EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Provide an overview of your proposed network, including: • The outcomes you will achieve • The key components of your scale strategy • Your approach to mitigating the threats most likely to hinder your success

Who We Are Green Dot Public Schools (“Green Dot”) is leading the charge to transform public education in Los Angeles and beyond so that all children receive the education they need to be successful in college, leadership and life. Founded twelve years ago, Green Dot currently operates 14 high schools and 4 middle schools serving more than 10,000 students in the greater Los Angeles area. All eighteen schools are addressing the needs of students who have traditionally struggled in the public school system, and they are achieving far greater results than comparable schools in standardized test scores, graduation rates and college matriculation. Track Record In August 2000, Green Dot opened with one 9th grade class of 140 students. Today, our organization operates 18 schools serving over 10,000 students in communities across Los Angeles. Green Dot schools average more than 76 points higher on the California Academic Performance Index (API) than comparable public schools in similar neighborhoods. In addition, the four-year college acceptance rate of graduating seniors at Green Dot schools in 2011-2012 was 59%, and the two- or four-year acceptance rate of our graduating seniors was 86%. In comparison, based on the most recent data available from the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the college acceptance rate of all graduates residing in Los Angeles County to California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) schools was 19%. The state average acceptance rate in California was 18%. Results with Turnarounds In 2007, Green Dot took on its most complex project to date: The Locke Transformation. Locke represented a full transformation of approximately 3,000 students and was one of the worst high schools in California. Despite these difficulties, Locke has made great strides over the past several years with a recent UCLA CRESST (National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards & Student Testing) study demonstrating that Green Dot students attending Locke are 1.5x more likely to graduate and 3.7x more likely to graduate college-ready than students attending peer neighborhood schools. In 2011, Green Dot solidified its position as a successful turnaround operator with the transformations of Jordan High School (“Ánimo College Preparatory Academy”) and Henry Clay Middle School (“Ánimo Phillis Wheatley” and “Ánimo Western”). With Jordan and Clay, Green Dot again assumed full transformations with an aggregate of more than 1,500 students in a single year. Last year, the Academic Performance Index (API) score for Ánimo College

Green Dot Public Schools

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Preparatory Academy on the Jordan campus increased 12 points while the overall API scores for Ánimo Western and Ánimo Phillis Wheatley increased 74 points. Why Louisiana? Green Dot’s vision is to catalyze change in secondary public schools. As Green Dot enters its next phase of growth, we first considered where the organization could have the greatest impact in executing our vision – within California, expanding nationally or testing other innovative models. Through this exploration, we concluded Green Dot would have the most impact through national expansion. We considered multiple urban centers as sites for expansion, taking into account community need, support for reform, desire for change, philanthropic support, financial viability, Common Core transition, and the presence of human capital pipelines. Louisiana’s widespread educational disparities and favorable reform conditions make it a compelling environment in which to serve students. Finally, school turnaround is critical to Green Dot achieving its mission and vision, and we are excited about the opportunity to take on multiple school transformations through a Type 5 charter. Growth Plans in Louisiana, California and elsewhere Green Dot is respectfully requesting approval of a charter that would authorize the opening of six schools, or serve 3,600 students. Within Louisiana, the two geographies that we are targeting are the Baton Rouge Achievement Zone and New Orleans. We would plan to start our first school in fall 2015. We will focus on transformation schools and can take on approximately 500-1,000 students each year. In California, Green Dot plans to open one to four middle schools that will create feeder patterns for our existing high schools over the next four years. Green Dot has also applied to the Achievement School District in Tennessee to operate transformation schools, with a growth target of 6,000 students in six years. As part of our growth strategy, we continue to explore options in new markets but do not have any additional outstanding charter petitions at this time. Additional Components of Our Scale Strategy We are developing a support model for Louisiana that allows Green Dot to seed best practices from our California schools and that provides Louisiana schools with access to operational supports from our Home Office and local support. Green Dot’s current VP of Education will lead our national growth effort and will train and develop key regional leaders. In addition, we will look to train future school leaders through our Administrator-in-Residence program in our California schools. Green Dot’s California Home Office will provide academic, human capital, financial, operational and development support consistently across all schools. Additionally, Louisiana schools will be supported by a Regional Office that understands the local context and can engage with students, teachers, parents and community leaders.

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Outcomes We Plan to Achieve Green Dot is committed to success in college, leadership and life for the students of Louisiana. In addition, we will adapt our robust performance management processes to incorporate Common Core and Louisiana state assessments. Finally, we believe transformations should be measured on multiple factors: retention of students, rigor of student coursework and student results. Green Dot will set rigorous performance targets for our Green Dot Louisiana schools. Within five years, all Green Dot Louisiana schools will be expected to achieve 1) an Average Daily Attendance Rate of 95%, 2) 9th Grade Cohort Graduating in 4 years of 75%, and 3) a 4Year College Acceptance Rate of 80%. Given our intent to focus on the highest needs schools, we will work with our schools to exceed these targets but will hold them accountable to these standards. Risks and Mitigation Green Dot foresees a variety of challenges as we embark on expansion into Louisiana. We are committed to smart growth – so we will only launch new schools once we are comfortable with the quality of education and trajectory of our existing schools. We are dependent upon philanthropic funding in startup and will work with key local and regional leaders to access the required resources. Our success is dependent upon finding the right talent. To support our human capital needs, we will build out our human capital team to support a national recruiting strategy and look to begin training future school leaders in our Administrator-in-Residence program now. As a Type 5 charter applicant, we are dependent upon the status of the facilities we are awarded. We will work with key district and State officials to create campuses that are safe, conducive to learning and symbolic of the transformation work occurring within the school walls. We must reach scale and enroll sufficient students to cover our costs. After authorization, we will conduct further due diligence on potential communities where Green Dot may serve and work with the State and supporting agencies to match Green Dot with school settings in which we can be successful. We will also engage community leaders, parents and students to understand what they are looking for in a school and what they want for their students. By addressing these factors, we believe we will be poised for success in helping transform outcomes for students in the state of Louisiana. GROWTH PLAN (1) Describe the number of schools that you plan to open in Louisiana every year for at least the next five years, the year in which each school will open, and the demographic characteristics of the students to be served by each school. If your network operates multiple models, identify the model that you will open in each location. (2) If you are simultaneously opening new schools in other states or have submitted applications to open schools in new states, provide a list including the name and location of each school, the authorizer and application status for each application, and the number of students served by each proposed school. (3) Describe the vision for your organization after your growth plan has been implemented. In what way will your growth in Louisiana contribute to that vision?

1. Green Dot is respectfully requesting approval of a charter that would authorize the opening of six full transformation secondary schools (serving approximately 3,600 students) over a five-year Green Dot Public Schools

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period. We are seeking to open six schools since we believe this number optimizes our ability to provide a quality education to as many students as possible in Louisiana while also helping Green Dot achieve the scale required in order to justify the opening of a Louisiana Regional Office. This Regional Office will provide the necessary supports that are essential to our success in the new market. For the purposes of this application, we have defined a full transformation as assuming control of an entire 600-student school campus in the first year of operation. Green Dot seeks full transformations as opposed to phase-in turnarounds due to our desire to create a single, unified school culture on a campus in order to drive results from day one. Also, we believe in the urgency around the Recovery School District’s mission and see full transformations as a way of having immediate impact on transforming education for students who are currently attending the lowest performing schools in Louisiana. Number of Full Transformation Secondary Schools Grade Level High Schools

Year 1 2015-16 1

Middle Schools Total Schools

1

Year 2 2016-17 1

Year 3 2017-18

1

1

3

4

Year 4 2018-19 1 5

Year 5 2019-20

Total # of Schools 3

1

3

6

Given the limited number of high school turnaround operators in Louisiana, Green Dot plans to open one full transformation high school (grades 9-12) in Year 1 (2015-16). In subsequent years, Green Dot’s growth plan includes two full school transformations in Year 2 and at least one full school transformation in Years 3, 4 and 5. We plan to open high schools and feeder middle schools. The table above shows that we will be operating six full transformation schools by Year 2019-20, resulting in three 6th-8th and three 9th-12th charter schools in Louisiana. Each transformation school would open as an entire campus (using Recovery School District facilities). Green Dot recognizes that the size of school campuses differs across the Recovery School District (RSD). For example, several Louisiana high schools in the Baton Rouge Achievement Zone are significantly smaller or larger than a typical Green Dot school. For our Founding School in 2015-16, we are requesting to be matched with a high school that is similarly sized to Green Dot schools in California (approximately 600 students). After 2015-16, we would have more flexibility in being matched to a smaller or larger-sized high school in the RSD and would plan to adapt our staffing model as needed for such schools. Beginning in Year 2 (2016-17), if Green Dot is matched to an existing school with more than 900 students, we would organize the campus into two separate schools and consider such a conversion as two transformation schools under the RSD. Green Dot’s ultimate growth plan in Louisiana will be dependent on the level of philanthropic support available to support our expansion into the state of Louisiana. Green Dot plans to continue to learn about the Louisiana neighborhoods and if approved by the State, we will gain a deeper understanding of the needs and students in specific communities as well as develop community partnerships. Green Dot also plans to work with high quality elementary school partners to provide a K-12 feeder pattern for its students. Given our current Green Dot Public Schools

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knowledge of the concentration of RSD-eligible schools, Green Dot anticipates opening its first schools in the Baton Rouge Achievement Zone. Based on the demographics in this neighborhood, Green Dot anticipates serving a predominantly African American student population with approximately 90% FRL, 15% SPED and less than 5% English Language Learners (ELLs). Green Dot already has experience serving a low-income, minority population at our existing schools in California. Approximately 99% of current Green Dot students are African-American or Latino and more than 93% qualify for FRL. Green Dot is also committed to serving high need students with a 23% ELL and 10% SPED population at our existing schools. The average SPED population across our transformation schools is 16%, with some schools serving a 20% SPED population. 2. In California, Green Dot plans to open one middle school in school year 2014-15, approximately one to two middle schools in school year 2015-16 and potentially one middle school in school year 2016-17 to serve as feeder schools to our existing California high schools. These schools would serve approximately 500-600 students each. Green Dot has also requested approval of a charter in the Achievement School District in Tennessee that would authorize the opening of 10 full transformation secondary schools (serving approximately 6,000 students or 600 students per school) over a six-year period. Green Dot’s application status is currently under review. If approved, Green Dot plans to open one full transformation high school (grades 9-12) in 2014-15 in the city of Memphis. In subsequent years, Green Dot’s growth plan includes two full school transformations per year in Years 2-5 and one full school transformation in Year 6, resulting in five 6th-8th and five 9th-12th charter schools in the city of Memphis at scale. 3. Through a rigorous college-preparatory education program, Green Dot’s vision is to catalyze change in secondary public schools. As Green Dot enters its next phase of growth, we first considered where we could have the greatest impact in executing our vision – within California, expanding nationally or testing other innovative models. Through this exploration, we concluded Green Dot would have the most impact through national expansion. In evaluating potential states to expand into, Green Dot evaluated target regions based on 1) market need, 2) financial viability, 3) reform and charter landscape, 4) appeal to current Green Dot employees, 5) human capital providers, and 6) Common Core adoption. Louisiana emerged as an ideal state for national expansion due to the dire need to close the achievement gap in the state between students from low-income communities and their higherincome peers. In addition, the progressive reform conditions make expansion into Louisiana particularly appealing. The opportunity to transform schools aligns with Green Dot’s theory of change – that in order to transform public education, we must transform the schools with the lowest academic outcomes and greatest number of dropouts. Green Dot seeks to collaborate with the RSD to 1) replicate its successful turnaround model outside of California and 2) change the odds for Louisiana students who attend the lowest performing schools. PAST SCHOOL PERFORMANCE The Department will use the information provided in your Letter of Intent to assemble past performance data on schools that your organization currently operates or has previously operated. If necessary, provide a brief accompanying narrative that describes your organization’s success educating a similar demographic population to Green Dot Public Schools

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the population you intend to educate in Louisiana. Please note that the Department may contact your other authorizers. In addition, describe the causes that led to and the current status of: • Any performance deficiencies or compliance violations that have led to authorizer intervention • Any litigation involving your organization or a school that you operate • Any material audit findings for your organization or a school that you operate

In August 2000, Green Dot opened its first school with one 9th grade class of 140 students. Today, our organization operates 14 high schools and 4 middle schools serving over 10,000 students. Our schools are located in many of the most socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Our student population is predominantly minority (99% AfricanAmerican or Hispanic) and low-income (more than 93% of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch). The table below provides an overview of our schools and their student demographics. SY2012-2013 Demographic profile Enrollment

FRL

ELL

SPED

Hispanic

AfricanAmerican

Conversion

488

94%

22%

20%

54%

45%

9-12

Conversion

485

95%

35%

13%

82%

18%

Ánimo Jackie Robinson CHS

9-12

Start-up

578

95%

32%

7%

96%

3%

Ánimo Jefferson CMS

6-8

Start-up

539

98%

39%

11%

99%

1%

Ánimo Leadership CHS

9-12

Start-up

618

93%

15%

5%

99%

0%

Ánimo Locke #2 CHS Ánimo Locke I College Preparatory Academy

9-12

Conversion

709

96%

24%

16%

65%

34%

9-12

Conversion

824

96%

35%

12%

81%

18%

Ánimo Locke Tech CHS

9-12

Conversion

463

95%

22%

10%

75%

25%

Ánimo Pat Brown CHS

9-12

Start-up

591

98%

25%

8%

97%

2%

Ánimo Phillis Wheatley CMS (MS#4)

6-8

Conversion

582

82%

22%

19%

48%

50%

Ánimo Ralph Bunche CHS

9-12

Start-up

694

99%

31%

8%

99%

1%

Ánimo South LA CHS

9-12

Start-up

634

93%

11%

7%

61%

38%

Ánimo Venice CHS

9-12

Start-up

583

82%

13%

9%

88%

7%

Ánimo Watts CHS

9-12

Conversion

530

97%

25%

12%

72%

26%

Ánimo Western CMS (MS#3)

6-8

Conversion

584

93%

24%

16%

67%

30%

Ánimo Westside CMS

6-7

Start-up

250

66%

8%

14%

44%

34%

Oscar De La Hoya Ánimo CHS

9-12

Start-up

604

97%

21%

6%

98%

0%

Ánimo Inglewood CHS

9-12

Start-up

631

90%

14%

6%

83%

17%

Combined Green Dot

6-12

-

10387

93%

24%

11%

80%

19%

School

Grades

Type

Alain Leroy Locke/Ánimo Locke #3 CHS

9-12

Ánimo College Preparatory Academy

Los Angeles Unified School District

Inglewood (CA) Unified School District

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Green Dot schools average more than 76 points higher on the California Academic Performance Index (API) than comparable public schools in similar neighborhoods. API scores are a measure released annually by the California Department of Education that indicates how well students in a school or district performed on a composite of state standardized tests. As displayed in the graph below, Green Dot consistently increased our aggregate network API in the three years following the launch of the Locke turnaround in 2008. In 2011-12, we maintained our network API score, which included the first year of our Jordan High School and Clay Middle School transformations.

