G LOUCESTER C OMMUNITY A RTS

CHARTER SCHOOL

Final Application Submitted November 14, 2008 By GCA Founding Group

Table of Contents Executive Summary .............................................................................................................1 Public Statement ..................................................................................................................2 I. Charter School Mission, Vision, and Statement of Need ....................................... 2-5 A. Mission Statement...............................................................................................2 B. Vision Statement .................................................................................................2 C. Statement of Need ........................................................................................... 3-5 II. How will the school demonstrate academic success?........................................... 5-29 A. Educational Philosophy................................................................................. 5-10 B. Curriculum and Instruction ......................................................................... 10-16 C. Promotion and Graduation Standards ......................................................... 16-19 D. Assessment System ..................................................................................... 19-23 E. School Characteristics ................................................................................. 23-27 F. Special Student Populations and Student Services...................................... 27-29 III. How will the school demonstrate organizational viability?............................. 29-48 A. Enrollment and Recruitment ....................................................................... 29-31 B. Capacity....................................................................................................... 31-32 C. School Governance ..................................................................................... 33-36 ƒ Governance Structure........................................................................33 ƒ Roles and Responsibilities .......................................................... 33-35 ƒ Policy Development..........................................................................35 ƒ Board Development ..........................................................................36 D. Management Structure....................................................................................36 ƒ Roles and Responsibilities ............................................................. 36-38 ƒ Policy Development.............................................................................38 ƒ Educational Leadership.................................................................. 38-39 ƒ Human Resources .......................................................................... 39-41 E. Facilities and Student Transportation ....................................................... 41-42 F. School Finances...............................................................................................42 ƒ Fiscal Management ....................................................................... .42-44 ƒ Budget and Budget Narrative......................................................... 44-48 G. Action Plan .....................................................................................................48 IV. How will the school demonstrate that it is faithful to the terms of its charter?48-50 A. Process ...................................................................................................... 48-49 B. Goals ..............................................................................................................49 C. Narrative .........................................................................................................50 D. Dissemination .................................................................................................50 V. Attachments......................................................................................................... 51-128 A. Draft Bylaws............................................................................................ 51-54 B. Action Plan .............................................................................................. 53-60

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C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L. M. N. O.

CCSR Survey.................................................................................................61 Sample Report Card ......................................................................................62 Portfolio System Overview ...........................................................................63 Rubrics..................................................................................................... 64-68 Operating Budget..................................................................................... 69-72 Sample Petition..............................................................................................73 Letters of Support .................................................................................... 74-85 Founders’ Resumes ............................................................................... 86-100 Statements of Commitment ................................................................. 101-106 Curriculum Table................................................................................. 107-125 Charter Application Information Sheet .......................................................126 Commonwealth Charter School Certification Statement ............................127 Statement of Assurances..............................................................................128

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Executive Summary The parents of Gloucester want options in their choice of public schooling. Gloucester Community Arts Charter School (GCA) will take an innovative approach to K-8 education that will offer Gloucester families a genuine alternative, right here in our own town. GCA is planned as a small K-8 public school, designed to educate Gloucester’s student population in creative and compelling ways. GCA will appreciate the natural human diversity of learning and teaching styles, while also understanding that connection and community are vital to the learning process. GCA curriculum will integrate the arts as a common language across all disciplines-- and draw coursework from the rich cultural and maritime resources of Cape Ann. The curriculum will blend state standards, integrated subjects and themes, and hands-on experience drawn from five disciplines: • English Language Arts • Mathematics • Expressive Arts • Science • Social Studies Throughout the program, students will be challenged to demonstrate their academic accomplishments, intellectual curiosity, and civic commitment. GCA will be geared to preparing each student for success in their high school, college, and graduate studies—encouraging and equipping them to grow as active, engaged citizens who truly and visibly care for their local, regional, national and global communities. GCA Approach to Learning The heart of the school’s philosophy rests on these core beliefs: • learning is about making meaning of life’s events and challenges • all children crave and strive to find meaning in whatever they witness • students learn best in a community of supportive parents and respected teachers. GCA graduates will demonstrate proficiency within the framework of the Massachusetts learning standards -- as they discover, define and explore their own questions and learn to think critically and work collaboratively to find solutions to contemporary issues. They will gain the skills and knowledge needed to tackle challenging tasks throughout their lives, whether in school or on their chosen life path. GCA will create a strong school culture that fosters academic success and the emotional well-being of all students. GCA will place great importance on respecting the expertise of professional teachers, and on dedicating significant time to collaborative teaching and learning. GCA will engage and work with parents to be effective partners in their children’s education -- forging an essential link between the classroom and home life that is the most vital key to supporting and enriching student achievement. GCA Mission — GCA will graduate academically accomplished, intellectually curious, and civically engaged young people who can tackle challenges diligently and creatively: • Academically accomplished students will read and communicate effectively – through speaking and presentation, the written word, and the arts. They will calculate and solve problems logically and accurately, and they will research and organize information logically for a given purpose. • Intellectually curious students will find personal connections and relevance in learning, apply their learning across disciplines, and demonstrate an active awareness of their own ways of learning. • Civically engaged students will take an active role in the classroom and their school communities, take part in improving the community of Gloucester, and demonstrate an ability to consider issues from different perspectives.

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GCA Founding Group The founding group of GCA gathered in May 2007 to create a school where students are intensely engaged in learning; where the arts serve as a common language; and where parents, teachers and students all actively contribute to an academic community that promotes both the mastery of challenging material and the social-emotional well-being of all students. This group has roughly 20 members, all of whom have deep and caring connections to the community of Gloucester. They possess the proven skills and experience in education, management, finance, and evaluation needed for the creation and successful development of a charter school. GCA Public Statement Gloucester Community Arts Charter School (GCA) is a small K-8 public school designed to educate students from all backgrounds and learning styles. The program will integrate the arts in all academic classes, and draw on the unique cultural and maritime resources of Cape Ann. GCA students will demonstrate that they are academically accomplished, intellectually curious, and civically engaged. Graduates will be prepared to succeed in higher education, and to contribute in their community’s development. When fully enrolled, the school will have 240 students.

I. Charter School Mission, Vision, and Statement of Need A. Mission Statement Gloucester Community Arts Charter School (GCA) is a small K-8 public school that uses the arts and community life to energize the learning of Gloucester’s students. GCA’s graduates will be academically accomplished, intellectually curious, and civically engaged. They will be prepared to succeed in higher education and contribute actively in the community. B. Vision Statement We envision a school vibrant with energy and enthusiasm for learning and that welcomes families of all backgrounds. With the arts serving as a unifying theme, the building will be alive with student presentations, performances, and exhibitions. Through an active outreach program and partnerships with local community organizations, we aim to enroll students from all neighborhoods in the city as well as those with a broad diversity of interests and learning styles. Students, parents and staff will work together to create a community that fosters academic excellence and supports the emotional wellbeing of all students. They will explore academically challenging “essential” questions that span disciplines through a curriculum that draws on the arts and encourages students to find personal meaning in their learning. Projects, presentations and ongoing collaboration with local organizations, all focused on issues of particular importance to the community, will enhance the relevance of the material studied. Students will learn the skills that will sustain their future growth while also developing their particular abilities and talents. As they explore global issues and their own place in the world, they will gain appreciation for Gloucester’s uniqueness. Student success in a demanding academic program will also stem from the strength of the school community. We will foster a positive school culture based on respect for achievement and concern for others. It is our intention to establish a school in which every student, staff member and family has a deep sense of belonging. We will create a culture in which: • Staff members are valued as professionals and individuals. As partners in the education of every child, teachers will have a personal stake in the success of the school. They will develop new dimensions of expertise by collaborating both inside and outside the classroom. • Parents’ contributions, suggestions, work with their children at home, and their support in classrooms and participation in events is welcomed. • The City will gain a school that graduates students eager to contribute energy and curiosity to the community at large and a new site for cultural events that will add another dimension to the rich cultural life of Cape Ann. In short, we envision the school as cultural and community center energized by a common fascination with learning and creating.

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C. Statement of Need Many parents in Gloucester have serious concerns about the quality of education in the city. For years, O’Maley Middle School has been the focus of their concerns. It is a school that some students often only survive, not where they thrive. In recent years, parents have started to have more concerns about the elementary grades as well. Test Results – The numbers are undeniable. Student performance on MCAS highlights these same concerns, with O’Maley presenting the most challenges. When the performance of cohorts on the math and English language arts MCAS are tracked through middle school, it can be seen that Gloucester students who are initially on par or above their state peers fall below average or far below average by seventh or eighth grade (Table 11). The problems are not limited to O’Maley. In 2008, the district elementary and middle schools performed below the state average on all but one MCAS test (Table 2). Poor performance on the MCAS has made Gloucester a Targeted Area for a charter school by the ESE. Since 1998, Gloucester has performed at or below the state average on 80% of the 97 tests administered to grades 3 through 8 (Table 3) and on all but 6 in the past five years. Gloucester has fewer top-performing students than the state average. On only 4 of these 97 tests did Gloucester have a higher percentage of top performing students than the state average, and on only 1 in the past five years. Academically strong students are either not reaching their potential or are leaving the district schools for more challenging schools. Enrollment Data – Enrollment data reflects the situation as well. Families are opting out of Gloucester public schools. In 2008, Gloucester district had a net loss of 169 students to school choice at a cost of nearly $1,000,000 to the district (Chart 1). Limited spots and long wait lists at these schools suggest that more students would choose non-district schools if they could. 1 MCAS data from: http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/state_report/mcas.aspx

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Despite a stable population2 overall, it appears as though young families are leaving Gloucester: there were over 2000 kids aged five and under when the 2000 census was taken3 but only 1700 of them are still in Gloucester according to the 2008 Students Attending School Report (Table 4). That is a 20% decline. Families that have remained are choosing private schools. Last year, a local parochial school doubled in size as families from Gloucester’s schools left the public system. Demand for Funding – although lack of funds is often stated as the reason for the district’s poor performance, Gloucester’s per-pupil expenditures ($10,966 in 2007) are very close to the state median ($11,202 in 2007). In many respects, Gloucester’s student body is less resource-intensive than that found in many other districts because it is a comparatively homogeneous group, with significantly fewer students in the early grades performing “below grade level” and with a population of students with Limited English Proficiency of only 2.1%4. As in many districts, there is a persistent achievement gap in Gloucester; low-income students consistently under-perform the district’s average (Chart 2). The GCA Strategy - GCA has been designed to address these needs. • To address the need for choices in middle school education, we plan to open the school with grades 4-7 and we will double enrollment from 20 students per grade K-5, to 40 in 6-8 in order to maximize access at the upper grade levels. Our school will be K-8, reflecting research that shows that student achievement is higher in reading and math in this configuration rather than a separate middle school (Abella 2005, Offenberg 2001, Hough 2004, Alspaugh 1998). Gloucester Community Arts Charter School will be a small school that students can stay in from their elementary years through middle school. • To increase overall academic achievement, our school will offer multi-age classrooms as a strategy to increase opportunities for differentiated learning; arts-integration to create multiple ways for students to engage with curriculum material; and the support of a strong community through regular all-school meetings, mixed-age advisory groups, service projects and strong parent involvement (Fiske, 1999; Barth, 2004). Teachers will collaborate daily to learn from each other and discuss how best to challenge and care for all students. The approaches we are proposing also serve to address the unique needs of Gloucester’s student sub-populations. We recognize that Gloucester has a higher population of special needs students than other communities in the area. Research has shown that the constellation of 2

US Census’ estimate for Gloucester population in 2007 was 35 people greater than the 2000 census. (SUB-EST2007-04-25) Census Data by school district from the National Center of Education Statistics http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sdds/selectgeo.asp 4 http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/student.aspx 3

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approaches that we intend to put in place - differentiated learning, arts-integration, and learning in a supportive community - has particular benefit for these students and others who are too often marginalized in more traditional settings (Davis, 2008; Dweck, 2007, Bandura, 1997). Why a Charter School? - A charter school will bring the innovation that the district desperately needs – and has shunned. Attempts by parents, teachers, volunteers and others actively advocating for change have largely fallen on deaf ears. The Gloucester School District has an explicit policy of keeping the curriculum at all elementary schools as similar as possible. While there is merit to this goal in some respects, it comes at a cost to innovation. At present no schools in Gloucester offer an arts-integrated curriculum - or any of the other alternative approaches we intend to use. A Commonwealth Charter School will institutionalize change. Over the years there have been many initiatives aimed at improving Gloucester Public Schools and although many were successful, they were discontinued when leadership changed or momentum faded. This has led us to believe that a Horace Mann Charter School would not bring the necessary change. In summary, Gloucester needs options so that families can choose the program that suits them best. It needs innovation to improve academic achievement. GCA is designed to address these needs, to complement the city’s existing schools, so that, together, we can make Gloucester’s public school system one of the best in the state.

II. How will the school demonstrate academic success? A. Educational Philosophy GCA will create an engaging teaching and learning environment where young children and adolescents will have the opportunity to explore their own questions, think about and work on contemporary issues and gain the skills and knowledge to tackle challenging academic tasks. At the heart of the school’s philosophy are three principles grounded in the work of John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky, as well as their more contemporary iterations, found in both constructivism, and positive youth development programs such as the Responsive Classroom. (http://www.responsiveclassroom.org): 1.)Learning is about making meaning; 2) All children strive for meaning, and; 3) Students learn best in community with adults who are important to them. We believe that these principles are best implemented through a curriculum that: (1) Requires active engagement by doing. (2) Engages a broad range of learning modalities, offering students multiple ways to demonstrate learning. (3) Requires the use of imagination, creativity and application of knowledge. (4) Inspires and motivates students, especially those who may struggle in other content area classes; and (5) Develops personal and social skills such as communication, cooperation, discipline and perseverance. Guided by these principles, the GCA program aims to achieve three learning goals: Academic accomplishment ‰ Read effectively, ‰ Communicate powerfully ‰ Identify,calculate, solve problems accurately ‰ Research and organize information logically for a given purpose

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Intellectual curiosity ‰ Find personal relevance in learning, ‰ Apply learning across disciplines, ‰ Demonstrate awareness of one’s own learning process

Civic Engagement ‰ Participate actively in the school community, ‰ Take an active role in the Gloucester community, Understand and advocate from multiple perspectives

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Why the Arts? Schools that incorporate music, art, drama, dance and creative writing into the basic curriculum have found that teaching the arts has a significant effect on overall success in school…because of the mounting evidence linking arts to basic learning; some researchers refer to the arts as “The Fourth R.” (National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, 2006) The arts provide an ideal means to achieve the learning goals outlined above. For students at the initial stages of developing language skills, the arts enhance and complement basic numeracy and literacy skills. For students with more developed skills, participation in the arts continue to support the development of more advanced learning skills, including habits of mind, such as perseverance, attention to detail, and improved awareness of their own thinking process (Deasy, 2002). Multiple independent studies have shown increased years of enrollment in arts courses are positively correlated with higher SAT verbal and math scores. Further, many studies have shown that participation in the arts improve higher order thinking as well as social skills. (National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, 2006) At GCA, each of the core content areas will integrate the arts- drama, music, visual arts, and dance- into the academic curriculum as a means for students to demonstrate their grasp of major concepts. The aim is not to create a conservatory program to produce professional artists. Instead, we will use the arts as a vehicle to assist students in achieving the learning goals: to become academically accomplished, intellectually curious and civically engaged. The following statements describe the school’s perspective on the three primary learning goals. Under each goal, the section on educational foundation provides a statement of our philosophy and the relevant research base about learning and instruction. The instructional practices section provides an explanation of the specific research-based techniques that will ensure that students achieve the three goals. Academically Accomplished (1) Read effectively. (2) Communicate powerfully – orally, in writing and through the arts. (3) Identify, calculate and solve problems logically and accurately. (4) Research and organize information logically for a given purpose. Educational Foundation Success in the future depends on a strong foundation in these core skill areas. Accordingly, students will work with challenging material in order to develop competence, confidence and fluency in these areas. Explicit instruction in fundamental literacy, numeracy and study skills will create the foundation for broader conceptual learning and higher order thinking (Bransford, Brown, Cocking, 2000). Teachers in both the lower and upper school will ensure that students personalize the material, making their own strong and permanent connections, using the arts to amplify their learning. Units of learning will be arranged thematically, allowing for the integration of multiple disciplines. Instructional Practice – thematic, conceptual and interdisciplinary learning “The ability to learn something new depends on an ability to accommodate the new thing to the already known.” (Hirsch, 1996) In keeping with this principle, teachers will help students to connect new ideas to broader concepts.(Vygotsky, 1978) Research has demonstrated that this approach to instruction, through thematic learning and concept mapping, for example, maximizes the learning of students from all demographic groups, including those identified as gifted, learning disabled, or English Language Learner. (Smith, KarrKidwell, 2000) An example: as part of their study of an interdisciplinary thematic unit focusing on “Many Small Pieces Make a Whole.”(also see description of thematic learning in Section II B – Curriculum), 4th-5th grade students will study colonial life in Gloucester and the development of maritime commerce – stemming from the waters that still play such a powerful role in the economy of Gloucester and Massachusetts - in the growth of colonial America (History and Social Studies, standards 5.10, 5.11). Their experience of

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this material will be magnified through exposure to the North Shore’s role in the history of early American portraiture beginning with an introduction to early American painters. An art history lesson will be conducted at the Cape Ann Historical Society, or other Cape Ann Museums, where children would view primary source material. As an extension of this lesson, in the younger grades, students could work together to create silhouette self-portraits. Older children could explore various media - pastels, watercolors, oils -to produce portraits. At the end of the unit, students would hold an exhibition open to the public. In another example of another lesson tied to the study of local history and the same interdisciplinary theme, 4th-5th grade students might research individuals from Gloucester’s history. As an opening activity, students might engage in grave rubbing, learning in the course of the activity about the art of early American mourning symbols, such as the winged skulls and weeping willow trees incorporated in the tombstones. Following this, they might gain experience in the use of primary and secondary source materials from the archives of the Cape Ann Historical Museum, the Gloucester lyceum and local graveyards, while attempting to “resurrect” a selected individual. Selecting the art form of dramatic monologue to portray their characters, the student’s research could be framed from questions in the firstperson point of view: 1) Who am I? 2) What do I look like? 3) How do I talk? 4) What do I want to pass on to others about my life, my values, and my hopes? Students would then present their costumed characters in a formal dramatic production combining period songs and dances. Instructional Practice - differentiated instruction and multiage grouping In differentiated classrooms, teachers begin where students are, not the front of a curriculum guide. (Carol Ann Tomlinson, 1999) Differentiated instruction -In keeping with the work of Howard Gardner, Carol Ann Tomlinson and others, teachers will use a broad range of instructional techniques to address students’ individual learning styles and to facilitate educational conversations between students in addition to those between teacher and student. A typical class will incorporate strategies that range from direct teacher-led instruction to group work. Using the last example, the teacher might conduct a mini lesson on local history, then students would conduct the grave rubbing and the research in small groups, coming together to produce the final collaborative theater piece. By having students investigate challenging questions together, teachers will build the social support between students that is essential to authentic learning while also providing the cognitive structure and academic support outlined above. (Vygotsky, 1978; Bandura, 1998) Multiage grouping – GCA will make use of the multiage classroom model. Research on child development has made it clear that there is a tremendous range in children’s development of core academic skills that rely on vision and motor skills, and the ability to learn and use language. Many develop these skills as early as age four, but others may be more delayed, mastering them in the elementary grades. (Wood, 2003) Similarly, we recognize that students learn at different rates as they continue to grow in to adolescence and adulthood. The multiage model allows students to learn at their own pace within each class. It serves students at all levels of achievement, building self-respect and motivation among at-risk students while also challenging gifted students to achieve to their potential. (North Central Regional Educational Lab, 1998). Students will be grouped in the following grade groupings as: K-1; 2-3; 4-5; 6-7; 8. Each of the classes that incorporate two grades will consist of roughly 1/2 from the two grades represented (eg. K-1 will roughly consist of 1/2 kindergarteners, 1/2 first graders). If a student demonstrates academic ability beyond that of most of his/her peers, the age grouping system will allow the necessary “fluidity” for him/her to take classes in particular content areas with older students out of his/her usual class. After researching other successful programs that make use of the multiage grouping, including Mission Hill School in Boston and Salem Academy Charter School, we modified the multiage configuration in grades 6-8 in order to address concerns about the realities of implementing it in these grades. We plan to maintain the multiage format in all content areas for grades 6-7 with the exception of math. Two main

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considerations brought us to this decision: 1.) the wide range of standards that must be addressed in math in grade 6; and 2.) the wide range of abilities that we will encounter at this grade as we double enrollment at this level in order to address the particular needs of the district in the middle school grades. Grade 8 will function as a distinct grade in order to facilitate the particular work that students must engage in at this level in order to graduate, work that will include preparation of a multiyear portfolio and a final “exhibition,” a formal presentation of work selected from their portfolio. Flexible Grouping – In the classroom, teachers will use flexible grouping for instruction. At times, they will convene a group around developing a specific skill – students whose writing demonstrates a need for phonemic awareness in first grade might be grouped with kindergartners for this work. As this group masters the target skills, the students might be reassigned. Some of these first graders might also join a group focused on reading poetry where members of the group were reading poems at several different levels. On the other hand, in math, a teacher might bring together students working on a particular aspect of geometry based on a shared interest in studying architectural drawings and completing a drawing of the school building. Intellectual Curiosity (1) Find personal relevance in learning (2) Apply learning across disciplines (3) Demonstrate awareness of one’s own learning process Educational Foundation - learning for mastery “People who believe in the power of talent tend not to fulfill their potential because they’re so concerned with looking smart and not making mistakes. But people who believe that talent can be developed are the ones who really push, stretch, confront their own mistakes and learn from them.” (Carol Dweck, 2008) The focus of the second learning goal is mastery. This goal entails more than gaining technical proficiency with content and skills, instead striving to ignite in all students the drive and confidence to take a personal stake in their learning. GCA is founded on the belief that every student has the capacity to attain this ideal. The challenge is to engage their natural curiosity and enthusiasm. The program at GCA is designed to promote a “growth mindset,” a belief that success stems from hard work and learning, not simply innate ability. (Dweck, 2006) Intelligence and academic performance are not a fixed entity. In fact, research has shown that regardless of one’s circumstances, it is motivation and self-efficacy that determine performance. (Dweck, 2006) Self-efficacy is having confidence in one’s ability to organize and carry out what is required to master a given discipline or skill. (Bandura, 1997) The research of Carol Dweck and Albert Bandura indicates that all students, given appropriate support, encouragement and scaffolding, can master challenging material. If students learn to believe in their ability to tackle a problem and conceive of how to work through it, they will achieve. The elements that foster success and mastery include: building on student interests and offering a choice of material that is of particular relevance to them, focusing on the quality of student performance, not grades and ranking (what was done well? what to learn from for next time?), and encouraging meta-cognition (how were you successful? what are your strengths? what strategies can you use next time?) Instructional Practice – relevance, multiple intelligences, no grades, growth mindset Instruction at GCA will draw on all of these elements. In addition to offering the advantages of learning that crosses disciplines, incorporating social studies, ELA as well as the visual and dramatic arts, the example of the unit given under the previous section illustrates how a lesson might foster student motivation and build personal relevance by orienting learning around figures from Gloucester itself and offering students choice in what individuals they research as well as providing prompts to help students “get inside” their characters (“Who am I?…What do I want to pass on to others about my life, my values, and my hopes?”). In addition, the unit would foster self-efficacy through the use of cooperative learning

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and heterogeneous grouping. Students would gain new insight on their own learning through activities that stem from a broad array of modalities that include tactile-kinesthetic exercise (grave rubbing), physical movement (performing a role in the play, drawing and painting) as well as more traditional academic cognitive tasks (researching a character). The teacher of the class might amplify this learning, by asking students to reflect on how they learned best in order to develop student awareness of their learning styles and how they can make use of them to build confidence for future accomplishment – and a “growth mindset.” Furthermore, the elimination of grades and social ranking in favor of specific teacher comments is designed to inspire learning in place of “looking smart.” Civic Engagement To learn how to be a member of a democracy, a student, in Dewey’s words, is stimulated through the demands of the present social situation “to conceive of himself from the standpoint of the welfare of the group to which he belongs.” (Dewey, 1938): (1)Take an active role in the classroom and school community. (2)Take an active role in the Gloucester community. (3) Demonstrate ability to understand and advocate from multiple perspectives Educational Foundation – Civic engagement stems from a feeling of being connected to and taking pride in the well-being of one’s community. This third goal is a commitment that students will exercise their learning in ways that reinforce it, make it personally meaningful, and demonstrate that it has value in the real world. In addition, students engaged with a curriculum that builds community within the walls of the classroom and school have demonstrated greater academic progress than their peers in programs that do not build community.(Barth, 2004) Further, research conducted across the nation reveals that students who engage in service learning are less likely to drop out of school and are more likely to become active citizens as they become adults.(Corporation for National and Community Service, 2006; Bridgeland et al, 2008) Instructional Practice – community to support and apply learning If school isn’t for today, it will often turn out to be for nothing (Carol Ann Tomlinson, 1999). GCA will guide students to develop civic engagement on a developmental basis by building a culture of civic engagement within the classroom, within the school and by engaging students in service learning in the community. For students in the K-5 at GCA, the principles of Responsive Classroom will be at the heart of building community within the school. These include the ideas that the social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum, that how children learn is as important as what they learn and that to be successful academically and socially, children need a set of social skills: cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control. (www.responsiveclassroom.org) Students in grades K-2 will have their first experience of civic engagement in the classroom through, for example, the daily morning meeting and exercises such as role playing being left out of a game or dealing with a classmate who breaks rules. In this way, they will gain practice thinking outside their own experience and they will learn to take part in planning for and creating a respectful community. Students in grades 3- 5 will expand on these experiences through civic engagement within the school as a whole, for example, by making a presentation at the weekly whole-school meeting. Students in grades 6 – 8 will mentor younger students and plan service-learning projects in the larger Gloucester community. In the course of these experiences, students at all grade levels will also learn to appreciate and advocate for other points of view. Some educators complain that students in grades 6 – 8 are unmotivated, unruly, and less than fully engaged in their studies. Students cannot learn to behave responsibly without credible opportunities to practice. Students in the upper grades at GCA will take a leading role in the well-being of the school community - teaching and mentoring younger students and leading them in school projects - while also exercising their developing civic skills in the world beyond the school. For example, after investigating the current controversy over the mandated secondary sewage treatment facility in Gloucester, students

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might analyze harbor water samples collected in coordination with the Maritime Heritage Center. In addition, to learn about the points of view on the issue, they might research the perceived impact of the environmental requirements on various groups within the city in preparation for a debate on the issue in which students would play the role of constituents making their case before the Department of Environmental Protection. As with examples cited earlier, students would be expected to integrate the arts, using, for example, their skills in the graphic arts to prepare visual materials and practicing their drama skills for their roles in the presentation. B. Curriculum and Instruction Students will engage in learning across five core disciplines: English Language Arts, Mathematics, the Arts, Science, and Social Studies. Explicit skill development in these areas is central to the curriculum. We aim to add further dimension to these skills through application and extension across disciplines. The Arts will serve as a means of connecting and integrating knowledge and skills in this way. The integration of these areas of study will take various forms at different grade levels. For example, in the upper elementary and middle school grades, English & Social Studies will be thematically grouped as Humanities. Instruction will encourage students to realize the connections between the disciplines through thematic strands that continue across content areas. In order to demonstrate that the curriculum will remain true to the content standards in each discipline, however, we have provided a separate description of each of them. For more grade-specific detail, refer to the Curriculum Table L provided in the Attachments section. For more information about how we will evaluate student progress, refer to Section II D, the Assessment section, and Section II C, the Promotion Benchmarks Table in the Promotion and Graduation Standards section. Mathematics GCA will provide a rigorous mathematics program that emphasizes problem solving, analysis, making connections, and symbolic representations. Although we have not made a definite decision regarding a curriculum series, we will probably make use of the math program developed by TERC - Investigations for the elementary grades and Connected Math for the middle school grades - since they take a hands-on approach that encourages students to apply their learning. At GCA, students will learn that mathematics is a language with its own lexicon, and unique rules.

Mathematics Standards Number Sense & Operations; Patterns, Relationships, & Algebra; Geometry; Content: Measurement; Data Analysis, Statistics & Probability Objective Skills 1. Acquire and effectively utilize various mathematical methods for problem Academically solving. Accomplished 2. Formulate questions, model problem situations in a variety of ways, generalize mathematical relationships, and solve problems in both mathematical and everyday contexts. 3. Express mathematical ideas coherently to different audiences using appropriate mathematical language. 4. Make convincing arguments and represent mathematical ideas verbally, pictorially, and symbolically. 5. Develop their reasoning skills by making and testing mathematical conjectures, Intellectually drawing logical conclusions, and justifying thinking in developmentally Curious appropriate ways. 6. Develop a repertoire of mathematical representations (numbers, shapes, operations, and relations) for problem solving. 7. Explore the connections that exist within mathematics, with other disciplines, and Civically between mathematics and students’ own experiences. Engaged

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Academically Accomplished Intellectually Curious Civically Engaged

Sample Objective Performance Tasks Students calculate and solve problems logically and accurately. Students apply skills to understanding mathematical concepts in other disciplines. Students design, collect, and interpret survey data to inform areas of community concern.

