Author: Grow Schools, formerly Charter School Capital

charter school growthCharter School Growth Manual: Expert Tips and Pitfalls to Avoid as You Grow

At Charter School Capital, we believe in the power of charter schools and their leaders to deliver quality education and foster success in their students. Over the past 10+ years, we have partnered with hundreds of charter schools to help them access the capital they’ve needed to achieve financial and operational stability.
Along the way, we’ve had the privilege to learn from charter school leaders and educators about what works and what doesn’t—and we’ve come to see that the hurdles they face tend to be remarkably consistent.
Although charter schools are champions of educational diversity, they typically face similar sets of challenges and encounter the same potential pitfalls, regardless of their focus, location, or population.
For this guide, we turned to our wide network of charter school experts for best practices and strategies for success at every stage of maturity. All of the advice in this book comes from experienced charter school leaders who have been where you are now—they understand what you’re facing and the pitfalls to avoid. We hope the growth strategies here include useful tips for you and your team on developing a strong charter, building culture and community support, and boosting your financing and facilities practices to support your growth.
For each of the three key stages (start-up stage, growth stage, and sustainable maturity stage) you’ll learn:

  • Challenges & How to Conquer
  • Them Pitfalls to Avoid
  • Start-up Tips from Experienced Charter School Leaders

 

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The Charter School Growth Manual: Expert tips and Pitfalls to Avoid as You Grow
Whether you’re just beginning the process of starting up a charter school, looking to expand or trying to prioritize your next steps, download this guide to get expert tips and pitfalls to avoid as you grow.
For this charter school resource guide, we turned to our wide network of charter school experts for best practices and strategies for success at every stage of maturity. All of the advice in this book comes from experienced charter school leaders who have been where you are now—they understand what you’re facing and the pitfalls to avoid.

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charter-like schools9 Tips For How To Create More Successful Charter-Like Schools In Urban Districts

Editor’s Note: This article from The74, was originally published here on September 19, 2018 and was written by David Osborne and Emily Langhorne. David directs the Progressive Policy Institute’s education work and is the author of Reinventing America’s Schools: Creating a 21st Century Education System. Emily Langhorne, a former English teacher, is an education policy analyst and project manager with the Progressive Policy Institute.
This article highlights how, over the past 15 years, the fastest improvement in urban public education has come from cities that have embraced the key tenants that have led to charter schools’ success — autonomy, choice, diversity of school designs, and real accountability for performance. In order to compete, many districts have recently tried to spur charter-like innovation and increase student achievement by granting their school leaders more autonomy.
Interestingly, studies in Boston, Memphis, Denver, and Los Angeles showed that public charter schools outperformed both traditional public and in-district autonomous schools on standardized tests in three of the four cities studied. But getting a charter isn’t always an easy road in today’s political landscape. In this case, in-district autonomous models may be the second-best option. Learn how districts can increase the success of these schools if they take guidance from these nine lessons learned from districts already embracing this new charter-like model.

Osborne & Langhorne: Where Politics Make Charters Difficult, 9 Tips for How Urban Districts Can Create Charter-like Schools — and Improve Their Success

charter-like schoolsOver the past 15 years, the fastest improvement in urban public education has come from cities that have embraced charter schools’ formula for success — autonomy, choice, diversity of school designs, and real accountability for performance. To compete, many districts have recently tried to create charter-like schools to spur innovation and increase student achievement by granting their school leaders more autonomy.
District-run autonomous schools are a hybrid model, a halfway point between charters and traditional public schools. They’re operated by district employees, but they can opt out of many district policies and — in some cities — union contracts.
Our recent analysis of state exam scores from 2015 and 2016 in Boston, Memphis, Denver, and Los Angeles showed that public charter schools outperformed both traditional public and in-district autonomous schools on standardized tests in three of the four cities studied. In the one exception, Memphis, the district concentrated its best principals and teachers in, and provided extra funding and support to, its autonomous iZone schools.
However, when the political landscape makes chartering difficult, in-district autonomous models may be the second-best option. Districts can increase the success of these schools if they heed these nine lessons learned by the four cities in our study.

