Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy...con instrucción diferenciada. Nosotros valoramos el medio ambiente y la participación activa de la comunidad, siendo la familia el centro

Albuquerque Public Schools Office of Innovation and School Choice

2020 APS Charter Renewal Application

Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy

APS - Office of Innovation and School Choice - Charter Renewal Application March 2020 Page 1

Table of Contents

2020 APS Charter Renewal Application .............................................. 1

APS Charter Renewal Application Overview ..................................................... 2

Sections of the Application: .....................................................................................................2 Getting Started: ........................................................................................................................2 About the MS Word Application: .............................................................................................2

Part 1—School’s Executive Summary ............................................................... 3

A. Current Year Enrollment & Demographics ..........................................................................3 B. School’s Mission and Vision .................................................................................................7

Part 2 — Record of Performance (Self-Report) ............................................... 33

A. Academic Performance/Educational Plan .........................................................................33 B. Financial Performance .......................................................................................................57 C. Organizational Performance .............................................................................................67 D. Facility ...............................................................................................................................72

Part 3—Plans for the Next Charter Term (Self-Study) ..................................... 74

A. Performance Self Study/Analysis-Key Questions ..............................................................74 B. Mission-Specific Goals and Indicators ...............................................................................79

Appendix ....................................................................................................... 82

Petitions of Support from Employees and Households .........................................................82 Petition of Support from Employees ......................................................................................82 Petition of Support from Households ....................................................................................82 Lease Review Charter School Checklist ..................................................................................83 Performance Framework Reports – .......................................................................................84 Amendment Requests – Material Changes to the Current Charter ......................................84


APS Charter Renewal Application Overview Sections of the Application: The Charter Renewal Application includes the following sections: Charter Renewal Application Online Instructions Part 1—School’s Executive Summary Part 2—Record of Performance (Self-Report) Part 3—Plans for the Next Charter Term (Self-Study) Appendix – school provides: Documents to be notarized (Petition of Support from Employees and Petition of Support from Households), Lease documentation, Performance Framework Reports and Amendment Requests. Getting Started:

1. Read through the online APS Charter Renewal Application instructions before you begin to prepare your written document.

2. Review your current charter, including any approved amendments, prior to completing the Renewal Application.

3. Review the Charter Renewal Rubric, which the renewal team will use to evaluate your application.

4. Use this Renewal Application MS Word file to enter your responses directly into the text box fields provided within each section (Part 1, 2, 3 and the Appendix) by:

● Citing the analysis of student achievement data conducted by your school’s Core Team

● Citing evidence from your analysis when making claims

About the MS Word Application: ● To support you in submitting a complete application, each section of the application is

comprised of Tasks, Task Items and Questions that you need to respond to. ● Responses should be entered into the corresponding text field or table. Using the text

entry fields will ensure your response is 12 point, blue text. Table data will be 12 point, black text.

● For each Task and Question you are provided guidance on the length of the content you should provide (i.e 1-2pages). Note: This is only guidance, you will not be disqualified for going over the amount specified.

● All scanned documents should be included in the Appendix

Part 1 - School’s Executive Summary


Part 1—School’s Executive Summary Task 1: Complete the table(s) below in Section A by providing current enrollment and demographic information.

A. Current Year Enrollment & Demographics

Enrollment Category Number

# of Students Enrolled 444

# of Students on the Wait List 58

School’s Enrollment Cap 500

Grades that School Enrolls PreK-8

# Male Students 226

# Female Students 218

Race/Ethnicity

Category Number # Hispanic 418 # Asian 1 # Black 3 # Native American 7 # White 15 # 2 or more 0

Special Populations

Category Number # Students with Disabilities 68 # English Language Learners 196 # Homeless Students 1 # Eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch

444



229272

345

425 444

0

100

200

300

400

500

2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020

Christine Duncan's Heritage Academy2015-2020

Student Enrollment Trend120 day student counts



81 90

123

156

196

0

50

100

150

200

250

2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020


English Language Learners(120 day student counts)

30 34 38

6068

01020304050607080

2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020


Special Education Students120 day student counts





B. School’s Mission and Vision Question 1: Provide the school’s mission statement (1-3 paragraphs) Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy will promote social and high academic achievement with differentiated instruction to strive to meet grade level proficiency in a dual language setting. We value environmental stewardship, active community participation, family centered learning and cultural diversity.

La Academia de Herencia de Christine Duncan promoverá el aprendizaje social y un alto rendimiento académico para lograr competencia en el nivel de grado en un ambiente bilingüe con instrucción diferenciada. Nosotros valoramos el medio ambiente y la participación activa de la comunidad, siendo la familia el centro del aprendizaje. También valoramos la diversidad cultural.

Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy (CDHA) is an accredited PreK-8 dual language charter school. It was founded in 2005. CDHA has gone through several five-year renewals with APS; 2010 and 2015 and two accreditation reviews from Cognia, formerly known as AdvancED-North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA-CASI), 2010 and 2015. We are accredited until June 30, 2023. CDHA is located at 1900 Atrisco Dr. NW in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We relocated the school to Albuquerque’s West Side in 2013, an area fraught with poverty and academically struggling students. The current enrollment is 444 students. CDHA plans to incorporate partnerships and become a place where services, supports and opportunities lead to improved student learning, stronger families and healthier



communities. Using the Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy as a hub, inventive, enduring relationships among educators, families, community volunteers, business, health and social service agencies, youth development organizations and others committed to children will permanently change the West Side educational landscape.

Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy offers students a before and after-school program that encourages them to build on their classroom experiences, expand their horizons, contribute to their communities, and have fun. Over time, the Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy will link activities in several areas: quality bilingual education; positive youth development; family support; family and community engagement and community development. Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy staff believes in the worth, dignity and cultural background of each and every individual. We see individual strengths and encourage those strengths; we strive to help individuals achieve one's greatest potential in a dual language setting. Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy staff is highly qualified and use innovative strategies and techniques including: dual language instruction in both English and Spanish, differentiated instruction, environmental stewardship, active community participation, cultural diversity, teacher-created standards-based lesson plans and research-based short cycle assessments to individually track the educational development of our students.

We accept the premise that the best school program can only be successful if there is a strong home/school relationship and that the collaboration between home and school will create a powerful force in the academic, social, emotional and physical success of Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy students.

“When children put their hands in the rich and real, or learn to do something useful with their

brain and hands, when they are taught the practice of doing something valuable, they learn

the necessity of knowledge. Education should be derived from actual individual experience.”

- Mary Christine Duncan -

The vision, mission, and practices of the Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy are inspired and guided by the lifetime educational practices of Mary Christine Duncan.



Question 2: Provide the school’s vision statement (if applicable) (1-3 paragraphs)

Making a difference with every child!

¡Haciendo la diferencia en cada niño!

Question 3: Give specific examples of how the student experience is unique to your mission (1 -3 paragraphs)

Recognizing parents as first teachers, a prime goal of the CDHA is to help parents become better able to help their children. CDHA will help bridge the gap that often exists between schools and communities by inviting parents and community members into the school for special events, intergenerational projects, recreation, education, sports, cultural and personal enrichment. The Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy will equip students in grades PreK-8 for academic success, environmental stewardship, and active community participation in a dual language setting. The school will serve students in Albuquerque and the surrounding areas. Through personalization, project-based learning, and active engagement with the real world, students will learn both content and skills through a dual language setting. Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy will be open to students, families and the community before, during, and after school. It will serve students, families and the community through a partnership between the school and one or more community agencies. Before and after-school learning components encourage students to build on their classroom experiences, expand their horizons, contribute to their communities, and have fun. A family support center helps families with child-rearing, employment, housing and other services.

CDHA offers the dual language program, 50/50 model, and provides instruction to all students in English and in Spanish. Students have teachers from diverse backgrounds; New Mexico, México, Spain, El Salvador, Colombia, etc. We recruit visiting teachers from México and Spain to assist with the Spanish portion of our dual language program. We have also hosted student groups from schools in México as an exchange program to bring in the Mexican culture into the school, and also provide students from México with the opportunity to visit the United States and practice their English skills. Our families became the “host family” for these student groups. We hosted an English School called Escuela Experiencia from Tepoztlán, Morelos,



México in 2015 and Escuela Telesecundaria Oficial No. 0013 “Cuauhtémoc” C.C. T. 15ETV0013A from Estado de México, México in 2018. CDHA students actively participate in the English and the Spanish Spelling Bee every year. Our top English Bee speller represents CDHA in the Charter Schools English Bee. The top Spanish Bee speller participates in the New Mexico Association for Bilingual Education Spanish Spelling Bee State Competition. Students prepare for these competitions in the classroom as part of their instruction. In May 2019, we hosted the first Virtual Spanish Spelling Bee with a school in Sonora, México! Some of our families cannot go to México so we bring México home…



Question 4: Describe your target population and how your school program is designed to support that population. (1 page)

CDHA offers the dual language program and the target student population is Albuquerque’s bilingual student population, specifically students residing on the West Side and the South



Valley, although CDHA accepts ALL student who wish to become fluently bilingual by the time they complete the eighth grade. Our 50/50 dual language program model allows for students to learn content in English and in Spanish while developing reading, writing, listening and speaking skills in both languages. Students in the eighth grade are encouraged to participate in the Bilingual Seal Program where they develop a series of projects, presentations, and assignments to prove their ability to fluently participate in both languages. We also use their English and Spanish proficiency based on student language assessments. All school core curriculum is bilingual. We currently have Benchmark Advanced for Reading for grades K-5, Envision Math for grades K-8, and use Houghton Mifflin Series for Social Studies and Science. In the middle school grades, students take Spanish Language Arts and Science in Spanish and English Language Arts and Social Studies in English, and Math is bilingual. In addition, all students participate in Physical Education and Art. Most of the CDHA teachers hold either a Bilingual or a TESOL endorsement and Spanish is heard all over the school, giving the Spanish language an equal status as given to the English language. Students and families feel good to be able to hear different varieties of Spanish spoken throughout the school! Our school has participated in the K-3, K-5, and now the K-8 Plus Program since 2012 and added a PreK program six years ago, now serving 40 students in PreK. In 2017, CDHA was the only APS school to be recognized as a School with a school with an Effective Bilingual Program, and in 2018 was one of the schools recognized for maintaining an effective bilingual program over time. CDHA offers students and families many opportunities to be engaged in our school community.

Question 5: Provide and explain your mission-specific goals. Provide the goal statement and, information if the school met the goal statement. You are encouraged to provide visual illustrations of how you met the goal, such as a graph. (1-3 pages)

Student Academic Performance Standard/Mission Specific Goal #1:

Students at CDHA will receive a bilingual education, through the Dual Language Model, that will assist students in learning and developing English and Spanish Literacy Skills from Kindergarten through the eighth grade.

Specific: Students at CDHA will receive a bilingual education, through the Dual Language Model, that will assist students in learning and developing English and Spanish Literacy Skills from Kindergarten through the eighth grade.



Measurable: At least 25% of students will be proficient in two languages by the eighth grade as indicated in the ACCESS for ELLs and the Spanish LAS Links testing or other similar language assessments.

Ambitious and Attainable: At least 25% of the students will be able to understand (listen), speak, read and write in their second language.

Reflective of the School’s Mission: Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy will promote individual social and high academic achievement with differentiated instruction in a dual language setting. We value environmental stewardship, active community participation, family centered learning and cultural diversity.

Time-Specific with Target Dates: In the next five years, we expect to increase the percent of students in the eighth grade able to understand (listen), speak, read, and write in their second language; 2016-2017 by 25%, 2017-2018 by 35% 2018-2019 by 45%, and 2019-2020 by 55%.

Yes, Christine Duncan Heritage Academy met its goal expected over the renewal term. The goal, “At least 25% of students will be proficient in two languages by the eighth grade as indicated in the ACCESS for ELLs and the Spanish LAS Links testing or other similar language assessments” was met. In 2016, we had 21% of our student in the 8th grade who were awarded the bilingual seal based on their test scores in English and in Spanish, 59% in 2017, 49% in 2018, 44% in 2019 and 60% in 2020. The school’s leadership team decided to measure this goal

21

59

4944

60

2427

45

36

42

5

16

22

16

25

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Christine Duncan Heritage AcademyBilingual Seal Awards

2016-2020

Percent of students with bilingual seal Number of students Number of students with bilingual seal



according to the bilingual seal recognized students by the end of the eighth grade at CDHA, as it includes WIDA ACCESS for ELLs proficiency scores or grades for students that were never classified as English Language Learners, the Spanish Language Proficiency assessments for students whose second language is Spanish and meeting the requirements for the bilingual seal recognition award. In 2016 and 2017 we had less than 30 students in the eighth grade and that changed in years 2018, 2019 and 2020. It doubled in numbers from 2016 to 2020!

At Christine Duncan Heritage Academy we are currently implementing the Dual Language Program 50/50 Model and we used the Spanish Language Assessment Skills test to measure students Spanish Language Proficiency up until 2017-2018. We adopted AVANT STAMP-4Se for grades K-6 and AVANT STAMP-4S for grades 7th and 8th Spanish Language Assessment and implemented that assessment in 2019-2020. We saw an increase in student levels of Spanish proficiency every school year and a decrease in the number of students testing at beginning levels of Spanish. We will use the AVANT STAMP scores as the baseline data for our next renewal term since we have the scores for 2018-2019 but were unable to administer the assessment in 2019-2020 due to our assessment being administered in the Spring and having to do remote learning since March 12, 2020 due to COVID-19 Pandemia.