In the early years (K-2), the curriculum will focus on helping students to understand the building blocks of mathematical thinking. Students will work to develop fundamental skills in addition and subtraction. Number sense, built through work with manipulatives as well as conceptual tools like the “hundreds chart,” underpins GCA’s early math program. Just as important, will be the development of students’ problem-solving skills: beginning algebra; geometry and measurement in two- and three-dimensions; and real-world applications of statistics, data gathering and the use of simple graphs and charts through daily school routines such as taking attendance, lunch ordering and surveys. As developing mathematicians, students will construct and express their own strategies for solving problems and will make meaningful connections between mathematics and the other disciplines. For example, students will apply what they have observed about patterns that occur in nature to their own art-work. In grades 3 – 5, students will build on skills gained in the earlier grades, learning multiplication and division and applying these skills to problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division as well as fractions. They will gain further experience with basic Algebra using increasingly sophisticated symbols, geometric concepts such as identifying and describing congruent figures, as well as practice with units of measurement and the organization of data using charts and graphs. Students will be expected to practice explaining the rationale for their solutions both orally and in writing. In the middle grades, students will exercise greater fluency with the mathematical lexicon, studying pre-Algebra and Algebra I, solving more complex equations and using more complex functions, as well as learning the methodology and application of geometric proofs. In addition, they will gain experience with the application of these skills in science, calculating, for example, the forces that influence the design of bridges, automobiles and sailboats. They will apply skills in other content areas as well as through service learning opportunities involving, for example, the calculation of the carbon footprint for particular buildings in the city. As in the other content areas, 8th graders will prepare a multi-year portfolio and exhibition presentation in math. English Language Arts GCA’s curriculum will develop students’ oral language and literacy, provide explicit skill instruction in reading, teaching the strategies necessary for acquiring academic knowledge, achieving high academic standards, and attaining independence in learning. We will emphasize writing as an essential way to develop, clarify and communicate ideas in persuasive, expository, narrative and expressive discourse. We will challenge students to develop their unique voice in writing and speaking. English Language Arts Standards Language; Reading & Literature; Composition; Media Content: Objective Skills 1. Analyze standard English grammar and usage and recognize how its Academically vocabulary has developed and been influenced by other languages. Accomplished 2. Describe, analyze, and use appropriately formal and informal English. 3. Pose questions, listen to the ideas of others, and contribute their own Intellectually information or ideas in group discussions or interviews in order to acquire new Curious knowledge. 4. Understand and acquire new vocabulary and use it correctly in reading and writing. 5. Use agreed-upon rules for informal and formal discussions in small and large Civically groups. Engaged 6. Make oral presentations that demonstrate appropriate consideration of audience, purpose, and the information to be conveyed.

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Academically Accomplished Intellectually Curious Civically Engaged

Sample Objective Performance Tasks Students will read effectively and use the gathered information to contribute to written work, group discussion, and artistic representation. Students will use language to reflect upon their own learning process through journaling. Students will advocate for different perspectives using current events and topics of concern in the community.

In the early grades, the focus will be on the gaining fundamental literacy skills in reading and writing – developing phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency, building vocabulary and comprehension skills – in reading and developing the ability to write and illustrate simple narratives with a clear organization and structure. In grades 3-5, writing programs such as Writers Workshop and literacy guides such as Fountas & Pinnell and Strategies that Work (Harvey & Goudvis) will be central to instruction and allow for the diversification of basic skills. The emphasis on the application of literacy skills to academic tasks will be reflected in explicit instruction in reading strategies to acquire information as well as report writing and the skills related to research. Literature circles based on novels will continue to build students’ experience with fiction and guide them in the development of critical reading and thinking skills. In grades 6 – 8, students will gain greater sophistication in these skills through interdisciplinary research projects and oral presentations. In addition to the development of fluency with reading and writing for informational purposes, students will continue to add dimension to their skills in the analysis of literature by studying historical influences on literary works –through the Humanities. For example, they may be asked to write and present about the relationship between a given literary work and the historical context from which it comes. The language arts program across all grades will integrate the performing arts by using poetry, dramatic literature, and creative literature to encourage students to perform selections from these genres as well as to create their own. Arts The philosophy of GCA is to empower students to use all of the disciplines within the arts - dance, music, theatre, visual arts - primarily as modes of learning and communication. In addition to participating in the integration of these skills in the other content areas, students will have explicit instruction in each of the arts disciplines to build their repertoire of skills. The arts will provide another means for students to solve problems, learn cooperatively, and explore and articulate ideas and relationships across the curriculum. (See the Curriculum Table L in the Attachments section for more grade specific detail about arts instruction) Arts Connection Standards Visual Arts, Dance, Music, Theatre Content: Objective Skills 1. Use a variety of art styles and methods to convey meaning Academically 2. Comprehend how world cultures have been historically influenced and shaped Accomplished by the arts. 3. Incorporate imagination, rational thinking, critical judgment and reflection Intellectually to the creation of art. Curious 4. Use artistic literacy to enhance all other subjects 5. Present and perform art publicly Civically 6. Understand the ways in which the arts contribute to and enhance all Engaged aspects of community life. Sample Objective Performance Tasks Students will use and understand symbols and structures of dance, music, theatre Academically and visual arts. Accomplished Students will use their knowledge to create and perform in both historical and Intellectually contemporary forms Curious Students will perform/exhibit in the community. Civically Engaged

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As students gain proficiency in the knowledge and skills of using the symbols and structures of dance, music, theatre and visual arts they will gain a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of issues, ideas and relationships across the whole curriculum. An example of this for students in grades 5-8 might be "The Pied Piper of Hamelin". Robert Browning’s 19th century poem about the Black Plague lends itself to integrating art connections with social studies, science, literature, and math. For example, using text as prompt, students could recreate the socio-economic village life of Hamelin town in 1350. They might explore the effects of the plague as reflected in the visual arts of the 14th and 15th centuries, gaining familiarity with the power of iconography and the language of symbols found in the arts. They can then recreate scenes in which the presence of rats in their daily lives shifts from nuisance to threat (using creative movement, improvised dialogue, hypothesizing about the cause of abnormal rodent behavior). As concerned citizens, they might design, present and defend inventions to rid the town of rats (using math, chemistry, biology, environmental issues, civic dialogue, visual/mechanical arts and historical research). And finally, they could choreograph a dance of the rats and village children following the Pied Piper (See table of Promotion Standards in Section II C-Promotion and Graduation Standards and the Curriculum Table L in Attachments for other examples of arts integration). The science curriculum at GCA will focus on investigations into science and Science technology/engineering involving a range of interdisciplinary skills and subject matter knowledge. The goal will be to enable students to draw on this learning to better understand both the natural theories of science and the artificial design/utilization of technology. Training in and use of the scientific method, the design process, and critical observation will be of central concern to all grades. Scientific content will be integrated into thematic lessons that both align with the State Frameworks and apply skills from ELA, Math, and the Arts where applicable. Thematic units will be designed around essential questions, common skills, and the resources of Gloucester. Although we have not settled on a specific curriculum, we are investigating programs such as The Full Option Science System (FOSS) that take a hands-on approach and focus on the application of science concepts. Science Standards Earth & Space Science; Life Science; Physical Sciences; Technology/Engineering Content: Objective Skills 1. Understand the elements of scientific inquiry Academically 2. Utilize the scientific method. Accomplished 3. Conduct scientific investigation using observation and description. Intellectually 4. Draw relevant and reasonable conclusions from scientific inquiry. Curious 5. Understand the key interactions of science, technology, and society Civically throughout history. Engaged 6. Apply knowledge gained to create change. Sample Objective Performance Tasks Academically Accomplished Students will utilize the scientific method to analyze problems and solutions. Intellectually Curious Students will relate topics studied toward understanding their own lives. Students will examine scientific concepts in relation to the community and share Civically findings with the community. Engaged

In grades K – 2, students will study topics in a variety of scientific fields including such topics as objects in motion, and plant and animal habitats. In grades 3- 5, they will conduct simple experiments while studying selected topics from geology, botany, biology, astronomy, meteorology and technology. In addition, they will apply what they have learned about reading for academic content to conduct research and write organized lab and research reports. During grades 6-8, students will complete increasingly sophisticated scientific investigations. In addition to delving deeper in to the various fields of scientific inquiry just listed, they will conduct more advanced classroom experiments to reinforce and apply their learning. In addition, students will investigate local environmental issues. They will conduct field studies

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along coastal areas and return to the classroom for more in-depth investigations. Upon completion of their investigations, students will present their findings in lab reports and through oral presentations to the school and to the Gloucester community. Social Studies The four disciplines of history, geography, economics, and civics and government, in combination with English, will provide the foundation for the Humanities program at GCA. Students will gain an appreciation for the inter-relationship of ELA and Social Studies both by making use of skills shared by the two disciplines as well as by using literary accounts to gain a deeper experience of history. Students will make use of research skills, social debate, role plays and analytical thinking to actively engage with the content at all grade levels. The curriculum will also utilize the historical, civic, geographic, and economic resources of Gloucester and its citizens, studying for example, local historical figures, the significant role of the Gloucester fishing fleet in the development of the state and national economy, and the contributions of local artists (Fitz Hugh Lane, Winslow Homer) and writers (Charles Olsen, Virginia Lee Burton) to the cultural heritage of the U.S. Social Studies Standards History; Geography; Economics; Civics and Government Content: Objective Skills 1. Identify and describe the effects that significant people, events, Academically achievements, and cultures have had on history. Accomplished 2. Understand the philosophies and beliefs supporting influential forms of government and economic systems, religions, and societies. 3. Understand the function of research and the sources of information. Intellectually 4. Understand chronological order of historical events and recognizing cause Curious and effect. 5. Explain the concepts of identity, community, region, and time as they Civically relate to the analysis of history, geography, and the arts. Engaged 6. Apply knowledge gained to create change. Sample Objective Performance Tasks Academically Students will master the content presented and effectively use the information to Accomplished contribute to written work, group discussion, and artistic representation. Students will use the knowledge and skills gained to pursue topics which are Intellectually relevant to their interests. Curious Students will explore and interact with the community to understand the history and Civically civic functioning of Gloucester. Engaged

Thematic Grouping of Curriculum At GCA, we believe that students find meaning best when information is grouped thematically. Thematic units of study will increase the connection of learned skills to various disciplines and increase the efficiency of teaching (see Instruction Practice, Educational Philosophy). Using the MA Standards, skills and content will be grouped under essential questions to build contextual scaffolding for student understanding and to take advantage of the benefits of interdisciplinary learning discussed above. For example, 4th and 5th grade students may participate in a thematic course of study called “Many Small Pieces Make a Whole.” This thematic meta-unit might include units across the curriculum on fractions, soil composition, the colonial history of the U.S., and the geographic features of North America. Instruction will pursue essential questions like, “How do parts work together in systems?” Students will develop the mathematical skills to measure and describe fractions, scientific methods to study the ways in which soil is made and described, further knowledge of our colonial heritage as well as literacy skills through the exploration of the geographic and political features of North America. Students will use these skills together to create presentations or projects, to demonstrate an understanding of parts and wholes in ways that are specific to the given discipline and through the arts, for example, by performing different Native American and other cultural dances.

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Similarly, 5th graders may study a unit on global warming, investigating the question “How are Nature and Man interconnected?” They might research the causes of global warming, examine the impact it will have locally and design a theatrical performance that will educate the community and challenge us to take steps to address the issue. Curriculum Development Teacher enthusiasm and expertise as well as student interest and environmental influences greatly affect the learning process (National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, 1997). We see curriculum development at GCA as an ongoing and organic process. To facilitate this process, teachers will take a prominent role in the articulation of the curriculum through different curriculum/instruction committees, such as K-8 literacy, K-8 numeracy, K-8 connections, K-8 interdisciplinary. Staff will work to together to create, use, and revise units so that they are directly in line with the learning objectives of the school and the MA State Standards, and further extend the work occurring in other grades. Units will be broadly constructed for all grades prior to operation, and staff will review and revise curricula over the course of the school year. Data resources such as teacher and student feedback, internal assessments, and standardized scores will be used to inform curriculum and teaching practice. The Director of Education, with the participation of teachers, will oversee this process. Struggling Students (For additional information about support for struggling learners, see section II C – Promotion and Graduation Standards) At GCA, we will make thoughtful and data-supported decisions when considering all students. Through assessment, observation, and reflection, teachers will focus on supporting student learning in the classroom, especially those who need specialized teaching. Research-based teaching practices, such as differentiated instruction, direct reinforcement, preferential seating, frequent re-engagement, simplifying directions on tasks, and allowing for frequent breaks and think-time, will be employed to support students through challenging periods. In addition, students will have the advantage of multiage groupings, hands-on experiences, and arts integration to reinforce their learning and build on students’ preferred modalities of learning. Collaboration with other staff, parents, and administrators will be vital to this process. If a student is struggling, teachers will bring their concerns to the Director of Education who will form a child study team (comprised of teachers, a counselor, an administrator and the Special Education Administrator (SEA) to determine appropriate interventions, which may include an outside referral. To understand performance and intervention, we create a distinction between skill deficits (below grade level), learning disabilities (special education), and contextual influences (ELL). Students showing skill deficits will be supported through extra help sessions, multiple methods and perspectives to practice and understand the skills, and appropriate instructional materials. Teachers working with Special Education staff will structure learning for students with learning disabilities to ensure that content, activities, and outcomes have been modified appropriately for disabled students in inclusion classes. Resources will be obtained to facilitate student access to academic content material including, speech-to-text software, audio books, reading program/s (eg.Wilson Reading Program), and appropriately leveled reading materials. We are committed to meeting all Federal and State requirements for facilities and instruction for any students with physical disabilities so that all students have access to appropriate instruction (See Section II F). An ESL specialist will provide technical support for staff and the necessary support for students who are English Language Learners in pullout environments as well as in their academic classes. Because the Gloucester Public Schools have only 2.1% LEP learners, the school anticipates that one part-time ESL certified instructor will be sufficient to support the anticipated LEP population. Teacher Proficiency Staff training in the current programs and initiatives used at GCA is essential to the effective delivery and the continuity of the curriculum. We believe that professional development is therefore critical and should take several forms. Teachers will be trained and gain experience with the curriculum topics and methods that are mandated through curriculum development workshops. For example, all K-5 teachers may participate in a workshop to address the Investigations Math and Writer’s Workshop programs and the philosophies behind them; whereas, K-2 teachers may receive training in programs like Fundations. Teachers will benefit from the experience and ideas of their colleagues

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through teacher mentors and regular opportunities to share instructional strategies. For example, arts specialists will facilitate workshops in their fields of expertise to train and support classroom teachers in the tools and strategies of arts integration. School leaders will supply teachers with ideas from current educational research, by identifying current literature and organizing discussions on the identified needs of the school and community. The GCA community will be focused on knowing students and understanding the relationships between students, faculty, families, curriculum and the larger community. Weekly staff meetings will be devoted in part to the study of these relationships. A teacher or team of teachers, a performing arts and classroom teacher, for instance-might present a description of a piece of curriculum and ask colleagues for observations and responses to a guiding question such as “What are the points of access for students in this curriculum?” At another meeting a teacher might present a description of a child in her class, provide a window on that child’s work and ask a guiding question such as “How can I use this learner’s interest in writing to strengthen other areas of learning?” At times, staff members studying a feature of the curriculum might invite parents or interested community members to participate in this learning. Non-academic Goals At GCA we believe that students should also be intellectually curious and civically engaged. To insure that these objectives are met, they will be assessed using performance ratings on internally designed rubrics and observation narratives. For example, a 4th grade student may be rated on their intellectual curiosity by how well they grasp the connection between fractions and musical beat patterns, or how well they reflect upon their own learning through journaling. A 7th grade student may be rated on civic engagement through his ability to lead a group in a community clean up project, or a 6th grader may be evaluated on how well she makes a case for curbing population growth in a class debate. These data will provide a holistic view of the student’s development. C. Promotion and Graduation Standards GCA has established a set of 4 performance standards that will guide our assessment of students’ progress towards promotion and graduation. Performance Standards 4 – Master 3 - Proficient 2 - Apprentice 1 - Emerging

Definition “I demonstrate a deep understanding of the skills and content and I am able to complete my work independently” “I demonstrate a solid understanding of the skills and content and I am able to complete my work with little assistance” “I demonstrate a basic understanding of the skills and content and I am able to complete my work with some assistance” “I demonstrate minimal understanding of the skills and content and I am able to complete my work only with a lot of assistance”

These standards will be applied through the use of a set of school-wide rubrics that will clearly illustrate GCA’s expectations for quality work (see Attachment F for an example of rubrics). Over time, teachers will also assemble a set of exemplars at each grade level of quality student work that has met or exceeded benchmark standards – for teacher, parent and student reference. Promotion benchmarks At GCA, our curricular scope and sequence will shape a set of benchmarks that form a Promotion Gateway. To be promoted from one Gateway level to the next (including Graduation), students will be expected to earn a 3 (Proficient) or 4 (Master) on at least 75% of the benchmarks in each of their core academic courses. The table below provides examples of some of the benchmarks at each Gateway level, organized around GCA’s mission and learning goals. The benchmarks are worded to promote students’ ability to understand the criteria for the assessment of their work. .

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Grade 2/Upper Elementary

Grade 5/Middle

Grade 8/Graduation

“I can choose books independently, read fluently and with good understanding and make predictions about what will happen next” “I can read fluently and answer questions aloud and in writing about the characters and actions they take and pick out main ideas.”

“I can read and identify different types of writing and explain their distinct purposes and characteristics” “I can read different kinds of written texts, research why they were written, and explain what purpose they were written for and what parts make them particularly useful in achieving that purpose.”

Intellectually Curious/ Civically engaged

“I can make a connection between my life and something that I have read or heard read aloud in a book that my class has read and discussed. I can explain how characters feel and act, what I would have done if I were them and write my own short stories.”

Arts Integration

“I can play the part of a character in a book that my class has studied during a class play based on a book that my class has read and discussed. I can also make pictures to show the main action in the story.” ELA 7.4 – 7.7; Begin. Reading; 8.6-8.10 Understanding Text; 19.5, 19.7 Writing; Arts Connections 7, 10 “I can pick out, copy, describe and create repeating patterns.”

“I can read different types of texts and explain the viewpoints of the authors. I can also write an informed response-for example, a formal letter to a local newspaper, business or community leader or government official expressing my own point of view in a way that has a clear focus and includes supporting information)” "I can read/sing different kinds of songs/lyrics, explain the viewpoint of the composer, explain why the music was written and tell you if it was successful. I can present my findings in a concert." ELA 10.3 Genre; 13.13-13.17 Nonfiction; 19.18 Writing; Arts Connections: 6, 7, 8, 10

“I can read and analyze many different types of writing; I can apply many of the elements of these texts in my own writing.” “I can read a variety of texts and use information from them to write a well organized and researched paper that includes a thesis statement, clear organization, well developed supporting evidence and an ending that draws conclusions from the evidence.” “ I can use my understanding of a variety of types of texts to research a current issue of concern to me and my community and prepare an informative presentation to the school community about my recent research and the suggestions I have to make to address the issue.”

ELA Promotion Benchmark Academically Accomplished

Applicable MA State Standards

Math Promotion Benchmark Academically Accomplished

“I can pick out, copy, describe and create repeating patterns and use my understanding to do things like skip counting and finding answers to simple math problems.”

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“I can create informative diagrams, illustrations and other graphics to support the information that I present.”

“I can use shape and size to show mathematical relationships.”

ELA-13.18-13.23 Non-fiction; 19.21-19.23 Writing; 23.9 – 23.11; 24.4 Research; Arts Connections 6, 10 “I can solve algebraic equations, functions and word problems”

“I can identify, describe and compare special types of triangles and quadrilaterals.”

“I can accurately set up, solve and explain orally and in writing how to solve linear equations with two variables.”

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Intellectually Curious/Civically Engaged

“I can pick out patterns that I find in school and at home involving, shape, size, number, color and letter and use my understanding to do things like count large numbers of objects by sets and figure out simple problems involving planning the expenses and amount of food needed for a school event.”

“I can apply my knowledge of geometry in practical ways like finding the amount of carpeting needed to refinish a communal space or finding a different configuration for the same amount of material.”

Arts Integration

“I can dance square and contra dance using 2X2, 4X4, 8X8 patterns. I can also apply my knowledge of patterns using beat patterns to play simple rhythmic instruments”

Applicable MA State Standards

MA – Patterns, Relations, and Algebra 2.P.1, 2.P.4, 2.P.7; Arts Connection 10

“I can design a community garden using principles from geometry to make decisions on the layout of the plots and other features as well as help in ordering the necessary quantities of materials.” MA – 5 G.1 Geometry; 5.M.1, Measurement; Arts Connection 9, 10

Science Promotion Benchmark

“I can explain the differences between many natural and man-made materials and give ideas for using them to make things.

“I can engage in the design process and explain the reasoning behind my decisions.”

Academically Accomplished

“I can explain the different qualities of materials and explain how they are used to make things.” I can use things collected from a class beach clean-up to work with my class mates to design and build a community sculpture to be displayed in the school or at another site in the city; I can also explain some of the effects man-made trash can have on wild animals and the natural world.” I can make simple instruments using recycled items collected in my community.”

“I can identify the important design features for building a prototype of a solution to a given problem.” “I can use the design process to create a solution to a community need or to design current practices.”

Intellectually Curious/ Civically Engaged

Arts Integration

Applicable MA State Standards

Technology/Engineering (g. preK - 2)1.1 – 1.3; Physical Science 1, Life Science 6, 8; Arts Connections 10

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“I can work with my classmates to conduct an energy assessment of the school and design simple machines/mechanisms to make improvements in air circulation, heat retention and cooling” Technology/Engineering (g. 3-5) #6; Arts Connections 9, 10

“I can solve algebraic equations involving 2 variables to figure out problems involved in practical applications like calculating living expenses and studying science and technology problems such as calculating drag in aerodynamics and fluid dynamics, or calculating the carbon footprint for city buildings using multiple variables.” “I can use algebraic equations to help me build my own musical instrument, explain why it produces the sound, how I came up with my creation and perform a song with my instrument.” MA - 8.N 10, 12 Number Sense and Operations; 8.P.2 Patterns, Relations and Algebra; Arts Connections 9, 10 “I can develop and design scientific experiments about organisms and their environment, draw conclusions and present findings in an organized and informative way.” “I can demonstrate a clear understanding of the roles and relationships in a food web” “I can develop an experiment and draw conclusions from data collected to make an informative presentation about a local ecosystem, ways that it will be best maintained, and recommendations to city leaders about planning for use of open space.” “I can illustrate artistically and in great detail, the fundamentals of a food web; I can create visual depictions and or a model of a local ecosystem and use them effectively to support my presentation.” Life Science/ Biology (g. 6-8) #14; Arts Connections 6, 10

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Portfolios - Throughout their time within each Gateway, students will be working on projects, performances and exams specifically designed for them to demonstrate their mastery of the benchmarks, and that these will become part of their Portfolio. (For further information on what the portfolio will contain, see section II B-Curriculum; see Attachments for samples of rubrics used to assess portfolios.) Retention of students - GCA will provide aggressive support for students struggling to meet the standards. We are keenly aware that the current research indicates that retention is often not effective and sometimes holds negative implications for students’ future prospects. (Alexander, et al. 2003) As noted earlier, one of the advantages of our multiage grouping is that students will be able to progress at their own pace within each grouping, and, as the need arises, to study more advanced material in another grade grouping. Ultimately, students who do not manage to achieve a 3 or 4 on 70% of the Gateway Benchmarks will be retained. However, we view retention as an option of last resort, and therefore, have developed a set of intervention procedures designed to minimize students’ failure: 1. The teacher studies the situation, speaks individually with the student and other relevant parties in a concerted attempt to understand and document what is happening. 2. The teacher, students and parents work together to address what apparent causes 3. If the first 2 steps do not bring significant results, the teacher will call a Team Meeting of the school personnel who work with the student. The goal for this group will be to identify the circumstances that are contributing to the situation. Typically, these fall into four categories that often over-lap: 1.Are there cognitive difficulties? 2. Is there a lack of the necessary background knowledge? 3. Are social-emotional issues contributing to the situation? 4. Are issues regarding attendance and tardiness contributing factors? After developing a profile, the school will develop a multi-pronged, individualized approach to the student, based on the following GCA procedures: • Cognitive difficulties (see section II F - Special Student Populations) • Lack of critical background knowledge (see section II B-Curriculum- Struggling Students) • Social-Emotional Issues (see section II E –School Characteristics - on support for students); Attendance and lateness: for students who are under the age of 9 this is an issue to be addressed with parents before children, as the children are not truly in control of their ability to be on-time at the younger ages. For older students, our approach will involve students and parents, as we can assume that these students are more responsible for their movements. Students on an Individualized Education (IEP) or Section 504 Plan Students with disabilities are expected to meet the promotion and graduation requirements described above with any of the necessary modifications stipulated in the student’s IEP or Section 504 Plan. If there are alternative learning benchmarks stated in the IEP or Section 504 Plan, they will take the place of the relevant benchmarks for the school. The Plan will state the expected requirements and the school’s strategies for meeting promotion goals. It will also describe any special conditions or accommodations necessary for the student to take MCAS and any other assessments and complete class assignments. D. Assessment System Assessment scores will be examined longitudinally for individual, cohort, and school progress on a yearly basis by the Director of Education, administration and curriculum subcommittee. GCA’s assessment system will be designed to address three key functions, to: 1. highlight student progress, 2. support the continuous improvement of curriculum and instruction, and 3. inform the state, community stakeholders, and parents about student achievement. To this end, we will collect data at periodic intervals to provide an infrastructure to assure that assessment is systematized, school-wide, and standards and rubric-driven. (See Assessment Chart on following page for list of examples of specific assessments and alignment with learning goals):

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Periodic Assessment System Baseline data will be collected when students enroll and through the first term. Initial assessments will provide initial data for placement purposes and as a baseline from which to track student progress. Assessments will include diagnostic measures in ELA (Fountas and Pinnell Literacy Assessment, Running Records and a writing sample required upon enrollment), Math (a battery of diagnostic measures) as well as information gained from the initial interview with the student and parents and previous achievement on MCAS. Progress data -We will measure student progress over time using class quizzes and end of unit tests for formative purposes. In addition, the administration of criterion-referenced assessments – to measure student progress against an absolute standard - will provide data regarding individual student progress over the course of the year as well as ensure that the curriculum is properly aligned to state standards. In addition to MCAS, these assessments will include interim school-wide grade level benchmark assessments. The school will assess student progress toward given standards through the use of periodic unit or multi-unit assessments administered across each grade level periodically throughout the year. Depending on the subject area, we will make use of assessments provided by 1.) the relevant curriculum series that is aligned to the state standards (eg. in math, Investigations-elementary and Connected Mathmiddle school); 2.) Public School Performance or a similar provider; or 3.) those generated by grade-level and subject-area teacher teams. In addition, at least twice a year, assessment will include a response to a grade level writing assignment. Teachers will work collaboratively during the weekly staff meeting time to develop these assessments, drawing on the principles set out in Wiggins and McTighe’s Backwards by Design. Grade level teacher teams will score the assessments to ensure objectivity and consistency across all grades and classes. Summative data -The data produced from the MCAS will address the need for a yearly comprehensive examination that provides normative and summative data. In addition to MCAS, we will determine endof-year student achievement through end-of-year assessments. We will gain further data on student progress by re-administering baseline assessments, to gain a pre/post comparison using the normreferenced assessments discussed above. Further qualitative data will stem from evaluation of student portfolios using relevant performance rubrics. This will provide in-depth data on student achievement relative to internally established standards aligned with the schools learning goals and the state content standards. Assessment Chart The following chart outlines the categories of assessments with examples that will be used to measure student progress in meeting the school’s three learning goals. AcademicAccomplishment /Intellectual Curiosity Periodic Assessments Baseline

Interim Benchmark Year-end/Promotion between grade groupings (1, 3, 5, 7, 8) Gateway (g. 2, 5, 8)

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ELA- Fountas&Pinnell Literacy Assessment (K-8), (elementary) Running Records; (middle) assessment from Public School Performance or other provider (see data management, below);(all grades) initial writing sample Math – (elementary) math diagnostic testing; (middle) math diagnostic testing/assessment from Public School Performance or other provider; Other intake interview Curriculum series unit tests; tests provided by Public School Performance or another provider; tests created by grade level teacher teams MCAS, class quizzes and tests, written assignments and class projects, end-ofyear benchmark assessments, portfolios and presentations assessed by performance rubrics MCAS, class quizzes and tests, written assignments and class projects, end-ofyear benchmark assessments, portfolios, performances and presentations assessed by performance rubrics

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Other Assessment Info. Criterion-referenced Norm-referenced ELL

Qualitative Growth Measures

Baseline Data

Qualitative Growth Measures

MCAS, Interim Benchmark Assessments; Fountas & Pinnell Literacy Assessment (K-8) MCAS; Assessment from Public School Performance or other provider (see data management, below) Home-language survey; IDEA Proficiency Test Oral (IPT) and the Language Assessment Scales-O (Oral), Massachusetts English Language Assessment-Oral (MELA-O) and Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessment (MEPA) Writing, visual arts, other portfolios assessed relative to performance rubrics; performances, presentations; written work relative to performance standards/exemplars; service projects Civic Engagement Initial service project; initial performance and/or presentation assessed relative to performance rubrics; teacher observation narrative of in-class/in-community participation and behavior Self –assessment; service project; portfolios assessed relative to performance rubrics; teacher observation narrative of in-class/in-community participation and behavior

Portfolios (see Attachment F for sample rubrics to assess portfolios) Student progress reporting will also stem from a diagnostic and reflective portfolio. This system will be a purposeful collection of a student's work that exhibits student progress and achievement in multiple areas over the course of time. Students, with guidance from teachers, will develop portfolios over the student’s school career. They will include student chosen work that demonstrates the skills and interests of students. This portfolio will also contain assessment reports of performance standards from internal and external resources, including MCAS data and other measures of student progress relative to the state content standards. This comprehensive system will allow both students and teachers to reflect on their work and provide a performance-based focus for teacher/student and parent/teacher conferencing. The portfolio will play a central role in determining promotion through the “gateways” at grades 2 and 5 and graduation at grade 8. Students in the 8th grade will assemble, present and defend portfolios that contain work developed over multiple years in all of the principle content areas. (See Promotion and Graduation Standards for more detail on this topic; see Attachment E for an overview of the portfolio system and sample rubrics for their evaluation) A sample portfolio for a fifth grader may include: all math assessments, a sample of persuasive writing, a research report, a poem, a tall tale, an inventory of books read, a piece of visual art/recording of a music or dance performance, a multimedia presentation, a sample of their work that exemplifies arts integration in one or more content areas, the student’s reflections on their progress over time. At the end of the year, the student will select one piece of work from each of the content areas to remain in the portfolio. The work should also illustrate their learning and skills in integrating the arts and community service. They will then add a letter to their teacher next year about their hopes and dreams. A Massachusetts Standards-based report will be a part of the comprehensive portfolio. This report will show the standards addressed in the classroom and the student performance rating on each standard. Reporting for internal criteria will be consistent with Performance Level Definitions of the MCAS. These reports will be distributed at the end of each term. Portfolios and teacher comments will be used to clarify the achievement of the standards and overall performance at school.

