EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
a. A clear statement of the mission, academic philosophy and values;
Mission
ReNEW Alternative High School will transform an academically unacceptable alternative high school program into a
rigorous, college preparatory school through high expectations for all students, exceptional teaching and leadership, and
a rigorous academic program that is research-based and data-driven.
Academic Philosophy
ReNEW Charter Management Organization's (ReNEW) academic philosophy is founded on one core belief: all children
can learn. This belief underlies every aspect of ReNEW schools‟ designs. By implementing a strong culture that is
anchored by high expectations for academics and behavior, ReNEW creates an environment that motivates and compels
all children to achieve.
ReNEW Alternative High School (RAHS) will expand the organization‟s current focus of transforming academically
unacceptable K-8 schools to serve students who are particularly at risk of – or who have already – dropped out of the
traditional school environment. Currently, New Orleans‟ dropout rate hovers at nearly 8% per year, higher than the state
of Louisiana‟s average of 6.9%, the fifth highest state dropout rate in the nation. Hurricane Katrina‟s further impact on
the dropout rate is clear – many students returned back to school over-aged and under-credited having lost months of
school time, and social and emotional issues left others falling even further behind academically after they returned.
While research points to various factors contributing to the continued loss of students from the system, one fact remains
clear: many students are not thriving in New Orleans‟ public school environment and there is an urgent and essential
need for alternative solutions.
To be clear, RAHS will not lower expectations for students based on societal conditions, challenging personal
circumstances, or behavioral or academic records: all students deserve a rigorous, high quality public education that
prepares them for college. Instead, ReNEW has designed a program to improve how over-aged and under-credited
students are served, making specific accommodations to better address students‟ unique credit needs, social/emotional
profiles, personal circumstances and goals.
Moreover, while students will be encouraged to determine a post-secondary path that achieves their personal goals, all
students should have the opportunity to go to college. Therefore, RAHS seeks to equip all students with the college
track high school diploma. RAHS will adapt the successful strategies ReNEW employs at its K-8 schools to achieve this
ambitious goal.
Values
RAHS will create a culture that is based on the values shared across all ReNEW campuses:
Respect – Students will be expected to respect peers and staff members at all times. Consistent enforcement of school
polices and discipline systems will foster a positive, college-preparatory school culture. All adults within the school
community will treat students with respect and integrity, believing in each student‟s individual worth and capabilities.
Enthusiasm – Students will be enthusiastic about attending school to learn, as well as demonstrating their mastery.
Likewise, the staff at RAHS will greet each day with the energy and enthusiasm to make continual academic gains with
the students.
No Excuses – RAHS teachers will coach students to keep pushing forward no matter how tough things become in their
lives. Perseverance is a key trait in being a successful student that will lead them into having a successful future.
Excellence – RAHS teachers will demand excellence from every student in all work completed. Likewise, the School
Leader will demand excellence in all teaching practices. The governing Board of ReNEW will demand excellence in all
CMO work in supporting schools to become the city‟s best.
Work Hard – RAHS students will be reminded each day that hard work is the key to success. Hard work will be a daily
expectation for all staff members and all students. Teachers will be expected to teach as if each child were their own
and each student will be expected to achieve with the belief that his/her quality of life depends on this education.
Executive Summary – Page 1
b. An overview of the school structure, leadership team and governance;
School Structure
ReNEW Schools Charter Management Organization currently supports two Kindergarten through 8th grade open
enrollment schools in Orleans Parish: SciTech Academy (formerly Laurel Elementary) and Batiste Cultural Arts
Academy (formerly Live Oak Elementary). Both takeover schools opened their doors to students on August 16, 2010,
beginning the 2010-11 school year with opening enrollments of 638 and 580, respectively. ReNEW is currently
applying for two (2) Alternative High Schools, as well as a third K-8 Type 5 Charter also submitted for the September
10, 2010, deadline.
As with ReNEW‟s flagship schools, the RSD and the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) will determine the
existing RSD alternative school that the RAHS will transform. RAHS‟s structural approach is designed to re-enroll and
re-engage particularly vulnerable and at-risk students and those who have already dropped out of the system. The
school will enroll over-aged (15 and older) students who require intensive remediation in order to pass the LEAP and get
back on track for college-prep high schools, as well as high school or over-aged students (15-21) who are undercredited, and who require remediation of basic skills and accelerated credits to earn a college-track diploma.