1. Protect unrestricted autonomy

When autonomy is limited, so is principals’ ability to meet students’ needs. Districts need to give these schools unrestricted staffing and budgeting authority.
Staffing autonomy allows school leaders to hire effective staff who believe in their school’s vision and to evaluate staff based not only on performance but also on cultural fit. Forced placement of teachers not only harms student learning; it can also undermine a school’s culture. As one autonomous school principal in Los Angeles said, sometimes a principal needs to “lose a teacher and save a school.”
Budgeting autonomy enables principals to hire staff according to their schools’ unique needs — for example, bringing on additional guidance counselors rather than a dean. Leaders who control their own budgets can fund hands-on learning, purchase tablets for blended learning, hire a full-time substitute teacher, or employ any of a hundred other innovations.

2. Create a district office or independent board to support and protect autonomous schools

Autonomous school leaders spend a significant amount of time fighting to exercise the autonomies they have been promised. Sometimes, they get so frustrated, they leave. Districts with autonomous schools should create a central unit dedicated to supporting them, defending their autonomy and advocating on their behalf when disputes arise.
An alternative is to create a 501(c)3 nonprofit board, as Denver has. These boards are appointed, not elected, so they are free to make decisions that benefit students and schools without fear of political backlash. The boards oversee school progress, provide financial oversight, select school leaders and evaluate their performance, and protect them from district micromanagement.

3. Articulate a district-wide theory of action and secure buy-in from central office staff

Changing the mindset of the central office requires a huge cultural shift. Autonomous schools necessitate that many parts of the central office do things differently, so employees need to believe in the connection between school autonomy and student success, rather than seeing autonomous schools as an inconvenience and/or a challenge to centralized authority. District leaders need to openly discuss why they believe school autonomy will produce better performance, share this information publicly with school leaders, central office employees, teachers, and the community — and constantly reinforce the message.

4. Turn some central services into public enterprises that must compete with other providers for schools’ business

The fastest way to change the mindset of central office staff who provide services to schools — such as professional development, food, maintenance, and security — is to take away their monopoly. When internal service shops have to sink or swim in a competitive market, they almost always swim, because they are much closer to their customers than private competitors are. But, in the process, they increase their quality and reduce their costs.

RELATED
Five Reasons Independent Charters Outperform In-District Hybrid Schools

5. Authorize district-run autonomous schools like charter schools

Rigorous authorization has been essential to the success of strong charter sectors. Districts should use similar processes to authorize their own autonomous schools — allowing only the most promising applicants to open schools and removing those that prove ineffective. A careful authorization process weeds out weak proposals at the beginning reviews performance along the way and replaces schools that fail with stronger operators.

6. Ensure continuous improvement by using a clear system of accountability to close and/or replace failing schools

A common shortcoming among districts with autonomous school models is their failure to impose consequences that create real urgency among teachers and principals — closing and replacing failing schools. Every district should implement a performance framework that requires schools to show academic growth. If they fail, the district should provide additional supports during a probationary period but replace them if they still don’t meet targets. If a school is successful, the district should provide resources and incentives to encourage it to open another campus, as Denver does with its Innovation Schools.

7. Invest in developing autonomous school leaders

Giving schools autonomy does nothing to help student achievement if school leaders follow district procedures rather than looking for ways to be innovative. Districts need to invest in developing school leaders so they can take advantage of their freedoms. Careful selection of and support for principals has been a large part of the Memphis iZone’s success. Novice principals there are placed in partnerships with experienced principals, meeting over the summer and throughout the year to collaborate on strategies for leveraging autonomy to achieve results.

8. When possible, give families a choice of autonomous schools

Families and students who can choose their school tend to show more commitment than children who are assigned to one. Choice empowers them, and people who feel empowered are more likely to give their best efforts. In addition, systems of choice allow for the creation of schools with a variety of learning models, so students can select a school with the culture and curriculum that best fit their needs.

