Lawrence Family Development Charter School Strategic Planning FY’2013-14 was Lawrence Family Development Charter School’s (LFDCS) nineteenth year operating as a Commonwealth public charter school. This year centered on Strategic Planning as the Charter School prepared for a re-chartering submission, established goals and priorities for 2014-2020 and actively sought opportunities to disseminate best practices as a Level 1 public school district. The goals from Strategic Planning committed to: maintaining our focus on mission and pledge to family engagement, measuring the academic performance of our students, and strengthening our administrative infrastructure by carefully monitoring growth and financial resources. LFDCS analyzed its staffing needs, did succession planning, hosted professional development sessions and expanded external partnerships for interdisciplinary instructional practices in science, technology, engineering and math. As LFDCS now transitions from Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks to the national Common Core standards, it will continue to demonstrate strong student performance with responsive support services for all students. The Conditions for School Effectiveness This year as LFDCS did planning and preparation of the re-chartering document, it considered The Conditions for School Effectiveness (CSEs) which articulate what schools need to have in place to educate students. The Conditions for School Effectiveness was voted into regulation by the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in 2010. These now become the “scorecard” as LFDCS assesses plans and builds upon a strong performance as one out of fifteen of the first Massachusetts public charter schools. As the Strategic Planning process was executed by the Lawrence Family Development and Education Fund, Inc., which is the Management Organization for the Charter School, a keen focus was on the Charter School’s strength with community and parent engagement, RTI instructional techniques, student progress-monitoring and success with English language learners. The Conditions for School Effectiveness mandates the strategic use of resources and adequate budget authority, so LFDCS critically assessed opportunities and challenges with financial resources and systems. Lawrence Family Development Charter School also celebrated its success as a Commonwealth charter school that was initially chartered and then re-chartered three times (a total of four charters). To complement Strategic Planning LFDEF, Inc. engaged with a consultant to assist with five-year budget planning. The school also benefitted from generous donations of equipment and furniture from The Furniture Trust to refurbish segments of its campuses at no cost. Preferred Provider/Turnaround Operator As part of the planning process and in the year following the opening of the Academy of Early Academic Preparation, Lawrence Family Development Charter School began discussions with the Lawrence Public Schools (LPS) on ways in which our experienced educators and ESL services might be disseminated. This led to an application by the Charter School’s Management Organization, Lawrence Family Development and Education Fund, Inc., to become an approved Preferred Provider/Turnaround Operator for Massachusetts school districts in need of targeted assistance. Beginning in September 2014, the first twoyear contract with the Lawrence Public Schools will open a demonstration project called Lawrence Family Public Academy. This project will involve LFDCS’ sharing of staff members, including the Academy’s former Head of School and two teachers who will be assigned to this project. Their task will be to provide targeted assistance to LPS with teacher preparation, academic skills, language acquisition and social advancement of young children. 16
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