DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 2008-09 CONTRACTS FOR EXCELLENCEPUBLIC HEARINGS

JUNE 2008

2

Contracts for Excellence (C4E) Overview1. Funds must support specific program initiatives.

> Class Size Reduction

> Time on Task

> Teacher & Principal Quality Initiatives

> Middle & High School Restructuring

> Full-Day Pre-Kindergarten Programs

> Model Programs for English Language Learners (new in 08-09)

2. Funds must go to students with the greatest educational need.

> English Language Learners

> Students in Poverty

> Students with Disabilities

> Students with Low Academic Achievement or At Risk of Not Graduating

3. Funds must supplement, not supplant.

> For new or expanded programs only

> Should be used towards meeting school’s overall educational goals as outlined in the CEP

3

2007-08 C4E Approved Plan

How Funds Were Allocated

Maintenance of Effort$30m

School Support Services

$14m

Targeted Allocations

$67mDiscretionary Allocations

$146m

Funds that schools

could decide how to

spend within the C4E program

areas

Program Area Amount

Class Size Reduction $153 million

Time on Task $48 million

Teacher & Principal Quality $40 million

Middle & High School Restructuring

$17 million

Full-Day Pre-K $0.5 million

Total $258 million

How Funds Were Used

NYC 2007-08 C4E Plan approved 11/19/07 by SED.

4

Five Year Class Size Reduction PlanAs stipulated by the Contracts for Excellence legislation, the City submitted a Five Year Class Size Reduction Plan to SED that was approved on November 19, 2007.

The plan combines a series of multi-year strategies to reduce class sizes, including:

> Resource Allocation > New School Construction

> System-Wide Guidance > Collaborative Team Teaching

> Targeted Coaching > Class Size Data Tracking

> Policy Adjustments > Accountability

Baseline 06-07* C4E Target February 2008 Preliminary ChangeK-3 21.0 20.7 20.9 -0.1

4-8** 25.6 24.8 25.0 -0.6

9-12Adjustments to the high school methodology make the baseline/target from last year not directly comparable to preliminary results from this year. At mid-year, HS class size using the new methodology was 26.1 – using apples to apples

data, there was a reduction of .6 students in the average HS class.

*Excludes self-contained special education classes ** Includes 9th grades residing in Jr. High Schools (i.e. 6-9 schools)

Results from our February Mid-year Class Size Report indicate that the approach of empowering and enabling class size reduction is achieving results.

5

Budgeting for Student SuccessWe want to give our schools and our schoolchildren the money they need to succeed. That means:

> Putting as much money as possible into schools. We want as many dollars as possible in schools, where they can be used to help students learn. That’s why, before this year, we cut more than $350 million from the education bureaucracy and put it into schools and classrooms. And it’s why we’re cutting $200 million this year from the bureaucracy.

> Distributing money based on students’ needs. We know it costs more to educate special education students, students who are still learning English, and students who are struggling in school. That’s why we created our Fair Student Funding formula, through which we send $5.6 billion to schools based on student need.

> Making sure we don’t destabilize one school as we help another. We want to help schools that have historically been shortchanged and we want to make sure that we don’t destabilize schools that are working for our kids. We are responsible for all students, and can’t afford to hurt one to help another.

6

NYC DOE’S FY09 Budget SituationHere is a summary of our budget reality for the 2008-09 school year: 

> We face an economic downturn. Our non-discretionary new costs are greater than our new State and City funds.

> Even though times are tough, the overall impact on school budgets is modest ($99 million).

> This is true largely because we’ve made it our first priority to minimize the impact of our budget shortfall on schools.

> We are honoring the principles and commitments of Fair Student Funding.

> If we could distribute new State funds equitably, all schools would experience a 1.4% reduction in spending power. Because of current legal mandates, however, some schools will experience reductions in spending power of up to 6%. Others will actually see increases in spending power of up to 4%.

