September 13, 2013 at 4:19 p.m.
Governing Council, Losch outline plan for charter contract rewrite
The planning stage began on Tuesday when the council sat down with new NCSS Principal Wil Losch to chart the project.
Losch has been focusing on rewriting the contract since he took over as charter administrator in August.
"It's really kind of the founding document of a charter school. ... It's an agreement between the (governing council) and the school board. It sets the framework for what will take place for the next five years," Losch said at the time.
He came prepared with a detailed outline that laid out a step-by-step schedule culminating with a June target date for ratification by the council and the Board of Education.
"The target date for signing the next contract would be June of 2014," Losch said.
"I view this as a working document or a draft. This is not something that we are bound to. I felt obligated to come to this group and kind of lay out a roadmap of where we want to be. It really starts with June as the target date of the board signing and this council signing and then it kind of works back from there within the existing structures of the school district."
First, Losch said the council should review the current contract and decide what is obsolete.
"What we need to decide over the course of this year is what parts of the contract no longer apply. Especially with being in a new building since (the current contract) was signed, there are going to be some things that are outdated," he said.
"There also might be some issues that we want to address moving into the future that we want to embed into the contract."
To make sure it has all of its bases covered, Losch said the council should also reach out to students and staff to see if they have any input on what should be added or removed.
"October through December is really where we do some work gathering input. We need to get input from staff and students about what is it exactly that needs to be revised," Losch said.
"For some charters, that might not mean a lot of revisions. For ours, our main focus may just be revising the facilities. We need to figure that out."
During those initial discussions, Losch said the council could suggest changes to, or reaffirming support for, NCSS's project-based learning system.
"A contract renewal is a new contract. I don't perceive this council or the staff desiring to move away from project-based learning and do an abrupt lens shift, but just so (the council knows), it could be a time to tweak that lens to kind of modify the mission, if you will. I think that's got to be kind of a grassroots feeling. That can't be just from me or one council member or one teacher. There's got to be a grassroots call for that. I don't sense that, but I've been away for a year, too," Losch said.
"It can also be a time to reaffirm the original mission. Sometimes charter schools have felt like, if they've been through one or two cycles - and this may be applicable to NCSS, especially with the location change - they may feel like they're getting assimilated back into a traditional model so they use a contract renewal as a time to sort of reclaim the original mission."
The search for input will continue into the new year, Losch said, as the council will also need to reach out to Superintendent Kelli Jacobi and other stakeholders within the district.
"We need to have good communication with Mrs. Jacobi by January. We also need to communicate with all of the stakeholders - the board, teacher groups, parents, the community. We need to allow enough time for questions to be asked if needed and be answered if they're asked," Losch said.
After all of the suggestions are gathered and concerns addressed, Losch said it would be time to formulate a draft of the new contract. After that, Losch and Governing Council Chairperson Miki Walker will bring the contract before two of the Board of Education's committees - the Instruction and Accountability Committee and the Operations and Strategic Planning Committee.
Losch said it is Jacobi's desire to have the contract be reviewed by both committees and he supports the idea.
"March, I think, is the target date for when we want to have what we feel is the contract we want, the Governing Council has the contract they want. March is a good month for myself and the chairperson to introduce that to the school board at the committee level," Losch said. "Mrs. Jacobi wants it to go through two committees. I think that will ultimately make for a smoother process. It might make for a slower process for questions during that time, but what it will do is ensure stronger board support come June."
Two months, April and May, are set aside for the council to resolve any linger questions and concerns before the final product is submitted to the Board of Education.
"April and May, I just wrote communicate and revise as needed. We don't know what that's going to be. We don't know what questions they're going to have, so I left two months open for the committees to dialogue with this group in an official way," Losch said.
"If it goes really well, if there's not a lot of questions and not a lot of back-and-forth, this contract could potentially be signed in April or May, but I still think June is the safe date."
Walker endorsed Losch's model and directed council members to review the current contract and bring back suggestions in October.
"We'll all take a look at the charter and let's first see how much everyone thinks we need to change. Everyone will take it home and read it thoroughly and then we'll come back in October, see where we're at, and get started moving forward with this plan," she said.
Marcus Nesemann may be reached at [email protected].
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