9. Explore district-run autonomous models from other cities

By examining a variety of successful strategies, districts can find and adapt the model that best fits their political climate and meets the needs of their community.
In addition to the four cities we studied, Springfield, Massachusetts, and Indianapolis, Indiana, have launched interesting in-district autonomy strategies.
The Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership, created as an alternative to a state takeover of several schools, contains nine struggling middle schools and one high school that have been given significant autonomy, overseen by a seven-member board of four state-appointed officials and three locally appointed members. The teachers union negotiated a new contract that includes longer hours, increased pay, and some compensation based on performance.
Indianapolis’s Innovation Network Schools, which start with full charter-like autonomy rather than with waivers from district rules, are the fastest-improving in the district. They have the same exemption from laws, regulations, and contract provisions as charters, and while the schools operate in district buildings, the principals and teachers are employed by the nonprofit corporation that operates the school. Each school’s board hires and fires the principal, sets the budget and pay scale, and chooses the school design. The nonprofits have five- to seven-year performance contracts with the district. If schools fail to fulfill the terms of their contracts, the district can refuse to renew them; otherwise, the district cannot interfere with their autonomy.
By following the recommendations above, districts can create self-renewing systems in which every school has the incentives and autonomy to continuously innovate and improve. At the same time, they can offer a variety of school models to families, to meet a variety of children’s needs.
Whether school boards will have the courage to close failing autonomous schools full of unionized district employees will always be a question. The long-term sustainability of in-district autonomy after the leaders who championed it have left is another Achilles’ heel. But if done well and sustained, such schools have the potential to improve public education in urban America

Charter School Capital logo
Charter School Capital is proud to deliver access to growth capital and facilities financing to charter schools nationwide. In the past 10 years, Charter School Capital has invested more than $1.8 billion to 600+ charter schools, helping them provide a high-quality education to more than 1,000,000 students across the country. If you are trying to meet operational expenses, expand, acquire or renovate your school building, add an athletic department, enhance school safety/security, or buy new technology, complete the online application below and we’ll contact you to set up a meeting. Our team works with you to determine funding and facilities options based on your school’s unique needs.


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National School Choice WeekNational School Choice Week is Only One Week Away!

National School Choice Week (NSCW) is coming January 20-26th, and we want to make sure you’re up-to-date on all the cool happenings so you don’t miss a thing!  

What is National School Choice Week?

Not familiar with NSCW? This inspiring week recognizes all K-12 options, including traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, private schools, online academies, and homeschooling. It’s the world’s largest annual celebration of opportunities in education that includes over 10,000 independent events. It’s a nonpartisan, non-political, independent public awareness effort that’s not associated with any legislative lobbying or advocacy efforts.
Every child deserves a bright future. Having school choice simply means that parents are empowered to select the best possible educational experience and learning environment for their unique child’s individual needs—helping them thrive!

Join the Conversation!

Make sure to join the conversation all next week with Charter School Capital, as we share stories and quotes about school choice on Facebook, Twitter, and on LinkedIn. Follow all the school choice week festivities, events, and conversation using the #schoolchoice and #SCW hashtags.

Learn More

There are so many events going on across the country next week, that we can’t list them all here; but if you’re interested in finding a National School Choice Week activity in your area check out this state-by-state map to see what’s happening near you! We’d also love to hear what you’re doing to celebrate the week. Leave us a comment below.
Have a great #schoolchoice week!

charter school funding

A Strong Partnership for Success Between New City Schools and Charter School Capital

With so many choices for where go to access financial resources for your school, it’s important to select the right one for you. At Charter School Capital, 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.

Please watch and listen as Sabrina Bow, Executive Director, New City Schools, shares her experience working with Charter School Capital during some very difficult financial times for charter schools in California.

