Pub 10 2020-2021 Issue1

11 With strong tier I suppor ts roughly 80% of char ter schools will be successful in attaining learning and compliance targets. Even though all USU authorized char ter schools receive strong tier I suppor ts, some of these schools—roughly 20% will require more intensive professional suppor ts to attain targeted compliance and student learning levels. state's public education system and to encourage research development and cooperative relationships between public and higher education. Best practices were defined as the best process or system that effectively achieves, according to education science, an educational objective. CSF is charged to support the implementation of best practices in the public education system through professional development programs and dissemination of information, and with the purpose of contributing to the creation and maintenance of a public education system that continually and systemati- cally improves itself by building upon the most effective education policies, programs, and practices and rejecting those that are less effective. It was the scope and the focus of these legislative charges that compelled USU’s Board of Trustees and leadership at The Center for the School of the Future to seek approval to authorize charter schools in Utah. Importantly, CSF’s mission has evolved from an identification of best practices focus, to a student learning outcome focus. USU’s vision for authorizing focuses intensively on high-levels of student learning. This focus is conspicuously woven throughout USU’s six stage authorization process. The complete set of authorization stage documents are avail- able at https://csf.usu.edu/projects-services/charter-school- authorizing After stage 1, a proposing group’s application is evaluated for merit, and either advanced in the process, or discontinued. The USU process is incrementally and increas- ingly collaborative from stage two to stage six. USU’s accountability system, employs a MTSS system to help charter schools to attain the high-levels of student learning expressed in their charter agreement. With strong tier I supports roughly 80% of charter schools will be successful in attaining learning and compliance targets. Even though all USU authorized charter schools receive strong tier I supports, some of these schools—roughly 20% will require more intensive professional supports to attain targeted compliance and student learning levels. These schools will require both tier I and the more intensive tier II supports simultaneously, until they meet learning and compliance targets and can move back to receiving just tier I supports. Even with strong tier I and II supports, a few schools, roughly 5% of charter schools will require even more intensive supports to attain targeted compliance and student learning levels. These schools will receive tier I, II and III supports. These supports will continue until they attain targeted compliance and student learning levels, at which point they will drop back to receive tier I and II supports. If the school is able to sustain their performance with these supports, a determination will be made as to whether this performance can be sustained by returning to tier I services and rejoin the approximately 80% of schools in the CSF-USU charter school portfolio. You can review the entirety of USU’s accountability document at https://csf. usu.edu/projects-services/charter-school-authorizing W. Edward Deming stated “Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets.” To get different results, systems must organize and execute differently. Often, very differently. USU’s charter school authorizing vision is bullish about student learning, and to achieve a high- level learning outcome, the design of learning systems is proactively addressed in the authorization process. Then, if a school is authorized, through a collaborative relationship with USU, the system design intentionally and coherently evolves to produce increasingly high levels of student learning. USU is excited about this new emphasis placed upon high student learning outcomes in Utah’s authorized charter schools. For inquiries about USU’s charter school authorizing processes and services, contact Dr. David Forbush, Associate Director of The Center for the Future —david.forbush@usu.edu .