Authorizer Critical Expectations

GENERAL EXPECTATIONS

Because our contract is with your Academy board, all relevant correspondence is sent electronically directly to your Board President. It is important that the Board President share all SVSU communication with their boards and management company representatives, as applicable, in a timely fashion.

SVSU currently uses Epicenter and SVSU Transportation Checklist (16KB) to monitor each charter’s compliance in the broad array of areas required by statute and by your contract with us. The 19-20 Reporting Calendar (193KB) can be helpful in meeting deadlines for SVSU and others (this is not an all-inclusive document, as CEPI’s calendar is only available through December 2019). We urge you to review them to assure that you understand the many requirements of charter schools in Michigan.

PSA Insurance Requirements (MUSIC) Oct. 2017 (15KB)

Emergency Drills Reporting Form (40KB)

Within 30 days of completion of a drill, the drills report document must be posted to your website. Be sure NOT to post your schedule of drills on your website.

The chief administrator of a school or their designee must provide the county emergency management coordinator with a list of scheduled drills, which is due by September 15. The schedule submitted must be followed. If a date has to be changed (see the law for approved reasons), you must contact the emergency management coordinator immediately and a make-up drill must be scheduled within 10 days. Please notify SVSU as well. 

2018 MDE Transparency Guide (1,073KB)  

Districts that do not comply with fiscal transparency requirements may have up to 10% of the state school aid withheld by the Michigan Department of Education.

FINANCIALS

Upon adoption of a Budget Resolution Template (28KB) or budget amendment, the school has 15 days to have it posted to your website. Budgets and budget amendments along with a Budget Assumptions Worksheet (62KB) must be submitted to SVSU. Budget resolutions must be signed and dated.

Annual audits are to be submitted to SVSU by November 1 and must include board response to any material weaknesses or recommendations cited by your auditor.

Revenue & Expense reports, Cash Flow (29KB) , and check registers are required monthly.

Prior approval must be obtained from SVSU on any borrowings!

BOARD MINUTES/AGENDAS AND PERSONNEL CHECKS

Board Minutes must be compiled and maintained in strict accordance with the Michigan Open Meetings Act. All minutes must be approved by your board at the meeting subsequent to the meeting to which the minutes relate and signed by your board secretary. Minutes must be submitted to Epicenter and posted on your website five days after their approval; agendas need to be submitted to Epicenter five days before the actual meeting and posted on your website, which allows us to communicate with you about any questionable items.

Personnel records checks are conducted by our staff to assure that criminal records and unprofessional conduct checks have been completed, that paraprofessionals, administrators requiring certification and teachers are properly certified, and that teachers are “highly qualified” in their teaching assignments.

REAUTHORIZATION

We have established the following criteria for the reauthorization process. 

Two of the five must be met:
Performance-based Expectations:

STATE ASSESSMENTS

• Students are making sufficient progress to meeting proficiency targets per content/grade level
• Outperform host district/comparable district on State assessments

NORM-REFERENCED TEST

• Students’ fall-to-spring growth demonstrates progress towards grade level targets in math/reading; AND Students’ median fall-to-spring Student Conditional Growth Percentile is at the fiftieth percentile or higher
• Students achieve scores equal to or greater than the grade level reading/math College/Career Readiness targets; AND Percent of students meeting their projected score will average 60% (1 year’s growth in 1 year’s time)
• Index Score reveals growth and/or stability of academic processes

All must be met:
Operational-based Expectations:

• On-time submissions with all compliance documentation
• Evidence of sound governance decisions…(Monitoring of operations of school concerning policies and procedures, i.e., Open Meetings Act, FOIA, evaluation tools, etc.)
• Evidence of sound fiscal responsibility and solvency/balanced budget
• Educational Program Review (EPR) findings are positive (if applicable)
• Evidence of alignment: contractual educational goals, School Improvement Plan, professional development, related documentation

Schools not meeting reauthorization criteria may be required to submit an improvement/correction plan and will result in higher levels of monitoring by our office. A lack of substantive improvement will result in reconstitution of the board, nonrenewal, or revocation of an academy’s charter.

EDUCATION PROGRAM REVIEWS (EPRs)

Each school year, the School University Partnership Office conducts Educational Program Reviews (EPRs) for the academies it authorizes.  An EPR is completed to ensure the educational plan that exists in their charter contract is effectively employed within the academy.  Generally, an academy would receive this type of review the year before they are due for reauthorization.  Sometimes, however, we visit more frequently if we notice some elements of their educational plan are not in alignment with the practices that exist.  Our goal for the EPR is to take a genuine look into the practices and provide authentic feedback for improvement, if necessary. 

An EPR consists of visiting the academy, conducting classroom observations, interviewing teachers and administration and then comparing the visit to the documents that have been submitted to support their charter contract.

The purpose of the Educational Program Review is to determine alignment of the Academy’s System with the Educational Program Standards included on the Academy Contract for Authorization with the actual program and practices at the academy.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Many of our academies have benefited from participating in the professional development trainings we have provided to school leaders, teachers, and board members.

See the 2019-20 Professional Development Opportunities and School Leader Dates.

SVSU PSA ANNUAL REPORT

The Annual Authorizer Report (15KB) will be submitted to Academies by the first week of November.

The best indicator of how an academy is doing and its chances as it moves through the reauthorization process will be the student performance outcomes and its track-record of compliance, viewed as a whole.

COMMUNICATION

We have appreciated the consistent communication most of you have maintained with our office. To remain in compliance with your contract, it is important that you:

1. Request permission for all borrowings;
2. Maintain communication with our office; notify us of any board approved changes in your education program, school leaders, board member resignations, etc. Contract amendments are required for grade changes and building additions/deletions (all contract amendments must originate from SVSU). Other minor changes can be done via email;
3. Follow timelines with respect to board member terms, submission of applications, etc.
4. Inform the SUPO office of any challenges or emergencies impacting your academy - see recent communication sent on October 14, 2019.

Assure that you have systems in place to meet the many charter school compliance requirements, whether they are mandated by statutes, Michigan Department of Education, or SVSU as your authorizer.

Finally, our office is here to see you succeed as a school of choice in your local area. If you need assistance or have questions, don’t hesitate to contact the office. “Your success is our passion.”

David A. Lewis, Director