This video was originally published Jul 17, 2014. While we are not currently funding New City Schools, we are proud of the way our support helped them meet the needs of their students, parents, and teachers. Our team is dedicated to helping your school become financially stable, successful, and set up for future growth. To learn how other school’s have achieved success by partnering with us, check out our other success stories here and filter by the content type, “School Spotlights”.
Watch the short video to hear Sabrina’s story and find the transcript below. You can learn more about Charter School Capital here.

Sabrina Bow: Executive Director, New City Public Schools:

“We are a small Charter Management Organization in Long Beach, California. We offer a dual language program in English and Spanish, and our focus is on social justice, collaboration, the natural environment, and technology. Charter schools are increasingly having to find other ways of funding. We’ve made commitments to students, parents, and teachers to provide a high level of education and really an all-inclusive second family, if you will, for students.

We’ve made those long-term commitments to be there, and unfortunately, with the state of the economy and the state of deferrals, we find ourselves having to find different options.

Charter School Capital is a financial partner that comes in, understands the school, understands the school leaders. They take the time to do that.

In my experience, Charter School Capital is a financial partner that comes in, understands the school, understands the school leaders. They take the time to do that. They’re able to sit down with us and create a funding plan and be part of our financial plan, provide the technical expertise to schools, and present it in a straightforward way.

There’s always a cost to finance. Some of the criticism has been Charter School Capital, and other providers who purchase receivables are taking advantage of charter schools. I think that that really diminishes the responsibility that charter school operators have to build not only a solid educational program but also to build a solid business infrastructure that supports that educational program.

It’s never been a doubt for me that Charter School Capital is deeply concerned, deeply interested, in the well-being of schools, and beyond the financial well-being is the ability of schools to continue to provide a solid education for students. I’m happy that Charter School Capital is able to work with schools and work with us to help us so that we can continue to meet the needs of our students, parents, and teachers. I view them as a close partner.”

Charter School Capital logoSince 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 $1.8 billion in support of 600 charter schools that have educated over 1,027,000 students across the country. For more information on how we can support your charter school, contact us. We’d love to work with you!

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public charter schoolsNew 2018 Survey Shows Support for Public Charter Schools is Strong

Note: This post from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools was originally published on December 5, 2018, and can be found here. It is a summary of a new report “2018 Schooling in America Survey” by EdChoice. We thought sharing it was a great way to wrap up this year!
This annual survey—developed and reported by EdChoice and interviews conducted by their partner, Braun Research, Inc.—measures public opinion and awareness on a range of K–12 education topics, including parents’ schooling preferences, educational choice policies, the federal government’s role in education and more. They report response levels, differences (“margins”) and intensities for the country and a range of demographic groups. And this year, the survey includes an additional sample of current public school teachers to gauge whom they trust and how they feel about their profession, accountability, standardized testing and more.
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.

61 Percent of Americans Support Public Charter Schools in “2018 Schooling in America Survey” by EdChoice

*Today [*on December 5, 2018] EdChoice released the 2018 Schooling in America Survey, which measures public opinion, awareness and knowledge of K-12 education topics and reforms.
This year’s results confirm that support for charter schools is strong. While parent satisfaction among home school, private school, and district school students decreased, satisfaction increased among charter school parents. Additionally, 43 percent of parents surveyed indicated that they were “very satisfied” with charter schools, compared to just 26 percent of parents at district schools.
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools President and CEO Nina Rees said,
“The EdChoice survey findings put data behind what we hear from parents all the time: They love public charter schools and they want more children to have access to them. Seeing that six out of 10 Americans (61 percent) support public charter schools, while just 29 percent oppose them should convince lawmakers at every level of government to work together to ensure that students have access to high-quality, free public-school options.”
About 62 percent of parents surveyed would rate their local charter schools with an A or B grade, 10 percent higher than the rating parents would give to their local district schools. Furthermore, 13 percent of current and former school parents said they would prefer to send their child to a public charter school if it was an option. Among the surveyed teachers, 61% of teachers favored charter schools when provided with a basic description of a charter school. The report findings clearly indicate that parents want to have the opportunity to choose the best school for their child, and that the majority of public school teachers recognize charter schools put kids first.

