Security for Charter Schools: The Five Layers of School Safety
Our schools should be safe havens for teaching and learning, free of crime and violence. School safety is linked to improved student and school outcomes. In particular,emotional and physical safety in school have been shown to be related to academic performance. Any instance of crime or violence at school not only affects the individuals involved, but also may disrupt the educational process and affect bystanders, the school itself, and the surrounding community, as stated in the 2017 Indicators of School Crime and Safety.
For this important and timely webinar on school safety, we are fortunate and honored to be joined by nationally known expert on emergency preparedness, the President and CEO fo Safeguard Risk Solutions, Gary Sigrist.
On Thursday, September 13 at 9:00 a.m. PT/12:00 p.m. ET we’ll be discussing important topics around safety and security for schools, specifically looking at security challenges in charter schools. Join us and learn the five key layers of safety for your school and students. We’ll cover safety measures, emergency planning, threat assessment, and more!
We hope you’ll join us.
Charter School Students Get Recognized by the National Honor Society
At Charter School Capital, a big part of our mission is to further the charter school movement and celebrating the achievements of charter school students, so we are thrilled to be sharing this incredibly inspirational story of success!
We recently had the honor of speaking with Debra Sellers, from Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy (CCPA), and learned how she persevered to get CCPA’s deserving charter school students acknowledged by the National Honor Society (NHS).
More than just an honor roll, NHS serves to recognize students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, service, leadership, and character. Sellers knew that CCPA’s hard-working and dedicated public charter school scholars deserved recognition the same way their traditional public-school counterparts have since 1921. But it wasn’t going to be easy.
About Debra Sellers
Debra came to CCPA in 2014 as an online instructor, facilitating online courses. For the past two years, she has been serving in the capacity of the guidance counselor. She’s been a guidance counselor and career access coordinator for schools ever since 2002. Prior to her work at CCPA, she was working for Cincinnati Public Schools. Her broad and impressive background includes an undergraduate degree in Human Resources (HR) Training and Development, a Master’s Degree in Social Work with an emphasis in mental health, and a long-running professional career in education.
Sellers is currently CCPA’s Guidance and Career Counselor, but I wanted to better understand how her diverse background and training led to this particular role and why getting NHS recognition for her students would be so important to her.
“I thought, how am I helping? … With HR, I trained in development. You train, and you develop students to transition into the workforce or college. That allowed me to be able to use my experience in that area helping them with resumes, interviewing, assessing what the needs were over the years, and just being able to give them some guidance in that area.
Then, when I thought about grad school, I would have gone for guidance counselor. But, I also have this double life. I work in a residential treatment facility. So, I’ve work in chemical dependency treatment prevention for the past seventeen years. So, I ended up getting a master’s in social work because it was a broad degree that could land me kind of anywhere. Because with social work you are a counselor, you are helping people. You are meeting their needs and trying to get them connected to community-based organizations, helping them to think about basic things like food, clothing, and shelter.
I kind of put those two together, but my resources together, which has been very beneficial to me as I am working with high school students making their transition to the larger picture called life.”
In hot pursuit of National Honor Society Recognition
Coming from her experience with previous schools, she knew that student performance recognition was very important for motivating students towards academic success. Recognition, however, was only one piece of the puzzle. Practically speaking, and from her HR background perspective, she knew that recognition from an organization such as the National Honor Society looks really good on a college resume.
She made the first request to the NHS for CCPA in 2014, but at that time, they were not accepting charter schools—only traditional public schools. The frustrating result was that she wasn’t able to get CCPA students recognized. For the past nearly four years, Sellers was unapologetically tenacious, refusing to give up.
“I knew it would be a really nice motivational piece to encourage students to excel academically because I know it looks good on a resume, and it looks good on a college application. It just, it helps to boost morale, self-esteem, and just encouraging the students to continue what they had already been doing—achieving academically.”
“Every year I would call and then they kept saying, ‘You have to go online.’ And I did, and it just wouldn’t go through. I started in 2014. I just kept trying.
In 2017, I called the National Honor Society (again) and told them what I was trying to do and what had been my issue over the last several years. They were like, ‘Well, just go ahead and re-submit your application again this year.’ Then, when it was approved they simply said, ‘Okay, now you just have to pay your charter membership.’ I was like, ‘Oh my God. Oh my God. We’re going have a National Honor Society!’”
With a chuckle, she goes on to share that she was equally excited when that they said, “You’re going to be billed.” And, from her enthusiastic recounting of that moment, I can safely say I don’t think anyone has ever been more excited to get a bill … ever.
“When they finally opened to us, I was like, ‘Oh yes! We have to do this!’”
I asked her what she thought changed – finally in 2017 – to make the NHS want to recognize charter school students. “Well, I don’t think they recognized charter schools, period. You had to go to a more traditional high school. I think that they looked at the fact that they are accredited, each state recognizes them, and that there’s a growing number of public charter schools nationwide.”
This was a big deal
Becoming a member of the National Honor Society is – as the name perhaps already implies – a tremendous honor for students. One that’s been experienced by high school scholars at traditional public schools around the country for decades. For this, CCPA’s first year having their charter school students recognized, Sellers wanted to make sure it had all the pomp and circumstance that the CCPA honorees, their proud families, and school community deserved.
”We just really wanted it to be something that the students knew this was a big deal. We put together a formal ceremony. We had all the candles, the pinning, we did the oath, we had a guest speaker (a TV personality from the local station), we held the ceremony in the evening, we had 33 students, and they all signed a book. It was really a nice ceremony.”
But, for even more impact on the students, Sellers kept the induction into the NHS as well as all of the planning for this huge event a secret from the honorees.
“I didn’t tell them. I kept wandering around the school and asking them random things. I gave certain kids cards and asked them for their addresses. I never told them what it was, and they had no idea until they received the letter at home. I wanted it to be a surprise for them to know that they were being recognized. After receiving their letters, they excitedly came back and asked, ‘What is this? What is this?’ So, I gave them a little background of what it was. The following Monday their names were on the school marquee in the atrium so the whole student body could see who the National Honor Society inductees were.”
Just the beginning
An impressive 33 tenth, eleventh, and twelfth graders out of CCPAs 182 students were recognized this March. The graduating seniors were specially recognized with stoles that included their new National Honor Society patch.
Sellers shares,“I wanted them to know that this is an honor and it says something about you … you and the work that you have done during your high school years, and this is a way of being recognized—and it’s by a reputable organization, the National Honor Society.”
Sellers is not stopping here and is dedicated to continuing her progress ¬– and not just for the CCPA students. Although students cannot become members of NHS until high school, she’s getting a jumpstart on middle-school-aged students in her area to begin thinking about the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS). “If I have my wish, we’re going down to junior high. They have one that’s for sixth, seventh, eighth graders. I’m trying to get them on board. That’s my goal this year. If you get them to really be thinking about the bigger picture, if you say, ‘I want to become an engineer,’ you don’t start that in your senior year. You start that back there. It’s a process.”
