Charter-Free PS15: Other public schools have fought the DOE on the charter school issue and won... kind of

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Other public schools have fought the DOE on the charter school issue and won... kind of

I'm posting the lawsuit petition brought by the Nest School against the DOE here because NEST won its case, preventing a charter school from being co-sited within its building.

Of course, the DOE doesn't take kindly to being challenged, and reacted punitively against NEST afterwards, but it's possible to take serious measures to save schools. And the DOE might get the message if enough schools fought back, and kept the heat on afterwards as well.

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF ALBANY ----------------------------------------------------------------------PARENT TEACHERS ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC Index No.: SCHOOL, M 539 a/k/a NEST, EMILY ARMSTRONG, Date Purchased: LUIS GASCO, MICHELLE BUFFINGTON AND ABBY HOROWITZ, Petitioners, PETITION UNDER -against- CPLR ARTICLE 78 BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, Respondent, For a Judgment Pursuant to Article 78 of the CPLR. ----------------------------------------------------------------------Petitioners herein (collectively, the “Petitioners”), appearing by and through their counsel, Hass & Gottlieb, hereby allege as follows:
THE PARTIES1. At all relevant times, petitioner, the Parent Teachers Association (“Nest PTA”) of Public School M539, also known as New Exploration of Technology Science and Math, or NEST + M (hereinafter “NEST” or the “School”), is an association of parents whose children are students enrolled at NEST.
2. At all relevant times, petitioners Emily Armstrong, Luis Gasco, Michelle Buffington and Abby Horowitz (collectively, the “Individual Petitioners”) were all residents and taxpayers of the City of New York and parents of children currently attending NEST.3. At all relevant times, The Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York (the “Regents”), is named in its capacity under the New York Charter Schools Act of 1998 (L. 1998, ch. 4 §§1 et seq, as amended, hereinafter the “Charter School Act”) (hereinafter, the Regents may be termed, the “Respondent”).
GENERAL ALLEGATIONS AND BACKGROUND4. At all relevant times, Joel Klein (“J. Klein” or the “Chancellor”) was and is the appointed Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education and is in charge of administering the City of New York public schools. 5. At all relevant times, J. Klein was a “Charter Entity” pursuant to New York Education Law §2851(3)(a). 6. At all relevant times, The New York City Department of Education (the “DOE”), was and is an administrative body of The City of New York, authorized to administer the New York City public school system.7. This Article 78 proceeding seeks to revoke of the approval of the subject charter school by the Respondent in violation of applicable law.
The Nest School 8. NEST is a public school that was founded in 2001 pursuant to a resolution duly adopted, on May 16, 2001, by The Board of Education of the City of New York (the “Resolution”) which resolution was duly executed by Chancellor Harold Levy, and by one Judith Rizzo, one David Klasfeld and one Chad Vignola.9. NEST was established after Chancellor Levy requestd that Celenia Chevere, a long time educator with a stellar track record at establishing and administering schools in New York City, create a new school that would be the only K-12 public school in New York City housed in a single school building with the intention of enabling a seamless K-12 integrated curriculum. NEST, if successful, was designed to serve as a model of a public school with the intention that other schools using the same approach would be established in each borough of New York City. 10. NEST was also established because, at the time of its establishment, Community School District One experienced an exodus of its students in large numbers to other districts. NEST was established to provide an alternative to these fleeing students. 11. The plan that established NEST provided for the following key features: (a) NEST would have an admission process affording equal access to the community to insure that the school’s enrollment would be reflective of the diversity of School District One and of New York City; and (b) the school would occupy an entire school building.12. NEST commenced its first year as a New York City public school in September of 2001, with a student population of 130. In the present school year 2005-2006, NEST has 739 students. For the school year 2006-2007, NEST intends to have over 1,000 students, pursuant to a revised estimate submitted by the School. 13. NEST has become a model of excellent public school education. This year’s scores in a variety of tests administered by New York State and New York City that have yet to be published by the DOE, ranked NEST in the top three schools in New York City. 14. In fact, based on data provided by the DOE and as further testament to NEST’s excellence, is the constant improvement in the Standardized Test Scores of its students as follows: • In 2003, based on the test scores in the English Language Arts (ELA) test administered by New York State and New York City, only 58 percent of NEST’S students achieved the highest performance levels available. By 2005, in the same ELA testing, 99.1 percent of NEST’s students achieved the highest performancelevels available.• In 2002, based on the test scores in mathematics tests administered by New York State and New York City, only 41.5 percent of NEST’s students achieved the highest performance levels available. By 2005, in the same mathematics’ tests, 97.4 percent of NEST’s students achieved the highest performance levels available.• In 2003, based on the test scores in the English Language Arts exam for 8th grade administered by New York State (the “State ELA Test”), 37 percent of NEST’s students achieved the highest performance levels available. By 2005, in the same New York State ELA Test, 96.8 percent of NEST’s students achieved the highest performance levels available on this test. • In 2003, based on the test scores in the mathematics for 8th grade test administered by New York State (the “State Math Test”), 76 percent of NEST’s students achieved the highest performance levels available. By 2005, in the same State Math Test NEST, 100.0 percent of NEST’s students achieved the highest performance levels available. • In 2003, based on the test scores in Science for 8th grade test administered by New York State (the “State Science Test”), 82.6 percent of NEST’s students achieved the highest performance levels available. By 2005, in the same State Science Test NEST, 100.0 percent of NEST’s students achieved the highest performance levels available.15. The achievement of NEST is not only academic. NEST’s attendance rates since its inception are the best in New York City:
16. Most of NEST’s student population resides in District 1 and in the adjacent District 2 (which in many cases is physically closer to the School). 17. In fact, 40.3% percent of the student population of NEST resides within a 1 mile radius of NEST, and 60.8% percent of the student population of NEST resides within a 2 mile radius of NEST. . 18. As such, NEST is truly a neighborhood school serving both the Lower East Side and lower Manhattan.19. Based on data provided by the DOE, as indicated in the chart below, NEST is a neighborhood school and the ethnic/racial background of NEST’s student body resembles that of New York City, the Lower East Side and is much more diverse than the profile of schools that are similar to NEST:
20. Based on data available from the DOE, testing scores achieved by NEST’s students exceed scores of schools that are similar to NEST, which accept students based on screening. However, some of these similar schools, such as Hunter and Anderson, for example, admit students primarily based on an IQ-type testing. In fact, to be accepted into any of these programs, a kindergarten student must test in the top ONE OR TWO PERCENTILE in the Sanford-Binet Test or equivalent. 21. Unlike the Hunter and Anderson programs, NEST admits kindergarten students based on a three-hour play group in which each child’s ability is observed and evaluated. Similarly, the admission policy for NEST Middle School and High School is more “holistic” as NEST looks more at the potential and motivation of each applicant rather than at any given I.Q. or other standardized test scores.22. The miracle of NEST is that it has been able to take “ordinary” students who are disciplined and motivated and to turn these students into “gifted and talented” students.23. In recognition of NEST’s achievement in 2004, the DOE awarded NEST the status of a “Gifted and Talented School.” 24. In fact, NEST is an example of public education at its best and should serve as a model for other public schools.
The Columbia Street Facility that Houses NEST 25. Part of the Resolution that founded NEST provided that NEST would occupy a public school building located at 111 Columbia Street, New York, New York 10002 (the “Columbia Street Facility”).26. The Columbia Street Facility at that time housed two schools, the Leadership Secondary School and District 1 Collaborative High School. Both of these schools, at the time, had fewer than 250 students. 27. NEST’s plan called for it to occupy the entire building and not to share the space. The Resolution closed both of the schools and NEST, with its 163 students, became the sole occupant of the Columbia Street Facility. 28. In order to enable NEST to have a K-12 facility, significant work was done on the Columbia Street Facility. This work included breaking some of the walls, separating proposed kindergarten classrooms and building larger kindergarten classrooms, as required by law. 29. Science and biology labs that were necessary for the school to fulfill its mission to focus on, inter alia, science and technology, were built. 30. When the Columbia Street Facility was first provided to NEST’s staff, it was infested with vermin. Many of the building’s windows were sealed and many rooms were not capable of usage. Lights, windows, plumbing and doors were broken.31. The school grounds were not useable and served as a garbage dump for the adjoining neighborhood and also served local drug users/dealers and prostitutes. 32. In fact, in rehabilitating the Columbia Street Facility, used syringes and other similar items were discovered. 33. Part of the success of NEST is credited to a dedicated parent body. This parent body exerted significant physical labor and raised over $600,000.00 in private funds, the majority of which was donated by parents, to convert an abandoned rat-infested building into a beautiful and thriving school. The parents, inter alia, provided funding to purchase and install the following unique items: dining hall, school kitchen, air conditioners for class rooms, outdoor playgrounds, video camera security system, dance studio, high school basketball courts, library and much of the painting and lighting. With parental assistance, the Columbia Street Facility was converted from an under-utilized dilapidated facility, into a fully occupied thriving public school.
Ross Global, the Displacement of NEST and takeover of the Columbia Street Facility 34. Upon information and belief, at all relevant times, the Ross Global Academy Charter School (“Ross Global” or the “Charter School”), was formed under the New York Charter Schools Act of 1998 (L. 1998, ch. 4 §§1, et seq.) and New York Education Law §§2851, et seq. 35. The School was formed by three applicants (the “Applicants”) of two private organizations, the Ross Institute for Advanced Study and Innovation in Education (hereinafter “Ross Institute”) and New York University ("NYU"), which jointly submitted an application (the “Application”) to be granted a Charter (the “Charter”).36. Two of the employees do not reside in New York State and the third resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. 37. The Applicants submitted the Application as part of their employment. 38. Thereafter, the Applicants stated that their employers are the "institutional partners" under the Charter School Act, so that the Ross Institute would earn licensing fees in the sum of $325,000 per year, to be paid by the Charter School. 39. The Charter School and NYU would have an educational lab to experiment and a school that would serve as a training ground for students. 40. The driving force behind the Charter School and the Ross Institute is Courtney Sale-Ross (“C. Ross”), who decided to open and operate a chain of schools throughout the world that would maintain a "global" curriculum based upon the "Multiple-Intelligences" theory of educations. 41. The Ross Institute that developed a curriculum in 2004, will sell or license it to these academies. 42. The Charter School is intended to be the first school of such global chain. 43. Upon information and belief, on or prior to October of 2005, the Chancellor and/or personnel from the DOE had communications with the Ross Institute and/or C. Ross and/or representatives of others involved in the formation of the Charter School and/or others working for or on behalf of the New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education. 44. Upon information and belief, the foregoing communications lead to an understanding among the parties involved, to overtake part of the Columbia Street Facility housing NEST and turn it over to a new charter school to be backed by the Ross Institute.45. Capitalizing on the funds spent by NEST parents on capital improvements and years of physical work, the NEST school building and NEST’s accomplishments would now serve as a laboratory for the Chancellor’s solution for the impoverished New York City Public School System by turning childrens’ education over to private organizations, to wit: charter schools. 46. During the summer of 2005, Robert Durkin (“R.Durkin”)of New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education contacted the principal of NEST and asked to visit Nest to study its successful teaching methods. 47. Subsequently, R. Durkin arranged a visit and C. Ross and several others toured the NEST and the Columbia Street Facility (the “Tour”) 48. The Tour was hosted by the staff of NEST. 49. Unbeknownst to Petitioners prior to April, 2006, R. Durkin was one of the applicants who signed the Application submitted to form the Charter School. 50. Prior, during and after the Tour, R. Durkin and C.Ross neither disclosed they were acting on behalf of the Charter School, nor the very existence of the plans to establish a charter school. 51. Discussions between the DOE, the Ross Institute or people acting on its behalf, also centered around the formation of the Charter School and the submission of an application (the “Ross Application”) to the Chancellor to authorize and approve the charter of Ross Global as a “Charter School” under the New York Charter School Act. 52. As part of the foregoing discussions and in subsequent discussions, the Columbia Street Facility was identified as the best potential site to house Ross Global, once its charter would be approved.53. At the time of the foregoing discussion, the parties to such discussion knew that the Columbia Street Facility houses NEST. 54. The parties to these discussions agreed that the DOE would exercise its authority to lease, for $1, part of the Columbia Street Facility to Ross Global. 55. Ross Global submitted the Ross Application to the Respondent J. Klein on or before October 1, 2005. 56. Upon information and belief, during the month of October 2005, the Chancellor approved the Ross Application and entered into a Charter with Ross Global (the “Charter”). 57. Upon information and belief, during the month of October 2005, the Chancellor, in his capacity as “Charter Entity” under Education Law §2851(3)(a), approved the Ross Application of Ross Global, entered into the Charter and submitted the same for approval to Respondent Regents. 58. Upon information and belief, on or about January 10, 2006, the Regents approved the Charter and Ross Application.59. During the Ross Application process, Respondent, the Chancellor and the DOE failed to provide any notice to NEST relating to Ross Global or to the plan to house Ross Global at the Columbia Street Facility. 60. At every significant part of the application process, the DOE and the Regents failed to provide notice thereof to schools in the Lower East Side and to the local District. 61. In fact, upon information and belief, Respondents J. Klein and DOE intentionally withheld notice from NEST and the Petitioners relating to Ross Global, the Ross Application, the Charter and the intent with respect to the Columbia Street Facility.62. On or about March 31, 2006, some parents who are actively involved with NEST, were advised by New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s office, that Respondent J. Klein intended to wrest a large part of the Columbia Street Facility from NEST, to a newly formed charter school.63. Representatives from Speaker Silver’s office stated that they were surprised that NEST was still growing in light of the Chancellor’s intentions to hand over a large portion of the Columbia Street Facility to a newly formed charter school.
Failure to Provide Adequate Notice 64. At each significant stage of the chartering process, timely notice was not provided to public and non-public schools in the same geographic area where the proposed charter is to be located. 65. Notice was not provided to NEST which was the principal school targeted by the DOE to house the charter school. 66. Notice was not provided to the local school district. 67. The Application contains numerous references to the Charter School's intention to be located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in an area served by School District 1. See, e.g. Application at pp. 53, 57 and 102. 68. When the Application was submitted, the DOE and Chancellor Klein had identified potential feasible locations in the Lower East Side and commenced activities to validate the space. 69. No notice was provided at this critical step of the chartering process to the targeted school, to other schools in the targeted area or to the relevant District. 70. Later in the application process, in response to a letter from the New York State Education Department, the Applicant stated that with respect to the latest efforts to secure a location within the Lower East Side, "the DOE has indicated that potential, feasible locations in the preferred regions (i.e., the Lower East Side) have been identified". Application at p. 1773. 71. At this next critical step in the application process, Chancellor Klein and the DOE did not provide any such notice to NEST, to other public and private school in the area and to the local District. 72. Another critical stage of the application process is the approval process before the Regents. 73. The Regents failed to provide notice to public and private schools that are affected or are in the proposed area and to the local District and did not take appropriate action to ensure that notice was provided.
The Charter Was Effectively Submitted By Two Institutions, Not Individual Community Members And Therefore Fails To Comply With The Provisions Of Article 16 Of The Education Law74. The Charter with Ross Global was executed by Jennifer Chisdey (“J. Chisdey”), as the main applicant. 75. The Application also had two co-applicants, Robert Durkin (“R. Durkin”) and Megan Silander (“M. Silander”).76. J. Chisdey is an Education Associate and M. Silander is a Director of Education and Outreach at the Ross Institute, with the latter providing the Ross Institute as her mailing address in the Application. 77. R. Durkin is employed by New York University and lists NYU's Metropolitan Center for Urban Education, which also serves as his mailing address for the Application. 78. According to the Application, the Charter School will have the Ross Institute as an institutional partner organization. 79. NYU took part in the design and planning of the Charter School through R. Durkin (one of the co-applicants) and another NYU graduate student. 80. The Board of the Charter School is not comprised of any members of the community who reside in the Lower East Side. 81. The Board of the Charter School is controlled by the Ross Institute and NYU. 82. One of the institutional partners, the Ross Institute, has contracted with the Charter School to provide certain "professional development" and "curriculum resources." 83. The Charter School, will pay an escalating fee to the Ross Institute (the "institutional partner") reaching $320,000 per year as of year four. 84. The institutional partners did not provide any funding to the newly formed Charter School and only provided some services as well as a loan in the amount of $632,000 made by the Ross Institute (the “Loan”). 85. The Loan will accrue interest at a rate of five (5%) per year.86. The Application also notes that the other institutional investor in the chartering process, NYU, enjoys a relationship with the Charter School that will serve New York University'sown "self-interest" in that it will provide opportunities for research efforts and internship opportunities for NYU students. 87. As further noted in the Application, Ross Global will serve as a "lab" for NYU and the Ross Institute. 88. Primary applicant M. Silander’s principal assignment working for the Ross Institute was the formation of the Charter School.89. Two private organizations, Ross Institute and NYU, operating through their employees, formed a charter school that will provide the Ross Institute $320,000 in fees derived from the State of New York and provide NYU's professors a "lab" to conduct research, publish articles. 90. NYU will also have a school that can serve as a training ground for NYU students. 91. The main applicant and co-applicants submitted the Application in their capacity as employees of the institutional partners. 92. The institutional partners not only paid these employees for their work on the charter application, but also funded expenses incurred in the formation process.
The Charter Should Be Revoked Because It Was Not Submitted By Community Members And Therefore Fails To Comply With The Provisions Of Article 16 Of The Education Law 93. The Application was submitted by lead applicant M. Silander, who is not a resident of the State of New York.94. Co-applicant, R. Durkin, is likewise not a resident of the State of New York. 95. None of the Applicants involved in the instant case is currently a teacher or school administrator. 96. Two of the Applicants live outside of the State of New York and the other lives in an affluent neighborhood on the West Side of Manhattan. 97. None of the applicants is a member of the Lower East Side community where the charter school insists on being located. 98. The Application does not indicate if any of the Applicants is a parent.
The Charter Should Be Revoked Because The Applicant Failed To Show That It Can Operate A School In An Educationally Sound Manner 99. The Applicants did not demonstrate that they have the ability to operate a school in an educationally sound manner. 100. Principal applicant M. Silander has been an employee of the Ross Institute since 2005. 101. Based on M. Silander’s resume attached to the Application, since graduating from college in 1998, she has not maintained any job for much longer than two years. 102. M. Silander has written an administrative survey, analyzed data and conducted visits as a research associate at the Evaluating and Training Institute in Los Angeles, California. 103. She has worked on education policy and legislation relating to education. 104. She has volunteered on behalf of the Peace Corps and has worked for the Ross Institute for the primary purpose of co-authoring the Application that serves as the basis for the dispute in this proceeding. 105. Co-applicant J. Chisdey does not have the experience to operate the Charter School in an educationally sound manner. 106. Her employment history reveals that she has fewer than four years’ of teaching experience. 107. Her other positions in schools and education amount to approximately two years of experience at the Ross private school in the Hamptons which positions did not involve school administration or teaching. 108. J. Chisdey has not demonstrated the ability to operate a school in an educationally sound manner. 109. Co-Applicant R. Durkin, is not a teacher or school administrator. 110. According to information in The New York Times, R. Durkin was removed from his position as school principal for Washington Irving High School in Manhattan after an investigation found that he allowed nineteen students to graduate although they had failed required courses and had pressured teachers into giving students passing grades or had changed the grades himself without consulting them. 111. According to The Times, R. Durkin, was later reinstated after then-Chancellor Cortines expressed his, "profound concerns about the professional judgment he exercised in certifying nineteen students for graduation despite their failure of required courses."112. R. Durkin had been close to Mayor Giuliani, who according to The New York Times, lobbied Chancellor Cortines for his reinstatement. 113. R. Durkin retired from active education administration and is now an employee of NYU at the Equity Assistance Center. 114. The Application fails to disclose information about R. Durkin’s past suspension. 115. The Application fails to demonstrate that R. Durkin has the ability to operate a school in an “educationally sound manner.” 116. The principal "official" institutional partner of the proposed Charter School is the Ross Institute. 117. The Ross Institute does not have and did not demonstrate the ability, to operate a school in an educationally sound manner. 118. According to the Application, the Ross Institute has never actually operated a school. 119. Exhibit C of the Application captioned "Ross Institute Track Record," purports to present and professional development programs, school curriculum development and student support programs" (“Exhibit “C”). 120. Exhibit C deceptively provides the track record of the Ross Private School in the Hamptons. 121. The Ross Private School however, was founded years before the Ross Institute was founded. 122. Exhibit C sets forth all of the accomplishments of the Ross Private School in the Hamptons. 123. Exhibit C does not provide any detail of the Ross Institute’s contribution to the success of that school and in any event, does not even allege that the Ross Institute has operated the Ross Private School. 124. Exhibit C to the Application describes the "Tensa Gymnasium in Stockholm” (the “Gymnasium”), but does not provide any meaningful tangible information about the role of the Ross Institute at the Gymnasium and does not assert that the Ross Institute had operated, managed or run that school. 125. The Ross Private School and the Ross Institute do not have any meaningful experience with K-3 classes. Application, p. 1761. 126. The Ross Institute has only in the past provided limited assistance to two existing schools, the Ross Private School in the Hamptons and the Gymnasium. 127. According to the Application, the Ross Institute has never, operated or managed a school and has never started a school.128. The Applicant and Ross Global do not have the ability to operate a school in an educationally sound manner. 129. The curriculum of the Charter School is premised upon the “Multiple Intelligences” theory of learning. 130. The creator of the theory, one Howard Gardner, himself has cast doubt on the efficacy of the system, noting: “I don’t remember when it happened but at a certain moment, I decided to call these faculties ‘multiple intelligences’ rather than abilities or gifts. This seemingly minor lexical substitution proved very important; I am quite confident that if I had written a book called “Seven Talents’ it would not have received the attention that Frames of Mind received.” 131. The website monitoring education in the State of Illinois (which subscribes to the Multiple Intelligences theory), notes: “The response to "MI" [Multiple Intelligences theory] has been that since kids learn differently, teachers need to spend lots and lots of time with a variety of loony projects so that all bases are covered.”132. Ross Global, which subscribes to the Multiple Intelligences theory, does not have the ability to operate a school in an educationally sound manner.
The Charter School Will Discriminate Against Jewish Students And Employees133. The Application, as well as materials distributed by the Charter School in informational sessions, provides that the Charter School will offer a mandatory Saturday program that will be part of the regular schedule. 134. A "Memorandum of Understanding between the Charter School and Student families and school" prepared for execution by parents and students who desire to attend the Charter School, states that "the child will participate in all aspects of the required school programming including...Saturday morning programs." 135. The Charter School intends to serve the Lower East Side of Manhattan and demands that the DOE provide space in that part of New York City. 136. Tthe Lower East Side is an ethnically diverse neighborhood with a has a large Jewish population. 137. The Charter School has discriminated against Jews who comprise a large part of the population of New York City and the Lower East Side, in that any Jewish school-age child who observes the Sabbath, will not be able to attend the Charter School. 138. The Charter School will use public funding to operate a school on Saturday.
The Decision To House The Charter School At The Nest Facility Enables The Charter School To Double-Dip Into Public Funds And Obtain More Than Its Share Of Public Funds Than Provided Under The Charter School Act 139. According to the Application, the charter school assumed that it would be housed at a DOE facility. The Charter School, in the Application and attached documents assumed that it would be housed in a public school building.140. The Charter School was so assured that it would be housed in a public school building, that its budget does not include payment for utilities, maintenance, security and other services typically provided in a public school building. 141. Under the Charter School Act, all charter schools get a set amount per student pursuant to a formula prescribed by under the Charter School Act. 142. The formula under the Charter Act provides a certain amount per month per student enrolled at the school. 143. The funds obtained by the Charter School are meant to enable the Charter School to pay for all operating expenses. 144. The Charter School did not budget for the services outlined herein because it expected to be housed in a public school building and expected the DOE to pay for utilities, food, maintenance and other support. 145. The Charter School is getting in-kind the foregoing services from the State of New York. 146. Ross Global will double-dip into the financing pot provided by the State of New York. 147. First it would get funding from the City of New York under the Charter School Act (the “Charter School Act Payments”). 148. Second, Ross Global would receive security services, custodial services, maintenance services, electricity and utilities from the Department of Education. 149. The Charter School Act Payments are payments that are intended to cover any and all expenses associated with the education and facilities provided to each Charter School Students. 150. The Charter School Act Payments also cover utilities, security, maintenance and custodial services. 151. Ross Global, based on the Ross Application, would receive the entire Charter School payment and in addition would receive from the DOE these same services (causing the DOE to pay for services that Ross Global should pay for out of the Charter School Act Payments).152. Since Ross Global intends to operate school on Saturdays and during most of the summer vacation, the number of free services to be provided by the DOE and paid for by the State is significant. 153. Under these circumstances, such double-dipping and obtaining payment twice for the same items at the expense of the public education system does not meet the requirements set forth in the Charter School Act and other applicable laws.
WHEREFORE, it is respectfully requested that:a) The approval of the Ross Application by the Respondent Regents be declared: (a) an abuse of discretion; (b) arbitrary and capricious, (c) effected by an error of law; and (d) made in violation of applicable law and null and void; b) the Charter granted to Ross Global be revoked; c) Ross Global be declared as not qualified, at this time, to operate a charter school under the New York Charter School Act; d) this Court grant such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper. Dated: Scarsdale, New York May , 2006 HASS & GOTTLIEB Attorneys for Petitioners ___________________________ by: David Goren, Esq., of counsel 670 White Plains Road, Suite 121 Scarsdale, New York 10583 (914) 725-2600