Charter School Capital logoSince 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 $1.8 billion in support of 600 charter schools that have educated over 1,027,000 students across the country. For more information on how we can support your charter school, contact us. We’d love to work with you!

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charter school funding

Charter School Funding Reaching Schools in 38 States

Editor’s Note: This post on charter school funding originally ran here, on November 6, 2018. It was written by Christy Wolfe, a Senior Policy Advisor for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS)and was published by The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. We are always inspired by the outstanding content disseminated by the NAPCS and are proud to share their valuable information.
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.

FY 2018 PROGRAM UPDATE: CHARTER SCHOOLS PROGRAM FUNDS REACHING SCHOOLS IN 38 STATES

In September, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) awarded grants in four of the six Charter Schools Programs (CSP): State Entities, Developers, Credit Enhancement, and Dissemination.
charter school funding map
Congress appropriated a total of $400 million for these awards for FY 2018, including funds for active awards previously awarded. Due to increased funding in recent years, more states than ever have access to start-up funding—31 states have State Entity grants and charter schools in an additional seven states were successful in receiving Developer grants. Many states are also seeing charter school growth through grants to Charter Management Organizations for the Replication and Expansion of High-Quality Charter Schools, but awards were not made for that program during FY 2018.
This year, the program awards are a bit more complicated because, for the first time, two competitions were run under the new requirements in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Let’s take a closer look at where the money went:

State Entity Grants: Funds to Open Charter Schools and Build Statewide Sector Quality

The State Entity grant program plays a key role in not only awarding subgrants to schools, but also providing funding for technical assistance and strengthening the quality of authorizers in a state.

  • Eight states received awards: Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Michigan, North Carolina, New York.
  • Five states were not successful: Alabama, D.C., Guam, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico.
  • Two Charter Support Organizations (CSOs) were funded: The new changes in ESSA unlocked CSP funding for non-state educational agency applicants, including CSOs. This year, two funded applicants from Arkansas and Idaho were CSOs.

At the close of this competition, 31 states (including D.C.) have a current CSP grant in their state (14 states with charter school laws are unfunded). Next year, nine states will likely have expired grants, which leaves a potential (although unlikely) pool of 24 applicants. If Guam and Puerto Rico are included, there will be 26 potential applicants.

Charter School Developer Grants: The Safety Net Program

This is the first year the competition has been run since the passage of ESSA. What is new is that there were two sub-competitions: one for replication/expansion grants, and the other for new charter school operators. There were 22 replication/expansion awards and 10 single site applicants. This year there were 32 funded applicants for a total of $30.2 million.
Ideally, this program would be obsolete. It is a safety for charter schools that wish to open in states that do not have a state entity program. If there was enough funding – and state capacity – for every state with a charter school law to have funding, new charter schools could simply apply to their state. Instead, after obtaining their charter contract, schools need to jump through the hoops required by federal grants to access funding. So, until every state has adequate funding for start-ups in their state, this program will continue to play a key role in advancing charter school growth.
BUT—you may have noticed that some developer grants went to states that also got a state-entity award (Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, and New York). The reason for this is, in part, because ED ran the State Entity and Developer competitions at the same time this year, so Developer applicants didn’t know if their state would receive a State Entity grant prior to applying. ED did not deem those applicants ineligible even when their state ended up receiving a State Entity grant. In addition, some developers were awarded a grant for replication and expansion because their state didn’t have a State Entity grant that permits them to make such awards, such as Ohio (NCLB-era grants don’t permit such awards unless a state has an approved waiver).
Of states that don’t have a CSP State Entity grant, seven have schools that received Developer grants: Alabama, Hawaii, Maine, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Utah have charter schools that received Developer grants. Eight states with charter school laws have neither State Entity nor Developer grants (not including Guam and Puerto Rico).