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Data Management – In order to make data as accessible and useful as possible we are planning to develop a data management system. School generated data will be gathered from many areas and entered into a school wide database. These data will include a standards-based reporting system, teacher Professional Development observations, teacher professional development, Personal Information Attendance Records demographic information, attendance, health information, special education needs, a curriculum Teacher Grades scope and sequence, applied experiences, and Health Information Database standardized testing results. Staff will be responsible Out-of-school for entering data relevant to their students and Narrative Programs themselves. Individual student reports and data Standardized regarding the school as a whole will be readily Testing accessible to students, parents and staff. This data will allow for on-going analysis of program effectiveness as well as provide convenient access to information on individual students, all of which will provide the foundation for making evidence-driven decisions.

Data Collection

We are currently investigating whether to engage the assistance of an external provider to create and manage the system or to design a database of our own. The providers we are considering include: •

Public School Performance (PSP), an organization that provides assistance with the development of benchmark assessments for the middle school grades as well as a scoring and data management system: http://www.publicschoolperformance.org/about.html

•

Veracross, an information management system that provides a means to integrate student academic information with other important information and allows staff and parents access to relevant data: http://www.veracross.com/home.aspx

•

Blackboard, an information management system that integrates academic and other relevant data from multiple sources: http://www.blackboard.com/inpractice/k12/

Communicating results: •

Parents will remain informed of their children’s progress by report cards and parent-teacher conferences. We will issue report cards at the end of each term. In keeping with the school’s focus on mastery, they will be a standards-based system aligned with the state curriculum frameworks and the school’s own benchmarks (See Performance Standards section for examples and further information on grading and promotion practices; see Attachment D for sample report card) We will hold parent – teacher meetings twice a year with the understanding that parents are free to arrange a conference in person or by phone at other times as needed.

•

The Board of Trustees will be informed of student achievement via quarterly reports from the database on the overall progress of cohorts of students and subgroups of students.

•

ESE will be informed by the school’s performance on MCAS as well as the annual report.

•

The broader community will remain posted of student achievement, school events and other news email blasts, the website, and the Annual Report.

Staff development All assessment data will be used to improve student learning. In the classroom, teachers will use the data to identify skill deficits and areas of needed support, inform teachers of lessons that require further reinforcement and change future instructional practices. The administration, working with committees of teachers, will use assessment and other data to identify areas of need in order to create the most relevant professional development possible.

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E. School Characteristics School Calendar, Hours of Operation, and Organization for Instruction School Calendar-GCA will generally align its school calendar with the Gloucester district school calendar. The school year will begin the week following Labor Day and conclude during mid- to late June. Students will attend school for 180 days. Faculty will work for a total of 185 days-180 days of instruction and 5 days of professional development. Professional development days will occur immediately prior to and during the school year. Hours of Operation-Teachers will arrive at school each day at 7:40 a.m. and depart at 4:00 p.m. Except for Wednesdays; students will arrive by 8:00 a.m. and will be dismissed at 3:00 p.m. Each Wednesday students will be dismissed at approximately 1:00 p.m., and during the afternoon teachers will participate in professional development. Organization for Instruction-(See Educational Philosophy-Instructional Practice; also a Typical Day for a Student and a Typical Day for a Teacher below) Implementation of Educational Program (See Educational Philosophy-Instructional Practice for a description of the implementation of the educational program in terms of the daily or weekly organization of students). Grade Level/Age Admission During the first year of operations, GCA will admit 40 students in grades 4-5 and 80 students in grades 67 for a total of 120 students. During year two, GCA will admit 40 students at grades 2-3, and 40 students will move from grades 6-7 to grade 8, and GCA will have a total of 200 students. During year three, GCA will admit 40 students in grades K-1, and GCA will have a total of 240 students (its capacity). When it has openings, GCA will admit students at every grade level except for grade 8. Kindergarteners will be accepted if their birthday falls before Sept. 1 of the academic year. External Programs GCA has no current plans to bring external programs into the school day. Typical Day for Students The sample schedules below provide a description of a typical day for a lower school student and an upper school student. They are intentionally designed to promote GCA’s learning goals of academic accomplishment, intellectual curiosity and civic engagement. Students acquire skills in the core content areas during much of the school day in order to become proficient readers, writers, and problem-solvers. Throughout their studies, students derive meaning and relevance by applying their learning to real-life issues and by expressing their learning through the Arts. Finally, students learn to become positive community members during the morning meeting times and practice what they learned during classes, recess, lunch and community clean up. Typical Day for 4th 5th Grader Time 7:45-8:00 8: 00-8:20 8:20-10:00 10:00-10:20 10:20-12:20 12:20-12:50 12:50-1:50

Monday Arrival Morning meeting in classrooms Humanities Recess and snack Math/Science and Technology Lunch Writers Workshop

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Typical Day for an 8th Grader Time 7:45-8:00 8: 00-8:20

Monday Arrival Morning meeting in classrooms

8:20-9:30 9:30-11:40 11:40-12:10

Math Humanities Lunch

12:10-1:10 1:10-2:00

Science Special (e.g., Physical Education, Art, Music)

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1:50-2:45 2:45-2:55 2:55-3:00 3:00

Special (e.g., Physical Education, Art, Music) School community chores Check In Dismissal

2:00-2:50 2:50-3:00 3:00

Portfolio development School community chores Dismissal

Typical Day for a Teacher Time

Monday

7:45

Arrival

8: 00-8:20 8:20-10:00

Morning meeting Teach core subjects

10:00-10:20

Monitor recess

10:20-12:20

Teach core subjects

12:20-12:50

Lunch

12:50-1:50 1:50-2:45

Teach Writers’ Workshop or team planning time Individual planning time

2:45-2:55

School community chores

2:55-3:00 3:00 3:00-4:00

Check In Dismissal Team planning time or faculty meeting

The schedule to the left represents a typical day for a lower school teacher. The schedule is designed to foster collaboration around curriculum, instruction and assessment. In addition to the full and half day staff development time, there will be time allotted during each day for cross-grade or crossdiscipline meetings. Typically, this time will be devoted to curriculum and assessment development and analysis of student data to inform instruction.

School Culture The culture of GCA is founded on a commitment to community. GCA students, teachers, and parents will work in partnership to create a community of learning that supports “academic accomplishment,” a community of the Arts that supports “intellectual curiosity” and a community of respect that supports “civic engagement.” Community of Learning: “Academic Accomplishment” Learning in community will pervade every aspect of the school. In the classroom, students will learn not only from their teachers but also from each other. During cooperative learning students will coach one another and collaborate to solve problems. To demonstrate their learning, students will collaborate together on class projects. Teachers at GCA will also learn in community. The schedule was designed in order to offer teachers one of the most valuable professional resources available, common planning time to collaborate on instruction, curriculum, and assessment during weekly professional time and after school. In addition, teachers will be encouraged to observe their colleagues’ teaching practices. Finally, parents will learn in community with their children and with their teachers. Teachers will clearly communicate learning goals to parents at the beginning of the school year, and parents will support their children’s academic growth at home with guidance and support from classroom teachers. Moreover, parents will be invited to participate in the classroom as helpers and as resources in their children’s learning. Finally, parents will be invited to conferences, team meetings and school-wide events to assess their children’s academic progress and celebrate their learning accomplishments. All school meeting provides an example of what the community of learning will look like at GCA. School meeting will occur every other day. It will honor student effort and progress, teacher accomplishments, and welcome community guest speakers to share their knowledge. At a typical meeting, a group of students may present a project, a community musical/dance group might perform, or a parent may share their own accomplishment. Community of Arts: “Intellectual Curiosity”

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GCA will resonate with integrated art exhibitions, visual displays, dance, music and theater performances. Students in the classroom will be consistently engaged and challenged in a variety of creative problem solving activities. Some lessons will require students to utilize at least one art form to demonstrate essential and authentic understanding of the core curriculum concepts and thematic questions carefully constructed by the teachers. In addition, students will draw on knowledge across disciplines to reach a deeper understanding from a variety of perspectives and will draw on the arts as a means to articulate the depth of their understanding. Peer dialogue and assessment will help students to better understand their own learning process as they compare their presentations. Community of Respect: “Civic Engagement” Respect will also be an integral part of the GCA community. A strong community is fundamental underpinning to strong student achievement and academic success. We have purposely established the school as a K-8 school in order to have the necessary time to build community with students, and will take steps to ensure that we take steps, some of which are outlined here, to begin that process immediately in the first year as a grades 4-7 school. The frameworks of both Responsive Classroom and the conflict resolution curriculum from Educators for Social Responsibility, classroom morning meeting, will be one of several opportunities for students to learn how to interact with their peers and teachers, to develop empathy and strengthen community. Class time will afford students with additional times to learn what respectful engagement is like when exploring different points of view, beliefs and attitudes related to academic material. Heterogeneous grouping, multi-age classrooms cooperative-learning, and group performances will foster an appreciation for individual differences and individual contributions to the school community. At the end of each school day students will contribute to the school community by performing daily chores, sharing the responsibility with school staff of making GCA an organized and welcoming community. Students in the lower grades will focus on developing the civic engagement expected within the classroom and the school as a whole. As students progress in to the upper grades they will have more opportunities to elaborate on what they have learned in the larger context of Gloucester itself. Through the service learning projects outlined in other sections of the application, students will gain an appreciation for actively contributing to the community while the city will gain the benefits of the services they offer. Discipline Philosophy Our discipline philosophy is based on: 1.) a proactive approach that offers students incentives to take leadership and model positive behavior, 2.) a recognition that a pattern of misbehavior is a sign that a student’s needs are not being met, and 3.) a commitment to civic engagement supporting student responsibility for actions. As part of the proactive approach, the school will be a community that fosters meaningful and respectful relationships among students and staff. The small size of the school as well as the numerous occasions seen in the schedule for staff and students to come together as a community classroom and all-school meetings as well as advising groups - will help to create these relationships. These connections will provide the foundation for preventing discipline issues. In addition, students who show strong leadership and exercise a positive influence on the school culture will earn privileges and gain greater responsibility in the community. For example, students who are positive role models may run meetings within the classroom or when the school meets as a whole. Students in the middle school grades, in particular, will have opportunities to exercise their seniority in the school through, for example, playing a leading role in student government and peer mediation, organizing the science fair, working with teachers to lead school trips and service projects and taking occasional opportunities to teach students in the younger grades. When negative behavior occurs, GCA will have adjustment counselors/social workers available to provide intervention. The counselors will help students, teachers, administrators, and parents understand student behaviors. Student behaviors that interfere with learning will first and foremost, be viewed as data to be used for understanding the child. The child’s behaviors will not be defined as a “problem” but instead taken to mean that the child has needs that are not being meant. It will be the role of the counselor

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working with the teachers, parents, advisor, and administrators to figure out what those needs are and how to best address them. When applicable, counselors will work with relevant community agencies and social service organizations to offer students the support they need outside of school as well. At the same time, our goal of civic engagement includes a strong ethos of personal responsibility, which we will promote through logical consequences. For example, if a sixth grader is disruptive in class over a period of days and the teacher’s efforts to work through the issue with the student outside of class have not brought about any improvement, the teacher will engage the parents and counselor in a “fact-finding” conversation about the student, in order to try and understand the student’s behavior within a larger context. Together, they will decide on a course of action designed to support the student more effectively, such as meeting with the counselor on a regular basis or altering the classroom environment. At the same time, the teacher will administer a natural and logical consequence so the student has the opportunity to take responsibility for his/her actions. For example, the teacher and student may collaborate to identify a way for the student to “give back” or make reparations to the classroom community. This “give back” may be in the form of a written letter of apology or the student making up the lost academic time after school. Suspensions and expulsions will be taken as a last resort, particularly in grades K-5, where they are virtually unheard-of in high-performing elementary schools. In situations where safety is a concern, such as in the case of the possession of drugs, alcohol, weapons or other serious offenses, suspension or expulsion may result. The norms of the GCA school community will be outlined in our family handbook, distributed to parents and students before the start of school. School staff, utilizing other charter school handbooks as a reference, will create the handbook. An informational meeting, held prior to the opening of school, will outline the core values of the school along with expectations of behavior following the expectations as outlined in the student handbook. Special Education students will adhere to the discipline procedures outlined in the student handbook, insofar as they align with their Individual Education Plans. Family-School Partnerships and Parent Satisfaction Parents are an integral part of the GCA learning environment. At enrollment time, parents will receive an orientation packet explaining opportunities for parents’ involvement, and inviting parents to become part of the school community. Parents will be invited to assist teachers in the classroom, attend school-wide community meetings, organize after-school programs, and coordinate service-learning projects in the city of Gloucester. Parents will serve as members of review panels when students present their work. Periodic events such as multicultural festivals and family evenings when students will make performances and demonstrate their accomplishments will provide opportunities to explain the curriculum and how parents can support their children’s academic growth at home. In addition, a Parent and Teacher Council will provide a formal setting for discussion of parent-staff initiatives. At home, parents will be encouraged to facilitate a learning environment that supports the continuing education of their child. Adjustment counselors, teachers, and administrators will keep parents apprised of their child’s progress by phone, email and regularly issued report cards. GCA will gauge parent satisfaction through surveys and focus groups. Surveys will be conducted twice per year, and focus groups will be held once per year. Both the surveys and the focus groups will assess parent satisfaction with GCA in meeting its mission. Results of the surveys and focus groups will be entered into the school database system and will be shared with parents, students, teachers, school staff, administrators and the board of trustees as another source of information for continuous school improvement. Community Organizations and Agencies Relationships GCA expects to establish relationships with several organizations and agencies in Gloucester. To support classroom learning, GCA expects to establish relationships with seARTS, the Gloucester Stage Company, the Maritime Heritage Center for Marine Studies and the Gloucester Historical Society. To support service learning, GCA expects to establish relationships with Pathways for Children, Wellspring House,

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and Action, Inc. GCA has already arranged meetings to design collaboration with Lesley University, Montserrat College of Art, and Salem State College for teacher training and for volunteer opportunities in the school. Other local colleges that we may contact include Gordon College and Endicott College. F. Special Student Populations and Student Services Ensuring Adequate Instructional Support for All Students and Teachers GCA is committed to providing all students with full access to the curriculum and to ensuring that all students meet the expectations articulated in the school’s mission statement. In order to provide this access, GCA will maintain a Child Study Team, comprised of the Special Education Administrator, special education teachers, classroom teachers, the school nurse, and the school counselor. GCA will comply with all applicable laws related to special student populations and student services, including MGL Chapter 71A, MGL Chapter 71B, and IDEA 2004. GCA’s Executive Director will have the responsibility to hire appropriate staff and to ensure the school provides adequate instructional support for students and teachers, including reading instruction at the elementary level, remedial instruction, linguistic instruction, and consultative services for teachers. Developing Individualized Education Plans (IEP’s) and Compliance with State and Federal Special Education Requirements GCA will hire a special education administrator (SEA) responsible for the administration of special education programs, including the development of IEP’s, teacher training, and the management of special education contractors. Teachers, staff or parents who identify areas of concern for a particular student will notify the SEA. The SEA, along with the Child Study Team, will determine the appropriate intervention. The SEA will oversee the evaluation of each referred student and the creation of IEP’s, as needed, in collaboration with teachers, staff and parents. Creation of new IEP’s and annual reviews of IEP’s will be conducted by a team including special education staff, teachers, and outside specialists, as appropriate. Consultations with parents, teachers, and staff will be an integral part of the entire process, ensuring that all parties have input and that students’ special services needs are met. GCA will provide instruction, equipment and other supplementary aides, as well as the services of outside specialists, such as speech or physical therapists, as specified in the IEP and in accordance state and federal regulations as outlined in IDEA. Students with disabilities will be integrated into the classroom as much as is feasible, embracing the principles of Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) and Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). GCA also will maintain a Student Support room with the capability to coordinate and provide in-class support, out-of-class services, specialty services, supplementary aides, and professional development for classroom teachers and aides. Finally, GCA recognizes its obligation to provide for all programs that are described in IEP’s from previous schools. Location, Time, and General Staffing of Special Education Services All reasonable efforts will be made to provide special education services within the regular classroom during academic instruction using techniques, such as differentiated instruction through learning centers, which will allow the special education staff to be included in targeted instruction of both special education students and students at risk. Special education staff will use school professional development and common planning time to coordinate instruction and modify curriculum with classroom teachers. When a student requires individual instruction or services beyond what could be expected in the classroom, services will be provided outside of the classroom under the provisions of the IEP. The special education staff will be comprised of a SEA, two full-time time special education teachers, supported by contracted part-time pediatric occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech therapists. As part of the requirements of certification, mandated by federal law and regulation, all special education service providers will be certified or licensed by the Commonwealth. As part of the certification, the staff will develop a continuing education plan.

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Special Education Staffing Levels GCA Intends to Provide by Year Based on an analysis of MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education data for the Gloucester school district, the Special Education population is expected to be approximately 20% of enrolled students. During year one, GCA will employ one part-time SEA and one-full-time Special Education teacher. During years two through five, GCA will employ one full-time SEA and two full-time Special Education teachers. During years one through five, GCA will outsource services for pediatric occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech and language therapy evaluations, and integration evaluations. The contracts for outsource services will be developed by the Executive Director with the assistance of the SEA. Identifying and Evaluating Students who Require English Language Proficiency Testing GCA will use home language surveys for new students as the first step to identifying Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students. If the home language survey indicates the student’s home language is not English, then interviews with the parent(s) and child will be conducted and screening tests such as IDEA Proficiency Test Oral (IPT) and the Language Assessment Scales-O (Oral), will be given. If the student is found to be non-English speaking or LEP, then the student will be designated an English Language Learner (ELL). The Massachusetts English Language Assessment-Oral (MELA-O) and Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessment (MEPA) will be administered to assess and monitor English language proficiency. Assessment will be administered by a consultant specialist with experience in immersion teaching methods and the assessment of ELL students. Services and Support for Students Who Are English Language Learners In accordance with the English immersion law, LEP students will be in general education classes. GCA plans to train teachers in sheltered immersion practices, in addition to hiring a part-time consultant in second language acquisition, who will provide technical support for teachers and assess students. Given that Gloucester has only 3.4% of its entire student population designated as first language not English and 2.1% as limited English proficient, GCA anticipates fewer than 5 ELL students in its first year of operation. Teaching of English to speakers of other languages (ESOL) will use multi-sensory instruction and focus on ELA, emphasizing reading and vocabulary. GCA will have on staff a certified English Language Learners (ELL) teacher who has passed the MTEL (ESL Test), the Communication & Literacy test to assess English proficiency and meets the MA HOUSSE requirements. The ELL teacher’s salary will be comparable to salary scales in the Gloucester area. Nutrition Program GCA will offer lunch, including free and reduced lunches for those students who qualify. GCA hopes to participate in the Federal School Lunch program and will comply with all applicable regulations. GCA will select, through a bidding process, a food services provider and will ensure that meals meet federal dietary guidelines. Plan for Addressing Student Health Needs GCA will comply with all state and MA Department of Health requirements and laws to develop a School Health Plan and Medications Administration Plan. GCA will provide nursing services and health-related educational programs to our students. The school nurse will provide basic medical care, health screenings (vision, hearing, postural), and medication administration; ensure all health/immunization records are upto-date, and maintain records related to these responsibilities. The nurse and the school counselor will provide counseling and outreach programs to ensure students make full use of school services. GCA will have access to a physician. Plan to Evaluate the Special Populations’ Programs Data Maintenance GCA will use a database program that will maintain special populations’ records such as reviews, evaluations, and written plans, including IEP’s. The program will produce documents, such as parent invitations to team meetings and permission forms for evaluations in accordance to the

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requirements of the MA Department of Education. The database will generate reports for the MA Department of Education as required and be used as the basis for filing grant requests. Staff Annual Training Staff will be trained in the latest procedures, obligations and requirements for special populations. At this time IEP’s and other special population plans will be disseminated and explored for understanding. The staff will commit themselves to the provisions of the plans. During the year, as new plans are developed, the staff will again commit themselves to the provisions of the new plans. Program Self Assessment A multi-prong approach will be used to determine if the special education program is meeting the needs of the current students and meeting the needs of the general populations of the school. These approaches will include: • Satisfaction surveys of parents & staff to gauge how well each part of the special populations process (communication, goal writing, parent involvement, time lines, etc) is working. • Reviews of special populations’ files to insure all regulations are being followed. • Comparing MCAS growth of special population students to other students. • Record keeping of plan goal achievement. An annual report, on the above items, will be available to the public. The Board of Trustees will use the report to adjust procedures, create programs, and make any other changes needed.

III. How will the school demonstrate organizational viability? A. Enrollment and Recruitment ¾ Indicate the number of students to be enrolled by grade each year and over the total for the five-year term of the charter, as well as the maximum enrollment requested. Explain in detail you rationale for selecting the particular enrollment size for your school as well as the growth strategy you have developed. The Gloucester Community Arts Charter School (GCA) will open in Fall 2010 with an initial enrollment of 120 students in grades 4, 5, 6, and 7. Grades 2, 3, and 8 will be added in 2011 with an enrollment of 200 students. By 2012, the GCA will reach its full capacity of 240 students in grades K through 8. GCA is designed to be a relatively small school in order to create and maintain an intimate learning environment promoting student achievement, and a strong community where every student, parent and teacher feels a deep sense of belonging. We chose to expand over the course of three years to provide the best educational opportunities for our students, while maintaining our multiage grouping. This expansion will allow us to thoughtfully and deliberately develop our curriculum, gradually bring on new high quality staff, and closely manage the development of the school culture. We chose to focus on the higher grades (4-7) initially, in order to meet the demand for an alternative at the middle school level. We arrived at a total enrollment of 240 students as the optimal number to maintain relatively small class sizes. Our enrollment in grades 6-8 will be twice that of the elementary grades (120 students in grades K-5 and 120 students in grades 6-8). This strategy will also help meet the demand for middle school alternatives in Gloucester. 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th Total grade grade grade grade grade grade grade grade Student Enrollment First year 0 0 0 0 20 20 40 40 0 120 Second year 0 0 20 20 20 20 40 40 40 200 Third year 20 20 20 20 20 20 40 40 40 240 ¾ Provide a description of how the founding group has assessed parental demand within the proposed sending district(s)/region for the proposed school. School Year K

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The founding group of GCA Charter School has assessed the parental demand in the district in the following ways: Parent volunteers have circulated petitions that indicate that the signer recognizes the need for educational opportunities for Gloucester children, and that he/she believes that a Commonwealth Charter School will provide a viable alternative in Gloucester. To date, 455 signatures have been collected in support of the establishment of GCA. Several letters of support from a wide sector of Gloucester’s population, including parents, educators, and community organizations have already been sent. More are on the way. In addition, demonstratable evidence of parental demand for educational options is supported by the fact that 30% of Gloucester’s children do not choose to attend the district schools (3 times the state average), choosing instead to attend private schools, to choice out to neighboring districts, or to be home-schooled. In 2007, students in every grade chose other school options, with the largest number lost between 5th & 6th grade: further evidence of demand for a middle-school alternative. ¾ Describe how the school will publicize its program to a broad cross-section of prospective students throughout the district that the school plans to serve. The school has already begun to publicize its anticipated program to members of the community through newspaper articles, a televised public meeting, announcements on our local cable TV station, and in both local newspapers. We will continue and intensify our community outreach by advertising in the local newspapers (the Gloucester Daily Times and the Cape Ann Beacon) and our local cable TV station. We will disseminate flyers at events throughout the city, including the Harbor Loop weekly outdoor summer concerts, the Farmer’s Market, the annual Sidewalk Bazaar and the annual Waterfront Festival. We will also host informational booths at some of these events. Several organizations have agreed to distribute information on our behalf. In addition, flyers will be posted at the YMCA, the Sawyer Free Library and other venues with high traffic. We will offer information in English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. We have launched a website (www.GCAcharterschool.org) that promotes our school and its educational program. This will be kept up-to-date. The website also offers contact information and opportunities for people to volunteer. In addition, founding members and volunteers will host more community gatherings in which they will educate and inform residents about GCA. Presentations, Q & A, and written materials will be part of these meetings. These meetings will be publicized through phone calls, emails, and /or announcements in the local newspapers and cable television as well as door-to-door canvassing. Our larger community meetings will be also video-recorded for the local cable channel. Since the GCA promotes community service, we will be fostering relationships with various community groups throughout Cape Ann. We have already made strong connections with seARTS, a local non-profit that encourages and supports the arts on Cape Ann; and TimeBanks, an international organization that fosters community through facilitating the exchange of assistance and services. We expect these organizations, as well as many others, to help us generate interest in GCA. Additionally, both Lesley University and Montserrat College of Art have expressed interest in a collaborative relationship with GCA. In order to fulfill our commitment that GCA’s population reflects the District’s population, we will also partner with organizations that offer early childhood intervention and public assistance such as Pathways for Children, Wellspring House and the Cape Ann Food Pantry. Our outreach materials will be presented in English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese so as to connect with the diverse population of Gloucester. ¾ Describe the proposed application and enrollment process, including a plan for a public lottery. GCA will be open to all students who are eligible to attend the District Schools and will meet all state regulations and requirements. In Fall 2009 we will host more informational meetings, at which time our enrollment application will be available. The application will also be available at scheduled meetings,

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online, at designated locations in the community and will be sent to all interested families. The application for enrollment will be available in English, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. Each year, the application deadline will be in early March. The application will ask students and guardians to confirm, by signature, that they understand GCA’s mission, approach and expectations. Applicants will also be encouraged to attend an information session. If we are oversubscribed, we will hold a public lottery in March to select students randomly. Students’ names will be drawn by a neutral 3rd party and recorded in the order in which they are selected. Preference will be given to Gloucester residents and to siblings of students already attending the school. In the week following the lottery, families of perspective students will be contacted to confirm their interest in enrolling their child. Families of remaining applicants will be contacted and informed of their child’s position on schools waiting list. Students will be enrolled from the waiting list, in order, as seats become available in the school. If there are openings available after all Gloucester students are placed, we will offer students from neighboring communities the opportunity to apply through School Choice. B. Capacity The GCA founding group gathered with a common desire to build new educational options, open to the Gloucester community. The initial founders began meeting in May 2007, and the group grew over the summer through word of mouth. By Fall 2007, the founding group began meeting monthly through August 2008. During September 2008, the founding group elected a Founding Board, and the Founding Board created several working committees - educational design, community relations, finance, facilities, and governance. The Founding Board meets every two weeks, with committees meeting more frequently to complete specific assignments. Founding Board committees have written appropriate sections of the charter application (e.g., the educational design team has written the assessment section), and the full Founding Board has reviewed and approved those sections. Below is a summary of each founder’s experience and qualifications. An (FB) next to a person’s name means that he or she is a current member of the Founding Board. A (BT) next to a person’s name means that he or she is a proposed member of the Board of Trustees: Karen Aquipel (FB) (BT) has experience in community organizing and school advocacy. She serves on two local boards (one as the president) that advocate for the public schools. Amy Ballin (FB) (BT) served as President of a local educational board, organized a successful mayoral campaign, and facilitated the building of a $500,000 community science park. Amy is an educator, LICSW and a doctoral student at Lesley University in the School of Education. Kathy Bertagna earned a Master's Degree in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is on the board of a local school advocacy group, and she works as an administrator for the American Hockey Coaches Association. Dave Buchanan (FB) (BT) worked in schools for over 15 years, teaching history, ESL, reading and writing skills. He currently works at MA Dept of Elementary and Secondary Education to improve curriculum, writing instruction and assessment at the state level. Kathleen Dailey has worked as a music teacher for 8 years at the elementary level. She specializes in integrating music into the core curriculum. Bruce Kaneb (FB) (BT) is an attorney and educator. He has 15 years of experience in middle school as a teacher, department chair and assistant principal. Currently, he works as the Associate Academic Director of Professional Education at the Harvard School of Education. Kate Ruff (FB) (BT) is a consultant to non-profit organizations who specializes in monitoring and evaluating double bottom line organizations and business planning for social enterprises. She has worked

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with organizations in Nepal, Canada the UK and US. Prior to her nonprofit work, Kate did marketing and business planning in the private sector for start-ups, including her own dot com. Peter Van Ness (FB) (BT) is founder and President of Van Ness Group, Inc. -- a full service web development, marketing and PR firm based in Gloucester. Peter served on the board of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (seARTS) for two years. He resigned as a director of seARTS in October 2008 in order to devote more time to GCA. Vickie Van Ness (FB) is co-founder and CFO of Van Ness Group, Inc. Vickie has over 20 years experience in project management and finance for major corporations. Vickie also serves on the Business Women's Executive Committee of the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce and has recently been appointed by Mayor Kirk to the Community Development Facilities Committee. Dan Warren (FB) is an elementary public school teacher with five years of experience in the classroom. Dan also has training and extensive experience in research methodology, data analysis, and program evaluation. The Founding Group is working to expand the Board in order to increase capacity. To that end, the following individuals, who were not part of the founding group, have agreed to join the Founding Board in anticipation joining the Board of Trustees. Gordon Baird (BT) is the retired founder & publisher of Billboard's Musician Magazine. Gordon is an award winning TV producer, member of Actor’s Equity, Founder of West End Theatre and has appeared in numerous productions at North Shore Music Theater, Lyric Stage Co., Seacoast Repertory Theater, Reagle Players, etc. He teaches theatre at several area schools and has been actively involved in promoting and improving public education in Gloucester since 1979. Rick Ciolino (BT) is President of the Cape Ann YMCA and a financial advisor at the Wealth Management department of Beverly National Bank.