In these charts, we show data comparing two years 2018 and 2019 WIDA ACCESS for ELL scores. We do this data analysis on an annual basis and teachers use the data to work with students in the classroom. The number of English Language Learners vary per classroom and per grade level. We do have 36% of ELL students in the school and in some classrooms, they represent half of their student population. In addition to this data analysis, we also have a spreadsheet with each student score for multiple years. This allows us to track down student progress in their English Language Proficiency and if they scored proficient, it allows us to know when it happened so we can monitor their academic progress in the classroom. It also assist the school with state STARS reporting for accuracy.







These charts represent our state assessments for English Language Arts for three years during the renewal term. It represents the percent of students’ scores in each category for every grade level 3-8. The results vary at each grade level based on the number of students they serve, the number of students who are ELL and the number of students who are in the special education program. These scores include the students who took the Spanish version of the assessment. One of the main challenges when it comes to state testing is that they do not approve waivers for students to test in Spanish after three consecutive years of schooling in the USA, this takes away their opportunity to score higher when given an English assessment, thus impacting the school’s overall proficiency rates for English Language Arts.







These charts represent our state assessments for Mathematics for three years during the renewal term. It represents the percent of students’ scores in each category for every grade level 3-8. The results vary at each grade level based on the number of students they serve, the number of students who are ELL and the number of students who are in the special education program. These scores include the students who took the Spanish version of the assessment. One of the main challenges when it comes to state testing is that they do not approve waivers for students to test in Spanish after three consecutive years of schooling in the USA, this takes



away their opportunity to score higher when given an English assessment, thus impacting the school’s overall proficiency rates for Math.



Statement of progress and additional analysis of student progress towards the standards regarding the above data:

We currently have 404 students in grades K-8 and an additional 40 students in PreK. We have 198 ELLs in grades K-8. We also have 16% students with disabilities.

Christine Duncan Heritage Academy students made significant progress last school year in the area of language. We have a strong dual language immersion program in grade PreK through 8th grade that supports all students, including students with Special Education needs. All students are making progress in both languages English and Spanish and increasing their bilingual skills in all four domains in both languages! All current short cycle assessment data may be found in the artifacts on a file titled, “Mission Specific Goals Report”.

CURRENT QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DATA RELEVANT TO THIS GOAL:

Spring 2019 TAMELA results: 5.3% of 3rd grade students scored proficient or above 13% of 4th grade students scored proficient or above 10.5% of 5th grade students scored proficient or above 7.7% of 6th grade students scored proficient or above 11.3% of 7th grade students scored proficient or above 0% of 8th grade students scored proficient or above We set a goal of 25% gains in proficiency per grade level according to Istation in English Reading and in Spanish Reading. In middle school we use the NWEA MAP reading assessment and we would like to see a RIT score increase of 4 points by end of the school year.

DETAILED DATA ANALYSIS:

From Spring 2018 to Spring 2019 on the state ELA assessment: 3rd grade = 9.90% decrease 4th grade = 5.9% increase 5th grade = 1.4% increase 6th grade = 10.7% decrease 7th grade = 3.9% increase 8th grade = 35% decrease *Scores do not reflect Spanish test scores Our current BOY for Istation Reading in grades K-5 are as follows: K=22%, 1=19%, 2=29%, 3=21%, 4=28% and 5=32%. In middle school, 90% of students scored at beginning steps according to the NWEA MAP reading assessment. Our current BOY for Istation Reading in Spanish in grades K-5 are as follows: K=8%, 1=16%, 2=0%, 3=22%, 4=29% and 5=16%.

SUMMATIVE SMART GOAL STATEMENT:

All grade levels will increase proficiency scores by at least 5% on the state mandated spring assessment (NM-MSSA).

BENCHMARK SMART GOAL STATEMENT:

According to Istation reading proficiency rates, we would like to see a 10% proficiency rate gains in English and in Spanish Reading by January 2020. According to the NWEA MAP, we would like to see at least an increase of 3 RTI gains by January 2020. We would like for our Istation reading scores to



reflect a 25% proficiency rate by end of the school year. The Istation proficiency reading goals are as follows: K=28%, 1=24%, 2=36%, 3=26%, 4=35% and 5=40%. In middle school, we would like to see an increase of 25% proficiency rates as follows; 6=23%, 7=11.25%, 8=19%. The Istation proficiency reading goals in Spanish reading are as follows: K=33%, 1=41%, 2=25%, 3=47%, 4=43% and 5=41%. The Istation proficiency Spanish reading goals are as follows: K=10%, 1=20%, 2=4%, 3=28%, 4=36% and 5=20%.

CURRENT QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DATA RELEVANT TO THIS GOAL:

Spring 2019 NMSBTA for MATH results: 17.1% of 3rd grade students scored proficient or above 13% of 4th grade students scored proficient or above 2.4% of 5th grade students scored proficient or above 0% of 6th grade students scored proficient or above 4.5% of 7th grade students scored proficient or above 3.2% of 8th grade students scored proficient or above We set a goal of 25% gains in proficiency per grade level according to Istation in Math. In middle school we use the NWEA MAP math assessment and we would like to see a RIT score increase of 5 point by end of the school year.

DETAILED DATA ANALYSIS:

From Spring 2018 to Spring 2019 on the state Math assessment: 3rd grade = 14.7% decrease 4th grade = 10.3% increase 5th grade = 1.8% increase 6th grade = 9.3% decrease 7th grade = 1.2% increase 8th grade = 3.9% decrease Our current BOY for Istation Math in grades K-5 are as follows: K=28%, 1=22%, 2=15%, 3=33%, 4=33% and 5=22%. In middle school, most students scored at beginning steps according to the NWEA MAP math assessment; 6th grade = 6% proficient, 7th grade = 6% proficient, 8th grade = 8% proficient.

SUMMATIVE SMART GOAL STATEMENT:

All grade levels will increase proficiency scores by at least 5% on the state mandated spring assessment (NM-MSSA).

BENCHMARK SMART GOAL STATEMENT:

According to Istation math proficiency rates, we would like to see a 10% proficiency rate gains in Math by January 2020. According to the NWEA MAP, we would like to see at least an increase of 2 RTI gains by January 2020. We would like for our Istation math scores to reflect a 25% proficiency rate by end of the school year. The Istation proficiency math goals are as follows: K=35%, 1=28%, 2=19%, 3=41%, 4=41% and 5=28%. In middle school, we would like to see an increase of 25% proficiency rates as follows: 6=31%, 7=31%, 33%.

In grades 6-8 we are currently using NWEA-MAP as a reading short cycle assessment in grades 6-8. The assessment is new to most sixth-grade students and they are still getting used to the online format, but we can see gains for most of our students in math and in reading.



We used the Istation assessment for Reading in grades K-8 last school year for the first time since we were using it in grades K-3. We also used Istation for math and lectura (reading in Spanish). We decided to reduce the testing for middle school, so we did not test them on Istation at the end of the year. Our data only shows up to December or January. The data shows that we had significant improvements by the end of the year in Math. In reading and lectura, the short cycle assessment data showed different results at every month the information was pulled. This data allowed us to have another data point to work with students in the areas needed. In Istation Lectura we saw improvements in Spanish proficiency in all grades by the end of the school year. We had an increase of 11% proficiency rates in reading K-8 in Spanish.

Our school used to administer the Spanish LAS links annually but have now adopted AVANT STAMP 4Se and STAMP 4S. According to the Spanish LAS data for 2017-2018, our students continued making progress in developing Spanish proficiency. We had 35% of our student population at CDHA in the category of non-Spanish Proficient, 9% as limited Spanish Proficient and 57% as Proficient in the Spanish Language. We used AVANT STAMP 4Se for Spanish in 2018-2019. The scores were vary varied in every grade level. We were hopeful students would show improvements in 2019-2020 but due to COVID-19 Pandemia we were unable to assess students with the AVANT STAMP Assessment because it always takes place in the Spring toward the end of the school year.

The majority of CDHA students identified as English Language Learners continue making progress. This past school year 73% of our 141 ELL students who took the WIDA ACCESS for ELL made progress in the assessment despite changes in the rigor of the assessment, and only a 6% decrease from 2018-2019 school year.

Proposed changes for 2019-20. Keep the same goals. Change from Spanish LAS assessment to AVANT STAMP 4eS and STAMP 4S.

Student Academic Performance Standard/Mission Specific Goal #2: This was the original goal, but it was found not to be measurable… Specific: Families at Christine Duncan will continue participating in activities targeted at increasing community and parental involvement. In addition, Christine Duncan will create at least one community partnership a year to involve the community in the school.

Measurable: The school will keep sign in sheets and will compare results year to year. The goal is at least 5% increase parent participation from year to year for every event.

Ambitious and Attainable: Christine Duncan will offer parent events at least once a month and the target goal is for families to attend at least two events during the school year, and Parent/Teacher Conferences are expected to be between 90-100% in each classroom.




Time-Specific with Target Dates: The school will keep sign in sheets and will compare results year to year. The goal is at least 5% increase parent participation from year to year for every event.

Proposed changes for 2018-19 Mission Specific Goal #2 as recommended to make it a SMART goal: Families at Christine Duncan will increase in school experiences by 5% annually according to the Family Engagement Survey Published by the APS Strategic Analysis and Program Research Department (SAPR).

It was recommended for the school to use the APS Family Engagement Survey data to create a measurable goal still focused around parental involvement.

Specific: Families at Christine Duncan will increase in school experiences by 5% annually according to the Family Engagement Survey Published by the APS Strategic Analysis and Program Research Department (SAPR).

Measurable: The school will compare the results from the Family Engagement Survey published annually by the APS Strategic Analysis and Program Research Department. The goal is at least 5% increase parent involvement from year to year at school events.

Ambitious and Attainable: Christine Duncan will offer opportunities for parents to have a great school experience with their children, to help them eliminate barriers for participating and to encourage them to volunteer in school activities.


Time-Specific with Target Dates: The school will use the Family Engagement Survey information to measure parent involvement and encourage participation on a year to year basis.



It was recommended the school changed Goal #2 to make it a SMART goal. The school decided to use the Family Engagement Survey data to create a measurable goal still focused around parental involvement. The school is using 2017-2018 data as the base year data to monitor this goal. It is also the goal to decrease the barriers why parents do not participate in school family activities and to monitor the reasons for volunteering.

*Note: The Family Engagement Survey was discontinued on 2018-2019 school year and instead some of the questions were merged with the Quality of Education Survey. I went back and used the information on the Quality of Education Survey and Family Engagement Survey for 2018-2019 which is also published by the APS Strategic Analysis and Program Research Department (SAPR), and revised the 2017-2018 data .



Our families also participate at the EXPLORA FAMILY SCIENCE NIGHT every year since 2011. This graph represents the participation in this event. Gradually increasing the participation every year!

Abriendo Puertas – New Mexico Partnerships for Community Action

Part 2 – Record of Performance (Self-Study)


Part 2 — Record of Performance (Self-Report) Purpose: Looking Back: A Self-Report on the Current Charter Term Instructions for Part 2: Please refer to the online instructions for complete details about filling out this section of the application. Submit no more than 10 pages for Section A.

A. Academic Performance/Educational Plan Task 1: Provide insight, explanation, and/or evidence to describe your Academic Performance/Education Plan and fully describe the following: (1 page)

• Accomplishments • Your school’s unique approach to education, including the description of educational

opportunities students have experienced are unique to your school. • Any progression, stagnancy, and/or regression, disaggregated by subgroup (English

Learners, Students with Disabilities, Economically Disadvantaged and Ethnicity) as measured by a standards-based assessment and mission specific indicators, in the areas of:

o English o Math o Science o The school’s mission-specific indicators o Graduation Rate (If Applicable)

• Describe the grade level curriculum that has been used and how they are tied to New Mexico Standards.

• List academic assessments which are given outside of the standards-based assessments (ex: An Assessment Calendar).

• Describe what steps you take to use the data from the assessments to modify program implementation and instructional practices.

Looking back at the last five years…has made us realize how far we have come as a charter school! We renewed our charter school in 2015 and at that time we had 240 students enrolled, were rated “F” in school grade report card, were listed as one of the lowest performing schools in New Mexico and were considered a priority school in need of improvement. Now, under the new school rating system, “VISTAS” we are rated as a “Traditional Support School” and are one of 665 schools in New Mexico with this rating, and our last school grade in 2018-2019 was a “B”. We are very proud to say that during this renewal five-year term, our school never received a rating of “F” and in 2018-2019 we earned a “B” placing Christine Duncan Heritage Academy amongst one of the few Title I schools in Albuquerque and in New Mexico with this rating. During this renewal term, Christine Duncan Heritage Academy has received several awards including an award from NMPED Language and Culture Department for “consistently maintaining an effective bilingual program overtime” for multiple years! In 2018-2019, Christine Duncan Heritage Academy also received an award called CORAZON DE CULTURA from the Hispanic Heritage Committee. In spite of making gains and receiving awards over the last



few years, Christine Duncan also had undertaken many challenges as the school continued to grow. We doubled in student enrollment and staff, we added PreK to our school programs in 2015, continued implementing the K-3 Plus Program that we started in 2012, the K-5 Plus Program and now the K-8 Plus Program (Summer School Program) as well as the Extended Learning Time Program. Due to the need of bilingual teachers at our school during this last renewal term, Christine Duncan joined the NMPED Visiting Teachers Program and has been recruiting and hiring teachers from Spain and México for the last six years. The PreK Program has doubled in size and now serves 40 students in PreK and in two classrooms! Our Middle School Lady Zorros have also been undefeated in Volleyball over the last four years and are the Volleyball Champions in the Charter Schools League. Our Middle School Boys Basketball Team has also earned a Championship and have been runner ups for the last two years. We have also developed and implemented the middle school bilingual seal over the last five years, making improvements to the process on an annual basis. We have taken advantage of every grant NMPED has offered over the last five years; Pay for Performance, Reads to Lead, K-3+ Program, PreK, Fresh Fruit and Vegetables grant, NM Grown Grant, etc. and most recently became recipients of the Achieve Excellence Rising to support professional development for new teachers and those in alternative teaching licenses, etc. The most challenging experiences during these last five years has been an increase in student enrollment (a very positive challenge!), keeping up with the inconsistency of state assessments including the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs assessment, and acquiring a facility. Our student proficiency levels have gone up and down every school year, making our reading and math change constantly.