Our start-up schools routinely exceed the API scores of other neighborhood schools by even wider margins, in some cases by nearly 200 points. Two of our schools, Ánimo Leadership High School and Ánimo Westside Charter Middle School, exceed the statewide API goal of 800; several more are poised to pass it in the next few years. Our start-up schools are also graduating students at rates previously unheard of in the communities they serve - 91.4% as compared with 69.1% for comparison schools.1 Green Dot has developed a model for whole school turnaround that, in a short period of time, has already achieved significant gains in persistently low-achieving schools. We first applied this model in 2008 when we took over Alain Leroy Locke High School (Locke), a massive comprehensive high school in the Watts neighborhood that had become emblematic of the widespread failure of inner city education. Green Dot split the school into several smaller high schools, collectively known as the Locke Family of Schools. Through our emphasis on retention, rigor, and results, Green Dot has dramatically improved student outcomes at the Locke Family of Schools. Green Dot prioritizes keeping our students in school, which is reflected in the increases in student enrollment and retention highlighted in the figure below. Prior to the Green Dot turnaround, the four-year cohort retention rate at Locke was 25%. After operating Locke for five years, Green Dot doubled the four-year cohort retention rate to 55%. Increased retention is also reflected in Locke's improved graduation rate under Green Dot, measured by a 2012 UCLA study at 80%, compared with 55% for peer schools. Greater 1

Average NCES graduation rate.

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retention also means that many of the lower-performing students who would have otherwise dropped out remain in school and are counted in standardized testing results. Green Dot's emphasis on rigor has resulted in a marked increase in the number of students taking college prerequisites, presented in the figure below, and graduating with diplomas that meet the CSU/UC "A-G" college entrance requirements. According to the same 2012 study, 48% of Green Dot's Locke students graduate having completed A-G requirements, nearly four times the 13% rate at peer schools. This increase has translated into higher college acceptance - the four-year college acceptance rate for graduating seniors at Green Dot schools in 2011-2012 is 59%. In comparison, the college acceptance rate of all high school graduates residing in Los Angeles County to California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) schools was 19%. The comparable state acceptance rate is 18%. Finally, our drive towards results at Locke has resulted in measurable improvement in student achievement. Under Green Dot management, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of 10th graders passing the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE), highlighted below.

Students at Locke have also demonstrated gains in English language arts (ELA) and math on California Standards Tests (increases of 55% and 338%, respectively) since Green Dot assumed control in 2008, depicted in the graph below. The total number of students rated proficient or advanced in math has more than quintupled since 2008 (from 37 to 242 students). While the proficiency rates are still below Green Dot's high standards, they are evidence of significant early progress.

Green Dot Public Schools

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Green Dot’s success at Locke has been externally validated by UCLA’s National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (CRESST). CRESST conducted a matched-pair analysis that followed middle school students from six feeder middle schools to Locke High School and a set of peer high schools. Four years later, Green Dot students were 1.5x more likely to graduate (80% graduation rate at Locke, compared to 55% at peer schools) and 3.7x more likely to graduate college-ready. Forty-eight percent of Green Dot Locke students graduated with an A-G curriculum compared to 13% at peer schools. CRESST is conducting additional analysis on future cohorts of students, and early results validate that Green Dot continues to outperform comparable schools. In 2011, as a direct result of the work at Locke, LAUSD invited Green Dot to replicate our success and turnaround the lowest-performing high school in Los Angeles, David Starr Jordan High School, and the lowest-performing middle school in California, Henry Clay Middle School. Clay and Jordan provide additional evidence of our turnaround model at work. Both Clay and Jordan came under Green Dot’s operation in 2011-2012, and in the first year, math proficiency rates doubled at Clay (from 10.2% to 20.6%) and went up six times at Jordan (from 2.3% to 12.1% proficiency). Green Dot’s Ánimo Western transformation middle school (one of the schools on the Henry Clay campus), was in the top five middle schools in California in terms of growth for 2011-2012. We are working to sustain this pace of growth over time. 1. Any performance deficiencies or compliance violations that have led to authorizer intervention Ánimo Watts: Green Dot received a conditional renewal on its charter for Ánimo Watts College Preparatory Academy for the 2010-11 school year due to lower than desired CST scores and CAHSEE passage rates. Green Dot and the Los Angeles Unified School District agreed to academic targets and benchmarks to measure progress. To meet the targets and improve student outcomes, Green Dot pursued a variety of strategies, including adding a math support class for struggling 9th graders, providing intensive coaching for math teachers, increasing targeted interventions with students, and providing "Safe & Civil" professional development training for teachers. To date, Ánimo Watts has met its targets, improved school culture, and dramatically improved parent engagement. Supplemental Education Services: In 2008, Green Dot took on the transformation of Locke High School, one of the worst performing high schools in the state. As part of the Locke turnaround, Green Dot inherited the school’s Year 5 Program Improvement (PI) status under No Child Left Behind (NCLB). As such, Locke 1, Locke 2 and Locke 3 are currently in PI status. Three (3) other Green Dot schools are under Year 2 Program Improvement status, Ánimo South Los Angeles, Ánimo Locke Tech and Ánimo Watts. Ánimo Locke Tech and Ánimo Watts are part of Green Dot Public Schools

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the Locke Family of Schools. Green Dot is currently offering Supplemental Education Services for students at schools with Year 2 or higher Program Improvement status under NCLB. Quality Education Investment Act: In 2011, Green Dot submitted a petition for its Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA) funding due to non-compliance on the act’s Teacher Experience Index requirement (i.e., the average years of teaching experience for Green Dot teachers decreased when we re-staffed Locke.) Green Dot was successful in seeking approval and received a waiver from the California State Board of Education. 2. Any litigation involving your organization or a school that you operate CCSA Green Dot, PUC et al. v LAUSD 2008: Green Dot and other Los Angeles-based charter management organizations were involved in a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to enforce charter school facilities rights under Proposition 39. The law serves to ensure "that public school facilities should be shared fairly among all public school pupils, including those in charter schools." Proposition 39 requires school districts to make "reasonably equivalent" facilities available to charter schools upon request. Green Dot was successful in this litigation. Emily Vaughn Henry v. Green Dot Public Schools and Kenneth Zeff (Los Angeles County Superior Court Case No. BC495497): In July 2012, Emily Henry, former Vice President of Technology, filed a tort claim against Green Dot Public Schools and Kenneth Zeff, former Chief Operating Officer. The tort claim was denied. Ms. Henry timely filed a Complaint with the Los Angeles County Superior Court on November 2012 against Green Dot Public Schools and Mr. Zeff. This case is currently in the initial discovery phase and is being handled by Green Dot’s insurance excess liability carrier and has been assigned to the law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson, LLP. 3. Any material audit findings for your organization or a school that you operate Neither Green Dot nor our schools have had any material audit findings.

THEORY OF CHANGE (1) Articulate your approach to education. Describe the most fundamental features of a school that ensures successful student outcomes. (2) Describe the fundamental features of the organization’s educational model that will drive educational outcomes in each proposed school that you plan to open in Louisiana. Key features may include: • Programs (ex. curriculum, PD, afterschool program, parent program, etc…) • Principles (ex. no excuses, individualized learning, learn at your own pace) • Structures (ex. blended learning, small learning communities, small class sizes, etc…) (3) Describe the mechanisms by which the fundamental features you described in (2) will dramatically influence student success.

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1.-3. Green Dot is leading the charge to transform public education in Los Angeles and beyond. The mission of all Green Dot Louisiana schools will be to empower students to see their full potential and to become prepared for college, leadership and life by providing a small, collegepreparatory program where all stakeholders actively engage in the education process. Green Dot Public Schools’ Core Values The following values embody the philosophical core of Green Dot as well as form the basis of each of our school’s personal commitments to their students’ success: •

An Unwavering Belief in all Students’ Potential: Creating an environment that nurtures the potential of all and understanding how decisions impact student learning

•

Passion for Excellence: Continuously striving to demonstrate excellence, reflecting on practice and making data-driven decision

•

Personal Responsibility: Assuming responsibility and accountability for performance and demonstrating personal integrity

•

Respect for Others and the Community: Appropriately representing the school/organization and collaborating with others

•

All Stakeholders are Critical in the Education Process: Creating an environment in which all perspectives are valued and communicating transparently with stakeholders

Theory of Change Green Dot’s approach to education includes a four-pronged theory of change: •

Firm Commitment to Serve All Students: Green Dot is committed to serving the needs of every student, no matter their background. In school year 2010-11, at our two high school transformations, approximately 60% of students entered the schools substantially below grade level in English and 80% entered substantially below grade level in Math. Moreover, all eighteen Green Dot schools in California are currently addressing the needs of students who have traditionally struggled in the public school system, and they are achieving greater results than comparable schools in standardized test scores, graduation rates and college matriculation.

•

Highly Effective Teachers: Green Dot schools have collaborated with The CollegeReady Promise (“TCRP”), a partnership of four high-performing charter management organizations, to build a Teacher Development and Evaluation System that provides a common language to guide teacher professional development, evaluation and collaboration for all Green Dot teachers. This framework will be used in our Louisiana schools and aligned to Common Core and Louisiana State Standards to ensure an effective teacher is in every classroom.

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•

Strong School Leaders: Green Dot has made a large investment to develop an Administrator-in-Residence (AIR) program in which candidates are selected to participate in an intensive 12-month, multiple school-site, training program. We plan to leverage this program to ensure a strong pipeline of administrators is equipped to lead our Louisiana schools. Specifically, Louisiana residents will be selected to relocate to Green Dot’s California schools to complete the residency and become fully immersed in Green Dot’s practices. These residents will then be placed as school leaders in future Louisiana schools. Green Dot may also hire highly qualified Principals externally, including from Louisiana, and place them directly into school leadership positions in Louisiana schools.

•

Culture of Transparency, Performance & Accountability: Green Dot values results and has built systems and processes to enable accountability and earned autonomy. Louisiana educators will be able to view assessment results in Green Dot’s data systems and generate customizable reports with school-, department-, and individual teacher-level data. Louisiana will also be able to take advantage of Green Dot’s web-based portal Connect to access comprehensive professional evaluation data and a collection of training modules designed to improve teacher effectiveness. Students, parents and educators will have access to the web-based student information system PowerSchool where they can access student grades, test scores and attendance.

Fundamental Features of a High-Performing School To execute Green Dot’s theory of change, each Green Dot Louisiana school will contain four fundamental features of a high-performing school: 1) Quality Teaching and Instruction, 2) Master Scheduling that Meets the Needs of Students, 3) Data-Driven Decision-Making and 4) College-Going Culture. These four fundamental features will ensure that all Green Dot Louisiana schools achieve an 1) Average Daily Attendance Rate of 95%, 2) 9th Grade Cohort Graduating in 4 years Rate of 75% and 3) a 4-Year College Acceptance Rate of 80% within five years. 1. QUALITY TEACHING & INSTRUCTION Instruction is the core activity of all Green Dot schools. While several important factors contribute to student achievement, research has demonstrated that the quality of classroom instruction has twice the impact on student achievement as school-wide policies regarding curriculum, assessment, staff collegiality and community involvement.2 Green Dot ensures high quality teaching and instruction in every classroom through its research-based methods of instruction, teacher effectiveness initiatives and robust professional development and supports. •

2

Methods of Instruction: At the heart of the TCRP Teacher Development and Evaluation System is the College-Ready Teaching Framework (CRTF) – a rubric that defines the core competencies expected of all Green Dot teachers. The CRTF is comprised of five domains: 1) Data-Driven Planning and Assessing Student Learning, 2) The Classroom Learning Environment, 3) Instruction, 4) Developing Professional Practice, and 5)

Marzano, 2003.

