Gold Seal of Excellence Program

The Gold Seal of Excellence Charter School Program recognizes charter schools in Florida that meet high standards of quality in all areas of charter operations.

The Gold Seal of Excellence Program is the only award that recognizes all aspects of high quality Florida charter school operations, including student academic achievement, parent involvement, staff retention, compliance, financial management and governing board performance. The Gold Seal of Excellence criteria are based on the FCPCS Quality Standards for Florida Charter Schools. The following Florida charter schools are the first to achieve the Gold Seal of Excellence:

Benefits
Eligibility Requirements
How to Apply
Review Process
Cost

Charter schools wishing to apply for the Gold Seal Award must have met AYP or 80 - 99% of AYP criteria and been open a minimum of two years. If the school has received a state grade, the most recent grade must be a "C" or higher. Applicants must also be members in good standing of the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools.

The Gold Seal review and approval process is similar to the SACS CASI accreditation process.* However, the Gold Seal Program addresses more areas of charter school operations and applies standards that are more rigorous.

*Note on SACS CASI Accreditation: Schools may also wish to apply for SACS CASI accreditation simultaneously. This is a separate process and requires submitting an application to AdvanceEd. Click here for more information.

Benefits of the Gold Seal Award for Your Charter School Earning the Gold Seal of Excellence will showcase your school’s high quality program and success as well as help to insure its long-term quality and stability. Your school will be identified as a Gold Seal School of Excellence on the FCPCS website on the "Find a Florida Charter School" list, which is accessed by thousands of parents every year. FCPCS will prepare a press release to announce that your school has received the Gold Seal of Excellence and send it to your local newspaper(s) and other media. FCPCS will provide your school with a plaque, banner, window decal and a graphic icon to display on your website and in school publications.

How to Determine if Your Charter School is Eligible to Apply

Your school must meet certain eligibility criteria to apply for the Gold Seal of Excellence:

Your school must be a member in good standing of the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools
Your school must have met AYP or 90 – 100% of AYP criteria
Your school must have been open a minimum of two years (in order to document growth and accomplishments)
Your school must have received a state grade of "C" or higher according to the most recent year it was graded
If your school is composed of more than one charter school that holds a separate charter or is located on a separate site, each school with its own charter or school site must apply separately
If the school is a "spawn" of a charter school that has already received the Gold Seal Award, it may become an applicant in its first year of operation
If your school is not graded, please contact us at info@floridacharterschools.org to determine if your school is eligible

Benefits

Eligibility Requirements

Your school must be a member in good standing of the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools
Your school must have met AYP or 80–100% of AYP criteria
Your school must have been open a minimum of two years (in order to document growth and accomplishments)
Your school must have received a state grade of "C" or higher according to the most recent year it was graded
If your school is composed of more than one charter school that holds a separate charter or is located on a separate site, each school with its own charter or school site must apply separately
If the school is a "spawn" of a charter school that has already received the Gold Seal Award, it may become an applicant in its first year of operation
If your school is not graded, please contact us at info@floridacharterschools.org to determine if your school is eligible

How to Apply

A charter school interested in applying for the Gold Seal Award must submit a letter of interest to by email, mail or fax to:

Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools
Gold Seal of Excellence Program
1126 S. Federal Highway, Suite 170
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316

FAX: 904-212-0300
EMAIL: info@floridacharterschools.org

Once the letter of interest is received, FCPCS will send the school the Gold Seal application form. The school completes the application form and submits it to FCPCS with several required documents and the application fee of $1,500.

Review Process

Preliminary Visit: The Gold Seal Review Team of three members will visit the school for a preliminary assessment lasting about half a day. The visit will be scheduled during a regular school day, starting at arrival time and ending after lunch.

The Review Team will walk around the school to speak informally with students and staff, and to observe all aspects of school operations, including:

Classroom instruction
Movement of students between activities
Arrival and dismissal
Lunch procedures
Office staff procedures
Security procedures

At lunchtime, the Review Team will meet with the school’s administrative team to discuss the next step of the Gold Seal Review process and determine if the school is prepared to move ahead. If the school is ready to move forward, the Review Team will provide the administrative team with explicit instructions on how the school should prepare the documentation to be reviewed at the next visit and set up the interviews with stakeholders.

Accountability Visit: The Gold Seal Review Team will visit the school again to complete the Gold Seal review. They will interview groups of stakeholders; namely, the administrative team, special teachers, reading and math coaches, members of the parents’ organization, members of the student council, members of the governing board and management company representatives when applicable. The Review Team will examine documentation provided by the school, including the following:

Announcements, sign-in sheets, and agendas for parent and staff meetings
Evaluations
Evidence of compliance with county, state and federal guidelines
School ranking and Annual Yearly Progress reports
School Improvement Plan
Governing board documents (bylaws, minutes, board member profiles and evidence of security clearance)
Personnel records (certificates, resumes, courses taken, ELL classes, fingerprint clearance, retention rate)
Record logs for professional development, volunteer and visitors, ESE folders, fire drills and safety
Contracts for outside services
Annual audits
Student achievement results
Curriculum focus maps
Evidence of professional development and team-building activities
Evidence of services provided to ESE/ELL students and curriculum

The Gold Seal Review Team will complete its critical review and assessment, using the Gold Seal Assessment Checklist.

The Gold Seal Team will then hold a final meeting with members of the school’s administration and board. During this meeting, the Team will announce its recommendation based on the following criteria:

If the school receives a rating of “complete compliance” on 100% of the Gold Seal characteristics, the Team will recommend that the Gold Seal of Excellence be awarded to the school.
If the school receives a rating of “complete compliance” on 90 – 99% of the criteria, the team may recommend 1) that the Gold Seal be awarded to the school OR 2) that the school be given the chance to increase its compliance rate to 100% of the criteria by a specific date provided by the Team. The Team will assist the school in determining the course of action required to fulfill the final criteria.
If the school receives a rating of “complete compliance” on less than 90% of the criteria, it will be invited to reapply after a year. The Team will assist the school in determining the course of action required to fulfill the final criteria.

Cost

GOLD SEAL SERVICE	COST
Initial review and visit by Gold Seal Team	$1,500 plus travel and lodging for team
Annual renewal of Gold Seal status	$750 per year
Three-year review	$1,500 plus travel and lodging for team
Revisit of Gold Seal Team before three years if school does not meet Gold Seal standards	$1,500 plus travel and lodging for team