2015 Charter School Application Cycle
The 2015 Charter School Request for Applications (RFA) Process has completed. Please return to this website for updates regarding the 2016 Charter School RFA process in December 2015.
If you are interested to learn more about the RFA process please contact Sean Perkins, Executive Director of Portfolio Management, at sean_perkins@opsb.us.
Executive Summaries, Proposal Narratives and Budgets for each application considered in the 2015 cycle are below.
The recommendation report provided by the district’s independent evaluation team, as well as district administration recommendations, will be posted to this website as soon as they are completed. The results of the independent evaluation are taken under advisement, but neither the recommendations of the evaluation teams nor those of district administration are binding on the School Board.
The School Board will host a Public Hearing regarding 2015 charter applications on Tuesday, May 19th at McDonogh #35 High School in the Mack Spears Auditorium, prior to its regularly-scheduled May Board Business Meetings. Complete copies of all 2015 charter application materials will be available for public viewing at both the Hearing and the Board Business Meeting on Tuesday, May 19th, 2015.
ACCESS School Alliance
- ACCESS School Alliance Executive Summary
- ACCESS School Alliance Proposal Narrative
- ACCESS Proposed Budget
- ACCESS Independent Evaluation & Applicant Response
- ACCESS Administration Recommendation
AMIkids Bayou Region, Inc. (Experienced Operator)
- AMIKids Bayou Region, Inc. Executive Summary
- AMIkids Bayou Region, Inc. Proposal Narrative
- AMIkids Bayou Region, Inc. Proposed Budget
- AMIkids Network Level Budget
- AMIkids Independent Evaluation & Applicant Response
- AMIkids Administration Recommendation
FirstLine Schools, Inc. (Experienced Operator)
- FirstLine Schools, Inc. Executive Summary
- FirstLine Schools, Inc. Proposal Narrative
- FirstLine Schools, Inc. Proposed Budget
- FirstLine Schools, Inc. Network Level Budget
- Firstline Independent Evaluation
- FirstLine Administration Recommendation
Noble Minds
- Noble Minds Executive Summary
- Noble Minds Proposal Narrative
- Noble Minds Proposed Budget
- Noble Minds Independent Evaluation & Applicant Response
- Noble Minds Administration Recommendation
Rooted School
- Rooted School Executive Summary
- Rooted School Proposal Narrative
- Rooted School Proposed Budget
- Rooted School Independent Evaluation
- Rooted School Administration Recommendation
Young Audiences Charter School Association (Experienced Operator)
- Young Audiences Executive Summary
- Young Audiences Proposal Narrative
- Young Audiences Proposed Budget
- Young Audiences Network Level Budget
- Young Audiences Independent Evaluation & Applicant Response
- Young Audiences Administration Recommendation
This year’s RFA process is detailed below.
2015 OPSB Charter School Request For Applications (RFA) Process
Thank you for your interest in serving the students and families of Orleans Parish by applying to operate a Type 1 or Type 3 charter school. Please review the 2015 Citywide Charter School Authorizer Priorities, which can be viewed here: 2015 Citywide Strategic Priorities The 2015 RFA calendar can be found below. Prospective applicants are encouraged to continue to check this page frequently, as all updates and new materials will be posted here as soon as they are available.
- Part 1, Notice of Intent & Eligibility Determination, can be located here: 2015 OPSB RFA Part 1.
New for 2015– Early Eligibility Review: The OPSB Charter Office will provide prospective applicants with a single review of eligibility documentation prior to the submission deadline. Applicants wishing to receive an Early Eligibility Review must submit documents no later than 12:00 p.m. CST, Friday, January 23, 2015.
Part 1: Notice of Intent and Eligibility Determination is due no later than: 5:00 p.m. CST on:
- Friday, January 23, 2015 for all Type 3 (Conversion of an Existing Public) Charter Schools
- Friday, January 30, 2015 for all Type 1 (New Start) Charter Schools.
Late applications cannot be accepted.
Applications can be submitted via e-mail to Sean Perkins at sean_perkins@opsb.us, or via Fluid Review here: https://opsb-charter-rfa.fluidreview.com/
Updated 1/12/2015:
- The OPSB Charter School Office recently hosted an information session for prospective applicants on January 12, 2015 at OPSB. A copy of that presentation can be viewed here: 2015 RFA Info Session
Updated 1/7/2015:
- Part 2, Application & Supplementary Materials, can be located here: OPSB 2015 RFA Part 2. Please note that Part 2 cannot be completed until Part 1, Notice of Intent & Eligibility Determination has been cleared.
|
2015 OPSB RFA Process Timeline |
|
| MILESTONE/TASK | DATE (ALL TIMES CT) |
| RFA Release | December 12, 2014—Part 1 January 7, 2015—Part 2 |
| Information Session | 4:30pm, January 12, 2015 at OPSB 5th Floor |
| Part 1: Eligibility Review Deadline | Noon, January 23, 2015 |
| Part 1: Notice of Intent & Eligibility Documentation Deadline | Type 3: Noon, January 23, 2015 Type 1: Noon, January 30, 2015 |
| Type 3 Conversion – Demonstrated Support Procedures | January 26 -February 4, 2015 |
| Type 1 & 3 Final Eligibility Determinations | February 6, 2015 |
| Part 2: Type 1 and Type 3 – Complete Applications due | Noon, March 6, 2015 |
| Final Completeness re-check | March 13, 2015 |
| Requests for Clarification presented to applicants | April 6, 2015 |
| Deadline for applicant responses to Request for Clarification | Noon, April 15, 2015 |
| Capacity Interviews | April 27, 2015 |
| Evaluator Recommendations presented to applicants and OPSB staff | May 7, 2015 |
| Deadline for applicant response to evaluator recommendation | 5 p.m., May 8, 2015 |
| Public Hearing | 4:00 p.m., CT, May 19, 2015 at McDonogh #35 (1331 Kerlerec Street) |
| OPSB Board Business Meeting – Final Decisions | Immediately following Public Hearing |
Additionally, prospective applicants may also wish to review:
- 2014 RFA application documents can be found here: 2014 RFA Process
- The Louisiana Common Charter Application, which is available on the Louisiana Department of Education’s website, link here
- The additional resources page of this website, which provides links to outside resources that may assist in preparing your application, link here
Call for Evaluators
If you are interested in being an independent evaluator of applications during the 2015 OPSB Charter School RFA process, please visit our website here: 2015 OPSB Charter RFA Evaluators
Questions & Concerns
Should you have additional questions regarding the 2015 OPSB Charter School RFA process, please contact: Sean Perkins. Assistant Director, Charter School Performance & Accountability sean_perkins@opsb.us ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Public Disclosure All responses to the Charter School RFA submitted to OPSB are public records, pursuant to the Louisiana Public Records Law, LSA-R.S. 44:1 et seq.