Recognizing parents as first teachers, a prime goal of the CDHA is to help parents become better able to help their children. CDHA will help bridge the gap that often exists between schools and communities by inviting parents and community members into the school for special events, intergenerational projects, recreation, education, cultural and personal enrichment.



What do we seek to accomplish? The Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy will equip students in grades PreK through 8th grade for academic success, environmental stewardship, and active community participation in a dual language setting.

Who will we serve? The school will serve students in Albuquerque and the surrounding areas, specifically students on the West side of Albuquerque and the South Valley.

What methods will we use? Through personalization, project-based learning, and active engagement with the real world, students will learn both content and skills through a dual language setting.

How will we know if we are achieving our mission? Each year students are enrolled at Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy, they will be responsible for successfully completing an exhibition of Mastery through Project Based Learning (PBL), a culminating project that will demonstrate student understanding such as the Bilingual Seal for 8th graders or a project based presentation on a selected theme. In addition, student data from short cycle assessments and standardized tests will be analyzed carefully to track student progress and make instructional decisions.

Core Elements to Achieve the Mission: A. To develop a high-quality experiential, action-oriented, community-based curriculum

utilizing service learning, arts, environmental studies and leadership as preferred pedagogies of instruction for the middle school;

Examples include: internships, apprenticeships, environmental projects including gardening and landscaping, video production, script writing, a youth newspaper, a radio show, and a television station. Students will take leadership and meaningful roles in decision-making, program planning and development.

B. To empower parents and community through involvement in program planning, implementation and evaluation.



How will the school know if it is achieving its mission? See Section: Curriculum Framework, Educational Plan, Student Performance Expectations, Plan for Evaluating Student Performance and Special Populations

Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy will be open to students, families and the community before, during, and after school. It will serve students, families and the community through a partnership between the school and one or more community agencies. Before and after-school learning components encourage students to build on their classroom experiences, expand their horizons, contribute to their communities, and have fun. A family support center helps families with child-rearing, employment, housing and other services.

SCHOOL DATA:

Disclaimer: Over the last five years, it has been difficult to keep up with changes on state assessments and student proficiency rates would also change every time they would make changes in the assessments; sometimes in a positive way and sometimes in a negative way. In addition to these assessments, our students also take the ACCESS for ELLs annually, the Spanish Language Skills Assessment or the new STAMPe4 annually, the NAEP selected our school twice, and the short cycle assessments; Istation and the NWEA-MAP three times a year. I do not believe students at CDHA take these assessments as something that will hurt them or the school. Some students really try hard, while others simply click the “button” to complete the task. There were also other factors involved such as increased student enrollment and teacher



turn over as well as changes in the way NMEPED was rating schools, for example, during the 2014-15 school year, 2/3 of the current standing category was based on student growth and 1/3 was based on proficiency. In 2015-2016 school year, ½ of the current standing was based on growth and d1/2 of the score was based on proficiency. When analyzing CDHA’s School data, it is important to remember that research has shown it takes 5 to 7 years to acquire proficiency in another language. Since Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy is a dual language school, English language acquisition comes in later years.

On 2015: We made 2% proficiency gains in reading but decreased by 1.2% in math and 4.4% in Science.

On 2016: We made 9.9% proficiency gains in reading, 4% gains in math, 18.9% in Science.

On 2017: We decreased our reading proficiency rates by 1%, math by 2.1%, and Science by 5%.

On 2018: We made 8% proficiency gains in reading, 5.3% gains in math, and decreased proficiency rates in Science by 10.6%.

On 2019: We decreased our reading proficiency rates by 21.5%, 2.3% in math, and made 8% proficiency rates in Science.

*Due to the COVID-19 Pandemia, we did not assess students in 2019-2020 so we do not have those assessment results for 2020.

School Designation for 2019-2020 was Traditional Support According to New Mexico VISTAS

The Economically Disadvantage student population is the same as the school student population as we are a Community Eligibility Program School (CEP).

CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK

1. Philosophy and Approach to Instruction



Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy staff believes in the worth, dignity and cultural background of each and every individual. We see individual strengths and encourage those strengths; we strive to help individuals achieve one's greatest potential in a dual language setting. Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy staff is highly qualified and use innovative strategies and techniques including: differentiated instruction, teacher-created standards-based lesson plans and researched-based short cycle assessments to individually track the educational development of our students.

We accept the premise that the best school program can only be successful if there is a strong home/school relationship and that the collaboration between home and school will create a powerful force in the academic, social, emotional and physical success of Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy students.

“When children put their hands in the rich and real, or learn to do something useful with their

brain and hands, when they are taught the practice of doing something valuable, they learn

the necessity of knowledge. Education should be derived from actual individual experience.”

- Mary Christine Duncan -

1. Description of the Curriculum Aligned to New Mexico Standards

Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy (CDHA) staff participated in an intensive curriculum development process during SY 2006-07 and SY 2007-08 which involved the development of a New Mexico Standards-Based curriculum for grade levels K-5. The subject areas addressed in this curriculum were Math, Language Arts/Reading, Science Social Studies, Health and Physical Education. In 2012-2013, the CDHA staff participated in training in the New Mexico adopted Common Core State Standards for ELA and Math. They continued the training through the NMPED Common Core Professional Development through 2014-2015, and also participated in numerous on-line courses offered by NMPED through Solution Tree and Knowledge Delivery Systems (KDS). During this renewal term, 2015-2020, professional development for teachers was focused on the implementation of technology in the classroom, student discipline through the No-Non-Sense Nurturer online training, culturally and linguistically responsive instruction, dual language instructional times to balance the 50/50 program model, Curriculum Mapping, and different curriculum materials.

Teachers researched lesson plans, activities and evaluation methods using technology on-line and other resources to create curriculum manuals including ideas that would be cultural relevant to the student population at CDHA. In addition to these standards-based curriculum manuals, the following additional curriculum materials are being used at each grade level within the school.



CDHA CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK

Pre-Kindergarten

Curriculum: I. Teacher-created standards-based lesson plans that are tied to each standard in

the Early Learning Guidelines: https://www.earlylearningnm.org/media/files/FINAL%20ELG_English2015%201-8-15.pdf

II. The OWL Curriculum (Bilingual)

Kindergarten


the Mathematics, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Physical Education, and Health for New Mexico Standards and Benchmarks, including the Common Core for ELA and Mathematics.

II. Reading: Benchmark Advanced Reading Core Program and Adelante Spanish Reading Core Reading Program Curriculum (Bilingual)

III. Science: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual) IV. Social Studies: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual) V. Mathematics: EnVision Mathematics (Bilingual) Methods: I. Estrellita, Spanish Reading Supplemental Program II. Fundations III. Four Blocks Framework and Balanced Literacy (Bilingual)

III. Guided Language Acquisition Design (G.L.A.D.) IV. Sheltered Language Instruction (S.I.O.P) V. Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Instruction (C.L.R.I) VI. Gardner's Multiple Intelligences VII. Kagan Strategies VIII. Project-Based Learning

Assessments:

I. Istation ISIP and benchmark assessments/progress monitoring for Reading, Lectura and Mathematics.

II. Teacher created number recognition assessment III. Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English language proficiency

for English Language Learners (ACCESS for ELLs ) IV. WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT, if applicable) V. STAMPe4 for Spanish Language Proficiency VI. Standards Based Report Cards VII. End of Unit Assessments

https://www.earlylearningnm.org/media/files/FINAL%20ELG_English2015%201-8-15.pdf



First Grade:


the Mathematics, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Physical Education, and Health for New Mexico Standards and Benchmarks

II. Reading: Benchmark Advanced Reading Core Program and Adelante Spanish Reading Core Reading Program Curriculum (Bilingual)

III. Science: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual) IV. Social Studies: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual) V. Mathematics: EnVision Mathematics (Bilingual) VI. Writing: 6 Traits of Writing (Bilingual) Methods: I. Estrellita, Spanish Reading Supplemental Program II. Fundations III. Four Blocks Framework and Balanced Literacy (Bilingual)

IV. Guided Language Acquisition Design (G.L.A.D.) V. Sheltered Language Instruction (S.I.O.P) VI. Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Instruction (C.L.R.I) VII. Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Kagan Strategies VIII. Project-Based Learning

Assessments:


II. Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English language proficiency for English Language Learners (ACCESS for ELLs )

III. WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT, if applicable) IV. STAMPe4 for Spanish Language Proficiency V. Standards Based Report Cards VI. End of Unit Assessments

Second Grade: Curriculum:

I. Teacher-created standards-based lesson plans that are tied to each standard in the Mathematics, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Physical Education, and Health for New Mexico Standards and Benchmarks

II. Reading: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual) III. Science: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual) IV. Social Studies: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual)

I. Mathematics: EnVision Mathematics (Bilingual) II. Writing: 6 Traits of Writing (Bilingual)

Methods: I. Estrellita, Spanish Reading Supplemental Program



II. Fundations III. Four Blocks Framework and Balanced Literacy (Bilingual)

IV. Guided Language Acquisition Design (G.L.A.D.) V. Sheltered Language Instruction (S.I.O.P) VI. Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Instruction (C.L.R.I) VII. Gardner's Multiple Intelligences VIII. Kagan Strategies XI. Project-Based Learning

Assessments:




Third Grade: Curriculum:


II. Reading: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual) III. Science: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual) IV. Social Studies: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual) V. Mathematics: EnVision Mathematics (Bilingual) VI. Writing: 6 Traits of Writing (Bilingual) Methods:

I. Estrellita, Spanish Reading Supplemental Program II. Fundations III. Four Blocks Framework and Balanced Literacy (Bilingual)

IV. Guided Language Acquisition Design (G.L.A.D.) V. Sheltered Language Instruction (S.I.O.P) VI. Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Instruction (C.L.R.I) VII. Gardner's Multiple Intelligences VIII. Kagan Strategies IX. Project-Based Learning

Assessments:






Fourth Grade Curriculum:


II. Reading: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual) III. Science: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual) IV. Social Studies: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual) V. Mathematics: EnVision Mathematics (Bilingual) VI. Writing: 6 Traits of Writing (Bilingual)

Methods:

I. Four Blocks Framework and Balanced Literacy (Bilingual) II. Guided Language Acquisition Design (G.L.A.D.) III. Sheltered Language Instruction (S.I.O.P) IV. Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Instruction (C.L.R.I) V. Gardner's Multiple Intelligences VI. Kagan Strategies VII. Project-Based Learning

Assessments:




Fifth Grade



II. Reading: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual) III. Science: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual) IV. Social Studies: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual)

V. Mathematics: EnVision Mathematics (Bilingual) VI. Writing: 6 Traits of Writing (Bilingual)



Methods:

I. Four Blocks Framework and Balanced Literacy (Bilingual) II. Guided Language Acquisition Design (G.L.A.D.) III. Sheltered Language Instruction (S.I.O.P) IV. Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Instruction (C.L.R.I) V. Gardner's Multiple Intelligences VI. Kagan Strategies VII. Project-Based Learning

Assessments:




Sixth Grade



II. Benchmark Advanced Reading and Adelante (Bilingual) III. Science: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual) IV. Social Studies: Houghton Mifflin (Bilingual) V. EnVision Mathematics 6 (Bilingual) VI. Writing: 6 Traits of Writing (Bilingual) Methods:

I. Kagan Strategies II. Project-Based Learning III. Four Blocks Framework IV. Guided Language Acquisition Design (G.L.A.D.) V. Sheltered Language Instruction (S.I.O.P) VI. Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Instruction (C.L.R.I) VII. Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

Assessments:


II. NWEA-MAP-Math and English Language Arts



III. Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English language proficiency for English Language Learners (ACCESS for ELLs )

IV. WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT, if applicable) V. STAMPe4 for Spanish Language Proficiency VI. Standards Based Report Cards VII. End of Unit Assessments

Seventh Grade

Curriculum: I. Pearson Literature (English) II. Science: Glenco Science (Spanish) III. Social Studies: New Mexico History (English) IV. Mathematics: EnVision Mathematics (Bilingual)

V. Writing: 6 Traits of Writing (Bilingual)

Methods: I. Kagan Strategies II. Project-Based Learning III. Four Blocks Framework IV. Balanced Literacy (Bilingual) V. Guided Language Acquisition Design (G.L.A.D.) VI. Sheltered Language Instruction (S.I.O.P) VII. Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Instruction (C.L.R.I) VIII. Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

Assessments:


II. NWEA-MAP-Math and English Language Arts III. Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English language proficiency


Eighth Grade

Curriculum: I. Pearson Literature (English) II. Science: Glenco Science (Spanish)

III. Social Studies: United States History (English) IV. Mathematics: EnVision Mathematics (Bilingual) V. Writing: 6 Traits of Writing (Bilingual)



Methods: I. Kagan Strategies II. Project-Based Learning III. Four Blocks Framework IV. Guided Language Acquisition Design (G.L.A.D.) V. Sheltered Language Instruction (S.I.O.P) VI. Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Instruction (C.L.R.I) VII. Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

Assessments: I. Istation ISIP and benchmark assessments/progress monitoring for Reading,

Lectura and Mathematics. II. NWEA-MAP-Math and English Language Arts III. Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English language proficiency


