Charter School Proposal/Application
Pioneer Technology Charter School
Questions for the Applicant
Written Responses
This is to provide you the opportunity to submit additional information regarding the charter school application.
Instructions: Use this form. Please respond in writing to each bolded question in each section. Type your response on this document below each bolded question. You may submit supporting materials in response to a question. However, we will only consider materials that respond to the questions below. Other questions will be asked at the November 16h hearing.
Due Date and Delivery: Please deliver this document with your responses to me at or by mail to Cliff Brush, 501 N Dixon Street Portland, OR, 97227. Responses are due by no later than 5:00 p.m. local time Thursday, November 15, 2007. Please respond sooner if possible.
Please email if you have any questions about this.
I. General Information: Please leave single spaces between the questions and responses. Please do not type in bold.
Pioneer Technology Charter School did all its projection and predictions based on the area demographics. At the beginning of the school year, we will be flexible enough in our budget to reallocate our resources to cover the needs of different student body.
How many parents have committed to enrolling their children in Pioneer, and how many children do they represent?
The intent letters of the committed parents represent 50% of the first year expected student enrollment. The interest of parents and students attending Rose Education Center Saturday School, and verbal assurance of the parents close to the advisory board and development team give a confidence to us not to have any problems in first year expected enrollment.
How many are currently in home or private schooling?
Pioneer Technology Charter School did not specifically ask the schooling background of its potential students and believes that its unique program will serve all students.
How many have students in PPS schools? Which schools are they in?
Pioneer Technology Charter School did not specifically ask the schools of its potential students and believes that its unique program will serve all students.
How many of those children are TAG, special education, or ELL/ESL students?
Pioneer Technology Charter School did not specifically ask the special needs of its potential students and believes that its unique program will serve TAG, special education or ELL/ESL students.
The Creative Science focus option and LEP Charter High School are now operating in Southeast Portland. How are they different from Pioneer’s proposal? Will Pioneer compete with them for students?
As the charter school division expressed in the staff review on page 3, Pioneer Technology Charter School offers a different educational program for grades 6-12. We offer a unique technology education with International Computer Driving License (ICDL), Technology Integrated Education (TIE), Math Science Olympiad Program (MSOP) and many more. With different approaches in our program, we aim to enrich the education opportunities for students in public education. Pioneer’s purpose is not to compete for students with any schools in the area but believes that there is a unique niche market that Pioneer fits in.
How is the proposed Pioneer program different from the programs offered by the Academy of Arts and Technology and the Academy of Science and Technology at Jefferson High School?
Pioneer Technology Charter School offers a different educational program for grades 6-12 and can not be compared and contrasted with the above mentioned schools.
Will Pioneer compete with them for students? Why?
No. Academy of Arts and Technology and the Academy of Science and Technology at Jefferson High School are located at northeast Portland area and competition is out of question.
How is the proposed program different from programs offered at Benson High School and at Pauling Academy of Integrated Science at the Marshall Campus?
As indicated in our charter proposal on page 16, above mentioned schools offer different programs. Benson is a polytechnic high school offering communication technology and electronics programs whereas Pioneer is serving grades 6-12 on technology in a broader sense in addition to math and science education. Pauling Academy of Integrated Science offers Expeditionary Learning (EL) program which is completely different than our educational program.
Will Pioneer compete with them for students? Why?
No. Benson is a polytechnic high school and Pauling Academy is more than five miles away from the proposed school location.
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II. Mission Statement and Purpose: Please leave single spaces between the questions and responses. Please do not type in bold.
What are some examples of the “new, innovative and proven methods” Pioneer will use “to help the underachieving students of the area succeed in state specified goals?”
As mentioned in our charter proposal on page 14, the new, innovative and proven methods to help the underachieving students of the area succeed in state specified goals are ‘Results Driven Instruction with MAP Testing’, ‘Free After School Tutoring’, ‘Saxon Math’, ‘Silent Sustained Reading’, ‘Technology Integrated Education (TIE)’, and ‘Comprehensive Guidance Program with Home Visits’.