7

Current State Mandates Restrict Fund UseNEW STATE FUNDS FY09

$535 million

$242million

$385 M RESTRICTED

$150million

$150 M UNRESTRICTED

$113million

$30million

“Maintenance of Effort” for

existing priorities

New costs eligible for C4E funds

Restricted C4E funds

$385million

Funds subject to C4E

8

Appealing to Albany for ReliefWe are appealing to Albany to make reductions in spending power equitable across all of our schools.

As we work to resolve this issue, we are holding back $63 million in the State’s restricted operating aid.

> If distributed in an equitable fashion, these funds would bring all schools to a 1.4% reduction in spending power.

> If distributed according to current State regulations, some schools will see spending power reductions of more than 6%.

> We will finalize budgets once this issue is resolved in Albany.

Contract for Excellence dollars are preliminary. These funds are subject to a public engagement process and approval by the State Education Department. This means that there could be changes in that budget line.

9

NYC’s 2008-09 Preliminary C4E Plan

How We Propose to Allocate Funds

Funds that schools can

decide how to spend within

the C4E program areas

Discretionary Allocations

(released 5/22/08)$179 million

Discretionary Allocations

(to be released later)$63 million

Maintenance of Effort

$30 million

School Support Services

$17 million

Targeted Allocations$96 million

10

Discretionary Allocations to Schools

Amount

$179 million in restricted Contracts for Excellence funds were released to schools on May 22, 2008 as a preliminary allocation.

$63 million in additional funds will be allocated to schools pending a public process and SED approval.

$242 million is the expected total within this category.

Description

Funds released directly to schools to be used at the discretion of the principal, School Leadership Team, and greater school community.

Restricted to spending on new or expanded supplemental programs in the six C4E-eligible areas.

The Department created a new Contracts for Excellence allocation category so that these funds will be easy to track within school budgets.

11

School Spending GuidanceAn important part of the City’s Children First school reforms is allowing principals to make decisions about what they need for their schools and students to succeed.

Given the special considerations of C4E funding, the Department is working to ensure that principals and SLTs have the full range of information and support needed to optimally allocate their C4E dollars:

> CEP Process: C4E planning is included in the 2008-09 Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP) process, which requires input from the School Leadership Team (SLT). SLTs are also being provided with C4E training.

> SSO and ISC Support: SSO and ISC teams are being trained on C4E provisions and are proactively working with schools to plan for allocation of C4E funds. These teams in turn work with DOE liaisons to the State Education Department to answer specific school questions about program eligibility, approved fund uses, etc.

> Public Feedback: Principals have been informed that they are required to take into account public feedback as well as input from their teams and greater school communities when deciding how to spend C4E funds.

> Program-Specific Guidance: The Department is offering program planning support to schools in three areas of strategic focus: class size reduction, middle school reform and support of English Language Learners (ELLs)

CEP Process: C4E planning is included in the 2008-09 Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP) process, which requires input from the School Leadership Team (SLT). SLTs are also being provided with C4E training.

12

Program Guidance: Middle Schools & ELLsThe Office of Teaching & Learning is working with SSOs to provide program guidance and technical assistance to help schools design effective instructional strategies. Specific outreach will be focused on schools serving middle grade (6-8) students and English Language Learners.

Programs and Services Offered to Schools

> Professional Development Opportunities Across All Content Areas

> Exemplary Site Visitations

> Sample Program Models

Resources Offered to Educators

> Identification of innovative programs

> Dissemination research

> Development of resource guide to support middle schools

> Distribution of policy briefs

These supports will be framed by the work from two larger Department initiatives:

> Middle School Success Plan – Blueprint for redesign

> Language Acquisition Policy – Support in analyzing efficacy of services to ELLs and developing appropriate policies and practices

13

Program Guidance: Class Size Reduction2008-09 Class Size Reduction Guidance Memo

> Updated and refined citywide guidance on class size reduction strategies released in Principals’ Weekly on Wednesday, May 28, 2008