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DOE class size reduction memo to principals

DOE class size reduction memo to principals
Leonie Haimson
Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 10:57 AM
To: emilyholiday@gmail.com, dmainie@aol.com
Cc: Leonie Haimson

See below and attached --especially:

“It is important, however, to be clear that the DOE will not place a new school or program in a building at the expense of those schools and programs already operating within the building. The current use of space, and the implementation and maintenance of reduced class size, will be considered as we make decisions to co-locate schools and programs…..

The DOE uses the NYC DOE Instructional Footprint (The Footprint), attached to this memo (see Appendix C), as its guiding document for determining the instructional space that any given school is allocated. While The Footprint does not prescribe a class size – it is predicated on the number of sections served per grade and does not assume a class size – it does assign supplemental specialty rooms (art room, science lab, etc.) based on over all school enrollment. Therefore, in using The Footprint to make decisions about the co-location of programs, the DOE will honor a school’s current class size – or the plan to reduce class size in the case where a principal has not previously been able to do so – but we will also expect that the school is making full use of specialty rooms consistent with The Footprint.
If you have questions about The Footprint or its application, please contact the ISC.”
·
· Appendix C: DOE Instructional Footprint

http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/66F06927-78D8-43C2-9873-F9427F44FAD4/0/class_size_memo.doc

To:

All DOE Principals
Date:
May 28, 2008
From:
Garth Harries, Chief Executive for Portfolio Development
CC:
SSO and Network Leaders, ISC Leaders and Staff, Superintendents and Senior Achievement Facilitators

Re:
2008-09 Class Size Reduction Guidance Memo

Dear Principal,
This year, the DOE continues its effort to empower and enable principals to prioritize personalization in the classroom through class size reduction or reduced teacher-student ratio. The following memo outlines a variety of class size reduction and personalization strategies given the resources available to principals, as well as system-wide resources that can you help to plan for and implement class size reduction.
As you establish your goals for next year and decide how to align resources, class size is a key consideration. Class size is one of the fundamental elements that determine how your teachers spend time with students- and resides at the intersection of complex decisions around staffing, scheduling, and facilities use.
Implementing reduced class size requires complex tradeoffs and decisions. The purpose of this memo is to help you to weigh these tradeoffs as your school conducts its comprehensive planning (i.e. your CEP and budgeting process this spring), direct you to available resources, as well as to make clear some of the ways the DOE will respect and accommodate your class size decisions. While you may already be implementing some of the strategies outlined in this memo, we hope that you find the following to be a useful framework for weighing the benefits and constraints associated with class size reduction as you develop your overall education plans and priorities.
The attached Class Size Planning Template (see Appendix A) provides a set of guiding questions to help you and your SLT assess and plan for class size reduction. This Planning Template may be included as an addendum to your CEP if class size reduction is one of your stated priorities. Please note that all schools identified for the 2008-09 Class Size Coaching Program must complete the Class size Planning Template. In addition, all schools using C4E resources to reduce class size must complete the CEP addendum on Contracts for Excellence expenditures. _____________________________________________________________________________
The primary approaches to increasing personalization that we will address in this memo are:
Class size reduction through the creations of additional classes/sections
Increased personalization through reduction of teacher-student ratio (co-teaching)
Increased personalization through reduced teacher loads, particularly at the MS and HS levels[1]
The following questions can help organize your thinking on class size reduction, and serve as the framework for the remainder of this memo:
· What does my class size data look like currently?
· Where can I target class size reduction or other personalization efforts to impact the highest need populations?
· How can I optimize my budget to achieve class size reduction?
· How will class size reduction impact my staffing plan?
· How can I use my current space to open additional classes?
· Would creative scheduling of staff and space allow me to reduce class size or teacher-to-student ratio?
· What kinds of professional development/support will my staff need to ensure that students receive the full instructional benefits of reduced class sizes?
· If I plan to reduce my class sizes, how can I ensure that my smaller class sizes will be preserved in light of enrollment and facilities policies?

The sections outlined below are intended to help answer these critical questions by providing strategies and resources to design an effective class size reduction plan.

What does my class size data look like currently?
Class size is one of many critical school characteristics, and it is important that you look at class sizes in conjunction with other performance metrics. The following ATS report will allow you to see your class size data:
i. Report RAVG: This report provides school-level class size data
1. For schools serving grades K-9 (where 9th grade is the terminal grade), this report will show three types of information: the school’s average class size, the official class list and the official class register. Data is reported separately for General Education/ Collaborative Team Teaching classes and for Self-contained Special Education classes.
2. For schools serving grades 9-12, this report will show the average class size by core course (English, math, social studies, and science) for classes marked as “Core” in HSST. Core class size data will be reported for General Education/Collaborative Team Teaching classes and for Self-contained Special Education classes. This report will show three types of information: number of core course sections, course register, and average class size.
Consider your class sizes against the following subpopulations:
i. Class sizes by grade (and course for high schools)
ii. Class size by grade and service level (Special Education vs. General Education)
iii. Class size by student population (Level I & II, ELL students)

Where can I target class size reduction to impact the highest need populations?
Across the board class size reduction can often be difficult to achieve given limited resources and space, but to the extent that you have the power to do targeted class size reduction, be deliberate about when and how you reduce class size to ensure that the staff, facility, and financial resources have the greatest impact. Possible target areas may include:
i. Transition grades: Target students enrolled in transition grades (i.e. early grades of elementary, middle or high school) for class size reduction in core and critical subjects.
ii. Target particular subjects for all grades (i.e. literacy, math, or theme based courses) and reduce the size of those classes.
iii. Early grades: Empirical evidence supports class size reduction in kindergarten through grade two as a successful strategy if the class size reduction is significant, with improved student performance that is maintained as students continue on in school.

How can I optimize my budget to achieve class size reduction?
If Class Size Reduction is one of your top priorities, be sure to indicate this to your ISC Budget Officer or ESO Business Manager who should be able to help you prioritize resources for class size reduction and optimize dollars to meet your priorities. Please refer to the CRAFT budget planning documents for more detailed guidance. To the extent that you want to prioritize class size reduction, you should come prepared to answer the following questions with regard to your staffing plan when you meet with your Budget Officer or ESO Business Manager:
i. Do I want to hire an additional teacher to help reduce class size?
1. Where additional rooms can be made available to open an additional class/section (see section below), hiring a new teacher to teach additional sections can significantly reduce class sizes.
2. Hiring resources:
a. Open Market System for Transfers- The Open Market Hiring System allows teachers to apply to transfer to your school. You can access the Open Market System through the Principals’ Portal or by going to http://www.nycboe.net/Applications/transferplani/login.aspx. The system will allow you to:
i. View detailed profiles of teachers who have an interest in transferring to your school- you can see their cover letter, resume, state certification / city license information, probation status, rating history, seniority, and service history
ii. Filter and search among teachers who have applied to transfer to your school.
iii. Add a detailed description of your vacancies (that are declared in Galaxy) so that prospective transfer applicants can see if a particular position is a good fit for them.
iv. Finalize the transfer of teachers through the on-line system.
b. New Teacher Finder- The New Teacher Finder is an easy-to-use online tool that helps you search for new teacher candidates who have passed a rigorous application pre-screen. The New Teachers Finder includes new applicants from all pathways, including Teaching Fellows and local and national recruits. You can access the new Teacher Finder through the Principals’ Portal or by going to: http://nyc.teacherssupportnetwork.com/Home.do. (Your user name and password will be the same as your current LAN user ID, e.g. jsmith4. You can change your password when you login for the first time.) Through the New Teacher Finder, you can:
i. View the profiles (including resumes and essays) of interested candidates and potential matches.
ii. Use advanced search criteria to find candidates.
iii. Highlight your school for prospective candidates.
iv. Create requests for applications.
c. Job Fairs
i. Throughout the spring and summer, the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality will be hosting career and hiring fairs where principals and other hiring representatives can meet new pre-screened teacher candidates, including traditional candidates and NYC Teaching Fellows. For Career Fair details or to register to attend, go to the Hiring page on the Principals’ Portal
d. General Assistance
i. Your HR partner in the ISC can provide support in your search for new or transferring teachers including use of the on-line tools.
ii. For additional assistance regarding new teacher applicants, contact the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality at (718) 935-4080.
ii. Do I want to hire an additional teacher to reduce teacher-student ratios through co-teaching?
1. Where additional rooms are not available, adding a second teacher to a class can be a powerful means to increase personalized attention. Most often, co-teaching combines two teachers of different experience levels, and it can be implemented in two ways:
a. Two teachers licensed in the same content area (i.e. an English class with two English teachers).
b. Two teachers licensed in two different content areas (i.e. a Humanities class with an English teacher and a history teacher).
2. If you are using Contracts for Excellence (C4E) resources to reduce Teacher-Student ratio, you must hire a full time teacher and implement a true co-teaching model, as described above. Part-time/Push-in teachers are not an allowable expenditure of C4E resources.
iii. How can I optimize use of my existing staff?
1. By assigning teaching responsibilities to all staff with a teacher title, you may be able to reduce teacher-student ratio, teacher load, and/or reduce class size. Examples include:
a. General example:
i. Utilize the 6th Period Coverage Provision whereby current staff in shortage license areas can be assigned an additional class in lieu of preparation periods. Teachers approved and scheduled to teach an additional five periods per week are compensated at a “special per session” semester rate of $5,660. Any school interested in this option should consult with their Human Resource Partner at the ISC for the procedure and application. Approval is required prior to the commencement of service.
b. Elementary School examples:
i. Move specialists into classrooms so that they support a smaller group of students daily rather than an entire student body a few times per week.
ii. Combine two classes into a single cluster with two teachers and a specialist.
b. High School examples:
i. Cut back on compensatory time positions.
ii. Increase instructional load for supervisors, coaches, etc. Assigning assistant principals to teach at least one or two classes. (This can only happen within CSA contractual limitations)
iii. Utilize advisories and peer mentoring to support students’ emotional and developmental needs. This should not be understood as a replacement to crisis or mandated counseling, but advisories will allow guidance counselors and social workers to focus their energies. It will also reduce the need for staff who have non-instructional (more guidance, social work or deans) functions.[2]