The school will operate year-round on a trimester system, allowing three enrollment periods annually to encourage
rolling admission. RAHS will serve up to 150 students during any given enrollment period, allowing for exceptionally
low student-teacher ratios, advisories which encourage deep relationships among students and teachers, and a small and
cohesive student-centered culture. Research consistently demonstrates that small schools are able to drive significant
academic gains. Detailed explanations of this structure‟s impact on the school‟s educational program, leadership, and
budget are included within the relevant sections of the charter, below.
ReNEW Schools CMO has expanded its capacity to support alternative high schools with the addition of a Chief
Academic Officer with significant experience building and delivering high school curriculum to at-risk students, as well
as consulting with the Pre-GED Coordinator of the Recovery School District of New Orleans. The structure of the
ReNEW network supports effective and efficient leadership of each of its schools in its effort to close the achievement
gap.
Leadership Team
ReNEW‟s leadership team consists of a group of committed professionals dedicated to bringing rigorous, college
preparatory programs to the students within academically unacceptable schools of New Orleans. Chief Executive Officer
Gary Robichaux is leading the organization‟s effort to develop and submit a successful charter school application for
two Alternative High Schools, as well as its third takeover of a low performing K-8 school.
Gary Robichaux, Chief Executive Officer
Gary Robichaux has been serving the students of Louisiana for 22 years as both a teacher and leader. Gary's career in
education began in a high school classroom and has moved him into roles as a Louisiana State Distinguished Educator,
the founding principal of a college preparatory charter school, and an executive of the Recovery School District.
Throughout his tenure as an educator, Gary has maintained a steadfast focus on providing a highly rigorous academic
environment for students with an expectation of achievement for students, teachers and leaders alike.
Gary's expertise in classroom instruction, curriculum development, assessment, data analysis and organizational
leadership allowed him to open one of New Orleans' highest performing charter schools, KIPP: McDonogh 15, in 2006.
In the summer of 2007 Gary was recruited by Superintendent Paul Vallas to oversee all PK-8 RSD direct-run schools.
His task was to bring many of the successful best practices implemented at KIPP: McDonogh 15 to the RSD direct-run
schools. In spring of 2007 most RSD PK-8 direct-run schools had an Assessment Index (AI) in the 30's and 40's. By
the spring of 2009 most RSD PK-8 direct-run schools had an Assessment Index (AI) or School Performance Score
(SPS) in the 60's and 70's. In his new role as Chief Executive Officer of ReNEW, Gary has utilized his leadership skills
to build a new nonprofit organization, and also to continue in the quest to provide the students of New Orleans with the
best education possible through the launch of two RSD transformation schools.
Gary has recruited a competent staff of educators and business professionals to leadership positions at ReNEW, whose
resumes have been included in Appendix A.
Executive Summary – Page 2
Governance
RAHS will be governed by the ReNEW Schools Charter Management Organization Board of Directors, a high-capacity
group possessing a wide array of professional skills necessary to govern an expanding network of charter schools in
New Orleans. Each member of the founding Board has committed his/her professional experience and expertise to
ReNEW, and is prepared to continue to execute his/her duties as a member of the governing Board of Directors of the
RAHS. In addition to supporting the creation of each subsequent school by lending valuable expertise, guidance, and
access to professional networks, the Board is currently developing a process whereby the organization can “green-light”
future growth. Extensive dialogue has taken place at the Board-level beginning in January 2010 regarding the
organization‟s expansion to include high school programs within its portfolio. Board members have formally resolved
that the ReNEW Alternative High Schools are mission-aligned and that the organization is thoughtfully and deliberately
phasing-in requisite high school experience to its team. Resumes and a brief biography of the current founding Board of
Directors' are found in Appendix B.