Current Charter Schools Program Grants: State Entity and Developer Grants

Charter School Funding

Credit Enhancement: Reducing Facility Costs for Charter Schools

The Credit Enhancement program awards grants to organizations to “enhance” charter school credit so that they can access private-sector and other non-Federal capital in order to acquire, construct, and renovate facilities at a more reasonable cost. This year early $40 million was awarded to four entities.
This is a significant decrease from the $56.2 million in awards for 2017. More funds were awarded last year, in part, due to the large pool of high-quality applicants and the needs of the sector. This year, appropriators restricted ED’s flexibility to fund additional applicants, so they were limited to $40 million. Unlike the other CSP programs, Credit Enhancement funds are a one-time allocation so there aren’t any continuation awards—the amount appropriated is the amount that goes out the door.

Dissemination: Advancing Accountability and Facilities Access

Like the Developer program, this was the first competition year for the new National Dissemination program under ESSA. Previously, this program was known as the National Activities program and had a somewhat broader focus. Under ESSA, the program is focused on the dissemination and development of best practices. This year, 8 grants were awarded to organizations and charter school operators for a total of $16.2 million over the grant period. There were two “buckets” of funding to which applicants could apply: charter school authorizing and charter school facilities. For FY 2019, we anticipate that ED will propose new priorities for this program.
The National Alliance is pleased to be a recipient of a Dissemination grant to establish the National Charter Schools Facilities Center to develop and disseminate best practices and reduce the burden of obtaining and financing charter school facilities.

Grants to Charter Management Organizations for the Replication and Expansion of High- Quality Charter Schools: A Delayed Competition

ED did not run a competition for the CMO Replication and Expansion program because the agency is required to propose and take public comments on new program rules under ESSA. Comments for the new competition closed on August of 2018 and the competition will open later this year or in early 2019. Congress knew that ED would need extra time, so FY2018 funds for this program didn’t expire on September 30—ED has until March 2019 to make awards. ED’s “forecast” indicates that the competition for this program will be announced in late November 2018 and applications will be due around the start of the New Year. $120 million is available, and a little more than half of that amount will likely be available for new awards.

Charter School Capital logoAt Charter School Capital, our dedicated team of finance professionals 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, enhance school safety/security, or buy new technology, complete the online application below and we’ll contact you to set up a meeting.


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charter school fundingLearn4Life Served 2,000 More Students by Partnering with Charter School Capital

With so many choices for where go to access financial resources for your school, it’s important to select the right one for you. At Charter School Capital, 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.
Please watch and listen as Skip Hansen, Chief Executive Officer, Learn4Life  shares his experience working with Charter School Capital during some very difficult financial times for charter schools in California.

This video was originally published Jul 17, 2014. We are honored to continue to partner with Learn4Life and are very proud of the way our support has helped them continue to serve their students and grow their enrollment. To learn how other school’s have achieved success by partnering with us, check out our other success stories here and filter by the content type, “School Spotlights”.

Watch the short video to hear Skip’s story and find the transcript below. You can learn more about Charter School Capital here.

At Learn4Life, we work with at-risk youth. Our schools typically go after students who are sitting at home on the couch, have no direction, looking for a job, but can’t get one because they don’t have a high school diploma.

Our charter schools in the state of California have been faced with a number of problems. The first and foremost is a reduction in ADA (average daily attendance) funding. And then, problem number two, to balance the budget, the state of California was basically delaying the payments to charter schools and not allowing us to cash flow our business properly.

Charter School Capital came to us as a gift, for the most part, in a time when it looked like there was not a lot of hope for charter schools (in terms of cash flow financing) with the delays in payments that the government had placed on us. If we had not had the type of resources that Charter School Capital has, it certainly would’ve hampered our growth over the last three years.

Without that kind of opportunity, we would’ve really been limited to our cash on hand. And it would’ve really put a stunt on our growth. It would have affected a lot of kids. I think we’ve served another 2000 students, in the last two years because of the availability of cash flow financing. Those are 2000 kids that could go on to cure cancer or do something really great in our society.

For the first time in a long time, cash is really not our biggest issue, thanks to Charter School Capital.