We are always honored to share the amazing work that charter school leaders are doing across the country to make a difference and help forward charter school movement. Debra Sellers is a prime example of the commitment, dedication, and outstanding work charter leaders are doing—and that deserves our recognition. We thank her for taking the time to speak with us and for paving the way for other charter schools to motivate and honor their students’ achievements in the same way.
Since the company’s inception in 2007, Charter School Capital has been committed to the success of charter schools. We provide growth capital and facilities financing to charter schools nationwide. Our depth of experience working with charter school leaders and our knowledge of how to address charter school financial and operational needs have allowed us to provide over $1.6 billion in support of 600 charter schools that educate 800,000 students across the country. For more information on how we can support your charter school, contact us. We’d love to work with you!
Editor’s Note: This post was written by Philissa Cramer and Monica Disare. It was originally published here on April 19, 2018 by Chalkbeat. As the election season is upon us, there is no better time to think about how some charter school solutions could potentially make students more civically minded. I think we’d all agree that our young people – our future voters – should understand that their voices and their votes both matter and count. This interesting article asks (and answers) the question, “Can schools encourage students to be more involved citizens?”
We think it’s vital to keep tabs on the pulse of all things related to charter schools, including informational resources, and how to support charter school growth and the advancement of the charter school movement as a whole. We hope you find this—and any other article we curate—both interesting and valuable. Please read on to learn more.
Can schools encourage students to be more involved citizens? A new study suggests yes they can.
In a city of roughly 1,800 schools, many have names that have little to do with what students experience.
Not so for Democracy Prep, a network of charter schools that a new study concludes makes students far more likely to vote once they turn 18. The study, conducted by independent researchers commissioned by Democracy Prep, took advantage of New York City’s charter school admissions rules to examine the impact of applying to, getting accepted to, and enrolling in the network’s schools on later civic participation.
Looking at more than a thousand students who applied between 2007 and 2015 who were old enough to vote in 2016, the researchers found that just being selected in the admissions lottery was correlated with a slight increase in voting rates. Students who were chosen voted 6 percentage points more often than students who were not.
The impact was much greater on students who were chosen and actually enrolled: They voted 24 percentage points more often than students who applied but never got a chance to attend.
The findings suggest that Democracy Prep is achieving its explicit goal of promoting civic participation. They also offer one answer to the question of whether charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately managed, undermine democracy.
“Democracy Prep provides a test case of whether charter schools can successfully serve the foundational purpose of public education—preparation for citizenship—even while operating outside the direct control of elected officials,” the researchers write. “With respect to the critical civic participation measures of registration and voting, the answer is yes.”Seth Andrew, who started the network with a single middle school in Harlem in 2006, said he was pleased by the findings — and unsurprised because the network has baked civic participation into its culture and academic program. Students must take on a personal “Change the World” project and pass the U.S. citizenship exam to graduate.
“This idea of ‘change the world’ was very central to what we were trying to get our kids prepared and excited to do,” he said.
Creating more engaged citizens takes more than just adding a civics class, said Katie Duffy, the CEO of Democracy Prep. Schools have to make democracy a part of the daily culture, she said.
“The more you talk about the importance of voting, the importance of elections, the importance of advocacy,” she said, “the more it becomes ingrained in our kids.”
The network has also long used Election Day — when district-run schools are often closed so their buildings can be used as polling stations — as a teachable moment.
In 2008, Democracy Prep students spent the day working to get out the vote in their neighborhoods. Four years later, Democracy Prep schools were among the few housed in city space that got special permission to stay open — and the network sent students out to advance the “Vote for Somebody” campaign it had kicked off in a catchy viral video. The next year, students promoted a different message — “I can’t vote but you can” — in an effort to boost the city’s 11 percent primary election voter participation rate.
The network’s influence extends far beyond its students. In 2012, six years into the network’s existence, officials estimated that students had helped 5,000 New Yorkers register to vote. Now, the network runs 22 schools in five states.
Andrew said the study’s findings about the impact of the network — which he left in 2012 to work on other civic engagement initiatives, including at the White House — offer only a start at a time when the United States lags behind other developed countries in voter turnout.
“I was thrilled with the outcome,” said Andrew. “But then as the guy that founded Democracy Prep I feel like there’s a whole lot of room to grow.” Correction: A previous version of this story described the increase in voting caused by Democracy Prep as a percent figure, rather than in percentage points.
Since the company’s inception in 2007, Charter School Capital has been committed to the success of charter schools. We provide growth capital and facilities financing to charter schools nationwide. Our depth of experience working with charter school leaders and our knowledge of how to address charter school financial and operational needs have allowed us to provide over $1.6 billion in support of 600 charter schools that educate 800,000 students across the country. For more information on how we can support your charter school, contact us. We’d love to work with you!
Charter School Capital’s Dewey Awards: Teachers Making a Difference
It’s time for the Charter School Capital Dewey Awards! We’re in our second year of honoring teachers who make a difference in the lives of their students.
Many of us have had teachers who helped changed the trajectory of our lives; who were able to get us to believe in our abilities and our promise; who said, “You can do this!” and never let us forget it. For our President and CEO, Stuart Ellis, that teacher was Mr. Dewey. For the second year, in honor of Richard Dewey, we want to give recognition and thanks to the teachers who’ve impacted our lives. Submit your story of the teacher that changed your life for the chance to receive one of three $1,000 charter school grants, given in your name to the school of your choice.
Watch the video below to hear, in Stuart Ellis’ own words, why we’re so proud to continue this tradition.
You can learn more about our Dewey Awards, read some selected stories from 2017, and submit your story to honor a teacher by visiting our official 2018 Richard Dewey Awards page. We can’t wait to read your inspiring stories! GO TO PAGE
Charter School Marketing: Powerful Tips for Success
Editor’s Note: In the ever-changing world of marketing – and more particularly digital marketing – we understand the importance of keeping up-to-date on the best ways to reach prospective students, their families, and communities. That’s why we wanted to sit down with Imagine Schools‘ Chief Communications Officer, Rhonda Cagle, to get her insights and tips on charter school marketing. Rhonda generously shares her perspective on quick wins and strategies for marketing success!
We think it’s vital to keep tabs on the pulse of all things related to charter schools, including informational resources, and how to support charter school growth. We hope you find this—and any other blog post we write—both interesting and valuable. Below you will find the video and the transcript. Please read on to learn more.
