Responsive Education Solutions
Responsive Education Solutions, Inc. (Responsive Ed) is a non-profit charter management organization headquartered in Lewisville, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
| Formation | March 1999[1] |
|---|---|
| 75-2748762 | |
| Headquarters | Lewisville, Texas |
| Services | charter management organization |
Revenue (2015[1]) | $142,618,209 |
| Website | responsiveed |
Responsive Education Solutions (ResponsiveEd) is one of the largest charter school operators in the nation.[2] The company is headquartered in Lewisville, Texas.[3]
Founded in 1998, ResponsiveEd started as a not for profit organization with 15 credit-recovery schools.[4] These schools became known as Premier High Schools.[5] In its first school year in 1999, ResponsiveEd had 50 staff members, about 700 students, and 65 graduates in the 1999-2000 school year.[4]
ResponsiveEd has since developed a line of classical academies, STEM, early college high schools, and virtual school options. As of the 2018-2019 school year, ResponsiveEd serves 20,000 students with 2,400 team members at more than 70 campuses across Texas and Arkansas.[4]
The ResponsiveEd family of schools includes:[6]
- Premier High Schools—offers credit recovery and early graduation for students [7]
- Classical Academies and Founders Classical Academies—offers classical education in the liberal arts and sciences
- iSchool High—college-preparatory schools with an emphasis on community-specific academic pathways
- iSchool Virtual Academy of Texas—offers a mastery-based curriculum in a college-preparatory program
ResponsiveEd is the first charter school in Texas to address the unique needs of children with autism with The Foundation School for Autism in San Antonio.[8]
Schools
Teachers
Total teacher FTEs (full-time equivalent) employed by ResponsiveEd in 2016 was 732.5.[9]
The average salary for teachers employed by ResponsiveEd in 2016 was $42,912; salaries ranged from a beginner's salary of $41,667 to someone with 20+ years experience making $44,037.[9]
Based on 2016-2017 data, 75.8% (Statewide: 74.5%) of ResponsiveEd teachers had a bachelor's degree, 20.4% (Statewide: 23.6%) had a master's degree, and 1.7% (Statewide: 0.6%) had a doctorate. The teacher demographics was 14.8% African American, 2.5% Asian, 10.5% Hispanic, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.1% American Indian, 71% White, and 1% two or more races.[9]
Students
For the 2016-2017 school year, 32.9% (Statewide: 52.4%) of ResponsiveEd students were Hispanic, 47% (Statewide: 59%) were economically disadvantaged, 36.2% were at-risk students and 7.4% of ResponsiveEd students had special education needs.[9]
53.8% (Statewide: 38.7%) of ResponsiveEd students were considered college-ready in English and Math for the Class of 2016. The average SAT score for the Class of 2016 was 1547 (Statewide: 1375) and the average ACT composite score was 23.0 (Statewide: 20.3).[9]
Locations
| State | School name |
|---|---|
| Texas | Premier High Schools; 9-12
Premier High School Online; 9-12 iSchool High; 9-12
Founders Classical Academies; K-12
Classical Academies; K-12
The Foundation School for Autism; 3-7-year-olds iSchool Virtual Academy of Texas; 3-12 |
| Arkansas | Premier High Schools; 9-12
Founders Classical Academies; K-12
Quest Academy; 6-12
|
Finances
ResponsiveEd Foundation
The ResponsiveEd Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting ResponsiveEd schools. The foundation was founded in an effort to expand the reach of ResponsiveEd schools.[10]
In 2018, the ResponsiveEd Foundation won first prize on North Texas Giving Day for having the most donors make a contribution to the foundation. The contributions totaled more than $63,000 across 209 donors.[11]
Bonds
Rather than relying on philanthropy to build or acquire new schools, ResponsiveEd employs a cycle of lease, grow, purchase, and expand to fuel its district growth.[12]
According to 2015 data, ResponsiveEd has earned a Standards & Poor's BBB rating, this is the highest given to any charter organization in Texas.[12] In 2016, ResponsiveEd received the backing of Texas’ Permanent School Fund (PSF), providing the public school district with loan guarantees and leverages Texas’ AAA rating.[13]
Media Attention
Awards and recognition
In 2018, ResponsiveEd earned all possible distinctions in accountability ratings.[14]
ResponsiveEd became the world's first company to launch Google's G-Suite Enterprise for Education in 2018.[15]
ResponsiveEd co-founder and CEO, Chuck Cook, was named 2016 Texas Charter School Leader of the Year by the Texas Charter School Association (TCSA).[16]
ResponsiveEd school, Northwest Arkansas Classical Academy, ranked third in the state of Arkansas based on its 2016 ACT Aspire Exam academic results.[17] Academic rankings were compiled by the University of Arkansas for Education Policy for its Outstanding Educational Performance Awards.[17]
Controversy
Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times wrote that the Walton Foundation had given "significant support" to Responsive Ed.[18]
In 2014 Zack Kopplin of Slate used an Open Records Request to obtain Responsive Ed's biology workbooks. According to Kopplin, the books "overtly and underhandedly discredit evidence-based science and allow creationism into public-school classrooms."[19]
ResponsiveEd disputed the allegations, asserting that the biology materials were constitutionally acceptable as written. In response to the allegations, ResponsiveEd reviewed the workbook in question, "updating it in order to: (1) ensure that the evidence for evolution is presented in an objective and unbiased manner, and (2) avoid any misinterpretations that ResponsiveEd is endorsing—or disapproving of—religion." [20]
References
- "RESPONSIVE EDUCATION SOLUTIONS Form 990 2015". ProPublica. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
- Staff. Check out charter schools at showcase. 2018-07-28. The Cross Timbers Gazette. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- Bob Weir. Weir: Providing education options for our children. 2018-02-19. The Cross Timbers Gazette. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- ResponsiveEd. History. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- Premier High Schools. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- ResponsiveEd. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- Premier High Schools. About. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- Lindsey Kastner. Charter school opens with autism in mind. 2010-10-12. My San Antonio. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- Staff. Texas Tribune. Texas Public Schools Explorer ResponsiveEducation Solutions. Page accessed February 28, 2019.
- Weisenburger, Bridget. "Introducing The ResponsiveEd Foundation".
- "Texas giving day". USA Posts.
- Texas charter school operator ResponsiveEd(R) gains support in the financial community as it opens new schools across the state (Press release). 2015-08-13. CNBC.
- "ResponsiveEd Funds Growth of Charters Schools Through $65 Million Bond Sale" (Press release). Charter School Facilities Initiative. 2016-11-15. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- Texas Education Agency (TEA). More than 400 campuses earn all possible distinctions in 2018 accountability ratings. 2018-08-29. North Texas e-News. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- USA Breaking News. ResponsiveEd Becomes Google’s First G Suite Enterprise for Education Customer. 2018-07-19. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- Christine Isett. "TCSA's Leader and Teacher of the Year". Texas Charter Schools Association. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- Cynthia Howell. “For Arkansas test-takers, ‘ready’ just OK; half of state’s students face improvement plans this fall”. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- Brantley, Max. "Arkansas charter school operator teaching creationism in Texas." Arkansas Times. Thursday January 16, 2014. Retrieved on February 5, 2014.
- Kopplin, Zack. "Texas Public Schools Are Teaching Creationism." Slate. January 16, 2014. Retrieved on February 5, 2014.
- Challenge to Responsive Education Solutions' Biology Course. February 11, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2019.