Important Things to Know about the Charter School Quality Review (CSQR) Process

The goals of a charter school review are to:
- evaluate a charter school’s performance in order to provide information for the Saint Paul Public Schools’ Board of Education in its determination of continuation of sponsorship, and
- assist each charter school to continuously improve by providing qualitative data which can be combined with internal assessment data and student assessment data to plan improvement strategies.

The quality review is of greatest benefit to a school if the review team observes the “typical” operation of the school.

A web-based staff survey and parent survey may be utilized as part of the School Quality Review process. These web-based surveys are typically accessible to school staff and parents approximately 2-3 weeks prior to the review visit. (Paper copies of the parent survey are also available during the review visit.) Staff survey data is collected and analyzed prior to the review visit in order that the findings can be incorporated into the review.

The review team is typically at a school building for a 1-2 day period, depending on the size of the school (e.g., student enrollment and number of staff). Some team members are there all of the time; others come and go in order to fulfill their responsibilities to the team. Several reviewers typically stay to observe after-school, extended day activities.

Reviewers look for evidence of student progress and accomplishments; how teaching and classroom environments support learning; the types of instructional approaches and repertoire of strategies being used; the learning opportunities different students experience; and how the school functions as a community.

Members of the review team interview the school administrators, teachers during their prep periods, support/para-professional staff at a "least inconvenient" time, students (2nd grade and older), parents, and community partners. The review team members also observe classrooms, hallways, activities in common areas, meetings which are not confidential in nature and arrival/departure of busses. Some of the review team members also review documents which relate to their areas of expertise (i.e. financial records, student health records, IEPs, etc.).

Teachers are asked to have their daily schedule posted outside their classroom or in an easily accessible location so that the observer does not need to interrupt instruction in any way.

The school is asked to provide a small workspace (i.e. conference room) for the review team to use as its hub of operations throughout the review.

The school is also asked to provide access to a phone during the review in order for review team members to contact parents and community partners.

Once the convenor has written a draft of the report, the review team reconvenes to validate its content. The final report is then prepared to be shared with the charter school’s stakeholders, members of the Saint Paul Public Schools’ superintendency, and the Saint Paul Public Schools’ Board of Education.