Janet Johnson (JJ): Hi there, welcome to Charter Ed Talks. I’m honored to be here with Rhonda Cagle who is the chief communications officer for Imagine Schools, which is a network of non-profit public schools and welcome. Rhonda Cagle (RC): Thank you so much for having me. JJ: And we’re going to be talking about marketing today. I’m pretty excited about this subject because we’re both marketers and we’ve both been relatively new to the charter space. How long have you been in the charter space now? RC: Full time, I’ve been in the charter space five years. JJ: Oh well, you’re a lot more senior than I then. Rhonda, we’re doing kind of a fun campaign called “We Love Charter Schools” and so can you tell our listeners whatever you’d like to say about what you like about charter schools. Why do you love charter schools? RC: I love charter schools because charter schools change the lives of children. We see that when children have the opportunity to learn in an environment that best meets their unique individual needs, their lives change, their ability to learn and to become successful changes. We also see that the communities become successful. The schools become literally beacons of hope in the neighborhoods in which we serve. I love charters because they change lives. JJ: That’s fabulous. Not much better than that. From a marketing perspective and a lot of our audience I hope will be charter school marketers on these videos, are there any surefire wins that we should be employing today for enrollment or other charter school marketing? RC: I think there are several surefire wins. The first is to recognize that marketing is really about relationships and it’s really about maintaining those relationships. We don’t do that in our personal lives once or twice a year, we don’t have a relationship push, we have ongoing relationships and that’s really what marketing needs to be about for charter schools. We need to be in our communities and sharing our news and what we’re doing in the lives that we’re changing, we need to share that all year long, day in and day out. The other surefire wins is the little things. We talk a lot about how do we attract families but I also like to ask the question how do we retain our families? Because I think retention is a lot like dating our spouses. We have to remind our spouse why they fell in love with us in the first place and we have to make sure that we are continually reminding them of why we are their best choice. JJ: Those are very important points. Can you tell us a little bit about the role digital marketing plays in the charter school landscape from your perspective? RC: Absolutely. Digital marketing has become something that we as a network are relying more and more on. It used to be that if you built it they would come and the truth is that was true for a while and then the charter’s base grew and we did build and they did come. And so now we have to find a way to differentiate ourselves in the market. And digital marketing helps cut through the noise that’s out there and it helps reach parents and families where they’re at.
We started our digital marketing campaigns back in late 2015, 16. We had our first full year of results in the 16-17 school year. What we found is that we generated roughly 6200 qualified leads. And that was through either online inquiries, somebody saying yes I would like to know more or a phone call that we could track. And out of that, we were able to convert 751 new enrolled students. JJ: That’s a nice conversion rate, actually, in my experience. RC: Thank you. We believe it can be better but that was our pilot and so now what we’re working on is how do we get those numbers tighter and better and those returns greater. Not just because it’s obviously good for running charter schools effectively and efficiently but more importantly because it maximizes resources coming into the schools that best support students. When a school is fully enrolled that school has the maximum resources that students need in order to learn and be successful. So we’re really working on closing those gaps to make sure that we’re being as effective as possible. JJ: The fact that you’re maximizing the resources for the students through marketing I think is a really interesting point. Most of us feel as if we just need to get the students in the door, right? So that we can grow but I like the positioning of maximizing the resources for the children, the scholars, the students themselves and the families and the communities you serve. I love that. Are there any, especially in the digital world there are a lot of memes that come and go, right? Have you experienced any kind of, oh don’t go there because or are there myths that you would like to kind of bust right now for our viewers? RC: Sure, so I think there’s a lot of myths that are out there. A lot of people are slow to think about digital, a lot of people want to hold on to what worked well in the past and the truth is what worked well in the past did work well but now it’s incomplete. And just like we keep learning how students best learn we also keep learning how our audience, our potential audience best engages with the message that we have to deliver. And so we have to be willing to learn and grow and change. JJ: I think that’s important. And so, isn’t it exciting to be in a field where not only are you serving a wonderful mission but you are learning every single day about what works and what doesn’t work? RC: Absolutely. I think the other piece of that is often we want to tout what we know as educators is important for a student. We want to talk about a curricular approach, we want to talk about those kinds of quote-unquote “selling points” and in many cases, we need to put ourselves in the shoes of our audience and what’s important to a parent may not be what we as educators consider to be important. For instance, we have many parents who come into our schools because they know their children are safe. JJ: Really? RC: They know their children are well known as an individual and they know that they’re going to be valued as an individual, and for the parent that’s their selling point. JJ: Those are the messages that they want to hear. RC: That’s right, and so we have to continually think about how are we adapting our messaging? How are we putting ourselves in the shoes of our audience so that we’re connecting with them in ways that are meaningful? JJ: Are there any kind of surprises that have come up in your recent research or studies as you’ve learned more about the marketing to parents and students? Are they any different? Are there other things, other little pearls of wisdom you might share? RC: Well I think it’s interesting to know that there is still so much misinformation about what charter schools are. So for instance, I just became aware of some polling that was recently done and when you put the word “public” in front of charter schools it increases favorability and understanding by two to three points. So there’s still fundamental misunderstandings about what charter schools are. The fact that they are public schools, the fact that they cannot discriminate in terms of how we enroll. We have to continue to be vigilant in delivering that message because there’s a lot of the public that still does not understand what a charter school is and the value that charter schools bring to the community. JJ: Well, I must thank you again for the pearls of charter school marketing wisdom you’ve shared with us today. And, in terms of continuing education, I think this is going to be a little gem that others will be able to appreciate as a result of your willingness to share with us. RC: Thank you so much for having me. JJ: Thanks, Rhonda.
Digital Marketing for Charter Schools: An Actionable Workbook to Help You Achieve Your School’s Goals!
Scratching your head as to how to go about implementing digital marketing programs for your charter school? You’re not alone! This free manual will be your go-to guide for all of your school’s digital marketing needs! Download this actionable workbook to help get your marketing plans started, guide you as you define your audience and key differentiators, choose your tactics and start to build your campaigns.
Charter School Enrollment: Unified Enrollment and Enroll Indy
Thirty years ago, the process for selecting and enrolling in a school was very easy. Parents would send their child to the neighborhood public school, or if they had the means and/or desire would choose to apply to a private and/or parochial school. With the introduction and growth of charter schools, choosing a school is now a more involved and often a complex decision. Though some would say that the free market approach to school choice – and the option for charter school enrollment – is good, others have suggested that it has created a challenging system that disproportionately skews towards parents who have the time and ability to ensure that their child gets into the best school.
In an attempt to address these concerns and simplify what had become a very complex process, cities are turning to unified enrollment systems which provide parents a single place to research schools, a common application and single process to “match” to the school of their choice.
Denver and New Orleans were the first to roll these out in 2011. Both systems were able to pull together both traditional public school enrollment and public charter school enrollment into a single, common system. New Orleans also included their private schools. Since then, other cities like Washington DC, Camden and Newark have instituted this unified enrollment system across both traditional public schools and public charter schools while others like Detroit, St. Louis and Kansas City have created these systems without traditional public school participation and only include the public charter schools. Early research of the Denver system has shown that this program has brought more equity to the group of schools who participate with higher enrollment of minorities, lower-income students and English language learners to the charter sector.
However, the move to common enrollment has not been without controversy. In Boston and Oakland, the implementation of unified enrollment has been stifled by concerns about charter school expansion, believing that the implementation of a unified system will drive more students away from the local traditional public schools.