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C. School Governance • Governance Structure GCA’s organizational structure is shown below: Board of Trustees

Executive Director

Executive Assistant

Director of Students, Families and Community

Director of Education

Special Ed Admin

School Counselor

Non- SPED Instructional Staff

Nurse

SPED Instructional Staff

The Executive Director (ED) will be responsible for the daily management of the school and for budget, finance, facilities, fundraising, and transportation -- with assistance from the Executive Assistant for Operations (EA), who will manage the day-to-day financial and facilities operations. The ED will report directly to the Board of Trustees. The Director of Education (DE) will be responsible for curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The Director of Students, Families, and Community (DSFC) will be responsible for school culture, student support, family partnerships, community relations, and school health and safety. It is anticipated that during the first two years of operation, the EA and the DFSC will be part-time positions -- and will become full-time positions by the end of the third year of operation. •

Roles and Responsibilities

Board of Trustees The Board of Trustees will hold the charter for the school -- and thus will be legally, morally and ethically responsible for the school. The Board will be responsible for all governance issues, specifically: •

Mission, policy, and strategic planning: Ensures GCA’s alignment with the school’s stated mission, vision, and charter. Creates policies and plans to implement and enhance the mission and governance. Sets the strategic direction and reviews progress against strategic plans and goals.

•

Executive Director oversight: Recruits, selects, supports, and evaluates the ED, who will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the school. Sets compensation for the ED. Provides the ED guidance and support.

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•

Financial oversight: Ensures GCA’s financial health. Reviews and approves the annual budget. Ensures adherence to the budget. Develops and implements a fundraising program, and assists in securing funds for the school.

•

Promotion and accountability to the public: Promotes GCA to the public and enhances GCA’s public standing. Expands the networks and relationships that can help fulfill the school’s mission. Participates actively in the Gloucester community, especially in activities related to GCA’s mission. Recruits new Board members.

•

Legal and regulatory compliance: Ensures compliance with laws and regulations and conformity to the charter. Reviews compliance on a regular basis. Ensures filing of all legal and regulatory documents. Please see the GCA Draft Bylaws in the attachments for more details.

Criteria and Process the Board Will Use to Choose the Executive Director The criteria for choosing the Executive Director will include: • Commitment to GCA’s mission and vision • Experience in and knowledge of education and educational issues • Skills in leadership, management, finances and strategic thinking • Excellent communication skills and team-building abilities • A history of high-level of professional achievement, especially in start-up environments • Connections and commitment to the city of Gloucester The ED must also be able to fulfill the responsibilities described in the Management section of this document. Once GCA’s charter is granted, the Chair of the Board will appoint a search committee to develop a formal description for the position of ED. The search committee will screen and interview candidates then select a candidate, seeking input from GCA stakeholders during the process. Criteria and Process by Which the Board Will Evaluate the Executive Director The criteria used to evaluate the ED will be based upon a performance plan that includes measures of effective employee relations, efficient administration, strategic annual and long-term planning, high academic achievement, inspirational leadership, disciplined fiscal management, external public relations, and effective board stewardship - including assisting the Board to increase its effectiveness to deliver on its annual and long-term accountability plans. The performance review process will follow these steps: 1. The Board will appoint a committee annually to conduct the review. 2. The committee will develop a performance review process, which will include gathering input from constituencies, and timetable. 3. The committee will review the current job description for the ED, the ED’s performance during the past year, and GCA’s educational and strategic plans. 4. Based on the results of the review, the ED will develop and support to the Board an annual action plan. The plan will identify strengths, weaknesses and strategies for continued professional development and for any supporting role the Board can play. 5. The board will annually review the evaluation process to make improvements. Role Distinctions between the Board and the School Administration •

Curriculum: The curriculum is the responsibility of the school administration within the framework of state and national standards and policies set in place by the Board.

•

Personnel decisions: The Board hires, supervises, evaluates, compensates, and, if necessary, terminates the ED. The ED hires, supervises, evaluates, and makes compensation decisions for all staff within the pay scales and budget set by the Board, as provided by the annual budget. The Board makes personnel policy, including wage and salary scales, fringe benefits, vacation plans,

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and may act as a grievance committee. The ED may delegate some personnel decisions to direct reports. •

Budget allocations: The ED prepares the annual budget with staff input. The budget is initially reviewed and approved by the Board’s Finance Committee prior to presentation it to, the full Board for review and approval.

•

Vendor selection: Vendor selection is the responsibility of the school administration within the legal frameworks set by state and national laws, and policies set by the Board.

Job description for the Board of Trustees Chair and Plan for Succession When Term Ends The role of Chair of the Board of Trustees includes presiding over meetings, coauthoring the agendas, overseeing committee appointments, setting goals for the Board, creating a safe environment for decisionmaking, communicating with the Board, supporting the ED, cultivating future leadership on the Board, and communicating with major stakeholders. The succession plan for the Board Chair is included in Article III, section 4 of GCA’s Draft Bylaws in the required attachments. •

Policy Development

GCA Draft Bylaws (See Attachmens A). Process by Which the Board of Trustees Will Develop Policies and Make Decisions Policy development can be initiated for many reasons including gaps in existing policies, changes in operating practices, external influences, changes in the size, scope, or methods of offering services, changes in the laws, or ambiguous or inconsistent existing policies. Upon identifying the possible need for a new policy, GCA will follow this policy development process: 1. The full Board will assess the need for a new policy as well as the need to solicit input from other parties, including GCA staff if appropriate. 2. The appropriate Board committee, a sub-committee, or task force will draft the proposed policy. 3. The ED will seek input from other parties as described below. 4. A draft of the policy will be created and, if appropriate, reviewed by legal counsel. 5. If appropriate, the proposed policy will be published to stakeholders. 6. The draft policy will be presented to the Board for final approval or revision. Seeking Feedback from the School Staff, Parents and the Larger Community When Setting Policy The ED and the Board will seek input and involvement of key constituents including staff, parents and the community in setting board-level policy. GCA views parental involvement in education as an especially critical success factor for its students. Acting on behalf of the Board, the ED and DSFC will hold the principal responsibility for gathering staff, parent, and community input, whether that input is for setting policy or evaluating the school’s effectiveness. Avenues for seeking such input may include: • All-staff meetings: The ED and DSFC will request staff feedback on the proposed policy. • Parent and Teacher Council: will be asked for their feedback • Surveys: using our Web site will collect data on opinions. • Community forums: The ED and DSFC will host community forums where stakeholders can share their thoughts regarding existing or proposed policies. • Weekly school community meetings: GCA’s weekly school community meeting will provide an opportunity for students to share their views on existing or proposed policies. The ED will share input from community members with the Board. Additionally, the Board may invite community members to participate in the policy development process when appropriate. Legal Counsel and an Independent Auditor

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Legal counsel and an independent auditor have not yet been retained. The Board is in the process of seeking recommendations in this area from the Massachusetts Center for Charter Public School Excellence. If chartered, the Board will interview a number of firms and individual practitioners. •

Board Development

Orientation Process for New Board Members The Trusteeship Committee, as described in GCA’s attached Draft Bylaws, is responsible for ongoing orientation of new members. The Trusteeship Committee will develop a Board manual which will include bylaws, the charter, current budget, biographies of current board members, and more. After providing the Board manual to new members for review, the Trusteeship Committee will also organize an orientation session. The topics presented at the orientation session will include GCA’s mission and vision, Board roles, responsibilities, and performance expectations; the Board’s relationship to the ED and other staff; Board finances, fundraising, program, students and community. Process for Board Evaluation and Development The Trusteeship Committee will be responsible for board development and training activities, including the development of meeting survey forms, the maintenance of assessment data and the plan for board improvement. Annually, the Board will complete a self-assessment to evaluate its own effectiveness and capacity in areas such as attendance, meeting effectiveness, commitment, etc. The self-assessment activities will be used to develop goals and a plan for improving the Board. At time, the GCA Board of Trustees will conduct training activities using an independent consultant specializing in governance, particularly regarding charter school boards. Recruitment, Selection, and Development Plans for Board Members The Board of Trustees will establish a Trusteeship Committee that will be responsible for overseeing the process for recruiting, selecting and developing new members. The Trusteeship Committee’s specific duties are described in Article VI, section 3 of GCA’s Draft Bylaws in the attachments. The following criteria will be used to select Board members: • Expertise in strategic planning, senior management/leadership, accounting/finance, fundraising, law, marketing/PR, governance, facilities/real estate, education, community representation/organizing. • Belief in GCA’s mission. • Time to participate fully in the board role. • Commitment and connections to the community of Gloucester. • Personal and professional networks that can support GCA’s mission. • Ability to work well in groups. • Addition of diverse perspectives to the board. D. Management Structure ¾ Describe how the school will make key organizational decisions about curriculum and instruction, student achievement, fiscal planning and operations. •

(See organizational chart, reporting structure, roles and responsibilities of GCA's staff given in Organizational Chart and Narrative in the Governance section.)

•

(See descriptions and answers under (1) Roles and Responsibilities and (2) Role Distinctions below.)

•

Roles and Responsibilities

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Executive Director The ED is the school’s leader, responsible for the overall management of the organization. The ED will report directly to the Board of Trustees. The ED’s responsibilities will include: • Working with the Board to support and guide the deliberations on the school’s mission, direction and strategic plan. Working with the Board Chair to establish the Board’s role, calendar, meeting times and meeting agenda. Providing the Board any information needed to function effectively, including the condition of the school and material legal issues. • Informing the school staff and parents about the role and key decisions of the Board. • Working with the DE to ensure that the educational program follows GCA’s mission and charter. Measuring, monitoring, and evaluating the success of the program. • Recruiting, hiring, training and evaluation of the DE, the DSFC, the SEA and all other staff with the assistance of his/her direct reports. • Developing the budget with the Board and ensuring proper financial management to that budget. • Managing the accounting and auditing functions in conjunction with the Board. • Working with the Board to support fundraising activities. Managing school facilities, including construction, renovations and daily maintenance. • Overseeing the EA, whose responsibilities will include purchasing, payroll, equipment, transportation, and out-sourced services. • Ensuring that all legal and regulatory documents, including the annual report and charter renewal application, are filed. • Acting as spokesperson to visitors, donors, governmental entities, etc. Director of Education The DE will be hired by and report to the ED. The DE is the instructional leader of the school, overseeing the day-to-day management of the educational program, including: • Supervising non-SPED instructional staff, including ELL staff. Working with ED to hire nonSPED instructional faculty. Mentoring and assessing teachers. Overseeing the professional development program. Supporting teachers on all teaching-related issues. • Ensuring that the curriculum and instructional methods support GCAs mission and philosophy, and that the curriculum is aligned with the MA Curriculum Frameworks. Reviewing GCA’s curricula to determine effectiveness and overseeing implementation of changes. Reviewing and offering feedback on teachers’ curricula and instructional practices. • Ensuring GCA meets its student achievement objectives. Director of Students, Families and Community The DFSC will be hired by and report to the ED. The DFSC’s responsibilities will include: • Creating plans for communication between parents, students, faculty and administration. • Coordinating school community activities, including daily morning meetings and weekly schoolwide community meetings. • Collecting feedback on the educational program. • Communicating with parents about student concerns. • Supporting teachers in the classroom with student behavior. • Creating partnerships with outside organizations and individual volunteers. • Overseeing the school health and nutrition program. Special Education Administrator The SEA will be hired jointly by the ED and the DE, but ultimately reporting to the DE. The SEA will oversee the delivery of special education services, administer the special education program, provide

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teacher training, manage special education contractors and ensure compliance with all state and federal laws and regulations. The SEA will be a certified special education administrator. •

Role Distinctions

Curriculum, Instruction and Student Achievement: GCA’s student achievement goals will be established by the Board, in consultation with the ED. The ED will be the ultimate decision-maker with regard to curriculum, instruction and student achievement, but will solicit the opinions of the DE, the DSFC, the SEA and teachers. Implementation of the curriculum, instruction and, ultimately, student achievement will be the responsibility of all teachers, including SPED and ELL teachers. The DE will provide support for curriculum development. Finally, the ED will report student achievement to the Board. Personnel: The Board will hire the ED, and the ED will hire the DE, the DSFC and the SEA. The ED will make all decisions related to hiring administrative personnel. The ED, with consultation from the DE, the DSFC, and SEC, will be the main decision-maker when hiring instructional staff. Because personnel decisions belong to the management functions, approval will be granted by the ED. Fiscal Planning and Financial Management: This area is governed by the Board, which is ultimately accountable for GCA’s finances. The ED will work with the Board’s Finance Committee to prepare the long-term financial plan, to which the ED will manage the school’s operations. Implementation of the financial plan will be the responsibility of the ED. Fiscal operations will be supported by a CPA, who will annually review the GCA’s accounting books. Fiscal management is discussed in more detail in the School Finances section of this document. Operations: The Board will set goals related to such operational issues as facilities planning, acquisition, remodeling, and policy on vendor selection as well as transportation. The ED will make all major decisions regarding facilities construction and maintenance, equipment, transportation, vendors, payroll, and transportation. The EA will support the ED in these areas. •

Policy Development

GCA has established a Conflict of Interest Policy that states that the school may not be operated for the benefit of individuals related to GCA or organizations affiliated or unaffiliated with GCA, unless the benefit is considered merely incidental. The policy states that GCA will follow all applicable Massachusetts laws in this area. The policy also states that a board member may not consider or vote upon a matter in which he/she or a related party or group has a financial interest. The Founding Group followed the process below in adopting this policy. 1. Reviewed the MA Department of Education’s documents, Charter School Administration and Governance Guide and Opening Procedures Handbook: A Guide for Boards of Trustees and Leaders of New Charter Schools. 2. Consulted other MA charter schools. 3. Wrote the draft policy. 4. Revised the draft policy after feedback from the Founding Board. 5. Finalized the policy. • Educational Leadership ¾ Describe the process for the development, supervision, coordination, and continual assessment of the educational content and pedagogical approach of the school. The ED will oversee the process of supervising, coordinating, assessing and improving GCA’s educational content and pedagogical approaches, as a means to achieve consistent improvement in student achievement. The DE will manage the selection, adaptation, and development of curricula. GCA will create vertical content area teams (e.g., K-8 Humanities) as well as horizontal, multi-age grouping teams (e.g., grade 2-3). Each content area team will have a team leader. During Spring and Summer 2010, teams will select and develop grades 4-6 curriculum in consultation with the DE and SEA. Curriculum

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development and revisions will continue throughout the school year for these start-up grades. Also, each summer while new grades are being added to the school, new curriculum will be developed until a complete K–8 program is designed. After initial implementation, a cyclical process of curriculum improvement will be employed. Integral to that process, is GCA’s DE, who will oversee regular reviews of curricula at all grades to ensure continued alignment with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. Reviews of curriculum and pedagogy will occur at GCA in a variety of ways: • Early release Wednesdays, when GCA’s teachers, specialists, the SEA and DE will meet for 120 minutes to discuss the curriculum and pedagogy • Professional development days, 5 full-days of professional development to complete a comprehensive review of the curriculum and to review alignment with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. • Individualized teacher meetings, conducted on an as needed basis, at which teachers will be expected to review and analyze the student achievement data and MCAS and come up with suggestions regarding curriculum and instructional improvement. During the review process, any recommendations to change the curriculum, instruction or areas requiring further investigation will be recorded by the DE. The DE will ensure changes are incorporated into teaching practice over time. Opportunities for professional development will be added to the professional development plans of individual teachers as deemed appropriate and in consultation with the teacher(s) (See the Assessment section under Plans for teachers, administrators, and other school staff to engage in professional development). As the final step in the curriculum development cycle, the DE and SEA will meet with teachers to update them about any changes to the educational program, including curriculum, lesson plans and teaching techniques. Specific lesson plans and techniques will be collectively discussed and improved. The cycling process will ensure the GCA focuses continuously on improving student achievement. DE’s Use of Student Assessment Data to Improve Instruction to Lead to Increased Student Achievement (See Assessment System section of the Application)

Use of Student Assessment Data to Plan Staff Development to Support Improved Student Achievement. (See Assessment System section of the Application). Human Resources ¾ Indicate the number of faculty to be hired during each of the first three years. Explain the process of determining job positions, roles, and responsibilities. On an as needed basis to supplement permanent staff, GCA will hire education specialist such as:: therapists, testing services, ELL specialists, substitutes, guest artists, physical education consultants. Other contracted services include bookkeeping, legal, payroll, and grant-writing. All staff will participate in an orientation and training session prior to GCA’s opening day. The ED will create job descriptions for her/his direct reports. The ED

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will also oversee and approve the creation of job descriptions for all other jobs at GCA. Job descriptions will include skills and expertise and also link these to GCA’s mission and culture. Plan for Staff Recruitment, Advancement, and Retention To recruit staff GCA will: • Leverage the founders’, Board’s, and future staff’s connections with educators. • Advertise in area newspapers and in education publications (e.g., Education Week). • Recruit through local universities and colleges (e.g., Lesley College) • Post job openings on web sites (e.g., K-12 Jobs.com, Monster.com, GCA’s website). • Contact education organizations and associations (e.g., Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, Massachusetts Center for Charter Public School Excellence). • Attend job fairs. GCA expects to retain and advance teachers by: • Creating a supportive work environment. • Offering a compelling teaching opportunity. • Offering professional development and career growth opportunities. • Providing mentoring to new teachers. • Offering competitive salaries and benefits. How Individuals’ Base Salaries and Increases Will be Determined Individual salaries will be based on a pay scale to be developed by the ED in Fall 09. It will consider the employee's education, years of teaching experience, years of other relevant experience, and the competitiveness of the job market for each position. The scale will be in line with the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association's Charter School Salary Survey and the local district. While there is some flexibility in the schools payroll budget, hiring committees will carefully consider the salary projected for each position when selecting candidates. Salaries will be increased periodically with the intent of staying competitive in the marketplace. How the Faculty and Administrators will be Evaluated The process the Board uses to evaluate the ED is described earlier in the Capacity section of this document in the Roles and Responsibilities sub-section. The ED will evaluate his/her direct reports and oversee the evaluation of all other employees. Employees will be reviewed based on meeting their job’s requirements and performance goals. The process, aligned with the academic calendar, is as follows: • At the start of the school year the supervising administrator will outline performance goals in consultation with each direct report. • During the school year, the supervising administrator will meet with direct reports and assess the progress against the agreed-upon performance goals. This verbal review will focus on opportunities for individualized support and training. Administrators will document any agreed upon plan for support, training, or professional development. • At the end of the school year, the administrator will provide the employee with a written performance review. • Employees will have 30 days to respond to the evaluation in writing. • The performance review and the employee’s response will be used as the foundation for updates to the employees’ job description, goals, and development/training opportunities. Plans for Teachers, Administrators, and Other School Staff to Engage in Professional Development Assessment data will be one factor used to plan staff development. Opportunities for training and development may be offered school-wide or to specific teachers, whichever will better enhance the overall performance of the school. Support can come from many sources, including the DE or SEA,

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experienced teachers in the school, consultants brought into the school for professional development activities or courses, a good published resource, or an off-site professional development opportunity. The DE and SEA, with oversight from the ED, will work jointly with teachers to establish annual, individualized professional development goals. Goals may focus on areas like curriculum development, instructional methodology and subject-area expertise. Since GCA is built around a collaborative model, we will encourage and support opportunities for teachers to visit other classrooms in the school. Teaching staff will be expected to share their experiences during planning time and curriculum days. Also, teachers will meet regularly to coordinate instructional activities, giving teams of teachers considerable opportunity to share perspectives on curriculum and instruction. In addition, workshops and training sessions will allow group access to specific expertise. GCA will work to ensure that group training sessions are relevant to the faculty’s needs and offer the prospect of enhancing student outcomes. GCA will encourage qualified faculty to lead these sessions. The ED may also elect to provide the administrative staff with professional development opportunities to improve school performance. Describe the Qualifications and Attributes of an Ideal Teacher GCA’s ideal teacher will: • Support the school’s mission and vision. • Love working with children and enjoy making the connections with each student that foster deep learning. • Teach and learn in community with students, teachers and parents. • Have the ability and desire to integrate expressive arts into the core curriculum. • Seek partnerships with community organizations. • Possess an entrepreneurial spirit, willingness to solve problems, and creativity to develop new ideas and programs. • Have several years’ teaching experience with children • Have a strong academic foundation in the subject(s) being taught and be highly qualified. • Bring expertise beyond the assigned teaching role to the school and possess the flexibility and willingness to help fill in any gaps as GCA starts out. Describe Briefly the Teaching Program of Typical Teachers (See A Typical Day for a GCA

Teacher in the School Characteristics section.) E. Facilities and Student Transportation ¾ Describe the viable options for a facility for this school and explain why these sites were chosen as possibilities. Or, describe the process by which the school will identify such viable options. GCA is projected to open in Fall 2010 and can begin the formal process of negotiations for a facility in Fall 2009, which will give us considerable time to undertake renovations, without leaving us in the position of renting a facility long before we can use it. With an initial enrollment of 120 students and a full capacity of 240 students by 2013, we feel the best option is to focus our efforts on finding a facility that can grow with us and ultimately meet our needs at full capacity – between 20,400 and 25,200 square feet. We have not ruled out purchase of a building but realistically expect to open the school through leasehold arrangements. GCA has formed a facilities committee that is working with local commercial real estate agents to assist in our search for a site to accommodate our school in 2010 with an option to expand as our school grows. Possible sites include Milton L. Fuller Elementary School which was recently mothballed, Maplewood School which is a surplus city building, Brown’s Mall and a former large retail store both of which are

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currently empty. GCA is looking to locate the school in the downtown area to incorporate many of Gloucester’s resources such as museums, working waterfront, YMCA, parks, and artist studios. ¾ Indicate an estimated timeline for identifying possible locations and securing financing. A final list of possible locations will be identified no later than June 2009. At that time, the school will enter into discussions with banks and other financial lenders to secure financing, if necessary, so that we can sign a lease in December 2009 to begin preparing the school. GCA identifies in the Work Plan the necessary steps for finding, procuring or leasing, and preparing the site. Please refer to the Work Plan in Section V. ¾ Describe the financing plans and proposed budget for acquisition (purchase, lease, etc.) and any necessary renovations for a facility. GCA’s budget allocates up to $15 per square foot for leasing a building. GCA has begun researching financing options both locally and regionally in the event that major renovations are needed and/or if we choose to buy a building. ¾ Describe how and who will provide transportation services to eligible students. GCA will likely use the transportation provided by the Gloucester Public Schools to transport students to and from school. Depending on the school site, the Executive Director may work collaboratively with an outside transportation company or City Transportation agency for transportation to and from school as well as between the school and other downtown sites that students will attend for Community Projects. The GCA Board has already approached the Gloucester School Committee with the intent to coordinate transportation for students attending GCA. We will also contact local independent transportation companies and the Regional Transportation agency (CATA) for estimates in the event that we need an alternative form of transportation for our students. ¾ Explain how students who are physically challenged will be served in accordance with state and federal law. GCA is committed to serving the needs of our entire student population and therefore, all of our educational programming will be designed to maximize inclusion of all students. In the transportation and facilities provided by GCA, all efforts will be made to provide the access, services and accommodations to ensure their full participation in the educational program. GCA transportation and facilities will comply with current state and federal laws well as ADA guidelines. ¾ If possible, provide a layout and description of proposed charter school facility. Include the number and size of classrooms, common areas, recreational space, and any community facilities. GCA has identified space requirements for its building at approximately 10,200 square feet for start-up and 20,400 for full capacity. Classroom size should be approximately 1,200 square feet with six needed at start-up and an additional six at full capacity. In addition to classroom space, other requirements include community meeting area, art room, work and storage rooms, specialist instructional spaces that will accommodate small group and individual needs, offices, nurse’s room, and bathrooms. F. School Finance • Fiscal Management ¾ Explain who will manage the school’s finances and how. Financial oversight of GCA will be the responsibility of the Board of Trustees. The Board will appoint a Treasurer with appropriate finance and accounting experience, who will chair a Finance Committee consisting of at least two, and ideally three, individuals with strong fiscal management and/or accounting credentials. The Executive Director (ED) will be responsible for monitoring and operating within the

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school’s budget and cash-flow. The ED and Finance Committee will select an independent auditor to provide annual year-end audits. Day to day record keeping and report generation will be divided between the Administrative Assistant, the Executive Assistant, and a part-time bookkeeper to ensure sufficient segregation of duties necessary for internal control. The ED will delegate and supervise tasks such as bookkeeping, payroll, inventory management, accounts payable, accounts receivable within the limits set out by the school’s fiscal policies and procedure manual. GCA believes that good procedures and appropriate infrastructure are critical components of fiscal management and control. As such, the Finance Committee will be directly involved in their development. In the pre-operational year, the Finance Committee will, in partnership with the executive director, ensure installation of appropriate accounting infrastructure and develop a fiscal policies and procedure manual, with careful consultation of Recommended Fiscal Policies and Procedures Manual of the Charter School Office, and ensuring that all relevant laws and regulations within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are adhered to. The school will comply with GAAP and GASB. The treasurer will present both the physical systems and the procedural controls to the board of trustees for approval. Thereafter the Finance Committee will adopt a hands-out, noses-in approach to fiscal monitoring. ¾ Describe the fiscal controls and financial management policies the board of trustees will employ to remain informed of the school’s financial position. Describe how the school will track finances in its daily business operations in order to maintain needed cash flow. The fiscal policies and procedure manual will incorporate a number of tight controls to ensure that the school’s finances are well managed, that cash flow is carefully maintained, and that the Board of Trustees remain abreast of the school’s financial position. It will be incumbent on the Finance Committee to be available to the ED to make decisions promptly so that he or she can move at the quick pace required of an organization in start-up mode. The following are examples of what these controls might look like: • A detailed three-year budget projection will be developed annually by the ED, with input from the directors of education and students, families and culture and in consultation with the finance committee. It will include clear links between expenditures and the school's mission and accountability goals and, for the coming year, a monthly breakdown of revenue and expenditure, as well as an analysis of cash requirements. The board will receive it no later than June 15 for approval prior to the start of the fiscal year. • An annual report including budget versus actual analysis, statement of assets and liabilities, auditor's opinion, management's discussion, and all other requirements as specified in the Recommended Fiscal Policies and Procedures will be prepared by the ED with help from the EA and in consultation with the Finance Committee, by June 30th and approved by July 31. Cash-flow statements, budget variance reports, and bank reconciliation statements will be • prepared and reviewed monthly by the executive director and submitted to the finance committee at regular meetings. The board of trustees will review and approve these same reports quarterly. • Bookkeeping will be completed weekly. GCA will maintain accounting records on an accrual basis. The ED will meet with the finance committee quarterly and the board annually to present and discuss the school’s budget and financial position. If ever corrective action is needed, these meetings will become more frequent. Additional details on internal controls: • No one other than the Bookkeeper, AA, EA, ED and Treasurer will have access to the accounting system. The privileges of these individuals will be set accordingly. Passwords will be changed quarterly.

