DEPARTMENT: Pre-K 4 SA
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Sarah Baray, Ph.D.
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
SB 1882 Partnership
SUMMARY:
This item includes a staff briefing of the SB 1882 cooperative partnership with Edgewood ISD and possible Board action to accept additional funds from the SB 1882 partnership with EISD.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Senate Bill (SB) 1882, passed in 2017, allows for additional funding from the state for independent school districts who partner with an eligible entity to operate a district campus. Under SB 1882, entities eligible to partner with school districts are charter management organizations, universities, and non-profits with strong track records. In addition to increased funding for these partnerships, SB 1882 also creates an exemption from certain accountability interventions for schools with historic underperformance. The state set forth requirements for creating the partnership and will determine which partnerships qualify under SB 1882. Providers partnering with school districts are required to have total control of teachers, curriculum, and all education aspects, and to put into place performance metrics to evaluate the partnership and whether or not students impacted are making progress.
In June 2018, the Pre-K 4 SA Board of Directors approved revisions within the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to comply with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) requirements for SB 1882 partnership. In February 2019, the Board of Directors approved an agreement establishing a cooperative partnership between Pre-K 4 SA and Edgewood ISD as provided for by SB 1882 to improve capacity at Gardendale Elementary School with a term through June 30, 2022.
Under the existing MOU, Edgewood ISD will pay Pre-K 4 SA $3,200 per student enrolled in Pre-K 4 SA. SB 1882 allows the partnership to receive the additional funds that open-enrollment charters already receive. The school district will withhold up to 5% annually for administrative services. The remaining 95% of SB 1882 funds will be held by the school district in a designated account spent in accordance with the budget and at the discretion of Pre-K 4 SA. Pre-K 4 SA is limited to spend no more than 5% of its SB 1882 funds on operations outside of the Center.
ISSUE:
This cooperative partnership is focused on creating the Gardendale Pre-K 4 SA Early Learning Program which will launch for the 2019-20 school year. To build on the success of the Pre-K 4 SA Education Center model, the Gardendale Early Learning program will replicate evidence-based practices developed in the Pre-K 4 SA Education Centers. The Pre-K 4 SA approach is based on two extensive bodies of research: the development of strong brain architecture from the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child and the Center for the Development Child at Harvard University, and the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). Guided by this research, Pre-K 4 SA uses the HighScope instructional framework in its Education Center classrooms and will also do so in prekindergarten and kindergarten classrooms at Gardendale. This partnership will also incorporate the use of the Classrooms Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) to evaluate classroom quality, and GOLD to track student progress throughout the year.
In its first year of operation, the Gardendale model program will serve eligible Pre-K and K students. Additional grade levels will be added in subsequent years until the campus serves only Pre-K through 2nd grade. Families residing within the Gardendale attendance zone will have priority to enroll in the program. The school will serve families from across the district and the larger San Antonio area as capacity permits.
Pre-K 4 SA has continued to collaborate with Edgewood ISD on student enrollment, hiring, training, and capital projects among other operations necessary to roll out in August 2019.
Since the creation of the SB 1882 partnership between Edgewood ISD and Pre-K 4 SA, there have been additional opportunities to accept federal grant revenue. Though the grants are submitted by Edgewood ISD, receipt of funds could impact the revenue stream for the Pre-K 4 SA budget.
The two federal grants related to SB 1882 are as follows:
|
Grant |
Amount |
Application Date |
|
School Transformation Implementation Grant |
$1 M |
3/27/2019 |
|
Charter Startup Replication |
$600 K |
4/30/2019 |
The funds would be necessary to begin one-time capital replication projects including student assessments, outdoor learning spaces, parent resource room, and family style meals.
ALTERNATIVES:
Without the grant funding, Pre-K 4 SA could not replicate services with Edgewood ISD’s Gardendale Elementary.
FISCAL IMPACT:
In addition to SB 1882 funds Pre-K 4 SA would receive per student enrolled, the School Transformation Implementation Grant and the Charter Startup Replication Grants could yield an additional $1.6 million in revenue to be used for capital projects. The grant monies would be accepted by Edgewood ISD and passed through to Pre-K 4 SA.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the Board approve accepting these two grant opportunities related to SB 1882 for an amount up to $1.6 million.