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Developing Partnerships with Family and Community. These domains were derived from Charlotte Danielson’s research-based Framework for Teaching and are divided into 19 standards and 45 performance indicators. Refer to Attachment 1 for details on the College-Ready Teaching Framework. Throughout the CRTF, three priorities are reflected in Green Dot’s descriptors of teacher performance that highlight our organization’s underlying beliefs around what constitutes good instruction: o Constructivism: Individuals construct new knowledge from their experiences and prior understandings. The learner does the work of learning; for example, through thinking, talking, writing or making. Teachers create and facilitate opportunities for students to construct meaning through inquiry, academic discourse, metacognitive activities, experiential learning and problem solving. o Cognitive Engagement: Individuals give sustained, engaged attention to a task requiring mental effort and that is within the zone of proximal development. As a result, teachers demonstrate high level of performance when their students are meaningfully engaged in cognitively complex learning. o College Readiness: Individuals have the knowledge, skills and attributes to succeed in college including key cognitive strategies, key academic knowledge and skills, academic behaviors including self-monitoring and study skills and contextual skills and awareness such as “college knowledge.” •

Teacher Evaluation: Green Dot’s Teacher Development and Evaluation System uses multiple measures of teacher effectiveness, all aligned to the new College-Ready Teaching Framework. Student growth, classroom observation and survey feedback provide several data points that teachers and their administrators can use to identify areas of strength and areas in need of development. Based on the multiple measures described in more detail below, the Teacher Development and Evaluation System creates an teacher effectiveness score from Level 1 to Level 4 (Level 4 being a highly effective teacher) as well as identifies areas of support. Refer to Attachment 1 for the Teacher Evaluation Weights by Group. o Classroom Observations: At least four informal and two formal observations per year by certified administrators. In addition, teachers are observed informally by Instructional Coaches. All evaluators go through a certification process to ensure inter-rater reliability. o Student Growth: Student growth percentiles at the classroom and school-level. o Stakeholder Feedback: Student, family, and 360 (peer) surveys. o Compliance: Exclusive to special education teachers, this measures the degree to which special education teachers have met compliance timelines, maintained records, collaborated with Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams and communicated with service providers.

•

Teacher Professional Development & Supports: For Green Dot, the most effective teacher supports are individualized, aligned to teacher performance (per the evaluation), job-embedded and frequent. Louisiana teachers will be able to pursue additional professional development and coaching support from the Instructional Coach in the

Green Dot Public Schools

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Louisiana Regional Office as well as from Green Dot Home Office employees such as Curriculum Specialists, Teacher Effectiveness Support Specialists and Green Dot’s College-Ready Teaching Framework Implementation Coordinator. Green Dot also builds opportunities for collective impact at the school level, such as summer professional development, annual and mid-year retreats, weekly school-wide professional development and collaboration days. 2. MASTER SCHEDULING THAT MEETS THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS All of the students attending Green Dot Louisiana schools will be required to complete a rigorous, college-preparatory curriculum, with intervention and acceleration courses offered beyond the core content areas. Intensive interventions, including literacy and math support, will be built into the school day to ensure that all students are successful. •

Rigorous, College-Preparatory Curriculum: Green Dot schools are centered on high expectations for all students. Each and every Green Dot Louisiana student will take a rigorous, college-preparatory curriculum and be required to complete 1) three college applications and 2) forty service hours before graduating. In addition, the curriculum for all core content areas in Green Dot Louisiana schools will be mapped against collegelevel standards, and students will be encouraged to enroll in Advanced Placement courses. Teachers will provide quarterly benchmark exams and interim assessments in core content areas to monitor their students’ progress and will be available for additional support during teacher office-hours. Green Dot Louisiana will also offer a range of electives to provide opportunities for students to explore their passions.

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Intervention Supports: Based on incoming student needs, a schedule of intervention and acceleration courses will be available to Green Dot Louisiana students so that all students can complete the required courses for graduation. o Read-In: Read-In focuses on the importance of reading at the school by providing structured time for students to fill out reading logs and provide evidence of comprehension through writing. Typically, students will read silently during the first 20 minutes of Advisory (a weekly class that provides college exposure and instills social and life skills development in students). o Read 180 and Math Support: Standards-aligned programs for reading and math are provided to students that test low in reading and/or math. Typically, these courses are given to 9th graders through an elective class or during Advisory. o Credit Recovery: Multiple pathways and options are customized for severely credit-deficient students that enable them to fulfill their graduation requirements in a fifth year. o English Learners (ELLs): Hampton-Brown Edge, a core reading/language arts program designed for students below grade level, provides intensive supports for students entering school as beginning ELLs, including a fifth year of study if identified in an ILP. To complement these extensive intervention supports, students who are not achieving a satisfactory grade within a particular class and/or need more support in a subject can

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attend tutoring, which is offered for an hour every day after school and run by a credentialed teacher. Teachers also hold office hours twice a week after school to provide additional support. •

Social and Life Skills Development: Green Dot Louisiana students will participate in a weekly Advisory class with the same group of students and teachers for the entirety of their high school career. Advisory serves as a structured time and space for students to reflect on their learning and to discuss the connection between learning and life-long success. Advisory activities are organized around four pillars: 1) school culture and safety, 2) academics, 3) social life skills and 4) civic engagement. During Advisory, students may receive academic support from their Advisor and peers, learn study and test-taking skills, engage in ‘college-knowledge’ lessons and explore issues related to their school experience. In this class, students also meet with their Advisory teacher every two weeks to review academic progress and address the invariable challenges that arise. Working with the same teacher and student peers for the duration of high school, students benefit from a familiar support system built into the school day. These relationships serve as the foundation for safe, personalized learning environments where students can develop academically, emotionally and socially. The high level of attention that Green Dot devotes to developing such personalized, teacher-student relationships is best demonstrated through our 2011-2012 School Stakeholder Surveys in which more than 80% of students across all Green Dot schools agreed or strongly agreed with the statements that 1) My teacher makes me feel that s/he really cares about me and 2) Teachers and administrators treat me with respect.

3. DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING Green Dot Louisiana schools will use the latest technology to collect and analyze student-, school- and consortium-level data to guide decision-making and continuous improvement. Each Green Dot Louisiana school will also use quarterly interim assessments and benchmarks to evaluate student progress and identify opportunities for intervention and acceleration. •

Connect: Green Dot’s knowledge-sharing platform Connect enables educators to access all of Green Dot schools’ various data systems, including PowerSchool (student demographics), DataDirector (assessment results) and BloomBoard (calibrated professional development resources). The data warehouse is managed by Green Dot’s Home Office Information Technology and Knowledge Management teams. Tableau reports generated from our data warehouse provide comprehensive student enrollment, demographic and achievement data, enabling teachers and Principals to spend more time garnering insight and developing action plans rather than searching and aggregating the data on their own. Principals will be supported by the Louisiana Executive Director and Regional Instructional Coach to interpret performance data or decision‐making.

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Placement Exams: All new students registering at a Green Dot school are brought together at a Green Dot campus during the summer for an introduction to our culture of high expectations and personal accountability. During Summer Bridge, students meet with their future teachers, attend classes and take initial placement exams. In Year 1,

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Green Dot plans for all incoming 9th graders and returning 10th-12th graders to take two placement exams (Scholastic Reading Inventory Diagnostic Test and the Green Dot Math Diagnostic Test). In Year 2 and onward, Green Dot would assess only incoming 9th graders. The reading test is taken from Read 180, a standards-aligned reading acceleration program, and this test determines a student’s lexile level so that Green Dot can determine which students are reading at a basic or below basic level. The Green Dot Math Diagnostic test is used to determine Algebra readiness. Students who score basic or below basic on the reading assessments are placed in a year-long Read 180 course to support them in English language arts. Students who score basic or below basic on the math assessments are placed in a course to support them in their mathematics. For students that are unable to attend Summer Bridge, Green Dot will administer the reading and math diagnostic tests at the start of school. •

Response to Intervention (RTI): During Summer Bridge, Green Dot academic teams analyze test scores, and students assessed below grade level are assigned to Response to Intervention (RTI) levels. RTI is a process that improves academic success through data analysis, targeted instruction and interventions and progress monitoring to prepare students for college, leadership and life. Green Dot’s RTI model encompasses a three-tier approach for employing a particular research-based intervention for a group of students with similar problems in a given domain. Tiers 1 and 2 are classroom prevention steps, and Tier 3 is focused on intensive, individualized education. Green Dot’s RTI process builds on extensive intervention programs and supports that are primarily implemented in the 9th and 10th grade. It also monitors the progress of the students who are receiving targeted interventions and utilizes data to identify how students are responding to interventions. Additional interventions are then determined to meet the targeted population that are making little to no progress.

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Interim Assessments: Green Dot Louisiana will also use quarterly interim assessments in core areas such as English, Math, Science and History. In school year 2015-2016, these interim assessments will be aligned to grade-level Common Core Standards in English and Math and Louisiana State Standards in Science and History. These benchmarks will 1) provide the ability for schools to track individual student progress, 2) create common assessments across Green Dot schools and 3) provide opportunities for students to become accustomed to standardized testing. Following each benchmark exam, Green Dot Louisiana will host quarterly “Data Days,” during which teachers from all grades review interim assessment results together and find best practices among them. Then, teachers look at specific subject areas in which students have struggled so that they can return to the classroom and re-teach that information.

4. COLLEGE-GOING CULTURE Green Dot Louisiana teachers and administrators will ensure that a college-going culture permeates the school community. Green Dot’s initial emphasis is to first establish a new culture of safety, structure and routines that promote a class-going culture. Green Dot believes that it must improve attitudes, behaviors and expectations about learning and school before fully implementing the traditional Green Dot approach to college readiness (refer to below diagram). Green Dot Public Schools

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Safety & Mutual Respect: Green Dot schools emphasize high care, high structure, and high expectations through the use of Safe & Civil and shared school-level expectations. o Safe & Civil: To create a different climate from day one, Green Dot uses a program called “Safe and Civil” to build a safe and orderly environment at all of its schools. Safe & Civil emphasizes effective communication and conflict resolution for students and describes how adults provide non-contingent attention (versus attention tied to discipline). The Safe and Civil course is taught over 3 years. Principals, Assistant Principals and Deans provide ongoing professional development to support the Safe & Civil philosophy around school culture and classroom norms. Safe and Civil training is built into initial training for teachers and administrators and taught at Summer Bridge. For students who enroll midyear, the Advisory class serves to integrate them into the Green Dot culture. o Shared School-Level Expectations: Green Dot Louisiana Principals will tailor Green Dot’s best practices for setting shared school-level expectations to their school community to ensure high expectations across teachers and students on day one. Strict staff enforcement of required student uniforms will help establish a common identity and new culture. In addition, a Student Attendance Review Team (SART) will be assembled at the start of the year to manage attendance. Principals and school staff will ensure strict enforcement of attendance policies and create an environment where students want to come to school.

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Class-Going Culture: Green Dot recognizes the critical importance of communitybased services and parental involvement in addressing the out-of-school challenges that present barriers to student attendance and ultimately stall gains in student achievement.

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o Integrated Wraparound Services: The Louisiana Regional Director of Community Engagement will work with the Home Office Director of Public Affairs to replicate Green Dot’s approach to collaborating with the community and providing a comprehensive and integrated set of wraparound services and supports to students, families and community members including vision screenings, teen dating violence prevention, programs for high-risk youth and supports for youth in foster care. In recruiting partners, Green Dot Louisiana will seek out both national organizations as well as local community partners with an established track record of providing high-quality, culturally competent services. The design process will involve a comprehensive needs assessment and input from teachers, parents and community members to ensure that solutions are community-driven. Efforts will also ultimately be focused on building the capacity of partner agencies to monitor performance and operations. o Engaged Parents: Green Dot believes not only in transforming schools but also in transforming families and communities as well. Green Dot conducts an annual School Stakeholder survey at each of its schools to gauge family involvement and satisfaction as well as incorporate family feedback. In 2011-2012, more than 90% of families across all Green Dot schools either agreed or strongly agreed with the statements that 1) teachers at this school have helped my student set high academic goals and 2) teachers at this school have helped my student to meet his/her academic goals. To also ensure engaged parents in Louisiana, each Green Dot school will have the following elements:
Parent Coordinator: As the front line of communication and relationship with families, a full-time parent coordinator will be hired at each school. Green Dot views the Parent Coordinator as a critical team member in the effort to create strong school-family-community partnerships. This role is vital to ensuring that parents are fully integrated into the day-to-day operations of the school and feel a sense of accountability and connection to their child’s education. The Parent Coordinator’s responsibilities include conducting community outreach, organizing parent volunteers, addressing parent needs as they come through the front office, recruiting new students, giving student tours and organizing workshops for parents and students.
Parent Trainings: Green Dot Louisiana is committed to actively integrating parents/guardians into all aspects of their students’ school experience by offering the Green Dot Parent Academy, an eight-month program that consists of one 2-hour workshop per month from October through May with Parent Graduation in June. The goal of the program is to empower parents to become leaders who engage other parents to support and improve their children’s schools. The Parent Coordinator will lead this program with support from the Louisiana Regional Director of Community Engagement. Specifically, Green Dot provides seven prepackaged modules with the PowerPoint and notes already completed as options for the Parent Academy. Below are the topics for each module:

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Parent Module The Green Dot Difference Family-School Communication High School 101 College-Readiness PowerSchool Effective Teaching Educational Equity

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Training Description What is a charter? What is Green Dot’s History? What does it mean to attend a Green Dot school? How can parents communicate with the school effectively? What does an effective parent-teacher conference look like? What is GPA? What is a credit? What are the requirements for graduation? What does my student need to do to go to college? How do I check my student’s grades and other important data? What does good teaching look like? What is Green Dot doing through TCRP? How can I support Green Dot? How can I get involved and advocate for educational equity for all kids?