How can I use my current space to open additional classes?
Evaluate your school’s space against the DOE’s Instructional Footprint (See Appendix C - The Footprint). The Footprint document describes the minimum space allocation used by the DOE in facilities evaluations. The Footprint prescribes a space allocation based on a school’s total enrollment and number if sections and assumes a high programming efficiency for each room. Particularly if your school is at or over the classroom allocation prescribed by the Footprint, you may have significant opportunities to repurpose space for instructional use; however, all schools may benefit from considering strategies for increased space efficiency. The following suggestions may enable you to move towards greater building efficiency as described in the Footprint:
i. Program rooms throughout the day as a way to maximize classroom space:
1. Open a new class in a new classroom: Where space allows, the easiest way to reduce class size is to open a new class in a new room.
2. Use one room for multiple subjects. Depending on both the function of the room, and the number of periods a day it is scheduled, there may be potential to use one room for multiple subjects. It is important to consider the following:
a. Which subjects or teachers can travel?
b. Which subjects or teachers can share rooms?
1. Use common and small group instructional spaces for pull-out instruction when practical.
2. Where feasible, offer specialized instruction in shared rooms, as opposed to dedicating a room for it, especially if your school already has its requisite number of other cluster rooms and/or the specialized instruction does not occur throughout the entire school day.
ii. Add classrooms by repurposing non-instructional space:
1. Use all full-sized classrooms in the building as classrooms rather than as offices and for other non-instructional purposes.
2. If you are having trouble locating classroom furniture in order to facilitate this use, please talk with your custodian; many buildings have spare classroom furniture.
3. If facilities work is required to convert an administrative suite back to a classroom, please contact your Integrated Service Center (ISC) to schedule a meeting with facilities staff who can assess and approve office conversion projects. The DOE Facilities Portfolio Committee, which involves the School Construction Authority (SCA), Division of School Facilities (DSF), and other DOE offices and determines what projects are approved, generally places a priority on projects that increase the number of instructional classrooms in a school building by converting offices. This work is contingent on funding availability and efficient use of existing classrooms per the Footprint.
iii. Allocate private office space only to those administrators who require confidential space (i.e. guidance counselors, social workers, psychologists) and use a shared space model for other administrators. Small private conference rooms can be made available for sign-up for other staff.
iv. If Community Based Organizations (CBOs) or other non-DOE groups are housed within your building, work with them to ensure that the space they are allocated is effectively used through the school day and does not interfere with your ability to plan for reduced class sizes. If you have questions or concerns about such groups in your building or would like to learn more about the minimum Footprint allocation for CBOs and Beacon programs, contact your ISC.
Note: While there are advantages if every teacher (including specialized teachers) has their own classroom, in most buildings that is not possible, and so there are trade-offs between dedicated teacher rooms and class size reduction. If teachers do not have their own room, be thoughtful about creating space where they can work during prep periods, particularly in ways that encourage collaboration.

Would thoughtful scheduling of staff and space allow me to reduce class size or student-to-teacher ratio?
Consider the following scheduling solutions that can help you free up additional teaching staff or reduce teacher load:
i. Middle School/High School Examples:
1. Consider programming large student sections in lunch and physical education in order to program smaller classes opposite those blocks – as these are times that allow for a large number of students to be covered outside of academic classrooms – to maximize use of classroom space.
2. At the secondary school level, a principal can reduce teacher load by scheduling teachers for longer instructional blocks with fewer distinct sections of students. This may not reduce class size, but it does increase the individualized attention that students receive. It can be particularly effective when combined with teacher teaming (i.e. teachers across disciplines responsible for the same group of students)
3. Where necessary, lengthen the school day by scheduling teachers on overlapping schedules and programming smaller classes at the beginning and end of the school day.
4. Offer credit-bearing, after-school classes
5. Offer internships, community service and external learning: Where appropriate in your school’s sequence, foster out-of-school supervised learning experiences for high school students that count as credit bearing coursework. This will reduce the number of students on site and allow you to maximize the use of classroom space and teachers
6. See Appendix B: Scheduling for a general scheduling resource and planning guide. For additional support around scheduling issues, contact your SSO. Each SSO should have dedicated scheduling support staff to assist Principals with the development of innovative scheduling and staffing models.

What kinds of professional development/support will my staff need to ensure that students receive the full instructional benefits of reduced class sizes?
The structural decisions you make about how to organize classes reflect the priorities of the schools. You should use your professional development opportunities to ensure that teachers are supported within whatever structure you choose to organize their classrooms and time.
Co-teaching: This model is typically successful if – and only if – all three of the following supports are in place:
i. Targeted professional development is made available to the co-teachers.
ii. Time is created to allow those teachers to plan together
iii. The majority of the instruction will be small group work that takes advantage of having two teachers in the room,
Targeted instruction: If class size reduction is intended to help a particular population of students, you need to make sure that your teachers are learning strategies that address the needs of those students to maximize the benefits of more personalized learning environments.
i. For example, if reduced class sizes are intended to help teachers give individual attention to struggling readers, teacher professional development should be aligned to ensure that teachers are prepared with skills and strategies to work with those readers.

If I reduce my class sizes, how can I ensure that my smaller class sizes will be preserved in light of enrollment and facilities policies?
We know that there can be factors outside of principal control that make it difficult to implement and maintain reduced class size. In this section of the memo we reiterate recent DOE policies that, when adhered to, will support your implementation of reduced class size.
If I plan for reduced class size based on my projected register, how can I ensure that students will not be enrolled over the number projected?
A school’s October 31 Register Projection guides enrollment for the school. This number drives budget allocations, space planning, and, perhaps most importantly, subsequent admissions to the school. When assigning students at all grade levels, The Office of Student Enrollment (Student Enrollment) honors overall grade-level enrollment projections to the extent possible. That is, rather than enrolling students based on the number of students in a class (at the elementary and middle school level), enrollment happens based on the projected register, so that schools can plan their program based on those projections.[3]
In general, as long as schools serve their overall projected enrollment, and admit and accept students in accordance with approved enrollment policies, schools can and should organize in whatever class size they can achieve given their budget, space, and schedule, and the DOE will make a good faith effort to honor and protect class size decisions made by schools based on their projected registers.
The caveat, which is significant, is that Student Enrollment must also ensure that all students are enrolled in an appropriate program and school, no matter the projected register. The implications of this caveat are as follows:
i. Zoning:
1. A zoned school has a responsibility to serve all children who live within its attendance zone in accordance with policies outlined in this regulation. Therefore, in no case may a zoned school cap a grade to achieve or maintain reduced class size in any grade. Only the Office of Student Enrollment may close a grade to further enrollment.
2. Further, if a zoned school reaches maximum class size in one or more grades, and no classrooms are available to form new classes, then classes in grades with reduced class size must be consolidated, to the extent possible, before zoned students may be diverted to other schools.
3. Enrollment policies regarding zoning and admission are outlined in Chancellor’s Regulation A101. In particular:
a. Students zoned for an elementary or middle school have priority for enrollment in those schools and must be accommodated before assignments are made to non-zoned students.
b. Zoned schools are required to register zoned students and must accept zoned students subject to available seats as determined by the Office of Student Enrollment.
c. Students seeking admission to a non-zoned elementary and middle school or to an elementary or middle school for which they are not zoned may only be assigned/registered by the Office of Student Enrollment.
d. In other words, a school should only enroll students who:
i. are zoned to the school (if applicable)
ii. otherwise participate in the established admissions or choice processes
iii. were assigned by the Office of Student Enrollment.
If a school admits students outside of established enrollment procedures, then it may not be possible to honor projected registers and reduced class sizes.
ii. Instructional Programs
1. A school cannot consolidate or eliminate targeted instructional programs in order to achieve or maintain reduced class size. This includes Pre-Kindergarten classes and special education classes.
2. Furthermore, a school cannot lower class size at the expense of other schools and/or programs in the building.

iii. Register Fluctuations and Planning for your October 31 Register Projection
1. Please note as part of the Register Projection Process, we anticipate that prior to October 31, the date that registers are “frozen” for budget purposes, your registers will fluctuate. In other words, sometimes your register will be above the October 31 target and at other times it may fall below. The reason for this is as follows:
a. Your school’s register will include Long Term Absences[4] (LTAs). The October 31 register projections which drive your budget do not include LTAs and thus you do not get budget for LTAs.
b. Each school will experience attrition. Each school’s attrition rate is taken into account in determining a school’s register projection including the number of students that are enrolled over-the-counter.
c. Attrition occurs gradually, so at times registers may appear higher as attrition has not yet been fully realized.
d. “Seats” are identified when “live registers” fall below the October 31 targets. You therefore may continue to receive students even when your register is above your October 31 target because you have LTAs and/or because attrition is still occurring.
Schools are responsible for planning for their full October 31 target register. To the extent that school plan for reduced class size at their target enrollment, and operate in accordance with the caveats above, Student Enrollment will endeavor to honor class size reduction efforts.
How does the DOE make decisions about Co-location of schools? If I choose to reduce class size in my existing space, how do I know that I will be able to maintain space for reduced class size?
We wish every school could have its own building, but in a city with limited space, we have to make good use of our infrastructure to support the creation of new programs, traditional public schools, and charter public schools. There are currently more than 600 schools operating in a shared space setting around the city, and that number will continue to grow as we strive to create more and better school and program options for New York City schools and families. It is important, however, to be clear that the DOE will not place a new school or program in a building at the expense of those schools and programs already operating within the building. The current use of space, and the implementation and maintenance of reduced class size, will be considered as we make decisions to co-locate schools and programs.
The DOE uses the NYC DOE Instructional Footprint (The Footprint), attached to this memo (see Appendix C), as its guiding document for determining the instructional space that any given school is allocated. While The Footprint does not prescribe a class size – it is predicated on the number of sections served per grade and does not assume a class size – it does assign supplemental specialty rooms (art room, science lab, etc.) based on over all school enrollment. Therefore, in using The Footprint to make decisions about the co-location of programs, the DOE will honor a school’s current class size – or the plan to reduce class size in the case where a principal has not previously been able to do so – but we will also expect that the school is making full use of specialty rooms consistent with The Footprint.
If you have questions about The Footprint or its application, please contact the ISC.

As principal, you know best what your school community needs in order for your students to succeed, and these policies are designed to support you as you make decisions for your school. We hope that the information in this memo and its appendices is helpful to you as you plan for the coming school year.
If you would like help implementing any of these strategies, or if you have other good ideas you can share, please contact your School Support Organization (SSO), who can help you consider the trade-offs implicit in planning class size and programming your school.

ATTACHMENTS:
APPENDIX A: Class Size Reduction Planning Template
APPENDIX B: MS/HS Scheduling
APPENDIX C: DOE Instructional Footprint

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl.
New York, NY 10011
212-674-7320
leonie@att.net
www.classsizematters.org
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/

Please make a tax-deductible contribution to Class Size Matters now!

[1] Please note, only the first two personalization strategies listed above – addition of a class or co-teaching - qualify as acceptable uses of C4E resources.
[2] Note UFT contractual limitations: Where Advisory is run by a teacher, it counts against Teaching Time.
[3] For more details information about the Register Projection Process and the Appeals Process go to: https://www.nycboe.net/AdminOrg/Finance/budget/dbor/dbor_intranet/REGPROJ_INTRANET/Reg_Proj_Default.html

[4] For enrollment purposes, an LTA is generally defined as a student who is absent for 20 consecutive days or more.
[0,"\u003ctable class\u003datt cellspacing\u003d0 cellpadding\u003d5 border\u003d0\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e\u003ctable cellspacing\u003d0 cellpadding\u003d0\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e\u003ca target\u003d_blank href\u003d\"?ui\u003d1\u0026attid\u003d0.1\u0026disp\u003dattd\u0026view\u003datt\u0026th\u003d11a49c8d76814ef6\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d16 height\u003d16 src\u003d\"/mail/images/doc.gif\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ctd width\u003d7\u003e\u003ctd\u003e\u003cb\u003eHarries class size memo to principals 2008.doc\u003c/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e810K \u003ca target\u003d_blank href\u003d\"?ui\u003d1\u0026attid\u003d0.1\u0026disp\u003dvah\u0026view\u003datt\u0026th\u003d11a49c8d76814ef6\"\u003eView as HTML\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href \u003d\"?ui\u003d1\u0026attid\u003d0.1\u0026disp\u003dattd\u0026view\u003datt\u0026th\u003d11a49c8d76814ef6\"\u003eDownload\u003c/a\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/table\u003e","11a49c8d76814ef6"]
DOE class size reduction memo to principals
Leonie Haimson
Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 10:57 AM
To: emilyholiday@gmail.com, dmainie@aol.com
Cc: Leonie Haimson

See below and attached --especially:

“It is important, however, to be clear that the DOE will not place a new school or program in a building at the expense of those schools and programs already operating within the building. The current use of space, and the implementation and maintenance of reduced class size, will be considered as we make decisions to co-locate schools and programs…..

The DOE uses the NYC DOE Instructional Footprint (The Footprint), attached to this memo (see Appendix C), as its guiding document for determining the instructional space that any given school is allocated. While The Footprint does not prescribe a class size – it is predicated on the number of sections served per grade and does not assume a class size – it does assign supplemental specialty rooms (art room, science lab, etc.) based on over all school enrollment. Therefore, in using The Footprint to make decisions about the co-location of programs, the DOE will honor a school’s current class size – or the plan to reduce class size in the case where a principal has not previously been able to do so – but we will also expect that the school is making full use of specialty rooms consistent with The Footprint.
If you have questions about The Footprint or its application, please contact the ISC.”
·
· Appendix C: DOE Instructional Footprint

http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/66F06927-78D8-43C2-9873-F9427F44FAD4/0/class_size_memo.doc

To:

All DOE Principals
Date:
May 28, 2008
From:
Garth Harries, Chief Executive for Portfolio Development
CC:
SSO and Network Leaders, ISC Leaders and Staff, Superintendents and Senior Achievement Facilitators

Re:
2008-09 Class Size Reduction Guidance Memo

Dear Principal,
This year, the DOE continues its effort to empower and enable principals to prioritize personalization in the classroom through class size reduction or reduced teacher-student ratio. The following memo outlines a variety of class size reduction and personalization strategies given the resources available to principals, as well as system-wide resources that can you help to plan for and implement class size reduction.
As you establish your goals for next year and decide how to align resources, class size is a key consideration. Class size is one of the fundamental elements that determine how your teachers spend time with students- and resides at the intersection of complex decisions around staffing, scheduling, and facilities use.
Implementing reduced class size requires complex tradeoffs and decisions. The purpose of this memo is to help you to weigh these tradeoffs as your school conducts its comprehensive planning (i.e. your CEP and budgeting process this spring), direct you to available resources, as well as to make clear some of the ways the DOE will respect and accommodate your class size decisions. While you may already be implementing some of the strategies outlined in this memo, we hope that you find the following to be a useful framework for weighing the benefits and constraints associated with class size reduction as you develop your overall education plans and priorities.
The attached Class Size Planning Template (see Appendix A) provides a set of guiding questions to help you and your SLT assess and plan for class size reduction. This Planning Template may be included as an addendum to your CEP if class size reduction is one of your stated priorities. Please note that all schools identified for the 2008-09 Class Size Coaching Program must complete the Class size Planning Template. In addition, all schools using C4E resources to reduce class size must complete the CEP addendum on Contracts for Excellence expenditures. _____________________________________________________________________________
The primary approaches to increasing personalization that we will address in this memo are:
Class size reduction through the creations of additional classes/sections
Increased personalization through reduction of teacher-student ratio (co-teaching)
Increased personalization through reduced teacher loads, particularly at the MS and HS levels[1]
The following questions can help organize your thinking on class size reduction, and serve as the framework for the remainder of this memo:
· What does my class size data look like currently?
· Where can I target class size reduction or other personalization efforts to impact the highest need populations?
· How can I optimize my budget to achieve class size reduction?
· How will class size reduction impact my staffing plan?
· How can I use my current space to open additional classes?
· Would creative scheduling of staff and space allow me to reduce class size or teacher-to-student ratio?
· What kinds of professional development/support will my staff need to ensure that students receive the full instructional benefits of reduced class sizes?
· If I plan to reduce my class sizes, how can I ensure that my smaller class sizes will be preserved in light of enrollment and facilities policies?

The sections outlined below are intended to help answer these critical questions by providing strategies and resources to design an effective class size reduction plan.

What does my class size data look like currently?
Class size is one of many critical school characteristics, and it is important that you look at class sizes in conjunction with other performance metrics. The following ATS report will allow you to see your class size data:
i. Report RAVG: This report provides school-level class size data
1. For schools serving grades K-9 (where 9th grade is the terminal grade), this report will show three types of information: the school’s average class size, the official class list and the official class register. Data is reported separately for General Education/ Collaborative Team Teaching classes and for Self-contained Special Education classes.
2. For schools serving grades 9-12, this report will show the average class size by core course (English, math, social studies, and science) for classes marked as “Core” in HSST. Core class size data will be reported for General Education/Collaborative Team Teaching classes and for Self-contained Special Education classes. This report will show three types of information: number of core course sections, course register, and average class size.
Consider your class sizes against the following subpopulations:
i. Class sizes by grade (and course for high schools)
ii. Class size by grade and service level (Special Education vs. General Education)
iii. Class size by student population (Level I & II, ELL students)

Where can I target class size reduction to impact the highest need populations?
Across the board class size reduction can often be difficult to achieve given limited resources and space, but to the extent that you have the power to do targeted class size reduction, be deliberate about when and how you reduce class size to ensure that the staff, facility, and financial resources have the greatest impact. Possible target areas may include:
i. Transition grades: Target students enrolled in transition grades (i.e. early grades of elementary, middle or high school) for class size reduction in core and critical subjects.
ii. Target particular subjects for all grades (i.e. literacy, math, or theme based courses) and reduce the size of those classes.
iii. Early grades: Empirical evidence supports class size reduction in kindergarten through grade two as a successful strategy if the class size reduction is significant, with improved student performance that is maintained as students continue on in school.

