Our Charter and Timeline
How Do Charters Work?
A charter is a living document that must be renewed every five years and may be amended in between renewal years. Our current charter, all amendments, and original charter application are listed below with a short description and effective date.
Current Charter
Charter Amendments
Founding Charter Document
Our Current Charter Contract
July 1, 2016
Description: The Charter School Contract between J. Paul Taylor Academy and The New Mexico Public Education Commission is valid for a 5-year term from July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2021. The contract outlines the material terms of our charter school.
Current Charter School Performance Framework
July 1, 2016
Description: The Charter School Performance Framework is a series of negotiated performance standards for academic, fiscal, organizational goals, and expectations by which our school will be evaluated for performance and sustainability.
Charter Amendment 9: Spanish Language Measurement
May 11, 2018
Description: This amendment added an assessment of our Spanish Language Acquisition program through the IPT test to our Performance Framework. A means of assessment of the program was not included in our original charter.
Charter Amendment 8: Instructional Hours
March 16, 2018
Description: This amendment modifies the amount of yearly instructional time to be greater than or equal to the state minimum, 1,080 hours, to allow for flexibility in programming and bring the school into compliance.
Charter Amendment 7: Class Size
September 9, 2015
Description: This amendment eliminates the original goal of 20 students per class and replaces it with language that the school shall not exceed state limits.
Charter Amendment 6: Contract Approvals
September 9, 2015
Description: The original charter stated that the Governance Council would approve all contracts over $25,000 and did not include an exemption for staff contracts. This amendment adds an exemption for staff contracts.
Charter Amendment 5: Total Enrollment
September 9, 2015
Description: This amendment clarifies the total enrollment cap of J. Paul Taylor Academy, which was mistakenly listed as 180 in several places in the original charter; this amendment properly establishes the cap at 200.
Charter Amendment 4: Relocation
April 2, 2015
Description: Moving the school location requires an amendment to the charter. This amendment allowed J. Paul Taylor Academy to rent a location from Las Cruces Public Schools.
Charter Amendment 3: Governance Council Membership
August 13, 2014
Description: This amendment changes our original charter, which stated that the Governance Council would be 7-9 members. The amendment changes the range to 5 (the state minimum) to 13 members.
Charter Amendment 2: Mission Statement
August 13, 2014
Description: This amendment aligns our mission statement to match the changes made to Charter Amendment 1, which was the change from a Dual Language Program to Spanish Language Acquisition.
Charter Amendment 1: Change to Dual Language Program
August 13, 2014
Description: Our first few years of enrollment at J. Paul Taylor Academy lacked enough Spanish speaking models to properly run a Dual Language Program. This amendment allows the school to move to a Spanish Language Acquisition model.
Founding Charter Document
2010
Description: This charter application establishes a contract with the State of New Mexico to begin a small, Dual-Language, K-8 charter school focused on Project-Based Learning and community partnerships.