Grade Reconfiguration

The Letter of Intent for new grade reconfiguration requests (schools wishing to expand or truncate for the 2013-2014 school year) is now available: 2013 Grade Reconfiguration Letter of Intent. All Letters of Intent are due by Friday, February 10, 2012 at 5:00 PM to GradeReconfiguration@schools.nyc.gov.

The Office of New Schools in the Division of Portfolio Planning (Portfolio) manages the process for determining any changes to schools’ current grade levels in consultation with the Office of Student Enrollment, Community Superintendents, School Support Organizations, Community Education Councils, District Leadership Teams and other members of school communities.  Reconfigurations include either the expansion or truncation of grade levels served at a school and may be initiated by Portfolio or the school that wishes to reconfigure. Portfolio enables the expansion or truncation of grade levels in schools in order to:

• Increase student access to high-quality school options
• Alleviate situations that may hinder student progress

All grade reconfigurations are assessed via the following decision factors: school quality, physical space, demographic need, impact on enrollment, and community input. Additionally, all reconfiguration proposals must align with city-wide articulation patterns for middle and high school entry will be considered.

There are two separate approval processes required to approve a grade reconfiguration in a school: 1) Portfolio Approval Process and 2) Panel for Educational Policy Approval Process.

I. Portfolio Approval Process (for school-initiated requests)

1. Part One is the submission of the School Grade Reconfiguration Proposal: Intent to Apply by the principal in consultation with the School Leadership Team. The Letter of Intent is assessed through careful analysis of resources (budget and physical space), demographic need, and enrollment demand. Since capital dollars are a limited resource, grade reconfigurations cannot be contingent on facilities investment. 

2. Part Two involves the submission of a Grade Expansion Application Portfolio, followed by a site visit and panel interview. The purpose of Part Two is to assess a school's instructional capacity to serve the expanded school level. The Grade Expansion Application Portfolio is reviewed for quality and capacity through the New School Development process.

All truncation proposals and proposals to expand within a grade level (e.g. K-2 to K-5) only need to satisfactorily complete Part One to obtain program approval. Expansion proposals where expanded grades include a new school level (e.g. K-5 to K-8) that satisfactorily complete Part One will advance to Part Two of the Portfolio Approval Process.

II. Panel for Educational Policy Approval (for school- and Portfolio-initiated requests)
After a grade reconfiguration proposal receives Portfolio approval, the proposal is then submitted to the Panel for Educational Policy for approval. To learn about the Panel for Educational Policy Approval Process, please visit http://schools.nyc.gov/AboutUs/leadership/PEP/default.htm.

Only schools wishing to add new grades or remove grades from their existing grade span should apply for a grade reconfiguration. Requests to add or remove programs (such as Pre-Kindergarten or Gifted & Talented) or the number of sections per grade at a school are not considered grade reconfigurations.

2013 Process Timeline