First Year Reviews
All charter schools in their first year of operation will undergo a First Year Review, pursuant to A.R.S §15-182(E)(1) and A.A.C. R7-5-505. Board staff will conduct a review to ensure compliance with federal and state laws, Arizona Administrative Code, and the charter contract, and meet with charter and school leadership to discuss and confirm alignment with the program of instruction as approved in the application or amendment process. The ASBCS First Year Review Guide has been created to help charter and school leadership prepare for this review.
First Year Financial Reviews
The Board’s Financial Performance Framework requires Board staff to conduct a financial site visit of first-year schools. The financial visit is conducted primarily through a desk review. The First-Year Financial Review Overview has been created to help charter and school leadership prepare for this review.
Second Year Reviews
For charters created through the New Charter Application process, charter operators in their second year of operation will undergo a Second Year Review, pursuant to A.R.S §15-182(E)(1) and A.A.C. R7-5-501(B) and A.A.C. R7-5-502. Board staff will conduct a review to ensure compliance with federal and state laws, Arizona Administrative Code, and the charter contract. Additionally, Board staff will collect documentation from the charter holder to demonstrate implementation of the school’s program of instruction and Academic Systems Plan, as approved in the New Charter Application. The ASBCS Second Year Review Guide has been created to help charter and school leadership prepare for this review.
Five Year Interval Reviews
A.R.S §15-183(I)(3) requires a charter school sponsor to review a charter at five-year intervals using a performance framework adopted by the sponsor. At five-year intervals throughout the term of the charter, a charter holder will be notified of the review, as well as the submission requirements determined based upon the charter holder's performance in relation to the performance framework adopted by the Board. As part of the Five-Year Interval Review, Board staff will conduct an Academic Systems Review (ASR), including a review of compliance, and a pop-in visit for each of the schools operated by the charter holder.
The ASR is conducted virtually to gather evidence regarding the school's implementation in providing a comprehensive program of instruction and designing a method to measure pupil progress toward pupil outcomes, as required in the charter contract. An ASR visit is an unannounced visit conducted during an identified two week window. A minimum of two weeks prior to a school's virtual call, the charter holder will be notified of a 14 day window in which the visit will occur, and provided a deadline to submit documents electronically.
A list of charter holders undergoing an interval review is posted annually on the Board's website. See the list of charter holders below. More detailed information on the Five-Year Interval Review process is provided below.
Pop-ins
All schools in the first year of operation will receive a pop-in visit. All charters in the second, fifth, tenth, or renewal year of their contract will receive a pop-in visit in the scheduled review year. Board staff endeavors to visit many of the schools in its portfolio each year; therefore, any school in the portfolio could receive a pop-in visit at any time throughout a school year. However, unless deemed necessary for raised compliance reasons, Board staff does not visit schools in their first 30 days of instruction.
Pop-in visits focus on reviews of safety documentation (such as fingerprinting and occupancy), as well as adherence to, and implementation of, a charter holder’s program of instruction. At a pop-in visit, Board staff will conduct classroom observations and review key compliance documentation. The pop-in visit should be no more than three hours, and once provided the needed documentation (see checklist), Board staff is able to conduct the visit independent of school staff.
If any compliance documentation is unable to be provided during the visit, a school is provided 48 hours after the visit to submit the documentation and demonstrate that it was in compliance at the time of the visit.
It is important to understand that the focus of a pop-in visit goes beyond checking for compliance. Pop-ins are intended to familiarize Board staff with schools, build relationships with charter and school leaders, and to see the hard and good work schools do each and every day. As such, school leaders are welcome, but not required, to use the visit to meet in-person with Board staff, provide a short tour, highlight specific programming, or tap into Board staff’s expertise while they are on campus.
Board staff has created the following resources to assist in preparing for the pop-in: