school, with a diff erent way of approaching education. When Connecticut passed laws allowing charter schools, they immediately began working on an application, along with another Harding High teacher, Felipe Reinoso. They were granted a charter in February 1997, and the Bridge Academy opened that September. Tim Dutton was and still is the school’s principle.

Bridge’s approach is student driven and focused on real-world outcomes. Its program is responsive to the needs of each student, with diff erentiated interventions to help students of varying interests and abilities academically and personally achieve. All members of The Bridge Academy community will listen to and communicate with each other, respond to diverse needs and give the consistent eff ort neces-sary to fulfi ll its mission. This intimate school culture empowers staff and students alike.

Staff mentor each child to guide them on their academic journey through high school. Students participate in

small tutoring groups based on their dynamic needs. Bridge Academy fosters relationships within the broader community to create a true learning village, where outside community members often participate in school projects or provide opportunities for students outside of school.

Bridge also focuses heavily on literacy. Along with a specialized reading coach, the school uses engaging reading material of scientifi cally-grad-uated levels of complexity to allow students of all abilities to progress

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along the spectrum.

The culmination of a Bridge Academy senior’s educational trajectory is a research project on a topic of interest to them as a potential career. They work with a coach throughout the project, and then make a presentation to a panel of professionals from the Bridgeport community, often working in a relevant fi eld. In 2013, students made engaging and informative presentations on forensic science, photography, and many other topics.

For eight years, The Bridge Academy was housed at 510 Barnum Avenue in Bridgeport, before renovating their current facility on Pulaski and Kossuth Streets. At a below-market rate, Bridge leases their portion of the building from the YMCA, which occupies the other half of the large industrial-era brick building.

Almost all Bridge Academy students are bussed from within Bridgeport. The few exceptions are driven to and from school by parents or drive themselves.


401 Kossuth St.Bridgeport, CT 06608

203-336-9999

[email protected]

Founded: 1997


401 Kossuth St.Bridgeport, CT 06608

46

Achievement First Bridgeport Academy

The mission of Achievement First is to deliver on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all of America’s children. They believe all children, regardless of race or economic status, can succeed if they have access to a great education. Achievement First schools provide all of our students with the academic and character skills they need to graduate from top colleges, to succeed in a competitive world and to serve as the next generation of leaders in our communities.

In 1998, a group of founders came together with a clear goal: to prove that urban students can achieve at the same high levels as their affl uent suburban counterparts. Amistad Academy opened in 1999 and became the fl agship school of Achievement First Charter Schools. Amistad Academy established a strong culture and a set of techniques that have since been replicated throughout Achievement First’s three-state, 25-school network.

Achievement First Bridgeport Academy Middle School’s 2007 start-up marked the school’s fi rst Connecticut expansion beyond New Haven. Achievement First Bridgeport Academy Elementary was added in 2010.

The middle school’s mascot is the lion. For scholars, the lion symbolizes a school culture that takes great pride in personal achievement, teamwork and strong community bonds. Students gather on Friday afternoons for Pride Circle, where individuals are recognized for academic accomplishments and for demon-strating the REACH character values of the school (Respect, Enthusiasm, Achievement, Citizenship and Hard Work).

Like all Achievement First schools, Achievement First Bridge-port provides an environment that is structured around high expectations for both academics and behavior. Students can earn rewards for trying their best and acting respectfully toward teachers and peers, and have privileges removed for behaving disrespectfully. The philosophy incorporates strict expectations paired with joy and the celebration of learning. Students soon learn the system and gain the personal discipline that will equip them with the skills they need to persevere through challenges on their path to and through college.

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Both the middle and elementary schools are located in Bridgeport’s East Side neighborhood, one of the neediest in the city. Achievement First Bridgeport is unique because it accepts students exclusively from Bridgeport and gives a preference to residents of its host neighborhood.


529 Noble AvenueBridgeport, CT 06608(5-8)

203-333-9128


Founded: 2007


655 Stillman StreetBridgeport, CT 06608 (K-3)

203-338-0593

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Park City Prep Charter School

The mission of Park City Prep is to maximize the academic achievement of each student in preparation for admission to, and success at, selective college preparatory high schools.

As part of a rigorous curriculum that emphasizes mathematics, scientifi c inquiry and technology, the faculty and staff work to instill in each student the “PREP” values of responsibility, excellence and persever-ance, and to imbue students with a vision of a future fi lled with opportunity and promise.

Founder and Director Bruce Ravage was born and raised in Bridgeport and educated in its public school system. He taught in the Bronx for 25 years, where he became involved with Prep for Prep, a program that prepared talented students of color for admission to selective independent schools.

Shortly after serving as a district-level science coordinator, he had the opportunity to head a city-wide initiative designed to prepare students from under-represented districts for admission to New York City’s specialized science high schools.

Upon retiring from the New York City school system after 34 years, Bruce sought to continue the import-ant work that was his passion – providing students with the greatest educational opportunities available to them. As Director of Side by Side Charter School in Norwalk, Bruce strengthened the school’s science program and continued to mentor graduating students interested in gaining admission to independent high schools. He soon recognized the potential of the charter model to empower his vision.