Special Populations/Special Education



II. Reading: Houghton Mifflin, Novel Projects (Bilingual, K-6) III. Science: Houghton Mifflin, McGraw Hill, Time for Kids (Bilingual, K-6) IV. Social Studies: Houghton Mifflin, Novel Projects (Bilingual, K-6) V. Mathematics: EnVision Mathematics, (Bilingual) VI. Writing: 6 Traits of Writing (Bilingual, K-6) VII. Science: Glenco Science (English, 7th and 8th) VIII. Social Studies: Houghton Mifflin-American History (Bilingual, 7th grade)

IX. Reading: Inside by Hampton-Brown, (7th) X. Reading: Novel Based Reading (English, 7th and 8th)

XI. Social Studies: Houghton Mifflin-World History (Spanish, 8th), UNM Press (7th) Intervention Programs:

I. Success Maker: Individualized Computer Based Learning Program (K-8) II. Orton-Gullingham III. Reading Plus IV. Moby Max V. Mathseeds and Mathletics (math)

Methods: I. Project Read



II. Visual Phonics IV. Teachable Moments V. Positive Behavior Supports VI. Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Resources:

I. Independent Matter Packages by Key Curriculum Press II. Teaching Competency in Written Language III. Recipe for Writing and Spelling by Francis Bloom and Deborah Bloom Coates IV. Reading and Writing Activities for Character Education for grades 2-4 by

Edupress and Jessica Franzene V. Step by Step Writing Lessons for K-1 by Scholastics VI. Daily Paragraph Editing Grades 3-5 by Evan Moor VII. Vocabulary Building Exercise Books A and B by Dorothy McCarr VIII. Daily Journal Prompts for Grades 4-6 IX. Daily Character Education Activities for grades K-1, 2-3, and 4-5 X. Critical Thinking Activities for grades 1-2 by Evan-Moore

Assessments:


II. NWEA-MAP-Math and English Language Arts III. Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English language proficiency


Enrollment Information:

Grade span at full enrollment Pre-K through 8th grade

Total number of students at full enrollment (enrollment cap) 500

4 Day Week Calendar

Calendar and Enrollment Projections for charter term (2015-2021) Grades 2016 – 2017 2017 – 2018 2018 – 2019 2019 – 2020 2020 – 2021 Total:

K – 6 8:00 - 3:00 8:00 – 3:00 8:30 – 4:00 8:30 – 4:00 8:30 – 4:00 6 1/2 hours

7– 8 8:00 – 3:30 8:00 – 3:30 8:30 – 4:00 8:30 – 4:00 8:30 – 4:00 7 hours

School Days 155 155 155 155 155 155

After School Program

3:30 – 6:00 3:30 – 6:00 4:00 – 6:00 4:00 – 6:00 4:00 - 6:00 2 ½ hours



Enrollment Projections

322

366

388

410

500

Cap 500

ACTUALS 272 345 425 444 444 *25 additional days for K-3 and K-5 Plus Program *Instructional Hours State Requirement School’s Instructional Hours PreK and Kinder = 900 K = 1,007.50 Grades 1-6 = 990 Grades 1-6 = 1,007.50 Grades 7-12 =1080 Grades 7-8 = 1085



Task 2: For Special Education Services how do you plan to do the following: (1 page)

A. Plan to evaluate and identify children with disabilities; B. Plan to develop, review, and revise IEPs; C. The process, including timeline, for evaluation, development, and review of IEPs; D. Plan to integrate special education into the general education program; E. Plan to deliver special education and related services; F. Projected cost of special education program; G. Plan to access and account for special education funds; H. Plan to ensure that the school facility meets the requirements of other related

services such as ADA and Section 504; I. Plan for enrollment/IEP transition procedure; J. Plan to address discipline for students with disabilities; K. Plan to ensure confidentiality of special education records; and L. Plan to secure technical assistance and training.

Christine Duncan Heritage Academy provides special education services to students enrolled in Pre-K to the 8th grade. Based on 2019-2020 40th Day Report, Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy (CDHA) had 68 students with disabilities enrolled at the school.

A free appropriate public education (FAPE) must be available to all children between the ages of 3 and 21. CDHA follows all state and federal laws when it comes to identifying students who receive special education services and implementation of their IEPs. Some students who attend CDHA are identified through Child Find; while others are identified through the SAT process. CDHA prides itself by providing most of its special education services in the general education classroom as part of the inclusion model. Special education staff will make sure students are provided accommodations and have work modified as indicated in their IEP, while they receive instruction in the general education classroom. CDHA administration wants and expects that special education and general education teachers work collaboratively to meet the needs of

3034

38

6068

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020


Special Education Students120 day student counts



students who receive special education services. For those students who require more one-on-one support, services are provided in a more restrictive environment. Students who need a more restrictive environment work individually or in a small group with a special education teacher or an educational assistant. The special education teacher and/or the educational assistant will focus on their students IEP goals. CDHA realizes it is important for students who receive special education services to be exposed to grade level curriculum with their general education peers. Students must be provided the support needed to address their academic and social emotional needs. The goal of CDHA is to always provide students the support and services they need in the least restrictive environment. When IEP’s are conducted the amount of support and the setting in which students receive it in is always reviewed and updated annually. The mission of Christine Duncan is to promote social and high academic achievement with differentiated instruction in a dual language setting for all students.

CDHA ensures that a continuum of alternative placements is available to meet the needs of children with disabilities for special education and related services, this includes following all ADA and Section 504 requirements for the school facility.

Christine Duncan’s continuum includes: 1) Instruction in general education classes 2) Provision for supplementary services such as resource room or itinerant instruction, to be provided in conjunction with general education class placement. 3) Instruction in special classes. 4) Instruction in special schools. 5) Home Instruction 6) Instruction in hospitals and institutions.

IEP Process

When students are identified as a student who needs to receive special education services or needs to have changes made to their IEP, based-on data, we update their information in Synergy and/or hold an initial, annual, or addendum IEP meeting. CDHA staff usually waits 2-3 weeks before they hold IEP meetings because it gives them a chance to get to know the student personally and academically. A master calendar located in the special education office is filled out by the special education director with all annual IEP dates and Re-Eval dates for all students for the upcoming school year. Caseloads are color coded and if the student has a re-evaluation due a day is assigned on the calendar when to start filling out the REED. The REED will be initiated 3 months before the Re-Eval due date. The REED will be filled out by the special education director, related service providers and the caseload teacher who will also get parent input. After the REED is completed, it will be determined if formal testing is required. If formal testing is needed the special education director will sent out the PWN notifying parents, the intent to evaluate. The special education director will mail or deliver a consent to test to the student’s parents. Once consent has been given the special education director will notify the diagnostician that the school contracts with 3 weeks before annual IEP or Re-Eval due dates. The caseload teacher will contact the parents and schedule the meeting. The caseload teacher will also send out forms to the general education teachers to get the student’s present levels that needs to be returned to the caseload teacher within a week. During this period, the



caseload teacher will give the student the Brigance or other short cycle assessments to get current grade levels. The caseload teachers will notify the special education director a week before the IEP is scheduled to look over the IEP. The special education director will make sure the IEP is ready to present to the parent and that all the paperwork/documents to hold the meeting are completed.

Discipline Plan

All students who receive special education services follow the school-wide discipline plan. Christine Duncan Heritage Academy expects all its staff to use Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies as well as the “No Nonsense Nurturing” to build respectful, responsible leaders for tomorrow. If a student who receives special education services has behavior which starts to impact his/her learning a Functional Behavioral Assessment will be done. Teachers will document behaviors to give the IEP team a better idea of when and what’s causing the behaviors. If behaviors continue to impact a student’s learning, a meeting will be scheduled to create a Behavioral Intervention Plan. The BIP will be implemented and reviewed/revised if it’s not working. If behaviors continue and result in suspension the number cannot exceed 10 days per year. It’s always the goal of CDHA staff to address behaviors that could cause a student to be suspended. CDHA takes pride in getting to know its students and their parents and having conferences with the appropriate members of the school staff to prevent situations from getting out of hand. Any act that is potentially hazardous to students such as but not limited to weapons, aggressive behavior, sexual assault, etc., is means for immediate suspension or expulsion. A manifestation determination meeting will need to be conducted immediately if a student on an IEP has violated a school rule that warrants a long-term suspension or expulsion. Christine Duncan Heritage Academy believes that the best school program can only be successful if there is a strong home/school relationship.

Alternative Educational Setting

If a student who receives special education services has been removed from his/her current placement for more than ten days and the behavior is not a manifestation of the child’s disability or who is removed under special circumstances, the student shall:

1) Continue to receive educational services (FAPE), so as to enable the child to continue to participate in the general education curriculum, although in another setting (that may be an interim alternative setting), and to progress toward meeting the goals set out in the child’s IEP.

2) Receive, as appropriate, a functional behavioral assessment, and behavioral intervention services and modifications, which are designed to address the behavior violation so that it does not happen again.

The IEP Team determines the interim alternative educational setting for removals that are changes of placement.



All special education student information is kept locked in a Fireproof filing cabinet. Anyone who needs to review the file needs to sign it out from the Special Education director and stay in the classroom to review the file. Then, it is placed back in the filing cabinet and locked. All information for special education students is shared with their teachers and is kept confidential to the extent possible.

The administration monitors the Maintenance of Effort frequently to make sure we are in compliance with spending special education funds appropriately.

Task 3: For English Learner program and services how do you plan to do the following: (1 page)

A. Plan to identify students as English Learners B. Plan to assess students identified as English Learners C. Plan to notify and communicate with parents/guardians regarding English Learner

status and services. D. Description of English Learner program and services, including any curriculum used E. Plan to monitor students exited from English Learner status F. Description of recruitment or maintenance plan to hire and retain qualified staff for

the ESL/ELD program G. Description of ELD program professional development H. Describe the process the school uses to provide English Learners access to

extracurricular (academic, and non-academic) activities I. Plan to evaluate effectiveness of English Learner program

Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy (CDHA) has increased student enrollment and number of English Language Learners every school year. Students are identified as English Learners using the family surveys when a student is enrolled in our school. We implement the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs testing to determine student's progress in the English language. WIDA ACCESS for ELLs results are reviewed by the teachers, and reports are shared with the families during

81 90

123

156

196

0

50

100

150

200

250

2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020


English Language Learners(120 day student counts)



conferences. CDHA uses Benchmark Advance to conduct its Language Arts program, this curriculum provides specific adaptations for English Language Learners. All students will participate in Istation monthly assessments to monitor progress. Therefore, English learners will continue to be monitored once they exit this ELL status. CDHA values teachers with bilingual and TESOL endorsements. (# of teachers with either endorsement out of the total). Our school will reimburse teachers for advancing their education at CNM with the purpose of providing high quality education to our students and to motivate teachers to remain in our school.

Procedures for Identifying English Learner Students

https://webnew.ped.state.nm.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/LCB_Serving-ELs_TA_Manual_2017_Rev_2.1.19.pdf

1. Identify new students through the Language Usage Survey (LUS)

STARS coordinator or Office Staff will identify students and let Testing Coordinator or Designee know we have a new student who may possibly be an ELL student

2. Check on Synergy for WIDA – ACCESS Scores

Testing Coordinator or designee will look up scores

3. If the new student is a possible ELL student and there isn’t a copy of the scores in Synergy or in the CUM, then the Testing Coordinator or designee will contact the former school and request WIDA ACCESS test scores and/or if no test scores are found will proceed with WIDA Screener in the DRC platform. A copy of the results should be placed in the student CUM file and the results should also be given to the STARS Coordinator for state reporting.

4. Notify Parents in English and in Spanish of the test results and placement.

5. Testing Coordinator must be certified in the WIDA website to administer the screeners and WIDA ACCESS for ELLs testing in the Spring and provide the administrator with a copy of the certificate of completed training.

https://webnew.ped.state.nm.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/LCB_Serving-ELs_TA_Manual_2017_Rev_2.1.19.pdf



Christine Duncan implements the Dual Language Program schoolwide. All students receive instruction in English and in Spanish. All ELL students receive ELD instruction during English Language Arts and through the content areas. Students in grades 6-8 receive ELD instruction in a separate block, and when they score a 5 in the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs, they are placed in an ELA classroom and are monitored for success. All students continue receiving instruction in English and in Spanish regardless of whether they exited the EL status due to the nature of our dual language program. Teachers are trained on using WIDA ACCESS for ELLs test scores to cluster them in the WIDA CAN DO DESCRIPTORS in order to address their needs in the content areas following the WIDA ELD standards. We recruit bilingual and TESOL certified teachers and offer a $3,000 Stipend for having the Bilingual Endorsement and $1,500 for having the TESOL endorsement. We also use the NMPED Visiting Teachers’ Program and currently have teachers from Mexico and Spain as visiting teachers in different grade levels. We have team teaching situations where a teacher teaches in English and another teacher teaches in Spanish and student switch daily for language instruction. In other cases, we have self-contained classrooms where the same teacher teaches in both languages but different content areas. Teachers who do not have the TESOL or Bilingual Endorsement are supported financially to take classes toward the endorsement, LA PRUEBA or the TESOL test. On 2018-2019 school year, CDHA participated on a Charter Schools Cohort for professional development in working with English Language Learners through Ensemble Learning and during this PD, a CDHA team worked together with the CDHA staff and developed a five-year plan to work with ELLs at CDHA. Below is a screenshot of the plan and the full document can be found in the artifacts section.





