Accountability Plans

1. Accountability Plans Creating your school’s accountability plan

2. Key Changes: 2013 Revision of Accountability Plan Guidelines • Accountability Plans will highlight each charter school’s mission and key design elements • Eliminate redundant reporting • MCAS • Financial audits • Allow schools to highlight their unique programs and results • Will allow schools to demonstrate faithfulness to charter in a measurable way Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

3. Purpose of an Accountability Plan • Demonstrate mission-driven results • Detail the data that schools will collect and present to prove that the school is meeting its mission and implementing key design elements • Outline objectives and measures related to the mission and key design elements Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

4. Accountability Plans and Renewal Decisions • A school’s progress toward meeting accountability plan measures over the five year charter term is one piece of evidence taken into consideration during renewal. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

5. Accountability Plans: • Must be created using the Charter School Accountability Plan Template. • Establish objectives and measures to reach at the end of the charter term. • Relate to the school’s Mission and Key Design Elements. • Will be created in conjunction with CSO feedback. • Must be approved by a school’s board of trustees. • Must be approved by the Charter School Office at the ESE. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

6. Timelines • For New Schools: • Typically, draft submitted by June 1st during a school’s first year of operation. • Finalized with Department by August 1st after the school’s first year of operation. • For Renewal Schools: • A new plan should be in place before the start of the school year of the new charter period. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

7. Charter School Performance Criteria (Criteria)– Revised June 2013 • The purposes of the Criteria are to: • Articulate the expectations for all aspects of charter school accountability, from the application process to the renewal process; • Provide charter schools with clear guidance about how the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (Board), the Department, and the Commissioner define charter school success and on what basis charter schools will be evaluated; and • Clarify the connections between Massachusetts charter school accountability and state and federal accountability standards. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

8. Creating an Accountability Plan • Accountability plans will help the school demonstrate that it is meeting Criterion 1. • All objectives and measures should relate to Criterion 1. • Criterion 1: • Mission and Key Design Elements: The school is faithful to its mission, implements the key design elements outlined in its charter, and substantially meets its accountability plan goals. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

9. Charter School Performance Criteria Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

10. Adding Optional Objectives and Measures • Some schools might create additional objectives and measures that relate to academic success or organizational viability. • Ex. The school’s “n” size is too small for MCAS results. • Ex. The school has a unique governance model. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

11. Creating Objectives • Translate mission and key design elements into objectives • Objectives are general, declarative statements that define charter school success. • Typically, a school would want to create objectives related to implementing the most important aspects of its program. • Create a limited number of objectives. It is better to measure a few things well. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

12. Sample School • School Name: The Charter School for Diplomacy and Peace Studies (DPS) • Charter Period: (2012-2017)Mission Statement: The Charter School for Diplomacy and Peace Studies (DPS) helps students reach academic excellence, develop exceptional character, and become well versed in mediation, problem solving, and international relations. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

13. Mission Driven Objectives • Mission Statement: The Charter School for Diplomacy and Peace Studies (DPS) helps students reach academic excellence, develop exceptional character, and become well versed in mediation, problem solving, and international relations. • Objective: DPS students will demonstrate academic excellence and be prepared for the rigor of a college education. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

14. Mission Driven Objectives • Mission Statement: The Charter School for Diplomacy and Peace Studies (DPS) helps students reach academic excellence, develop exceptional character, and become well versed in mediation, problem solving, and international relations. • Objective: DPS students will have a strong understanding of diplomacy and international relations. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

15. Mission Driven Objectives • Mission Statement: The Charter School for Diplomacy and Peace Studies (DPS) helps students reach academic excellence, develop exceptional character, and become well versed in mediation, problem solving, and international relations. • Objective: The school’s board of trustees will model thoughtful, consensus-building governance practices. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

16. Creating an Objective • Together, we will come up with an objective for “develop exceptional character” from the mission statement. • Mission Statement: The Charter School for Diplomacy and Peace Studies (DPS) helps students reach academic excellence, develop exceptional character, and become well versed in mediation, problem solving, and international relations. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

17. Creating Measures • Each objective should have 1-2 accompanying measures • Measures should indicate: • What the result will be. • How will the result be measured? • Who will achieve the result? • When will the result occur? • Each measure should quantify the school’s progress towards meeting the objective Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

18. Effective Measures • Leave little room for interpretation • Are meaningful, focused and aligned • Outline evidence that is reasonable to collect • Are SMART: • S = specific and strategic • M = measurable • A = action oriented • R = rigorous, realistic, results focused • T = timed Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

19. Outcome measures v. Process measures • Outcome measures outline the expected results. All objectives must be linked with at least one outcome measure that is well-aligned to the objective. • Process measures track the implementation of activities that will lead to the desired ultimate outcomes. It is not necessary to use process measures. • Each process measure should have an accompanying outcome measure. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

20. Creating measures • Objective: DPS students will have a strong understanding of diplomacy and international relations. • Annually, DPS students will successfully mediate mock international conflicts. Peace studies teachers will assess mock conflicts with a rubric. Each student will earn at least a designation of “mastery.” • Annually, 90% of DPS juniors will participate in a trip to the United Nations in NY. • In an annual survey, 100% of DPS students will be able to identify the steps for interpersonal conflict resolution as learned in their advisories. Who will achieve the result When the result will occur How the result will be measured What the result will be Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

21. The Template Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

22. Revising the plan and working with the ESE Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

23. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

24. Please Contact the CSO with Questions Contact your accountability liaison with questions Alison Bagg Coordinator of Accountability abagg@doe.mass.edu 781-338-3218 http://www.doe.mass.edu/charter/acct.html Thank You!