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• • • • • •

To maintain separation of duties to ensure internal controls are in place, the recording of receipts will be the responsibility of the AA, while deposits of checks will be completed by the EA. The ED will review bank and petty cash reconciliations monthly. Petty cash on-hand will be limited to $600. Withdrawals over $200 will require ED approval. GCA will limit cash transactions by use of electronic services (PayPal or cashlessschools.net) for program revenues and teacher petty cash expenditures. Variance from the budget by more than a specified amount (likely $5,000), such as a hiring a teacher at a salary greater than forecasted, will require board approval. Electronic records will be backed up daily and stored offsite. Physical records will be stored in a locked cabinet on-site. Petty cash as well as checks and cash to be deposited will be kept in a safe. GCA will purchase bonding insurance.

• Budget Narrative (See Budget Attachment G for Budget line items) Forecasts in this budget are based on information from a number of sources. Firstly, it is driven by the design of our school. We began by combing through our application for every item with a cost implication. This included everything from number of teachers, facility requirements and specific professional development workshops to sound system and stage curtain for school productions and art supplies. Secondly we studied budgets from several other schools, with particular attention to Hilltown Cooperative for its similar design and programming, and Salem Academy and local private schools for their geographic proximity. We also looked at per pupil expenditures of Gloucester’s district schools and state averages. This provided us with a useful benchmark against which to gauge the cost of our programming. We were pleased to find that in absolute and relative terms, our budgeting was in line with other schools, with 56% of the operating budget dedicated to instruction. To further strengthen our forecasts, we have sought input form accounting, finance, legal and real estate professionals in the community; and worked closely with MCCSPE consultants. Finally, we conducted a sensitivity analysis to identify our most critical assumptions and modeled a variety of different scenarios proving to ourselves that we can balance our budget and run a viable school under all probable contingencies. Several people with familiarity with school budgets and finances have reviewed and commented on this budget. Summary Budget 2010 to 2013 TOTAL OPERATING REVENUES OPERATING EXPENDITURES Administration Instructional Services Other Student Services Operation and Maintenance of Plant Fixed Charges Community Services Contingency Fund TOTAL OPERATING EXPENDITURES SURPLUS/(DEFICIT)

GCA Charter Application

2010 $155,000

2011 $1,376,681

2012 $2,086,416

2013 $2,341,115

$85,200 $40,700 $0 $14,400 $12,145 $0 $2,325 $154,770 $230

$198,074 $770,606 $68,000 $222,020 $89,847 $0 $27,534 $1,376,081 $600

$221,517 $1,097,370 $110,000 $453,740 $126,582 $0 $62,592 $2,071,801 $14,615

$251,648 $1,313,262 $139,000 $398,580 $160,522 $2,000 $70,233 $2,335,246 $5,870

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Revenues: GCA forecasts operating revenues of $2.3 million in 2013, the first year that all grades are offered. Tuition rates have been calculated using 2009 foundation base rate for the appropriate grade levels, and demographic characteristics identical to those of the district; detailed 2013 calculations are provided in the inset “Tuition Calculations”. We have assumed no growth in the foundation budget and a 20% decline in Net School Spending (NSS) from 2009 levels. We have assumed 90% enrollment (line 1). The start-up assistance grant of $145,000 (line 4) per year for three years is calculated using a base rate of $100,000 plus an additional award or $45,000 for meeting funding priorities. We have assumed $400/FTE in entitlement grants, which is roughly the midpoint between Gloucester’s district entitlement grants/FTE ($489) and a comparable charter school ($367). We include a grant for free and reduced lunch and revenues from sales of lunches; these revenues match associated costs (line 50). We will have an agreement with a grant-writer for 120 hrs of work at $25/hr or $3,000/year (line 24) a year to pursue grants to support programs such as service learning. Given the current economic conditions, we have conservatively not forecasted any additional revenue from grants. We believe these revenue forecasts to be both reasonable and conservative; to be even more cautious we have modeled different revenue scenarios in our contingency planning. Expenditures On the whole we believe our expenditures reflect a fairly standard school budget. There are a few line items that deserve further explanation, either because they constitute a major fraction of expenditures (salaries and benefits), are core to our school (arts integration and community), or are particularly critical to the success of the school (professional development, and fiscal management, governance and accountability). Salaries and Benefits Our salaries are based on the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association: Charter School Salary Survey. We have provided for no automatic, annual raises for staff; we are considering, and have made provision in the budget for annual bonuses in the amount of 3% of administrative salaries and 4% of instructional salaries. By the time the school opens, we will have a better understanding of the depth of the recent economic decline and may consider adding an inflation-based raise for all staff. We will pay $300 per month toward each employee’s health insurance (line 70). This is about 70% of an individual plan and 30% of a family plan; a benefit we think most our staff will find attractive. Also, we have dedicated 80% of the budget for substitutes (28,500 in 2013, line 36) in order to allow for 12 days for personal or sick leave for each teacher. Administrative Salaries: When setting administrative positions and salaries, we wanted to maximize instructional spending, while at the same time ensure that the school will have the resources and skills necessary to manage itself effectively. We settled on a full-time ED ($85,000 line 14) for overseeing the entire school, and a skilled EA ($40,000 line 15) for running the school’s financial and facility functions. This partnership is an appropriate, cost-effective way to free the ED for top-level management, without hiring another senior professional for operations. The Director of Students, Families, and Community (DSFC) is a senior level position in the school ($65,000 line 14). We believe this non-instructional position will directly and positively affect school instruction by increasing parent involvement, creating a school environment in which all students feel

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secure, and providing civic experiences that bring deeper meaning to class material, while resulting in fewer disciplinary disruptions. In the first year, the DSFC also serves as the part-time adjustment advisor. An AA will perform receptionist and secretarial duties. Instructional Salaries: Our median teacher’s salary will be $45,000 (line 32) with 10% earning around $60,000 and 40% earning above $48,000. We have carefully estimated salaries to ensure we have enough qualified, experienced people in key positions to coach the less-experienced faculty. For example, the salary projected for our DE, $80,000 (line 33) reflects our desire to hire an experienced school-wide instructional leader. The number of teachers on staff will support a class size of 20 students and provide teachers with 2 hours of non-instructional time per day for planning and professional development. SPED teacher salaries will also average $45,000 (line 32). By 2013 we will have two full-time SPED teachers and a SPED Administrator ($50,000 line 33) who will also take on some teaching duties. In addition we will contract for specialized services when needed. We have budgeted $2,200 for psychological evaluation and other services for each student with an IEP, $105,600 (line 36) for 48 of our students in 2013. The budget assumes 20% of our students will have an IEP, which is similar to the district schools, however we believe that our curriculum and education philosophy will serve students of all abilities, resulting in many fewer IEPs. $10,000 (line 36) has been allocated for Limited English Proficiency services. We expect fewer than 5 LEP students. GCA has a tentative arrangement with two local teaching colleges to place a student teacher in each of our classrooms. This will have a positive impact on teaching, make GCA a teaching school which supports our mission that staff and students alike remain intellectually engaged, and the cost, volunteered by GCA, is a $10/day stipend (line 44). Other salaries: A part-time school nurse ($40,000 line 47) will staff and run student health services. An Adjustment Advisor ($40,000 line 47) will mentor students. In 2011 the role will be filled by the DSFC. In 2012, a part-time Advisor will be hired and mentored by the DSFC, with the Advisors becoming fulltime in 2013. Arts Integration and Community Arts Integration and Community are two guiding principles to develop academically accomplished, intellectually curious and civically engaged students. These principles are supported in the budget in the following areas: • Art Supplies: Instructional materials and supplies (line 38) includes $200/student for art supplies, which totals $48,000 in 2013. As one teacher put it to us, “your classroom supplies budget is everything the teacher does in the classroom; cut that and you constrain teacher creativity and limit ingenuity.” • Field Trips: Instructional materials and supplies (line 38) include $40 per student for field trips which is $9,600 in 2013. 5% of the budget for substitutes is intended to provide supplemental staff coverage for field trips. • Equipment for student performances and presentations: Besides funding traditional expenditures, such as textbooks at $250 / new student, furniture at $200/ new student (to be bought used when possible) and $60 / student for miscellaneous instructional and classroom supplies), funds are set aside to purchase mission-bases materials such as musical instruments like a piano, a projector and screen, and other requirements for display of work, music and community learning. • Art Advisors: Contracted services (line 36) include $4,000/year for guest artists. • Facility requirements: To support our mission, ideally our facility would consist of 105 sq ft per student and include large classrooms for movement and activity, an ample community room, and a stage for performances. Nevertheless, for budget purposes, because of cost constraints, we’ve assumed lower square footage for our facility (85 sq ft / pupil line C). Discussions with local landlords suggest that rent could be less than the $15 per square foot budgeted (line D), particularly if

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the current economic decline persists. At $12 per sq ft, we would be able to afford 105 sq ft per student within the same rent budget of $306,000 (line 60); however, since it will be over a year before we enter into a lease and since the economic climate is unknown, we have budgeted 85 sq ft per student at $15 per sq ft. Professional Development Our professional development budget supports our belief that in order to create a culture of intellectual curiosity, all members of the school community must be life long learners, so we must foster the same desire to learn and grow in our staff as we do in our students. In our pre-operational year, we have budgeted $10,000 (line 40) for curriculum development, and $5,000 (line 42) in stipends for teachers who have been hired but whose contract has not yet commenced. Following that we have budgeted over $1,000/teacher a year for workshops and materials (line 40), however we expect the majority of learning and enrichment to come from within our community through teachers visiting each other’s classrooms and co-teaching. Of the substitutes budget 15% (line 36) is to allow teachers to attend workshops as well as in-school, co-teaching and peer-learning opportunities. Our administrative staff will have approximately $500 (line 22) per person per year for professional development. Fiscal Management, Governance and Accountability Our expenditures, particularly in the early years, reflect our commitment to excellent governance, strict fiscal management, and dependable accountability. We have budgeted $5,000 (line 16) for a consultant to help prepare fiscal policies and procedures in our start-up year; this is in addition to the pro bono work provided by the finance committee and contracts for regular accounting and bookkeeping services. We will build up a contingency fund (line 80) of starting in the pre operational year of 1.5% of revenues, growing to 3% in 2012. The school will negotiate a line of credit with its financial institution to manage cash flow in the pre operational year. In our second year of operations we will spend $6000 (line 22) on governance development of our Board of Trustees and undertake an external review of school operations $6000 (line 28). We intend to rigorously measure our performance in all aspects of our mission and have included appropriate budgeting: investment in network infrastructure and data capacity for a data-driven school (line 94) and $10,000 (line 20) in 2011 for data-management systems (for the first few months of operation, we will track data using a spreadsheet to ensure that all data, relationships and links between administrative, student assessment and school accountability data are well mapped prior to procuring a customized database), $1500 (line 20) per year for surveys, focus groups and associated services to evaluate performance. Finally, $5,000 (line 22) has been budgeted to develop the capacity of the accountability team in administering surveys and evaluating data. Other Items: • We expect our landlord to cover leasehold improvements. However, to be cautious, we reserved $100,000 in 2012 for miscellaneous leasehold improvements. • Student transportation will be arranged with the district. • Food services cost are currently assumed to break even with revenues generated from lunch sales and nutritional grants. We have spoken with schools on how this can be done. • Athletic services are limited to a curriculum consultant once a year and a small budget for supplies. We are in conversation with the YMCA to provide athletic services to our students. • There are a number of items in the budget for which we have allocated no money, instead we created small discretionary funds totaling about $10,000 in our third year of operations from which these expenses can be covered. We did this because we felt the margin of error on the prediction was disproportionate to the expected expenditure. For example, we think travel fees for trustees and staff in 2010 could range anywhere from $0 to $1,000, or 100% of the mid-point, depending on location of new recruits. We have grouped expenses with a similarly large range for a similarly small expense under the discretionary funds.

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Sensitivity Analysis Revenue projections are quite sensitive to changes in assumptions. A 1% increase annually in the foundation budget would result in a 4% increase, or $100,000, in our operating budget in the 2013. Stable enrollment of 98% increases the operating budget by 8% or $200,000, in the 2013. Our revenue is less sensitive to the aspects that we feel would be most likely to decline. A 50% reduction in the facilities aid grant would cause a 4% reduction in operating revenue, or $96K in 2013. A 20% decline in NSS reduces revenues by 2%, a 50% decline in title I and title II grants also represents a 2% decline in revenue. Student body also has relatively little affect: if we have 50% fewer low income students than the district- a situation that runs counter to our mission - we will experience a 3% decline in projected revenue. Our budget is not particularly sensitive to any one line item. A 50% increase in the most volatile expense, utilities, could be entirely or almost entirely covered by the budget surplus projected for that year. Contingency Planning We expect that the economic conditions of 2009 and 2010 will give us a good idea if we need to reduce or increase our revenue forecasts. If we need to cut $200K from the budget we will negotiate a lease at a lower rate ($13), reduce administrative salaries, eliminate or reduce TA stipends, and if absolutely necessary, postpone some IT purchases. If we need to increase revenue forecasts, we will add more IT for students in the classroom and increase athletic services. We will also cautiously increase salaries and facility size aware that these two items account for 75% of our budget and are difficult to reduce should the economy decline. Once the school is open, the budget becomes more sensitive to small changes because three quarters of the budget, that of payroll and facilities, will be inflexible. It is imperative, therefore, that we: plan conservatively at the outset ensuring that our salary and facility obligations will be manageable; annually take steps to ensure steady and high enrollment through advertising and excellence; and build an ample contingency fund and fundraising base. We are in conversation with several fundraisers, two of whom specialize in supporting charter schools. G. Action Plan: (See attachment B)

IV. How will the school demonstrate that it is faithful to the terms of its charter? A. Process GCA will give priority to developing its accountability plan. The components will inform the detailed development of the student database, it will inform teacher and administrator assessments, and will focus the attention of the board of trustees. We want focused, clear, well articulated goals in place early to give substance to our commitments to culture, parents and the community and so that we will be in position to demonstrate conclusively that we provide an excellent education to all students. An Accountability Committee will be formed, consisting of at least one Board Member, the ED, the DE, between 3 and 5, one member from a partner organization and two parents. This group will be responsible for developing the accountability plan, soliciting feedback from stakeholders, and securing board approval. Key elements in this process will be: Stakeholder involvement to gain the wisdom and support of all those who will be involved in the measuring process and its resulting affect on decisions regarding finances, curriculum, and other programmatic aspects. Robust quantitative measures, particularly for the more intangible aspects of our mission, namely, intellectual curiosity, civic engagement and community of learners. We are already corresponding with the Consortium on Chicago School Research5, University of Rochester6, and Project Zero at the Harvard

5

See http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/surveymeasures2007/

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School of Education exploring how their quantitative methods and benchmark data could be used on an annual basis as part of GCA’s accountability framework. (See GCA Action Plan B for timeline for developing the accountability) B. Goals Below are examples of goals likely to appear in our accountability plan. Academic Success

Students will be academically Each cohort of GCA students’ MCAS scores will improve accomplished I: using MCAS as a norm- each year in relation to their state peers. In 2011 the percent of referenced test, GCA students will students attaining proficiency or higher will equal or exceed outperform their state counterparts on state averages; 2012 GCA will be 5 percentage points higher MCAS tests. and by 2015, 10 percentage points higher. (Covers grades 3 through 8) By 2015, 80% of all students reading at or above grade level by

Students will be academically March, as measured by the Fountas and Pinnell or an equivalent accomplished II: GCA students will read literacy assessment. Targets will be adjusted after gathering baseline at or above grade level and show data. Each year 85% of students will improve by at least one reading improvement each year. level. (Covers all students) Students are intellectually curious: students will report high levels of academic engagement.

% of students agreeing or strongly agreeing with questions posed in the Academic Engagement section of CCSR 7. In 2011 50%, 2012 70% and 2015 80% (Covers grade 6 through 8)

Note: We have intentionally avoided setting goals that benchmark our students’ MCAS scores against those of the district’s students; our founding group is committed to improving education for all Gloucester students; we seek to collaborate with the district; and any goal that pitted GCA against the district would run counter to our community orientation. Organizational Viability GCA demonstrates prudent fiscal management There is strong demand for GCA charter school GCA demonstrates sound governance and management.

Contingency equaling 25% of annual operating costs by 2015 No unqualified opinions on audits. Enrollment at 98% of capacity by 2014 and each year thereafter. Fewer than 5% of students who enter GCA leave prior to 8th grade for because of dissatisfaction with school. Length of waitlist equal to 25% of capacity by 2015 and each year thereafter.

75% of staff who receive good or outstanding evaluations are retained for 5 years. 80% of staff report high levels of agreement on Instructional leadership section of CCSR survey 7. Annual review of minutes of board of trustees reveals thoughtful, consistent planning with an appropriate long-term view and high-level intervention.

6

Martin Lynch, Assistant Professor Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development http://www.psych.rochester.edu/SDT/measures/selfreg_acad.html 7 One sample section of this survey can be found in Appendix ?. The complete survey is available at http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/downloads/42592007_elem_student_codebook.pdf"

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Organizational Viability Faithfulness to Charter 70% of students respond that they agree or strongly agree with

GCA creates a community of learning I: questions posed by the peer support for academic work, Peer students report a sense of community and peer Support for Academic Achievement and student sense of support for academic work. belonging sections of CCSR 7 GCA creates a community of learning II: teachers report high levels of peer collaboration, and continuous learning.

80% of students respond that they agree or strongly agree with questions posed by the Peer Support for Academic Work sections of CCSR survey. 7

C. Narrative ¾ Please give a narrative description of the key indicators of success you would like a renewal inspection team to see during their three-day visit in the school’s fourth or fifth year. What would be a few of the key pieces of evidence you would expect the renewal inspection team to find that demonstrate the school has been successful? We would like the renewal team, upon walking into the school in our fourth or fifth year, to see our key indicators of success: academic accomplishment, intellectual curiosity, and civic engagement. We would like them to see a thriving learning community, which features artistic celebration and recognizes the diversity of learning styles, people, and cultures. We would like the team to see a professional, competent, and passionate staff that facilitates a safe environment for all. To demonstrate success according to our indicators, we plan to supply a range of evidence. At that time, we expect academic accomplishment to be exhibited by GCA students outperforming their state peers on the MCAS. We expect their intellectual curiosity to be displayed through an established student portfolio system and responses. We expect to show student civic engagement through the range and impact of community projects and initiatives. We expect the team to notice the central role of the arts and see the displayed creations of the students. We expect them to see a strong professional community implementing a rich and coherent curriculum which thrives on collaboration and constructive feedback. We expect the team to see data-based decisions being made from a wide range of survey feedback from a host of stakeholders. D. DISSEMINATION ¾ Discuss ways in which the charter school will be able to provide educational models, including programs, curriculum, and teaching methods that can be replicated by other public schools. GCA will strive to make sure our curriculum and other programmatic aspects are available to anyone who is interested in them. Our doors will be always open to any parent, teacher or administrator who wants to learn about our school. We will host student teachers and researchers through our collaboration with Leslie and other colleges. We are in conversation with the Cape Ann YMCA to contribute components of our curriculum to the new Teen Center’s after school learning program, for example a unit on calculating the carbon footprint of the YMCA. We will devote a section of our website to sharing successful approaches. For example, we might post a thematic unit on Global Warming, including PDFs of survey tools used to calculate a carbon footprint, the music, script and teacher’s notes for a play about Global Warming, short video clips from the play and about the students’ learning experiences and lesson plans for the entire unit. Within five years we will have 10 complete thematic units online.

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V. Required Attachments ATTACHMENT A – Draft ByLaws Gloucester Community Arts Charter School: GCA Draft Bylaws ARTICLE I Purposes The Gloucester Community Arts Charter School (GCA) -- a K- 8th grade school that educates Gloucester’s diverse student population through the integration of the expressive arts in the curriculum, and that graduates academically accomplished, intellectually curious and civically engaged students -- is a public school chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under MGL Chapter 71 Section 89. The GCA Board of Trustees is a public entity organized to operate GCA. Members of the Board of Trustees are individually considered special state employees. The Board of Trustees holds the charter from the state and is therefore responsible for ensuring that the school and Board members comply with all applicable laws and regulations, and that the school is an academic success, organizationally viable, faithful to the terms of its charter, and earns charter renewal. ARTICLE II Board of Trustees Section 1: The Board of Trustees (Board) shall consist of at least nine (9) Trustees and no more than fifteen (15) Trustees. All Trustees shall have identical rights and responsibilities. Section 2: Board members shall be sought who reflect the qualities, qualifications and diversity determined by the Board. The Board of Trustees may not discriminate against potential members on the basis of age, sex, sexual orientation, race, national origin, ancestry, religion, marital status, or nondisqualifying handicap or mental condition Section 3: The Trusteeship Committee of GCA shall present a slate of potential Trustees for election by the Board of Trustees. This slate shall be presented at the annual meeting of the Board. Section 4: Trustees shall serve a term of three (3) years from the date of their appointments, or until their successors are seated. A full three-year term shall be considered to have been served upon the passage of three (3) annual meetings. After election, the term of a Trustee may not be reduced, except for cause as specified in these bylaws. Trustees shall take office at the first board meeting following the annual meeting at which their appointment is announced. Fulfilling an incomplete term is not considered part of the term limit. Trustees shall serve staggered terms to balance continuity with new perspective. The initial Board of Trustees will be divided into three groups with one-third of the Trustees receiving an initial oneyear term, one-third receiving an initial two-year term, and the remaining one-third receiving a three-year term. The length of the initial term shall be determined by lottery. Trustees may serve two successive terms after which they must wait at least one year from the end of their last term before returning to the Board of Trustees. Section 5: Any vacancy occurring in the Board of Trustees and any position to be filled by reason of an increase in the number of Trustees may be filled, upon recommendation of a qualified candidate by the Trusteeship Committee, by the affirmative vote of the majority of the seated Trustees. A Trustee elected to fill the vacancy shall be elected for the unexpired term of his/her predecessor in office. Section 6: A Trustee may resign at any time by filing a written resignation with the Chair of the Board. Section 7: The Board may remove any Trustee with or without cause by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the entire Board of Trustees at any regular or special meeting of the Board, provided that a notice, which may include a statement of the reason or reasons, shall have been mailed by Registered Mail to the Trustee proposed for removal at least thirty (30) days before any final action is taken by the Board. The notice shall specify the time when, and the place where, the Board is to take action on the removal. The Trustee shall be given an opportunity to be heard and the matter considered by the Board at the time and place mentioned in the notice.

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Section 8: Members of the Board of Trustees: (a) Shall receive no payment of honoraria, excepting reimbursement for expenses incurred in performance of their duties on the Board of Trustees in accordance with GCA policies. (b) Shall serve GCA with the highest degree of undivided duty, loyalty, and care and shall undertake no enterprise to profit personally from their position with GCA. (c) Shall have no direct or indirect financial interest in the assets or leases of GCA; any Trustee who individually or as part of a business or professional firm is involved in the business transactions or current professional services of GCA shall disclose this relationship and shall not participate in any vote taken with respect to such transactions or services. Section 9: The Board of Trustees: (a) Shall determine general school policies, in compliance with state and federal law. (b) Shall manage the financial affairs of the school and approve the annual budget. (c) Shall file a disclosure annually in accordance with MGL Chapter 71 Section 89(v) ARTICLE III Officers Section 1: There shall be four (4) elective Officers of the Board: a Chair, a Vice Chair, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. Section 2: The Trusteeship Committee shall present a slate of nominee Officers to the Board of Trustees. The nominated Officers shall be drawn from among the members of the Board of Trustees. The election of Officers shall be held at the annual meeting of the Board. Section 3: The newly elected Officers shall take office at the close of the meeting at which they are elected and the term of office shall be one year, or until respective successors assume office. An Officer may serve more than one (1) term in the same office, but not more than two consecutive terms in the same office. After serving two successive terms, a former Officer must wait at least one year from the end of their last term before returning to the same office. Section 4: In the event that the office of the Chair becomes vacant, the Vice Chair shall become Chair for the unexpired portion of the term. In the event that the office of Vice Chair or Secretary or Treasurer becomes vacant, the Chair shall appoint interim Officer to fill such vacant offices until a scheduled meeting of the Board can be held. ARTICLE IV Meetings Section 1: The annual meeting of the Board of Trustees shall occur in the last quarter of the fiscal year or at any other time that the Board shall designate. There shall be at least 5 other regular meetings of the Board held each year. The Board of Trustees shall set a schedule of meetings for the upcoming year at each Annual Meeting. Notice shall be given to each Trustee thirty (30) days prior to the date of every regular meeting of the Board. Section 2: Special meetings of the Board of Trustees may be called by the Chair or by a majority of the Board filing a written request for such a meeting with the Chair and stating the objective, date, and hour therefore, due notice having been given each Trustee five (5) calendar days prior to the meeting. Section 3: One-half of the Trustees then in office shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any regular or special meeting of the Board of Trustees, except where otherwise required by these Bylaws. All actions by the Board require a majority vote of a quorum of seated trustees, except where otherwise required by these Bylaws. Section 4: The Board shall select its own meeting format in any method allowed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Any such meeting, whether regular or special, complying with Sections 1 or 2 of Article IV, shall constitute a meeting of the Board of Trustees and shall subscribe to the policies, procedures, and rules adopted by the Board. Section 5: Notice of all regular and special meetings of the Board, an agenda of all items to be discussed at such meetings and support materials shall be circulated to all Trustees, and public notice be given of

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the date, time and location of all meetings in accordance with the law pertaining to the open meetings of governmental bodies (Mass. Gen. Laws c. 30A, § 11A½ ). Any Trustee may waive notice of any meeting. The attendance of a Trustee at any meeting also shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except where a Trustee attends a meeting for the express purpose of objecting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened. Section 6: Voting by Trustees by proxies shall not be permitted. An absentee Board member may not designate an alternate to represent him or her at a Board meeting. Trustee participation must occur in person. Section 7: A record of every meeting must be adopted and kept, including the time, date, and location of the meeting, the members present or absent, and all action taken at the meeting, including formal votes taken. Section 8: The Board shall comply with all aspects of the Massachusetts open meeting law. ARTICLE V Staff The Board of Trustees shall select, appoint, evaluate, and/or remove the school’s Executive Director, who shall be responsible for carrying out the work of GCA in accordance with the policies established from time to time by the Board of Trustees. ARTICLE VI Other Committees and Task Forces Section 1: The Chair shall appoint committees or task forces of the Board, except the Trusteeship Committee. Committees may be composed of Trustees or community members, or both but will be chaired by a Trustee. The Board may prescribe the need and/or the composition of such committees. Section 2: There shall be a standing Trusteeship Committee. This committee shall be composed of persons recommended by the Chair and elected by the Board of Trustees at its annual meeting. Each committee member shall serve a term of two (2) years, and these terms shall be staggered to ensure continuity of committee membership. The committee shall elect its own chair. Section 3: The duties of the Trusteeship Committee shall be: (a) to study the qualifications of candidates and present a slate of the best qualified as nominees for the vacant Trustee positions on the Board; (b) to present a slate of nominees for Trustees to the Board for election at the annual meeting; (c) to recommend candidates to the Board to fill vacancies that arise outside the regular nominating process; (d) to provide ongoing orientation to Trustees; (e) to oversee a Trustee assessment process to ensure optimum performance; (f) to notify the Charter School Office of requests for new Trustee approval by the Commissioner of Education and of resignations of existing member of the Board of Trustees. Section 4: There shall also be standing Finance, Facilities, Community Relations, and Fundraising Committees, and other committees as needed. ARTICLE VII Fiscal Year The fiscal year of GCA shall begin on July 1 of each calendar year and terminate on June 30 of the following year.

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ARTICLE VIII Rules of Order Except where they may be in conflict with the Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws of GCA, the rules of order in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the conduct of all meetings of GCA. ARTICLE IX Indemnification The GCA Board of Trustees shall indemnify its Trustees, employees, and volunteers to the fullest extent permitted by the law of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. ARTICLE X Amendments These Bylaws may be amended at a regular meeting by a two-thirds vote of all Trustees then in office; provided that notice of the proposed amendment, together with a copy thereof, is mailed to each Trustee at least fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting at which the amendment is to be considered. Substantive modifications to a Board’s Bylaws require an amendment to the school’s charter and shall be submitted to the Commissioner of Education for approval, as described in 603 CMR 1.11 and Appendix 9, Charter Amendments - Technical Advisory 03.