Strategies to work with ELL students:

SIOP, GLAD Strategies, CLRI Strategies, Gardner Multiple Intelligences, Blooms Taxonomy, Cognates, Academic Vocabulary Dictionaries, Do Now Activities: Daily Journal Writing, Two Minute Morning Edit, etc., Sentence Frames, Graphic Organizers; KWL charts, Content Dictionary, Project-Based Learning, Think-Pair-Share, Kinsella 4Ls of Productive Partnering, Kinsella Language for Academic Discussions and Collaboration, Costa’s Levels of Thinking and Questioning, Strategies for Activating, Prior Knowledge, Basic Reading Strategies, Guided Reading, Cloze Reading, Small Group Instruction, Kagan Cooperative Learning, Target Teaching, No Non-Sense Nurturer (Classroom Management)

Social Emotional Learning https://graniteschools.instructure.com/courses/1118234/pages

CDHA uses two online ESL programs to support English Language Proficiency; ABC Reading Eggs and ESL Reading Smart. In addition, almost all resources for Core Curriculum are in both languages. All teachers incorporate a variety of strategies to support the learning of ELL students in the classroom. At CDHA, all students have an equal opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities such as spelling bees, sports, and after school clubs. Students are monitored on an annual basis using the WIDA ACCESS for ELL assessment, teachers chart their results and monitor students to make sure they are all making progress in the English language. Students also take the STAMPe4 Spanish language proficiency assessment to monitor the learning of the Spanish language over time.

Task 4: Provide Mission Specific Goals from your Current Charter and progress to each goal based on the established indicators. Include student performance on applicable assessments (i.e. state, interim, benchmark, short-cycle), and/or other standards-based instrument (performance task, common formative assessment) used to measure and monitor student progress. Provide the school’s analysis of student progress towards the standards. Use graphs or other visuals to illustrate student progress to the goal.

Goal 1 – include the following (1-2 pages):

1. Student academic performance standard(s) being addressed 2. Standardized short-cycle assessment or standards-based instrument used to identify

https://graniteschools.instructure.com/courses/1118234/pages



performance levels and proficiency of students 3. Provide a statement of progress to the goal 4. Data visual and/or illustration showing progress to the goal

See Part 1 – School’s Executive Summary Question #5 – pages 12-33

Goal 2 – include the following (1-2 pages):

1. Student academic performance standard(s) being addressed 2. Standardized short-cycle assessment or standards-based instrument used to identify

performance levels and proficiency of students 3. Provide a statement of progress to the goal 4. Data visual and/or illustration showing progress to the goal

See Part 1 – School’s Executive Summary Question #5 – pages 12-33



B. Financial Performance

Task 1: Internal Controls, Financial Policies and Procedures (1 page)

● Provide information on internal controls, including any and all relevant flow charts and organizational charts which demonstrate the internal controls/process.

● Provide all Financial Policies and Procedures.

Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy

Budget Internal Procedures Budget Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy will prepare and adopt an annual budget in accordance with statutory requirements. The Operating Budget is prepared under the direction of the Principal. A Budget Committee makes decisions regarding budgetary issues. Selection to that committee is designed to insure representation from the staff and community. The Operating Budget is reviewed and approved by APS and included separately in the budget submission to the State Department of Education pursuant to the Public School Finance Act and the 1999 Charter Schools Act. Upon completion of the final close for each fiscal year, Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy determines the actual cash balances for all funds and reports them to APS by the designated deadline. Increases, decreases and adjustments to the finalized budget are presented to the State Department of Education for approval. Once all approvals are in place, the change is recorded to Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy’s Financial Management System and the adjustment is made to the original budget. Budget adjustments, which do not alter the total amount of the budget, are processed as follows:

Intra-Budget Transfers—Transfers between the expenditure codes within the same function are presented to the Governing Council for approval. Once all approvals are in place, the change is recorded to the Financial Management System as an adjustment to the original budget. Inter-Budget Transfers—Transfers between expenditure codes outside of the same function are presented to the State Department of Education for approval. Once all approvals are in place, the change is recorded to the Financial Management System as an adjustment to the original budget.

Payroll The Principal is responsible for monitoring the firing of employees, authorizing salaries, initiating employment contracts and maintaining the staffing levels approved in the annual budget. The approved employment contracts are entered into the Employment Management System and the salary worksheets are prepared for payroll by the Business Manager. Each School department is responsible for reporting absences. Absentee Reports are submitted on Friday of each week. These reports are submitted to the Business Manager and are used to



update employee leave balances. Leave taken without sufficient leave balances are docked from the employee’s pay. All insurance and other deductions are submitted to the Business Manager on the proper forms. Records of these deductions are kept in the employee’s Human Resource file. Receiving A designated copy of the Purchase Order is signed to document the receipt of goods and to authorize the release of payment to the vendor. A copy of the Purchase Order is then retained by the Business Manager for processing. Reporting The Business Manager furnishes monthly reports to each teacher responsible for transactions. The teacher is responsible for reviewing the accuracy of the transaction information and reporting discrepancies to the Business Manager to initiate the necessary correction. Accounts Payable All vendor invoices are retained by the Business Manager. The vendor invoice is matched to the encumbrance copy of the purchase order and the receiving copy of the purchase order. Once the documents are matched, the items invoiced are matched to the items listed on the approved copies of the purchase order. The account distribution verified and any necessary changes are noted on the invoice. The invoice is verified by checking extensions, footing, discounts, and freight terms. The Business Manager enters the invoices to be paid from each designated fund. An edit listing is generated from the Financial Management System and is used to verify the accuracy of the information entered for the check batch. Upon completion of the verification, the check batch is posted and the payables checks are printed. The Financial Management System generates a check register, a schedule of checks to be written and a remittance advice report. A check register by fund is generated. The Business Manager reconciles bank accounts on a monthly basis. The Principal verifies and approves the bank reconciliation and instructs the Business Manager to make any adjustments necessary to the general ledger. The Business Manager cancels all checks as they clear the bank. Travel Employees and Board Members of the School may be entitled to reimbursement of registration fees, mileage, per diem and other costs associated with authorized trips for official school business. All in-state and out-of-state travel must have written approval by the Principal for reimbursement to be authorized. All requests for reimbursement must have a Requisition Request Form approved by the Principal and a Purchase Order issued by the Business Manager before the reimbursement request is granted. All reimbursement requests must be itemized on a reimbursement request form along with all the original receipts attached to the reimbursement request form. Employees and Board Members have 30 days from the last day of travel to submit a request for reimbursement. All forms can be obtained from the Business Manager. All reimbursements are processed in accordance with the Per Diem and Mileage Act, as outlined in the DFA regulations. All receipts for out-of-pocket expenditures for transportation, registration, and miscellaneous expenses are required for reimbursement. DFA regulations can be found in the Business Office.



Accounts Receivable The Business Manager is responsible for billing and monitoring the collection of all amounts due from outside agencies. The Business Manager is responsible for tracking and verifying the cash balances for all Federal, State, and other grants and contracts awarded to Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy. The Business Manager prepares the required cash requests, reimbursement reports and invoices necessary for collection of amounts due to various programs. Special Revenue Funds All proposals prepared by the school staff for special funding require administrative approval from the Principal. Upon receipt of an award notice, a budget document is prepared and submitted to the Business Manager for review and processing. New-award budgets are presented to the school’s governing council and then forwarded to the State Department of Education for approval. Final approved budgets are returned to the Business Manager and are entered to the Financial Management System. Special revenue budgets are monitored by the Business Manager. The Program Coordinator acts as the control agent and is responsible for monitoring compliance issues in his/her area. Insurance Personal insurance for school employees is provided to Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy through the New Mexico Public School Insurance Authority (NMPSIA). Property and liability insurance is covered through the NMPSIA. Memoranda of coverage are proved to the NMPSIA for each fiscal year. The memoranda outline the coverage provided. In House Check Signatures: Any amount $5,000 or below can be signed in-house. All checks require two signatures on each warrant. The Principal and Business Manager are the two primary in-house signers, and the alternate will be a Board Member who is an authorized signer on the bank account. Governing Council Check Signatures: Any amount above $5,000 requires one signature from the Governing Council and one in-house signature. Cash Receipts Procedures: The school uses a factory pre-numbered receipt when money is collected. All receipt books are located in the business office for security purposes. They will only be issued to the Administrative Assistant, Office Clerk, After School Coordinator and/or Teacher hen requested. Cash amounts must be deposited within 24 hours according to state statue. Breakfast and Lunch Fees - Administrative Assistant or Office Clerk will collect checks, cash, or money orders made out to Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy for the total amount due. Administrative Assistant, Office Clerk, Support Staff, or Principal. One copy will be kept with the receipt book while a copy of the receipt will be given to the Support Staff, Administrative Assistant, Office Clerk, or Principal to prepare the deposit slip. The Administrative Assistant, Office Clerk, Support Staff or Principal records and signs the receipt into the Dual Cash and Check Receipts Ledger. The Administrative Assistant, Office Clerk, Assistant Principal or Principal will take the deposit to the bank if he/she did not accept checks, cash, or money order, or did not prepare the deposit. Bank receipt will be returned to Office Clerk or Business Manager within 24 hours from day of deposit. The Business Manager will use the ledger to reconcile the bank statement. All deposits will be deposited to the financial institution within 24 hours of receiving funds.



A revenue ledger is required for each receipt and must be coded to the proper fund. The ledger will be verified monthly against deposits to the financial institutions. It will also be used during the audit to verify internal procedures. The Business Manager will record all receipts into the accounting system. All cash receipt procedures are in compliance with New Mexico state statues. Donations: Cash Donations should be made in the form of a check or money order written out to Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy. All checks will be given to the Administrative Assistant, Office Clerk, Staff Member, or Principal to receipt and photocopy. The Administrative Assistant, Officer Clerk, Staff Member, or Principal will prepare a deposit slip. The Administrative Assistant, Office Clerk, Staff Member, or Principal will take the deposit to the bank if he/she did not accept checks, cash, or money order, or did not prepare the deposit. The deposit will be made within 24 hours of receiving funds. In Kind Services or other non-cash donations will be recognized by Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy in the form of a written letter on official school letterhead signed by the Principal, with the original going to the donor and a copy held with the Business Manager. The business office will use the letter to generate the proper recording procedures to account for the donation. Petty Cash

The petty cash fund is used for urgent, unanticipated small dollar purchases. The Principal, in accordance with policy established by Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy, will administer the fund. The fund will be established with a balance of $100.00. The fund will be replenished monthly, or as required to maintain available cash. A pre-numbered petty cash voucher will be used to track all request for cash. All petty cash vouchers will be audited by the Principal. Bank Reconciliation

The monthly bank reconciliation is prepared by the Business Manager and approved by the Principal. The bank reconciliation will be completed by the last day of the following month. Differences between Bank and Book will be posted in the month reconciled. Centralizing of Procurement Authority In accordance with the State Procurement Code, all procurement will be performed by the Principal, Business Office or designee, as authorized by the Governing Council as the centralized procurement authority. Procurement All procurement shall be achieved by the competitive sealed bid pursuant to Sections 76 through 83 [13-1-103 to 13-1-110 NMSA 1978] of the Procurement Code, except procurement achieved pursuant to the following sections of the Procurement Code [13-1-28 to 13-1-199 NMSA 1978]

1. Small Purchases 2. Sole Source Procurement 3. Emergency Procurement 4. Existing Contracts 5. Purchases from Antipoverty Program Businesses.

The Department Head forwards a Requisition Request Form and supporting documentation to the Principal for approval. The Principal verifies that sufficient budget exists for the purchase,



that the expenditure is correctly classified and coded to the appropriate account. The Business Manager will issue the Purchase Order Principal is the authorized signer for the purchase order, Business Manager is approved as a secondary signer. Under no circumstance will any employee commit Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy to any purchase without the approval of the Principal. Upon completion of the required verifications, the purchase document is recorded as an encumbrance on the Financial Management System. A copy of the Purchase Order is kept by the Business Manager until the order is complete and ready for payment. Goods and services under $20,000 may be obtained from the best obtainable source, considering cost, service, delivery, and prior use of similar goods. Quotes are not required but strongly recommended to ensure the best obtainable price is achieved. Purchases between $20,000 – $ 59,999 require three quotes for goods and services. Written quotes are strongly encouraged. Purchases between $ 20,001 and above require three written quotes for goods and services. For these purchases, quotes must be in writing from the proposed vendor. Purchases may be made through Cooperative Purchasing Networks. The Procurement Code (Sections 13-1-98.A and 13-1-135) states that Cooperative Procurement is authorized and exempt from the Procurement Code as stated below: Any state agency or local public body may either participate in, sponsor or administer a cooperative procurement agreement for the procurement of any services, construction or items of tangible personal property with any other state agency, local public body or external procurement unit in accordance with an agreement entered into and approved by the governing authority of each of the state agencies, local public bodies or external procurement units involved (11-1-1 to 11-1-7 NMSA 1978). All contracts must be approved and signed by the Principal. No warrant, check or other negotiable instrument shall be issued in payment for any purchase of services, construction or items of tangible personal property unless all services, construction of tangible personal property have been received and services rendered. All employees will abide by the State Procurement Code. The procurement code can be found in the Business Office.

Cash Disbursement Cash disbursement shall be for the purchase of supplies, equipment, services, utilities, fixed charges, contract reimbursements and all other expenditures of the school. Before a check can be issued the following documentation is required:

1. Contracts- must be signed and approved prior to any disbursement of checks. All contracts must comply with State procurement procedures.

2. All tax information as required by State law. W-9 must be on file prior to distribution of funds.

3. The following documents are required: purchase orders, invoices, signed copies of packing slips.

4. The business office will ensure that all invoices are paid in order to take advantage of all applicable discounts, and avoid any hardship to the vendors.

