Horizons Charter Application Summative Renewal Report.pdf (291 KB)

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Summative Report Authorizer Staff Recommendations and Areas of Concern Horizons Renewal Application CHARTER RENEWAL SUMMATIVE REPORT School Name:

Horizons

Executive Directors and Principals:

Jasmine Graves Black-Clemons, Head of School Kristin Hauger, Asst. Head of School

Chair, Board of Directors:

Governing Board: Travis Lockhart, Parent Board Chair Michael Joseph, Vice Chair Joel Gratz, Treasurer Jordan Logan, Secretary Jessica Slatus Rob Horansky Jim Freund Caley Gallison Rachel Clionsky Fran Cohen Kate Bachtel

Review Committee:

Dr. Bianca Gallegos, Charter Authorizer & Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships Dr. Emma Herzog, Executive Director of Academics Lynette Welk, Director of Career and Technical Education

Kristin Nelson-Steinhoff, Director of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education Michelle Brenner, Executive Director of Special Education Katie Mills, Director of Professional Learning Dr. Neil Anderson, Executive Director of Southwest Network Dr. Jessica Alzen, Executive Director of Accountability & Evaluation Dr. Elizabeth Lundell, Equity Counsel / Title IX Coordinator Sennen Knauer, Director of Student Support Services Mike Wilcox, Director of Student Enrollment Bill Sutter, Chief Financial Officer Recommendation from Charter Authorizer:

The Horizons Charter Contract is recommended for renewal.

Item/s

Strengths ● SPF

☐ School Performance Framework and/or District Performance Framework

○ At performance (79.1) ○ All scorable CMAS achievement & growth categories are Meets or Exceeds ● Appreciate the clear mission & vision, and embedded clarity on core values ● Longstanding history in BVSD, 9x John Irwin award, best elementary & middle school in 2025 ● Structures in place to refine practice, articulated areas of continued growth

Questions or Concerns ● SPF ○ Over the last 3 years, a downward trend in SPF (FY23 85.4, FY24 80.4, FY25 79.1) as well as consistently low testing participation ○ Wondering about the school team’s analysis of their SPF, and what opportunities they see for improvement in the future ○ Wondering about additional growth and achievement data

include SDL projects and curriculum alignment ●

●

Given the provided school calendar and posted school times the following were calculated: ☐ School Calendar

● 177 student contact days ● MS: 1,063.25 instructional hours ● Elementary: 1,033.75 instructional hours

●

☐ Master Staff Schedule (including class times,

● Separate lunch blocks by grades ● Separate recess by grades

for subgroups that are not reported on SPF (MLLs, SWDs, Minority, FRL, etc) Curious about how the aspects of mission & vision that connect with student choice and project-based learning aligns with ensuring expectations of grade level standards are met, and how PBL is accomplished with the curricular resource choices noted below This last year, some concerns with communication about which district vendor PL Horizons was attending and not attending. Would ask that communication following charter agreement improve for future. Middle school is not meeting the minimum instructional hours per CDE of 1,080 hours for middle school. CDE does allow you to meet 1,056 instructional hours including snow days and conference exchange days. This calendar does not allow for weather events. Per the master schedule lunch is 40 minutes including the passing period back from lunch (unable to be counted in instructional time). Adjust bell schedule to ensure 1,080 hours of instruction are met each school year.

● The schedule provided does not show teacher and content information.

teachers, content, and location) ☐ Staff Roster (including roles/responsibilities/grades taught, etc.)

☐ Curriculum Overview

● Intervention/Extension for 5th/6th grades ● Advisory/Homeroom for 5th-8th

Unable to identify common planning time for grade levels or content etc.

● Organized by grade / department

● Consider adding last names and contact information so the public can easily contact staff members

● Use of strong curricular resources at elementary (based on EdReports, research) - for example: EL, OG, IM ● Use of strong assessments at elementary for example: mCLASS, NWEA MAP, IMSE ● Responsive to student need and high levels of teacher collaboration

● Wondering about how the school’s philosophy plays out with resources in place and in context of state standards. What are some examples of how teachers have made responsive adjustments to student needs with curriculum and instruction? What impacts, if any, has it had on standards addressed, curricular pacing, etc? How does the team take stock of those impacts and plan accordingly? ● Wondering about how planning decisions are made in grades that list multiple resources for core curriculum (i.e. grade 1 math = Illustrative Math, Open Up resources, Singapore Math, Marilyn Burns). What does the planning process look like with multiple resources? How does that affect pacing, standards alignment and mastery, etc? How are decisions made when to use one resource over another, and what are the implications of that? ● I did not have access to the Grade 3 & 4 curriculum map embedded in this link for review ● I did not have access to the Grade 5 & 6 curriculum map embedded in this link for review ● Grades 7 & 8

○ What curricular resources are used in math? ○ Social studies curriculum overview is blank ○ The ELA curriculum overview is broad - curious if a standards alignment crosswalk has been done, and what analysis / plans for next steps have potentially emerged as a result

☐ English Learner Self-Reflection

☐ SPED Self-Reflection

● Value for diversity and multilingualism is obvious

● Horizons has a unique model in supporting students with disabilities that is desired by our BVSD community. They have been good partners in working together to implement IEPs. They work with the district team when a student has higher needs than they can serve and continue to work to improve that process for clearer communication. ● We have seen improvements in the process for considering open enrollments for new students with IEPs over the last three years. We hope for continued partnership in this area. The more we thoughtfully start the students with the needs we can serve at horizons, the better match their resources will be.