How can I optimize my budget to achieve class size reduction?
If Class Size Reduction is one of your top priorities, be sure to indicate this to your ISC Budget Officer or ESO Business Manager who should be able to help you prioritize resources for class size reduction and optimize dollars to meet your priorities. Please refer to the CRAFT budget planning documents for more detailed guidance. To the extent that you want to prioritize class size reduction, you should come prepared to answer the following questions with regard to your staffing plan when you meet with your Budget Officer or ESO Business Manager:
i. Do I want to hire an additional teacher to help reduce class size?
1. Where additional rooms can be made available to open an additional class/section (see section below), hiring a new teacher to teach additional sections can significantly reduce class sizes.
2. Hiring resources:
a. Open Market System for Transfers- The Open Market Hiring System allows teachers to apply to transfer to your school. You can access the Open Market System through the Principals’ Portal or by going to http://www.nycboe.net/Applications/transferplani/login.aspx. The system will allow you to:
i. View detailed profiles of teachers who have an interest in transferring to your school- you can see their cover letter, resume, state certification / city license information, probation status, rating history, seniority, and service history
ii. Filter and search among teachers who have applied to transfer to your school.
iii. Add a detailed description of your vacancies (that are declared in Galaxy) so that prospective transfer applicants can see if a particular position is a good fit for them.
iv. Finalize the transfer of teachers through the on-line system.
b. New Teacher Finder- The New Teacher Finder is an easy-to-use online tool that helps you search for new teacher candidates who have passed a rigorous application pre-screen. The New Teachers Finder includes new applicants from all pathways, including Teaching Fellows and local and national recruits. You can access the new Teacher Finder through the Principals’ Portal or by going to: http://nyc.teacherssupportnetwork.com/Home.do. (Your user name and password will be the same as your current LAN user ID, e.g. jsmith4. You can change your password when you login for the first time.) Through the New Teacher Finder, you can:
i. View the profiles (including resumes and essays) of interested candidates and potential matches.
ii. Use advanced search criteria to find candidates.
iii. Highlight your school for prospective candidates.
iv. Create requests for applications.
c. Job Fairs
i. Throughout the spring and summer, the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality will be hosting career and hiring fairs where principals and other hiring representatives can meet new pre-screened teacher candidates, including traditional candidates and NYC Teaching Fellows. For Career Fair details or to register to attend, go to the Hiring page on the Principals’ Portal
d. General Assistance
i. Your HR partner in the ISC can provide support in your search for new or transferring teachers including use of the on-line tools.
ii. For additional assistance regarding new teacher applicants, contact the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality at (718) 935-4080.
ii. Do I want to hire an additional teacher to reduce teacher-student ratios through co-teaching?
1. Where additional rooms are not available, adding a second teacher to a class can be a powerful means to increase personalized attention. Most often, co-teaching combines two teachers of different experience levels, and it can be implemented in two ways:
a. Two teachers licensed in the same content area (i.e. an English class with two English teachers).
b. Two teachers licensed in two different content areas (i.e. a Humanities class with an English teacher and a history teacher).
2. If you are using Contracts for Excellence (C4E) resources to reduce Teacher-Student ratio, you must hire a full time teacher and implement a true co-teaching model, as described above. Part-time/Push-in teachers are not an allowable expenditure of C4E resources.
iii. How can I optimize use of my existing staff?
1. By assigning teaching responsibilities to all staff with a teacher title, you may be able to reduce teacher-student ratio, teacher load, and/or reduce class size. Examples include:
a. General example:
i. Utilize the 6th Period Coverage Provision whereby current staff in shortage license areas can be assigned an additional class in lieu of preparation periods. Teachers approved and scheduled to teach an additional five periods per week are compensated at a “special per session” semester rate of $5,660. Any school interested in this option should consult with their Human Resource Partner at the ISC for the procedure and application. Approval is required prior to the commencement of service.
b. Elementary School examples:
i. Move specialists into classrooms so that they support a smaller group of students daily rather than an entire student body a few times per week.
ii. Combine two classes into a single cluster with two teachers and a specialist.
b. High School examples:
i. Cut back on compensatory time positions.
ii. Increase instructional load for supervisors, coaches, etc. Assigning assistant principals to teach at least one or two classes. (This can only happen within CSA contractual limitations)
iii. Utilize advisories and peer mentoring to support students’ emotional and developmental needs. This should not be understood as a replacement to crisis or mandated counseling, but advisories will allow guidance counselors and social workers to focus their energies. It will also reduce the need for staff who have non-instructional (more guidance, social work or deans) functions.[2]

How can I use my current space to open additional classes?
Evaluate your school’s space against the DOE’s Instructional Footprint (See Appendix C - The Footprint). The Footprint document describes the minimum space allocation used by the DOE in facilities evaluations. The Footprint prescribes a space allocation based on a school’s total enrollment and number if sections and assumes a high programming efficiency for each room. Particularly if your school is at or over the classroom allocation prescribed by the Footprint, you may have significant opportunities to repurpose space for instructional use; however, all schools may benefit from considering strategies for increased space efficiency. The following suggestions may enable you to move towards greater building efficiency as described in the Footprint:
i. Program rooms throughout the day as a way to maximize classroom space:
1. Open a new class in a new classroom: Where space allows, the easiest way to reduce class size is to open a new class in a new room.
2. Use one room for multiple subjects. Depending on both the function of the room, and the number of periods a day it is scheduled, there may be potential to use one room for multiple subjects. It is important to consider the following:
a. Which subjects or teachers can travel?
b. Which subjects or teachers can share rooms?
1. Use common and small group instructional spaces for pull-out instruction when practical.
2. Where feasible, offer specialized instruction in shared rooms, as opposed to dedicating a room for it, especially if your school already has its requisite number of other cluster rooms and/or the specialized instruction does not occur throughout the entire school day.
ii. Add classrooms by repurposing non-instructional space:
1. Use all full-sized classrooms in the building as classrooms rather than as offices and for other non-instructional purposes.
2. If you are having trouble locating classroom furniture in order to facilitate this use, please talk with your custodian; many buildings have spare classroom furniture.
3. If facilities work is required to convert an administrative suite back to a classroom, please contact your Integrated Service Center (ISC) to schedule a meeting with facilities staff who can assess and approve office conversion projects. The DOE Facilities Portfolio Committee, which involves the School Construction Authority (SCA), Division of School Facilities (DSF), and other DOE offices and determines what projects are approved, generally places a priority on projects that increase the number of instructional classrooms in a school building by converting offices. This work is contingent on funding availability and efficient use of existing classrooms per the Footprint.
iii. Allocate private office space only to those administrators who require confidential space (i.e. guidance counselors, social workers, psychologists) and use a shared space model for other administrators. Small private conference rooms can be made available for sign-up for other staff.
iv. If Community Based Organizations (CBOs) or other non-DOE groups are housed within your building, work with them to ensure that the space they are allocated is effectively used through the school day and does not interfere with your ability to plan for reduced class sizes. If you have questions or concerns about such groups in your building or would like to learn more about the minimum Footprint allocation for CBOs and Beacon programs, contact your ISC.
Note: While there are advantages if every teacher (including specialized teachers) has their own classroom, in most buildings that is not possible, and so there are trade-offs between dedicated teacher rooms and class size reduction. If teachers do not have their own room, be thoughtful about creating space where they can work during prep periods, particularly in ways that encourage collaboration.

Would thoughtful scheduling of staff and space allow me to reduce class size or student-to-teacher ratio?
Consider the following scheduling solutions that can help you free up additional teaching staff or reduce teacher load:
i. Middle School/High School Examples:
1. Consider programming large student sections in lunch and physical education in order to program smaller classes opposite those blocks – as these are times that allow for a large number of students to be covered outside of academic classrooms – to maximize use of classroom space.
2. At the secondary school level, a principal can reduce teacher load by scheduling teachers for longer instructional blocks with fewer distinct sections of students. This may not reduce class size, but it does increase the individualized attention that students receive. It can be particularly effective when combined with teacher teaming (i.e. teachers across disciplines responsible for the same group of students)
3. Where necessary, lengthen the school day by scheduling teachers on overlapping schedules and programming smaller classes at the beginning and end of the school day.
4. Offer credit-bearing, after-school classes
5. Offer internships, community service and external learning: Where appropriate in your school’s sequence, foster out-of-school supervised learning experiences for high school students that count as credit bearing coursework. This will reduce the number of students on site and allow you to maximize the use of classroom space and teachers
6. See Appendix B: Scheduling for a general scheduling resource and planning guide. For additional support around scheduling issues, contact your SSO. Each SSO should have dedicated scheduling support staff to assist Principals with the development of innovative scheduling and staffing models.

What kinds of professional development/support will my staff need to ensure that students receive the full instructional benefits of reduced class sizes?
The structural decisions you make about how to organize classes reflect the priorities of the schools. You should use your professional development opportunities to ensure that teachers are supported within whatever structure you choose to organize their classrooms and time.
Co-teaching: This model is typically successful if – and only if – all three of the following supports are in place:
i. Targeted professional development is made available to the co-teachers.
ii. Time is created to allow those teachers to plan together
iii. The majority of the instruction will be small group work that takes advantage of having two teachers in the room,
Targeted instruction: If class size reduction is intended to help a particular population of students, you need to make sure that your teachers are learning strategies that address the needs of those students to maximize the benefits of more personalized learning environments.
i. For example, if reduced class sizes are intended to help teachers give individual attention to struggling readers, teacher professional development should be aligned to ensure that teachers are prepared with skills and strategies to work with those readers.

If I reduce my class sizes, how can I ensure that my smaller class sizes will be preserved in light of enrollment and facilities policies?
We know that there can be factors outside of principal control that make it difficult to implement and maintain reduced class size. In this section of the memo we reiterate recent DOE policies that, when adhered to, will support your implementation of reduced class size.
If I plan for reduced class size based on my projected register, how can I ensure that students will not be enrolled over the number projected?
A school’s October 31 Register Projection guides enrollment for the school. This number drives budget allocations, space planning, and, perhaps most importantly, subsequent admissions to the school. When assigning students at all grade levels, The Office of Student Enrollment (Student Enrollment) honors overall grade-level enrollment projections to the extent possible. That is, rather than enrolling students based on the number of students in a class (at the elementary and middle school level), enrollment happens based on the projected register, so that schools can plan their program based on those projections.[3]
In general, as long as schools serve their overall projected enrollment, and admit and accept students in accordance with approved enrollment policies, schools can and should organize in whatever class size they can achieve given their budget, space, and schedule, and the DOE will make a good faith effort to honor and protect class size decisions made by schools based on their projected registers.
The caveat, which is significant, is that Student Enrollment must also ensure that all students are enrolled in an appropriate program and school, no matter the projected register. The implications of this caveat are as follows:
i. Zoning:
1. A zoned school has a responsibility to serve all children who live within its attendance zone in accordance with policies outlined in this regulation. Therefore, in no case may a zoned school cap a grade to achieve or maintain reduced class size in any grade. Only the Office of Student Enrollment may close a grade to further enrollment.
2. Further, if a zoned school reaches maximum class size in one or more grades, and no classrooms are available to form new classes, then classes in grades with reduced class size must be consolidated, to the extent possible, before zoned students may be diverted to other schools.
3. Enrollment policies regarding zoning and admission are outlined in Chancellor’s Regulation A101. In particular:
a. Students zoned for an elementary or middle school have priority for enrollment in those schools and must be accommodated before assignments are made to non-zoned students.
b. Zoned schools are required to register zoned students and must accept zoned students subject to available seats as determined by the Office of Student Enrollment.
c. Students seeking admission to a non-zoned elementary and middle school or to an elementary or middle school for which they are not zoned may only be assigned/registered by the Office of Student Enrollment.
d. In other words, a school should only enroll students who:
i. are zoned to the school (if applicable)
ii. otherwise participate in the established admissions or choice processes
iii. were assigned by the Office of Student Enrollment.
If a school admits students outside of established enrollment procedures, then it may not be possible to honor projected registers and reduced class sizes.
ii. Instructional Programs
1. A school cannot consolidate or eliminate targeted instructional programs in order to achieve or maintain reduced class size. This includes Pre-Kindergarten classes and special education classes.
2. Furthermore, a school cannot lower class size at the expense of other schools and/or programs in the building.

iii. Register Fluctuations and Planning for your October 31 Register Projection
1. Please note as part of the Register Projection Process, we anticipate that prior to October 31, the date that registers are “frozen” for budget purposes, your registers will fluctuate. In other words, sometimes your register will be above the October 31 target and at other times it may fall below. The reason for this is as follows:
a. Your school’s register will include Long Term Absences[4] (LTAs). The October 31 register projections which drive your budget do not include LTAs and thus you do not get budget for LTAs.
b. Each school will experience attrition. Each school’s attrition rate is taken into account in determining a school’s register projection including the number of students that are enrolled over-the-counter.
c. Attrition occurs gradually, so at times registers may appear higher as attrition has not yet been fully realized.
d. “Seats” are identified when “live registers” fall below the October 31 targets. You therefore may continue to receive students even when your register is above your October 31 target because you have LTAs and/or because attrition is still occurring.
Schools are responsible for planning for their full October 31 target register. To the extent that school plan for reduced class size at their target enrollment, and operate in accordance with the caveats above, Student Enrollment will endeavor to honor class size reduction efforts.
How does the DOE make decisions about Co-location of schools? If I choose to reduce class size in my existing space, how do I know that I will be able to maintain space for reduced class size?
We wish every school could have its own building, but in a city with limited space, we have to make good use of our infrastructure to support the creation of new programs, traditional public schools, and charter public schools. There are currently more than 600 schools operating in a shared space setting around the city, and that number will continue to grow as we strive to create more and better school and program options for New York City schools and families. It is important, however, to be clear that the DOE will not place a new school or program in a building at the expense of those schools and programs already operating within the building. The current use of space, and the implementation and maintenance of reduced class size, will be considered as we make decisions to co-locate schools and programs.
The DOE uses the NYC DOE Instructional Footprint (The Footprint), attached to this memo (see Appendix C), as its guiding document for determining the instructional space that any given school is allocated. While The Footprint does not prescribe a class size – it is predicated on the number of sections served per grade and does not assume a class size – it does assign supplemental specialty rooms (art room, science lab, etc.) based on over all school enrollment. Therefore, in using The Footprint to make decisions about the co-location of programs, the DOE will honor a school’s current class size – or the plan to reduce class size in the case where a principal has not previously been able to do so – but we will also expect that the school is making full use of specialty rooms consistent with The Footprint.
If you have questions about The Footprint or its application, please contact the ISC.

As principal, you know best what your school community needs in order for your students to succeed, and these policies are designed to support you as you make decisions for your school. We hope that the information in this memo and its appendices is helpful to you as you plan for the coming school year.
If you would like help implementing any of these strategies, or if you have other good ideas you can share, please contact your School Support Organization (SSO), who can help you consider the trade-offs implicit in planning class size and programming your school.

ATTACHMENTS:
APPENDIX A: Class Size Reduction Planning Template
APPENDIX B: MS/HS Scheduling
APPENDIX C: DOE Instructional Footprint

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl.
New York, NY 10011
212-674-7320
leonie@att.net
www.classsizematters.org
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/

Please make a tax-deductible contribution to Class Size Matters now!

[1] Please note, only the first two personalization strategies listed above – addition of a class or co-teaching - qualify as acceptable uses of C4E resources.
[2] Note UFT contractual limitations: Where Advisory is run by a teacher, it counts against Teaching Time.
[3] For more details information about the Register Projection Process and the Appeals Process go to: https://www.nycboe.net/AdminOrg/Finance/budget/dbor/dbor_intranet/REGPROJ_INTRANET/Reg_Proj_Default.html

[4] For enrollment purposes, an LTA is generally defined as a student who is absent for 20 consecutive days or more.
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DOE class size reduction memo to principals
Leonie Haimson
Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 10:57 AM
To: emilyholiday@gmail.com, dmainie@aol.com
Cc: Leonie Haimson

See below and attached --especially:

“It is important, however, to be clear that the DOE will not place a new school or program in a building at the expense of those schools and programs already operating within the building. The current use of space, and the implementation and maintenance of reduced class size, will be considered as we make decisions to co-locate schools and programs…..