Recognizing some of the challenges that other cities had faced in rolling out unified enrollment, Indianapolis was very deliberate about garnering community support of a unified enrollment program. In the fall of 2017, Enroll Indy was launched with substantial support from the two key local players in education: The Mind Trust and the Mayor’s Office of Charter Schools. Caitlin Hanlon, the founder of Enroll Indy, was a Mind Trust fellow and had structured the system during her fellowship.
The organization conducted a well-designed community outreach program prior to launch. This outreach garnered support from many well-known neighborhood organizations, civic groups, and schools. In its first year, a total of 57 schools participated in Enroll Indy. This included all the Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) and most of the larger charter schools in the city. — few notable exceptions included the Christel House schools and the charter (non-innovation schools) of Phalen Leadership Academy.
Under the Enroll Indy system, any kindergarten or above student who is changing schools to a school that participates in the system is required to register with the Enroll Indy website and indicate their priority choice for a school. They are then matched to a school based upon their priority choices and the space available at the school.
Enroll Indy has changed the enrollment and recruitment dynamics within the city of Indianapolis. As a school enrollment consultant, I had the opportunity to work with several clients in Indianapolis during the roll-out. I wanted to share some of our experiences and ways that schools can maximize their recruitment efforts in a unified enrollment environment.
1. It is going to be harder to enroll students if you choose to operate outside of Enroll Indy.
As a charter school leader in Indianapolis, or really in any unified enrollment system, you need to ask the fundamental question: Should we participate in this system for our charter school’s enrollment? This is a judgment call based upon the success and quality of the existing enrollment strategy for your charter school. If you have a well-designed enrollment system, consistently have a waiting list, and can communicate to all prospects that they don’t need to use Enroll Indy to enroll in your school, you might be able to run independently. As I stated above, a couple of schools are going this route. However, generally, there are more positives (for the expansion of charter schools) than negatives to be gained from Enroll Indy, so I recommend to my clients that they participate. If you choose to operate independently, you are going to have to overcome the perception that all schools are part of this system. This can be done, but it will require more work. Enroll Indy participated in over 60 community events and did phone banking /canvasing of over 25,000 households in Center Township. That is tough to compete against. If you choose to participate:
2. You need to be thoughtful and strategic about the information that you include on your school description
For a lot of parents, your page under the Enroll Indy school finder site may be the first time that they have heard about your school or have seen detailed information about what your school offers.
The “Who We Are” section is your opportunity to make a great first impression. This section needs to be exciting and resonate with your potential parents. DO NOT take the description in your charter application and copy and paste! You need to think about who your audience is and what they want in a school. Many of the descriptions that I read from schools were chock full of academic jargon like “…leading literacy socio-emotional and neuroscientific research..” or were not very exciting like “We incorporate the environment into our instruction, and our students have opportunities for outdoor education.” Give your prospective parents an easy to understand but also a compelling description of your school. You are describing your school, but also selling it. Global Preparatory Academy, a dual language immersion program on the Near Westside, provides a good example of a parent-friendly description:
Example description from Global Preparatory Academy
Next, in the school highlights section, you can select six pictures and categories that highlight the uniqueness of your school. There were a few schools who struggled with this part. I saw a few that displayed their school mascot, or just the exterior of the facility. Those are important, but in this key selling stage, you want to continue to describe your school, but use the visuals to create excitement and allow the parent to envision their child at your school.
Don’t use stock photography or leave this section blank. Take this part seriously because parents are taking this seriously.
Finally, make sure that you are filling out all the different programs, clubs, sports and community partnerships that your school provides. Though the filtering program allows parents to search on a specific type of activity that your school offers, right now that filter does not “knock” a school off the consideration list, so it doesn’t remove you from consideration. However, if you don’t fill this section out, you give a very incomplete picture of your school.
Example of a school that is not very enticing
3. Utilize the event feature and participate in all the events that Enroll Indy hosts
Enroll Indy hosted four of events in the six months of the matching period. Attending these events gives you an excellent opportunity to get in front of parents who are currently looking for a school.
In addition to hosting their own events, Enroll Indy also allowed schools to use their platform to advertise upcoming open houses or other recruitment events. Surprisingly, only about a quarter of the schools used Enroll Indy to publicize their events.
Enroll Indy’s website averages about 2,000 users a month. This is a great (and free) platform for you to advertise your events. Additionally, in the monthly newsletters that Enroll Indy sends out to their entire parental database, they highlight and promote these events. Because my clients had events listed on the site, they were profiled in the newsletter. If you don’t list your events, you don’t get that opportunity.
4. Utilize the “like” or favorite feature to understand who is interested in your school
One of the complaints that I heard from schools using Enroll Indy was not being able to see who is interested in their school until they were matched. However, on your school page in the upper right corner, there is a heart, or a favorite, button.
Note the “like” button (heart) on the top right-hand corner
When a parent “likes” your school, they go into a separate list that you can access prior to match day to follow up with that parent. This is the only time you are going to see contact information for a parent prior to the official matching time. Encourage all your parents that you are recruiting to “like you”. This can be done in the description of your school or through your promotional efforts outside of Enroll Indy. Once you have a parent’s contact information, you need to follow up with the parents who have signaled a preference towards your school. Email them, call them, send them more information, personally invite them to an event, etc. They are giving you a buying signal, go out and court them. A personal outreach at this stage is going to make a huge impact on how they view your school.
5. Enroll Indy will not be a silver bullet if you constantly struggle with enrollment. You must still do the work!
Enroll Indy’s goals are not to ensure full enrollment at every school, but rather to try to spread enrollment more equally and equitably across all the schools in Indianapolis. Enroll Indy can help communicate to new parents who might not have heard about your school, but it should not in any way encourage you to stop doing all the recruitment activities that you have done in the past to attract students. It is a great addition to your marketing toolkit, but it shouldn’t be your sole tactic.
It is too soon to confidently talk about the impact that Enroll Indy will have upon education and enrollment within Indianapolis. However, if you are a charter school in Indianapolis, maximizing Enroll Indy should be a factor in the planning of your enrollment strategy. Hopefully, these five tips can help you to maximize it for your school.
Nick LeRoy, MBA, is the president of Bright Minds Marketing and former Executive Director of the Indiana Charter School Board. Bright Minds Marketing provides enrollment and recruitment consulting to private, Catholic and charter schools. For information about how Bright Minds Marketing can help your school improve its’ student enrollment, send an email to nick@brightmindsmarketing.com or call them at 317-361-5255.
Digital Marketing for Charter Schools: An Actionable Workbook to Help You Achieve Your School’s Goals!
Scratching your head as to how to go about building messaging for your charter school? You’re not alone! This free manual will be your go-to guide for all of your school’s digital marketing needs! Download this actionable workbook to help get your marketing plans outlined and started, guide you as you define your audience, key differentiators and messaging, choose your tactics, and start to build your campaigns.
At Charter School Capital, we believe in the power of charter schools and their leaders to deliver quality education. We can provide reliable funding for charter schools because of the depth of our financial resources and our understanding of the unique issues charter school administrators face. We would like to work with you to help further educational opportunities for charter school students.
Here are the answers to our most frequently asked questions. Q: How long have you been around and what type of customers do you serve?