How will Pioneer identify underachieving students?
As mentioned in our charter proposal under ‘Identifying Socio-economically Disadvantaged and Low-achieving Students through Computer Adapted Tests’ section, initial MAP test results done in the first two weeks of the school year, and state test results of previous year will enable us to identify underachieving students.
What are a few examples of professional development activities, standardized tests, or other components of Pioneer’s program that will minimize barriers to education? How will they do that?
Examples of professional development activities are mentioned in our charter proposal under ‘Meeting the professional development needs’ section. Pioneer will have 10 full days in service for its staff before each school year starts, weekly staff development meetings, monthly development sessions, and a 2-day end of year service training with all of their expenses covered. Home visits will also help minimize barriers to education.
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III. Educational Program: Please leave single spaces between the questions and responses. Please do not type in bold.
How will Pioneer use MAP test results to diagnose instructional needs or to make data driven decisions about the educational or staff development programs?
As mentioned in our charter proposal MAP test will be administered 3 times a year. The results of the tests will give feedback to the teachers and school administration on which state standards the student needs improvement. Accordingly, in-class and after school tutoring programs will be revised. MAP test results will be analyzed in weekly staff meetings and the data will be used in determining the necessary staff development programs.
The early intervention plan at page 15 includes “sleepovers.” What is a “sleepover”?
Pioneer Technology Charter School will organize sleepovers at school site occasionally as a mean to increase social interactions between the school staff, students and parents, and provide them a better sense of adaptation to the school environment. Students will stay at school site on weekend or holiday nights with their teachers, volunteer parents and classmates. The sleepover program will combine academic instructions with fun activities.
At page 15, the application states that an intervention “based on the end-of-year course grades (usually through summer schools) is not effective.” However, “[A]ny student who receives an F grade is required to repeat the class/classes at Pioneer’s summer school (p.47).” Why is summer school effective in that case?
The paragraph at page 15 should be considered as a whole in order to enlighten the purpose of the topic. The paragraph emphasizes early intervention.
Did Pioneer consider any math programs other than Saxon Math? Why did Pioneer reject others in favor of Saxon Math?
As indicated in our charter proposal under “Augmented, Reiterative Math” section, research has proven that Saxon Math yields better results especially with underachieving students.
Did Pioneer consider any reading programs other than Silent Sustained Reading? Why did Pioneer reject others in favor of SSR?
Pioneer Technology Charter School will provide standard reading programs in class and will have SSR as an additional group reading program to increase reading performances of the students. Pioneer Language Arts teachers have the flexibility to implement the necessary reading programs of their choice.
How will Pioneer align all integrated lesson plans for core and technology curricula to state standards and make them available for finalization during staff development in August 2008? What curriculum alignment process will Pioneer use?
Integrated lesson plans will be generated from the curriculum maps which reflects the state standards. At the staff development meeting held at the end of the school year, teachers will review the plans for any improvement for the following year.
How will Pioneer’s program implement the Oregon’s common curriculum goals for technology adopted in 2002?
Oregon’s common curriculum goals for technology adopted in 2002 are aligned with the national standards developed by International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Pioneer Technology Charter School’s technology integrated education is also based on International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)’s National Educational Technology Standards (NETS). When students have completed the technology courses offered at Pioneer, they will be able to demonstrate that they have acquired the skills and knowledge of Oregon’s common curriculum goals.
How will Pioneer ensure that all students have access to computer labs during after school hours? Will Pioneer provide transportation?
Reasonable weekly schedules will be made to accommodate the computer access needs. Transportation opportunities will be provided including free bus passes.
What research based instructional methods or materials will Pioneer use for teaching TAG students?
These instructional methods are thoroughly explained in ‘Plan for Students Who Are Talented and Gifted (TAG)’ section.
