THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT/ THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

Office of P-12 Education

Ira Schwartz, Assistant Commissioner
Office of Accountability
55 Hanson Place, Room 400
Brooklyn, New York 11217
Tel. (718) 722-2796 / Fax: (718) 722-4559


June 26, 2014

Dr. Sharon Contreras
Superintendent of Schools
Syracuse City School District
725 Harrison Street
Syracuse, NY13210

Dear Superintendent Contreras:

I am writing to follow-up on your discussion on June 21, 2014 with Deputy Commissioner Ken
Slentz regarding the Syracuse City School Districts plan for Delaware Elementary School. On
February 27, 2014, I notified the Syracuse City School District (SCSD) regarding the options
available for Fowler High School, Hughes Elementary School, and Delaware Elementary
School. All of these schools have failed to make academic progress over the last three years,
as required of schools identified as either persistently lowest achieving (now known as Priority
Schools) and/or Schools Under Registration Review. The district was required to submit a plan
for each of the three identified schools by May 5, 2014. As you are aware, New York State
Education Department (NYSED or the Department) staff are currently reviewing the plans you
have submitted for Hughes Elementary School and Fowler High School.

In your May 5, 2014 letter, you stated that a plan for Delaware Elementary School (Delaware)
was not submitted as required because the district needs further technical assistance in
exploring a contract with an Education Partner Organization (EPO) or the conversion of the
school to a charter school. You further indicated that the district was not able to consider the
closure or phase-out of the school due to the lack of seat availability at those schools adjacent
to Delawares attendance area. On June 21, 2014 you shared that given that the district
needed to enroll kindergarten students at the Delaware site, you had no choice but to implement
a phase out/phase in for one school year; therefore, the districts intention is to recommend to
the Board of Education to register a new elementary school to serve the incoming Delaware
kindergarten students (on the Delaware campus) for the 2014-15 school year. You also shared
the intent of the district to develop a plan for the conversion of Delaware Elementary School and
the newly registered school into a charter school that will begin operation in the 2015-16 school
year.

The Commissioner will allow the district until July 7, 2014 to submit registration documents for
the new school to be opened in September 2014. Additionally, the Commissioner will allow the
district until December 31, 2014 to submit to the Board of Regents an application for charter
school conversion for the 2015-16 school year. However, since Delaware Elementary School
has been recognized by NYSED and the district as a poor learning environment, if SCSD does
not submit both an approvable new school registration package for the school and a
comprehensive support plan (in the form of an enhanced SCEP) for students in Delaware
grades 1-5, kindergarten students will not be allowed to enroll in the kindergarten program at
Delaware for the 2014-15 school year. In the event that the new school is not registered at the
July Regents meeting, SCSD will be required to provide the Department by July 15, 2014 a plan

for how students who would have attended the newly registered kindergarten school will be
enrolled at other elementary schools in the district.

Next Steps

In order to receive the additional timeline flexibility offered by the Commissioner, SCSD must do
the following:

1. The Syracuse Board of Education must approve a petition to register the new school and
the district must submit the petition and new school registration documents to NYSED by
July 7, 2014. The deadline is necessary to ensure that the Department has sufficient
time to review the registration petition prior to Board of Regents meeting on July 10,
2014.
2. Immediately begin collaboration with Angelica Infante, Associate Commissioner for
Bilingual Education and Foreign Language Services, and her staff on the design of the
kindergarten school program.
3. Provide NYSED with an enhanced School Comprehensive Education Plan for the 2014-
15 school year that outlines the additional resources and interventions that the district
will put in place at Delaware Elementary School to support the remaining students in
grades 1 through 5. The district may not simply continue with the plan of support already
in place, as that support has not had the desired impact on student achievement. The
plan must include the strategies that will be used to improve student performance
through mandatory professional development time for teachers, expanded learning time
for students, and dedicated time to engage with parents regarding the new plan for the
school. The enhanced SCEP for the 2014-15 school year is due to NYSED by July
31, 2014.
4. By July 15, provide a description of the districts realistic and comprehensive strategy for
creation of the proposed charter school conversion application. This strategy must
include a tight timeline by which SCSD will be able to submit an approvable charter
conversion application for the school for action by the Board of Regents. This
description should include developing a Request for Charter School Proposals or
application during the summer, accepting applications no later than the end of
September, selecting a charter school applicant no later than the end of October, and
submitting an application no later than December 31, 2014.
5. By December 31, 2014, provide the Department with an approvable charter conversion
application for action by the Board of Regents.

The Commissioner is committed to ensuring that SCSD provides the best educational options
possible for students at Delaware Elementary School. In order to ensure that the district
carries out these directives, the Commissioner further directs the following:

1. SCSD must identify a district staff person or hire an outside individual by July 30,
2014 whose sole responsibilities are to ensure that the school plan created for the 2015-
16 school year provides evidence of thoughtful preparation and resource allocation and
ensures that decisions pertaining to curriculum, staffing, professional development, and
resource allocation are made according to a logical timeline that supports successful
implementation of the plan beginning September 2015. This individual will work closely
with any Distinguished Educator that the Commissioner may appoint to the school and
must provide NYSED with regular written updates on the progress of planning.
2. SCSD and the identified individual must participate in monthly meetings with NYSED
regarding the development of the plan and the progress made in the areas of operations,
staffing, curriculum, and school programming. The first meeting must be held no later
than the first week of August 2014. SCSD also must provide written reports that
demonstrate progress made in these areas at these meetings.


The charter conversion application for Delaware Elementary School for the 2015-16
school year must be submitted by December 31, 2014. If the application is approved by the
Board of Regents, the charter applicant will work with SCSD as the chartering entity to ensure
that the school is ready to open in September 2015. If the application is either not submitted or
not approved by the Board of Regents, the Commissioner will direct that the SCSD provide a
plan for the accelerated phase out of Delaware Elementary School. If the plan submitted is not
satisfactory, the Commissioner will recommend to the Board of Regents that the registration of
the school be revoked.

My staff will contact you within the next week to determine the status of your efforts to meet
these conditions. Once you have identified the individual who will serve as the lead on the
Delaware Elementary School plan, please forward their name, contact information, and resume
to me at ischwart@mail.nysed.gov.

We look forward to working with you to ensure that students at Delaware Elementary receive
the education they deserve - one that prepares them for success in middle and high school,
high school graduation, and ultimately college and careers.


Sincerely,



Ira Schwartz


cc: Members of the Syracuse Board of Education
Laura Kelley
John King
Beth Berlin
Angelica Infante
Bill Clarke