The DOE uses the NYC DOE Instructional Footprint (The Footprint), attached to this memo (see Appendix C), as its guiding document for determining the instructional space that any given school is allocated. While The Footprint does not prescribe a class size – it is predicated on the number of sections served per grade and does not assume a class size – it does assign supplemental specialty rooms (art room, science lab, etc.) based on over all school enrollment. Therefore, in using The Footprint to make decisions about the co-location of programs, the DOE will honor a school’s current class size – or the plan to reduce class size in the case where a principal has not previously been able to do so – but we will also expect that the school is making full use of specialty rooms consistent with The Footprint.
If you have questions about The Footprint or its application, please contact the ISC.”
·
· Appendix C: DOE Instructional Footprint

http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/66F06927-78D8-43C2-9873-F9427F44FAD4/0/class_size_memo.doc

To:

All DOE Principals
Date:
May 28, 2008
From:
Garth Harries, Chief Executive for Portfolio Development
CC:
SSO and Network Leaders, ISC Leaders and Staff, Superintendents and Senior Achievement Facilitators

Re:
2008-09 Class Size Reduction Guidance Memo

Dear Principal,
This year, the DOE continues its effort to empower and enable principals to prioritize personalization in the classroom through class size reduction or reduced teacher-student ratio. The following memo outlines a variety of class size reduction and personalization strategies given the resources available to principals, as well as system-wide resources that can you help to plan for and implement class size reduction.
As you establish your goals for next year and decide how to align resources, class size is a key consideration. Class size is one of the fundamental elements that determine how your teachers spend time with students- and resides at the intersection of complex decisions around staffing, scheduling, and facilities use.
Implementing reduced class size requires complex tradeoffs and decisions. The purpose of this memo is to help you to weigh these tradeoffs as your school conducts its comprehensive planning (i.e. your CEP and budgeting process this spring), direct you to available resources, as well as to make clear some of the ways the DOE will respect and accommodate your class size decisions. While you may already be implementing some of the strategies outlined in this memo, we hope that you find the following to be a useful framework for weighing the benefits and constraints associated with class size reduction as you develop your overall education plans and priorities.
The attached Class Size Planning Template (see Appendix A) provides a set of guiding questions to help you and your SLT assess and plan for class size reduction. This Planning Template may be included as an addendum to your CEP if class size reduction is one of your stated priorities. Please note that all schools identified for the 2008-09 Class Size Coaching Program must complete the Class size Planning Template. In addition, all schools using C4E resources to reduce class size must complete the CEP addendum on Contracts for Excellence expenditures. _____________________________________________________________________________
The primary approaches to increasing personalization that we will address in this memo are:
Class size reduction through the creations of additional classes/sections
Increased personalization through reduction of teacher-student ratio (co-teaching)
Increased personalization through reduced teacher loads, particularly at the MS and HS levels[1]
The following questions can help organize your thinking on class size reduction, and serve as the framework for the remainder of this memo:
· What does my class size data look like currently?
· Where can I target class size reduction or other personalization efforts to impact the highest need populations?
· How can I optimize my budget to achieve class size reduction?
· How will class size reduction impact my staffing plan?
· How can I use my current space to open additional classes?
· Would creative scheduling of staff and space allow me to reduce class size or teacher-to-student ratio?
· What kinds of professional development/support will my staff need to ensure that students receive the full instructional benefits of reduced class sizes?
· If I plan to reduce my class sizes, how can I ensure that my smaller class sizes will be preserved in light of enrollment and facilities policies?

The sections outlined below are intended to help answer these critical questions by providing strategies and resources to design an effective class size reduction plan.

What does my class size data look like currently?
Class size is one of many critical school characteristics, and it is important that you look at class sizes in conjunction with other performance metrics. The following ATS report will allow you to see your class size data:
i. Report RAVG: This report provides school-level class size data
1. For schools serving grades K-9 (where 9th grade is the terminal grade), this report will show three types of information: the school’s average class size, the official class list and the official class register. Data is reported separately for General Education/ Collaborative Team Teaching classes and for Self-contained Special Education classes.
2. For schools serving grades 9-12, this report will show the average class size by core course (English, math, social studies, and science) for classes marked as “Core” in HSST. Core class size data will be reported for General Education/Collaborative Team Teaching classes and for Self-contained Special Education classes. This report will show three types of information: number of core course sections, course register, and average class size.
Consider your class sizes against the following subpopulations:
i. Class sizes by grade (and course for high schools)
ii. Class size by grade and service level (Special Education vs. General Education)
iii. Class size by student population (Level I & II, ELL students)

Where can I target class size reduction to impact the highest need populations?
Across the board class size reduction can often be difficult to achieve given limited resources and space, but to the extent that you have the power to do targeted class size reduction, be deliberate about when and how you reduce class size to ensure that the staff, facility, and financial resources have the greatest impact. Possible target areas may include:
i. Transition grades: Target students enrolled in transition grades (i.e. early grades of elementary, middle or high school) for class size reduction in core and critical subjects.
ii. Target particular subjects for all grades (i.e. literacy, math, or theme based courses) and reduce the size of those classes.
iii. Early grades: Empirical evidence supports class size reduction in kindergarten through grade two as a successful strategy if the class size reduction is significant, with improved student performance that is maintained as students continue on in school.

How can I optimize my budget to achieve class size reduction?
If Class Size Reduction is one of your top priorities, be sure to indicate this to your ISC Budget Officer or ESO Business Manager who should be able to help you prioritize resources for class size reduction and optimize dollars to meet your priorities. Please refer to the CRAFT budget planning documents for more detailed guidance. To the extent that you want to prioritize class size reduction, you should come prepared to answer the following questions with regard to your staffing plan when you meet with your Budget Officer or ESO Business Manager:
i. Do I want to hire an additional teacher to help reduce class size?
1. Where additional rooms can be made available to open an additional class/section (see section below), hiring a new teacher to teach additional sections can significantly reduce class sizes.
2. Hiring resources:
a. Open Market System for Transfers- The Open Market Hiring System allows teachers to apply to transfer to your school. You can access the Open Market System through the Principals’ Portal or by going to http://www.nycboe.net/Applications/transferplani/login.aspx. The system will allow you to:
i. View detailed profiles of teachers who have an interest in transferring to your school- you can see their cover letter, resume, state certification / city license information, probation status, rating history, seniority, and service history
ii. Filter and search among teachers who have applied to transfer to your school.
iii. Add a detailed description of your vacancies (that are declared in Galaxy) so that prospective transfer applicants can see if a particular position is a good fit for them.
iv. Finalize the transfer of teachers through the on-line system.
b. New Teacher Finder- The New Teacher Finder is an easy-to-use online tool that helps you search for new teacher candidates who have passed a rigorous application pre-screen. The New Teachers Finder includes new applicants from all pathways, including Teaching Fellows and local and national recruits. You can access the new Teacher Finder through the Principals’ Portal or by going to: http://nyc.teacherssupportnetwork.com/Home.do. (Your user name and password will be the same as your current LAN user ID, e.g. jsmith4. You can change your password when you login for the first time.) Through the New Teacher Finder, you can:
i. View the profiles (including resumes and essays) of interested candidates and potential matches.
ii. Use advanced search criteria to find candidates.
iii. Highlight your school for prospective candidates.
iv. Create requests for applications.
c. Job Fairs
i. Throughout the spring and summer, the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality will be hosting career and hiring fairs where principals and other hiring representatives can meet new pre-screened teacher candidates, including traditional candidates and NYC Teaching Fellows. For Career Fair details or to register to attend, go to the Hiring page on the Principals’ Portal
d. General Assistance
i. Your HR partner in the ISC can provide support in your search for new or transferring teachers including use of the on-line tools.
ii. For additional assistance regarding new teacher applicants, contact the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality at (718) 935-4080.
ii. Do I want to hire an additional teacher to reduce teacher-student ratios through co-teaching?
1. Where additional rooms are not available, adding a second teacher to a class can be a powerful means to increase personalized attention. Most often, co-teaching combines two teachers of different experience levels, and it can be implemented in two ways:
a. Two teachers licensed in the same content area (i.e. an English class with two English teachers).
b. Two teachers licensed in two different content areas (i.e. a Humanities class with an English teacher and a history teacher).
2. If you are using Contracts for Excellence (C4E) resources to reduce Teacher-Student ratio, you must hire a full time teacher and implement a true co-teaching model, as described above. Part-time/Push-in teachers are not an allowable expenditure of C4E resources.
iii. How can I optimize use of my existing staff?
1. By assigning teaching responsibilities to all staff with a teacher title, you may be able to reduce teacher-student ratio, teacher load, and/or reduce class size. Examples include:
a. General example:
i. Utilize the 6th Period Coverage Provision whereby current staff in shortage license areas can be assigned an additional class in lieu of preparation periods. Teachers approved and scheduled to teach an additional five periods per week are compensated at a “special per session” semester rate of $5,660. Any school interested in this option should consult with their Human Resource Partner at the ISC for the procedure and application. Approval is required prior to the commencement of service.
b. Elementary School examples:
i. Move specialists into classrooms so that they support a smaller group of students daily rather than an entire student body a few times per week.
ii. Combine two classes into a single cluster with two teachers and a specialist.
b. High School examples:
i. Cut back on compensatory time positions.
ii. Increase instructional load for supervisors, coaches, etc. Assigning assistant principals to teach at least one or two classes. (This can only happen within CSA contractual limitations)
iii. Utilize advisories and peer mentoring to support students’ emotional and developmental needs. This should not be understood as a replacement to crisis or mandated counseling, but advisories will allow guidance counselors and social workers to focus their energies. It will also reduce the need for staff who have non-instructional (more guidance, social work or deans) functions.[2]

How can I use my current space to open additional classes?
Evaluate your school’s space against the DOE’s Instructional Footprint (See Appendix C - The Footprint). The Footprint document describes the minimum space allocation used by the DOE in facilities evaluations. The Footprint prescribes a space allocation based on a school’s total enrollment and number if sections and assumes a high programming efficiency for each room. Particularly if your school is at or over the classroom allocation prescribed by the Footprint, you may have significant opportunities to repurpose space for instructional use; however, all schools may benefit from considering strategies for increased space efficiency. The following suggestions may enable you to move towards greater building efficiency as described in the Footprint:
i. Program rooms throughout the day as a way to maximize classroom space:
1. Open a new class in a new classroom: Where space allows, the easiest way to reduce class size is to open a new class in a new room.
2. Use one room for multiple subjects. Depending on both the function of the room, and the number of periods a day it is scheduled, there may be potential to use one room for multiple subjects. It is important to consider the following:
a. Which subjects or teachers can travel?
b. Which subjects or teachers can share rooms?
1. Use common and small group instructional spaces for pull-out instruction when practical.
2. Where feasible, offer specialized instruction in shared rooms, as opposed to dedicating a room for it, especially if your school already has its requisite number of other cluster rooms and/or the specialized instruction does not occur throughout the entire school day.
ii. Add classrooms by repurposing non-instructional space:
1. Use all full-sized classrooms in the building as classrooms rather than as offices and for other non-instructional purposes.
2. If you are having trouble locating classroom furniture in order to facilitate this use, please talk with your custodian; many buildings have spare classroom furniture.
3. If facilities work is required to convert an administrative suite back to a classroom, please contact your Integrated Service Center (ISC) to schedule a meeting with facilities staff who can assess and approve office conversion projects. The DOE Facilities Portfolio Committee, which involves the School Construction Authority (SCA), Division of School Facilities (DSF), and other DOE offices and determines what projects are approved, generally places a priority on projects that increase the number of instructional classrooms in a school building by converting offices. This work is contingent on funding availability and efficient use of existing classrooms per the Footprint.
iii. Allocate private office space only to those administrators who require confidential space (i.e. guidance counselors, social workers, psychologists) and use a shared space model for other administrators. Small private conference rooms can be made available for sign-up for other staff.
iv. If Community Based Organizations (CBOs) or other non-DOE groups are housed within your building, work with them to ensure that the space they are allocated is effectively used through the school day and does not interfere with your ability to plan for reduced class sizes. If you have questions or concerns about such groups in your building or would like to learn more about the minimum Footprint allocation for CBOs and Beacon programs, contact your ISC.
Note: While there are advantages if every teacher (including specialized teachers) has their own classroom, in most buildings that is not possible, and so there are trade-offs between dedicated teacher rooms and class size reduction. If teachers do not have their own room, be thoughtful about creating space where they can work during prep periods, particularly in ways that encourage collaboration.

Would thoughtful scheduling of staff and space allow me to reduce class size or student-to-teacher ratio?
Consider the following scheduling solutions that can help you free up additional teaching staff or reduce teacher load:
i. Middle School/High School Examples:
1. Consider programming large student sections in lunch and physical education in order to program smaller classes opposite those blocks – as these are times that allow for a large number of students to be covered outside of academic classrooms – to maximize use of classroom space.
2. At the secondary school level, a principal can reduce teacher load by scheduling teachers for longer instructional blocks with fewer distinct sections of students. This may not reduce class size, but it does increase the individualized attention that students receive. It can be particularly effective when combined with teacher teaming (i.e. teachers across disciplines responsible for the same group of students)
3. Where necessary, lengthen the school day by scheduling teachers on overlapping schedules and programming smaller classes at the beginning and end of the school day.
4. Offer credit-bearing, after-school classes
5. Offer internships, community service and external learning: Where appropriate in your school’s sequence, foster out-of-school supervised learning experiences for high school students that count as credit bearing coursework. This will reduce the number of students on site and allow you to maximize the use of classroom space and teachers
6. See Appendix B: Scheduling for a general scheduling resource and planning guide. For additional support around scheduling issues, contact your SSO. Each SSO should have dedicated scheduling support staff to assist Principals with the development of innovative scheduling and staffing models.

What kinds of professional development/support will my staff need to ensure that students receive the full instructional benefits of reduced class sizes?
The structural decisions you make about how to organize classes reflect the priorities of the schools. You should use your professional development opportunities to ensure that teachers are supported within whatever structure you choose to organize their classrooms and time.
Co-teaching: This model is typically successful if – and only if – all three of the following supports are in place:
i. Targeted professional development is made available to the co-teachers.
ii. Time is created to allow those teachers to plan together
iii. The majority of the instruction will be small group work that takes advantage of having two teachers in the room,
Targeted instruction: If class size reduction is intended to help a particular population of students, you need to make sure that your teachers are learning strategies that address the needs of those students to maximize the benefits of more personalized learning environments.
i. For example, if reduced class sizes are intended to help teachers give individual attention to struggling readers, teacher professional development should be aligned to ensure that teachers are prepared with skills and strategies to work with those readers.

If I reduce my class sizes, how can I ensure that my smaller class sizes will be preserved in light of enrollment and facilities policies?
We know that there can be factors outside of principal control that make it difficult to implement and maintain reduced class size. In this section of the memo we reiterate recent DOE policies that, when adhered to, will support your implementation of reduced class size.
If I plan for reduced class size based on my projected register, how can I ensure that students will not be enrolled over the number projected?
A school’s October 31 Register Projection guides enrollment for the school. This number drives budget allocations, space planning, and, perhaps most importantly, subsequent admissions to the school. When assigning students at all grade levels, The Office of Student Enrollment (Student Enrollment) honors overall grade-level enrollment projections to the extent possible. That is, rather than enrolling students based on the number of students in a class (at the elementary and middle school level), enrollment happens based on the projected register, so that schools can plan their program based on those projections.[3]
In general, as long as schools serve their overall projected enrollment, and admit and accept students in accordance with approved enrollment policies, schools can and should organize in whatever class size they can achieve given their budget, space, and schedule, and the DOE will make a good faith effort to honor and protect class size decisions made by schools based on their projected registers.
The caveat, which is significant, is that Student Enrollment must also ensure that all students are enrolled in an appropriate program and school, no matter the projected register. The implications of this caveat are as follows:
i. Zoning:
1. A zoned school has a responsibility to serve all children who live within its attendance zone in accordance with policies outlined in this regulation. Therefore, in no case may a zoned school cap a grade to achieve or maintain reduced class size in any grade. Only the Office of Student Enrollment may close a grade to further enrollment.
2. Further, if a zoned school reaches maximum class size in one or more grades, and no classrooms are available to form new classes, then classes in grades with reduced class size must be consolidated, to the extent possible, before zoned students may be diverted to other schools.
3. Enrollment policies regarding zoning and admission are outlined in Chancellor’s Regulation A101. In particular:
a. Students zoned for an elementary or middle school have priority for enrollment in those schools and must be accommodated before assignments are made to non-zoned students.
b. Zoned schools are required to register zoned students and must accept zoned students subject to available seats as determined by the Office of Student Enrollment.
c. Students seeking admission to a non-zoned elementary and middle school or to an elementary or middle school for which they are not zoned may only be assigned/registered by the Office of Student Enrollment.
d. In other words, a school should only enroll students who:
i. are zoned to the school (if applicable)
ii. otherwise participate in the established admissions or choice processes
iii. were assigned by the Office of Student Enrollment.
If a school admits students outside of established enrollment procedures, then it may not be possible to honor projected registers and reduced class sizes.
ii. Instructional Programs
1. A school cannot consolidate or eliminate targeted instructional programs in order to achieve or maintain reduced class size. This includes Pre-Kindergarten classes and special education classes.
2. Furthermore, a school cannot lower class size at the expense of other schools and/or programs in the building.

iii. Register Fluctuations and Planning for your October 31 Register Projection
1. Please note as part of the Register Projection Process, we anticipate that prior to October 31, the date that registers are “frozen” for budget purposes, your registers will fluctuate. In other words, sometimes your register will be above the October 31 target and at other times it may fall below. The reason for this is as follows:
a. Your school’s register will include Long Term Absences[4] (LTAs). The October 31 register projections which drive your budget do not include LTAs and thus you do not get budget for LTAs.
b. Each school will experience attrition. Each school’s attrition rate is taken into account in determining a school’s register projection including the number of students that are enrolled over-the-counter.
c. Attrition occurs gradually, so at times registers may appear higher as attrition has not yet been fully realized.
d. “Seats” are identified when “live registers” fall below the October 31 targets. You therefore may continue to receive students even when your register is above your October 31 target because you have LTAs and/or because attrition is still occurring.
Schools are responsible for planning for their full October 31 target register. To the extent that school plan for reduced class size at their target enrollment, and operate in accordance with the caveats above, Student Enrollment will endeavor to honor class size reduction efforts.
How does the DOE make decisions about Co-location of schools? If I choose to reduce class size in my existing space, how do I know that I will be able to maintain space for reduced class size?
We wish every school could have its own building, but in a city with limited space, we have to make good use of our infrastructure to support the creation of new programs, traditional public schools, and charter public schools. There are currently more than 600 schools operating in a shared space setting around the city, and that number will continue to grow as we strive to create more and better school and program options for New York City schools and families. It is important, however, to be clear that the DOE will not place a new school or program in a building at the expense of those schools and programs already operating within the building. The current use of space, and the implementation and maintenance of reduced class size, will be considered as we make decisions to co-locate schools and programs.
The DOE uses the NYC DOE Instructional Footprint (The Footprint), attached to this memo (see Appendix C), as its guiding document for determining the instructional space that any given school is allocated. While The Footprint does not prescribe a class size – it is predicated on the number of sections served per grade and does not assume a class size – it does assign supplemental specialty rooms (art room, science lab, etc.) based on over all school enrollment. Therefore, in using The Footprint to make decisions about the co-location of programs, the DOE will honor a school’s current class size – or the plan to reduce class size in the case where a principal has not previously been able to do so – but we will also expect that the school is making full use of specialty rooms consistent with The Footprint.
If you have questions about The Footprint or its application, please contact the ISC.