College-Going Culture: Green Dot schools have adopted standards and assessments that promote college- and career-readiness. Green Dot Louisiana students will annually complete and revisit individual Graduation Plans, and Principals, teachers and counselors will ensure extensive college exposure beginning in the ninth grade. o Individual Graduation Plan: When compared to their peers, students at Green Dot schools are 29% more likely to graduate from high school (88% compared with 59% at comparison schools)3 and four times more likely to graduate with the A-G requirements needed for acceptance into the UC and CSU systems (61% compared with 15% at LAUSD). To accomplish this, Green Dot students work with counselors to create an individual Graduation Plan that lays out a course sequence based on individual interest and goals. This individual Graduation Plan, developed and revisited twice a year by the student and counselor, articulates the student’s personal learning objectives and path. Counselors administer interestinventories at the start of the process. The end product is a recommended course sequence mapped against graduation requirements and based on the student’s skills and interests. Each Green Dot Louisiana student will meet with his/her counselor twice a year to provide feedback on his/her Graduation Plan and to review his/her progress. o Extensive College Exposure: Green Dot Louisiana Principals, counselors and teachers will provide support for the college application process during Advisory and school time. Students may receive academic support from their Advisor and peers, learn study and test-taking skills for college entrance exams, engage in

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The average graduation rate indicated is an average NCES graduation rate.

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‘college-knowledge’ lessons and receive personalized support on their college essays and personal statements. To further ensure a “college-for-certain” culture, Green Dot Louisiana schools will have regular assemblies to reinforce college expectations. Counselors will organize college field trips for every grade level, and students will be encouraged to pursue additional college-related opportunities such as summer college programs at local campuses. SCALE STRATEGY (1) Describe the steps that you will take to scale your model to new sites, including the people involved and the resources contributed both by the parent organization and the new schools. (2) If your organization operates schools in other states, compare your efforts to scale operations to Louisiana to past scale efforts in other states. (3) Describe your plan for embedding the fundamental features of each model that you described in your theory of change into the schools that you plan to open.

1. Green Dot Louisiana schools will be supported by Green Dot’s Home Office based in California and a Louisiana Regional Office. Green Dot also plans to form a National Expansion Growth Team in the Home Office that will be comprised of experienced leaders in education, finance and operations. The National Expansion Growth Team will be led by Megan Quaile, currently the VP of Education at Green Dot, and will be fully dedicated to helping develop and start up Green Dot schools and offices in new regions. Refer to Scale Strategy Section, Question 3 for additional details on the National Expansion Growth Team. Green Dot’s Home Office Green Dot’s seasoned management team will provide support and oversight to Green Dot Louisiana. The Home Office supports to Louisiana will primarily be led by our Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Marco Petruzzi; President and Chief Academic Officer (CAO), Dr. Cristina de Jesus; Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Sabrina Ayala; and National Expansion Growth Team Lead, Megan Quaile. Green Dot’s Home Office services will ensure that our Louisiana schools leverage best practices and lessons learned from Green Dot’s twelve year history. •

Academic & Human Capital Model: The Home Office has primary responsibility for defining the academic program that guides all Green Dot schools to provide high‐quality, education programs. Hiring and development for Green Dot Louisiana Principals and teachers will also be supported by the Home Office, including our teacher effectiveness initiatives and the Administrator-In-Residence program.

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Finance & Operations: The Home Office sets operational and financial strategy that impacts all Green Dot schools. This Home Office infrastructure will be responsible for supporting data and application management, setting network‐wide guidelines and policies to ensure alignment across all schools and regions and providing various “backoffice” functions related to finance, accounting, human resources, and data/information technology.

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Development & Communications: Louisiana schools will also benefit from the large scale Green Dot has already achieved, advantages of national fundraising and public relations/ communications initiatives and ability to share highly advanced systems and tools that are not financially feasible for a single or a small family of schools.

Louisiana Regional Office Green Dot plans to create a regional support structure in Louisiana to support schools’ academic, financial and operational needs. The Louisiana Regional Office will be led by a Louisiana Executive Director that manages the Director of Human Capital and Human Resources, Director of Finance and Business Affairs and Director of Community Engagement as well as an Instructional Coach. The Executive Director will report to Green Dot’s National Expansion Growth Team Lead, Megan Quaile. As the region scales, Green Dot may hire additional Regional Office team members in order to provide the necessary supports to Green Dot Louisiana schools. Green Dot is seeking philanthropic funding and/or grants to support the Louisiana Regional Office and National Expansion Growth Team costs in its initial years of operation. In the future, these costs will be shared across all Green Dot Louisiana schools and covered by school management fees in steady-state. •

Louisiana Executive Director: The Louisiana Executive Director will oversee the academic performance, instruction and operations across all Green Dot Louisiana schools and the Louisiana Regional Office. Working with the National Expansion Growth Team, his/her major duties will be to supervise, coach and evaluate all Green Dot Louisiana Principals, manage the operations and finances of the region and build relationships across the schools. The Louisiana Executive Director will likely be selected from among Green Dot’s existing leadership. The chosen candidate will have demonstrated leadership in both academic and operational settings and will be intimately familiar with Green Dot’s schools and operations. The Louisiana Executive Director is expected to be announced at least nine months before the start of the first Green Dot Louisiana school.

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Director of Human Capital and Human Resources: The Director of Human Capital and Human Resources will host local recruiting efforts to identify principal and teacher candidates for the Home Office Human Capital team to interview. In addition, he/she will manage human resources processes, compliance and onboarding for Green Dot Louisiana. The Director of Human Capital and Human Resources will report to the Louisiana Executive Director and have a dotted line relationship to the Home Office Vice President of Human Capital, Kelly Hurley, and Home Office Vice President of Employee Solutions, Kevin Keelen.

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Director of Finance and Business Affairs: The Director of Finance and Business Affairs will manage the financial and operational aspects of the Louisiana Regional Office and all Green Dot Louisiana schools. This individual will work closely with Principals to determine the budgets and resource allocations for the schools. The Director of Finance and Business Affairs will report to the Louisiana Executive Director and have a dotted line relationship to Green Dot’s CFO, Sabrina Ayala, and the Home Office Vice President of Finance and Business Affairs, Chris Humphreys.

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Director of Community Engagement: The Director of Community Engagement will manage all community partnerships and activities for the school sites and Regional Office as well as coordinate parent engagement and training across Green Dot Louisiana schools. He or she will also support the Regional Office Director of Finance and Business Affairs in student recruiting efforts and ensuring student enrollment targets are met. Green Dot plans to fill this position with a local community member with intimate knowledge of Louisiana and the local area. The Director of Community Engagement will report to the Louisiana Executive Director.

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Instructional Coach: The Instructional Coach will set instructional/curriculum guidelines, support staff professional development and provide coaching and content expertise for teachers. As the region scales, Green Dot plans to hire additional Regional Instructional Coaches to support Green Dot Louisiana teachers. The Regional Instructional Coaches will report directly to the Louisiana Executive Director.

Louisiana School Site Leadership Team Key school site leaders for each Green Dot Louisiana school will include: •

Principal: The Principal is the primary leader of the school and is accountable for the school’s academic performance and operations. The Principal reports to the Louisiana Executive Director and will be supported by the Home Office Human Capital team and the Regional Director of Human Capital and Human Resources to recruit and hire the remaining school staff positions.

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Assistant Principals: Two Assistant Principals will support the Principal in instructional leadership, summer planning, academic interventions, special education, budget, school evaluation and oversight, parent and community outreach, testing, enrollment and attendance, extracurricular programs and activities and other school-site responsibilities. The Assistant Principals report to the Principal. The selection process for the Assistant Principals will begin in the planning year (Year 0) with the goal of having two Assistant Principals hired before school starts.

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Dean: The Dean manages school safety and discipline and reports to the Principal. The Dean selection process will mirror the Assistant Principal selection process but be tailored more to the specific responsibilities of the Dean. Recruitment will begin in the planning year with the goal of having the position filled before school starts.

Each school will also have a School Leadership Team (SLT), comprised of the Principal, Assistant Principals, Dean, Counselor(s) and Department Chairs, that will regularly review the school’s performance and make key decisions concerning the school. 2. As previously highlighted, Green Dot opened with one 9th-grade class of 140 students in August 2000. Today, our organization operates 18 schools serving over 10,000 students across Los Angeles. Green Dot Public Schools

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Green Dot School History •

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Founding Five: Between 2000 and 2005, Green Dot opened five start-up charter high schools in some of the toughest neighborhoods in Los Angeles. All five went on to be named in Newsweek’s annual ranking of the best high schools in the country and were medal winners in the annual U.S. News and World Report list, placing them in the top 2.5% nationally. Jefferson Cluster: In 2006, Green Dot opened a cluster of charter high schools to create a parent “zone of choice” around Thomas Jefferson High School, at the time, the lowest performing school in the LAUSD. Today, the API scores of Green Dot’s three schools in the attendance area are between 100 and 200 points higher than Thomas Jefferson High School’s score. Locke Transformation: Over the course of seven years, Green Dot had built 10 public charter schools in the Los Angeles area, but we were only serving 3,000 students in a district that was responsible for 700,000. We realized that growth of start-up charter schools at this rate was barely going to make a dent. In 2007, Green Dot expanded its approach to focus on turning around chronically low-performing schools and took on the transformation of Locke High School. Clay & Jordan Transformations: In 2011, Green Dot further solidified our position as a turnaround operator with the Jordan High School (Ánimo College Preparatory Academy) and Henry Clay Middle School (Ánimo Phillis Wheatley and Ánimo Western) transformations. With Jordan and Clay, Green Dot assumed full transformations with an aggregate of more than 1,500 students in a single year. Most researchers who study school turnaround efforts acknowledge that significant, measurable gains in Year 1 of implementation are hard to come by because many of the new changes and new curricula involve “growing pains” or an adjustment period before their impact can be fully realized.4 However, Green Dot did achieve measurable gains; after the first year of operating under Green Dot, the 2011-2012 API score for Ánimo College Preparatory

As cited in the Mass Insight Report, The Turnaround Challenge, which may be viewed at http://www.massinsight.org/stg/research/challenge

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Academy on the Jordan campus increased 12 points and the overall API scores for Ánimo Phillis Wheatley and Ánimo Western increased 74 points. 3. Green Dot plans to embed the fundamental features in our theory of change in each Green Dot Louisiana school by A) using a fully-dedicated National Expansion Growth Team to seed Green Dot’s existing best practices and culture in Louisiana, B) leveraging our teacher effectiveness initiatives, Administrator-in-Residence program and robust human capital pipeline to build a network of leaders for Louisiana and C) performing a rigorous performance management assessment for each Green Dot Louisiana school on an annual basis to ensure high-performing schools. A. NATIONAL EXPANSION GROWTH TEAM In Louisiana, the National Expansion Growth Team’s main focus will be to build processes and a strong foundation for Green Dot schools in Louisiana (around human capital, instruction and operations) and to provide support and coverage for the Louisiana Executive Director. The National Expansion Growth Team will play a key role during the formation of the first three schools. This team will include the 1) National Expansion Growth Team Lead (Megan Quaile), 2) National Expansion Growth Finance Lead and 3) National Expansion Growth Operations Lead. The Finance and Operations Leads have not yet been identified but will likely come from among Green Dot’s existing leaders. The National Expansion Growth Team will be led by Megan Quaile, currently the VP of Education at Green Dot, and will be fully dedicated to helping develop and start up Green Dot schools and offices in new regions. Megan has served as Green Dot’s Vice President of Education for four years. In this role, Megan has been responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of Green Dot’s academic model at its existing 18 schools in Los Angeles. In addition, she has been instrumental in Green Dot’s teacher effectiveness and performance management efforts. Megan began her career at Green Dot in August 2007 as a Cluster Director (Area Superintendent) responsible for overseeing the leadership teams at five high schools. Before joining Green Dot, she was Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Civitas Schools, a Chicago-based education management organization. She began her work with CICS as the founding principal of CICS Northtown Academy Campus. Prior to her role with CICS, Quaile served for three years as the principal of an urban private school. Her educational experiences also include positions as Assistant Principal, English teacher and coach. B. ROBUST HUMAN CAPITAL PIPELINE OF NETWORK LEADERS Green Dot ensures a great teacher leads every classroom, and a great principal leads each school. Pipeline of Strong Administrators Green Dot conducts extensive diligence to select the most qualified and dedicated Principals for all of its schools. Green Dot plans to identify its Founding Principal at least nine months prior to the school opening. We will look within our existing cadre of administrators in California to identify our first Louisiana Principal. Since this Principal will be familiar with the Green Dot Green Dot Public Schools

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mission, values and transformation model, he/she will serve as a key ambassador of the Green Dot model in Louisiana. We also understand the importance of hiring school leaders from local communities and will seek partnership with human capital organizations such as New Leaders for New Schools to identify potential candidates for future Louisiana schools. We will also look internally at Green Dot California Assistant Principals and Teacher Leaders who are interested in transforming Louisiana. Finally, we will use our extensive relationships with universities across the nation to search for candidates. The Louisiana Executive Director and National Expansion Growth Team Lead will develop, support and evaluate Principals. These evaluations will be used to drive decisions about training, support, compensation and career path. •

Principal Professional Development: School leaders at Green Dot Louisiana will be provided with a comprehensive professional development program including: o Coaching: The Louisiana Executive Director and National Expansion Growth Team Lead will provide individualized coaching sessions to Green Dot Louisiana Principals on at least a weekly basis. These coaching sessions will be focused on developing Principals as instructional leaders. o 95/5 Sessions: Based on the belief that Principals should spend 95% of their time onsite providing instructional leadership and 5% of their time offsite in Green-Dot wide trainings, 95/5 is a monthly, full-day professional development session for Principals and Assistant Principals. Green Dot Louisiana Principals will be able to attend these sessions either in-person or via teleconferencing to take advantage of best practices across Green Dot schools.