We’ve been helping charter schools reach financial stability and grow for over ten years. We’ve served some of the largest charter organizations in the country while also serving some of the smallest schools just starting out. No matter what size you are or what stage of growth you are in, we’d like to customize a solution to fit your needs. Q: What can I expect from customer service when I choose CSC?
Each client is assigned a dedicated Client Services Representative, Account Manager, Financial Analyst, and an Underwriter to provide the best service in the business. Q: How long do schools typically fund with CSC?
It depends on the needs of the school (stabilization v. growth); some schools have simple, individual project needs; and some schools have grown into large networks and have been clients for years as we’ve funded their growth. Q: How do we apply?
Give us a call (toll free) at 877.272.1001 and one of our Client Services Representatives will walk you through the prequalification and application process. Should our programs align with the needs of your school, you’ll fill out a brief online application and we’ll collect additional documentation as needed. Q: How do we qualify/ What do we need to submit?
Our documentation requirements start with your charter and your financials. Your Client Services Representative will guide you through the process. Q: What is a “receivables sale?”
In a receivables sale transaction, Charter School Capital purchases state aid payments that are due to the charter school from the state and, in exchange, provides funding to the school in advance of the state payment distribution date. Q: If we enter into a receivables sale transaction with you and the state delays payments, what are the risks or additional costs to us?
Charter School Capital assumes the timing risk if the state delays the distribution of the payments that are due to the school. There are no additional costs to the charter school in the event the state delays payments. Q: How does your organization acquire the funds it distributes?
As a responsible capital provider, we have access to reliable capital from private funding sources, assuring we can always support your needs. Q: Do you require a personal guarantee?
No, we do not require a personal guarantee. Q: How are we charged? And what are the costs involved?
We charge a discount rate. The discount rate is determined by market-related factors including, but not limited to: short-term interest rates, the type of receivable being sold, the time the receivable is outstanding, the credit profile of the school and market rate returns for similar investments. Q: Does it take a long time to get funds?
We can sometimes fund in 10 business days for an emergency, but your first funding normally takes four weeks. After your first funding, it typically takes two weeks to fund. Our in-depth process and procedures ensure that we finance charter schools ethically and responsibly. Q: Can a school receive working capital financing and facilities financing?
Yes, we have schools that leverage both our working capital and facilities financing. Q: What differentiates your facilities financing program from others?
We purchase buildings and lease them back to charter schools. A long-term lease can provide security and flexibility with relatively little cash up front, compared to other facilities financing options like bonds or other ownership options. Q: Are there other services you provide?
Our product availability varies with state charter laws. In addition to our working capital and facilities financing, we also can provide:
• Loan products in select states
• Growth funding
• Capital expenditure funding
• Gap funding
• Help with access to grants and donations
• Marketing support
• Charter school informational resources (webinars, blog posts, guides, etc.) Q: What advantages do you provide that your competitors don’t and why should you choose to partner with us?
We’re mission-driven and 100% dedicated to the charter school space.
Unlike traditional lenders like banks, we work with you to solve the unique challenges you face.
We are dedicated to financing schools ethically and responsibly.
Your success is our success. Our goal is to help your school become financially stable, successful, and set up to serve more students.
You can count on the personable and knowledgeable team at Charter School Capital to find the financial solution that is right for your school, and we’ll provide access to consistent funding you can count on as you grow. Contact us today to learn how we can meet your funding and facility needs.
Since the company’s inception in 2007, Charter School Capital has been committed to the success of charter schools. We provide growth capital and facilities financing to charter schools nationwide. Our depth of experience working with charter school leaders and our knowledge of how to address charter school financial and operational needs have allowed us to provide over $1.6 billion in support of 600 charter schools that educate 800,000 students across the country. For more information on how we can support your charter school, contact us. We’d love to work with you!
The Charter School Solution: A Better Education for All
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published here on May 12, 2018, and authored by Nina Rees, the president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
Studies have shown that the existence of public charters has often improved traditional public school performance in those communities. And, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also called the Nation’s Report Card, public charter schools are showing that they are often outperforming their traditional public school counterparts. The NAEP also shows that charter schools are more effective at helping students from lower-income backgrounds make up ground on their peers. It’s important to bring these studies to light to help support the charter school movement and continue to create the opportunities for unique and diverse educational access for all students.
We think it’s vital to keep tabs on the pulse of all things related to charter schools, including informational resources, and how to support charter school growth. We hope you find this—and any other article we curate—both interesting and valuable. Please read on to learn more.
Charter Schools Point toward a Better Education for All
Published May 12, 2018
As National Charter Schools Week wraps up, new data show their potential to improve students’ scores.
One thing nearly every expert in the field will tell you is that we have a long way to go before every student in America is getting a good education.
The recent results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also called the Nation’s Report Card, confirmed as much. The NAEP is administered to a sample of students in a variety of subjects from across the country every two years. Its latest math and reading scores for fourth- and eighth-graders showed a general stagnation.
But there were bright spots, too. Students in the nation’s largest cities, who on average score lower than students elsewhere, are at least narrowing the gap. It’s hard to pinpoint a specific reason for this improvement. But education reformers have focused most of their energy on urban areas for years, precisely because these students have trailed their suburban counterparts, and the results of the NAEP suggest that their efforts may be bearing fruit.
One of the most important and ambitious parts of those efforts has been the introduction of public charter schools to America’s metropoles. Across 43 states and Washington, D.C., many parents in large cities can choose which public school their child will attend. By embracing various teaching methods and academic focuses, charter schools give more students access to a school that brings out the best in them.
The NAEP data show that charter schools contributed to the growth in urban test scores. In 2017, charter schools outperformed district schools across all four grade and subject levels in large cities (although the difference was not statistically significant for fourth-grade math). Across the four grade and subject levels, big-city charter-school students improved by an average of eleven points over the past ten years, while traditional public-school students improved by an average of five points.
This is good news as we celebrate National Charter Schools Week and bring attention to the way charter schools are changing the educational dynamic for nearly 3.2 million students across America. But rather than crow about improving scores, we should understand these test results for what they are — a tool to help parents, teachers, school leaders, advocates, and policymakers find out what’s working in American classrooms, and spread those best practices to more schools.
For instance, both the NAEP data and other research indicate that charter schools are especially effective at helping students from lower-income backgrounds make up ground on their peers. Educational leaders in the states and cities where charter schools delivered strong NAEP results for these students — Arizona, D.C., Texas, Colorado, Florida — have put a premium on incorporating charter schools into the public-school mix. Both D.C. and Denver public schools have been lauded for the strong cooperation between their charter-school movements and school districts. Texas has also promoted closer consultation between district and charter leaders, and Arizona, Texas, and D.C. have made it a priority to ensure that charter-school authorizers — the entities that award and revoke charter contracts and monitor performance — put a strong focus on quality. In Colorado and Florida, legislators have made funding fairness a priority, closing the gap between what district and charter schools receive for instruction and facilities.