As principal, you know best what your school community needs in order for your students to succeed, and these policies are designed to support you as you make decisions for your school. We hope that the information in this memo and its appendices is helpful to you as you plan for the coming school year.
If you would like help implementing any of these strategies, or if you have other good ideas you can share, please contact your School Support Organization (SSO), who can help you consider the trade-offs implicit in planning class size and programming your school.

ATTACHMENTS:
APPENDIX A: Class Size Reduction Planning Template
APPENDIX B: MS/HS Scheduling
APPENDIX C: DOE Instructional Footprint

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl.
New York, NY 10011
212-674-7320
leonie@att.net
www.classsizematters.org
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/

Please make a tax-deductible contribution to Class Size Matters now!

[1] Please note, only the first two personalization strategies listed above – addition of a class or co-teaching - qualify as acceptable uses of C4E resources.
[2] Note UFT contractual limitations: Where Advisory is run by a teacher, it counts against Teaching Time.
[3] For more details information about the Register Projection Process and the Appeals Process go to: https://www.nycboe.net/AdminOrg/Finance/budget/dbor/dbor_intranet/REGPROJ_INTRANET/Reg_Proj_Default.html

[4] For enrollment purposes, an LTA is generally defined as a student who is absent for 20 consecutive days or more.
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DOE class size reduction memo to principals
Leonie Haimson
Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 10:57 AM
To: emilyholiday@gmail.com, dmainie@aol.com
Cc: Leonie Haimson

See below and attached --especially:

“It is important, however, to be clear that the DOE will not place a new school or program in a building at the expense of those schools and programs already operating within the building. The current use of space, and the implementation and maintenance of reduced class size, will be considered as we make decisions to co-locate schools and programs…..

The DOE uses the NYC DOE Instructional Footprint (The Footprint), attached to this memo (see Appendix C), as its guiding document for determining the instructional space that any given school is allocated. While The Footprint does not prescribe a class size – it is predicated on the number of sections served per grade and does not assume a class size – it does assign supplemental specialty rooms (art room, science lab, etc.) based on over all school enrollment. Therefore, in using The Footprint to make decisions about the co-location of programs, the DOE will honor a school’s current class size – or the plan to reduce class size in the case where a principal has not previously been able to do so – but we will also expect that the school is making full use of specialty rooms consistent with The Footprint.
If you have questions about The Footprint or its application, please contact the ISC.”
·
· Appendix C: DOE Instructional Footprint

http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/66F06927-78D8-43C2-9873-F9427F44FAD4/0/class_size_memo.doc

To:

All DOE Principals
Date:
May 28, 2008
From:
Garth Harries, Chief Executive for Portfolio Development
CC:
SSO and Network Leaders, ISC Leaders and Staff, Superintendents and Senior Achievement Facilitators

Re:
2008-09 Class Size Reduction Guidance Memo

Dear Principal,
This year, the DOE continues its effort to empower and enable principals to prioritize personalization in the classroom through class size reduction or reduced teacher-student ratio. The following memo outlines a variety of class size reduction and personalization strategies given the resources available to principals, as well as system-wide resources that can you help to plan for and implement class size reduction.
As you establish your goals for next year and decide how to align resources, class size is a key consideration. Class size is one of the fundamental elements that determine how your teachers spend time with students- and resides at the intersection of complex decisions around staffing, scheduling, and facilities use.
Implementing reduced class size requires complex tradeoffs and decisions. The purpose of this memo is to help you to weigh these tradeoffs as your school conducts its comprehensive planning (i.e. your CEP and budgeting process this spring), direct you to available resources, as well as to make clear some of the ways the DOE will respect and accommodate your class size decisions. While you may already be implementing some of the strategies outlined in this memo, we hope that you find the following to be a useful framework for weighing the benefits and constraints associated with class size reduction as you develop your overall education plans and priorities.
The attached Class Size Planning Template (see Appendix A) provides a set of guiding questions to help you and your SLT assess and plan for class size reduction. This Planning Template may be included as an addendum to your CEP if class size reduction is one of your stated priorities. Please note that all schools identified for the 2008-09 Class Size Coaching Program must complete the Class size Planning Template. In addition, all schools using C4E resources to reduce class size must complete the CEP addendum on Contracts for Excellence expenditures. _____________________________________________________________________________
The primary approaches to increasing personalization that we will address in this memo are:
Class size reduction through the creations of additional classes/sections
Increased personalization through reduction of teacher-student ratio (co-teaching)
Increased personalization through reduced teacher loads, particularly at the MS and HS levels[1]
The following questions can help organize your thinking on class size reduction, and serve as the framework for the remainder of this memo:
· What does my class size data look like currently?
· Where can I target class size reduction or other personalization efforts to impact the highest need populations?
· How can I optimize my budget to achieve class size reduction?
· How will class size reduction impact my staffing plan?
· How can I use my current space to open additional classes?
· Would creative scheduling of staff and space allow me to reduce class size or teacher-to-student ratio?
· What kinds of professional development/support will my staff need to ensure that students receive the full instructional benefits of reduced class sizes?
· If I plan to reduce my class sizes, how can I ensure that my smaller class sizes will be preserved in light of enrollment and facilities policies?

The sections outlined below are intended to help answer these critical questions by providing strategies and resources to design an effective class size reduction plan.

What does my class size data look like currently?
Class size is one of many critical school characteristics, and it is important that you look at class sizes in conjunction with other performance metrics. The following ATS report will allow you to see your class size data:
i. Report RAVG: This report provides school-level class size data
1. For schools serving grades K-9 (where 9th grade is the terminal grade), this report will show three types of information: the school’s average class size, the official class list and the official class register. Data is reported separately for General Education/ Collaborative Team Teaching classes and for Self-contained Special Education classes.
2. For schools serving grades 9-12, this report will show the average class size by core course (English, math, social studies, and science) for classes marked as “Core” in HSST. Core class size data will be reported for General Education/Collaborative Team Teaching classes and for Self-contained Special Education classes. This report will show three types of information: number of core course sections, course register, and average class size.
Consider your class sizes against the following subpopulations:
i. Class sizes by grade (and course for high schools)
ii. Class size by grade and service level (Special Education vs. General Education)
iii. Class size by student population (Level I & II, ELL students)

Where can I target class size reduction to impact the highest need populations?
Across the board class size reduction can often be difficult to achieve given limited resources and space, but to the extent that you have the power to do targeted class size reduction, be deliberate about when and how you reduce class size to ensure that the staff, facility, and financial resources have the greatest impact. Possible target areas may include:
i. Transition grades: Target students enrolled in transition grades (i.e. early grades of elementary, middle or high school) for class size reduction in core and critical subjects.
ii. Target particular subjects for all grades (i.e. literacy, math, or theme based courses) and reduce the size of those classes.
iii. Early grades: Empirical evidence supports class size reduction in kindergarten through grade two as a successful strategy if the class size reduction is significant, with improved student performance that is maintained as students continue on in school.

How can I optimize my budget to achieve class size reduction?
If Class Size Reduction is one of your top priorities, be sure to indicate this to your ISC Budget Officer or ESO Business Manager who should be able to help you prioritize resources for class size reduction and optimize dollars to meet your priorities. Please refer to the CRAFT budget planning documents for more detailed guidance. To the extent that you want to prioritize class size reduction, you should come prepared to answer the following questions with regard to your staffing plan when you meet with your Budget Officer or ESO Business Manager:
i. Do I want to hire an additional teacher to help reduce class size?
1. Where additional rooms can be made available to open an additional class/section (see section below), hiring a new teacher to teach additional sections can significantly reduce class sizes.
2. Hiring resources:
a. Open Market System for Transfers- The Open Market Hiring System allows teachers to apply to transfer to your school. You can access the Open Market System through the Principals’ Portal or by going to http://www.nycboe.net/Applications/transferplani/login.aspx. The system will allow you to:
i. View detailed profiles of teachers who have an interest in transferring to your school- you can see their cover letter, resume, state certification / city license information, probation status, rating history, seniority, and service history
ii. Filter and search among teachers who have applied to transfer to your school.
iii. Add a detailed description of your vacancies (that are declared in Galaxy) so that prospective transfer applicants can see if a particular position is a good fit for them.
iv. Finalize the transfer of teachers through the on-line system.
b. New Teacher Finder- The New Teacher Finder is an easy-to-use online tool that helps you search for new teacher candidates who have passed a rigorous application pre-screen. The New Teachers Finder includes new applicants from all pathways, including Teaching Fellows and local and national recruits. You can access the new Teacher Finder through the Principals’ Portal or by going to: http://nyc.teacherssupportnetwork.com/Home.do. (Your user name and password will be the same as your current LAN user ID, e.g. jsmith4. You can change your password when you login for the first time.) Through the New Teacher Finder, you can:
i. View the profiles (including resumes and essays) of interested candidates and potential matches.
ii. Use advanced search criteria to find candidates.
iii. Highlight your school for prospective candidates.
iv. Create requests for applications.
c. Job Fairs
i. Throughout the spring and summer, the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality will be hosting career and hiring fairs where principals and other hiring representatives can meet new pre-screened teacher candidates, including traditional candidates and NYC Teaching Fellows. For Career Fair details or to register to attend, go to the Hiring page on the Principals’ Portal
d. General Assistance
i. Your HR partner in the ISC can provide support in your search for new or transferring teachers including use of the on-line tools.
ii. For additional assistance regarding new teacher applicants, contact the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality at (718) 935-4080.
ii. Do I want to hire an additional teacher to reduce teacher-student ratios through co-teaching?
1. Where additional rooms are not available, adding a second teacher to a class can be a powerful means to increase personalized attention. Most often, co-teaching combines two teachers of different experience levels, and it can be implemented in two ways:
a. Two teachers licensed in the same content area (i.e. an English class with two English teachers).
b. Two teachers licensed in two different content areas (i.e. a Humanities class with an English teacher and a history teacher).
2. If you are using Contracts for Excellence (C4E) resources to reduce Teacher-Student ratio, you must hire a full time teacher and implement a true co-teaching model, as described above. Part-time/Push-in teachers are not an allowable expenditure of C4E resources.
iii. How can I optimize use of my existing staff?
1. By assigning teaching responsibilities to all staff with a teacher title, you may be able to reduce teacher-student ratio, teacher load, and/or reduce class size. Examples include:
a. General example:
i. Utilize the 6th Period Coverage Provision whereby current staff in shortage license areas can be assigned an additional class in lieu of preparation periods. Teachers approved and scheduled to teach an additional five periods per week are compensated at a “special per session” semester rate of $5,660. Any school interested in this option should consult with their Human Resource Partner at the ISC for the procedure and application. Approval is required prior to the commencement of service.
b. Elementary School examples:
i. Move specialists into classrooms so that they support a smaller group of students daily rather than an entire student body a few times per week.
ii. Combine two classes into a single cluster with two teachers and a specialist.
b. High School examples:
i. Cut back on compensatory time positions.
ii. Increase instructional load for supervisors, coaches, etc. Assigning assistant principals to teach at least one or two classes. (This can only happen within CSA contractual limitations)
iii. Utilize advisories and peer mentoring to support students’ emotional and developmental needs. This should not be understood as a replacement to crisis or mandated counseling, but advisories will allow guidance counselors and social workers to focus their energies. It will also reduce the need for staff who have non-instructional (more guidance, social work or deans) functions.[2]

How can I use my current space to open additional classes?
Evaluate your school’s space against the DOE’s Instructional Footprint (See Appendix C - The Footprint). The Footprint document describes the minimum space allocation used by the DOE in facilities evaluations. The Footprint prescribes a space allocation based on a school’s total enrollment and number if sections and assumes a high programming efficiency for each room. Particularly if your school is at or over the classroom allocation prescribed by the Footprint, you may have significant opportunities to repurpose space for instructional use; however, all schools may benefit from considering strategies for increased space efficiency. The following suggestions may enable you to move towards greater building efficiency as described in the Footprint:
i. Program rooms throughout the day as a way to maximize classroom space:
1. Open a new class in a new classroom: Where space allows, the easiest way to reduce class size is to open a new class in a new room.
2. Use one room for multiple subjects. Depending on both the function of the room, and the number of periods a day it is scheduled, there may be potential to use one room for multiple subjects. It is important to consider the following:
a. Which subjects or teachers can travel?
b. Which subjects or teachers can share rooms?
1. Use common and small group instructional spaces for pull-out instruction when practical.
2. Where feasible, offer specialized instruction in shared rooms, as opposed to dedicating a room for it, especially if your school already has its requisite number of other cluster rooms and/or the specialized instruction does not occur throughout the entire school day.
ii. Add classrooms by repurposing non-instructional space:
1. Use all full-sized classrooms in the building as classrooms rather than as offices and for other non-instructional purposes.
2. If you are having trouble locating classroom furniture in order to facilitate this use, please talk with your custodian; many buildings have spare classroom furniture.
3. If facilities work is required to convert an administrative suite back to a classroom, please contact your Integrated Service Center (ISC) to schedule a meeting with facilities staff who can assess and approve office conversion projects. The DOE Facilities Portfolio Committee, which involves the School Construction Authority (SCA), Division of School Facilities (DSF), and other DOE offices and determines what projects are approved, generally places a priority on projects that increase the number of instructional classrooms in a school building by converting offices. This work is contingent on funding availability and efficient use of existing classrooms per the Footprint.
iii. Allocate private office space only to those administrators who require confidential space (i.e. guidance counselors, social workers, psychologists) and use a shared space model for other administrators. Small private conference rooms can be made available for sign-up for other staff.
iv. If Community Based Organizations (CBOs) or other non-DOE groups are housed within your building, work with them to ensure that the space they are allocated is effectively used through the school day and does not interfere with your ability to plan for reduced class sizes. If you have questions or concerns about such groups in your building or would like to learn more about the minimum Footprint allocation for CBOs and Beacon programs, contact your ISC.
Note: While there are advantages if every teacher (including specialized teachers) has their own classroom, in most buildings that is not possible, and so there are trade-offs between dedicated teacher rooms and class size reduction. If teachers do not have their own room, be thoughtful about creating space where they can work during prep periods, particularly in ways that encourage collaboration.

Would thoughtful scheduling of staff and space allow me to reduce class size or student-to-teacher ratio?
Consider the following scheduling solutions that can help you free up additional teaching staff or reduce teacher load:
i. Middle School/High School Examples:
1. Consider programming large student sections in lunch and physical education in order to program smaller classes opposite those blocks – as these are times that allow for a large number of students to be covered outside of academic classrooms – to maximize use of classroom space.
2. At the secondary school level, a principal can reduce teacher load by scheduling teachers for longer instructional blocks with fewer distinct sections of students. This may not reduce class size, but it does increase the individualized attention that students receive. It can be particularly effective when combined with teacher teaming (i.e. teachers across disciplines responsible for the same group of students)
3. Where necessary, lengthen the school day by scheduling teachers on overlapping schedules and programming smaller classes at the beginning and end of the school day.
4. Offer credit-bearing, after-school classes
5. Offer internships, community service and external learning: Where appropriate in your school’s sequence, foster out-of-school supervised learning experiences for high school students that count as credit bearing coursework. This will reduce the number of students on site and allow you to maximize the use of classroom space and teachers
6. See Appendix B: Scheduling for a general scheduling resource and planning guide. For additional support around scheduling issues, contact your SSO. Each SSO should have dedicated scheduling support staff to assist Principals with the development of innovative scheduling and staffing models.

What kinds of professional development/support will my staff need to ensure that students receive the full instructional benefits of reduced class sizes?
The structural decisions you make about how to organize classes reflect the priorities of the schools. You should use your professional development opportunities to ensure that teachers are supported within whatever structure you choose to organize their classrooms and time.
Co-teaching: This model is typically successful if – and only if – all three of the following supports are in place:
i. Targeted professional development is made available to the co-teachers.
ii. Time is created to allow those teachers to plan together
iii. The majority of the instruction will be small group work that takes advantage of having two teachers in the room,
Targeted instruction: If class size reduction is intended to help a particular population of students, you need to make sure that your teachers are learning strategies that address the needs of those students to maximize the benefits of more personalized learning environments.
i. For example, if reduced class sizes are intended to help teachers give individual attention to struggling readers, teacher professional development should be aligned to ensure that teachers are prepared with skills and strategies to work with those readers.