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Administrator-in-Residence Program: School leaders new to Green Dot may spend a year in training through Green Dot’s internal Administrator-in-Residence (AIR) program. These Residents would likely be placed as Assistant Principals in Louisiana schools after the completion of their residency. Developed in 2007, the AIR program trains Residents on Green Dot’s transformation model and builds a pipeline of school leaders with the skills and experience to turnaround chronically failing schools. The program provides Residents with real-world assignments shadowing high-performing Principals in existing Green Dot California schools and ongoing professional development from Mentor Principals, Assistant Principals and Cluster Directors (Area Superintendents). Residents are also required to complete a number of projects to demonstrate that they have developed the necessary competencies for success. Green Dot’s goal is to identify potential AIRs in Louisiana and train them as Residents through the AIR program in California before they assume school leadership roles at Green Dot Louisiana schools. Green Dot may also hire experienced Principals from Louisiana and place them directly into school leadership positions if they are highly qualified.

Pipeline of Teacher Leaders As mentioned before, the primary goal of The College-Ready Promise (TCRP) is to improve teacher effectiveness in order to prepare all students for success in college and beyond. However, Green Dot Public Schools

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an equally important objective is to attract and retain the most talented teachers into our organization by recognizing and rewarding success. Green Dot aims to create a system in which aspiring teacher leaders within the organization may be identified, recruited, trained and placed in instructional leadership positions. To accomplish this, Green Dot has developed a meaningful career ladder (see below diagram) to allow proven teachers a path for growth and greater responsibility. After teachers have mastered classroom instruction and reach “Highly Effective,” they can step into Teacher Leader Roles, such as Department Chair, Master Teacher, etc. These roles groom our Teacher Leaders for the Administrator-inResidence program, where they can progress to become Assistant Principals and Principals. C. RIGOROUS PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT The National Expansion Growth Team Lead and Louisiana Executive Director will perform an annual performance analysis for Louisiana schools that takes into account 1) school achievement, 2) school culture and 3) school model. Indicator # 1 – School Achievement •

Is the school on track to meeting the below academic targets within its first five years? o Average Daily Attendance Rate of 95% o 9th Grade Cohort Graduating in 4 years of 75% o 4-Year College Acceptance Rate of 80% o 100% of students complete three college applications o 100% of students complete 40 service hours before graduation o Academic targets for EXPLORE, PLAN & ACT assessment series

Indicator #2 – Eight Vital Signs of School Culture • •

Mission Effectiveness: Does the staff feel like the school is successfully achieving its mission to prepare students for college, leadership and life? Effective Leadership: Does the staff rate administrator(s) favorably on leadership skills?

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Structures for Community Engagement: Does the school provide effective structures to ensure that staff, parents and students own school success? Staff Stability: Is a large portion of the staff new to Green Dot? Have there been a significant number of conflicts escalated to the Executive Director because they could not be resolved in other ways? Effective Faculty: Are the teachers and counselors successfully executing their duties? Affiliation with Green Dot: Does the staff support the larger Green Dot mission? Do they participate in organization-wide initiatives? Stakeholder Satisfaction: Do parents and students feel that the school is effectively preparing them for college, leadership and life. Do 80% of parents and 70% of students recommend the school to a student per School Stakeholder Survey results? Student Safety & Engagement: Do students understand the importance of school? Is the school a safe place to learn?

Indicator #3 – School Model • •

Fidelity: How well do the school leaders/teachers implement the Green Dot curricular model? Will: Does the school possess the desire to implement the Green Dot curricular model?

Schools that are not achieving success on any of these indicators are identified as “Hot Schools”. The National Expansion Growth Team Lead and Louisiana Executive Director would work with Hot Schools to create a customized plan for performance improvement. For instance, a school identified as being “Hot” on School Achievement may receive additional coaching resources to support teaching effectiveness or the Louisiana Executive Director may meet with these Principals twice a week instead of once to focus on implementing Green Dot’s intervention pathways in literacy, math and special education. Hot Schools may also receive additional support in terms of Regional Office and Home Office services such as assessment results or teacher coaching. On a quarterly basis, the National Expansion Growth Team Lead and Louisiana Executive Director would review a Hot School’s data and spend time identifying ways to support each school according to its individual needs. RISKS AND ASSOCIATED CONTINGENCY PLANS (1) Organizations that operate multiple schools should discuss the results of past scale efforts and lessons learned. Include particular challenges or troubles encountered and how you addressed them. Organizations that operate only one school should address challenges encountered with growing their initial school. (2) Identify the greatest new threats to your success. (3) Describe any changes to the leadership personnel or leadership structure of your organization over the last two years. (4) Reflect on the countermeasures you will take to minimize the possibility that the risks you identified in (1) – (3) will prevent you from achieving your targeted student outcomes.

1.-4. Refer to the Scale Strategy and Past School Performance sections for details on Green Dot’s past scale efforts and results.

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Green Dot has taken on two full-scale turnarounds in California (Locke High School and Clay Middle School) and a shared turnaround of David Starr Jordan High School. All three schools were among the worst performing schools in the state. Lessons Learned from the Locke Transformation With nearly 3,000 students, Locke was 15 times the size of Green Dot’s usual charter school launch. The student population had substantial needs: there were 300 students with a full range of special education needs, 50-100 juvenile justice returnees each year, and 200-300 10th-12th graders who were severely credit deficient and multiple grades below grade level. Many students also experienced a range of other significant barriers including: strong gang-affiliation, living in foster care, and a high level of mental health issues. In addition, the school campus itself had been greatly neglected and was in need of repair and renovation, necessitating significant upfront expenditures. Green Dot has spent considerable time taking stock of what we learned from Locke. We have identified eight elements that we believe an operator must get right from the outset in order to successfully transform a school and build a strong foundation for improvements in student achievement, teaching and learning. Tenet #1: Engaging key community and district partners We understand that the transformation of failing schools can be emotionally and politically charged events since it oftentimes requires replacing some of the school’s previous leadership and teacher corp. In addition, since public schools are often cultural centers for surrounding neighborhoods, the broader community also has a voice in matters pertaining to its local school. Green Dot invests heavily in detailed and coordinated outreach efforts at both the community and district levels to build the support of the communities we serve. At Locke, we started our outreach efforts and relationship building in the Watts community before our charter application was even submitted. We engaged with community members, key influencers, parents and families in dialogues about the transition, and found ways to carry over positive aspects of the existing school in order to preserve the school’s history and traditions. These open conversations and engagement efforts helped us win community support, particularly in the early stages of the school transformation. We have maintained these positive relationships throughout the past four years and will look to employ similar practices with communities and districts in Louisiana to engage the community and district as partners in school transformation. Tenet #2: Establishing an effective early presence with students and the community After Green Dot has assumed operational control of our transformation schools, we use this time to further engage with future students and their families. Our focus is to highlight our work as an operator and answer questions the community has about the new school and us. As part of this community engagement, we also begin our student recruitment efforts since student enrollment is an important factor to ensure the financial viability of the school and can be hard to predict in a turnaround situation. Green Dot Public Schools

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A critical element of Green Dot’s strategy before Locke’s first day of school was a collective effort by staff and leadership to be visible in the community and actively own the recruiting process. Principals and team members led summer door-knocking efforts and offered opportunities for students to engage with Locke through Summer Bridge, a five-week summer program for incoming 9th graders and an abbreviated program for 10th-12th graders. During Summer Bridge, students had an opportunity to acclimatize to the culture and expectations of the new Locke. These students, and the parents who participated, were the first to see our changes, and became some of Green Dot’s biggest fans. We will ideally have at least one year in advance to plan and begin outreach efforts prior to the first day of school. We also plan to work with the State and other supporting entities to conduct comprehensive outreach to students and families in Louisiana. Tenet #3: Developing a high-performing team dedicated to transformation Our experience at Locke reaffirmed our belief that identifying the right talent is critical, particularly in school turnarounds. A strong leadership team with prior experience in school transformation is ideal since they are more aware of the unique challenges that accompany a turnaround. Also, since Locke was a full-school turnaround (rather than a phase-in), we needed to quickly hire a large number of teachers and support staff in the planning year. In order to accommodate this demand of talent, Green Dot had to transform our human capital practices in order to allow us to staff up an entire school in a short period of time. First, we kept proven staff members onboard from the previous administration to serve as ‘culture carriers’ and community ambassadors. These were teachers and staff members (e.g., counselors, office managers) who were effective in delivering results and who embraced Green Dot’s culture and mission, particularly the belief in the potential of all students to achieve at high levels. We also employed new recruiting tools that allowed us to identify top candidates early on in the process and helped us allocate resources accordingly. To identify quality school leaders at Locke, we first looked internally for experienced administrators before opening up the recruitment to external principals and assistant principals. We developed the Administrators-in-Residence program for the purpose of building our capability and capacity at the school leader level. We would employ the same rigorous, multi-step vetting processes for teachers in Louisiana, and would look to train Administrators-in-Residence in our existing transformation schools in Green Dot California prior to launching schools in Louisiana. Tenet #4: Splitting a large high school into a cluster of small schools Having small schools is one of Green Dot’s core values and fundamental to our school model. As such, when Green Dot assumed operational control of Locke High School (with nearly 3,000 students), one of the first things we did was split the campus into a cluster of small schools. This approach promoted accountability, safer environments and individualized student attention. The Green Dot Public Schools

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small schools allowed adults and students to build trusting and nurturing relationships that allowed for personalized learning and student achievement. As we look to replicate our turnaround model in Louisiana, we plan to implement a similar small school structure. For schools over 900 students, we would organize the campus into two separate schools, each with its own principal, assistant principals, teachers, counselors and office staff. We would, however, allow extracurricular activities and athletic programs to span across schools (as we do at Locke) to keep with the school’s traditions. Tenet #5: Creating a dramatically different new school climate on day one To improve behaviors and expectations at Locke – and to create the sense that transformation is possible – Green Dot invested heavily in changing the look and feel of the school and instituting formal procedures. We tackled the physical environment by installing new windows, new lights and new security cameras, and painted the school hallways. Bathrooms were clean, the ubiquitous graffiti tags were gone and olive trees were planted throughout the courtyard. Principals excitedly greeted students and teachers as they entered, and even the students themselves looked different – wearing their uniforms of chinos and polo shirts. Rewards and consequences for behavior were spelled out in a handbook distributed to all students and posted in every classroom. We focused on establishing a culture of safety and routines that encouraged students to go to class. We also implemented the Safe and Civil program, which helped establish a safe, orderly environment with well-defined but flexible routines and clear codes of behavior. We realize that creating a fundamentally different school climate goes beyond uniforms and new paint. It requires the commitment of school leaders, teachers, students and the community to change the expectations about what the school should look and feel like. We plan to build upon our experiences at our California transformation schools to create a new school climate for students in Louisiana, while preserving the positive aspects of the prior school. We will make key visual changes to cue to students and staff that the school will be different, however depending on the condition of the facility we inherit, we may request political and financial support from the State if extensive efforts are required. Tenet #6: Implementing a portfolio of interventions for high-needs students A critical component of the Green Dot transformation model is to serve all students. In order to do this well at Locke, we analyzed incoming student records thoroughly (e.g., attendance, grades, test scores, assessments, schedules, behavior reports, special education history, state clinic data) and used data-driven analysis to inform individualized learning plans and sociobehavioral supports for students. This information and analysis drove (and continues to drive) the formation of the master schedule for each Locke school as well as the wraparound services that we offered (and continue to offer) to our students and their families. Summer Bridge provided us an opportunity to administer initial placement exams for incoming students. These tests helped Green Dot determine the math and reading levels of our students and create academic interventions to support them in the new school year. We implemented academic supports (e.g., Read 180, System 44, math support classes) as well as after-school Green Dot Public Schools

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opportunities to enable students to be on-track to graduate. Our current model also provides our high school students with an individualized supports pathway based on mastering key skills and concepts including test taking and study strategies, preparation for testing required for high school graduation, rigorous credit recovery, and preparation for college applications and college success (e.g., SAT, applications, financial aid). For students who arrive with higher needs (e.g., multiple grades below grade-level, students receiving special education services, English language learners, juvenile justice returnees), we now provide intensive interventions, programs and resources such as: Special Day Classes, Emotional Disturbance programs and Community-based Instruction for students requiring special education services; bilingual teachers in core classes for our English language learners; and rigorous, computer-based credit recovery programs for students who are multiple gradelevels behind. We recently opened the Locke Wellness Center, which provides a wealth of resources – health and dental care, nutrition services and physical activities, mental health services, trauma-specific services, access to social services and programs that promote financial stability – to over 3,500 individuals, including students and parents. Our schools in Louisiana will benefit from the intervention programs already established by Green Dot for our start-up and turnaround schools. We will customize these academic offerings to the students we serve in Louisiana and will partner with local organizations to provide wraparound services and supports. Tenet #7: Measuring success holistically through retention, rigor and results At Locke, we learned that measuring school transformation is more complicated than just focusing on proficiency and college-readiness rates. Where there is a legacy of skipping classes, dropping out and a host of safety concerns, it is essential to track and improve outcomes in these areas as well. In addition to reviewing standardized test results and college-going metrics, Green Dot also uses the “3 R’s” – retention, rigor and results – at our transformation schools to measure success against our overarching goals and to inform and improve school performance. These metrics compare a school to itself prior to transformation, to itself over time and to comparable schools within the district. •

Retention: These metrics are enrollment, net retention of students from the previous year and four-year freshman cohort retention. Together, they provide a snapshot of whether students are enrolling and staying in school.