5. All paid invoices are to be filed by purchase order number for future reference and annual audit.



Emergency Purchase An emergency purchase approved by the Principal may be made in the event of an unanticipated need. Reimbursement: Supplies for instructional purposes should be ordered via the purchasing order process. The State requires that all purchases other than recurring cost be on a purchase order. Reimbursement will only be made if prior written approval has been obtained from the Principal. All requests for reimbursement must have a Requisition Request Form approved by the Principal and a Purchase Order issued by the Business Manager before the reimbursement request is granted. All reimbursement requests must be itemized on a reimbursement request form along with all the original receipts attached to the reimbursement request form. Employees have 30 days from the date of purchase to request reimbursement. All forms can be obtained from the Business Manager. Investment Policy

The school will account for all public money placed in interest-bearing deposits authorized by Section 22-8-40(E) NMSA, 1978 Compilation for investment of public school money Deposits of funds of the local school district may be made in non-interest bearing checking accounts in one or more banks, saving and loans associations or credit unions as long as the credit union deposits are insured by the agency of the United States, located within the geographical limits of the school. Re-Purchase Agreements (Section 6-10-10(H) NMSA 1978) The school may, with the approval of the Board of Education or Governing Council invest all sinking funds or money remaining unexpended from the proceeds of any issue of bonds or other negotiable securities of the investor that is entrusted to the local public body’s care and custody and all money not immediately necessary for the public uses of the school district or charter school and not otherwise invested or deposited in banks, savings and loan associations or credit unions in contracts with banks, savings and loan associations or credit unions for the present purchase and resale at a specified time in the future of specific securities at specified prices at a price differential representing the interest income to be earned by the school district or charter school. Also reference 2.2.2.10(N)(5)(c) NMAC. Public monies. Asset Capitalization Policy Purpose: To establish guidelines for the control of capital assets owned by the school. The purpose of the controls are to protect capital assets, preserve the life of capital assets, to avoid unnecessary duplication of assets on the school campus, to provide a guide for future replacement of assets, and to establish a basis for the amount of insurance coverage required. Definition: Capital assets, for the purpose of this policy, are defined as tangible or intangible property owned by the school which meets the definition and minimum dollar amount for capitalization per asset category.

1.) Furniture and equipment- Tangible personal property in excess of $5,000 purchased or acquired by gift to be used for operational purposes such as desks, filing cabinets, copiers, musical instruments, laboratory equipment, and janitorial equipment.



2.) Computer software- Intangible property in excess of $5,000 either purchased or acquired by gift that is designed to cause a computer to perform a desired function.

3.) Computer equipment- Tangible computer equipment in excess of $5,000, including Laptops, Desktops, Tablets, Routers, Hubs, etc., purchased or acquired by gift to be used for operational or instructional purposes. For capitalization purposes, computers are defined as a CPU, monitor and keyboard which go together as a package. Printers, which exceed $5,000, shall be capitalized separately, while printers, which are less than $5,000, shall be considered Supply Assets and recorded as such in the school’s general ledger.

4.) Library holdings- All library holdings purchased or acquired by gift during the fiscal year are capitalized in aggregate at the end of the fiscal year using the cost-based method. The cost-based method approach entails the following:

▪ Acquisition costs reflect actual expenses for purchased library materials. ▪ Donations are capitalized at fair market value. ▪ A value is placed on items withdrawn from the inventory and that value is

reflected in capitalization. Donated Items: Donated items, valued at the threshold contained in this capitalization policy and which are items that the school otherwise would have bought and used in operations, shall be recorded in the school’s general ledger account titled Fixed Assets ($5,000 and over) at fair market value at the date of donation. Donated items, which are valued at less than the threshold contained in this capitalization policy, will be recorded in the school’s general ledger account titled Supply Assets (less than $5,000) at fair market value at the date of donation. Donated items, which are determined to have no fair market value, will not be recorded. Depreciation Guidelines: Depreciation is a system of accounting which aims to distribute the cost or gift value of a capital asset, less salvage value, over the estimated useful life of the asset in a systematic and rational manner. All depreciable assets will be depreciated using the straight-line method of allocation utilizing the half-year convention. The straight-line method allocates an equal amount of the net cost of an asset to each accounting period in its useful life. Most assets retain some recovery at the end of their useful lives, which is known as salvage value. All depreciable property for the purposes of this policy shall be deemed to have a fair market value at the end of their useful lives. The useful life of depreciable assets is based on their usefulness to the school. The following table displays the estimated useful lives that will be used to calculate and allocate depreciation:

Property Category Life in Years

Furniture and Equipment 5 Computer Software 3 Computer Equipment 3 Library Holdings 10 Transportation Equipment

3-5

School Buses 7-10 Lease Hold Improvements 20



Disposition of Capital Assets:

Capital assets which are obsolete, worn out, or no longer meet the requirements of the school, may be disposed of pursuant to NMSA (1978) 13-6-1 to 13-6-4, Sale Of Public Property, transferred within the school campus to another department or classroom, or traded-in. A Fixed Asset Disposal Form must be completed in all cases for the disposition of any asset, including those which were damaged by theft, and a Fixed Asset Relocation Form must be completed when assets are transferred from one location to another. The Fixed Assets Disposal Form must be signed by the Business Manager, Principal, Network Administrator (for computer-related items only), and the Council Chair. Pursuant to NMSA (1978) 13-6-1 and 13-6-2, all licensed software and any electronic media (computer hard drives) must be completely erased before being disposed of. The Fixed Assets Relocation Form must be signed by the Business Manager, Principal, and Network Administrator (for computer-related items only). The school Business Office will retain the approved forms to preserve the accuracy of the asset records.

Student Activity Fund Before any fundraising can be held, the Activity Director or Designee must first submit a Request for Fundraiser Approval. The Principal must approve the form. The Activity Director or Designee must give the type of fundraising, the duration, and projected sales. The Activity Director or Designee in charge of the activity will receipt all cash deposits. State policy requires that all monies be deposited within 24 hours of receipting funds. Currently the school has pre-numbered receipt books. Activity Director or Designee will be issued a receipt book upon request, and will be responsible in assuring deposits are made to the Principal, Administrative Assistant, or Office Clerk within 24 hours of receiving funds. The procurement policy for the Student Activity Fund requires that state procurement code is adhered to. Under no circumstance will an activity commit Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy to any purchase without the proper approval. School Business Official Succession Plan In the event that the Business Manager is unable to fulfill assigned duties or contract, CDHA will contract with a licensed Professional School Business Official, or contract assistance from a licensed Business Management Service until it is decided that a full-time manager should be hired. Electronic Signatures: Internal procedures are intended to segregate duties and responsibility as much as possible, due to the limited number of staff. Approved by the Governing Council on September 9, 2015



Task 2: Audit Findings - Complete the Audit Report Summary table (below) by providing any findings from independent audits for each fiscal year, and how the school responded.

Identify information from the Component Unit Section of the Annual Audit specific to the Charter School. Include the actual year you are referring to.

Year Total # of Findings

Nature of Findings including Rating

(Compliance, Significant Deficiency, Material Weakness)

School’s Corrective Action Plan

2016-17

3 Material weakness-1 , compliance-2

Outstanding AP will be verified by date of service not date of invoice, year- end review of budget will be completed in April or May and BARS will submit so not to exceed budget in functions, cash will be deposited within 24 hours.

2017-18 2

Compliance-1 , Significant Deficiency at Unit Level - 1

BM is reconciling ERB monthly and does BARS at end of year to make sure budget does not exceed budget in functions

2018-19 4

Compliance -1 , Significant Deficiency at Individual Component Unit Level -3

School along with Principal and BM work together to make sure all internal procedures are being followed. Principal will sign off on all RFRs that BM submits. BM will notify Audit Committee members where the entrance and exit audit meeting are taking place. BM makes sure liabilities are reconciled before year end and paid on time each month.

2019-20

2020-21

Task 3: Financial Statement - Provide the following information (in the table below) that is specific to your operational budget from the current fiscal year:

Fund Fund Name Example of Expenditures by Fund Percentage (%) Amount

1100 Direct Instruction Teachers, EAs, Instructional Coaches, etc. 63% $2,311,269.96

2100 Student Support

Social Workers, Counseling, Ancillary Services, etc. 9% $316,327.96

2200 Instructional Library/Media Services, Instructional-Related Technology, Academic Student



Support Assessment, etc.

2300 Central Administration

Governance Council, Executive Administration, Community Relations, etc. 5% $189,834.69

2400 School Administration School Administrator, etc. 8% $278,626.40

2500 Central Services

Business Manager, Human Resources, Printing, Technology Services, etc. 7% $266,044.54

2600 Maintenance and Operations

Maintenance and Operations of Buildings, Upkeep of Grounds and Vehicles, Security, Safety, Etc.

8% $319.384.05

Other Miscellaneous (Community Services)

Grand Total 100% $3,681,487.60

Total Amount of Operational Dollars Going Directly to Supporting Student Success (Includes Direct Instruction, Student Support, Instructional Support, and School Administration)

80% $2,906,224.32

Task 4: Other Information, if school is transferring from NM Public Education Commission

Only schools that are transferring authorizers (from the New Mexico Public Education Commission to APS) must provide the following information:

✔ Copies of all financial statements and audit findings for any audits performed within the current charter contract.

✔ Membership figures for 80 day and 120 day reporting periods from STARS within the current charter contract.

✔ Copies of 910-B5’s within the current charter contract. ✔ Copies of PED Site Visit Documents from within the current charter contract. ✔ Copies of any Corrective Action Plans or Other Actions taken by the Public Education

Commission or the Public Education Department. ✔ Special Education Maintenance of Effort Reports from within the current charter

contract. ✔ A Recent Cash Report submitted to the New Mexico Public Education Department. ✔ Have you had the school’s Board of Finance removed during the current charter term?

Is so, please provide an explanation, including the time frame of the removal.



C. Organizational Performance

Task 1: Provide an Organizational Chart and a short, written description of how your organization operates. You may include examples of day-to-day activities. (1-3 paragraphs)

Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy has a governing council of at least five members, they participate in the Audit and the Finance Committee as well. They also hire the principal, oversee the school’s budget and academic performance, and approve the budget and policies for the school. The Principal oversees all state and federal grants and programs, social services programs, the curriculum, and runs the school. The Principal has a leadership team that assists him to accomplish these tasks. The leadership team includes the assistant principal, the instructional coach(es), the special education director, the business manager, the administrative assistant, the parent liaison, the school’s social worker and some educators. The administrators oversee the custodians, the cafeteria program and employees, the educational assistants, the certified teachers, the business office and employees, and the office staff. The school has monthly governing council meetings that include the administrator and at least two teacher representatives. The school’s leadership team meets on a biweekly basis, has biweekly staff meetings (sometimes monthly) and the all educators meet in PLCs biweekly and every other week they meet in Grade Level Teams. In addition, there are special education IEP meetings and Student Assistance Team meetings as well as parent-teacher conferences to



review student progress and academic plans. Agendas and meeting minutes are shared with staff.

Note: Due to COVID-19 Pandemia some positions had to be cut including the Assistant Principal position for 2020-2021.

Task 2: List Your Governing Council and Committee Members

Please provide the following information for all Governing Council members:

Name Professional Occupation Role on Governing Council # of Years on Governing Council

Mr. Rick Reichard Freelance Acting President 1

Mr. Ben Maes Retired Business Adm. Treasurer 6

Ms. Beth Esquivel Retired Educator Member 3

Mr. Francisco Ronquillo

Public Health Educator Secretary 4

Roxana Marcela De La Torre Amado

Parent Member 1

Please provide the following information for all Finance Committee members:

Name Professional Occupation Role on Finance Committee Governing Council Member? Y/N

Mr. Ben Maes Retired Finance Committee Chair Yes

Mr. Elijah Esquivel CPA Member Yes

Ms. Angie Learner Business Manager Member No

Mr. Jesús Moncada Principal Member No

Please provide the following information for all Audit Committee members:

Name Professional Occupation Role on Audit Committee Governing Council Member? Y/N

Mr. Elijah Esquivel CPA Chair Yes

Mr. Ben Maes Retired Member Yes

Ms. Mildred Grieving

Parent Member No

Mr. Jesús Moncada School Principal Member No

Ms. Angie Learner Business Manager Member No



Task 3: Describe Your Governing Council Processes by complete Items 1-3.

Item 1: Please provide a copy of your most recent Open Meetings Act Resolution. (1-3 pages)

RESOLUTION – SY 2020-2021

OPEN MEETINGS ACT

WHEREAS, the Governing Council of Christine Duncan Heritage Academy met virtually via Zoom on September 16, 2020, at 4:00 and

WHEREAS, Section 10-15-1(B) of the Open Meetings Act (NMSA 1978, Sections 10-15-1 to -4) states that, except as may be otherwise provided in the Constitution or the provisions of the Open Meetings Act, all meetings of a quorum of members of any board, council, commission, administrative adjudicatory body or other policymaking body of any state or local public agency held for the purpose of formulating public policy, discussing public business or for the purpose of taking any action within the authority of or the delegated authority of such body, are declared to be public meetings open to the public at all times; and

WHEREAS, any meetings subject to the Open Meetings Act at which the discussion or adoption of any proposed resolution, rule, regulation or formal action occurs shall be held only after reasonable notice to the public; and

WHEREAS, Section 10-15-1(D) of the Open Meetings Act requires the Governing Council of the Christine Duncan Heritage Academy to determine annually what constitutes reasonable notice of its public meetings;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Governing Council of the Christine Duncan Heritage Academy that:

1. All meetings shall be held at Christine Duncan Heritage Academy at 1900 Atrisco Dr. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120 or as otherwise indicated in the meeting notice.

2. Unless otherwise specified, regular meetings shall be held each month on the second Wednesday, at 5:00 p.m.). The agenda will be available at least seventy-two hours prior to the meeting from Christine Duncan Heritage Academy, whose office is located at 1900 Atrisco Dr. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120. Notice of any other regular meetings will be given ten days in advance of the meeting date.