If I reduce my class sizes, how can I ensure that my smaller class sizes will be preserved in light of enrollment and facilities policies?
We know that there can be factors outside of principal control that make it difficult to implement and maintain reduced class size. In this section of the memo we reiterate recent DOE policies that, when adhered to, will support your implementation of reduced class size.
If I plan for reduced class size based on my projected register, how can I ensure that students will not be enrolled over the number projected?
A school’s October 31 Register Projection guides enrollment for the school. This number drives budget allocations, space planning, and, perhaps most importantly, subsequent admissions to the school. When assigning students at all grade levels, The Office of Student Enrollment (Student Enrollment) honors overall grade-level enrollment projections to the extent possible. That is, rather than enrolling students based on the number of students in a class (at the elementary and middle school level), enrollment happens based on the projected register, so that schools can plan their program based on those projections.[3]
In general, as long as schools serve their overall projected enrollment, and admit and accept students in accordance with approved enrollment policies, schools can and should organize in whatever class size they can achieve given their budget, space, and schedule, and the DOE will make a good faith effort to honor and protect class size decisions made by schools based on their projected registers.
The caveat, which is significant, is that Student Enrollment must also ensure that all students are enrolled in an appropriate program and school, no matter the projected register. The implications of this caveat are as follows:
i. Zoning:
1. A zoned school has a responsibility to serve all children who live within its attendance zone in accordance with policies outlined in this regulation. Therefore, in no case may a zoned school cap a grade to achieve or maintain reduced class size in any grade. Only the Office of Student Enrollment may close a grade to further enrollment.
2. Further, if a zoned school reaches maximum class size in one or more grades, and no classrooms are available to form new classes, then classes in grades with reduced class size must be consolidated, to the extent possible, before zoned students may be diverted to other schools.
3. Enrollment policies regarding zoning and admission are outlined in Chancellor’s Regulation A101. In particular:
a. Students zoned for an elementary or middle school have priority for enrollment in those schools and must be accommodated before assignments are made to non-zoned students.
b. Zoned schools are required to register zoned students and must accept zoned students subject to available seats as determined by the Office of Student Enrollment.
c. Students seeking admission to a non-zoned elementary and middle school or to an elementary or middle school for which they are not zoned may only be assigned/registered by the Office of Student Enrollment.
d. In other words, a school should only enroll students who:
i. are zoned to the school (if applicable)
ii. otherwise participate in the established admissions or choice processes
iii. were assigned by the Office of Student Enrollment.
If a school admits students outside of established enrollment procedures, then it may not be possible to honor projected registers and reduced class sizes.
ii. Instructional Programs
1. A school cannot consolidate or eliminate targeted instructional programs in order to achieve or maintain reduced class size. This includes Pre-Kindergarten classes and special education classes.
2. Furthermore, a school cannot lower class size at the expense of other schools and/or programs in the building.

iii. Register Fluctuations and Planning for your October 31 Register Projection
1. Please note as part of the Register Projection Process, we anticipate that prior to October 31, the date that registers are “frozen” for budget purposes, your registers will fluctuate. In other words, sometimes your register will be above the October 31 target and at other times it may fall below. The reason for this is as follows:
a. Your school’s register will include Long Term Absences[4] (LTAs). The October 31 register projections which drive your budget do not include LTAs and thus you do not get budget for LTAs.
b. Each school will experience attrition. Each school’s attrition rate is taken into account in determining a school’s register projection including the number of students that are enrolled over-the-counter.
c. Attrition occurs gradually, so at times registers may appear higher as attrition has not yet been fully realized.
d. “Seats” are identified when “live registers” fall below the October 31 targets. You therefore may continue to receive students even when your register is above your October 31 target because you have LTAs and/or because attrition is still occurring.
Schools are responsible for planning for their full October 31 target register. To the extent that school plan for reduced class size at their target enrollment, and operate in accordance with the caveats above, Student Enrollment will endeavor to honor class size reduction efforts.
How does the DOE make decisions about Co-location of schools? If I choose to reduce class size in my existing space, how do I know that I will be able to maintain space for reduced class size?
We wish every school could have its own building, but in a city with limited space, we have to make good use of our infrastructure to support the creation of new programs, traditional public schools, and charter public schools. There are currently more than 600 schools operating in a shared space setting around the city, and that number will continue to grow as we strive to create more and better school and program options for New York City schools and families. It is important, however, to be clear that the DOE will not place a new school or program in a building at the expense of those schools and programs already operating within the building. The current use of space, and the implementation and maintenance of reduced class size, will be considered as we make decisions to co-locate schools and programs.
The DOE uses the NYC DOE Instructional Footprint (The Footprint), attached to this memo (see Appendix C), as its guiding document for determining the instructional space that any given school is allocated. While The Footprint does not prescribe a class size – it is predicated on the number of sections served per grade and does not assume a class size – it does assign supplemental specialty rooms (art room, science lab, etc.) based on over all school enrollment. Therefore, in using The Footprint to make decisions about the co-location of programs, the DOE will honor a school’s current class size – or the plan to reduce class size in the case where a principal has not previously been able to do so – but we will also expect that the school is making full use of specialty rooms consistent with The Footprint.
If you have questions about The Footprint or its application, please contact the ISC.

As principal, you know best what your school community needs in order for your students to succeed, and these policies are designed to support you as you make decisions for your school. We hope that the information in this memo and its appendices is helpful to you as you plan for the coming school year.
If you would like help implementing any of these strategies, or if you have other good ideas you can share, please contact your School Support Organization (SSO), who can help you consider the trade-offs implicit in planning class size and programming your school.

ATTACHMENTS:
APPENDIX A: Class Size Reduction Planning Template
APPENDIX B: MS/HS Scheduling
APPENDIX C: DOE Instructional Footprint

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl.
New York, NY 10011
212-674-7320
leonie@att.net
www.classsizematters.org
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/

Please make a tax-deductible contribution to Class Size Matters now!

[1] Please note, only the first two personalization strategies listed above – addition of a class or co-teaching - qualify as acceptable uses of C4E resources.
[2] Note UFT contractual limitations: Where Advisory is run by a teacher, it counts against Teaching Time.
[3] For more details information about the Register Projection Process and the Appeals Process go to: https://www.nycboe.net/AdminOrg/Finance/budget/dbor/dbor_intranet/REGPROJ_INTRANET/Reg_Proj_Default.html

[4] For enrollment purposes, an LTA is generally defined as a student who is absent for 20 consecutive days or more.
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DOE class size reduction memo to principals
Leonie Haimson
Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 10:57 AM
To: emilyholiday@gmail.com, dmainie@aol.com
Cc: Leonie Haimson

See below and attached --especially:

“It is important, however, to be clear that the DOE will not place a new school or program in a building at the expense of those schools and programs already operating within the building. The current use of space, and the implementation and maintenance of reduced class size, will be considered as we make decisions to co-locate schools and programs…..

The DOE uses the NYC DOE Instructional Footprint (The Footprint), attached to this memo (see Appendix C), as its guiding document for determining the instructional space that any given school is allocated. While The Footprint does not prescribe a class size – it is predicated on the number of sections served per grade and does not assume a class size – it does assign supplemental specialty rooms (art room, science lab, etc.) based on over all school enrollment. Therefore, in using The Footprint to make decisions about the co-location of programs, the DOE will honor a school’s current class size – or the plan to reduce class size in the case where a principal has not previously been able to do so – but we will also expect that the school is making full use of specialty rooms consistent with The Footprint.
If you have questions about The Footprint or its application, please contact the ISC.”
·
· Appendix C: DOE Instructional Footprint

http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/66F06927-78D8-43C2-9873-F9427F44FAD4/0/class_size_memo.doc

To:

All DOE Principals
Date:
May 28, 2008
From:
Garth Harries, Chief Executive for Portfolio Development
CC:
SSO and Network Leaders, ISC Leaders and Staff, Superintendents and Senior Achievement Facilitators

Re:
2008-09 Class Size Reduction Guidance Memo

Dear Principal,
This year, the DOE continues its effort to empower and enable principals to prioritize personalization in the classroom through class size reduction or reduced teacher-student ratio. The following memo outlines a variety of class size reduction and personalization strategies given the resources available to principals, as well as system-wide resources that can you help to plan for and implement class size reduction.
As you establish your goals for next year and decide how to align resources, class size is a key consideration. Class size is one of the fundamental elements that determine how your teachers spend time with students- and resides at the intersection of complex decisions around staffing, scheduling, and facilities use.
Implementing reduced class size requires complex tradeoffs and decisions. The purpose of this memo is to help you to weigh these tradeoffs as your school conducts its comprehensive planning (i.e. your CEP and budgeting process this spring), direct you to available resources, as well as to make clear some of the ways the DOE will respect and accommodate your class size decisions. While you may already be implementing some of the strategies outlined in this memo, we hope that you find the following to be a useful framework for weighing the benefits and constraints associated with class size reduction as you develop your overall education plans and priorities.
The attached Class Size Planning Template (see Appendix A) provides a set of guiding questions to help you and your SLT assess and plan for class size reduction. This Planning Template may be included as an addendum to your CEP if class size reduction is one of your stated priorities. Please note that all schools identified for the 2008-09 Class Size Coaching Program must complete the Class size Planning Template. In addition, all schools using C4E resources to reduce class size must complete the CEP addendum on Contracts for Excellence expenditures. _____________________________________________________________________________
The primary approaches to increasing personalization that we will address in this memo are:
Class size reduction through the creations of additional classes/sections
Increased personalization through reduction of teacher-student ratio (co-teaching)
Increased personalization through reduced teacher loads, particularly at the MS and HS levels[1]
The following questions can help organize your thinking on class size reduction, and serve as the framework for the remainder of this memo:
· What does my class size data look like currently?
· Where can I target class size reduction or other personalization efforts to impact the highest need populations?
· How can I optimize my budget to achieve class size reduction?
· How will class size reduction impact my staffing plan?
· How can I use my current space to open additional classes?
· Would creative scheduling of staff and space allow me to reduce class size or teacher-to-student ratio?
· What kinds of professional development/support will my staff need to ensure that students receive the full instructional benefits of reduced class sizes?
· If I plan to reduce my class sizes, how can I ensure that my smaller class sizes will be preserved in light of enrollment and facilities policies?

The sections outlined below are intended to help answer these critical questions by providing strategies and resources to design an effective class size reduction plan.

What does my class size data look like currently?
Class size is one of many critical school characteristics, and it is important that you look at class sizes in conjunction with other performance metrics. The following ATS report will allow you to see your class size data:
i. Report RAVG: This report provides school-level class size data
1. For schools serving grades K-9 (where 9th grade is the terminal grade), this report will show three types of information: the school’s average class size, the official class list and the official class register. Data is reported separately for General Education/ Collaborative Team Teaching classes and for Self-contained Special Education classes.
2. For schools serving grades 9-12, this report will show the average class size by core course (English, math, social studies, and science) for classes marked as “Core” in HSST. Core class size data will be reported for General Education/Collaborative Team Teaching classes and for Self-contained Special Education classes. This report will show three types of information: number of core course sections, course register, and average class size.
Consider your class sizes against the following subpopulations:
i. Class sizes by grade (and course for high schools)
ii. Class size by grade and service level (Special Education vs. General Education)
iii. Class size by student population (Level I & II, ELL students)

Where can I target class size reduction to impact the highest need populations?
Across the board class size reduction can often be difficult to achieve given limited resources and space, but to the extent that you have the power to do targeted class size reduction, be deliberate about when and how you reduce class size to ensure that the staff, facility, and financial resources have the greatest impact. Possible target areas may include:
i. Transition grades: Target students enrolled in transition grades (i.e. early grades of elementary, middle or high school) for class size reduction in core and critical subjects.
ii. Target particular subjects for all grades (i.e. literacy, math, or theme based courses) and reduce the size of those classes.
iii. Early grades: Empirical evidence supports class size reduction in kindergarten through grade two as a successful strategy if the class size reduction is significant, with improved student performance that is maintained as students continue on in school.

How can I optimize my budget to achieve class size reduction?
If Class Size Reduction is one of your top priorities, be sure to indicate this to your ISC Budget Officer or ESO Business Manager who should be able to help you prioritize resources for class size reduction and optimize dollars to meet your priorities. Please refer to the CRAFT budget planning documents for more detailed guidance. To the extent that you want to prioritize class size reduction, you should come prepared to answer the following questions with regard to your staffing plan when you meet with your Budget Officer or ESO Business Manager:
i. Do I want to hire an additional teacher to help reduce class size?
1. Where additional rooms can be made available to open an additional class/section (see section below), hiring a new teacher to teach additional sections can significantly reduce class sizes.
2. Hiring resources:
a. Open Market System for Transfers- The Open Market Hiring System allows teachers to apply to transfer to your school. You can access the Open Market System through the Principals’ Portal or by going to http://www.nycboe.net/Applications/transferplani/login.aspx. The system will allow you to:
i. View detailed profiles of teachers who have an interest in transferring to your school- you can see their cover letter, resume, state certification / city license information, probation status, rating history, seniority, and service history
ii. Filter and search among teachers who have applied to transfer to your school.
iii. Add a detailed description of your vacancies (that are declared in Galaxy) so that prospective transfer applicants can see if a particular position is a good fit for them.
iv. Finalize the transfer of teachers through the on-line system.
b. New Teacher Finder- The New Teacher Finder is an easy-to-use online tool that helps you search for new teacher candidates who have passed a rigorous application pre-screen. The New Teachers Finder includes new applicants from all pathways, including Teaching Fellows and local and national recruits. You can access the new Teacher Finder through the Principals’ Portal or by going to: http://nyc.teacherssupportnetwork.com/Home.do. (Your user name and password will be the same as your current LAN user ID, e.g. jsmith4. You can change your password when you login for the first time.) Through the New Teacher Finder, you can:
i. View the profiles (including resumes and essays) of interested candidates and potential matches.
ii. Use advanced search criteria to find candidates.
iii. Highlight your school for prospective candidates.
iv. Create requests for applications.
c. Job Fairs
i. Throughout the spring and summer, the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality will be hosting career and hiring fairs where principals and other hiring representatives can meet new pre-screened teacher candidates, including traditional candidates and NYC Teaching Fellows. For Career Fair details or to register to attend, go to the Hiring page on the Principals’ Portal
d. General Assistance
i. Your HR partner in the ISC can provide support in your search for new or transferring teachers including use of the on-line tools.
ii. For additional assistance regarding new teacher applicants, contact the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality at (718) 935-4080.
ii. Do I want to hire an additional teacher to reduce teacher-student ratios through co-teaching?
1. Where additional rooms are not available, adding a second teacher to a class can be a powerful means to increase personalized attention. Most often, co-teaching combines two teachers of different experience levels, and it can be implemented in two ways:
a. Two teachers licensed in the same content area (i.e. an English class with two English teachers).
b. Two teachers licensed in two different content areas (i.e. a Humanities class with an English teacher and a history teacher).
2. If you are using Contracts for Excellence (C4E) resources to reduce Teacher-Student ratio, you must hire a full time teacher and implement a true co-teaching model, as described above. Part-time/Push-in teachers are not an allowable expenditure of C4E resources.
iii. How can I optimize use of my existing staff?
1. By assigning teaching responsibilities to all staff with a teacher title, you may be able to reduce teacher-student ratio, teacher load, and/or reduce class size. Examples include:
a. General example:
i. Utilize the 6th Period Coverage Provision whereby current staff in shortage license areas can be assigned an additional class in lieu of preparation periods. Teachers approved and scheduled to teach an additional five periods per week are compensated at a “special per session” semester rate of $5,660. Any school interested in this option should consult with their Human Resource Partner at the ISC for the procedure and application. Approval is required prior to the commencement of service.
b. Elementary School examples:
i. Move specialists into classrooms so that they support a smaller group of students daily rather than an entire student body a few times per week.
ii. Combine two classes into a single cluster with two teachers and a specialist.
b. High School examples:
i. Cut back on compensatory time positions.
ii. Increase instructional load for supervisors, coaches, etc. Assigning assistant principals to teach at least one or two classes. (This can only happen within CSA contractual limitations)
iii. Utilize advisories and peer mentoring to support students’ emotional and developmental needs. This should not be understood as a replacement to crisis or mandated counseling, but advisories will allow guidance counselors and social workers to focus their energies. It will also reduce the need for staff who have non-instructional (more guidance, social work or deans) functions.[2]

How can I use my current space to open additional classes?
Evaluate your school’s space against the DOE’s Instructional Footprint (See Appendix C - The Footprint). The Footprint document describes the minimum space allocation used by the DOE in facilities evaluations. The Footprint prescribes a space allocation based on a school’s total enrollment and number if sections and assumes a high programming efficiency for each room. Particularly if your school is at or over the classroom allocation prescribed by the Footprint, you may have significant opportunities to repurpose space for instructional use; however, all schools may benefit from considering strategies for increased space efficiency. The following suggestions may enable you to move towards greater building efficiency as described in the Footprint:
i. Program rooms throughout the day as a way to maximize classroom space:
1. Open a new class in a new classroom: Where space allows, the easiest way to reduce class size is to open a new class in a new room.
2. Use one room for multiple subjects. Depending on both the function of the room, and the number of periods a day it is scheduled, there may be potential to use one room for multiple subjects. It is important to consider the following:
a. Which subjects or teachers can travel?
b. Which subjects or teachers can share rooms?
1. Use common and small group instructional spaces for pull-out instruction when practical.
2. Where feasible, offer specialized instruction in shared rooms, as opposed to dedicating a room for it, especially if your school already has its requisite number of other cluster rooms and/or the specialized instruction does not occur throughout the entire school day.
ii. Add classrooms by repurposing non-instructional space:
1. Use all full-sized classrooms in the building as classrooms rather than as offices and for other non-instructional purposes.
2. If you are having trouble locating classroom furniture in order to facilitate this use, please talk with your custodian; many buildings have spare classroom furniture.
3. If facilities work is required to convert an administrative suite back to a classroom, please contact your Integrated Service Center (ISC) to schedule a meeting with facilities staff who can assess and approve office conversion projects. The DOE Facilities Portfolio Committee, which involves the School Construction Authority (SCA), Division of School Facilities (DSF), and other DOE offices and determines what projects are approved, generally places a priority on projects that increase the number of instructional classrooms in a school building by converting offices. This work is contingent on funding availability and efficient use of existing classrooms per the Footprint.
iii. Allocate private office space only to those administrators who require confidential space (i.e. guidance counselors, social workers, psychologists) and use a shared space model for other administrators. Small private conference rooms can be made available for sign-up for other staff.
iv. If Community Based Organizations (CBOs) or other non-DOE groups are housed within your building, work with them to ensure that the space they are allocated is effectively used through the school day and does not interfere with your ability to plan for reduced class sizes. If you have questions or concerns about such groups in your building or would like to learn more about the minimum Footprint allocation for CBOs and Beacon programs, contact your ISC.
Note: While there are advantages if every teacher (including specialized teachers) has their own classroom, in most buildings that is not possible, and so there are trade-offs between dedicated teacher rooms and class size reduction. If teachers do not have their own room, be thoughtful about creating space where they can work during prep periods, particularly in ways that encourage collaboration.

