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The Massachusetts Charter Public School Association (MCPSA) provides its members with:AdvocacyMCPSA offers a range of advocacy efforts, developed and managed by MCPSA Executive Director, Marc Kenen, Ed.D. Marc brings to MCPSA over 25 years of experience as an advocate for education; his campaigns have involved parent organizing, media relations, and lobbying. School Organizing: Through this statewide network of charter leaders and friends, charter public schools across the state receive regular updates on key legislative matters. They have opportunities to organize and advocate for Massachusetts charter public schools. Government Relations: MCPSA utilizes the services of Jack Brennan, former State Senator and Majority Leader. Jack is known as one of the most effective advocates on Beacon Hill, where he has represented the charter public school movement since 1993, the year charter public schools were first created in the Commonwealth. Public Relations:Dominic Slowey, former reporter and former spokesperson for the Weld Administration, serves as consultant to MCPSA. Since 2001, Dominic has earned extensive coverage of charter public schools in daily and weekly newspapers throughout the state. Data Analysis: MCPSA contracts with Community Partners Data Specialist Bruce Bean. Bruce provides data analysis on both charter public schools and state finance, supporting MCPSA since 2002. Web E-Advocacy: MCPSA uses Votervoice.net, a means for parents and supporters to send correspondence to their state legislators. Dissemination and SupportFrom its inception to 2008, MCPSA provided Massachusetts charter public schools with technical assistance. With the opening of our resource center, the Massachusetts Center for Charter Public School Excellence (MCCPSE), technical assistance is now primarily provided by MCCPSE. MCPSA continues to offer dissemination, support, and referrals. MCPSA Director of Dissemination is Cindy Snow, whose background is in teaching, writing/editing, and community action. Current Services and ProjectsDelegate Assembly: Each year, and recently twice a year (in November and the last Thursday in March), MCPSA convenes leaders from charter schools in the state, to hear legislative updates, discuss association initiatives, and network. Best Practices Web Site: Nearly 70 professionally edited papers appear here, documenting the best practices of whole schools and individuals in the charter public school community. MCPSA Leader ListServe: Facilitated by Dr. Kenen, the list serve allows charter public school leaders to share information and resources through the Internet. It’s available to all 61 MA charter public schools and is utilized extensively. Facilities Loan Guarantee Program at MassDevelopment: Dr. Kenen, through MCPSA, helped secure $10 million in U.S. D.O.E. charter public school facilities loan guarantees. The program is ongoing. Keeping the Promise: Through this federally funded, 3-year project MCPSA is studying 5 high-performing urban schools, documenting their keys to success, producing a book and films, and offering study tours. The goal is documentation, dissemination, and replication of critical and common practices. Past Services and ProjectsState Convention. This annual event brought together hundreds of charter public school teachers and leaders, as well as others in education, providing a statewide forum for networking and sharing expertise. 2001-2007. Fellowship Program: Through this program MA charter public school educators documented their innovative practices, gained training, earned stipends, and presented at MCPSA's annual convention. Papers are available on the MCPSA Web site. Training/Workshops:Through these individual workshops, charter public school leaders and outside consultants addressed a variety of topics, including: renewal site visits, public bidding laws, development programs, and character education. Consultation: Charter school leaders were trained to share their expertise with other schools, in areas such as curriculum development, administration, and governance. Some participating schools continue to offer consultation independently. 2003-2006. Leaders Institute: This 2004 summer event provided training designed to meet the needs of charter public school leaders. Topics included: strategic planning, special education, multiple learning styles, and using data to promote academic achievement. Making Learning Visible: Through work with Harvard's Project Zero, MCPSA helped facilitate collaboration between charter schools, district schools, and pilots. Teams came together to learn from one another and from PZ staff. 2005-2007. See also Additional Resources page on this site Administrative ServicesNewspaper Clippings Service: Through this free service, members receive (via e-mail) daily newspaper clippings on Massachusetts charter public schools; Web site access to clippings is also available. Salary Survey: Through a bi-annual survey, MCPSA compiles data on the salaries of administrators and faculty in Massachusetts charter public schools.
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