arcs & css

The Institute’s internal accountability system is developed to evaluate school performance on key sections of the charter contract. These sections include school roles and responsibilities, governance, school enrollment and demographics, the educational program, financial matters, and personnel. The charter contract entered into between the school and the Institute incorporates charter school law, federal law, and regulations that help ensure school performance and legal/fiscal compliance. The Institute’s internal accountability system consists of two major components. 

The first is an annual Comprehensive School Snapshot (CSS) report that provides important data related to the school’s academic achievement, enrollment, student demographics, special education, governing board, finances, and personnel. The CSS helps the Institute and school identify areas of success and areas of need. The CSS will be published each winter based on data from the prior academic year. Data from the CSS will inform the Institute on areas the school may need more support to ensure academic performance and legal/fiscal compliance. 

The second component is a triennial Actions, Results, Commitment, and Supports (ARCS) Milestone review that evaluates the school’s longitudinal academic performance, compliance with charter and federal law, and adherence to regulations.  The ARCS evaluation serves as an authorization milestone in the cyclical review of the school. Information gleaned from the review will inform the Institute’s renewal of the school and may identify areas where corrective action is needed. If the need for a corrective action is identified based on the ARCS review, the Institute will provide support to the school to help ensure it is provided a reasonable opportunity to remedy the problem. Inadequate performance on the triennial ARCS evaluation could result in restrictions on charter development efforts, including but not limited to, restricting expansion, replication, matriculation and restrictions on enrollment growth.

The triennial ARCS review will occur in the third, sixth, and ninth year of the school’s contract with the Institute. The evaluation will consist of information and data gathered by the Institute as well as information and supporting documentation submitted by the school’s board and school leaders. A report outlining the findings of the ARCS evaluation will be provided to the school in the summer following the review. The ARCS Milestone report completed in the school’s ninth year will be used in the final review for charter renewal.

Schools will receive the ARCS Milestone evaluation based on which year out of the 10 year charter contract term they are currently in. If the annual CSS identifies a school as failing to meet critical performance expectations or compliance standards, an evaluation can be triggered outside of the triennial review. Items that can trigger a review include but are not limited to failure to complete the financial audit, an unsatisfactory school report card rating, failure to submit mandated plans/reports, poor governance practices, or a state complaint resulting in non-compliance findings. A targeted review would be limited to the applicable ARCS section(s). 

If a school is not meeting expectations on a triennial or targeted review, a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) would be implemented. Failure to comply with a corrective action plan may lead to sanctions or non-renewal.

The ARCS Milestone Evaluation and CSS cycle is outlined in the graphic below.