•

Rigor: We measure the extent to which students are successfully completing courses that prepare them for college – specifically, the number of students who take end-of-year exams for courses that enable students to attend a four-year college in the State. As we prepare to fully implement the Common Core State Standards and assessments, we will

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be able to better assess the degree to which our students are taking courses that prepare them to succeed in college. •

Results: We use academic measures of both absolute achievement and student growth, including proficiency on standardized tests, high school exit exam pass rates, college entrance exam scores and student graduation rates. Green Dot also understands that a successful high school must be judged in part by the extent to which its students achieve longer-term goals, including graduation from college and entry into careers. We also have begun to measure and look at students’ progress towards college graduation and career success.

In order to have maximum impact, this data must be reviewed regularly and collaboratively by education team leaders, principals, assistant principals, department chairs and teachers. Metrics should be tied to clear actions for improvement and goals/targets should be measured throughout the school year. In Louisiana, our National Expansion Growth Team, Regional Office and Home Office staff will provide the data analysis and tools to enable schools to measure their progress. Tenet #8: Ensuring effective budgeting preparation and policies Through our experiences with Locke, we have become much more aware of the operational and budgeting realities behind planning and preparing for a school transformation. For instance, turnarounds involve many upfront costs that start-up schools do not, making it critical to begin budgeting as soon as possible. In addition, since ultimate enrollment numbers can be difficult to predict, we have learned to create enrollment scenarios and contingency budgets for schools prior to the start of the school year. To ensure this knowledge is institutionalized, Green Dot has developed operational policies, procedures and handbooks that guide our staff members in dealing with common challenges and problems faced during turnarounds. We continue to update this knowledge bank as our experience grows and anticipate many new additions as our turnarounds begin to span across different states. Applying our Lessons Learned Having had the transformation experience at Locke three years earlier, Green Dot was much better positioned to turnaround Jordan High School and Clay Middle School. Through these transformations, we have refined our turnaround model to accommodate both middle school and shared-site transformations, and have improved our operational tools to allow us to more effectively assume operational control within a short period of time and bring schools up to our Green Dot standard. These two transformations reiterated the need for a full planning year to enable us to seek and staff the right talent to support the turnarounds. Also, from the Jordan experience, we’ve realized that colocation can create additional challenges within a transformation, and for that reason, we plan to only take on full turnarounds within the State of Louisiana.

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We will implement the lessons we have learned at our Louisiana schools and staff the region with a heavily-resourced Regional Office to provide additional service and supports. The latter is something we would have liked to have early on in California but could not afford under the fiscal crisis. While we are proud of the progress we’ve made through our transformation efforts, we will continue to push to deliver on our mission of success in college, leadership and life for all students in California and beyond. 2.-4. Green Dot’s national growth plan brings with it many exciting opportunities to impact students on a larger scale, but it also brings with it a number of potential challenges. We have identified six of them below, and have included possible mitigation strategies: Challenge #1: Smart Growth Through our experiences with growth in California, we understand the necessity of tempering the speed of expansion with quality. We are deliberate with our growth strategy and will not open new schools until we have the resources and ability to do so without comprising the quality of our existing schools. Countermeasure: Green Dot will begin its expansion in Louisiana with one small school in 2015-16. This will allow us to devote our attention and resources to successfully serving these students while gaining experience and expertise in a new market. After 2015-16, we have planned a conservative growth trajectory of 1-2 schools (at most 1,200 students) each year in Louisiana for four years. However, before Green Dot and our Board of Directors approve any additional schools for opening, we will conduct extensive analysis around our network and schools’ academic, financial and operational performance to ensure that the organization is ready for growth. These metrics will include our organizational goals and targets around student outcomes, instructional quality, operational excellence and sustainability. Challenge #2: Securing Philanthropic Funding We plan to implement the Green Dot school model in Louisiana and will support each school with a variety of network services and assistance. In addition to opening a Louisiana Regional Office solely dedicated to serving local students, our Louisiana schools will also receive services provided by the Green Dot Home Office. However, in order to sustain this high level of support, we are seeking philanthropic funds and grants to help cover our start-up costs, particularly in the early years as we scale up our schools and students. One challenge we may experience in Louisiana is around securing enough philanthropic funding to cover our network start-up costs. Countermeasure: After speaking with New Schools for New Orleans (NSNO) and New Schools for Baton Rouge (NSBR), there appears to be philanthropic support available for experienced charter school operators to open schools in Louisiana. We plan to partner with both of these organizations to build our network in the local market and work with national foundations that support the opening of charter schools in Louisiana. Additionally, the Green Dot Development team will apply to federal, state and local grants that promote charter management organization (CMO) growth and replication to help cover our start-up expenses in Louisiana. Green Dot Public Schools

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Challenge #3: Building a Robust Human Capital Pipeline At Green Dot, we know that effective teaching and leadership are at the heart of education. As such, we conduct extensive diligence to hire the most qualified and dedicated principals and teachers for our schools. A potential threat to our success is our ability to build a robust human capital pipeline to feed our schools in Louisiana. Countermeasure: School leader pipeline – Similar to our approach for Green Dot California schools, we will first look within the Green Dot network for our Louisiana school leaders (principals and assistant principals). However, we understand the importance of hiring school leaders from local communities and will seek partnerships with local human capital organizations such as Greater New Orleans New Leaders to identify potential candidates for future Louisiana schools. In addition, we will identify teacher leaders and early career administrators in Louisiana and train them through our Administrators-in-Residence (AIR) program in California to build our administrator talent pipeline. Refer to Scale Strategy Section, Question 3 for details on the AIR program. Teacher pipeline – Green Dot will hire a diverse faculty comprised of the best teachers available. We will achieve this goal by continuing our rigorous national recruitment process to hire highly effective teachers who are mission-aligned. Green Dot specifically looks for candidates who demonstrate unwavering belief in the potential of all students and are passionate about improving public education. We will contact top graduate and education programs in the country and publicize our Louisiana schools to experienced teachers. We will also focus our recruiting efforts on local universities and colleges, including Louisiana State University and Southern University. We plan to advertise nationally and locally, and will employ internet channels to find the best candidates. We will leverage our existing partnership with Teach for America and The New Teacher Project to find talent in Baton Rouge and New Orleans while also looking to establish new relationships with organizations such as the Louisiana Resource Center for Educators. Green Dot will have a presence at local job fairs and distribute flyers and brochures at local community hubs. We will coordinate efforts and build collaborations with postsecondary educational institutions and infield experts to serve as teachers in the various disciplines that require higher levels of academic content delivery. We will develop our teacher recruiting strategy and make key hires to support teacher recruiting for our Founding School (opening in Fall 2015) at least nine months prior to the school opening. The Home Office Human Capital team will develop the initial recruiting strategy for Louisiana schools and a dedicated Recruiter will support the implementation of this strategy. The Louisiana Executive Director will hire a Regional Director of Human Capital and Human Resources to provide on-the-ground support and build relationships with local partners and organizations. Challenge #4 – School Building Conditions and Deferred Maintenance Green Dot will be applying for Type 5 charter schools in Louisiana and will inherit existing school facilities. Through conversations with NSBR, we learned that although the technological Green Dot Public Schools

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infrastructure in schools will likely be adequate, the extent of deferred maintenance and required improvements is unclear. Our current school budgets include expenditures for building renovations and maintenance, but these amounts are limited. Our ideal situation is to stay and continue operating in the buildings we are provided; however, if deferred maintenance for schools is excessively large or the buildings are inadequate for us to serve our students, we will need to find alternative facilities that meet our requirements. Countermeasure: Green Dot has experience in dealing with facility issues with our schools in California; however, large-scale building upgrades and modernization efforts require significant investment and planning. In developing our Louisiana growth strategy, Green Dot will work with NSBR and NSNO to familiarize ourselves with the school facilities we would be inheriting and understand the required investments. In situations where buildings are in poor condition, we will likely request additional philanthropic support or resources in order to get them into adequate shape or request assistance to move into different locations. Challenge #5 – Scale and Enrollment In our diligence thus far, we are aware that as of January 2013, there are 12 middle and high schools in the Baton Rouge Achievement Zone with current enrollment of 6,550. Opportunities for growth in New Orleans are more limited as the charter landscape is more saturated and Green Dot would likely be taking over low-performing charter schools. As Green Dot develops its growth strategy, we are planning for 6 schools, or approximately 3,600 students, in order to develop a sustainable region. With the number of schools in Louisiana available for turnaround, another challenge Green Dot may encounter is obtaining adequate scale to hit our target enrollment. Countermeasure: Upon chartering, we will work very closely with NSBR and NSNO to plan out which schools in Louisiana we will most likely inherit in order to meet our required scale. This collaboration entails researching enrollment projections, mapping out school feeder patterns and determining in what years these schools will be turned over to Green Dot. Challenge #6: Community Engagement Given the impact of school turnarounds on families and communities, it is essential for Green Dot to establish strong, positive relationships with community members, parents and students, particularly in the nine months leading up to a school transformation. A challenge we may face is confusion or resentment from the community around having a new, external organization come in and operate local schools. Countermeasure: Green Dot will build upon our turnaround experience in Los Angeles to develop and implement a robust strategy to engage with parents, students and the community on the sensitive topic of school transformation. The Louisiana Executive Director will hire a Regional Director of Community Engagement to lead these community engagement efforts. The Louisiana Executive Director and Regional Director of Community Engagement, along with Green Dot Public Schools

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Green Dot’s Home Office Community Engagement and Communications teams, will develop a multi-pronged communication and outreach strategy to meet with key influencers, assure parents and foster relationships with students. •

With key influencers (e.g., existing school staff, community organizations, school leaders and staff at feeder schools, churches, school alumni), we will seek to build relationships, learn about each group’s interests and understand how to earn their support.

•

With parents, we will reach out to current, surrounding area and feeder school parents to provide them information about Green Dot and address concerns about school transformations (e.g., loyalty to the past, anxiety around change, concern with the unknown) through direct and consistent messaging.

•

With students, our goal is to get their buy-in to our school transformation efforts as soon as possible. We will develop a plan that includes presentations at current and feeder schools so students understand the “Green Dot Difference” and get a sense of what Green Dot schools are like. This will also provide us an opportunity to begin two-way conversations with students so we can learn about their thoughts and concerns, and ease their fears about transitioning to a new school.

With all stakeholders, we will highlight our service to students, demonstrate what high performing schools look like (through our results and testimonials from current Green Dot students and families) and honor the traditions and culture of the existing school. We will do this while offering a promise of safe and high quality education. In addition to the topics discussed above, we understand that we may need to attract families and students back to the East Baton Rouge Parish School System and restore faith in charter schools in New Orleans. We acknowledge that these are obstacles we may face and plan to address them through communication, community engagement and collaboration. 3. In August 2012, Green Dot’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) left the organization. After his departure, the Green Dot Home Office was restructured and the Operational departments were redistributed to other C-level executives. As Green Dot prepares for national expansion, we plan to change our Home Office organizational structure so that we can provide the best support to all of our schools. Refer to Attachment 2 for the proposed organizational chart of Green Dot’s Management Team (taking national expansion into consideration).