3. Special meetings may be called by the Chairman or a majority of the members upon 72 hours’ notice. The notice shall include an agenda for the meeting or information on how members of the public may obtain a copy of the agenda. The agenda shall be available to the public at least seventy-two hours before any special meeting.

4. Emergency meetings will be called only under unforeseen circumstances that demand immediate action to protect the health, safety and property of citizens or to protect the public body from substantial financial loss. The Governing Council of the Christine Duncan Heritage Academy will avoid emergency meetings whenever possible. Emergency meetings may be called by the Chairman or a majority of the members upon twenty-four hours’ notice, unless threat of personal injury or property damage requires less notice. The notice for all emergency meetings shall include an agenda for the meeting or



information on how the public may obtain a copy of the agenda. Within ten (10) days of taking action on an emergency matter, the public body shall report to the New Mexico Attorney General’s office the action taken and the circumstances creating the emergency.

5. For the purposes of regular meetings described in paragraph 2 of this resolution, notice requirements are met if notice of the date, time, place and agenda are posted at the administrative offices of Christine Duncan Heritage Academy provided by email to those broadcast stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission and newspapers of general circulation that have made a written request for notice of public meetings. In addition, a notice of the regular meeting schedule of the Governing Council will be placed on the web-site of the Christine Duncan Heritage Academy at www.christineduncan.org

6. For the purposes of special meetings and emergency meetings described in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this resolution, notice requirements are met if notice of the date, time, place and agenda is posted at the administrative offices of Christine Duncan Heritage Academy at and provided by email to those broadcast stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission and newspapers of general circulation that have made a written request for notice of public meetings.

7. In addition to the information specified above, notice shall indicate how a copy of the agenda may be obtained or include a hyperlink to the agenda. They shall also indicate how an individual with a disability who wishes to attend a meeting of the Governing Council and who might be in need of special accommodations, can obtain information and/or accommodation for their disability.

8. The Governing Council of the Christine Duncan Heritage Academy may close a meeting to the public only if the subject matter of such discussion or action is accepted from the open meeting requirement under Section 10-15-1(H) of the Open Meetings Act.

a) If any meeting is closed during an open meeting, such closure shall be approved by a majority vote of a quorum of the Governing Council of the Christine Duncan Heritage Academy taken during the open meeting. The authority for the closed meeting and the subjects to be discussed shall be noted with reasonable specificity. Only those subjects specified in the motion may be discussed in the closed meeting.

b) If a closed meeting is conducted when the Governing Council of the Christine Duncan Heritage Academy is not in an open meeting, the closed meeting shall not be held until public notice, appropriate under the circumstances, stating the provision of law authorizing the closed meeting and the subjects to be discussed with reasonable specificity, is given to the members and to the general public.

c) Following completion of any closed meeting, the minutes shall state whether the matters discussed in the closed meeting were limited only to those noted, when the meeting was closed.

d) Except as provided in Section 10-15-1(H) of the Open Meetings Act, any action taken as a result of discussions in a closed meeting shall be made by vote of the Governing Council of the Christine Duncan Heritage Academy in an open public meeting.

9. Individuals wishing to participate in public comment at the Governing Council meeting must abide by the following rules:

a. Comments will be limited to three (3) minutes. b. Comments will be delivered in a civil manner.

http://www.christineduncan.org/



c. If the comment speaks to an issue that can be addressed by another Governing Council policy (e.g. grievance policy), the speaker may be referred to the process outlined in the other policy.

d. A Governing Council member’s opinion is not necessarily that of the Governing Council or of the school staff.

e. A speaker may be liable for statements made.

Adopted this September 16, 2020 at Albuquerque, NM.

Item 2: Describe the Governing Council’s role in the school’s strategic planning process (1 page)

The Governing Council’s current strategic plan facilitated and developed by council members specifies that within its mission “student achievement has always remained the ultimate goal.” The council requires a yearly principal’s evaluation that evaluates goals and objectives of student academic performance as well as goals specific to the charter. The school leader is required to update the council on student academic progress through short-cycle (SCA) and state-mandated assessment (i.e., NMTSBA (formerly PARCC), English Language Assessments (e.g. WIDA ACCESS for ELLs), Spanish Language Assessments (e.g. STAMPe4) and Science SBA) results as they become available. Updates on related activities such as Budget Updates, Open House, Literacy Night, Parent Academies, Family Science Night (FSN), adoption of new curricula, needed policies, and professional development for staff are also required in monthly principal’s reports to ensure movement towards established goals. Such activities are also scrutinized to ensure they are aligned with the school’s vision. In 2014-2015 the principal applied for a grant for teacher Pay for Performance Pilot program and the school was able to reward teachers based on student achievement. This grant provided the council with the opportunity to review student data as the principal prepared himself to reward teachers based on student performance. The principal applied for the same grant for 2015-2016 school year. On 2016-2017 when the grant was discontinued by the NMPED, but the governing council supported the school principal with the continuation of supporting teachers’ compensation based on student academic growth and their scores on the teacher evaluation. There were many other grants the principal applied for in order to provide students with ample opportunities to succeed in school in which the governing council was also involved (see school overview for grant information).

Item 3: Describe the Governing Council’s process of evaluating the Principal/Director (1 page)

CHRISTINE DUNCAN’S HERITAGE ACADEMY PROCESS TO EVALUATE THE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

1. The School Principal will provide Christine Duncan Governance Council Members a

Professional Development Plan during the first semester of the school year.



2. Christine Duncan’s Governance Council Members will review PDP at a closed session. Any modifications will be mutually agreed on by the Governance Council and the Principal.

3. The School Principal will complete a self-assessment and submit to Christine Duncan’s Governance Council at the beginning of the school year and at the end of the year by May 15th.

4. The School Governance Council will review the principal’s progress towards the PDP mid-year and no later than the end of January.

5. Christine Duncan’s Governance Council Members will evaluate the School Principal during a closed session prior to the end of the second semester but no later than May 15th.

6. The School Principal will include a professional portfolio supporting principal competencies as part of the final evaluation by May 15th.

*Note: The school principal will use the New Mexico Highly Objective Uniform Statewide Standard of Evaluation for Principals and Assistant Principal’s forms (NMHOUSE) for the evaluation.

● Self-Assessment (Form A) ● Professional Development Plan (Form B) ● Self-Reflection Professional Development Plan (Form C) ● Summative Evaluation (Form D)

The Governing Council comments regarding completion of form B by Principal. The Governing Council meets with the Principal to review the evaluation in a closed session.

Revised and approved May 28, 2015

*In addition to the evaluation process, the school principal is required to provide a Monthly Principal’s Report at the monthly Governing Council meeting.

D. Facility

Task 1: Provide Facility Information and Documentation by completing items 1-3.

Locate your building E occupancy certificate (item 1) and lease or lease purchase agreement (item 2) and scan documents. Include these scanned documents in the appendix of your application.

Item 1: Provide a digital scan of the building E Occupancy certificate.

Item 2: Include a description of your facility including lease and/or lease purchase agreement.

Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy is currently located at 1900 Atrisco Dr. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120 on West Side Albuquerque North of I-40 and East of Coors on the West Bluff Center. CDHA leases the facility from the Saylor Family Trust, LLC. CDHA was relocated to this location on 2013. The current lease amount is $35,000 a month, plus $500 insurance fee. The school uses approximately 34,580 square feet and has 26 classrooms, a gym/cafeteria, and 9 office space areas that include nurse’s office, parent room and teachers’ lounge. The school also has



three playground areas and ample space for students to play. This is our seventh school year at this location and prior to that the school was located at 816 Broadway Blvd. SE for five year and we also spent 2 years at 5201 Central Blvd. SW.

*See lease purchase agreement in the appendix.

Item 3: Describe your long-term plans to comply with state statute of being in a public building. Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy has been actively seeking a school facility for the school for the last 14 years, and it has been perhaps the most challenging task! The school has done two appraisals over the last two years at the current location and has tried to negotiate with the current landlord, but the appraisal was below the sales price, making it challenging to negotiate. CDHA also explored the option of relocating the school during 2019-2020 school year to a facility near Paseo del Norte and Coors but the school community was reluctant to relocating further North and all transactions for acquiring that facility were placed on hold. CDHA continues seeking a school location near the school facility in order to keep the families intact, but it is challenging to find a facility to accommodate 500 students on the West side. We are hopeful that we will be able to negotiate the sales price with the Saylor Family Trust in the near future so that we do not have to disrupt our CDHA School Community.

Part 3 – Plans for the Next Charter (Self-Study)


Part 3—Plans for the Next Charter Term (Self-Study) Purpose: Looking Forward: Vision for the Next Five Years Instructions for Part 3: Please refer to the instructions online for complete details about completing this part of the application (Self-Study) on outlining your vision and plan for the next five years.

A. Performance Self Study/Analysis-Key Questions

Task 1: Discuss your school’s academic priorities over the next five years based on what you learned from your Self-Report about your students’ academic results over the past four years (1-3 pages)

● What main strategies will be implemented to address these priorities?

● What changes to the program will be made based on the analysis of the past four years?

● How has data been used to set these priorities at your school?

One of CDHA’s priorities is to improve upon and increase student achievement in math and reading particularly in grades K-3 so they are prepared for the middle school years and beyond. In order to discourage students from opting out of the state assessments and encourage them to take the test seriously, the administrative team looked at possible incentives for all students who show growth on all parts of the exam. We have taken students on fieldtrips if they earned a proficiency rating in either ELA, MATH or SCIENCE and this past year we included students who had made significant gains in the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs assessment. We plan to continue motivating students to participate in school daily, get involved in the activities we offer, and do well in school.

An additional priority is to support deeper implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) across content areas to bolster student achievement in reading and responding to text across all grades K-8 and continue improving bilingual skills among all students. We would also like to continue to increase the availability of technology in the classrooms and more software programs for student use in school and at home, but most importantly training for educators on using the Promethean board, Class Flow, Google Drive and online learning tools to engage students in and out of the classroom. One of our goals is to decrease student mobility and gain stability among students so data can show the work we know we are doing. It is hard when we have to take new kids in any given grade level because it usually doesn’t help our scores but when it is the same students from year to year, we see the gains. It is our goal to continue making improvements to our Dual Language Program to strengthen both languages with all students.



In fall of 2013, CDHA began implementing a K-6 adoption of envision Mathematics, a CCSS-aligned Pearson Math-based program, including ongoing staff development and training for the new curriculum. However, we focused on purchasing Spanish materials only and in teaching math in Spanish only as part of the dual language program content subjects to be taught in Spanish only. The subscription also expired after six years, on 2018, and having the appropriate math resources became challenging so teachers were allowed to use their own math materials and we lost the consistency of teaching math during the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school year. On 2020, we updated the EnVision Mathematics curriculum to the 2020 Edition and it now includes grades 7th and 8th, had more professional development opportunities for teachers on this area and purchased the digital software for the program. By continuing to utilize the EnVision Math approach, we will have an opportunity to build on current student and teacher skills and understandings of this methodology. Consistency across grade levels in program and implementation will be reached for a full K-8 Scope and Sequence in addressing CCSS since the program is aligned to the common core state standards and has a strong focus on Problem Solving Skills and Algebra Readiness. Teachers will also use research-based math intervention programs; Mathseeds for grades K-2 and Mathletics for grades 3-8. One of our problems was that ALL students were receiving math instruction in Spanish for many years. We feel they were missing out on important vocabulary needed to perform better in state assessments. As a team, we have decided to take time to also teach math concepts in English, so students know the key concepts in both languages. Math will now be taught in both languages, in Spanish and in English.

In reading, CDHA was using the Houghton Mifflin Reading series, an outdated curriculum that did not align to the Common Core, and wanted to slowly transition into a new reading program (Wonders/Maravillas) beginning in grade Kindergarten and slowly, depending on funding, implement the new reading program through sixth grade. They also had to use a lot of different resources to teach reading skills that aligned to the Common Core State Standards. This idea of slowly facing in Wonders failed due to lack of school funding. In 2018-2019, we formed a reading adoption committee and reviewed several reading programs, including Wonders. However, the staff voted for Benchmark Advanced and Adelate (Spanish reading curriculum) because they felt it was a very complete reading core curriculum and also to be in alignment with APS Reading Curriculum. We started implementing Benchmark Advanced Reading Core Curriculum and Adelante on 2019-2020 and have continued providing teachers with professional development on implementing the reading program. The 7th and 8th grades will continue with literature circles and novel based reading. We expect better reading scores in all grades.

In addition, materials will be available in English and in Spanish for math and reading in order to meet the needs of our dual language program and current student population. Teachers will also use research-based reading intervention programs such as READ 180 (provided by APS), Reading Plus, MobyMax, etc.



Based on our data, specifically in math, CDHA implemented Everyday Mathematics until 2013. Then, adopted and began implementation of EnVision Mathematics as a K-6 mathematics curriculum adoption to be in alignment to NMCCSS. CDHA needed a more comprehensive, K-6 math program that aligned with the NMCCSS. Envision Mathematics specifically addresses math practice standards using a systematic approach which better aligns with NMCCSS than with the previous program. The use of an additional Response to Intervention (RtI) block, which also serves as a study skills class in grades 6th-8th for mathematics has resulted in improvement in student achievement at the middle school level. However, our subscription expired in 2018 and funding to sustain the program was not available, so teachers used other resources to teach math and some continued to use EnVision Mathematics. We have now adopted the 2020 Edition for EnVision math this school year, which also includes all digital software and professional development.

In addition, analysis of the data has led to the determination that the school would benefit from special education support teacher(s) who are able to provide academic instruction and consultation within the general education classroom setting for students with diverse needs. This approach was initiated spring of 2013 and has continued. CDHA is also working on re-structuring the teaching of mathematics in our dual language program based on recommendations from Advanced Education and New Mexico PED Instructional Audit. We are now teaching Math in English and in Spanish in hopes that it leads to student gains in math proficiency over the course of this renewal term.