Would thoughtful scheduling of staff and space allow me to reduce class size or student-to-teacher ratio?
Consider the following scheduling solutions that can help you free up additional teaching staff or reduce teacher load:
i. Middle School/High School Examples:
1. Consider programming large student sections in lunch and physical education in order to program smaller classes opposite those blocks – as these are times that allow for a large number of students to be covered outside of academic classrooms – to maximize use of classroom space.
2. At the secondary school level, a principal can reduce teacher load by scheduling teachers for longer instructional blocks with fewer distinct sections of students. This may not reduce class size, but it does increase the individualized attention that students receive. It can be particularly effective when combined with teacher teaming (i.e. teachers across disciplines responsible for the same group of students)
3. Where necessary, lengthen the school day by scheduling teachers on overlapping schedules and programming smaller classes at the beginning and end of the school day.
4. Offer credit-bearing, after-school classes
5. Offer internships, community service and external learning: Where appropriate in your school’s sequence, foster out-of-school supervised learning experiences for high school students that count as credit bearing coursework. This will reduce the number of students on site and allow you to maximize the use of classroom space and teachers
6. See Appendix B: Scheduling for a general scheduling resource and planning guide. For additional support around scheduling issues, contact your SSO. Each SSO should have dedicated scheduling support staff to assist Principals with the development of innovative scheduling and staffing models.

What kinds of professional development/support will my staff need to ensure that students receive the full instructional benefits of reduced class sizes?
The structural decisions you make about how to organize classes reflect the priorities of the schools. You should use your professional development opportunities to ensure that teachers are supported within whatever structure you choose to organize their classrooms and time.
Co-teaching: This model is typically successful if – and only if – all three of the following supports are in place:
i. Targeted professional development is made available to the co-teachers.
ii. Time is created to allow those teachers to plan together
iii. The majority of the instruction will be small group work that takes advantage of having two teachers in the room,
Targeted instruction: If class size reduction is intended to help a particular population of students, you need to make sure that your teachers are learning strategies that address the needs of those students to maximize the benefits of more personalized learning environments.
i. For example, if reduced class sizes are intended to help teachers give individual attention to struggling readers, teacher professional development should be aligned to ensure that teachers are prepared with skills and strategies to work with those readers.

If I reduce my class sizes, how can I ensure that my smaller class sizes will be preserved in light of enrollment and facilities policies?
We know that there can be factors outside of principal control that make it difficult to implement and maintain reduced class size. In this section of the memo we reiterate recent DOE policies that, when adhered to, will support your implementation of reduced class size.
If I plan for reduced class size based on my projected register, how can I ensure that students will not be enrolled over the number projected?
A school’s October 31 Register Projection guides enrollment for the school. This number drives budget allocations, space planning, and, perhaps most importantly, subsequent admissions to the school. When assigning students at all grade levels, The Office of Student Enrollment (Student Enrollment) honors overall grade-level enrollment projections to the extent possible. That is, rather than enrolling students based on the number of students in a class (at the elementary and middle school level), enrollment happens based on the projected register, so that schools can plan their program based on those projections.[3]
In general, as long as schools serve their overall projected enrollment, and admit and accept students in accordance with approved enrollment policies, schools can and should organize in whatever class size they can achieve given their budget, space, and schedule, and the DOE will make a good faith effort to honor and protect class size decisions made by schools based on their projected registers.
The caveat, which is significant, is that Student Enrollment must also ensure that all students are enrolled in an appropriate program and school, no matter the projected register. The implications of this caveat are as follows:
i. Zoning:
1. A zoned school has a responsibility to serve all children who live within its attendance zone in accordance with policies outlined in this regulation. Therefore, in no case may a zoned school cap a grade to achieve or maintain reduced class size in any grade. Only the Office of Student Enrollment may close a grade to further enrollment.
2. Further, if a zoned school reaches maximum class size in one or more grades, and no classrooms are available to form new classes, then classes in grades with reduced class size must be consolidated, to the extent possible, before zoned students may be diverted to other schools.
3. Enrollment policies regarding zoning and admission are outlined in Chancellor’s Regulation A101. In particular:
a. Students zoned for an elementary or middle school have priority for enrollment in those schools and must be accommodated before assignments are made to non-zoned students.
b. Zoned schools are required to register zoned students and must accept zoned students subject to available seats as determined by the Office of Student Enrollment.
c. Students seeking admission to a non-zoned elementary and middle school or to an elementary or middle school for which they are not zoned may only be assigned/registered by the Office of Student Enrollment.
d. In other words, a school should only enroll students who:
i. are zoned to the school (if applicable)
ii. otherwise participate in the established admissions or choice processes
iii. were assigned by the Office of Student Enrollment.
If a school admits students outside of established enrollment procedures, then it may not be possible to honor projected registers and reduced class sizes.
ii. Instructional Programs
1. A school cannot consolidate or eliminate targeted instructional programs in order to achieve or maintain reduced class size. This includes Pre-Kindergarten classes and special education classes.
2. Furthermore, a school cannot lower class size at the expense of other schools and/or programs in the building.

iii. Register Fluctuations and Planning for your October 31 Register Projection
1. Please note as part of the Register Projection Process, we anticipate that prior to October 31, the date that registers are “frozen” for budget purposes, your registers will fluctuate. In other words, sometimes your register will be above the October 31 target and at other times it may fall below. The reason for this is as follows:
a. Your school’s register will include Long Term Absences[4] (LTAs). The October 31 register projections which drive your budget do not include LTAs and thus you do not get budget for LTAs.
b. Each school will experience attrition. Each school’s attrition rate is taken into account in determining a school’s register projection including the number of students that are enrolled over-the-counter.
c. Attrition occurs gradually, so at times registers may appear higher as attrition has not yet been fully realized.
d. “Seats” are identified when “live registers” fall below the October 31 targets. You therefore may continue to receive students even when your register is above your October 31 target because you have LTAs and/or because attrition is still occurring.
Schools are responsible for planning for their full October 31 target register. To the extent that school plan for reduced class size at their target enrollment, and operate in accordance with the caveats above, Student Enrollment will endeavor to honor class size reduction efforts.
How does the DOE make decisions about Co-location of schools? If I choose to reduce class size in my existing space, how do I know that I will be able to maintain space for reduced class size?
We wish every school could have its own building, but in a city with limited space, we have to make good use of our infrastructure to support the creation of new programs, traditional public schools, and charter public schools. There are currently more than 600 schools operating in a shared space setting around the city, and that number will continue to grow as we strive to create more and better school and program options for New York City schools and families. It is important, however, to be clear that the DOE will not place a new school or program in a building at the expense of those schools and programs already operating within the building. The current use of space, and the implementation and maintenance of reduced class size, will be considered as we make decisions to co-locate schools and programs.
The DOE uses the NYC DOE Instructional Footprint (The Footprint), attached to this memo (see Appendix C), as its guiding document for determining the instructional space that any given school is allocated. While The Footprint does not prescribe a class size – it is predicated on the number of sections served per grade and does not assume a class size – it does assign supplemental specialty rooms (art room, science lab, etc.) based on over all school enrollment. Therefore, in using The Footprint to make decisions about the co-location of programs, the DOE will honor a school’s current class size – or the plan to reduce class size in the case where a principal has not previously been able to do so – but we will also expect that the school is making full use of specialty rooms consistent with The Footprint.
If you have questions about The Footprint or its application, please contact the ISC.

As principal, you know best what your school community needs in order for your students to succeed, and these policies are designed to support you as you make decisions for your school. We hope that the information in this memo and its appendices is helpful to you as you plan for the coming school year.
If you would like help implementing any of these strategies, or if you have other good ideas you can share, please contact your School Support Organization (SSO), who can help you consider the trade-offs implicit in planning class size and programming your school.

ATTACHMENTS:
APPENDIX A: Class Size Reduction Planning Template
APPENDIX B: MS/HS Scheduling
APPENDIX C: DOE Instructional Footprint

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl.
New York, NY 10011
212-674-7320
leonie@att.net
www.classsizematters.org
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/

Please make a tax-deductible contribution to Class Size Matters now!

[1] Please note, only the first two personalization strategies listed above – addition of a class or co-teaching - qualify as acceptable uses of C4E resources.
[2] Note UFT contractual limitations: Where Advisory is run by a teacher, it counts against Teaching Time.
[3] For more details information about the Register Projection Process and the Appeals Process go to: https://www.nycboe.net/AdminOrg/Finance/budget/dbor/dbor_intranet/REGPROJ_INTRANET/Reg_Proj_Default.html

[4] For enrollment purposes, an LTA is generally defined as a student who is absent for 20 consecutive days or more.
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SCHOOL BUDGET CUTS - and a rally to protest them

I just received this notice from the CEC - please read it carefully. By the way, I'd be very interested in finding out whether Charter Schools are affected as much by this as regular public schools - because it still seems to me that they not only compete for the same pot of money, but are eligible for funding from outside sources - which is another reason I'd rather not see one jammed into PS15's space.

A year ago, our state and city leaders finally made commitments to invest the resources into the
classroom that our school children need if we are to succeed in getting the next generation ready for college and the
challenging 21st century workforce. These promises are not political campaign promises—they are budgetary commitments
that were enacted into public policy.We must keep the commitments that have been made to our children. Our
children waited 14 years for the courts and our elected leaders to recognize and fund their constitutional right to a sound,
basic education.
These promises are now being threatened as the State and City respond to uncertain economic times ahead:
• Last year a $528 million increase in New York State’s basic classroom operating aid to New York
City was promised for 2008-09. But the Governor recently proposed to reduce this amount by
$193 million. We are calling on the state Legislature and the Governor to keep this promise and tie the
funds (as also promised) to the Contract for Excellence, which is the only real accountability mechanism
we have to ensure that funds go to reduce class size, reform middle schools and high schools, provide
for the needs of English language learners and achieve other fundamental school reforms.
• In 2006 New York State committed to increase building funds for New York City by $11.2 billion to
allow the city to complete its $13.1 billion capital plan. Now this promise is threatened by proposed
reforms that would delay the state reimbursement to the city for school construction costs. The 2006
promise must be kept by the state Legislature and the Governor.
• The city committed to raise its investment in our children’s education by $2.2 billion over four
years. Now the city Department of Education is cutting $180 million in funds this school year (with $100
million coming right out of schools). Next year is even worse with an additional five percent cut out of
each school’s budget, totaling $324 million. The two-year reductions exceed half a billion dollars. We are
calling on the city to keep its promises. OPEN THE DOE BOOKS before making cuts to the classroom.
Cut consultants, no-bid contracts and excessive testing procedures, and do whatever it takes to
make sure budget cuts do not hurt children or core classroom services.
RALLY AT CITY HALL
March 19 • 4:00 p.m.
Urge your elected representatives to Keep The Promises and oppose the cuts.
Call your state representatives at this toll-free number: 1-877-255-9417 and give your zip code.
Call your New York City Council Member at 1-212-788-7100.
We may face uncertain economic times ahead, but this much is certain:
We must keep the promises to our kids.
KEEP THE PROMISES!
Members of the Keep The Promises Coalition include Campaign for Fiscal Equity; Alliance for Quality Education; Council of School Supervisors and Administrators; United Federation of Teachers;
Hispanic Federation of New York State; New York City Central Labor Council; ACORN; Education Voters of New York; New York City Coalition for Education Justice; New York Immigration Coalition; UNITE
HERE; SEIU Local 32-BJ, New York Immigration Coalition; NAACP Metropolitan Council; El Centro de la Hospitalidad; Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund; Coalition for Asian American
Children; representatives of the Chancellor’s Parents Advisory Committee; Advocates for Children; the Center for Arts Education; Coalition for Educational Excellence for English Language Learners;
Make the Road by Walking New York; New Settlement Parent Action Committee; Crotona Committee to Stop the Violence; Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition; South Brooklyn Youth
Consortium Inc.; Coalition for Asian American Children and Families; Highbridge Community Life Center; National Center for Schools and Communities, Cypress Hills Advocates for Education; Working
Families Party; Citizen Action of New York; Coalition for After School Funding.
Hace un año, nuestro estado y líderes de ciudad finalmente hicieron compromisos de invertir los recursos en el
aula que nuestros alumnos necesitan si debemos tener éxito en la adquisición de la siguiente generación lista para el colegio y el personal
de siglo veintiuno desafiante. Estas promesas no son promesas de campaña políticas—ellos son compromisos presupuestarios
que fueron decretados en la política pública. Debemos cumplir los compromisos que han sido hechos a nuestros niños. Nuestros niños
esperaron 14 años los tribunales y nuestros líderes decididos para reconocer y financiar su derecho constitucional a una educación
significativa.
Estas promesas están siendo amenazadas ahora cuando el Estado y la Ciudad responden a tiempos económicos inciertos
delante:
• El año pasado un aumento de 528 millones de dólares del aula básica de Estado de Nueva York que hace
funcionar la ayuda a Ciudad de Nueva York fue prometido para 2008-09. Pero el Gobernador recientemente
propuso de reducir esta cantidad en casi 200 millones de dólares. Pedimos la Legislatura estatal y el Gobernador
a guardar esta promesa y atar los fondos (como también prometido) al Contrato para la Excelencia, que es
el único verdadero mecanismo de responsabilidad tenemos que asegurar que los fondos van a reduzca el
tamaño de clase, reforme escuelas secundarias y escuelas secundarias, asegure las necesidades de principiantes
de lengua ingleses y consiga otras reformas escolares fundamentales.
• En 2006 Estado de Nueva York cometió a aumentar fondos de edificio de Ciudad de Nueva York en 11.2 mil
millones de dólares para permitir que la ciudad completara su plan de capital de 13.1 mil millones de
dólares. Ahora esta promesa es amenazada por reformas propuestas que retrasarían el reembolso estatal a la ciudad
para costes de la construcción escolares. La promesa 2006 debe ser guardada por la Legislatura estatal y el
Gobernador.
• La ciudad cometió a levantar su inversión en nuestra educación de niños en 2.2 mil millones de dólares
más de cuatro años. Ahora el Departamento de ciudad de la Educación corta 180 millones de dólares en fondos
este año escolar (con 100 millones de dólares que vienen directamente de escuelas). El próximo año es aún peor
con un corte del cinco por ciento adicional del presupuesto de cada escuela, totaling 324 millones de dólares. Las
reducciones de dos años exceden quinientos milliones de dólares. Pedimos la ciudad a guardar su promesa
ABRIENDO LOS LIBROS DE GAMA antes de hacer de cortes al aula. Los asesores de corte, los contratos sin
oferta y los procedimientos de pruebas excesivos, y hacen lo que esto toma para asegurarse que los recortes presupuestarios
no hacen daño a niños o servicios de aula principales.
AFÍLIESE A NOSOTROS en una reunión contra recortes presupuestarios escolares en
El 19 de marzo • 4 p.m.
fuera de Ayuntamiento en Broadway al sur de Chambers St.
Impulse a sus representantes decididos a Guardar las Promesas y oponerse a los cortes.
Llame su Asambleísta estatal y declare al Senador en la Línea de Acción de NYS AFL-CIO exenta de peaje: 1-877-255-9417.
Llame su Miembro de Consejo de Ciudad de Nueva York en 1-212-788-7100.
Podemos afrontar tiempos económicos inciertos delante, pero mucho está seguro:
Debemos guardar las promesas a nuestros niños.
¡MANTENGA LAS PROMESAS!
Members of the Keep The Promises Coalition include Campaign for Fiscal Equity; Alliance for Quality Education; Council of School Supervisors and Administrators; United Federation of Teachers;
Hispanic Federation of New York State; New York City Central Labor Council; ACORN; Education Voters of New York; New York City Coalition for Education Justice; New York Immigration Coalition; UNITE
HERE; SEIU Local 32-BJ, New York Immigration Coalition; NAACP Metropolitan Council; El Centro de la Hospitalidad; Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund; Coalition for Asian American
Children; representatives of the Chancellor’s Parents Advisory Committee; Advocates for Children; the Center for Arts Education; Coalition for Educational Excellence for English Language Learners;
Make the Road by Walking New York; New Settlement Parent Action Committee; Crotona Committee to Stop the Violence; Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition; South Brooklyn Youth
Consortium Inc.; Coalition for Asian American Children and Families; Highbridge Community Life Center; National Center for Schools and Communities, Cypress Hills Advocates for Education; Working
Families Party; Citizen Action of New York; Coalition for After School Funding.

FIGHT THE BUDGET CUTS - upcoming event

FIGHT THE SCHOOL BUDGET CUTS
**UNITE BROOKLYN**
Please Join
Councilmember Bill de Blasio
Elected Officials, Education Advocates, PTAs and
CECs for an informational and strategizing session
on fighting back the school budget cuts.
Thursday, March 13th, 2008
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
St. Francis College, Callahan Center
180 Remsen Street, 1st Floor
(Between Court and Clinton Streets)
Brooklyn, NY
-Discuss your concerns with fellow Brooklyn Parent-Teacher Associations
(PTA) and Community Education Councils (CEC) and share your ideas
about how we can fight to preserve our children’s education and reverse
the budget cuts together.
-Learn how you can be a leader in your school and district to champion
support for resolutions to reverse these cuts NOW and prevent future
budget reductions.
-Hear from teachers, parents, advocates, and union leaders about how
these sudden cuts will affect our schools and our children’s education.
For additional information or to RSVP please call
Phil Jones at 212-788-6969 or email
deblasio@council.nyc.ny.us

Charter-Free PS15

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Other public schools have fought the DOE on the charter school issue and won... kind of

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The DOE seems to think that PS15 has rooms to spare for the new Charter School. Do we want to give up classroom space that could be better used for PS15's programs?

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PAVE ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL INFORMATION MEETING

DOE HEARING RE: SITING OF PAVE ACADEMY

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DOE class size reduction memo to principals

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SCHOOL BUDGET CUTS - and a rally to protest them

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