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Attachment 1. Green Dot Teacher Development and Evaluation System Teacher Evaluation Weights by Group Metric Classroom Observation Student Growth Percentile (Teacher-level) Student Growth Percentile (School-level) Student Survey Family Survey 360 (Peer) Survey Compliance

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Group 1 (Non-tested) 55% N/A 25% 10% 5% 5% N/A

Group 2 (Tested) 40% 30% 10% 10% 5% 5% N/A

Group 3 (Special Education) 35% N/A 20% 10% 5% 5% 25%

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Attachment 1. Green Dot Teacher Development and Evaluation System The College-Ready Teaching Framework

COLLEGE READY TEACHING Domain 1: Data-Driven Planning and Assessing Student Learning Standards 1.1 Establish standards-based learning objectives for instructional plans 1.2 Organize instructional plans to promote standardsbased, cognitively engaging learning for students 1.3 Use student data to guide planning 1.4 Use knowledge of subject matter content/skills and learning processes to plan for student learning 1.5 Design assessments to ensure student mastery

Indicators A) Selection of learning objectives B) Measurability of learning objectives A) Designing and sequencing of learning experiences B) Creating cognitively engaging learning experiences for students A) Lesson design guided by data A) Knowledge of subject matter to identify pre-requisite knowledge B) Addresses common content misconceptions A) Selection and progression assessments

B) Planned response to assessment data Domain 2: The Classroom Learning Environment

2.1 Create a classroom/community culture of learning

A) Value of effort and challenge

2.2 Manage student behavior through clear expectations A) Behavioral expectations and a balance of positive reinforcement, feedback, and B) Response to behavior redirection A) Interactions between teacher and students 2.3 Establish a culture of respect and rapport which supports students’ emotional safety B) Student interactions with each other 2.4 Use smooth and efficient transitions, routines, and A) Routines, procedures, and transitions procedures Domain 3: Instruction A) Communication of the learning objectives of the lesson 3.1 Communicate learning objectives to students B) Connections to prior and future learning experiences C) Criteria for success A) Executes lesson cycle 3.2 Facilitates Instructional Cycle B) Cognitive level of student learning experiences A) Questioning B) Academic discourse 3.3 Implementation of instructional strategies C) Group structures D) Resources and instructional materials A) Checking for students’ understanding and adjusting instruction 3.4 Monitor student learning during instruction B) Feedback to students C) Self-monitoring

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Attachment 1. Green Dot Teacher Development and Evaluation System

CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCHOOL COMMUNITY AND FAMILIES Domain 4: Developing Professional Practice Standards

Indicators

A) Accuracy 4.1 Engage in critical reflection, constantly revising practice B) Use in future planning to increase effectiveness C) Acceptance of feedback 4.2 Engage in collaborative relationships with peers to learn and share best practices and ensure continuity in student learning

A) Participation in a professional community B) Professional development C) Shared commitment A) Unwavering belief in all student’s potential

4.3 Upholding and exhibiting the CMO norms and expectations

B) Passion for excellence C) Personal Responsibility D) Respect for others and community

E) All stakeholders critical to process Domain 5: Developing Partnerships with Family and Community A) Initiation of meaningful communication 5.1 Develop two-way communication with families about student learning and achievement

5.2 Equip families with a variety of strategies to support their child's success and college readiness

B) Responsiveness to parent inquiries and communication C) Inclusion of the family as a partner in learning decisions A) Provision of parent education efforts to support students A) Goal setting and advocacy

5.3 Help students leverage resources in their community that support their success in college and beyond

B) Knowledge of community resources C) Support for students in accessing these resources

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Domain 1: Data-Driven Planning and Assessing Student Learning

1.3 Use student data to guide planning

1.2 Organize instructional plans to promote standards-based, cognitively engaging learning for students

1.1 Establish standards-based learning objectives and assessments

Standard

Does not Meet Standard Level I

Partially Meets Standard Level II

A) Selection of learning objectives

Learning objective(s) are missing a specific level of cognition or content. AND Learning objective(s) are misaligned (do not progress toward mastery of content standards).

B) Measurability of learning objectives

Proving behavior does not measure the learning objective(s).

A) Designing and sequencing of learning experiences

The design of the learning experiences is not aligned to the learning objective(s). AND Learning experiences are not sequenced to enable students to demonstrate independent mastery of the learning objective(s) through the gradual release of responsibility.

B) Creating cognitively engaging learning experiences for students A) Lesson design guided by data

Instructional plans do not provide opportunity for cognitively engaging learning experiences throughout the lesson cycle.

Learning objective(s) are missing either a specific level of cognition or content. OR Learning objective(s) are misaligned (do not progress toward mastery of content standards). Proving behavior measures the learning objective(s). AND Proving behavior uses only general criteria for measuring success. The design of the learning experiences is not aligned to the learning objective(s). OR Learning experiences are not sequenced to enable students to demonstrate independent mastery of the learning objective(s) through the gradual release of responsibility. Instructional plans include cognitively engaging learning experiences but without appropriate time and support throughout the lesson cycle.

Indicators

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The teacher does not use student data to guide or inform planning.

The teacher uses student data to inform planning of content organization or instructional strategies. OR The teacher uses student data to inform planning that meets the needs of the whole class.

Meets Standard Level III

Exemplifies Standard Level IV

Learning objective(s) include both specific levels of cognition and content. AND Learning objective(s) are aligned to and progress toward mastery of content standards.

All of level 3 and... Learning objective(s) exceed level of cognition or increase level of challenge required by content standards.

Proving behavior measures the learning objective(s). AND Proving behavior includes specific criteria (quantitative or qualitative) for measuring success. The design of the learning experiences is sequenced to enable students to demonstrate independent mastery of the learning objective(s) through the gradual release of responsibility.

All of level 3 and... Proving behavior is measured by multiple methods.

Instructional plans include cognitively engaging learning experiences throughout the lesson cycle, and each learning experience provides appropriate time and support.

All of level 3 and... Instructional plans provide differentiated, cognitively engaging learning experiences for subgroups of students.

The teacher uses student data to inform planning of content organization and instructional strategies. AND The teacher uses student data to inform planning that meets the needs of subgroups of students.

All of level 3 and... The teacher cites instructional strategies to meet the needs of individual students.

All of level 3 and... The design of the learning experiences is differentiated to meet the needs of subgroups of students.

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Domain 1: Data-Driven Planning and Assessing Student Learning

1.5 Design assessments to ensure student mastery

1.4 Use knowledge of subject matter content/skills and learning processes to plan for student learning

Standard

Indicators A) Knowledge of subject matter to identify prerequisite knowledge

B) Addresses common content misconceptions A) Selection and progression of assessments

B) Planned response to assessment data

Green Dot Public Schools

Does not Meet Standard Level I

Partially Meets Standard Level II

Meets Standard Level III

Exemplifies Standard Level IV

The teacher does not accurately identify or address the prerequisite knowledge and skills to achieve the standard/learning objective(s). OR The teacher does not include opportunities to activate prerequisite knowledge. OR The teacher does not include strategies to address potential gaps for whole group of students. The teacher does not anticipate common student misconceptions and does not include strategies to ensure students recognize and address these misconceptions to master the standard/learning objective(s). Formative assessments are not aligned to the learning objective(s). OR Formative assessments are not planned.

The teacher accurately identifies the prerequisite knowledge and skills to achieve the standard/learning objective(s). AND The teacher includes opportunities to activate prerequisite knowledge. AND The teacher includes strategies to address potential gaps for whole groups of students.

The teacher accurately identifies the prerequisite knowledge and skills to achieve the standard/learning objective(s). AND The teacher includes opportunities to activate prerequisite knowledge. AND The teacher includes strategies to address potential gaps for subgroups of students.

All of level 3 and... The teacher uses knowledge to address potential gaps for individual students.

The teacher anticipates common student misconceptions but does not include strategies to ensure students recognize and address these misconceptions to master the standard/learning objective(s). The formative assessments are inconsistently aligned to the learning objective(s). OR Formative assessments do not yield actionable data. OR Formative assessments are planned for a single component of the lesson cycle.

The teacher anticipates common student misconceptions and includes strategies that ensure students recognize and address these misconceptions to master the standard/learning objective(s). A variety of formative assessments are selected to yield actionable data about progress towards mastery of the learning objective(s). AND Formative assessments are planned for different components of the lesson cycle, progressing towards student mastery of the learning objective(s).

All of level 3 and... The teacher includes opportunities for students to uncover and correct their own misconceptions.

The teacher has not planned a response to data from formative assessments.

The teacher inconsistently plans responses to data from formative assessments.

The teacher plans to adjust instruction based on the data from each formative assessment.

All of level 3 and… The teacher provides opportunities for students to use formative assessments to reflect on current progress toward the learning objective(s) or to determine next steps to extend learning.

All of level 3 and… The formative assessments are differentiated to yield actionable data about subgroups of students.

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Domain 2: The Classroom Learning Environment

2.4 Use smooth and efficient transitions, routines, and procedures

2.3 Establish a culture of respect and rapport which supports students’ emotional safety

2.2 Manage student behavior through clear expectations and a balance of positive reinforcement, feedback, and redirection

2.1 Creates a classroom/ community culture of learning

Standard

Indicators A) Value of effort and challenge

A) Behavioral expectations

Does not Meet Standard Level I

Partially Meets Standard Level II

Meets Standard Level III

Exemplifies Standard Level IV

The teacher’s words and actions provide little or no encouragement for academic learning or convey low expectations for student effort. Students do not consistently persist in completing assigned work. It is evident that the teacher did not teach standards for student behavior. OR Student behavior does not contribute to an academic environment.

The teacher’s words and actions emphasize compliance and completion of work. Students seek to complete tasks without consistent focus on learning or persistence toward quality work. The teacher inconsistently communicates standards for student behavior. OR Student behavior inconsistently contributes to an academic environment. The teacher’s verbal or non-verbal response to student behavior is inconsistent. OR Teacher’s verbal or non-verbal response is focused on the wholeclass. OR Teacher emphasizes consequences over positive reinforcement. The teacher’s interactions with students inconsistently demonstrate respect and positivity, or are not consistently appropriate for the age and needs of students in the class. OR Students inconsistently exhibit respect for the teacher. Student interactions are generally polite and respectful, but students do not support each other’s learning.

The teacher’s words and actions promote belief in student ability and high expectations for student effort. Students consistently expend effort to learn and persist in producing high quality work. The teacher consistently communicates clear, high standards for student behavior. AND Student behavior contributes to an academic environment.

All of level 3 and... Students assume responsibility or take initiative for producing high quality work, holding themselves, and each other, to high standards of performance. The teacher has established clear, high standards for student behavior. Without being prompted, students articulate or promote behavioral expectations that support the classroom’s academic environment.

The teacher’s verbal or non-verbal response to student behavior is consistent, respectful, proactive, and includes redirection, feedback or positive reinforcement to specific students.

All of level 3 and... Students appropriately respond to or redirect each other’s behavior.

The teacher’s interactions with students are respectful, positive, and appropriate for the age and needs of the students in the class. AND Students exhibit respect for the teacher.

All of level 3 and… The teacher’s interactions demonstrate a positive rapport with individual students.

Student interactions are polite and respectful, and students support each other’s learning.

All of level 3 and... Students encourage each other individually.

The teacher has established some routines, procedures, and transitions; however, some may be missing or inconsistently enforced, resulting in the loss of instructional time.

The teacher has established and enforces routines, procedures, and transitions that maximize instructional time.

All of level 3 and... With minimal prompting, students effectively facilitate some routines, procedures, and transitions.

B) Response to behavior

The teacher does not respond to misbehavior when necessary, or the response is repressive or disrespectful of student dignity.

A) Interactions between teacher and students

The teacher’s interactions with some students are negative, demeaning, or inappropriate to the age and needs of the students in the class. OR Students exhibit disrespect for the teacher.

B) Student interactions with each other

Student interactions are impolite and disrespectful, which interferes with learning for some students.

A) Routines, procedures, and transitions

Green Dot Public Schools

The teacher has not established or does not enforce routines, procedures, and transitions, resulting in a loss of instructional time.

6

Domain 3: Instruction

3.2 Facilitates Instructional Cycle

3.1 Communicate learning objectives to students

Standard

Indicators

Does not Meet Standard Level I

Partially Meets Standard Level II

A) Communicati on of the learning objectives of the lesson

The teacher does not explain the learning objective(s).

B) Connections to prior and future learning experiences

The teacher makes limited connections between current learning objective(s) and the students’ prior or future learning.

C) Criteria for success

The teacher does not establish criteria for successfully demonstrating attainment of the learning objective(s).

The teacher mentions but does not clearly explain the criteria for successfully demonstrating attainment of the learning objective(s).

A) Executes lesson cycle

The teacher executes a lesson cycle that is inappropriately paced. AND The teacher does not execute a lesson cycle that gradually releases responsibility. Learning experiences are not cognitively engaging. OR Learning experiences do not match the level of rigor required to attain mastery of the learning objective(s).

The teacher executes a lesson cycle that is inappropriately paced. OR The teacher does not execute a lesson cycle that gradually releases responsibility. Some learning experiences are cognitively engaging. OR Some learning experiences match the level of rigor required to attain mastery of the learning objective(s).

B) Cognitive Level of Student Learning Experiences

Green Dot Public Schools

The teacher initially explains the learning objective(s) but does not refer to the objective(s) throughout the lesson. OR Students cannot articulate what they are expected to learn. The teacher makes connections between the current learning objective(s) and the students’ prior or future learning. Connections are vague or based on connections to assessments and grades.

Meets Standard Level III

Exemplifies Standard Level IV

The teacher explains the learning objective(s) and refers back to it throughout the lesson. AND Students are able to articulate what they are expected to learn.

All of level 3 and... Students are able to articulate the relevance of the learning objective(s).

The teacher makes connections between the current learning objective(s) and the students’ prior and future learning to further student understanding of the content material within or outside of the discipline or unit. The teacher clearly articulates the criteria for successfully demonstrating attainment of the lesson objective(s). AND Students are able to articulate the criteria for successfully demonstrating attainment of the learning objective(s). The teacher executes an appropriately paced lesson cycle that gradually releases responsibility so that students can independently master the learning objective(s).

The teacher facilitates as students build connections between the current learning objective(s) and their prior and future learning. Students make explicit connections within or outside of the discipline or unit. All of level 3 and... The teacher solicits student ideas to define or affirm the criteria for successfully demonstrating attainment of the learning objective(s).

Learning experiences throughout the lesson cycle are cognitively engaging. AND Learning experiences consistently match the level of rigor required to attain mastery of the learning objective(s).

All of level 3 and... Learning experiences require student thinking that exceeds the level of cognition or increases the level of challenge required by content standards.

All of level 3 and... To address the learning needs of subgroups, the teacher adapts the pacing or the release of responsibility.

7

Domain 3: Instruction

3.3 Implementation of instructional strategies

Standard

Indicators

Does not Meet Standard Level I

Partially Meets Standard Level II

A) Questioning

Many questions posed by the teacher do not move student thinking toward mastery of the learning objective(s). OR Most of the questions posed by the teacher require little cognitive challenge.

