Last month, on page 1 of the Charter School Monthly, you saw how the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools (ASBCS) were working together to implement the Charter Schools Startup Grant recently awarded to the ADE. This month I wanted to provide you with some information on the process that went into obtaining the grant and how the ADE sees the program benefiting new charter schools in Arizona.
 
A large part of our success in obtaining this program was due to the diligent efforts of Karen Butterfield, Ed.D. (an Associate Superintendent and a former charter operator), who is the “Project Director” for this grant. Dr. Butterfield’s work on the Education Career and Action Plans (ECAPs) at the ADE directly impacts the first priority of the grant, which is to support activities and interventions aimed at improving the academic achievement of secondary school students who are at greatest risk of not meeting challenging state academic standards and not completing high school. Additionally, Dr Butterfield has program responsibility for the Arizona High School Renewal and Improvement (AZHSRI) Initiative and the state’s AIMS Intervention/Dropout Prevention Program, which focuses on improving the academic performance of middle school and secondary school students. In addition to Dr. Butterfield, Richard Valdivia, our Deputy Associate Superintendent overseeing budget and operations of the Academic Achievement Division, will ensure the grant runs smoothly through ADE’s grants management system.

I am also pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Francis (also a former charter operator) who will act as Program Administrator and oversee the day-to-day operations of Arizona’s Charter Schools Stimulus Grant.

Arizona has a preeminent position among all states when it comes to charter schools. Ten percent of our students are in charter schools. No other state comes close. When I was in the legislature as chair of the Education Conference Committee, I killed a bill that would have limited the quantity of charter schools, which gives me a little extra personal pride in our growth of Arizona’s charter schools. This has resulted in Arizona having well-developed systems in place to meet the remaining four priorities of the Charter Schools Startup grant, which are (a) to provide for periodic review and evaluation by the authorized public chartering agency of each charter school at least once every five years; (b) to increase the number of high-quality charter schools that are held accountable…for the educational progress of the students attending the schools; (c) to ensure that there is at least one authorized public chartering agency that is not an LEA, such as our ASBCS; and (d) to ensure each charter school has a high degree of autonomy over its budgets and expenditures. These four priorities each allude to the strength of the charter school movement in Arizona, a process of which the ADE is a strong proponent.

Dr. Butterfield, as mentioned, a former charter school founder and operator, knows from firsthand knowledge some of the struggles a new charter operator can encounter in trying to establish a new school without the benefit of financial resources. When we got word Arizona could apply for these funds we quickly assembled a team to put together a grant application that focused on the five priorities of the grant. After submitting our successful application, we received reviewer comments, some of which were especially enlightening:

“The program fits in well with the state’s involvement in high school reform.”

“The flexibility afforded under the Arizona charter law earned it the highest grade from the Center for Education Reform.”

“The application is well organized with clear goals and objectives.”

“This application is very strong.”

“The response is complete, well-organized…and appears to be ambitious enough that it will lead to meaningful change in the state.”

Due to these efforts Arizona was awarded $14,042,105 and has the potential to receive an additional $39,000,000 over the next five years. The program will provide financial assistance for the planning, program design, and initial implementation of charter schools that meet the grant’s criteria and goals. These additional resources, tied to a strong team with a desire to see excellence in our schools, will help us reach our goal of opening 90 new high-quality charter schools over the next five years.

Tom Horne is the Arizona Department of Education schools superintendent.