● Is the school looking to eliminate the services from the BVSD CLDE department or to negotiate the amount they pay for the service? ● If they hope to eliminate the service, what is their plan for serving the multilingual students who are NEP and LEP designated? Sometimes the concern is that they have so much wrap around and kind support that parents don’t know that things are not working. How can we work together to get better at being data based in our partnership together? Horizons is a neuro-affirming school that often leads specialized services from this approach. Similar to my prior comment, how can we tighten up on the balance of beautiful and appropriate neuroaffirming practices alongside data and evidence based approaches to better meet the requirements of IEPs? This is just ongoing work to do with their leadership in future years. In terms of their FTE concerns: FTE is allocated/reimbursed to Horizons with the exact

formulas used at other BVSD schools. They are seeing and feeling the same increases that we are seeing throughout the country with increased percentages of students with IEPs and more acute needs. There have been some increases in related service providers (psychologist/social worker for example) as we advocated and increased for that group due to overall district mental health needs. There have also been decreases in other areas over time. Each year for the past several years they have reached out with concerns about their resource teacher reimbursement and each year we have reviewed the numbers and reasons for the reimbursement. In one particular year we increased reimbursement mid year when their numbers increased substantially, the exact process we would use to increase teacher FTE at a school when circumstances change. Horizons, along with all BVSD schools, are seeing resource teachers allocated and starting at higher caseloads compared to 4-5 years ago when we could start at lower numbers in the early fall. That pressure is real and not unique to Horizons. Horizons also chooses to allocate their teacher FTE into a 1.0, .5 and .5 teacher in some years. This adds incredible pressure to case management and scheduling. We would strongly recommend two full time teachers for more flexibility to meet these needs. The current example is that Horizons is reimbursed for 2.0 resource teacher FTE. They have 26 elementary resource students (at a 1:21 ratio that is 1.2 FTE.) At middle they have 20 resource students (at 1:25 ratio that is .8 FTE.) This is precisely their 2.0 reimbursement. Would it be helpful to meet again

with the Horizons leadership to review this information as well as their new question around service provider FTE increases over time? Seems to be meeting heavy and professional development light - where can you build in more opportunities for high quality, intentional professional learning? How can time be maximized to facilitate discussions on instructional practice, collaboration on curricular focused discussions, and reflection on student data? ☐ Staff Professional Development Plan 24-25

Consistent time is built into the schedule to facilitate professional learning and collaboration

Quite a bit of information from the 25/26 is not entered. Is there a comprehensive year long sequence/plan for staff professional learning ?

23-24 How are professional learning topics being selected? Is there a student data source driving your decisions? Is there a learning continuum you are following for your educators? What research based strategies are being implemented? ☐ Teacher/Leader Evaluation Template (including criteria, rubrics, schedules, and confirmation of completion) 5 Ds Rubric 24-25 Schedule and Rubric

Structure and timelines for observations and post-observation meetings Use of 5D+ rubric provides consistency in expectations and is a research-based observation tool

Educator goals are based on their actions or focus areas, not student outcomes or growth (What do you want to achieve or improve in your teaching practice this year?) Consider changing the question to ask the educator what their goal is for the academic growth for the students in their class. You can then have the teacher outline what steps they will take to achieve the goal they’ve set for their

students. For example - instead of a teacher saying “I will implement small groups to support my struggling readers” the goal would switch to “Students who are below grade level will increase their XX scores XX percent. A strategy I will implement is small group instruction to support these students.” I would recommend using the same change in language for the personal goal. Their personal goal should impact students in their classroom in some manner.

☐ Staff Handbook

● Clear alignment with BVSD , State and Federal Law ● Well-defined nondiscrimination, harassment and grievance procedures

● Performance evaluation details in the handbook could be further clarified by added evaluation cycles, criteria, and alignment to BVSD educator effectiveness expectations

☐ Classroom Observation Protocol and Schedule

Rubric and timelines are identified

No concerns

☐ Assessment Plan (including Interim Assessments)

Horizons appears to have adopted the BVSD district assessment calendar, so there is alignment in tools and timing of assessments.

No concerns

☐ UIP Plan

Horizon’s Unified Improvement Plan is focused, coherent and data-driven. The plan clearly states performance challenge, has an aligned root cause analysis, evidence-based strategies and measurable targets.

What specific adult instructional practices will be observed to indicate successful implementation?

School Leader Evaluation

● Clear timeline and outline of process. ● Multiple data points are considered, including anonymous community input.