c. A description of the school’s short- and long-term goals (academic and operational);
The overarching goal of RAHS is to re-engage over-aged, under-credited students, providing them with a rigorous and
supportive academic program that enables them to meet or exceed high school GLEs, receive a high school diploma, and
be prepared to succeed in college. ReNEW anticipates that students will enroll with varying skill levels and Carnegie
units, and that enrollment will fluctuate trimester to trimester given students‟ varying credit requirements. Additionally,
the school‟s academic program will be highly student-centered with an annual goal of achieving students‟ Alternative
Education Plans, each aligned to GLE‟s and college matriculation. Thus, in order to set targets to measure school
performance, RAHS will set goals across a range of indicators, providing a more comprehensive and meaningful
analysis of student and school performance. RAHS has adapted an accountability framework used by the Colorado
Coalition for Alternative Education Campuses to frame its short- and long-term school-wide goals:
Indicator
Student Achievement
Metric
1 Year
5 Year
% Students Meeting AEP goals
80%
100%
% over-aged 6-8 graders scoring Basic
60%
75%
or Above, all sections, LEAP
% Eligible Students Basic or Above, all
50%
75%
sections, GEE and EOC
% Students Making Expected TABE
70%
95%
Student Growth
Gains (2.0 grade gain over 12 months)
Meet AYP goals
Annually
Annually
SPS score
75 (AI)
100
Graduation Rate*
75%
90%
Transition Success
College Matriculation Rate (of
75%
90%
th
graduating 12 students)
College-prep High School Matriculation 80%
95%
rate (of graduating 8th grade students)
% High School Students Achieving
30%
75%
College Readiness
ACT Score Equivalent to TOPS
Eligibility (21)
% Graduating Students Applying to
100%
100%
College
100%
100%
Student Progress: Non % Students Completing 1 Career
Internship
Academic
Daily attendance
80%
90%
Annual audit
Unqualified
Unqualified
Operational
Positive annual fund balance
Annual
Annual
Financial reporting to SBESE
Compliant
Compliant
* Number of students that graduated at the end of each trimester divided by the number of students eligible for
graduation at the beginning of that trimester.
Executive Summary – Page 3
d. An explanation of the research-base that demonstrates the school model will be effective in improving student
achievement;
The ReNEW model is heavily influenced by the "No Excuses" school model, one that has proven to be extremely
effective in raising student achievement levels in at-risk student populations, and which can be characterized by schools
that employ “principals and teachers who demand excellence and reject the notion that poor kids can‟t learn.”1 While
many of the practices utilized by the highest performing No Excuses schools nationwide will need to be adapted to
better engage and accommodate students who have not been successful in a traditional college preparatory environment,
the principle belief still applies – that all students can be college bound through hard work and high expectations.
To develop its Alternative High School design, ReNEW conducted extensive research on both high performing high
school models, as well as of alternative schools and the components that make them effective. Both sets of research
have heavily influenced the modification of strategies currently used at ReNEW‟s K-8 schools. Throughout the charter
application, this research and others will be used to support the effectiveness of the chosen model.
e. An explanation of how this model is appropriate for all students and will lead to higher levels of academic
achievement for the target population; and
There is clear evidence that the “No Excuses” model – one that embodies the idea that all students will be successful, go
on to college, and have post-secondary opportunities – can raise the level of academic achievement particularly within
at-risk student populations. The highest performing open-enrollment charter high schools in New Orleans are
themselves based on the model, including New Orleans College Prep and Sci Academy.
To modify its current K-8 model in order to serve a population of students who require additional supports and
accommodations beyond what are implemented at a traditional school environment, ReNEW has developed a
framework that aligns with the Association for High School Innovation‟s (AHSI) “Network Distinguishers.” The AHSI
was founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and was formerly known as the Alternative High Schools
Initiative; the organization has conducted extensive due diligence about the elements of successful alternative high
school design. Network Distinguishers are essential design principles that are employed by alternative schools and that
provide a framework of success and support a range of alternative strategies rather than a prescribed method.2
Distinguishers include: Authentic Learning, Teaching, and Performance Assessment; Personalized School Culture;
Shared Leadership and Responsibility; Supportive Partnerships; and a Future Focus. The RAHS components described
below – and in particular the educational philosophy, principles of instruction, and school climate and culture – reflect
the AHSI Distinguishers.
Finally, RAHS will make programmatic accommodations to remove barriers that prohibit at-risk students from academic
success. Students will be able to access childcare and scheduling flexibility will allow students who have financial
obligations to work full or extended part-time while pursuing their high school diploma. In addition to support and
accommodations, the individualized academic program and self-paced curricular supplements are available for
accelerated credits and increase the likelihood of students‟ academic success.
f. An explanation of the school’s core values about teaching and learning.
RAHS will drive academic excellence through the application of the following core principles of teaching and learning:
Recruit and Empower Outstanding Teaching Professionals
Educational researchers indicate that teacher quality is the most important determinant of student success.3 Recruiting
and training great teachers will thus be one of RAHS‟s foremost priorities. Supported by ReNEW staff, the school will
leverage all recruitment resources available – locally and nationally – to maximize the potential for hiring teachers who
have demonstrated clear results in driving student achievement in their classrooms. RAHS will prioritize candidates
who have experience and success working in alternative school environments. Further, RAHS understands that it is not
1
2
3
The Heritage Foundation, “No Excuses for Poor Children Not to Learn, Research Shows.” (April 18, 2000).