> Provides suggestions and resources for schools considering class size reduction or other personalization strategies and describes how system-wide policies around enrollment and space allocation will impact schools’ class size reduction efforts

2008-09 Class Size Reduction Coaching Program> The Department expects to add roughly 50 schools to the targeted coaching program in

2008-09, who will be asked to prioritize CSR in the coming year and will receive focused support for implementing CSR or co-teaching strategies

> Participating schools identified based on low performance on city and/or state accountability metrics, relatively high class size, and in some cases, availability of space

Enhancements to the Five-Year Class Size Reduction Plan> Class size reduction and personalization guidance integrated into budget and school

planning documents for the 2008-09 school year> The Department intends to use central planning processes to adjust enrollment plans and

propose alternate zoning when appropriate to facilitate reduced registers, better use of school facilities and reduced class size

> 11,471 seats are coming on-line in new buildings in September 2008, with enrollment patterns designed to optimize reductions in surrounding schools. An additional 32,000 seats are scheduled to be completed between 2009 and 2011.

> We continue to improve the accuracy and transparency of our class size reports, particularly around middle school class size data and the reporting of over- and under-size classes

14

Targeted Allocations to Schools

Amount

$96 million is our preliminary estimate in this category. The total allocation amount will be determined through a public process and SED approval. Schools receiving allocations were chosen based on a) overall student need and b) capacity to carry out specific program.

Description

Funds allocated by the DOE directly to schools for specific uses that are eligible within the C4E programs areas:

> $64 million - New Collaborative Team Teaching (CTT) Classrooms (inclusive of fringe)

> $20 million - School-Wide Performance Pay Initiative Expansion

> $5 million - Full-Day Pre-K Expansion (inclusive of custodial costs)

> $5 million - New & Expanded Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Classrooms

> $2 million - ELL Summer School Expansion

15

School Support Services

Amount

$17 million is our preliminary estimate in this category. The total allocation amount will depend on the public process and SED approval. While these funds will not appear on schools’ budgets, they will be attributed to impacted schools as part of the DOE’s citywide C4E plan.

Description

Funds allocated to Central programs that directly benefit schools.

> $7 million - New & Expanded Multiple Pathways to Graduation Initiatives (for over-age and under-credit students)

> $10 million - New & Expanded Principal Training Initiatives

16

Maintenance of Effort

Amount $30 million

Description

The City is allowed under State law to spend $30 million for “maintenance of effort” to fund existing City programs that meet the C4E program eligibility requirements. 

Preliminary allocations of these dollars have not yet been determined.

17

Building Up To District and Citywide PlansThe DOE is required to submit a citywide C4E plan—which includes individual spending plans for each school receiving funds—by July 15 to the State Education Department (SED).

May 23 – June 16 CEC budget hearings

May 23 - June 27 School-level C4E planning for use of funds

June 27 CEP-C4E planning document due

July 1 Public comment period ends

June 27 - July 15DOE review of proposed school-level allocations

Public comments incorporated into proposal

July 15

NYC C4E proposal due to SED

Will contain> District and citywide “roll up” of all preliminary allocations

(discretionary, targeted, school support, maintenance of effort) by program area and strategy

> For each school receiving preliminary C4E funds: Proposed spending by program area and strategy Targeted student populations Performance targets

August 15 SED approval deadline (expected)

18

Public CommentWe will take public feedback into account in the coming month as we continue to work with schools to develop a citywide Contracts for Excellence plan.

Please let us know what you think before July 1. We must submit a final plan to the State Education Department for review on July 15.

The public may comment on any aspect of the plan, including:

> How schools are planning to spend their discretionary funds within the six allowable program areas

> How the DOE is allocating targeted Contracts funds to schools

> How the DOE is allocating funds for School Support Services

> NYC’s Class Size Reduction plan

> The public comment process itself

Educators, parents, and all other members of the New York City community with feedback should e-mail us at ContractsForExcellence@schools.nyc.gov