CDHA has been implementing Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) during school hours to allow for teacher collaboration in developing a scope and sequence and sharing of ideas for curriculum strategies and other related topics; K-2, 3-5 and 6-8 meet weekly. It is during this time that they have data dialogues in which they also create RTI groups and discuss student progress and/or interventions needed.

Task 2: Discuss how systems and structures have been modified to support student achievement? (1-3 pages) Reflect on the academic performance of the following groups:

● The lowest-performing students ● Students with Disabilities - how do you plan to provide Special Education Services? ● English Learners - How do you plan to provide English Learner programs and services? ● Students who are Economically Disadvantaged and Ethnicity

In spite of many efforts spent monitoring the performance of the lowest performing students at CDHA, we continue to struggle to maintain a balance for both groups, lowest and highest performing students, and because CDHA serves many needy students, CDHA does tend to place a stronger focus on the lowest performing student population. We will continue monitoring their learning, progress monitoring through Istation and NWEA Map short cycle assessments, providing additional tutoring, small group instruction, and interventions according to their learning needs in the dominant language.



Our school had 14.72% of our student population identified as students with disabilities on 2019-2020. Based on this data analysis over the last several years, inclusion facilitation was bolstered (i.e., at least 2.5 FTE). As of April 2014 the inclusion facilitation is being carried-out by four full time special education teachers with credentials (i.e., level II and III) and experience to assist our special education student population. We also have several special education educational assistants to support our most needy students in the general education classroom as much as possible. With this new service delivery model (i.e., where students with varying needs are provided supports within their general education classroom settings, and at times pulled out for small group RTI instruction), it is hoped that faculty will gain a better understanding as well as additional strategies to effectively teach all learners within the typical classroom setting as well as across content areas. Some of the elements of this approach include classroom observation, model lessons, collaboration with lesson creation, suggestions for classroom and individual behavior management, and assessment review. Supporting the lowest-performing students to make greater academic gains has clearly caused us to “shift-gears” and try new approaches in serving such students. CDHA is also screening and identifying talented and gifted students and have a gifted certified teacher providing services to this group. CDHA has also coordinated RTI groups to meet the needs of all students; lowest and highest students.

We had 37.62% English Language Learners enrolled at CDHA in 2019-2020. All English Language learners are also challenged in Spanish via our dual language program. They are showing they are making progress on the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs assessment and teachers use that data to map them in the classroom on the can do WIDA descriptors to keep them in mind during lesson planning and to address their needs in the classroom. Students are also showing gains in the Spanish LAS. We switched to STAMPe4 on 2018-2019 but did not get to test them on 2019-2020 to compare results due to COVID-19 Pandemia. All teachers who teach English reading also address ELL student learning through ELD using the NM ELD State Standards. All teachers teaching content in English to ELLs are trained so they know the ELD standards and can address he needs of our ELLs in the classroom during the teaching of the content areas. In addition, students receive ESL assistance and use ABC Reading Eggs and ESL Reading Smart computer software programs to work on learning English with the teachers and on their own as well. All teachers at Christine Duncan are either bilingual or ESL endorsed, this makes it easier when working with our school diverse student population.

Question 1: How will your governing body be involved in monitoring academic performance and strategic planning, for the next five years? (1-3 paragraphs) The Governing Council’s current strategic plan facilitated and developed by council members specifies that within its mission “student achievement has always remained the ultimate goal.” The council requires a yearly principal’s evaluation that evaluates goals and objectives of student academic performance as well as goals specific to the charter. The school leader is required to update the council on student academic progress through short-cycle (SCA) and



state-mandated assessment (i.e., NMTSBA (formerly PARCC), English Language Assessments (e.g. WIDA ACCESS for ELLs), Spanish Language Assessments (e.g. STAMPe4) and Science SBA) results as they become available. Updates on related activities such as Budget Updates, Open House, Literacy Night, Parent Academies, Family Science Night (FSN), adoption of new curricula, needed policies, and professional development for staff are also required in monthly principal’s reports to ensure movement towards established goals. Such activities are also scrutinized to ensure they are aligned with the school’s vision. In 2014-2015 the principal applied for a grant for teacher Pay for Performance Pilot program and the school was able to reward teachers based on student achievement. This grant provided the council with the opportunity to review student data as the principal prepared himself to reward teachers based on student performance. The principal applied for the same grant for 2015-2016 school year. On 2016-2017 when the grant was discontinued by the NMPED, but the governing council supported the school principal with the continuation of supporting teachers’ compensation based on student academic growth and their scores on the teacher evaluation. There were many other grants the principal applied for in order to provide students with ample opportunities to succeed in school in which the governing council was also involved. (see school overview for grant information) The Governing body will continue being involved in monitoring academic performance and strategic planning for the next five years by actively participating in meetings, trainings, and school events. The Governing body will also continue supporting the school’s administration in decision making that will best impact student learning and the community we serve, Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy!

Question 2: How does your school enhance the APS School of Choice Portfolio? (1-3 paragraphs)

Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy has a unique dual language program implemented in grades PreK-8 with the goal of having students graduate the 8th grade with bilingual, bicultural, and biliterate skills in English and in Spanish and be able to have strong cross-cultural skills. We strive to provide qualified teachers and have bilingual teachers at every grade level. We recruit teachers from out of the country to meet this need of bilingual certified teachers in our state. We also have a strong focus on family involvement and provide many opportunities for our families to be involved in their children’s education. CDHA is proud to serve a 100% free and reduced lunch student population and be able to meet their social, emotional, physical and academic needs. Our last school grade in 2018-2019 was a “B” making our school the only Title I school on the West Side of Albuquerque with that rating! We were also one of the few schools in the state to earn the NMPED-BMEP recognition award for having an exemplary effective bilingual program and maintaining effective performance over multiple years in 2019. We feel CDHA enhances the APS School of Choice Portfolio for its reputation in the field of bilingual education in the City of Albuquerque and in the State of New Mexico.



B. Mission-Specific Goals and Indicators Instructions for section B: Please refer to the online instructions for complete details about Mission Specific Goals and Indicators.

Task 1: Provide at least two (2) mission-specific goals and indicators in the space below. (1-2 pages per goal) Example: If a school’s mission focuses on language acquisition, then a school may choose a mission-specific goal and indicators which measure students’ performance and progress of language acquisition. The indicators for this goal would be monitored during the year and revised annually. If you define a cohort of students (i.e. 11th grade students who have attended the school for at least two semesters), you must identify how many students are in the cohort.

Mission Specific Goal 1 – include the following (1-2 pages):

Indicators that will be measured and monitored, related to this goal 1. Student academic performance standard(s) being addressed 2. Standardized short-cycle assessment or standards-based instrument used to identify

performance levels and proficiency of students Students at CDHA will receive a bilingual education, through the Dual Language Model, that will assist students in learning and developing English and Spanish Literacy Skills from Kindergarten through the eighth grade.

Specific: Students at CDHA will receive a bilingual education, through the Dual Language Model, that will assist students in learning and developing English and Spanish Literacy Skills from Kindergarten through the eighth grade.

Measurable: At least 25% of students will be proficient in two languages by the eighth grade as indicated in the ACCESS for ELLs and the Spanish LAS Links testing or other similar language assessments.

Ambitious and Attainable: At least 25% of the students will be able to understand (listen), speak, read and write in their second language.


Time-Specific with Target Dates: In the next five years, we expect to increase the percent of students in the eighth grade able to understand (listen), speak, read, and write in their second language; 2020-2021 by 25%, 2021-2022 by 35% 2022-2023 by 45%, and 2023-2024 by 55%.





performance levels and proficiency of students Specific: Students in grades K-8 who have attended Christine Duncan Heritage Academy for at least two consecutive semesters and are identified as English Language Learners according to NMPED regulations will demonstrate an increased proficiency (.5 gain in composite proficiency score) and/or exit from ELL status over the previous year’s scores as measured by the winter administration of the ACCESS for ELLs or a similar state approved English Language Assessment.

Measurable: 40-54% of all tested ELL students will demonstrate an increase in proficiency (.5 gain) on the ACCESS or a similar state approved English Language Proficiency Assessment.

Ambitious and Attainable: 40-54% of all tested ELL students will demonstrate an increase in proficiency (.5 gain) on the ACCESS or a similar state approved English Language Proficiency Assessment.


Time-Specific with Target Dates: In the next five years, we expect to have at least 55% of all assessed ELL students demonstrate an increase in proficiency (.5 gain) on the ACCESS or a similar state approved English Language Proficiency Assessment.



performance levels and proficiency of students Specific: Students in grades K-5 who have attended Christine Duncan Heritage Academy for at least two consecutive semesters and are identified as Spanish Language Learners according to home language surveys will demonstrate at least a 5 point gain in the raw score as measured by the spring administration of the AVANT STAMP4Se assessment or a similar assessment or previously scored at the advanced level.

Measurable: 57-74% of all tested students will demonstrate an increase in proficiency (.5 gain) on the AVANT STAMP4Se assessment.

Ambitious and Attainable: 57-74% of all tested students will demonstrate an increase in proficiency (.5 gain) on the AVANT STAMP4Se assessment.




Time-Specific with Target Dates: In the next five years, we expect to have at least 75% of all assessed students demonstrate an increase in proficiency (.5 gain) on the AVANT STAMP4Se assessment.

Task 2: Provide a detailed rationale for the indicators you have chosen. Include data that you used to identify the need for setting this goal. Include any applicable state standard set for your indicator. For example: state graduation standard. (3 paragraphs)

Christine Duncan Heritage Academy chose mission specific goal number 1: “Students at CDHA will receive a bilingual education, through the Dual Language Model, that will assist students in learning and developing English and Spanish Literacy Skills from Kindergarten through the eighth grade” because it is reflective of our school’s mission statement, “Christine Duncan’s Heritage Academy will promote individual social and high academic achievement with differentiated instruction in a dual language setting. We value environmental stewardship, active community participation, family centered learning and cultural diversity.” We want all students to learn in two languages; English and Spanish and we want them to complete the eighth grade at CDHA with strong literacy skills in both languages.

Christine Duncan Heritage Academy chose mission specific goal number 2: “Students in grades K-8 who have attended Christine Duncan Heritage Academy for at least two consecutive semesters and are identified as English Language Learners according to NMPED regulations will demonstrate an increased proficiency (.5 gain in composite proficiency score) and/or exit from ELL status over the previous year’s scores as measured by the winter administration of the ACCESS for ELLs or a similar state approved English Language Proficiency assessment” because it supports the schools mission statement and goal number 1. It is also very important for our school, as a dual language school, to measure the students’ growth in their English Language proficiency.

Christine Duncan Heritage Academy chose mission specific goal number 3: “Students in grades K-8 who have attended Christine Duncan Heritage Academy for at least two consecutive semesters and are identified as Spanish Language Learners according to home language surveys will demonstrate at least a 5 point gain in the raw score as measured by the spring administration of the AVANT STAMP4Se assessment or a similar assessment or previously scored at the advanced level” because it supports the school’s mission statement and goal number 1. It is also very important for our school, as a dual language school, to measure the students’ growth in their Spanish Language proficiency.

Part 4 – Appendix


Appendix Petitions of Support from Employees and Households **April 2020 - Due to the Shelter in Place order during the Coronavirus Pandemic beginning March 2020, Charter Schools may collect signatures of support from their employees and households utilizing online forms (for example: A Google Form/Petition that includes: email addresses, individual’s first name last name, check box selected to signify support of Charter Renewal). Sample Google Forms are available on the APS Charter Renewal Application Instructions. The notarized forms can be signed via digital signature.

Petition of Support from Employees Submit a notarized form that certifies the petition of support from employees. A template of this form can be printed from the online instructions. Only include the notarized form. All petitions with signatures will be retained at the school. ** Petition of Support from Households Submit a notarized form that certifies the petition of support from households. A template of this form can be printed from the online instructions. Only include the notarized form. All petitions with signatures will be retained at the school. **

Part 4 – Appendix


Lease Review Charter School Checklist For each charter school applying for renewal with APS, the APS Real Estate Department completes a Lease Review. To facilitate this work, the APS Real Estate Department requests the following be submitted with the renewal application; Documents to Include

● Charter Renewal Application (currently authorized by APS) or ● Facility Master Plan & Educational Specifications (currently authorized by the PEC)

Lease Documents ● Lease or Lease to Purchase Agreement; ● Appraisal, Broker Opinion of Value, Building Assessment Report; and ● Tax Bill

Additional Documentation (if available)

● Addendums ● Survey

Primary Contact for Leasing The principal of the school is considered the primary contact — OR — If the principal is not the primary contact, provide leasing contact information below:

Description Leasing Contact Information

Name Jesús A. Moncada

Title Principal

Phone 505-839-4971

Email [email protected]

Other 505-907-9670

Part 4 – Appendix


Performance Framework Reports – Provide all performance framework reports from your current contract term. You may provide summary documents, if available.

Amendment Requests – Material Changes to the Current Charter Any revision or amendment to the terms of the charter shall be made only with the approval of the chartering authority and the governing body of the charter school. Per the APS Procedural Directive schools shall apply for an amendment to its original approved charter for approval by the APS Board of Education for the following:

● Increase the total number of grades provided ● Increase in the total number of students served in each grade ● Change in location and/or facilities, even if the change in location is planned to meet

New Mexico Adequacy Standards for Educational Buildings

● Any change in operations, management, ideology or practices from the original contract.

Task 1: Identify any amendments you need and complete both items. Fill out the following table. Use the amendment template to provide information on proposed amendments with a signature of your Governing Council President or designee.

No amendment requests submitted.