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ATTACHMENT B – Action Plan Action Plan Task/planning area

Primary Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Person(s) 2009 2010

Governance Board Meetings B Distribute Administrative and Governance Guide B Submit Organizational Chart B Complete Board recruitment TC Request approval of Board members TC Submit Board resumes TC Submit Board financial disclosure forms TC Board review of bylaws B Board self-assess bylaws B Board approve bylaws B Submit Board approved bylaws to CSO B Board development TC Approve job description for ED B Hire the ED B Personnel Approve job description for Administrators ED Hire DE ED Hire DSFC ED Approve Job Description for SEA ED Hire SEA ED Approve Job Descriptions for Teachers ED Hire Teachers ED, DE Enrollment Policies & Application for Admission Board review of Enrollment Policies and Application B Board self-assess the Enrollment Policy B Board approval of policies B Submit Board-approved policies to CSO B Student Learning Time Read MGL Ch. 69 § 1(g) ED Read MGL Ch. 71 § 29 ED Read 603 CMR 27.00 ED Prepare annual school calendar ED Prepare student schedule ED Board approval of school calendar and schedule ED

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Submit Board-approved school calendar to CSO Submit Board-approved sample school schedule to CSO Code of Conduct 8/1 Read MGL Ch. 71 § 37H Read MGL Ch. 71 § 37H 1/2 Read MGL Ch. 71B § 3 Read MGL Ch. 269 § 17-19 Prepare Code of Conduct Self-assess the Code of Conduct Board approval of Code of Conduct Submit Board-approved Code of Conduct to CSO School Facility and Building Safety Identify possible sites Submit possible sites to BOT for selection Financing secured (if necessary) Sign lease or purchase agreement Submit signed lease to CSO Planning & Design (architectural drawings) Issuance/award of bids for renovation Perform necessary renovations ADA facilities checklist review Submit written ADA assurance to CSO Submit Multi-Hazard Evacuation Plan to CSO Arrange local municipality inspections Submit Certificate of Occupancy to CSO Submit Fire Inspection Certificate to CSO Submit Building Safety Inspection Certificate to CSO Flammable Compound and Liquid Certificate to CSO Submit Health Inspection to CSO Asbestos Inspection. Rep. & Mgt. Plan to CSO Submit PCB Inspection Report to CSO Submit Lead Paint Assessment Report to CSO Acquisition of furniture and material Prepare building infrastructure Obtain property & libility insurance CORI Policy and Criminal Record Checks

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Read the DOE’s Advisory on CORI Law Apply for access to criminal records Create a CORI Policy Board approval of CORI Policy Conduct CORI checks Submit written CORI assurance to CSO Non-Special Education Instructional Staff Read NCLB Policy: Highly Qual. Teachers Recruit and hire instructional staff Professional credentials of all personnel on file submit summary teacher’s qualifications submit summary teacher action plan Special Education Inst. Staff & providers Complete checklist Special Education Instr. Staff Hire Special Education staff Evaluation of Staff Evaluation plan for the Educational Director Evaluation plan for administrators Evaluation plan for teachers Self-assess evaluation plans Submit perf. criteria & evaluation plans to CSO Professional Development Design PD plan for school administrators Design PD plan for teachers Self-assess professional development plans Submit both PD plans to CSO District Curriculum Accommodation Plan Read the Commissioner’s memo on DCAP Design and adopt the DCAP Self-assess the DCAP Submit the DCAP to the CSO Special Education Program Plan Download the Program Plan Read the Program Plan Complete school Program Plan information Program Plan approval: SEA, ED, Chair Submit Program Plan to CSO Physician and a Registered Nurse Recruit physician

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Submit physician relationship in writing to CSO Recruit and hire a registered nurse Maintain copies of professional credentials Health Plan & Med Administration Plan Read MGL Ch. 71 § 57 Read MGL Ch. 94C Create School Health Plan & Med Admin Plan Submit School Health Plan & Med Admin Plan to CSO Transportation Services Plan Read MGL Ch. 71 § 89(ff) Read 603 CMR 1.08(10) Define Transportation requirements Meet with district to coordinate schedule Sign transportation contract Submit Transportation Services Plan to CSO Assign eligible students to transportation Notify parents Self-assess Transportation Services Plan Nutrition Services National School Lunch Program Assurance Read MGL Ch. 69 § 1(c) Contract with a food service provider Submit Nutrition Services plan to CSO School Wellness Policy Read Public Law 108-265 Create School Wellness Policy Board approval of School Wellness Policy Submit School Wellness Policy to CSO Complaint Procedure Read MGL Ch. 71 § 89(jj) Read 603 CMR 1.10 Describe a Complaint Procedure Self-assess the Complaint Procedure Board approval of the Complaint Procedure Submit the Complaint Procedure to CSO Financial Organization Purchase and Install Accounting Software Read Fiscal Policies & Procedures Guide

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Develop Fiscal Policies/Procedure with Board ED, Board approval of Fiscal Policies/Procedures ED MA Cert. Pub. Purch. Official Prg participation ED Submit Fiscal Policies & Procedures to CSO ED Grants Establish 501c3 B Develop strategy B MA Cert. Pub. Purch. Official Prg participation ED Identify & Write Proposals (See Charter Grants at B,ED http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/Grants/ Budget and Cash Flow Updated and revised budget ED Create detailed 1st year cash flow projection ED Board approval of 1st year revised budget ED Submit revised budget/cash-flow proj. to CSO ED MA Teachers’ Retirement System Read MGL Ch. 79 § 89(aa) ED Read MGL 32 ED Request MTRS eligibility handout from CSO ED Determine employee MTRS eligibility ED Set up MTRS process ED Submit evidence of MTRS contributions to CSO ED Audit Request CSO OK review/audit after 12 month FC Board to engage an independent auditor FC Insurance Policies Read 603 CMR 1.09(6) ED Determine which insurance and how much ED Submit evidence of coverage to CSO ED Parents and Community Parent/Student Handbook(s) RC, B Develop parent/student relationship building strategy ED,RC, B Student Recruitment Informational Flyer RC, B Publicity Campaign RC, B Information Sessions RC, C Admissions Lottery ED Confirm enrollment list. ED Fund Raising

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Establish 501c3 FLAP grant request Food Service Identify free/reduced lunch students & contact DOE Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning Curriculum development Create benchmarks Purchase materials and textbooks Define assessment strategy and timeline Communications Purchase & Install database for student reporting Develop filing system to store student information Define how information will flow within school Set up website Select provider for Internet access (DSL, cable) Set up Intranet (so all computers are linked) Define how teachers and admin will communicate Purchasing List and purchase all school materials Definitions Board of Trustees Board of Trustees Chair Trusteeship Committee Finance Committee Executive Director Executive Assistant Director of Education

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ATTACHMENT C: Extracted from Consortium on Chicago Schools Research 2007 survey questions

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ATTACHMENT D:

Sample Standards-Report Card Standards Addressed Math Number Sense & Operations Enter standards addressed Geometry Enter standards addressed Patterns, Relations, & Algebra Enter standards addressed Data Analysis, Statistics & Probability Enter standards addressed Measurement Enter standards addressed Standards Addressed English Language Arts Language Enter standards addressed Reading & Literature Enter standards addressed Composition Enter standards addressed Media Enter standards addressed Standards Addressed The Arts Visual Art Enter standards addressed Dance Enter standards addressed Music Enter standards addressed Theatre Enter standards addressed Standards Addressed Science Earth & Space Science Enter standards addressed Life Science Enter standards addressed Physical Science Enter standards addressed Technology / Engineering Enter standards addressed Standards Addressed Social Studies Content Learned Enter standards addressed Skills Demonstrated Enter standards addressed

1 Novice GCA Charter Application

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ATTACHMENT E: Gloucester Community Arts Charter School Portfolio System Overview Purpose- The Portfolio System adds an invaluable dimension to the assessment of student performance. By assembling their best work and presenting it through an “exhibition” students gain valuable skills that reflect adult practice and gain the opportunity to revise and reflect on their learning over time. Teachers gain another measure of student progress that adds depth to the “snapshot in time” offered through more traditional methods such as tests. Both students and teachers gain a resource from which to explain learning and progress made to parents and other members of the community. Process – Portfolio assessment is an important component in determining promotion from one “Gateway” to the next. For eighth graders, it marks the crowning achievement of what they have learned over their years at the school. They are expected to prepare a multiyear portfolio during the year with the guidance of a faculty advisor. This process culminates when students present and defend what they have learned through demonstration, conversation, performance and written material before a panel. This panel is comprised of teachers, other staff members, parents and community members who evaluate: • Presentation - the quality of the student presentation; •

Evidence - the supporting material provided as evidence of learning

Evaluation -GCA will delineate specific domains in which students must assemble and present a portfolio to demonstrate mastery of the 3 main learning goals for the school- academically accomplished, intellectually curious, civically engaged as well as demonstrate effective communication in writing, orally and through the arts. The domains include – Math, Humanities (Social Studies, Literature and Writing), Science, the Arts. Although these are distinct domains, students are expected to integrate the arts in each of them as well as involve aspects of what they have learned through the service- learning program. Specific rubrics will provide the framework for the evaluation of student portfolios. (See Attachments for sample rubrics)

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ATTACHMENT F: Sample Rubrics

HUMANITIES RUBRIC – Grade 8 Name of Student:___________________________________________ Advisor:________________________________________ MA Content Standards Addressed:____________________________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________ Title: _________________________ PRESENTATIONAcademically Accomplished Oral Commuication

Written Communication

Communication through the Arts/Arts Integration

-Establishes

See Humanities rubric p. 2- Evidence

Demonstrates control of skills and media required Uses visual aids – graphics, diagrams, graphicseffectively for given purpose Uses music, movement effectively for given purpose Uses technology (powerpoint, other visual or auditory material) effectively -Use of arts add depth to impact and understanding of results/ideas

rapport with audience

-Speaks clearly to audience

-Establishes stage presence -Makes eye contact -Uses supporting materials effectively -Chooses effective mode of presentation for given purpose

4- Master 3- Proficient 2- Apprentice 1- Novice

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HUMANITIES RUBRIC – Grade 8 Name of Student:___________________________________________ Advisor:________________________________________ MA Content Standards Addressed:___________________________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________ Title: ________________________ EVIDENCEAcademically Accomplished Content/Meaning -Demonstrates knowledge of content – names, dates, places, historical context/plot, setting, literary terms etc in literature -States and supports clear thesis statement -Elaborates on key ideas

Structure -Organized so all parts support the whole -Has a clear focus Displays logical/effectiv e sequence of ideas -exhibits smooth transitions

Intellectually Curious

Civically Engaged

Evidence

Voice

Conventions

Application

Perspectives

-Distinguishes facts and fiction

-Appropriate tone for purpose -Lively, interesting use of language -Awareness of reader -Makes clear explanation -Project has distinct identity

-Excellent appearance -work is presented in correct format -citations given in correct format -demonstrates awareness of rules of plagiarism -correct mechanics -varies sentences -uses appropriate and varied vocab

-States personal relevance; -Makes connections across disciplines; -Explains significance beyond the project -Demonstrates awareness of own learning process-offers reflections on process

-Understands alternate perspectives

generalizations and viewpoints supported by specific and accurate info -cites appropriate sources -Weighs strengths and weaknesses of evidence

-Advocates for point of view persuasively -states connections to service projects and/or current day issues where appropriate

4-Master 3-Proficient 2-Apprentice 1-Novice

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SCIENCE RUBRIC – Grade 8 Name of Student:___________________________________________ Advisor:________________________________________ MA Content Standards Addressed:____________________________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________ Title: _________________________ PRESENTATIONAcademically Accomplished Oral Communication

Written Communication

Communication through the Arts/Arts Integration

-Establishes

See Science rubric p. 2- Evidence

Demonstrates control of skills and media required Uses visual aids – graphics, diagrams, graphicseffectively for given purpose Uses music, movement effectively for given purpose Uses technology (powerpoint, other visual or auditory material) effectively -Use of arts add depth to impact and understanding of results/ideas

rapport with audience

-Speaks clearly to audience

-Establishes stage presence -Makes eye contact -Uses supporting materials effectively -Chooses effective mode of presentation for given purpose

4- Master 3- Proficient 2- Apprentice 1- Novice

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SCIENCE RUBRIC – Grade 8 Name of Student:___________________________________________ Advisor:________________________________________ MA Content Standards Addressed:____________________________________________________________________________ Date: ________________________Title: ________________________ EVIDENCE-

Academically Accomplished

Intellectually Curious

Civically Engaged

Content/Purpose

Structure

Methods

Evidence

Conventions

Application

Perspectives

-Demonstrates knowledge of key concepts and scientific terms Explains context and provides relevant background info -States and supports clear hypothesis based on prior knowledge -Elaborates on key ideas

-Organized so all parts support the whole

-Uses scientific method -Persists when errors occur -looks for patterns in results -repeats experiments to check results -applies new evidence to change beliefs

-Distinguishes facts and theory

-Excellent appearance -Work is presented in required format(lab report research report etc) -Citations given in correct format -Demonstrates awareness of rules of plagiarism -Correct mechanics -Varies sentences -Uses appropriate and varied vocab

-States personal relevance; -Makes connections across disciplines; -Explains implications and significance beyond the project -Demonstrates awareness of own learning processoffers reflections on process -Uses other media to present results and conclusions

-States/Demonstrates understanding of alternate perspectives

-Describes activity clearly Displays logical/effective sequence of ideas -Exhibits smooth transitions

-Defends conclusions with sound reasoning -Develops ideas based on observations -Cites appropriate sources -Weighs strengths and weaknesses of evidence -Uses sound methods to make observations

-Advocates for point of view persuasively -States connections to service projects and/or current day issues where appropriate

4-Master 3-Proficient 2-Apprentice 1-Novice

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Student___________________________________ Date _____________________ Title _______________________________________________________________ Score_____

ELA Research Writing Rubric Grade 5 CLEAR, WELL ORGANIZED, WELL DEVELOPED IDEAS Main idea is clearly written in the introductory paragraph. Topic sentences support and explain the main idea. Factual supporting details clearly relate to topic sentences. Transition words/phrases connect paragraphs smoothly. Introduction, body, and conclusion provide logical sequencing of ideas. Report is in the writer's own words and audience appropriate. SENTENCE VARIATION IN PARAGRAPHS Lead sentence grabs the reader's attention. Sentence structure varies. WORD CHOICE More descriptive verbs instead of "to be" are used. Imaginative, descriptive adjectives are used. Vague or repetitive language is avoided. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE Metaphor is appropriately used. Simile is appropriately used. Personification is appropriately used. EDITING FOR GRAMMAR, USAGE, MECHANICS Report contains no run-on sentences Report contains no sentence fragments. Subject/verb agreement is demonstrated. Consistent verb tense is used. Punctuation is correct (capital letters, end marks, commas, indentions). Spelling is correct. 4-Advanced, 3- Proficient, 2-Needs Improvement, 1-Not Addressed

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ATTACHMENT H – REPRESENTATIVE PETITION

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ATTACHMENT I – LETTERS OF SUPPORT To date, 10 letters of support from parents, business people, community leaders and prospective partners have been submitted and are included below. They include letters from: Jacqueline Hardy – Gloucester City Councilor James Caviston, Esq. – President of the Board of Director of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (seARTS). Erika Hansen – Executive Director of Cape Ann Business Incubator (CABI), also an active member of the Citywide PTO, and board member of the Open Door/Cape Ann Food Pantry, Sustainable Cape Ann and Seaport Gloucester DMO Mario R. Borunda, Ed. D. – Dean of the School of Education at Lesley University Helena J. Sturnick, PhD – President of Montserrat College of Art Will Hunt – Music Director of Blackburn Performing Arts Mark McDonough – Co-Founder of Sustainable Cape Ann and Cape Ann Time Banks, Owner and President of Latitude 43 Restaurant Dr. Nicole K. Andrade – Owner Atlantic Family Chiropractic Claire Wyzenbeek – Art educator and parent of a prospective GCA student Marianne McGillivray – Single, working mom who articulates why a Charter School is the option she would choose for her child

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School of Education November 12, 2008 Mr. Mitchell D. Chester, ED. D., Commissioner Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 350 Main Street Malden, MA 02148 Dear Mr. Chester, I am writing in support of the proposed Gloucester Community Arts Charter School. The charter school will provide a much needed, innovative, educational alternative option that draws on Gloucester’s rich cultural, arts and maritime heritage, within Gloucester’s public school system. Lesley University is interested in exploring a collaborative with the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School modeled on our ongoing collaborations. Student Internship Program features with the GCACS could include: • Active participation in all aspects of school and classroom life: working with students, developing curriculum, participating in parent-teacher conferences and joining in many other school activities. • An intensive format that allows participants to complete the program in approximately 14 months beginning in the summer and ending at the end of the following summer. • Courses and seminars are held at the school site as well as at the Lesley University campus. • Comprehensive teacher training that prepares students for the current and future challenges of public and private classrooms. Note: Students in the Collaborative Internship program should plan to follow the course sequence for their program as listed to ensure that the program is completed in a pedagogicallysound order and to ensure that the program can be completed in the time intended. I hope the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will give serious consideration to the proposed Gloucester Community Arts Charter School and will endorse its application for a charter. Sincerely,

Mario R. Borunda, Ed.D. Dean, School of Education Lesley University

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ATTACHMENT J Gloucester Community Arts Charter School: GCA Founders Resumes

BRUCE A. KANEB 116 Beach Street Manchester, MA 01944 978-526-4225 [email protected] EDUCATION

Boston College Lynch Graduate School of Education

Harvard Graduate School of Education

Certificate of Advanced Educational Studies 2004 Chestnut Hill, MA Masters of Education 1992 Cambridge, MA

Boston College Law School

Duke University

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Juris Doctor 1988 Newton, MA Bachelor of Arts 1984 Durham, NC

Associate Academic Director Harvard Graduate School of Education Professional Education Programs -Develop professional education programs for K – 12 academic leaders across the nation -Facilitate Harvard Graduate School of Education course-Action Research and Leadership in Urban Schools

2007–Present Cambridge, MA

Assistant Principal Manchester Essex Regional Middle/High School -Led the transition from a single community junior high school into a regional middle school -Implemented grade-level benchmark writing assessments -Created a non-profit parent organization to support school initiatives

2004-2007 Manchester, MA

Social Studies Department Chair Manchester Essex Regional Middle/High School -Realigned Grades 7-12 scope and sequence in response to 2003 History and Social Science Curriculum Framework -Developed Government and Civics department standards

2002-2007 Manchester, MA

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-Integrated Debate curriculum into high school History Courses Curriculum and Assessment Specialist Massachusetts Department of Education -Developed History and Social Science MCAS -Served on History and Social Science Framework Committee Teacher/Team Leader Manchester Junior Senior High School -Taught seventh and ninth grade World History and eleventh grade Advanced Placement United States History -Led daily team meetings to develop curriculum -Faculty representative to the School Council Attorney Sullivan & Worcester -Corporate attorney in large, full-practice law firm RELATED EXPERIENCE

1992-2000, 2001-2004 Manchester, MA

1988-1991 Boston, MA

Gloucester Community Arts Charter School -Serve on Founding Board of Trustees -Lead Board Governance Committee

2008 Gloucester, MA

Consultant American Board Certification -Created Government and Civics standards for national certification of teachers

2006 Washington, D.C.

Trustee Saint John’s Preparatory School -Served on the Board of Trustees -Served on mission assessment team

SERVICE EXPERIENCE

2000-2001 Malden, MA

1998-2004 Danvers, MA

Advanced Placement Reader Educational Testing Service -Evaluated Advanced Placement United States History exams

1999 San Antonio, TX

Counselor Boy Scouts of America -Counsel students seeking citizenship merit badges

1999-Present Manchester, MA

Teacher Sacred Heart Parish

2006-Present Manchester, MA

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-Teach children’s liturgy Coach Town of Manchester -Coached youth basketball, football and soccer Volunteer Saint Bonaventure Mission -Performed home construction and led wilderness camp for underprivileged Native Americans

1997-2002 Manchester, MA 1983 Thoreau, NM

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Massachusetts Elementary School Principals’ Association National Middle School Association New England League of Middle Schools National Association of Secondary School Principals Massachusetts Bar Association

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Advanced Placement Summer Institute John Collins Writing Workshop NELMS Leadership Workshop Research for Better Teaching, Inc. (Supervision and Evaluation Course and Heterogeneous Grouping Course)

INTERESTS

Community service, hiking, bicycling and running

REFERENCES

Available upon request

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David Buchanan, M.Ed. 21 R Stanwood Ave. Gloucester, MA 01930 QUALIFICATIONS Twenty-five years experience in teaching and curriculum design Use of targeted instructional strategies to improve reading, writing, and study skills- for ESL, LD, and mainstream students at all levels

Knowledge of education policy and current state and Federal education initiatives Regional liaison for Title I at MA Dept of Education (MADOE) Active member in state initiatives regarding No Child Left Behind (NCLB),the National Governors’ Association grant (NGA) and related efforts in education reform Management, organizational and planning skills Managing MADOE project to support standards-based writing instruction through performance standards Grant coordinator at MADOE for two Federal grant programs Noted for lead role in team-based academic program development and long range planning for students Supervision, training, and evaluation of staff Academic Supervisor, Residential Program Team Director, Lead Teacher Written and oral presentation skills Presented well-received grant related workshops every year for MA Dept of Education Published articles featured in Educational Leadership and Sea History magazines Experience with high risk students Roxbury Community College; Cambridge Rindge and Latin School; Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center; conducted interviews with homeless individuals and developed curriculum materials on the homeless

WORK HISTORY______________________________________________________ Program Specialist, Curriculum Standards Unit Massachusetts Department of Education 2006 - present -Currently manage project in coordination with state schools to establish statewide performance standards designed to support Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks -Active member of team assigned to implement state initiatives under the National Governor’s Association (NGA)grant and the American Diploma Project Education Specialist, Title I Unit Massachusetts Department of Education 2000-2006 -Served as Title I Regional Liaison -Provided individualized assistance and made statewide workshop presentations on technical aspects of implementation of NCLB (No Child Left Behind) and Title I grant -Reviewed grant proposals- Title I, Secondary Reading Grant, Extended School Day grant, served as Grant Coordinator for CSR (Comprehensive School Reform) -Facilitated team-based school and district improvement planning – NCLB Consolidated Strategic Plan and annual Schoolwide Congress

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Lead Teacher, Merrimack River High School 1997-1999 -Taught classes, oversaw day-to-day academic program at alternative high school -Conducted post-secondary education planning -Program Manager of summer youth employment boatbuilding program High School Teacher, Lexington High School 1995 - 1997 -Taught History to students of full range of abilities- Honors to Level II -Developed curriculum using a thematic approach; coop. learning; block scheduling planning -Co-taught highly successful heterogeneously grouped Global Studies course incorporating technology, cooperative learning, active learning strategies using learning stations, role plays and other approaches ESL Faculty Member, Roxbury Community College; Salem State College; Cambridge Rindge and Latin School 1994 - 1995 -Taught literacy skills to adult and adolescent populations based on thematic instruction, active reading strategies and process writing approaches -Developed and implemented curriculum to develop students’ critical thinking and literacy skills through the use of American History content material Learning Specialist, Boston University and Suffolk University 1991 – 1995 -Served as leader of Academic Retention Program, Suffolk Univ. -Tutored, advised, assessed learning disabled students and students on academic probation -Designed, facilitated workshops on learning disabilities, literacy and study skills Academic Supervisor and Teacher, Landmark School

1983 - 1990

Internationally Recognized Program for Learning Disabled Adolescents -Supervised, trained, evaluated team of teachers -Conducted post-secondary/college planning -Advocated for and counseled learning disabled and emotionally disturbed students -Oversaw academic program for caseload of students-focus on learning strategies -Taught classes in History, Reading, Study Skills, including year aboard sail-training vessel Te Vega -Appointed to and active member of Substance Abuse Intervention Team EDUCATION Master of Education, University of Massachusetts, Boston 1994 -Certification in Secondary Education - History and Social Studies, with a concentration in ESL and Literacy Bachelor of Arts, Middlebury College, 1982 PERSONAL BACKGROUND_______________________________________________ Served as Community Development Worker with Habitat for Humanity- Nicaragua - 1990 Bicycled across the U.S.A. - 1986 Ran Boston Marathon 1978, 1982 Taught and crewed aboard sail training vessel Te Vega - sailed trans-Atlantic 1983

References Available Upon Request

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Daniel J. Warren 3 Millett Street Woburn MA, 01801 781-935-1889 [email protected] education

1997 – 2001 2001 – 2003

Northeastern University, Boston MA B.S. Psychology magna cum laude Tufts University, Medford MA M.A. Child Development

certification

Massachusetts Elementary (1-6)

experience

9/2005 – present

#403258

5th Grade Classroom Teacher Newman Elementary School Needham MA Supervisor: Barbara Laites-Collins, Principal Responsibilities included the management of an inclusion model classroom within a vertical 1-5 grouping as well as the development, implementation, and assessment of a standards-based curriculum. 9/2003 – 6/2005

5th Grade Classroom Teacher West Parish Elementary School Gloucester MA Supervisor: James Gutstadt, Principal Responsibilities included the management of an inclusion model classroom as well as the development, implementation, and assessment of a standards-based curriculum. 8/2001 – 6/2003 Research Assistant Applied Developmental Science Institute Tufts University Medford MA Supervisor: Richard M. Lerner, Ph.D. Responsibilities included the methodological design, sample recruitment from public schools for the 4-H Longitudinal Study of Positive Youth Development, as well as the analysis and publication of resulting data. references

James Gutstadt Principal, West Parish Elementary School Gloucester MA (978) 281-9835 Richard M. Lerner, Ph.D. Bergstrom Chair of Applied Developmental Science Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development Tufts University, Medford MA (617) 627-5558 Ellen Dailey

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Retired Teacher, Newman Elementary School Needham MA (781) 863-6382

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Peter W. Van Ness President & CEO Van Ness Group, Inc. 978.525.9093 www.vngroup.com www.OneTouchDeals.com

Founded in 1998, Van Ness Group, Inc. is the third technology-related venture for entrepreneur Peter Van Ness. Since he founded Personal Computer Solutions in 1983, Peter has been helping people grow their businesses and realize the benefits of information technology. During the 1980s, Personal Computer Solutions built state-of-the-art database systems for a wide variety of corporations and institutions, including Benjamin Thompson and Associates, National Association of Social Workers (Van Ness Group built their first Web site 15 years later), Kenner Parker Toys and Kaiser Engineers (working on the Red and Orange Line extensions and the Ted Williams Tunnel project in Boston). During the 1990s, Peter co-founded StockPlan, Inc. and grew it from a tiny software startup into the largest independent provider of stock plan management services worldwide. While at StockPlan, Peter and his team (many of whom currently work with Van Ness Group) discovered the power of the Web and built the first systems for employees to exercise and sell their stock options over the Internet. According to Rodger Mastako, inventor of OptionsLink (now part of E*Trade), "Peter invented financial services outsourcing." In 1997, StockPlan was purchased by American Stock Transfer and Trust Company in New York City and Peter served as President of the newly formed AST StockPlan for one year. Salomon Smith Barney (a division of Citigroup) purchased AST StockPlan in August 2000. In 2000, Peter co-founded MyStockOptions.com, winner of numerous awards and the Web's most comprehensive, respected, and frequently visited resource on stock compensation for employees and executives. An internationally recognized expert on the Internet, Web marketing and promotion, Peter was one of an elite group of experts asked by the Pew Internet & American Life Project to comment on the evolution of the Internet and to make predictions for its Future. Peter has also spoken at conferences in the US and Europe. In 2007, the Massachusetts State senate recognized Peter Van Ness with an official citation commending his work producing Celebrate Gloucester and promoting the grand opening festival for the city's first cruise ship terminal on May 25, 2007. Peter served on the board of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (seARTS) for two years and resigned in October 2008 in order to devote more time to the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School. In 1996 Peter was a founding member of the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals. In 1984 Peter was elected to the first Boston Computer Society Member Services Council and served on its steering committee for two years.

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Vickie S. Van Ness Chief Media Officer and CFO Van Ness Group, Inc. Vickie grew up in the construction business and, in 1987, began her career in corporate finance. For 10 years, she specialized in integrating information technology into HR and Finance departments for Silicon Valley companies, including Robert Half International, Komag, Chancellor Computer Corporation, Businessland and Silvar-Lisco. In 1997, Vickie joined StockPlan, Inc., in Silicon Valley, where she pioneered the first web-based systems integrating stock trading with stock benefit plans. Working with E*Trade OptionsLink and NDB NetLink (now part of Ameritrade Plus) Vickie managed two ground breaking projects that, for the first time, allowed employees to enroll electronically in employee stock purchase plans and exercise and sell employee stock options in a completely paperless environment. As a senior, international client manager at StockPlan, Vickie served major industry leaders, such as Yahoo!, Dell, Amdahl, Business Objects, JD Edwards, Newport Corporation and The Hartford. Vickie is an internationally published author and speaker on User Interface Design and Women in Technology. In 2006 and 2007, Vickie drew on her roots in the construction business to serve as the owner's representative for the construction of Cruiseport Gloucester, the first cruise ship terminal in the city of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Vickie serves on the Business Women's Executive Committee of the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce. In October 2008, Vickie was appointed by Gloucester’s Mayor, Carolyn Kirk, to the Community Development Facilities Committee.

