January

2015

The Review Process

review

in this document >>>

>>>

Thank You For Your Participation In This Review Cycle!

The Review Process

Understanding the Application

Using the Rubric

Your Participation

We believe your individual expertise is a criti-

cal and necessary component to our evalua-

tion. We greatly appreciate your time and

contributions to this review.

Based upon the expedited nature of this request, many standard review cycle components,

such as the interview and the performance exercise, will not be a part of this process. This

review will be solely contained to evaluation of the application and supplemental materials.

If you have any questions related to the pro-

cess, materials, or information contained with-

in this document, please do not hesitate to

reach out to CSI staff for assistance. You may

contact Kristen Stolpa at kris-

tenstolpa@csi.state.co.us, or by phone at 303-

866-6973.

Upon receipt of the application materials,

please ensure you are able to access all

relevant content. Due to the size of the doc-

uments, we have embedded them in a pri-

vate

You will be completing two rubrics for CSI;

one for the Sheridan application, and one

for the Englewood application. While many

sections of the application are identical

verify whether this information is available

for review, or whether its absence must

simply be noted as part of your evaluation.

If anything is provided by the Applicant in

the interim, CSI will be sure to pass it along

to you for consideration in your review.

Please note that CSI is not required to ac-

cept or review any supplemental materials

or information provided that is not formally

Your rubrics are due to CSI by 5pm MST on

Thursday, January 29th. A reminder with

instructions on how to submit your complet-

ed rubrics will be sent next week.

A review team meeting will occur on Friday,

January 30th, between 2:00pm-4:00pm

MST. This will be an opportunity to walk

through the aggregate team weightings,

review the draft report, and modify or aug-

and secure part of our website.

If you have accessibility issues,

please let CSI know, and we

can find an alternative distribu-

tion method. If you find a doc-

ument missing (such as an

appendix referred to in the

application), please notify CSI

as soon as possible. We will

then

and may yield comparable

ratings or comments, some

information may differ be-

tween submissions, or have

unique implications between

districts. Ensure your rating

and comments are reflective of

the specific district context.

Be cautious not to refer

to the new school

materials on the CSI

website.

Orientation Information for Reviewers of CSI Charter Applications

New School

Reading the Apps

both CSI and traditional

district review of new

school applications, CSI varies in the materials,

measures, and scoring used to evaluate those

criteria. So although the rubric may differ, CSI

can still utilize its scoring and reporting system

to generate a recommendation across review-

ers. This evaluation system emphasizes the

principles of

autonomy and

accountability

through unique

weighting that

corresponds with

the indicators

that the Institute

has determined

evaluation >>>

Using the Rubric You may, but are not required to, score all measures or indicators of the application rubric.

For indicators you do score, please highlight the score of each measure within an indicator

with the appropriate metric as shown in the image to the left (a score of 0-Does Not Meet to

3-Exceeds). Please do not utilize half scores for the measures. Think of each numeric rating as

an increasing standard. If the standard has not been met or surpassed, the score for the

measure would be the lower of the two ratings. As you notice areas of strength or concern,

please include these as explicit statements in the Evaluator Comments section of that indica-

tor. Format these as complete sentences, separating each distinct statement or paragraph by

Although your specific expertise may not

span each area of review, we do ask that

you read the application in its entirety. As

some indicators overlap in content, what

As the Applicant utilized

the Colorado Standard

Application, this review

team will utilize the ru-

bric affiliated with that

application. Although

statute requires identical

criteria be considered

for

appears to be missing in one section may be

more sufficiently contained within another.

It also allows for a more holistic under-

standing of the program and comprehen-

sive review by all review team members.

For a hard copy of any materials, please

contact CSI. We will overnight any needed

materials.

point. Please include at least 3-4 state-

ments for each indicator rating.

To provide an overall ranking for each

application indicator, add up your high-

lighted numeric ratings and divide by

the number of measures you scored.

This may or may not be a whole num-

ber. Transfer each indicator number to

the last page of the rubric. In the total

box, add up your indicator ratings and

divide this total by the number of indi-

cators you personally reviewed. Your

indicator and total scores will be con-

sidered with all reviewer scores in the

review continued >>>

Understanding the Application

significant predic-

tors of charter school

viability and sustainability. Many of these measures and indicators continue to be used for the

purpose of evaluation throughout the lifespan of the charter school. To better understand the

perspective used in this review, please refer to the included Authorizer Lens attachment.

Your Participation

transmission of data and information>>>

The Staff Recommendation

The staff recommendation report will com-

prise the weighted rubric ratings and com-

ments of the entire review team for each of

the evaluated indicators. Please refer to the

Sample Staff Recommendation attachment

for a sample of structure and content.

Due to the tight timeline and remote location for many of you, in-person participation is not man-

datory for the review team meeting. CSI will establish a conference line for you to call in and join

the meeting virtually. If you are unable to attend, CSI requests that you set up a 1:1 call to review

the application and clarify any ratings or comments that may be specific to your area of expertise.

CSI is happy to accommodate your schedule for this call, but requests that it be done prior to

finalization of the recommendation report on Monday, February 2nd.

Confidentiality Your confidentiality during this review is crucial to preserving the integrity of the process. Please

refrain from sharing materials or discussing the review with anyone during the process. CSI takes

great steps to ensure secure and confidential transmission of sensitive information. This ranges

from protected data that may be a part of an application, to rubrics and review team conversa-

tions. Jus t so you are aware, your final rubric may be solicited as part of a formal records re-

quest, but outside of this rare situation, only the consolidated rating and recommendation re-

port is distributed publicly by CSI.

Compensation Compensation for your time is available for

this review process. An amount of $500

total ($250/application review and rubric)

can be offered for your time and service. In

order to process and distribute this pay-

ment, CSI needs you to submit an invoice.

You may use any template or format to

submit this invoice. If you need something

more formalized, we are happy to draft a

Important information may be introduced during the review process that

could alter your perception of an application or a specific rubric rating.

Therefore, it is crucial that you do not circulate your rubric or review

notes electronically. Feel free to email or call CSI for any of the following:

Requesting a hard copy of any materials

Questions about the review process, timeline or resources

Scheduling a check-in to supplant the review team meeting

We will certainly email you on these topics, as well as provide you with any additional Applicant ma-

terials or documents submitted throughout the cycle. We would simply ask that you securely and

If an application is denied by the Eng-

lewood and/or Sheridan Board of Directors

for a second time, the Applicant has the

opportunity to appeal this decision again to

the State Board of Education. In the event

that this occurs, CSI staff may solicit addi-

tional information or assistance from you in

preparing for that appeal hearing.

It is often the case in charter application

review that there is not a straightforward

recommendation for approval or denial

across all primary evaluation content areas.

To respond to these potential content dis-

crepancies, the Institute has developed a

risk assessment component to the charter

development process. Paired with the

ratings and narrative of a traditional recom-

mendation report, the risk assessment can

visually assist in framing the application

content around areas of high or low risk.

This could either inform the final decision

altogether or assist with the development

of possible contract conditions or mile-

Risk Assessment

Appeal to SBE

Finding An Agent That’s Right For You

1580 Logan St, Suite 210

Denver, CO 80203

Charter School

Institute

attachments >>>

Provided to You

Application Materials

Copy of the Colorado Application

Copy of the Evaluation Rubric

Authorization Lens Flyer

The mission of the Charter School Institute shall be to foster high-quality public school

choices offered through Institute charter schools that deliver rigorous academic con-

tent and high academic performance in a safe environment and on par with the high-

est performing schools, including particularly schools for at-risk students.

thoughts... final

Contact us at 303-866-3299 www.csi.state.co.us