Based upon his experiences in both New York City and Norwalk, opening his own school, focused on sci-ence and technology, became his goal and his dream. Fittingly, he came home to Bridgeport to found its fi rst public school focused on science.

Park City Prep was approved in 2005, and was funded and opened in 2006.

Science and technology are imbedded in a comprehensive, inte-grated curriculum. Students learn the social, economic, and political ramifi cations of scientifi c research and develop an appreciation for the contributions that science has made in shaping history and improving their lives.

Science is not a textbook-driven course. At Park City Prep, students learn science “doing” science, conducting investigations and ana-lyzing data. Reading technical, informational text and writing with

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precision are emphasized throughout all areas of instruction, not only in language arts.

Park City Prep places a premium on professional development. Teachers regularly participate in work-shops, attend conferences, and benefi t from the expertise of literacy and math consultants, who work with them on an ongoing basis throughout the school year.

As its mission states, Park City Prep’s highest priority is to help its students enroll in selective public and private high schools, where they can build upon the foundation established at Park City Prep. The school aims to enable them to be prepared for success in college and future careers. Virtually all of its graduates gain admission to selective private and public choice high schools.

In its fi rst seven years, Park City Prep was housed in a larger complex of industrial and administra-tive buildings on the east side of Bridgeport, which also served as the fi rst homes of two other charter schools in the city. Despite their less than ideal facilities, Park City Prep staff and students had always taken pride in decorating and maintaining their school, keeping it tidy and covering the walls with scientif-ically-inspired artwork.

As of August of 2013, Park City Prep is the sole tenant of an impressive facility on the west side of Bridge-port, the former Bead Chain Manufacturing Company, constructed in 1916. The newly renovated building includes state-of-the-art technology and science labs, as well as spacious classrooms with spectacular, wide-windowed views of the surrounding city.

The vast majority of students who attend Park City Prep reside in Bridgeport.


1550 State St. Bridgeport, CT 06605

203-953-3766

[email protected]

Founded: 2006


1550 State St. Bridgeport, CT 06605

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The mission of Side by Side Charter School is to ensure that every child has the opportunity to succeed and every voice is heard. The school engages its students in a challenging and relevant curriculum of the highest standard that will refl ect and enhance their diversity and promote their unique gifts and talents.

Side by Side builds character and responsibility through a commitment to community, social justice, and tolerance towards others. It also supports the needs of its families, and will strive to perfect the art and craft of teaching by promoting excellence in the profession.

The school off ers parents the freedom to choose a public school that is safe, and aff ords the highest quality education in a racially and socio-economically integrated setting. It attracts both urban and suburban families.

Six public school educators founded Side by Side Charter School in 1997 when Connecticut’s charter school law fi rst went into eff ect. Key thought leaders on the project were teachers Esther Shatavsky, Carole Oddie, Sally Davids, Amy Oliver, Anne Alpert and Quinnipiac University professor of Education, Dr. Anne Dichele. This group had a clear vision of a school driven by social justice and meaningful integra-tion. That vision is going strong and four of the six co-founders are still with Side by Side: Esther teaches in the lower grades, Carole and Sally in the upper grades and Anne is the Board Chair.

Side by Side strives to foster joy and passion for learning among a diverse community of students while instilling strong social consciousness.

The school’s educational philosophy is based on the developmental and constructivist theories of Jean Piaget, John Dewey, and others. The curriculum is carefully designed to coordinate with children’s develop-mental stages and include many opportunities for students to experience things fi rst hand.

Side by Side believes that children gain a deeper level of understanding when they have the opportunity to engage in fi rst hand experience, reconstruct their experiences in the classroom in a variety of ways (writ-ing, talking, block building, painting, museum shares), refl ect on their learning, and express and support their ideas and understandings.

Side by Side has an interdisciplinary curriculum organized around a social studies and science core. Cur-riculum units are designed to build upon each other so that children can use prior knowledge to construct a meaningful understanding of the subject studied. For example, the third graders study the Long Island Sound and the surrounding woodlands before they study the Native Americans who lived in this area or before they study the colonists who settled here.

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In the younger grades, the units begin with the study of things central to the young child’s world, such as themselves, their home and their family. The focus gradually widens to include their school, neighborhood and community. The focus of these units is on our interdependence with each other and the environment, what the community needs and how those needs are met.

Students work with a certifi ed classroom teacher and an intern or assistant at every grade level. This provides a unique opportunity for individual, small group and whole group instruction. In the lower grades (third through fourth grade) classroom teachers provide instruction in all subject areas. Beginning in fi fth grade, students are taught by specifi c sub-ject-area teachers (language arts, social studies, math and science). All children also receive instruction in movement and physical education, music, and integrated art from certifi ed specialist teachers.