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AMY BALLIN, LICSW 47R Englewood Road Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930 (978) 525-2278

EXPERIENCE ADMINISTRATION Director. Peabody Community Education Program, Peabody, MA. 2006- Present (part-time), • Recruited, hired and supervised staff. • Managed budget. • Fundraised, advertised, and promoted the program. Administrative Intern. Fuller Elementary School, Gloucester, MA. 2006. • Created “Board of Success” to celebrate student accomplishments. • Opened the Parent Center and presented workshop on literacy at home. • Presented to the faculty on increasing parent involvement. • Observed teachers and preformed practice supervision. Founder and Chair. Science Park, West Parish School PTO, Gloucester, MA. 1990-2003 • Creator, designer, grant writer, and organizer of a $500,000 Science Park located at the school • Supervised 25 committee members. Conference Organizer. Environment and Social Justice Conference, Educators For Social Responsibility, Cambridge, MA. 1991. • Recruited speakers, fund raising and program development for 80 participants. Executive Director. Educators' Conference on Trash, Cambridge, MA. 1990. • Developed workshop format and recruited 22 workshop leaders for 325 participants. Director. Camp Massassapoag, Dunstable, MA. 1987. • Trained 20 counselors in environmental education. Supervised staff of 30. Director. Camp Ponkawissett, Westwood, MA. 1986. • Directed a multi-cultural day camp with 105 children. Trained and supervised staff of 30. Director. Wol's Nest Day Camp, Hancock, NH. 1983. • Managed/administrated an environmental day camp finances, publicity, recruitment, staff training, fundraising, program development.

COUNSELING

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Guidance Counselor. Landmark School. Manchester, MA. 2007- present (part-time). • Counseled students in middle and elementary school in groups and individually. • Offered consultation to classroom teachers around behavior issues. Guidance Counselor. Centerville & Briscoe Middle School. Beverly, MA. 2003-2005. • Provided crisis intervention for students in the behavior classrooms. • Consulted with teachers around difficult students. • Designed behavior plans and counseling for students. • Taught conflict resolution, anti-bullying and anti-racist education in classrooms. • Chaired I.E.P. annual meetings. Guidance Counselor. Kelley & Brown Elementary School. Newburyport, MA. 1996-2003 (half time). • Created, and taught parent education workshops on Positive Discipline, Communication Skills, Anger Management, and Conflict Resolution. • Designed a peer mediation program for the school and trained fourth graders as peer mediators. • Counseled students in both group and individual settings. • Taught conflict resolution and anti-racist education in classrooms. • Provided consultation to teachers, administrators and parents. Guidance Counselor. Pollard Middle School. Needham, MA. 1994- 1995. • Provided individual, family, and group counseling for students in grade 6-8. • Consulted with teachers on classroom management and at-risk students.

TEACHING Consultant/Trainer. Boston Area Educators for Social Responsibility. Cambridge, MA. 19862001. • Led workshops entitled "Conflict Resolution and Appreciation of Diversity" for school teachers, counselors, and administrators. • Wrote Trash Conflicts: A Science and Social Studies Curriculum on the Ethics of Disposal. Middle School Science Teacher. Brookwood School. Manchester, MA. 1993-1994. • Designed, implemented, wrote science curricula for children in grades 7-8. • Facilitated conflict resolution and diversity appreciation training for students and teacher interns. Science Teacher. Solomon Schechter Day School. Newton, MA. 1987-1991. • Instructed and created science curricula for children in grades 1-6. Science Teacher. Thompson’s Island, Boston, MA. 1986-1987. • Developed curriculum and instructed students, in grades 4-8, in environmental education. Science Teacher. Boston Museum of Science, Boston, MA 1986.

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• Taught physical and geological science to children in grades 4-8.

EDUCATION Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study. 2006. Lesley University, Cambridge, MA. Master of Social Work. 1993. Boston University, Boston, MA. Master of Science in Teaching. 1984. Antioch New England Graduate School, Keene, NH. Bachelor of Science. (Environmental Education). 1981. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. CERTIFICATIONS Certified Elementary Principal K-6 Certified Adjustment Counselor K-12. Certified in Guidance Counseling k-9. Certified in Elementary Education 1-6

PUBLICATION Trash Conflicts: A Science and Social Studies Curriculum on the Ethics of Disposal. Published by Educators for Social Responsibility, March 1993.

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Karen Aquipel Employment: Lobsta Land Restaurant- Gloucester, MA (Waitress, 2004 to present) The Fish Shack Restaurant- Rockport, MA (Waitress, 2002 to 2007) Cape Ann YMCA-Gloucester, MA Parent-Tot Gym classes, childcare, 2000 to 2002 Adams and Albie’s Inc.- San Diego, CA (Waitress, 1990 to 1999) Affiliations: Executive Board Member of One Gloucester, a grassroots, community advocacy group working to provide adequate educational resources to Gloucester’s children and to provide a vehicle for citizens to make positive change on critical issues facing Gloucester. Board member of the Gloucester School Connection, a non-profit, philanthropic organization that promotes, sponsors and encourages innovative programs for the Gloucester Public Schools. Member of the PTO leadership team at West Parish Elementary School Helped start a private parent-child gym class in Rockport, MA Volunteer at Project Wildlife- bird and small animal rehabilitator, community outreach Volunteer at the San Diego Zoo- CRES (Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species)- Primate Research Pad-Feeding and observation, Cleaning and prep, Enrichment Education: San Diego State University San Diego Mesa College -San Diego, CA Associate’s Degree in Arts, 1997 Associate’s Degree in Science, 1997 Rockport High School-Rockport, MA, Graduated 1984

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Kathleen R. Bertagna 7 Concord Street Gloucester, MA 01930

Work Experience Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts, 1994-1998 Executive Director Served as Executive Director of 1,000-plus volunteer organization. Oversaw development and implementation of Women’s Bar Foundation, a non-profit providing legal services to victims of domestic violence. Harvard University, 1989-1994 Assistant Director/ Sports Publicity Served as media contact for numerous varsity athletic teams, including men’s and women’s hockey, men’s and women’s lacrosse and football.

Education Ed.M., Harvard University Graduate School of Education, 1992 Master’s Degree in Administration, Planning and Social Policy B.A., Bates College, 1987 Bachelor’s Degree in History, with concentration in African-American history.

Volunteer Experience West Parish Elementary School Site-Based Council, 2006-Present Currently serve as co-chair of local elementary school on-site committee. Involved with budget development and school culture issues. Coordinator, West Parish Fluoride Program, 2002-Present Coordinate and administer voluntary fluoride program that serves more than 200 students. Coach, Gloucester Fishermen Youth Soccer, 2002-Present Coach both boys and girls at all levels and abilities in local youth soccer program.

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Katherine Ruff 9 Gerring Rd. Gloucester, MA, 01930 978-922-2869 [email protected]

Education: London School of Economics, London, England 2005 MSc Social Policy and Planning Concentration in Voluntary Sector Management Dissertation on financial accounting systems and their application to social impact measurement and reporting McGill University, Montreal, Canada 2001 Bachelor of Commerce Great Distinction, Dean’s Honor Roll, Award for Excellence in Marketing

Work Experience: Current Gloucester Group Consulting - Principal (part-time) Performance Measurement services for non-profits and grant makers. 2006 Lulu Inc. - Market Analyst Market segmentation and financial analysis for new products. 2005 Social Enterprise London - Social Enterprise Consultant Program design and performance measurement for Social Enterprises. 2004 United Way of Greater Toronto - Monitoring & Evaluation Consultant Facilitated a participative process with United Way’s Toronto Enterprise Fund to improve tracking and monitoring system. • Resulting data was more comparable, robust and better aligned with fund’s strategy. • Reporting obligations fell by 2 hrs/month or 60%. 2002-2004 Canadian Center for International Cooperation (CECI), Kathmandu, Nepal Began as a Marketing Advisor; took on additional responsibilities. • Marketing Advisor: marketing consultant to Nepali Social Enterprises. • Business Development Advisor: institutionalized capacity for developing social enterprises through workshops and documentation. • Program Manager: managed Volunteer Program; 35+ international volunteers. 2000 Entrepreneur Started a business to provide on-line marketing solutions for small businesses. 1996-1997

Clearnet Communications Inc. - Intern Zenon Inc. - Intern Summer jobs with the Marketing Departments of the Canadian mobile phone provider, Clearnet; and subsequently with the water technology company, Zenon.

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ATTACHMENT K: Statements of Commitment from GCA Founding Members Bruce Kaneb I’d like to express my commitment to the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School. Gloucester, Massachusetts is a wonderful community. It has a rich maritime culture that can be found in its art, architecture, literature, and its people. Moreover, Gloucester has many families deeply committed to the betterment of their children and community. They are active in various civic organizations and regularly volunteer in their children’s schools. Gloucester’s children deserve a school that embraces its rich cultural heritage and reflects the civic values of its families. I work at the Harvard Graduate School of Education developing professional education programs for K-12 academic leaders. Prior to this, I worked for fourteen years as a public school teacher, department chair and assistant principal. In these capacities I have acquired expertise in curriculum and instruction as well as a deep-rooted passion for public education. While most of my career has been devoted to public education, I am also an attorney. I worked for several years at a large, full-practice law firm in Boston. I plan to use my legal expertise along with my educational experiences to support Gloucester Community Arts Charter School. I am committed to GCA and look forward to serving as a Founding Member. Should you have any questions, please contact me at 617-660-7518 or [email protected].

Amy Ballin As a long time public school educator, activist, and volunteer, I am deeply committed to the formation and sustainability of the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School. I believe the community of Gloucester is ready for an innovative approach to education and I know we have a talented and dedicated group of parents, educators, and community activist who will support a Charter School in Cape Ann. I have been working in field of education for over 30 years. In my variety of roles as a teacher, social worker, and teacher training, I have acquired a vast set of skills to bring to the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School. My recent schooling includes a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS) from Lesley University in Cambridge where I also received my principal certification. Currently, I am in the final stages of the doctoral program in educational studies at Lesley University. My area of study is school culture and how it relates to student self-efficacy. I have spent thousands of hours volunteering in the Gloucester public schools where my three children attend elementary school. I have witnessed many of the challenges facing Gloucester and understand the gaps that a Charter School can fill. I am committed to continuing my efforts in public education in Gloucester by providing an innovative alternative for Gloucester families through the formation of GCA.

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Peter W. Van Ness President & CEO Van Ness Group, Inc. I am whole-heartedly committed to the development, establishment and the longevity of the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School. I have lived in Gloucester and owned a local business since 1983 (except for 3 years in the mid 1990s) and I have been very active in helping to promote and improve public education in Gloucester. In the 1980s I helped found the Frames of Mind program (based on the work of Howard Gardner of Harvard’s Project Zero and others) in the Gloucester public schools. I have also produced several fundraising events and work to raise money for the schools and other causes. My wife and I own and run Van Ness Group, a Web development, marketing and PR firm, based in Gloucester; and we have a five-year-old and thirteen-year-old boy. My oldest daughter was graduated from Gloucester High School in 2001. I bring over 25 years of experience building and running successful businesses, plus an entrepreneurial spirit to the Charter School. In addition, I have a deep connection to the community and to the arts. I worked as a professional musician in the late 1970s and early 1980s, managed local political campaigns, promoted Gloucester’s first cruise ship terminal and advocate for the arts as a director of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (seARTS). For over 20 years, I have been searching for sound alternatives to the opportunities currently available in Gloucester’s public schools. Finally, the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School offers a truly innovative model, rooted in our shared community values, that draws on the arts to help students and parents foster a deep sense of belonging in our community. The focus on civic engagement will inspire students and parents to participate in community projects that preserve our heritage and embrace our future.

Vickie S. Van Ness Chief Media Officer & CFO Van Ness Group, Inc. My husband and I own and run Van Ness Group, a Web development, marketing and PR firm, based in Gloucester; and we have a five-year-old and thirteen-year-old boy. I bring 20 years of experience in corporate finance, project management and business development to the Charter School. In addition I grew up in the construction business. In 2006 and 2007, I drew on those roots to serve as the owner’s representative for the construction of Cruiseport Gloucester, the first cruise ship terminal in the city of Gloucester, which opened on time with a highly acclaimed festival, produced by my husband and I, for the benefit of local charities. Since my eldest son started school in 2000, I have been searching for sound alternatives to the opportunities currently available in Gloucester’s public schools. Finally, GCA offers a truly innovative model, rooted in our shared community values, that draws on the arts to help students

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and parents foster a deep sense of belonging in our community. It is my sincerest hope that my youngest son will have a wonderful educational experience at the Charter School. Daniel J. Warren Public education in this country, state, and Gloucester specifically, is currently straining to meet the needs of stakeholders. Children, families, professionals, academics, labor unions, and policy makers bring a vast range of expectations and opinions about the means and ends of education. A lack of synthesis among these parties has resulted in a non-productive and disconnected system. Smaller, less bureaucratic and more democratic avenues must be pursued where students and families can be supported in innovative and contextually relevant ways. Such forums foster belonging and participation. I believe that the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School is a strong step toward addressing the needs of the citizens of Gloucester and a very positive step for the education of youth. I come to this endeavor with a range knowledge, experience, and passion. Through my academic training in Psychology, Education, and Child Development, I have received a strong base of understanding for the holistic development of humans and a respect for a theory driven and data informed course of action. My two years of teaching in the Gloucester public school system and my three years in the Needham public schools have been invaluable to my growth as a professional and a human. These years have also allowed me the opportunity to witness the widening disconnect between the needs of children and the practices of schools. I feel strongly that this divide must be spanned to restore the integrity of public education. I believe that the team pursuing the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School has the professional competence and community connection to establish a caring learning environment which confidently contributes to the strengthening of students and families in Gloucester. It is with great enthusiasm and respect that I begin this journey along side them toward a population that supports and is supported by informed and engaged citizens. Kathleen Bertagna As the parent of three elementary-age children and an ardent public-school supporter, I am whole-heartedly committed to the development, establishment and the longevity of the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School. I bring a background in education to offer the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School, having received a Master’s Degree in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Through volunteering in classrooms to coordinating health programs in my children’s school, I have developed many strong relationships in the Gloucester Public Schools. I currently serve as co-chair of the West Parish Elementary School Site-Based Management Council and have a keen understanding of the education challenges that are unique to the Gloucester community. Through a great deal of research and thoughtful discussion, I have come to believe that a charter school will provide Gloucester’s children with innovative educational opportunities that cannot be achieved within the confines of the current public school structure. I am committed to being an integral part of the establishment of the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School.

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Karen Aquipel As a parent of two children in elementary school and a strong supporter of public schools, I am deeply committed to the establishment and preservation of the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School. I have been an active volunteer in classrooms and in Parent-Teacher Organizations. I have helped run early education playgroups involving hands-on learning at both the Cape Ann YMCA and privately. I am involved in Community Advocacy groups working fervently to both support and improve Gloucester Public Schools and to encourage and promote innovative programs in the schools. I bring my experience, enthusiasm, and dedication to the development of the GCA. Our city has a rich cultural heritage and is full of natural resources- the ocean, our maritime heritage, Dogtown, our quarrying, and many extremely talented artists and musicians. GCA will provide Gloucester’s children opportunities to explore and experience hands-on the rich local history and abundant resources that our city has to offer, it will allow parents a deeper connection and involvement with their children’s school and enrich the greater community around us. I strongly support and I am sincerely committed to the establishment of GCA.

David Buchanan After considerable research and thoughtful discussion, I have come to believe that the establishment of the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School will offer educational opportunities to the children of the community that would not otherwise be available. Those of us involved in the development of the charter school see an exciting opportunity to build an educational community that draws on the greatest assets that Gloucester has to offer – the natural world, the maritime heritage and the arts – all the facets that make the city the unique place that it is. As the father of two children young children, this clearly holds appeal on a personal level. As an active member of the community, I am equally enthusiastic about the project in terms of what it will offer to the community for generations to come. I have spent more than 25 years in education. As one who began his teaching career as an instructor on a sail-training vessel, I have a particular appreciation for the educational potential that the sea has to offer. Since that initial experience, I have taught in a variety of settings with students from many populations, from those who were severely dyslexic to adult ESL students, from emotionally disturbed youth to students studying at the Honors level. All of these experiences have reinforced my view of the importance of having schools that teach to the diversity of students, from those whose learning style is at odds with traditional methods of instruction to those who have yet to have had their particular talents engaged. It is this belief that has motivated me to participate in the creation of GCA. In addition to my experience in the classroom, I bring other skills to the project. Since I left the classroom a few years ago, I have worked at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This has afforded me the opportunity to gain skills in writing and

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reviewing grants, as well as allowed me the chance to gain a solid knowledge of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the state accountability system. In addition, I have gained insight on a number of Federal and state initiatives for education reform. Currently, I am engaged in a project that will support the state Curriculum Frameworks by developing a statewide portfolio of student work that promises to broaden practices in curriculum and assessment. I believe that my experience in education along with that of many others who are engaged in this project will provide a solid foundation for the school. It is my view that the school will offer a meaningful alternative for Gloucester families as we endeavor to raise children who will carry their enthusiasm for learning throughout their schooling and in to adult life.

Kathleen Dailey As a founding member, I add my enthusiastic support for the establishment of the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School in Gloucester. Once a thriving fishing port, Gloucester now struggles to rebuild itself both socially and economically. The community, proud of its past but nervous and fearful for its future success, faces its greatest challenges in trying to successfully educate and retain its next generations. Currently with MCAS results “at of below” state levels and designated as a “targeted” city, Gloucester faces serious needs and challenges in its immediate future. With two elementary and it’s middle school requiring “corrective action” for failing MCAS results scores there exists a compelling need for an innovative approach. The GCA seeks to help alleviate that immediate tension. Through civic engagement and a curriculum that incorporates the abundant resources of the community, GCA hopes to expand the choices currently available in Gloucester by giving our students a hands-on approach in learning the dynamics of their city. Whether studying the arts with local artists, the mechanisms of city government or the scientific issues that challenge Gloucester’s natural habitat, our goal is to reinvest our students directly into Gloucester’s future. Having taught music for the past ten years in Gloucester and the surrounding communities, I have developed a passion and reputation for bringing out the best in my students. My philosophy, from George Bernard Shaw, sees what is and challenges students to go beyond and ask why not something different. Given the constraints of traditional classroom settings, I am truly excited at the possibilities that a charter school would present for the children of Gloucester. As a second career teacher, having successfully owned and operated my own desktop publishing business for fifteen years, I am excited and anxious to join with like-minded teachers and parents in creating a school that embraces the richness of Gloucester’s unique culture and environment.

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ATTACHMENT L GCA CURRICULUM TABLE Learning Objectives/Content & Skills/Assessments/Performance Examples/Arts Integration/Service Application ELA K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Internal: Ensure students become academically accomplished, intellectually curious, civically engaged Learning Objectives External: Ensure students meet and exceed MA state standards for ELA content and skills Language, Language, Language, Language, Language, Language, Language, Reading & Reading & Reading & Reading & Reading & Language, Language, Content Reading & Reading & Literature, Literature, Literature, Literature, Literature, Reading & Reading & Literature, Literature, Composition, Composition, Composition, Composition, Composition, Literature, Literature, Composition, Composition, Media Media Media Media Media Composition, Composition, Media Media Media Media Identify the Locate and Identify the Select and read Communicate Identify and Read gradeIdentify and Explain rules with audiences elements of characteristics analyze elements analyze the level texts with grade-level analyze main for class Skills of plot and through public character, texts with characteristics of various fluency and ideas and meeting, and setting, plot, characterization speaking. genres as of various understanding. fluency and supporting participate in character then use an forms by an understanding. Use reference genres. Contribute to details. meetings perspective. understanding of materials to author to Demonstrate Give oral class Clearly (share onReading short these elements to restate fact. accomplish a ability to see presentations discussions, communicate topic, answer nonfiction determine how Examine purpose. issue from including ideas using the for various questions work and qualities of Write a multipurposes, asking relevant another’s point spelling appropriate related to central techniques and creating paragraph of view in showing questions form, personal summaries. characters patterns, parts composition appropriate seeking further class structure, and experience). Using the influence the of speech, that has clear discussion. changes in information supporting Demonstrate structural resolution of the sentence and topic Experiment delivery and and clarifying evidence. understanding conflict. with genre and word structure. elements to using language development, Identify and of a text heard facts. essays. Write stories Create logical mood in for dramatic Write and draw or read Identify with wellcomplete organization, writing, effect. revise for conclusions through a different types from the developed stories in effective use Write brief mechanics and including detailed retell characters, several genres. of short realistic author’s use of research report of detail and or summary of clarity both setting, dialogue, Using basic variety in fiction, nonwith clear fiction and details and main events. stories. clear conflict and grammar rules Using poetic sentence fiction and focus and non-fiction. descriptions. Dictates, resolution, and and the editing devices structure. fantasy. supporting Use Make writes or sufficient process. Obtain detail. illustrations to Revise work, connections illustrates (rhyme & descriptive information demonstrating between the original stories communicate repetition, detail. from a variety understanding mood and influences of (fiction and Similes, Obtain of sources, chain of events of organization multiple non-fiction). sensory information from organize of text in stories both genres on a Use letters, language) a variety of information, (including topic. punctuation to original and The rules of sources, organize document paragraph authored by represent grammar and information, sources and formation). others. words. the editing document make an oral process sources and presentation. (mechanics, usage, present research. sentence structure)

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Traditional Assessments Academically Accomplished

Internal: Classroom observations, student work. External: Fountas & Pinnell Literacy Assessment

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Internal: Running records, anecdotal notes from class discussions, guided reading groups and student work. External: Fountas &Pinnell Literacy Assessment

Internal: Reading logs running records, notes on class discussions, guided reading discussion, standardsbased performance quizzes/tests) External: Fountas &Pinnell

Internal: Reading logs, group discussion, and standardsbased performance ratings (quizzes/ tests). External: MCAS

Internal: Reading logs, group discussion, and standardsbased performance ratings (quizzes/ tests). External: MCAS

Internal: Response journaling, group discussion, and standardsbased performance (quizzes/ tests). External: MCAS

Internal: Response journaling, discussion, compositions, oral presentations, standardsbased performance portfolios. External: MCAS

Internal: Response journaling, group discussion, compositions, oral presentations, and standardsbased performance ratings. External: MCAS

Internal: Response journaling, compositions, oral presentations, group discussion, and standardsbased performance ratings, portfolios. External: MCAS

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Signs up to

Performance share at class meeting, Examples Intellectually Curious/ Civically Engaged

prepares topic in advance; describes personal event and answers questions from classroom community. Retells a fairy tale with detail and demonstration of beginning, middle and end. Writes about personal experience in journal. Dictates stories.

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Uses a reader’s response journal to raise questions about a text (“I wonder why…”). Discusses own authorial choices, offers peer editing suggestions. Poses probing questions for visiting author or for class letter to author. Works with teacher and peer editors to proofread and edit work of student’s choosing to meet classroom standard (Capitalization and ending punctuation, standard spelling of high frequency words).

Uses weekly planning sheet to chart growth (what I did well as a reader/writer, what I will do next week). Uses reader’s response journal to make connections to texts. Provides evidence of reading and thinking through contributions to small-group discussion and written work. Participates in writer’s workshop, including documenting own revision and conferencing process.

Monitors thinking about both the content and the process of reading and writing through summary logs. Gives evidence for determining fact versus fiction. Locates relevant information within short texts. Develops skills for time management of short term work. Makes connections between the text and the student's life.

Uses diary writing to examine his/her own thoughts in relation to the characters in literature. Uses paragraphs, topic sentences, concluding sentences to more effectively convey knowledge. Analyzes similarities and differences in fables, folk tales, tall tales, myths, fairy tales. Displays awareness of the rules of grammar and the effect that they have on the reader.

Monitors thinking about both the content and the process of reading and writing through reflective journaling. Interprets literature using evidence from the text, prior knowledge, and life experiences. Pursues information to answer questions beyond the curriculum. Develops skills for time management of short and long term work. Makes connections between the text and the student's life.

Chooses most effective planning process (listing, mapping, outlining) to write an essay. Uses figurative language to write a poem that describes students' greatest interests. Organizes information from a scientific investigation in order to write a lab report. Agrees upon rules in classroom decisionmaking process.

Review teacher feedback on writing assignments and develop strategy to address writing weaknesses. Use poetic technique and figurative language to create poems about a milestone, emotion or event in life. Compare and contrast myths from the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome.

Tries different editing and revising strategies to complete a composition then chose the strategy that is most effective for the individual learner. Uses effective sensory images to describe a pivotal lifetime experience. Relates a literary work (e.g. Shakepeare's Romeo and Juliet) to a period under study in history class (e.g., the Renaissance).

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Arts Integration/ Service Application

Draws pictures that help tell stories to class. Selects and uses musical instruments that help provide sound effects for telling story.

GCA Charter Application

Plays a part in the telling a story. Draws illustrations to help tell a story.

Students will learn call and response songs. Make up own call and response songs.

Students write speeches and deliver them to raise awareness of environmenta l sustainability.

Students research local sea shanties concerning their origins, function, and evolution. Students also create their own and perform them.

Students participate in a production of a performance concerning global warming.

Conducts interviews of recent Gloucester immigrants and share during schoolwide community meeting. Debates positive and negative effects of forest industry in Africa and South America.

Conduct a school-wide "town meeting" to improve school climate. Create media presentations that effectively use graphics, images, and/or sound to present a point of view on a community issue.

Mentor students from early elementary grades. Lead school community meetings and model positive behavior for younger students. Perform community service at Gloucester food pantry.

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MATH Learning Objectives Content

Content

K 1 2 3 4 5 Internal: Ensure students become academically accomplished, intellectually curious, civically engaged External: Ensure students meet and exceed MA state standards for Math content and skills Number Sense & Number Sense Number Sense Number Sense & Number & Operations, Operations, Data Sense & Operations, Data Number Sense & Operations, Operations, Analysis & Data Analysis Data Analysis Analysis & & Operations, Probability, & Probability, & Probability, Probability, Data Data Analysis Measurement, Measurement, Measurement, Analysis & Measurement, & Probability, Probability, Geometry Geometry Geometry. Geometry.120 Measurement, Algebra, Geometry Measuremen t, Geometry. Number Sense & Number Sense Number Sense Number Sense & Number Operations, Data Number Sense & Operations, & Operations, Operations, Data Sense & Analysis & Data Analysis Data Analysis Analysis & Operations, & Operations, Probability, & Probability, & Probability, Probability, Data Data Analysis Measurement, Measurement, Measurement, Measurement, Analysis & & Probability, Geometry Geometry Geometry. Geometry. Probability, Measurement, Algebra, Geometry Measurement

, Geometry.

GCA Charter Application

6

7

8

Number Sense & Operations, Data Analysis & Probability, Algebra, Measurement, Geometry.

Number Sense & Operations, Data Analysis & Probability, Algebra, Measurement, Geometry.

Number Sense & Operations, Data Analysis & Probability, Algebra, Measurement, Geometry.

Number Sense & Operations, Data Analysis & Probability, Algebra, Measurement, Geometry.

Number Sense & Operations, Data Analysis & Probability, Algebra, Measuremen t, Geometry. Number Sense & Operations, Data Analysis & Probability, Algebra, Measuremen t, Geometry.

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Skills

Read numbers to 20. Count, order and compare sets of up to twenty objects. Combine two quantities. Copy, construct, extend and analyze the unit of simple patterns. Sort and represent data. Use data to solve community problems. Compare length of objects. Construct, describe, take apart and assemble 2-D and 3-D shapes.

GCA Charter Application

Read, write and sequence numbers to 105; group quantities and skip count efficiently; break apart small quantities into two addends; solve problems using addition and subtraction; describe, analyze and construct patterns; sort objects according to given attributes; represent, interpret and describe a set of data; Measure length and distance using a variety of units; describe, sort and identify 2-D and 3-D shapes.

Read, write, sequence and skip count to 110. Identify fractions and describe what ¼ means. Use several strategies to add and subtract two-digit numbers; fluently manipulate two-digit whole numbers using common addition and subtraction. Measure length. Identify number of sides of a polygon and characteristics of specific shapes. Use patterns to complete, describe and extend tables. Compare, describe, order and represent numerical data sets.

Read and write numbers to 10,000; memorize multiplication and division facts to 10; solve problems using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; Construct function machines and describe rule used Identify and describe congruent figures Identify fractions between 0 and 1 with denominators through 10, solve problems involving making change Measure area in square inches and square centimeters, measure and record lengths and distances to inch, half inch, and foot. Organize data, construct tables, and predict outcomes; create, read, and interpret charts and graphs

Rounding, addition, and subtraction up to 4 digit numbers. Fluency with multiplication and division facts to 10 Identify and describe congruent figures. Recognize fractional parts with denominators to twelfths Measure and record lengths and distances to nearest to 1/8 inch Measure the area of a polygon using square inches and square centimeters Representing and interpreting data

Decode and create number sentences using more sophisticat ed symbols (e.g. parenthese s, exponents, ratios, and variables) Using the appropriat e mathemati cal language, explain the method and procedure used to solve the problem. Accuratel y solve problems using meaningfu l and efficient methods.

Decode and create number sentences using sophisticated symbols (e.g. parentheses, exponents, ratios, and variables) Using the appropriate mathematical language, explain the method and procedure used to solve the problem. Accurately solve problems using meaningful and efficient methods. Identify, measure, describe, classify, and construct various angles, triangles, and quadrilaterals. Chose most effective strategy to find the area of complex shapes (e.g., dodecagons, parallelograms)

Estimate and compute with fractions, integers, decimals and percents. Determine when an estimate rather than exact answer is appropriate and apply to problem situations. Explain the method and procedure used to make this determination.