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IV. Support for Learning: Please leave single spaces between the questions and responses. Please do not type in bold.
How many faculty and staff will Pioneer employ the first year? What are their titles?
One school principal, one part-time business manager, seven full time teachers, two part time teachers, and one secretary will be employed the first year.
How many volunteers will Pioneer need? If some or all of them were not available, how would that affect Pioneer?
Pioneer Technology Charter School programs are not crucially dependent on the availability of volunteers. Each staff member is mandated to do extracurricular activities in their job descriptions. Volunteers will be supplemental support to Pioneer’s programs.
How do Pioneer’s schedule and budget provide enough time and resources for the ambitious staff development program described at page 31?
Pioneer Technology Charter School believes that achievement is only through substantial investment. That is why; the job contracts with our staff will require attendance to all professional development programs.
How did Pioneer design the staff development program at page 31? How might Pioneer prioritize its staff development?
Pioneer Technology Charter School will have 10 full days in service for its staff before each school year starts, weekly staff development meetings, monthly development sessions, and a 2-day end of year service training with all of their expenses covered. Based on the staff needs which will be identified with a survey, the staff development programs will be prioritized.
How will Pioneer identify future staff training or development needs?
Pioneer Technology Charter School will evaluate its programs regularly. Based on the evaluation results and staff needs, future staff training or development needs will be identified.
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V. Accountability: Please leave single spaces between the questions and responses. Please do not type in bold.
Who will be responsible to monitor, evaluate, analyze, and report the school’s performance?
School administration will be responsible to monitor, evaluate, analyze and report the school’s performance in cooperation with school board.
How will they do that?
Please refer to ‘E.3 School Monitoring And Evaluation Plan’ section in our charter proposal for details.
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VI. Financial, Business, and Organizational Plan: Please leave single spaces between the questions and responses. Please do not type in bold.
What revenue does Pioneer assume for the food service plan described at pages 45-46?
Free and reduced lunch program students will benefit from the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), while others will pay for their meals. Food service’s revenues and expenses balances out each other and we do not plan to make any profit out of it.
Page 5 of the projected operating budget does not discuss expected major changes, if any, in projected revenue. Does Pioneer expect any major revenue changes?
We do not expect any major changes in the revenues as we have a number of committed parents and an approved grant from the Oregon Department of Education. On the other hand, Pioneer’s budget has enough flexibility to compensate changes in the revenue if any.
How does the budget fund the bonus pay plan described at pages 31 and 38?
In the proposed budget bonuses are included in the average teacher salaries.
How does the budget fund staff development and training in ELL/ESL strategies?
They are included in professional training.
How are MAP testing and other student assessments included in the budget?
Included under “Student Assessment/Testing” in the proposed budget and explained on page 40 of the charter petition.
How does the projected budget fund the counseling services described at pages 20 and 46-47?
They are included in teacher and administrative salaries and instructional expenses such as equipment, furniture, supplies and materials.
How did Pioneer calculate transportation costs? Are student transportation and proposed field trips included?
Transportation costs reflected in the budget includes student transportation, and proposed field trips. Charter School Development Center (CSDS)’s Portland branch development center helped us figure out the specific numbers based on their previous experiences with the other charter schools in Oregon.
How does the budget fund costs of other positions mentioned in the application such as business manager, dean, and teacher assistant?
They are included under the salaries/wages of supervisors and explained on page 40 of the proposed petition.
How does the budget fund Pioneer’s summer camps and summer school discussed at pages 12 and 47?
Summer school is included as a separate item on the proposed budget. Summer camps are extracurricular activities. Students who are not participating in free and reduced lunch program will pay for the summer camps. Socio-economically disadvantaged students will be sponsored by the parent club’s fundraising activities without violating student privacy.
How does the budget fund Pioneer’s after school programs?
Each staff member is mandated to do extracurricular activities in their job descriptions.