Association for High School Innovation, “AHSI Network Distinguishers.” www.ahsi.org
Brewer, Dominic, Eric Eide and Dan Goldhaber. “The Teacher Labour Market and Teacher Quality.” Oxford Review of Economic Policy 20 (Summer 2004): 230.
Ferguson, Ronald F. “Paying for Public Education: New Evidence on How and Why Money Matters.” Harvard Journal on Legislation 28 (1991): 465-498. Hanushek,
Eric A. “The Failure of Input-Based Schooling Policies.” The Economic Journal 113 (February, 2003): F64-F98.
Executive Summary – Page 4
enough to hire outstanding, talented people; teachers must be provided effective leadership and development to unlock
their full capacity to advance student achievement.
Extend Learning Time for All Students
Students who enroll in the ReNEW Alternative High School will either be over-aged and under-credited, or will be
returning to the system after having dropped out – requiring significant remediation and personalized support to attain
the skills and credits necessary to earn a high school diploma and go on to college. RAHS‟s schedule will be
specifically modified to accommodate the goals and requirements of its student body, including a year-round school
with trimesters facilitating necessary remediation and accelerated credits.
Maintain High Expectations for All Students
Research on high-performing schools serving low-income and minority populations consistently demonstrates that a
culture of no excuses and a belief in the ability of all students to achieve at high levels is of paramount importance to
securing positive student outcomes.4 Adults in the building will instill every student, regardless of his or her past
performance, home environment, race or socioeconomic background, or extenuating personal circumstances, with the
expectation that he or she will achieve absolute excellence.
Develop a Respectful and Structured Learning Environment
A strong school culture is integral to establishing an environment where students can achieve at high levels, particularly
for students who have not been successful in a traditional school environment. RAHS will build structure through
processes, procedures, rituals, and routines that are consistent in every classroom and hallway. The schools‟ small size
and low student-to-teacher ratios will foster a climate of respect and caring among students and between students and
staff. Similar to ReNEW‟s existing schools, RAHS staff will “sweat the small stuff,” and expectations for student
behavior will be clear. Simultaneously, student voice and leadership will be valued and encouraged.
Require Curriculum and Instructional Systems with Proven Results
Teaching and learning at RAHS will be aligned to the Louisiana state standards and Grade-Level Expectations (GLEs),
which all students must master in order to graduate with a high school diploma and be prepared for success in college.
Based on practices of high performing urban charter high schools, RAHS‟s staff will supplement high quality
instructional practices with instructional software and technology that drives academic results through differentiation,
intensive remediation and acceleration, and ongoing assessment. Given students‟ varying skill sets and needs, and the
unpredictability of credit levels that often do not correspond with students‟ age, years in school, or „grade,‟ multi-level
curriculum and teaching will be used within each classroom.
Rely on Data to Drive Instruction
Like all ReNEW schools, RAHS will maintain a relentless focus on student achievement and outcomes, implementing
systematic data collection and analysis on a regular basis to ensure that all students are making adequate progress. Each
student‟s progress against the academic targets in his or her Alternative Education Plan will be tracked using
benchmarking assessments aligned to GLEs through the Edusoft data tracking and analysis software. RAHS will
administer scope and sequence assessments aligned to the LEAP and GEE/EOC every seven weeks to provide
continuous and comprehensive information regarding the school‟s overall progress in meeting its academic performance
targets. The instructional team will disaggregate school-wide data and use results to re-teach and continually gauge the
effectiveness of teaching methods. Additionally, a guiding principle of effective alternative high schools that RAHS will
adopt is the emphasis on authentic assessments that demonstrate students‟ understanding of how, not what.
Partner with Community Service Organizations to Provide Social-Emotional Supports
RAHS will recruit and enroll students who are at a high likelihood of facing significantly challenging personal
circumstances, and that if not addressed, will prohibit students from being re-engaged in school. Put simply, the targeted
RAHS student population requires more than academic preparation to be successful. ReNEW will develop collaborative
partnerships with social service organizations who have experience addressing and reducing the barriers that typically
are the root of students failing to thrive in a traditional school. Already, RAHS is building a robust partnership with the
Youth Empowerment Project, a community based organization that is providing progressive case-management and
educational services to New Orleans‟ at-risk youth.
4
This philosophy is informed by: Samuel Casey Carter, No Excuses: Lessons from 21 High-Performing, High-Poverty Schools, The Heritage Foundation (2000);
U.S. Department of Education, Successful Charter Schools (2004); and Abigail and Stephan Thernstrom, No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning (2003).
Executive Summary – Page 5