The teacher poses questions to a small number of students in the class. OR The teacher inconsistently scaffolds questions toward cognitive challenge and mastery of the learning objective(s).

B) Academic Discourse

The teacher does not require students to use the language of the discipline, discuss academic ideas, or justify their reasoning. OR The teacher provides minimal opportunities for student discussion.

The teacher inconsistently requires students in whole class or small group conversations to use the language of the discipline, discuss academic ideas, or justify their reasoning. OR Academic discourse is limited to a small number of students. The structure and size of grouping arrangements inconsistently move students toward mastery of the learning objective(s). OR Students inconsistently participate within all group structures.

C) Group structures

D) Resources and instructional materials

Green Dot Public Schools

The structure and size of grouping arrangements do not move students toward mastery of the learning objective(s).

Resources and instructional materials are unsuitable to the lesson objective(s), distract from or interfere with student learning, or do not promote cognitive engagement.

Resources and instructional materials are partially suitable to the lesson objective(s). Resources and materials only partially promote cognitive engagement.

Meets Standard Level III The teacher poses questions to a wide range of students that are scaffolded toward cognitive challenge and mastery of the learning objective(s). AND The teacher uses strategies to enable students to correctly answer questions and extend or justify their thinking. The teacher facilitates conversations in whole class and small group settings that require all students to consistently use the language of the discipline, discuss academic ideas, and justify their reasoning.

The structure and size of grouping arrangements move students toward mastery of the learning objective(s). AND Students actively participate within all group structures.

Resources and instructional materials are suitable to the lesson objective(s), support attainment of the learning objective(s), and promote cognitive engagement.

Exemplifies Standard Level IV All of Level 3 and… Students pose questions that require cognitive challenge. OR Students initiate questions to further other students’ understanding of the content.

Students facilitate whole class or small group discussions and consistently use the language of the discipline, discuss academic ideas, and justify their reasoning.

All of level 3 and... The teacher differentiates grouping arrangements in order to maximize learning for individual students. Students rely on each other to work through challenging activities and hold themselves and each other accountable for individual or group work. All of level 3 and... Resources and instructional materials require cognitive engagement. Students choose, adapt, or create materials to extend learning.

8

Domain 3: Instruction

3.4 Monitoring student learning during instruction

Standard

Does not Meet Standard Level I

Partially Meets Standard Level II

Meets Standard Level III

A) Checking for understanding and adjusting instruction

The teacher does not check for students’ understanding of the learning objectives during the lesson. OR The teacher does not adjust instruction based on the data.

The teacher inconsistently checks for understanding throughout the lesson cycle. OR The checks do not yield actionable data on students’ progress toward the learning objective(s). OR The teacher inconsistently or ineffectively adjusts instruction based on the data.

The teacher checks for understanding using varied techniques throughout the lesson cycle to yield actionable data on students’ progress toward the learning objective(s). AND The teacher adjusts instruction based on the data to meet students’ learning needs.

All of level 3 and... The teacher implements differentiated instruction and continued checks for understanding based on the progress of subgroups toward mastery of the learning objective(s).

B) Feedback to students

The teacher does not provide feedback to students. OR Feedback does not advance students toward mastery of the learning objective(s).

The teacher provides feedback throughout the lesson cycle that is specific and timely. AND Feedback consistently advances students toward attainment of the learning objective(s).

All of level 3 and... Students provide specific feedback to one another.

The teacher provides students with opportunities for self-monitoring exercises that move students towards a deeper mastery of the objective(s).

Students self-monitor without the direction of the teacher. AND Students judge their own performance relative to success criteria.

Indicators

C) Selfmonitoring

Green Dot Public Schools

The teacher does not provide students with opportunities to engage in self- monitoring of their own progress or thinking.

The teacher provides feedback but not throughout the lesson cycle. OR Feedback inconsistently advances students toward attainment of the learning objective(s).

The teacher provides students with limited opportunities for selfmonitoring exercises.

Exemplifies Standard Level IV

9

Domain 4: Contributions to School Community and Families Standard

Indicators

4.2 Engage in collaborative relationships with peers to learn and share best practices and ensure continuity in student learning.

4.1 Engage in critical reflection, constantly revising practice to increase effectiveness

A) Accuracy

B) Use in future planning

C) Acceptance of feedback

A) Participation in a professional community B) Professional development

C) Shared commitment

Green Dot Public Schools

Does not Meet Standard Level I

Partially Meets Standard Level II

Meets Standard Level III

The teacher does not know the degree to which a lesson was effective or achieved its instructional goals, or profoundly misjudges the success of a lesson. The teacher has limited suggestions for how the lesson could be improved.

The teacher has a generally accurate impression of a lesson’s effectiveness and success in meeting the instructional goals.

The teacher is resistant to feedback from supervisors or colleagues and/or does not use the feedback to improve practice. The teacher avoids participating in the professional community activities or has strained relationships with colleagues that negatively impact the learning community. The teacher resists applying learning gained from professional development activities, and does not share knowledge with colleagues.

The teacher accepts feedback from supervisors and colleagues but may/may not use the feedback to improve practice. The teacher participates in professional community activities as required, maintaining cordial relationships with colleagues.

The teacher demonstrates little commitment to supporting shared agreements that support student learning.

The teacher adheres to shared agreements that support student learning.

The teacher makes an accurate assessment of a lesson’s effectiveness and success in meeting the instructional goals, citing general data to support the judgment. The teacher makes specific suggestions about how the specific lesson can be improved and general suggestions for improving the teaching practice as a whole. The teacher welcomes feedback from supervisors and colleagues and uses the feedback to improve practice. The teacher actively participates in the professional community by developing positive and productive professional relationships with colleagues. The teacher welcomes professional development opportunities and applies the learning gained to practice based on an individual assessment of need. The teacher willingly shares expertise with others. The teacher contributes to and actively endorses shared agreements that support student learning.

The teacher makes general suggestions about how the lesson could be improved.

The teacher applies learning gained from professional development activities, and makes limited contributions to others or the profession.

Exemplifies Standard Level IV All of level 3 and... The teacher cites specific data, and weighs the relative strengths of each data source. . All of level 3 and... The teacher predicts how the improvements will advance student learning in future lessons. All of level 3 and... The teacher proactively seeks feedback on what has been implemented. All of level 3 and... The teacher assumes appropriate leadership roles and promoting positive and professional relationships All of level 3 and... The teacher seeks out professional development opportunities and initiates activities that contribute to the profession.

All of level 3 and... The teacher assumes a leadership role in contributing to, endorsing and encouraging others to embrace the shared agreements that support student learning.

10

Domain 4: Contributions to School Community and Families

4.3 Exhibiting and upholding the Green Dot Core Values

Standard

Indicators A) Unwavering belief in all student’s potential

B) Passion for excellence

C) Personal responsibility

D) Respect for others and community:

E) All stakeholders critical to process

Green Dot Public Schools

Does not Meet Standard Level I

Partially Meets Standard Level II

Meets Standard Level III

Exemplifies Standard Level IV

Teacher demonstrates a pattern of failing to put students first (for example, making self available to students, not referring students to academic or behavioral interventions as needed, inconsistently promoting a positive “students can achieve” attitude on campus). Teacher demonstrates a pattern of failing to be solution-oriented, strive for continuous improvement, and be data-driven.

With rare exception, teacher puts students first, (for example, making self available to students referring students to academic or behavioral interventions as needed, promoting a positive “students can achieve” attitude on campus).

Teacher consistently puts students first (for example, making self available to students, referring students to academic or behavioral interventions as needed, promoting a positive “students can achieve” attitude on campus).

All of level 3 and... The teacher assumes a leadership role in encouraging others to develop this belief.

With rare exception, teacher is solution-oriented, striving for continuous improvement, and is data-driven

Teacher is consistently solutionoriented, striving for continuous improvement, and is data-driven.

Teacher demonstrates a pattern of failing to hold himself/herself accountable for results, inconsistently staying until the job is well-done. Teacher demonstrates a pattern of failing to interact with students, colleagues, parents/guardians, and community members in a respectful manner. Teacher demonstrates a pattern of failing to solicit and incorporate input from stakeholders.

With rare exception, teacher holds him/herself accountable for results, staying until the job is well-done.

Teacher consistently holds him/herself accountable for results, staying until the job is well-done.

All of level 3 and... The teacher takes it upon himself to isolate concerns at the school level, develop solutions, and present them to staff and stakeholders. All of level 3 and... The teacher seeks out opportunities to help others develop their personal responsibility.

With rare exception, teacher interacts with students, colleagues, parents/guardians, and community members in a respectful manner.

Teacher consistently interacts with students, colleagues, parents/guardians, and community members in a respectful manner.

All of level 3 and... The students contribute to the design and implementation of the parent communication system.

With rare exception, teacher solicits and incorporates input from all stakeholders.

Teacher consistently solicits and incorporates input from all stakeholders.

All of level 3 and... The teacher is transparent about stakeholder input, and allows stakeholders to view their data.

11

Domain 5: Developing Partnerships with Family and Community

5.2 Equip families with a variety of strategies to support their child's success and college readiness

5.1 Develop two-way communication with families about student learning and achievement

Standard

Indicators

Does not Meet Standard Level I

Partially Meets Standard Level II

Meets Standard Level III

Exemplifies Standard Level IV All of level 3 and... The teacher promotes frequent twoway communication with parents to improve student learning with students contributing to the design of the system. All of level 3 and... The teacher handles this communication with professional and cultural sensitivity.

A) Initiation of meaningful communication

The teacher provides minimal information to parents about individual students, and/or the communication is inappropriate to the cultures of the families.

The teacher adheres to the school’s required procedures for communicating with families with an awareness of cultural norms

The teacher initiates communication with parents about students’ progress on a regular basis, respecting cultural norms.

B) Responsiveness to parent inquiries and communication C) Inclusion of the family as a partner in learning decisions A) Provision of parent education efforts to support students

The teacher does not respond, or regularly responds insensitively to parent concerns about students.

The teacher responds to parent concerns in a superficial or cursory manner, or responses may reflect occasional insensitivity

The teacher responds to parent concerns in a timely and culturally respectful manner.

The teacher makes no attempt to engage families in the instructional program, or such efforts are inappropriate.

The teacher makes modest and partially successful attempts to engage families in the instructional program.

The teacher’s efforts to engage families in the instructional program are frequent and successful.

All of level 3 and... Students contribute ideas for projects that will be enhanced by family participation.

The teacher does not provide parents with strategies to support their child’s success and collegereadiness.

The teacher provides parents with limited strategies to support their child’s success and college-readiness.

The teacher provides parents with several strategies to support their child’s success and college- readiness including resources outside of the school.

The teacher works collaboratively with parents to identify appropriate strategies to support their child’s success and college- readiness including resources outside of the school. Students initiate the use of strategies with their parents.

Green Dot Public Schools

12

Domain 5: Developing Partnerships with Family and Community

5.3 Help students leverage resources in their community that support their success in college and beyond

Standard

Indicators

Does not Meet Standard Level I

Partially Meets Standard Level II

Meets Standard Level III

Exemplifies Standard Level IV

The teacher encourages and advocates for students to attain high learning goals, works to help set and monitor goals, and integrates curriculum experiences that connect to student goals. The teacher displays awareness of resources for students available through the school or CMO, and familiarity with resources external to the school and on the Internet; available resources are utilized to increase relevance and student understanding of success in college and beyond. The teacher supports and advocates for students in accessing resources within and outside of the school by providing information and facilitating personal contacts.

All of level 3 and... The teacher establishes processes through which students establish and monitor high personal learning goals, and self-advocate for their attainment of the goals. All of level 3 and... Students identify and incorporate resources relevant to them, and that increases their understanding of success in college and beyond.

A) Goal setting and advocacy

There is little / no evidence that students work with the teacher to establish learning goals, or that the teacher advocates for students to establish high learning goals.

There is evidence that the teacher advocates for groups of students to establish high learning goals, and that he/she works with students as a group to set goals.

B) Knowledge of community resources

The teacher is unaware of resources for students available through the school, CMO or community that students may access to learn about success in college and beyond.

C) Support for students in accessing these resources

The teacher is unaware of resources and therefore unable to support students accessing resources.

The teacher demonstrates knowledge of resources for students available through the school or CMO, but has limited knowledge of resources available more broadly, or does not work to utilize the available resources to support student understanding of success in college and beyond. The teacher refers students to other adults in the school to support students in accessing resources.

Green Dot Public Schools

All of level 3 and... The teacher promotes the students in taking responsibility for identifying and maintaining contacts with resources.

13

Attachment 2. Green Dot Senior Management Team Green Dot Board of Directors

Chief Executive Officer Marco Petruzzi

President & Chief Academic Officer Cristina de Jesus

National Growth Team Lead* Megan Quaile

VP of Education Annette Gonzalez (Effective 07/13)

VP of Human Capital Kelly Hurley

Cluster Director Leilani Abulon (Effective 07/13)

VP of Employee Solutions Kevin Keelen

Cluster Director Chad Soleo

Executive Director Louisiana* TBH

Chief Financial Officer Sabrina Ayala

National Growth Operations Lead * TBH National Growth Finance Lead* TBH

VP of IT Bill Campbell

Cluster Director Gordon Gibbings * Green Dot is forming a National Expansion Growth Team in its Home Office that will be fully dedicated to helping develop and start up Green Dot schools and offices in new regions

VP of Finance & Business Affairs Chris Humphries