● Instructional Leadership: I did not see explicit mention of student subgroup data

● Evaluation takes into account instructional leadership, climate and culture, and operations.

or academic performance data (achievement or growth). ● Does student voice/experience get factored in? ● Does not outline the corrective/supportive processes should concerns arise

Board Governance ☐ Board Meeting Schedule in the Bylaws, Monthly, on the 2nd Thursday of the month.

Bylaws define roles and responsibilities.

There is a heavy reliance on concordance.

Annual and regular Board meetings are published.

There is a conflict of interest as staff serve on the board and participate in board decisions that may affect compensation, evaluation or working conditions. This is not a typical practice among charter schools and is not recommended.

☐ Board Roster Travis Lockhart, Parent Board Chair Michael Joseph, Vice Chair Joel Gratz, Treasurer Jordan Logan, Secretary Jessica Slatus Rob Horansky Jim Freund Caley Gallison Rachel Clionsky Fran Cohen Kate Bachtel ☐ Strategic Plan

Transparency in Board Roster listed on School’s website.

The strategic plan demonstrates data-informed stewardship.

No concerns

☐ Board Handbook (including Bylaws and Conflict of Interest Policy)

Follows Open Meetings Law

Heavy reliance on concordance, this is advisable for very small organizations with few people, not advisable for a group of this size as the process can cause serious delays. Faculty serving as voting members is not a recommended best practice.

☐ Board Self-Evaluation/Needs Assessment

The Board demonstrates a clear commitment to transparency, professional development and continuous improvement.

☐ New Waiver Requests

This portion will be part of the negotiations process. ● Org chart as expected

☐ Organizational Chart (for 2025-26) ☐ Complaint/Grievance Policy

Faculty Director Election: Principal / Assistant Principal inclusion may blur oversight lines, Faculty conflicts of interest with employment-related decisions

● No concerns

Strong protections for students and staff, clear emphasis on ethical, safe and equitable school practices.

The grievance procedures are embedded in a long document covering multiple policies, so the staff and community may need simplified guidance or flowchares to ensure understanding if this does not already exist.

☐ Title IX Plan/Policy (including name responsible for compliance with Title IX) Jasmine Graves Black-Clemons

Same as BVSD’s

n/a

☐ Student Discipline Policy, see student and family handbook below

Use of BVSD handbook and policies. Usual attendance at professional development to support practices that align with the policies.

No concerns

Legal and Contractual Compliance

☐ Student discipline data by subgroup for previous four years

☐ Parent/Student Handbooks (including Student Admissions, Lottery, Waiting List, Recruitment, and Enrollment Policies; lottery and enrollment forms)

This shared document is not clear. Where is the data from? What are they measuring; ODRs or OSSs? Are these percentages based on the enrollment demographics of each school year? ● Clear expectations for all stakeholders outlined in handbook ● Covers expected school policies

● No concerns

☐ Student Enrollment by Subgroups (last 4 years) 2025-2026 2024-2025 2023-2024

The graphs provided here in all three enrollment questions do not answer the questions nor show complete data for the last four years. A better option would be to refer to the Special Programs Report on the website for the last four years to identify patterns.

☐ Re-enrollment Rates (last 4 years) 2025-2026 2024-2025 2023-2024

Re-enrollment rates are not detailed by showing the Ins list from Choice in my opinion. That would be a comparison of annual roll-up and new OE seats offered, if re-enrollment refers to the success in keeping your kids. Needs 4 years data.

☐ Student Enrollment Projections 2025-2026 2024-2025 2023-2024

I don’t know if Glen completes projections for charter schools, but these graphs simply show current state by year. Projections would imply a goal they are striving towards or that they meet each year. Not sure why annualized

data is included for this question, unless they are seeking to increase their enrollment caps. ☐ Notices of Concern and School’s Response (if applicable)

n/a

☐ Waivers*

These requests will be addressed during contract negotiations. These requests will be addressed during contract negotiations.

☐ Requests for Contract Modifications**

n/a

Financial Performance ☐ Long-term budget (5-years if available)

☐ Financial Policies and Procedures ☐ Annual Independent Audit

Good detail provided.

● The budget plan doesn’t cover a projected 5 years, but rather includes the current year and two out years. The years provided should be 2025-26 through 2029-30. The budget is not balanced in the out years, showing a final deficit of over $1M. ● Given Colorado’s current state budget outlook and legislative discussions about modifying the new school finance act, assumed revenue growth may be optimistic.

Internal financial procedures are detailed and thorough.

Policies should be updated to reflect current staff titles (i.e. bookkeeper is referenced) and BVSD limits.

Clean opinion from CLA for FY25 audit. FY25 audit is found on the Summit financial transparency website.

Per audit: “In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the respective financial position of the governmental activities, the major fund, and the remaining fund information of the School, as of June 30, 2025, and the respective changes in financial position for the year then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.” ☐ Audit’s Management Letter

The management letter was not provided. The link is the engagement letter and statement of work.

☐ Unaudited Financial Statements (Not Applicable)

Unable to find statements on schools financial transparency website. Required to review quarterly statements with the board, not sure if they are included with board minutes or not. Policy states the quarterly financials will be posted on the website.