Side by Side is split between two buildings that house the elementary and middle school. The main build-ing is the elementary school, which was previously used by the church that Side by Side shares a lot with. The upper school is housed in a small, prefabricated structure in the parking lot. Side by Side is located in South Norwalk, a diverse urban setting, and students and faculty are able to partner with surrounding businesses and cultural institutions.

All of the many families who come from outside Norwalk provide their own transportation, and like at other charters who integrate students regionally, it means that some students are denied access by their circumstances rather than the lottery.


10 Chestnut St.South Norwalk, CT 06854

203-857-0306

[email protected]

Founded: 1997


10 Chestnut St.South Norwalk, CT 06854

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Many students have not been successful at district schools and need a diff erent learning environment to reach their full potential. Trailblazers helps students excel academically and build critical social and emo-tional skills needed for success in high school and beyond.

Since the 1970s, the education non-profi t organization Domus has been providing services to Stamford’s most high-risk youth through safe and supportive group homes and other out-of-school supports. Trail-blazers Academy opened in 1999 when Stamford’s then-mayor, Dan Malloy, approached Domus Exec-utive Director Mike Duggan about the possibility of opening a school with new state charter funds. For years Malloy had discussed with Duggan possible ways to fund such a school, as both knew the district was not adequately addressing the needs of students with social and emotional struggles that caused academic defi cits. The premise was that Trailblazers students would be given the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in a district high school environment.

Trailblazers has a rigorous academic focus, paired with a comprehensive human development model that is essential for the population they work with. The school provides some of the city’s most struggling middle school children an educational environment that’s responsive to each child’s social and emotional needs.

Every student is assigned a family advocate. These advocates provide services and supports based on family-identifi ed needs and strengths. Families are equal partners in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of services.

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Family advocates off er direct social and emotional skill instruction, anger management and coping skills development, behavior management strategies, confl ict resolution, mediation and healthy relation-ship-building techniques. They also connect families with a variety of other community services, such as aff ordable mental and physical health care.

The school model features small classes of approximately 15 students and Learning Labs – hands-on courses such as a student garden and a student-run bicycle repair shop. These Learning Labs teach intel-lectual skills in a non-traditional format and often bring the students into the community.

There also is an intense focus on building literacy skills. Since most students come to the school reading, on average, three grades below level and have fundamental gaps in their reading abilities, the school fea-tures a literacy coordinator and literacy specialists who work individually with students as well as class-room teachers.

Trailblazers Academy is located on Stamford’s East Side in an old City of Stamford elementary school building. The location also hosts many community resources and events that benefi t the neighborhood and student body.

Most students reside in Stamford and have access to transportation through the Stamford school district.


83 Lockwood Ave.Stamford, CT 06902

203-977-5690

[email protected]

Founded: 1999


83 Lockwood Ave.Stamford, CT 06902

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Stamford Academy

Many students have not been successful at district schools and need a diff erent learning environment to reach their full potential. A rigorous academic focus, paired with a comprehensive human development model and small classes of approximately 15 students, allows Stamford Academy students to excel aca-demically and build critical social and emotional skills needed for success in high school and beyond.

Since the 1970s, Domus has been providing services to Stamford’s most at-risk youth through safe and sup-portive foster homes and other out-of-school supports. When the charter law was passed, Domus took the opportunity to establish Trailblazers, a middle school that met the specifi c needs of these students. Then, in 2004, a high school was added based on the success of Trailblazers. However, Trailblazers graduates do not matriculate to Stamford Academy because they are separate charter schools. The hope is that Trailblazers students will be given the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in a district high school environment.

The students who enter Stamford Academy do so primarily because they have been unsuccessful in their prior educational environments. The school was founded to meet the needs of these children. An inten-sive program allows students to catch up on instruction so they are prepared for post-secondary educa-tion, training, or the skilled workforce upon graduation.

Like Trailblazers, Stamford Academy uses family advocates to reach out to students and their families in order to remove social and emotional obstacles to academic achievement.

Many students at Stamford Academy have experienced trauma, sometimes frequent and severe. Domus adopted the Sanctuary Model, a trauma-informed system of organizational change and personal healing whose pillars are non-violence, emotional intelligence, social learning, shared governance, open commu-nication, social responsibility, and growth. These are supported by a four-step healing model called SELF: Safety, Emotions, Loss, and Future and are addressed explicitly for each traumatized youth. Everyday, students at Stamford Academy attend community meetings where they can share openly and set goals. They also go over “safety plans,” which are small visual reminders (often outlined on the back of IDs) that list individualized methods to manage emotions and stay internally safe when feeling overwhelmed.

Stamford Academy is located near the city’s new courthouse in an unused City of Stamford building. A signifi cant number of students at Stamford Academy come from Bridgeport. Domus purchases bus and train passes for these students and staff meets them at the station each day. The school is not reimbursed by the state for this cost.

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229 North St.Stamford, CT 06092

203-324-6300

[email protected]

Founded: 2004


229 North St.Stamford, CT 06092

necharters.org (855) 694-3110 [email protected] @necharters /necharters

Documents

2014-15 Connecticut Charter School Gudiebook