BESE held its full Board meeting today. The final votes are as follows:
1. Pastorek’s Revised Plan for Return of Schools was approved.
2. BESE approved a new letter grading system for schools, which will go into effect in 2011. The letter grades will replace the current star ratings. The Department of Education estimates over 500 schools will have D rating.
Letter Grade System Approved by BESE:
The School Performance Score (SPS) scale for letter grades is as follows:
| Letter Grade | SPS Range |
| A | 120.0 – |
| B | 105.0 – 119.9 |
| C | 90.0 – 104.9 |
| D | 65.0 – 89.9 |
| *F | 0 – 64.9 |
Schools will receive a “+” associated with the letter grade if they make their growth target. For example, a school with an SPS of 110.0 that meets its growth target will receive a “B+” rather than a “B.”
Schools that decline will have “-” applied to their grade. For example, a school whose SPS goes from 85 to 84.9 would have a “D-.”
*Beginning 2011-2012, the F range will be 0 – 74.9 and the D range will be 75.0 – 89.9.
3. Seven Type 5 charter schools were approved.
- Community Leaders Advocating Student Success
- Crescent City Schools
- Educators for Quality Alternatives
- New Orleans Charter Science and Math Academy
- ReNew Schools Charter Management Org. 1
- ReNew Schools Charter Management Org. 2
- ReNew Schools Charter Management Org. 3
The two Type 5 applications reconsidered Thursday were not approved – Friends of King Charter Board and James Weldon Johnson Academy.
4. Two Type 2 charter schools in New Orleans were approved.
- Lycee Francais De La Nouvelle Orleans – a French immersion school
- Community School of Apprenticeship Learning – a statewide virtual school
The application for Amachi Elementary Charter School was denied.