Lee Montessori PCS Application 312013

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Lee

Montessori

Charter School

Application

March 1 2 13


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APPLICANT INFORMATION SHEET

Request for Approval

This application is a request to establish and operate a Public Charter School as provided in the District

of

Columbia

School Reform Act of 1995, as amended.

Name ofproposed Charter School: Lee..

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Lee Montessori Public Charter School Application 2013

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The mission of Lee Montessori

PCS

is to create a peaceful multi-age learning environment for

preschool and elementary aged children that fosters

the

physical social emotional and academic

growth

and development

of students

and produces life-long learners using

the

materials and

philosophy developed

by

Maria Montessori

and

furthered by the Association Montessori

lnternationale AMI).

Given

that

Montessori

was

originally developed to

serve at

-risk

students

and

the

success of

other

Montessori programs in

DC

and

other

cities

the

Founding Board

of

Lee Montessori

PCS

is confident

that this curriculum will successfully lay a foundation for our

target student

population to be

college and

career

ready. The children with

whom

Maria Montessori began her world-renowned

method

and research over a

century

ago were

the most

at-risk children in the lowest socio

economic neighborhoods in Italy. We believe at-risk children

are the

population that can most

benefit from this individualized constructivist-based curriculum and that our school will reach

many

of these children in our target population. A Montessori classroom is inherently an inclusive

environment

and will

promote

itself

as the

least restrictive environment for special needs students.

In addition

the

model of mixed-age classrooms and 3-year learning cycles facilitates children

learning

at

their own pace. Families will be able to provide

their

children

with

a comprehensive

Montessori education

starting at

3 years

of

age and continuing through the elementary years a

trend

that

is rarely found in a public

or

private setting.

We will serve children ages 3-12 years in Montessori

primary

and elementary classes. At capacity

we will enroll approximately

2

children and hope to be permanently located in

either

Ward 5 or

Ward 7. We will offer an extended school day with hours from 9am-

4pm

with 186 academic days in

the

2014-2015 school calendar. In addition

students

will have

the

opportunity to participate in a

wide range of extracurricular activities during before and after care offerings.

Two current public Montessori teachers in Washington DC developed the idea for Lee Montessori

PCS with

the

assistance

of

current

parents

of Montessori

students

in DC public schools. Recognizing

that their expertise was primarily inAMI curriculum and accreditation standards the initial

founding members

reached

out to members

of

the community with

strong

leadership skills in

the

areas of

education law

business

development board governance fundraising educational

administration and community activism to expand

the

founding group. In addition to

their

varied

skills many

of the

founding group members have a personal connection and dedication to the

Montessori movement. Upon the granting of a charter Lee Montessori PCS will be governed by an

active and diverse Board of

Trustees

with a dedication to student achievement and upholding

the

mission and philosophies laid out in

the charter

.

2


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Lee

Montessori Public Charter School Application, 2 13

TABLE OF CONTENTS

.

-

Applicant

Information

Sheet

........................................... ..................................

1

Executive

Summary

2

Table

of

Contents ................................................................................................................... 3

A Educational Plan

.............................................................................................................

4

1. Mission and Purpose of the Proposed Public Charter School . . . . . 4

2 Goals and Student Academic Achievement Expectations . .

14

3. Charter School Curriculum

..

...

. ..

.

....

..

...

..... ... .

.

....

...

.

.16

4. Graduation/Promotion Requirements . . . ... . . . ..... .. . . .. ..22

5 Support for Learning .

....

.... . . ... . . . . . . . . . 23

B Business Plan

34

1 Planning and Establishment . . .

. . 34

2

Governance

and

Management. ...

.

.

.

...

..

..

........

..

.

....

..

..

38

3

Finance .

. ... .

. . . . ..

45

4 Facilities .

.

.

...

.

. .. . ..

.

. . .

. .

..

49

5 Recruiting

and

Marketing ... .

...

..

. . .

.

.

....

.

. . 52

C

Plan ofOperation

............................................................................................................ 51

1. Student Policies

and

Procedures .

.

.

...

.

. . . .

.

57

2 Human Resource Information . . ... . . . . . . .

.58

3. Arrangements for Meeting District and Federal Requirements ... .. .. . 65

4. Implementation

ofthe

Charter . .. . ......65

Forms

and

Required Documents

7

D Certifications Assurances Form)

E Budget

F

Resumes, Board Member Agreements,

and

Statements of

Interest

and Qualifications

G Conflict of

Interest

H

Demographic Analysis

I. Required Documents

J Curriculum Sample

K

Letters

of

Support


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Lee Montessori Public Charter School Application,

2013

A. EDUCATIONAL PLAN

1 MISSION AND PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSED PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL

I

A. MISSION

AND

PHILOSOPHY

Mission

The mission of Lee Montessori PCS is to create a peaceful, multi-age learning environment for

preschool and elementary aged children

that

fosters

the

physical, social, emotional and academic

growth and development

of students

and

produces

life-long

learners

using

the

materials and

philosophy developed by Maria Montessori and furthered by the Association Montessori

lnternationale

AMI).

Philosophy

Given that Montessori

was

originally developed to

serve

at-risk

students

and the success

of

other

Montessori

programs

in

DC

and other cities,

the

Founding Board

of

Lee Montessori

PCS

is confident

that this curriculum will successfully lay a foundation for

our

t

arget student

population to be

college and career ready. The children with whom Maria Montessori began her world-renowned

method and research over a century ago

were the

most

at

-risk children in

the

lowest socio

economic neighborhoods in Italy. We believe at-risk children are

the

population that can most

benefit from this individualized, constructivist-based curriculum and that

our

school will reach

many of

these

children in our target population. A Montessori classroom is inherently an inclusive

environment and will

promote

itself as

the

least restrictive environment for special needs

students

.

In

addition,

the

model ofmixed-age classrooms

and

3-year learning cycles facilitates children

learning at their own pace. Families will be able to provide their children with a comprehensive

Montessori education

starting

at 3 years

of

age

and

continuing through the elementary

years

a

trend that

is rarely found in a public or private setting.

I

B. EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF THE TARGET STUDENT POPULATION

In

the

initial years

of

operation, Lee Montessori PCS will serve children ages 3-9 in traditional

Montessori multi-age classrooms. Pre -school, pre-K, and kindergarten are considered Montessori

primary and includes ages 3-6. Montessori

lower

elementary (1st,

znct

and 3rd grades) encompasses

ages 6-9. Lee Montessori plans to locate in

either

Ward 5 or Ward 7

but

will be open to children

from all parts

of

the city. Consequently, it is difficult to predict exactly the nature

or

composition

of

our student body. However, based

on

data from DCPS, existing charter school enrollments, and

the

demographics

of

these Wards, we can anticipate that 70-80% of the target student population will

qualify for free or

reduced

price lunch, 5-10% will be identified as students with special

needs

and

as many

as

10% will

be

English Language Learners.

Research shows

that

poverty is a significant factor associated with

poor

educational outcomes. A

2012

study

from The Brookings Institution examines

the

effect of poverty on "school readiness" in

1 These figures come from the Office of the State Superintendent of Schools OSSE) and the DCPCSB 2012 School

Performance Report

2 Julia B. Isaacs, "Starting School at a Disadvantage: The School Readiness

of

Poor Children" Center on Children and


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Lee Montessori PCS Application 312013

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Transcript of Lee Montessori PCS Application 312013