The quality of charter schools varies across the country, and even within states and cities — just as it does with district schools. But one of the hallmarks of the charter-school movement is to confront low-quality head-on (as has been happening with virtual charter schools, which suffer from a lot of poor performers) and close schools when they aren’t serving students well.
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What NAEP and other tests can do is point us toward high-performing schools, cities, and states that can serve as models for others. Tests shouldn’t supersede the judgment of parents and policymakers, but they can inform that judgment, by helping us to calibrate our educational compass toward success. The more we can replicate success, the more students will benefit.
As the nation celebrates the charter schools bringing new options to students and parents, the NAEP results are further evidence that policymakers who want to get closer to the goal of giving every student access to a great education should support the growth of the charter movement.
Charter School Capital is committed to the success of charter schools and has solely focused on funding charter schools since the company’s inception in 2007. Our depth of experience working with charter school leaders and our knowledge of how to address charter school financial and operational needs have allowed us to provide over $1.6 billion in support of 600 charter schools that educate 800,000 students across the country. For more information on how we can support your charter school, contact us!
We are 100% dedicated to the charter space and to enabling the success of charter schools and the charter school movement. Working exclusively with charter schools, we measure our success by the number of students we serve. Our mission is to provide school leaders access to the financial and other charter school resources they need – whether it’s operational capital, growth funding, or facilities expansion. We believe in the power of charter schools and their leaders to deliver quality education to families across the country. And we’re proud to provide the reliability and stability charter leaders require as they walk their journey to better educate more students today—and in the future.
Why Partner With Us?
We’re mission-driven and 100% dedicated to the charter school space.
Unlike traditional lenders like banks, we work with you to solve the unique challenges you face.
We are dedicated to financing schools ethically and responsibly.
Your success is our success. Our goal is to help your school become financially stable, successful, and set up to serve more students.
OUR CHARTER SCHOOL FUNDING PRODUCTS:
Working Capital
Charter School Capital provides flexible funding solutions so charter schools can gain ground and achieve success. Our charter school working capital financing enables school leaders the flexibility and stability to support everyday expenses and – importantly – fuel their growth.
Why might you need to access working capital?
To expand or grow programs
To open a new charter school
To enhance facilities – with labs, gyms, etc.
To provide new technology in the classroom
To hire and/or develop your staff
To address budget shortfalls and delays (deferrals, holdbacks, etc.) gracefully
To improve transportation options
To enrich educational programs
Charter School Capital is a trustworthy, reliable funding source. They are a true friend and ally to charter schools, the movement, and the children we serve.
~Caprice Young, CEO & Superintendent, Magnolia Public Schools
Facilities Financing
Our facilities financing product is a long-term lease that allows schools to access funding through all stages of growth – from start-up to expansion through maturity. As a long-term partner, our team works closely with you as we explore budgetary and financial options to support your facilities needs.
Why long-term lease financing?
You can finance 100% of project costs
You can retain control of your facility
You can plan on long-term affordability
You can enhance your existing building or finance new construction
Your lease can be customized to your school’s model – whether blended learning,
traditional, etc.
Tenant improvements can be financed in your lease
Can be used as take-out financing for an existing bond or potential bridge to bond financing.
It was a blessing to find Charter School Capital. We couldn’t have even looked at a building like this without them. They were responsive, communicative, and very much about the school kids. Our students and their families are very excited about the facility!
~Freddy Mendoza, Founder and Teacher, Arizona College Prep Academy
Since our founding, we’ve been able to provide over $1.6 billion in funding to more than 600 charter schools across our nation and most importantly, to serve over 800,000 students.
We’re proud to provide the reliability and stability charter leaders require as they embark on their journey to educate more students today—and in the future.
If you have working capital needs or would like help with charter school facilities financing, our team of experts is here to help you with a needs assessment. Start by completing our online application or contact us for more information about our funding types (link below).
It’s a big relief to know that, with Charter School Capital, our organization can stand alone. They have done such a good job of making us feel part of something…You don’t get that feeling with a bank.
~Dr. Kris Sippel, Principal, San Tan Learning Center
Our team works with you to determine funding and facilities options based on your school’s needs. If you are trying to meet operational expenses, expand, acquire or renovate your school building, add an athletic department, or buy new technology, complete the online application below and we’ll contact you to set up a meeting to learn more about your needs.
Editor’s Note: We understand that navigating charter school facility financing options can be a daunting and dizzying task for charter leaders. For this CHARTER EDtalk, we wanted to help break down some details around bond funding for charter school facilities. We were honored to be joined by John “Tiny” McLaughlin, Sr. Vice President at Ziegler, Scott Rolfs, Managing Director at Ziegler, and Charter School Capital’s Jon Dahlberg, Vice President of Business Development and Facilities and our Chief Marketing Officer, Janet Johnson.
We think it’s vital to keep tabs on the pulse of all things related to charter schools, including informational resources, and how to support charter school growth. We hope you find this—and any other blog post we write—both interesting and valuable. Below you will find the video and the transcript. Please read on to learn more about using bonds for charter school facility financing.
Janet Johnson: Hi everybody, I’m Janet Johnson with Charter School Capital. We’d like to welcome you to our charter and talk today about facilities financing. We’re honored today to have Scott Rolfs, who heads up the Charter School practice at Ziegler and Tiny McLaughlin, who is the SVP at Ziegler, and Jon Dahlberg who heads up our origination for facilities financing at Charter School Capital. Welcome gentlemen and thank you so much for joining us today. Tiny McLaughlin (TM): Thanks so much for having us.
Why do you love charter schools?
Scott Rolfs (SR): Ziegler, the company that we work with, was founded back in 1902 and our founder, Ben Ziegler, started this as an insurance agency. And then he reached out to the community, and the community needed infrastructure: hospitals, churches, schools. And he really turned that insurance agency into a bond underwriting firm specifically focused on infrastructure needs and community needs. And so, from that, the Ziegler Company has evolved over the years to where we are really one of the premier financiers for non-profit community-based organizations, and we’ve done that through bond-financing both taxable and tax-exempt. We’ve got a great history of it. And with our financing for Charter Schools, which we’ve done for quite a while, we added to the team a number of years ago, John Tiny McLaughlin, who’s been a great addition and Tiny will tell you a little bit about his unique background. I come at it from a finance and legal perspective, I was in legal for 25 years, and Tiny, you add a whole new dimension to it with your background as well. TM: Yeah, I was very fortunate. I was approached by Ziegler a number of years ago and I never even considered going to finance or banking, and in fact, when our CEO said, “I’d like you to join the firm”, I said,”And do what?” He said, “We’ll make you a banker” and I said, “You’re kidding”, he said, “Well, you’d only have to work with Charter Schools”, I said, “Let’s talk.” And so, my background was one of leadership (I’m a formal naval officer) and I was brought into a Charter School on the West side of Chicago. I’ve been very active in education reform and love to really help turn around a failing school. Loved it, worked there for a number of years and remained on the board for more than a decade. I view charter schools as the most promising reform in terms of the ability to close the achievement gap that exists in this country. And that’s why I love charter schools. JD: That’s awesome. So, we’ve had several talks about financing options, right. You talk about the need for change. There are 3.1 million kids that are going to charter schools and another 1.1 that need a seat, right? There’s a huge waiting list. We spend a lot of time talking about the financing options, and you guys are bond experts. So, let’s focus on bonds. How do you know when a school is exhibiting the indicators that it’s ready to explore bond financing to finance their school?