Estimate and compute with fractions, integers, decimals and percents. Identify slope as a measure of its steepness and as a constant rate of change from its table, equation or graph. Practices comprehensi on of mathematics concepts and formulas by creating problems and solving them independentl y.

112

Traditional Assessments Academically Accomplished

Internal: Student work and teacher documentation (photos, transcripts).

GCA Charter Application

Internal: Student work and teacher documentation (photos, transcripts).

Internal: Classroom assignments, group discussion, quizzes.

Internal: Classroom assignments, group discussion, quizzes. External: MCAS

Internal: Classroom assignments, group discussion, quizzes. External: MCAS

Internal: Classroom assignmen ts, group discussion , quizzes. External: MCAS

Internal: Classroom assignments, discussion, quizzes, presentations. External: MCAS

Internal: Classroom assignments, group discussion, tests, quizzes. External: MCAS

Internal: Classroom assignments, group discussion, quizzes, presentations. External: MCAS

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Engage in

Performance classroom discussions, Examples Intellectually Curious/ Civically Engaged

Arts Integration/ Service

explaining thinking and asking questions of others. Uses counting and 1:1 correspondence to plan use of classroom materials, supplies needed for events, etc.

Take the measurements of boomwackers then put them in order according

GCA Charter Application

Maintains a portfolio of work, selecting “best pieces” and reflecting orally on the mathematical thinking represented. Applies problemsolving to classroom situations and makes connections to other disciplines (Art, writing, reading, science, social studies).

Students observe patterns in nature and

Applies rubric to demonstrations of mathematical reasoning. Participates in discussions of strategies to solve problems, clarifying thinking in response to questions. Maintains a portfolio of work as well as a record of fluency progress. Uses math skills to reflect on social studies and science topics as well as classroom problems.

Understands own learning through record keeping, monitoring, and student-teacher conferencing. Uses mathematical concepts to define and analyze classroom problems toward a solution. Applies learned math skills to reasoning skills in other disciplines, especially music and visual art.

Understands own learning through record keeping, monitoring, and studentteacher conferencing. Predicts and explains the results of taking apart and combining twodimensional shapes Uses models to demonstrate common fractions as parts of a whole. Predicts outcomes based on analysis. Applies learned math skills to reasoning skills in other disciplines, especially music and visual art.

Understan ds own learning through record keeping, monitorin g, and studentteacher conferenci ng. Uses mathemati cal concepts to define and analyze communit y problems toward a solution. Applies learned math skills to reasoning skills in other disciplines , especially music and visual art.

Understands own learning through record keeping, monitoring, and studentteacher conferencing. Use tables and graphs to represent changes in real-life situations. Use proportional relationships (i.e., scale) to measure the distance on maps of various countries. Uses mathematical concepts to define and analyze community problems toward a solution. Applies learned math skills to reasoning skills in other disciplines, especially science.

Students will sing and jump rope to multiplication

Students create school displays which

Students create a recipe book using local

Students create scale models

Collect and interpret data from surveys on pertinent

Seek to understand rather than merely memorize mathematical formulas. Use ratio and proportion to develop a scale drawing of rooms at home. Use models, graphs, and formulas to determine velocity, density,, volume, etc.

Seeks to understand rather than merely memorize mathematical formulas. Applies the concept of slope to solve problems. Demonstrates an understanding of the Pythagorean theorem. Applies the theorem to solve problems. Computes the probability for simple compound events in students' lives. Uses scientific notation to calculate molecular weight.

Conduct beach clean-up and collect, organize, and analyze

Students participate in a mathematics tutoring program for

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Application

to size. Write down their letter names then put them in alphabetical order.

GCA Charter Application

extend patterns in own visual art (collage, paint, print).

tables. Create a collage of geometrical shapes. Draw a floor plan of the school.

represent the amount of waste produced by the school and Gloucester.

seasonal produce and prepare the dishes for the school.

of famous architect ure located in the United States.

school community issues. Use graphs to demonstrate changes in Gloucester fishing industry over time. Project world population growth over the 21st century and debate efforts by countries to curb population growth.

information on pollutants found.

younger students.

Develop and defend different plans to curb pollution on Gloucester beaches.

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SCIENCE Learning Objectives Content

Skills

Traditional Assessments Academically Accomplished

K 1 2 3 4 5 Internal: Ensure students become academically accomplished, intellectually curious, civically engaged External: Ensure students meet and exceed MA state standards for Science content and skills Weather, Life cycles and Rocks & Solar System & Weather, Simple Position and seasons, Minerals, Space Machines, Motion of food chains, Energy. periodic objects; Living fossils, states of Plants, Insects. Exploration, phenomena, and non-living matter, simple Soil, Animals & their senses and things. machines Environments observable properties of matter Identify and Identify and Identify and Accurately Describe and Describe describe parts of describe weather describe several describe rocks demonstrate weather on a phenomena, the solar and minerals, steps in the types of daily, weekly, simple machines system, soil plants, and motion as well food chain and monthly and and energy forms components, insects by the predict the as the impact seasonal basis. by the properties properties they and animal effects of of forces Observe they possess. classifications different events possess. (including periodic Show knowledge by the Show on various gravity) on phenomena of scientific properties they knowledge of organisms in that motion describe and method by testing possess. scientific the chain. and the object predict. Use and classifying Show method by Describe the in motion. science unknown objects knowledge of water cycle and testing and Demonstrate notebook to or phenomena. scientific classifying design an record method by unknown observations of understanding situations for testing and objects or observing of how an objects. classifying phenomena. solids, liquids organisms unknown and gases. habitat meets objects or Explain and its needs. phenomena. demonstrate the design and use of simple machines. Internal: Internal: Internal: Internal: Internal: Internal: Classroom Classroom Classroom Classroom Classroom Classroom assignments; assignments; assignments; assignments, assignments, assignments, written work written work written work group group group discussion, and teacher and teacher and teacher discussion, discussion, quizzes. documentation documentation documentation quizzes. quizzes. External: MCAS (photos, notes, (photos, notes, (photos, notes, External: External: transcriptions). transcriptions). transcriptions). MCAS MCAS

GCA Charter Application

6

7

8

Biology

Earth & Space Science

Physics

Identify and describe the processes that shape and sustain living organisms. Examine the systems of life and their influences on each other. Show how genes influence development over time.

Identify and describe: the composition and relationships between matter in the solar system; the history and composition of Earth and its atmosphere. Show knowledge of design method by constructing and testing structures.

Identify and describe different forms of energy. Show knowledge of how forces influence the design process.

Internal: Classroom assignments, group discussion, quizzes. External: MCAS

Internal: Classroom assignments, group discussion, quizzes. External: MCAS

Internal: Classroom assignments, group discussion, quizzes. External: MCAS

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Record daily

Performance weather data on a bar graph. Examples Intellectually Curious/ Civically Engaged

Arts

Create a representation of moon cycles. Refine observational drawing through drawings of portraits, observation of natural objects and sketches of classroom pet or other organisms.

Learn weather songs. Draw the

GCA Charter Application

Uses ramps and marbles to develop and test hypotheses, working with and without a partner. Describes force and motion using diagrams as well as reenactment with description. Propose and design several possible habitats for classroom pets. On field expeditions to tidal habitats, assemble examples of ways that organisms find shelter, water, food and air in that particular habitat.

Research and create a representation of several steps in the food chain for a selected habitat. Create “fossil evidence” to persuade classmates of an organisms habits or behavior. Select a simple machine, collect and document evidence of machine in school building and in community. Use photos and diagrams to explain workings of selected machines.

Conducts geology, and botanical investigations to answer selfdeveloped questions. Applies learned math and reading/writing skills to pursue and explain reasonable conclusions from scientific inquiry. Understand the role that science and technology play in the functioning of the school building, highlighting farming and landscaping. Understand the role that science & technology have played in land management in Massachusetts over its history. Apply findings to propose solutions to land use challenges to school representatives.

Students use role-play to

Students research ancient

Students maintain a

Conducts geological, and zoological investigations to answer selfdeveloped questions. Applies learned math and reading/writing skills to pursue and explain reasonable conclusions from scientific inquiry. Understand the role that science and technology play in the functioning of the school building, highlighting animal habitat needs. Understand the role that science & technology have played in the exploration of space and the other planets. Apply research findings to propose solutions to pest problems experienced by the school. Students create pest and

Conducts weather, geology, and energy scientific investigations to answer selfdeveloped questions. Applies learned math and reading/writing skills to pursue and explain reasonable conclusions from scientific inquiry. Understands the role that science and technology play in the functioning of the school building, highlighting energy consumption. Understands the role that science & technology have played in Gloucester during the colonial through the 1800's. Applies findings to propose solutions to energy consumption challenges to civic representatives.

Students participate in an

Conducts biological investigations to answer selfdeveloped questions. Applies learned math and reading/writing skills to pursue and explain reasonable conclusions from scientific inquiry. Understands the role that science & technology have played in marine biodiversity. Applies findings to propose solutions to threats to biodiversity.

Students investigate

Conducts scientific investigations to examine theories of physics, geology, and the evolution of life on Earth. Applies learned math skills to provide proof or explanation of scientific findings. Understands the role that science and technology play in the exploration of space and the examination of Earth.

Students design and

Conducts scientific investigations to examine theories of physics. Applies learned math skills to provide proof or explanation of findings. Understands the role that physics plays in architecture and construction.

Students create models

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Integration/ Service Application

weather conditions of the day.

dance impact of forces on an object in motion.

instruments. Students research simple instruments.

vegetable garden and organize school outdoor beautification efforts.

wildlife control strategies for school grounds and report findings to the community.

energy assessment of the school and perform a play about global warming.

marine wildlife of Cape Ann and create an art show featuring its biodiversity.

K

1

2

3

4

5

6

construct 3D maps of the geological features of Gloucester and its coastal ocean floors. 7

and architectural explanations of local bridges.

Ancient Civilizations

World History I: The World from the Fall of Rome through the Enlightenmen t

Compare information shown on modern and historical maps. Use correctly the words or abbreviations for identifying time periods or dates in historical (decade, age, era, century, millennium, AD/CE, BC/BCE, c3.) Construct and interpret timelines of

Explore the interrelatedne ss of historical events. Describe ways government influences the economy. Examine the development of world civilizations after the fall of the Roman Empire.

8

Social Studies Internal: Ensure students become academically accomplished, intellectually curious, civically engaged Learning Objectives Content

Skills

External: Ensure students meet and exceed MA state standards for Social Studies content and skills Landforms, The World Community and Gloucester Using maps and The globes; Characteristics North Exploration of Geography chronology; geography; citizenship; and American the Globe, Jobs; United Maps; family stories; Development Geography, Populating States symbols Folktales; of Cape Ann, Navigation North America and holidays.; United States exchange of Getting Around (through the location and symbols and goods and New England, 1800s), US description holidays; services. Icons of a Government using direction membership in Country words community Identify Identify How natural Explain the Put events in Create maps of Use maps and physical and different ways occurrences meaning of globes to order. Explain school, political time periods or affect changes of dating identify membership in neighborhood geography historical in landforms dates in continents and community and and home; narratives (17th focusing on: Identify trace the path of historical classroom rules. Draw several location, place, century, landforms by narratives ancestors to Explore jobs of Gloucester human seventeenth various (decade, Gloucester. familiar adults buildings or century, 1600s, interaction with century, 1600s, characteristics Interview in community. landmarks in the colonial and their Giving relation to one family members 1776) and use environment, period). influence on them correctly and create directions. another. in speaking and people’s lives. Interpret visuals and Write and movement, and Using maps to timelines of writing. narratives for draw about regions. navigate routes events studied. Describing Use maps to family stories community Use maps and and explain determine (especially rules (school, absolute globes to global general relating to family and location by identify position. direction. immigration or community). longitude and absolute Identify the Define barter, settlement). Retell folk latitude and locations countries give examples Study a local tales drawing relative which make up (latitude and of bartering business and comparisons location. longitude). the North and explain factors that between two Identify Identify the American how money influence or more. characteristics location of the works in trade. continent and business of a place on

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choices (what to sell, hours, prices).

GCA Charter Application

Give examples of how individuals influence.

their unique resources.

North and South Poles, the equator, the prime meridian, Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Hemispheres.

Earth. Examining human interaction with the environment across the globe. Describe the movement of people, goods, and ideas. Categorizing regions of the earth.

events and civilizations studied. Distinguish between primary and secondary sources and their uses Describe ways of interpreting archaeologica l evidence.

119

Traditional Assessments Academically Accomplished

Performance Examples Intellectually Curious/ Civically Engaged

Classroom assignments; documentation of classroom discussion

Classroom assignments; documentation of classroom discussion and oral presentations

Classroom assignments; documentation of classroom discussion and oral presentations

Internal: Classroom assignments, group discussion, quizzes. External: MCAS

Internal: Classroom assignments, group discussion, quizzes. External: MCAS

Internal: Classroom assignments, group discussion, quizzes. External: MCAS

Internal: Classroom assignments, group discussion, quizzes. External: MCAS

Internal: Classroom assignments, group discussion, quizzes. External: MCAS

Internal: Classroom assignments, group discussion, quizzes. External: MCAS

Illustrate and dictate “All about me” autobiography, including timeline. Create representations of classroom rules and what it looks like to follow these rules. Draw portrait and dictate or write description of the job of a school staff member (custodian, kitchen worker, teacher, nurse). Participate in class discussions of parents’ work (including presentations by parents). Guide classmates using right, left, forward, backward.

Class project to create a Gloucester neighborhood or downtown area as block representation. Describes school and family rules and consequences for breaking them. Choose oral retelling, illustrations or diorama to represent a folk tale.

Class uses map and globe to create imaginary journeys to continents other than North America. Students create maps showing family location over last 300 years. Students use interviews of family members to create a story (beginning, middle, end) about family’s immigration or settling in Gloucester. Class selects a local business to study and promote, selecting from several and evaluating including criteria for community

Locates New England states and describes their relation using cardinal points. Identifies and explains the significance of local and national symbols and artifacts. Gives examples of programs and services that are funded by Gloucester’s tax dollars. Describes the influential cultures, relevant historical events, and industries of Gloucester’s past and present.

Construct experiments showing the effects of erosion. Students report on the beaches of Cape Ann and the Appalachian Mountains to show the effects of erosion over time. Locates position on various types of maps. Creates maps and trail directions for others to follow. Shows the unique contributions of the natural and cultural resources of North America.

Defines and uses correctly language related to government (citizen, suffrage, rights, representation, federal, state, county, and municipal). Gives examples of the responsibilities and powers associated with major federal and state officials (the President, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, governor, state senators, and state representatives). Explains the structure of Gloucester’s government. Gives examples of the ways people save their money and explains the advantages and disadvantages of each. Defines what an

Locates places globally by name and coordinates. Recognizes the characteristics and unique contributions of Africa, the Middle East, Central & South Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania, North and East Asia, Europe, and South America. Understands the need for and function of global currencies. Gathers relevant and current information about foreign countries. Analyzes demographic data to derive

Describes the emergence of humans and the development of societies using archeological evidence. Recognizes the characteristics and unique contributions of the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Phoenicia, Israel, Greece, and Rome. Understands and properly uses economic vocabulary (producers, consumers, goods, services, buyers, sellers, natural resources,

Recognizes the major empires and political entities of this period: the Ottoman Empire, the Mongol Empire, the Chinese dynasties, the Byzantine Empire, and the major preColumbian civilizations in Central and South America. Identifies important political, economic, and religious developments of this period (development of Christianity and Islam and the European influence on the Western

GCA Charter Application

120

service by business.

Arts Integration/Service Application

Role play a member of the school staff for the class. “All about Mr./s ?” Tell class how you think students could make this staff person’s job easier.

GCA Charter Application

Students create series of role plays as well as a graphic representation of school rules to present at school meetings and post in lobby of school.

Students will create a “wax museum” of characters from past and present Gloucester. Characters must be authentic and can be adult or children. Each student will tell museum visitors a short story about their character.

Students participate in a local resource advocacy program. They raise awareness of the benefits of local farming, renewable energy, and recycling.

Identifies the major cities, geological features, and bodies of water in North America.

entrepreneur is and gives examples from colonial history.

information about a group of people.

taxes, specialization, savings, and demand, entrepreneur, prices, markets, scarcity, trade, barter, money, medium of exchange, supply)

Hemisphere. Describes the development of democratic, scientific, and secular thought progressions in European history.

Students create 3D models of the geological features of Cape Ann. Students examine the history of the various maritime industries of Cape Ann.

Students lobby local representatives to address their issues of concern. They research relevant information, present recommendations, and work toward solutions.

Students contact students from around the globe to share experiences and knowledge.

Students research and recreate a theatre from one of the ancient civilizations.

Using a collection of current events articles reflecting the similarities of Judaism, Islam and Christian perspectives, students will role play interviews with the leaders of these discrete faiths in a talk show format to compare and contrast their beliefs on a range of current topics.

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ARTS Learning Objectiv es Content

Skills

K 1 2 3 4 Internal: Ensure students become academically accomplished, intellectually curious, civically engaged External: Ensure students meet and exceed MA state standards for the Arts content and skills

5

6

Music, Dance, Theatre, Visual Arts

Music, Dance, Theatre, Visual Arts

Music, Dance, Theatre, Visual Arts

Music, Dance, Theatre, Visual Arts

Music, Dance, Theatre, Visual Arts

Music, Dance, Theatre, Visual Arts

Music, Dance, Theatre, Visual Arts

Sing

Sing independently and in groups. Play simple melodic patterns in solfege and on classroom instruments. Move to a musical beat, with/without partner. Dance to simple folk dances. Incorporate beat patterns into simple poems. Use pencils, markers, crayons, ink, paint, and paper to make marks that create an image from observation, memory and imagination. Connect multiple objects to create 3D constructions.

Sing simple solos and duets, ostinatos and rounds. Read and sing short rhythm patterns of quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes. Move to music and make appropriate gestures, motions and/or steps to show stead beat. Dance to simple folk dances. Invent and use original graphic or symbolic notation to represent vocal or instruments. Visual Arts: work from observation, memory, imagination and invention. Manipulate tools on a beginning level. Collage, drawing, painting, printing, 2D construction. Make simple judgments about interpretation and composition of performance/ artwork.

Sing as a member of an ensemble. Sight sing simple pitch notation.Play simple melodies on recorder. Understand dividing up music into measures with 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 timing. Identify harmonic intervals and rhythmic patterns using whole, half, dotted half, quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes. Demonstrate ability to learn and perform dance sequences working individually and in groups. Demonstrate knowledge of the elements of a good 2D composition. Demonstrate knowledge of balance, scale form and structural integrity Demonstrate knowledge of the elements of a good 2D composition. Demonstrate knowledge of balance, scale, form and structural integrity in 3D construction.

Sight sing simple pitch notation in treble clef in major keys in 2/4, 3/4, 4/4.Perform on a string, wind or classroom instrument. Learn to play 12 bar blues Compose music that uses dynamics and an indication of tempo. Notate a familiar song using invented or standard notation. Dance advanced square/contra dances. Critique the playing of other. Visual Arts: Work from observation, memory, imagination and invention. Demonstrate command of tools and materials. Collage, drawing, painting, printing, 3D construction.

Sing independently, accurately and with good control. Perform as a soloist on an instrument in 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4 time. Sight read 8 measures on an instrument. Compose a rhythm composition of 16 measures in duple and triple meter. Learn to critique playing, singing and music compositions. Demonstrate ability to learn five different types of ballroom dances and perform them with partners. Work independently on dance/musical/artis tic work toward an exhibition or performance. Exhibit elements of a good 2D and 3D composition consistently. Work collaboratively with others. Use constructive

Sight sing 8 measures of music using simple solfege. Compose a melody composition of at least 16 measures in duple and triple meter using notation and corresponding rests. Perform as a soloist on an instrument 16 measures of music on pitch, in rhythm, with appropriate dynamics, phrasing and timbre. Sight read on an instrument 8 measures of music with 8th notes and dotted quarter notes in a one octave range. Dance advanced square/contra or ballroom or advanced movement. Visual Arts: Work from observation, memory, imagination and invention. Demonstrate command of tools and materials. Collage, drawing, painting, printing, 3D construction. Work collaboratively toward the performance or display of a musical, dance or visual art display.

independently

and in groups. Play simple patterns on classroom instruments Move to music and make appropriate gestures, motions and/or steps to show steady beat. Dance to simple folk dances. Incorporate beat patterns into simple poems. Visual arts: work from observation, memory, imagination . Manipulate tools on a beginning level. Make simple value judgments. Make critical judgments.

GCA Charter Application

Make suggestions for improvement after critiquing his/her own playing or artwork.

criticism to improve quality of work.

7

8

Script reading, Scriptwritin g, Improvisatio n & Media Identify and describe the 5 W’s of a script. Distinguish through character & narrator voice the difference between dialogue & stage directions. Create a movie preview from the script using voice over narration, mini-scenes with a beginning, middle and end to promote the story.

Music, Dance, Theatre, Visual Arts

Perform on a classroom chordal instrument (piano or guitar) and play harmonic progressions and simple melodies. Show imaginative and novel use of instruments and sound sources when composing a musical surprise. Describe music and musical performance in detail. Conduct the band, chorus or orchestra understanding the role of conductor as leader. Work in collaboration with others. Create and perform a jazz style dance 122 and song.

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Traditional Assessments Academically Accomplished

Performance Examples Intellectually Curious/ Civically Engaged

Arts Integration/ Service Application

Classroom observation

Classroom observation.

Class/dance/drama critiques and solo performances/art exhibitions. Quizzes.

Understands own voice, own space and own self. Dances in community.

Understands own voice, own space and own self. Dances in community. Displays art creations to the school with sense of accomplishment.

Sings in a group of peers, dances with peers and performs for an audience. Create own song and/or dance and performs for peers. Accompanies on classroom instruments while classmates sing or dance.

Sings and dances with class.

Sings and dances with entire school community. Understands concept of class, family, community, city.

Research how early musicians were paid for their music. How did Beethoven and Mozart get paid? How are musicians paid today?

GCA Charter Application

Class/ensembl e/dance/drama/ instrument critiques and solo performances/ art exhibitions. Quizzes. Develop ability to articulate and defend judgments about work; articulate and defend judgments about other's work and use criticism to improve weaknesses. Develop good practicing habits and perform as a member of a group at school or in community.

Class/ensembl e/dance/drama critiques and solo performances/ art exhibitions. Quizzes

Research how early musicians were paid for their music. How did Beethoven and Mozart get paid? How are musicians paid today?

Produce a play/musical about the effects of global warming. Students participate in a ballroom dancing program that culminates in a community event.

Perform individually and in a small group on string, wind or classroom instruments. Perform an original short song. Critique a performer or performance Teach/demonst rate for younger students or faculty square/contra dancing.

Class/ensembl e/instrument/d ance/drama critiques and solo performances/ art exhibitions. Quizzes Develop ability to control the elements, principles and techniques of the dramatic, musical and visual art; create a work, solve a problem, or develop a performance over time and in depth; show depth of feeling and detail in performance and/or composition; and experiment with materials. solve problems in imaginative ways, and/or initiate own projects. Produce a play/musical about the effects of global warming. Students participate in a ballroom dancing program that culminates in a community event.

Class/ensembl e/instrument/d ance/drama critiques and solo performances/ art exhibitions. Quizzes Develop an original vocal/instrume ntal/dramatic/v isual art work. Perform/displa y above work for peers and faculty. Perform/displa y above work for community.

Class/ensem ble/dance/dr ama critiques and solo performance s/exhibitions . Quizzes Summarizes the key moments of a script and uses the media format of a movie preview to effectively persuade the audience to see the movie. Demonstrate s deep understandin g of the story and uses improvisatio n to write and present an original dramatizatio n of a movie preview.

Class/ensembl e/dance/drama critiques and solo performances/ exhibitions. Quizzes

Produce a musical/play that highlights the artists and musicians of Gloucester.

Create a promotional video for Gloucester showcasing what kids would love the most about the city. Present the best video to the mayor.

Create some unique instruments new sounds for the future.

Demonstrate an understanding of music indigenous to America (i.e. native American, blues, jazz and immigrant contributions.) Perform some of that music and present some examples of the corresponding art of that era.

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ATTACHMENT M: Information Sheet,

CHARTER APPLICANT INFORMATION SHEET These sheets must be attached to the Prospectus and Final Application. Please type information. Name of Proposed Charter School: Gloucester Community Arts Charter School School Address (if known): P.O. Box 1631 School Location (City/Town): Gloucester Primary Contact Person: Peter W. Van Ness Address: 11 Magnolia Avenue City: Magnolia

State: MA

Daytime Tel: (978) 525-9093

Zip: 01930

Fax: (775) 552-9093

E-mail: [email protected] The proposed school will open in the fall of school year: School Year

Grade Levels

First Year Second Year Third Year Fourth Year Fifth Year

4-7 2-8 K-8 K-8 K-8

2010-11 Total Student Enrollment 120 200 240 240 240

Grade span at full enrollment: K-8 Total student enrollment when fully expanded: 240 Age at entry for Kindergarten, if applicable: Age 5 by September 1 Commonwealth charter applicants only: Will this school be a regional charter school? X No

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ATTACHMENT N: Certification Sheet,

COMMONWEALTH CHARTER SCHOOL CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

Proposed Charter School Name Gloucester Community Arts Charter School

Proposed School Location (City/Town) Gloucester

I hereby certify that the information submitted in this prospectus/application is true to the best of my knowledge and belief; that this prospectus/application has been or is being sent to the superintendent of each of the districts from which we intend to draw students; and further I understand that, if awarded a charter, the proposed school shall be open to all students on a space available basis, and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, age, ancestry, athletic performance, special need, proficiency in the English language or a foreign language, or academic achievement. This is a true statement, made under the penalties of perjury. Signature of Authorized Person___________________________________________ Date__________ (Please label the copy that has original signatures.) Print/Type Name:

Peter W. Van Ness

Address: 11 Magnolia Avenue Daytime Phone: 978.525.9093

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Fax:

(775) 552-9093

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ATTACHMENT O: Statement of Assurances

STATEMENT OF ASSURANCES This form must be signed by a duly authorized representative of the applicant group and submitted with the Final Application. An application will be considered incomplete if it is not accompanied by the Statement of Assurances.

As the authorized representative of the applicant group, I hereby certify under the penalties of perjury that the information submitted in this application for a charter for Gloucester Community Arts Charter School (name of school) to be located at Gloucester is true to the best of my knowledge and belief; and further, I certify that, if awarded a charter, the school: 1. 2.

3. 4.

5.

6.

7.

8. 9.

10. 11.

12. 13. 14.

Will not charge tuition, fees, or other mandatory payments for attendance at the charter school or for participation in programs that are required for students. Will enroll any eligible student who submits a timely and complete application, unless the school receives a greater number of applications than there are spaces for students, in which case a lottery will take place in accordance with Massachusetts charter laws and regulations. Will be secular in its curriculum, programs, admissions, policies, governance, employment practices, and all other operations. Will be open to all students, on a space available basis, and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, age, ancestry, athletic performance, special need, proficiency in the English language or a foreign language, or academic achievement. Will adhere to all applicable provisions of federal law relating to students with disabilities, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1974; and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Will adhere to all applicable provisions of federal law relating to students who are English language learners, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974; MGL c. 76, § 5; and MGL c. 89, 71 § (f) and (I). Will comply with all other applicable federal and state laws and regulations including, but not limited to, the requirements to administer the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) and to offer a school nutrition program. Will meet the same performance standards and assessment requirements set by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for students in other public schools. Will submit an annual report, an accountability plan, and annual independent audits to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by all required deadlines. Will submit required enrollment data each March to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by the required deadline. Will meet enrollment projections through demonstration of need and support for the proposed charter school in the communities from which students would be likely to enroll. Will operate in compliance with generally accepted government accounting principles. Will maintain separate accountings of all funds received and disbursed by the school. Will participate in the Massachusetts State Teachers’ Retirement System as applicable.

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15.

Will employ individuals to teach that either hold a license to teach in a public school in Massachusetts or that will take and pass the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) within their first year of employment and meet all applicable staff requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Will employ individuals as special education service providers that are appropriately qualified.

16.

Will provide the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education with written certification/assurance that a criminal background check has been performed, prior to their employment, on all employees of the school who will have unsupervised contact with children. Will obtain and keep current all necessary permits, licenses, and certifications related to fire, health and safety within the building(s) and on school property. Will at all times maintain all necessary and appropriate insurance coverage. Will submit to the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education the names, home addresses, and employment and educational histories of proposed new members of the board of trustees prior to their service. Will file with the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the State Ethics Commission, and the city or town clerk where the charter school is located, completed financial disclosure forms for the preceding calendar year for all members of the board of trustees according to the schedule required by the charter school regulations. Will, in the event the board of trustees intends to procure substantially all educational services for the charter school through a contract with another person or entity, provide for approval of such contract by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in advance of the beginning of the contract period. Will submit in writing to the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education a request to amend its charter if the school plans to make a change to its program or governance, as defined in 603 CMR 1.11. Will provide to the Charter School Office a school code of conduct, Board of Trustee bylaws, an enrollment policy, and a certificate of building occupancy for each facility in use by the school, that have been approved by the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education/Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education and according to the schedule set by the Charter School Office but in any event prior to the opening of the school.

17. 18. 19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

___________________________________ Signature

___________________ Date

Affiliation

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