When to choose a bond for charter school facility financing
SR: Well I think one of the things that we’ve heard you reference are some of the talks you’ve done in the past is that really, loan size is the first part to start with. So, getting out into the bond market, it can be a very, very attractive and very long-term capital solution. But there is a size where it starts to make sense, there’s a size where it doesn’t, and that really is dollar-wise. So, what we look at is about five million dollars and higher is where we think it makes sense to consult with an underwriter like at Ziegler to learn more about the bond market options. If you’re looking at something less than five million dollars in need, then it’s probably better to look at some other options, lease purchase, a bank loan,etc., or whatever else that might be. JD: Okay, so, what does the bond market look for in criteria other than size, right. So, if you’re a five-million-dollar school or if you have a five-million-dollar project, what else should they be focusing on?
How do we qualify to get a bond?
SR: So, one of the things with a bond market finance that’s really important is being able to allow us to tell a story to investors about success with your school or the model of your school. And so that can come up with either proof of enrollment or track record in that regard. It can also come up with perhaps cash reserves that you’ve been able to build up, but it’s important to know, though, that even if you’re looking at a newer project, if you’re part of a system, a CMO (or the like) that has a proven track record, we can get you into the bond market – in some cases right away – for a new school, which wasn’t the case say, three, five, seven years ago. I think the bond market is maturing. Investors in the bond market have matured to where they really understand what makes a successful school—and as a result, the access has expanded. TM: And I’ll add to that. In the past, there was sort of a de facto rule that you really had to have gone through a renewal in order to get through the bond market. It’s really changed now, and whether you can, or you can’t get to the bond market really depends on your relationship with your authorizer. If they show great confidence in you, even if you’re a school that’s only been around for two and a half, three years, there are times where you’ve demonstrated to them you’re going to be around for the long haul. You’re making an impact in this community, you’re showing gains that are greater than the schools around you and that we really want to see. And so, in our diligence process, we connect with your authorizer and make sure that you’re in good standing with them, and that’s a very important part of this. JD: You have a long track record in the bond market, without getting into a macroeconomic discussion, the money moved up and down, right? We’re coming out of an environment where historically, money was very cheap and the fed is increasing the cost of rate. Does that change what a school needs to do or how they need to behave as we move to a slightly rising rate environment?
Interest rates, inflation, flexibility, and timing
SR: Well actually, we would say talk to us now—accelerate the project. If we were to share with you an interest rate perhaps showing just market interest rate or the US economy over the last hundred years, you would see that the last eight to ten years have been an incredible time to borrow – very, very low rates. They’ve gone up a bit, but they still exist. We’re still probably three or four points below historical 50-year loans on things like a ten-year Treasury bond. So, to your point Jon, there’s a lot of discussion on the news, federal reserve inflation pressures are coming, building costs are going down. JD: Double-digit inflation, we’re hearing double-digit inflation in construction costs. TM: Certainly, in a lot of markets. JD: Exactly, not all markets. Some markets are definitely, definitely seeing the pressure. SR: So, I think one thing is, we’ve encouraged people to move a little bit sooner if they can. The second thing is with bond financing that we don’t necessarily highlight enough is that bond financing allows for growth in the way of phased financing. So, let’s say your school has a 10-million-dollar project, we can go out today, get that charter school facility financing for you, lock in a 30 or 35-year fixed interest rate. Now, you’re growing, you’re succeeding, you want to replicate and do another campus five miles down the road say, three years from now. With bond financing, you can stack these, and so we can lock in today’s rates 30, 35 years of project one, and come back and finance project two for you. Now the rates on the project two loan are probably if interest rates are higher in the market, going to be a bit higher, but we don’t need to refinance project one. JD: You do all the work now and you add money to the project. SR: You add the money to the project, it allows you to lock-in, really. You keep the first phase at those low rates which are going to be below market at that point, years down the road. TM: I think it’s important that a lot of financing sources, particularly in traditional bank debt, when you borrow you will be told you can’t take on any additional debt without getting our permission. What we’re really talking about here is that provided you’re making your payments, and provided you’re meeting all the terms of your bond agreement, you’re allowed to go back in the market without asking anyone provided you hit certain coverage requirements that you pre-negotiate. SR: Yes, Tiny, I think that’s a key point to note. There’s a bit more flexibility in the bond market for growth. A little bit more objectivity and the ability to borrow funds for future phases for growth than you might not have in a conventional bank market perhaps.
Understanding the bond process and planning
JD: Two-part question, let’s talk about the process of what a school needs to know about getting a bond. And related to that, can you compare and contrast what a rating is and how a rating impacts set process? Are they two tracks, are they connected? Talk a little bit about rating and process if you would, please. SR: Sure. The first thing on the process is really, we ask you to reach out to an underwriter (like a Ziegler) very early on in the whole process if your board is deciding, “Maybe we need to expand.” Because, where we can help you is, we have a lot of historical metrics that we’ve compiled – statistics over the years – on what is a safe debt-load for a school. We want to help you achieve your vision and get that school building, but at the same time, we don’t want to put you in such a debt-load that all of the sudden six months after than loan closes you’re saying, “My Gosh, how are we going to pay this back? How are we going to attract 500 new students to cover the mortgage?” So, we love for the schools to reach out to us early on, so we can get you some ideas, some sort of guard rails on borrowing capacity before you go out perhaps and approach a contractor or an architect and start to really run dollar cost. I think that’s a key one. TM: Yes, we too often see in the market where a school will have a vision for a project and they’ll go out and they’ll design something without having any idea of what their real capacity for finance is, and that ultimately leads to disappointment. The real disappointment is when they’ve designed what they think is their perfect school, but their model supports going up to 800 students and the financing for that would need to be at 1600 students. So, it’s very important to know what you can afford before you can start designing. SR: And specifics on the process, John, is working with an underwriter like Ziegler. Once you’re ready, every building plan is ready to go, it’s about a 60 to 90-day process to work through the bond offering process it. What we do is we learn everything we can about your school and we prepare a story that then we take out to our investors – who we have relationships with – and are really interested in Charter School bonds, and we tell that story. We communicate that effectively to them to be able to not only retain the capital and close the financing but drive down the interest rate to the lowest possible levels that we can for you. And so, on the 60 to 90-day process, there are some attorneys involved because we need to work with some type of state issuing authority that is able to sort of bless the bonds, for lack of a better term, to give them their tax-exempt designation. But that’s part of that whole timeline. So, there’s going to be a few attorneys we’ll introduce you to who we manage, and we always try to make this as turnkey as possible for the borrower. TM: I think one of the things that is really important as well is that in order to go to the bond market, you need to be, what we like to call “show ready”. Because investors are providing you 30-year money, because you go to the market once for this, what they don’t want to find out is that, “Oh by the way, I didn’t get my zoning approved on this” or, “By the way, I was unable to secure permits” or, “Yeah, we didn’t really get a really solid bid from the contractor and it’s going to be 40% more.” That’s exactly what investors don’t want to hear so we really want to make sure that essentially, the day that you close the bond if you’re going to be building your school facility, that’s the day you’re going to start. You’ve got to just put the shovel in the ground. SR: Costs are locked in, that’s the big thing.
Understanding ratings
JD: And how does rating fit into that? SR: So, for those not familiar with what a rating is, a rating is where a third-party entity is going to assess… JD: Not you? SR: Not us. It’s going to be a third-party entity, names that people would be familiar with such as Standard & Poor’s or Moody’s. They’re called national rating agencies. That third-party entity is going to take a look at your school’s finances and they’re going to assign a letter grade. I mean, everyone enlisted in this is involved in the education world, it’s just like getting their grade on that paper. JD: It’s not pass-fail? SR: Well it’s not pass-fail, but they’re looking at the creditworthiness – what they might see as the creditworthiness of your school to borrow this amount of money. Then they’ll assign a letter grade and just as with the classroom, B’s and A’s are better and that’s what we want to head to. Now, specifically on whether or not you should get a rating, we would say what’s interesting (in the bond market today for Charter Schools) a majority of the financings now are being done at what’s called a non-rated basis, so the schools are not going out to a Standard & Poor’s or Moody’s and necessarily getting a rating. There are some advantages for really super-credit worthy schools (who have a great deal of cash on a balance sheet) to get those ratings. That’s where we come in as underwriters and help provide advice as to what makes sense. But investors in the Charter bond world have become very sophisticated in analyzing the borrowings of different schools and they actually are not necessarily placing a lot of stock in ratings. So, what we’re able to do, is save the cost of a rating in certain cases, probably six out of ten are non-rated right now. TM: And you know, Ziegler has a significant number of analytical tools, so when we go into this process we’ll help you say, “If we were to go to a rating agency, this is the likely rating you would receive”, and we do encourage people to go through the rating process if we think it’s going to lower their overall cost of capital. If we don’t think it will do that then we have a discussion. Obviously, it’s the school’s decision, but in particular, in the rating world, there’s a term ‘investment grade’ and ‘non-investment grade.’
The investment grade world is BBB minus or better or sometimes BAA3 or better. If you’re able to achieve those, a couple of good things can happen. One, the universe of investors who are allowed to invest in you goes up—more competition for your bonds equals the lowest rates. The second is, there are at least four states in the country right now that have what we call credit enhancement programs where the state either puts a pool of capital behind it in case there’s a default or it puts what is called its moral obligation behind it, and that can dramatically reduce your cost of capital into the high threes and fours in today’s world for 30, 35 years. So, if you’re in one of those states or if you can achieve that investment grade, it’s very significant and very important to do it. JD: So, then the first move for a school might be contacting you and then work together on a rating, not start with the rating? SR: Exactly, don’t start with the rating. JD: We counsel our schools to stay on mission, right? It’s going to take, as I understand you, it is going to take you time and money, which is going to take the focus away from the classroom, to do a rating. SR: It will. JD: Is it expensive? SR: Rates can cost between say, 30 to maybe 70 thousand dollars depending on the size of the financing. If you’re borrowing ten million dollars, twenty million dollars, you know, your network is borrowing 40, 50 million dollars. And so that’s where we’ll do the analysis for you, we’ll say, “This is where we think the cost of capital will be with the rating” including the cost of the rating, we’ll build that factor in and then we’ll say, “This is where the cost will be without a rating.” And then we’ll let the borrower make an informed decision as to which direction they want to go.
The pros and cons of bonds
JD: So, given your experience, the hundreds of bonds that you have done for charter schools over the last decade plus, can you share some of the pros and the cons? You’re good at the pros right, but what are some of the cons that schools really should be mindful of when you do an honest assessment of the plus and minus? SR: Well I think you have to look at what your other alternatives are. For a number of charter schools, the bond market can present to you the lowest cost of capital and provide a true 30 or 35-year fixed interest rate. So that you can focus on your educational mission once the bond financing is closed because you’re not always worried about the lease that’s coming up or this bank notes that’s only five years, the interest rates are going to reset. I’m a little concerned about that. But, I think it comes back, John, to the size of the financing is really one of the big things. Is you have to weigh out the pros and cons. You know, before we came over, Tiny, you were talking a little relating to the availability of facilities and costs in some markets. TM: Absolutely. There are a lot of places where even if you wanted to purchase a facility, you can’t. Just the real estate doesn’t exist. Landlords are unwilling to sell.
I fall back also on your academic readiness, as well. I mean, you know, like everything else, there’s no point in having a charter school unless you’re going to do something better for kids than what’s available. And you have to have demonstrated that in order to go the bonding market. And, I would also say you have to have a demonstrated history of success. You’re not going to be able to go if you’re a brand new school right out of the gate and you’re not a replication. So, you have to have a track record of both, academic, leadership, and financial success. So, that’s what I’d say.
Partnering with your association and local leaders
JD: Well, that’s very helpful. Thank you. The one last question. You know, we’re at the National Alliance, the conference right now. And we’re spending a lot of time talking about advocacy. From your perspective, if you could give a school some advice about how they can partner with their association. SR: Let me take this one, Tiny. Because I was just in a session that was talking about the political landscape in 2018. It was a great session. One of the speakers there noted that the most effective thing schools can do to ensure that the charter movement continues to prosper in the future is to have your local politicians and representatives at your school constantly. And what they said was politicians are always looking for an opportunity to speak to voters. They said so many times maybe a state legislature might pass a favorable bill for the charter movement and school choice movement. But then the people in the schools, the grassroots people, forget that. Now invite those legislators back who are keys to your success. Have them come to speak to your kids. Have them visit for a day. Have them there for the ribbon cutting. Because now you’ve brought them on board as partners. And those folks are going to stay long-term partners hopefully with you within your state framework. TM: Scott, you took the words right out of my mouth. I tell every single school that, I’ve yet to meet a politician out there who doesn’t want their picture taken doing something positive for kids. And so, you’re asking them to come. They’re more than willing to come. They’re looking for that photo op. And it doesn’t have to be a big thing. It doesn’t have to be the ribbon cutting of the new school. You can have somebody come in do your kindergarten reading program. What politician doesn’t want that picture taken? So, those are great opportunities out there. That and just remind your local politicians that you vote and you’re active in your election cycle. JJ: Gentleman, this has been really interesting. And we really appreciate your time today. People can get a hold of you at … SR:Ziegler.com. Visit our website. We got a lot of resources out there for charter schools, webinars, pieces, statistics, everything that can help. Give us a call. JJ: Thank you so much. TM: Thank you very much for having us.
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