Our relationship with charter school capital is a very positive one. They really helped us in terms of helping better understand how the state makes its payments to our school. If I had to use one word to describe our relationship with charter school capital, it’s been “partnership”. For the first time in a long time, cash is really not our biggest issue, thanks to Charter School Capital.

Charter School Capital logoOur 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, enhance school safety/security, or buy new technology, complete the online application below and we’ll contact you to set up a meeting.


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charter school facilities fundingCharter School Facilities Funding: It’s Time to Fill the Gap

Editor’s Note: This content originated here and was posted by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Across the U.S., facilities are, by far, the greatest challenge faced by charter schools and accessing a school building is often the biggest obstacle in expanding charter school options. And, it’s one of the main reasons we have over one million students sitting on charter school waiting lists. Most charter school leaders have to jump over serious hurdles to cobble together the charter school facilities funding to provide their students with an adequate school building. It’s time to fill the gap in public school funding.

charter school facilities funding

Note: The following content is also from The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools on September 18, 2018, and was originally published here.

Here are the five things we think you need to know about charter school facilities:

Charter schools rarely have access to taxpayer-funded facilities, even when they’re vacant.
Taxpayers own public school buildings and they should be available to all public school students, but that’s not the reality. Unlike district schools, charter schools don’t have an inventory of buildings to choose from. And in many places – like Detroit, Indianapolis, and Minneapolis – districts refuse to allow charter schools to lease or purchase buildings even when they’re vacant. As a result, you can find charter schools operating in shopping malls, office buildings, repurposed factories, or co-located with other schools.
Charter schools on average spend about 10% of per-pupil funding on facility space.
While some charter schools access federal or state programs these initiatives have limited funding and reach. They don’t work for all charter schools. Moreover, many of these programs simply reduce the cost of borrowing money – schools still need to cover the debt which shifts much needed funds from the classroom and to the building.
Charter school facilities often lack amenities like gymnasiums, libraries, or science labs.
Specialized instructional spaces, such as science labs, libraries, and computer labs, are an important part of a comprehensive educational program, but about 40 percent of charter schools do not have the right amenities or specialized classrooms to best implement their educational model.
Access to school buildings is one of the biggest obstacles to expanding charter school options.
Charter school leaders report that lack of access to adequate facilities is one of their primary concerns and one of the biggest barriers to growth. In fact, nearly one in five charter schools had to delay their opening date by a year or more due to facilities related issues. Even celebrities can’t avoid the facilities challenge.
5 million parents want to send their child to a charter school, but don’t have the option.
Based on parent demand, estimates suggest that the potential number of charter school students is 8.5 million – almost three times larger than today’s actual enrollment. Thirty percent of parents surveyed would be interested in sending their child to a charter school, with 10 percent saying that a charter school would be their top choice. Of interested parents with charter schools in their community, over half cited access problems – such as the school is too far away or has a wait list – as the reason their children do not attend a charter school.
Learn more about the facilities challenge many charter schools face and help ensure charter schools can open their doors to students!


The Ultimate Guide to Charter School Facility Financing:
Thinking about a new facility for your charter school or enhancing your current one? This guide shares straightforward and actionable advice on facilities planning, financing options, getting approved, choosing a partner, and much more! Download it here.

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Charter School FacilitiesExpert Advice on Accessing and Funding Charter School Facilities

In this CHARTER EDtalk, we sat down with Mike Morely, Founder and Principal at American Charter Development to talk about charter school facilities. Mike shares his years of experience in working with charter schools and supporting charter school success. Learn some insights on how to know when you’re ready for a new facility, what your funding options are, some pitfalls to avoid, and how to set yourself up for success whether building from the ground up or renovating your charter school facility.

Janet Johnson (JJ): Good day. This is Janet Johnson with Charter School Capital at the National Charter School Convention in Austin, Texas, and we’re honored today to be talking with Mike Morely with is ACD, who is a developer of charter schools.
Mike Morely (MM): That’s correct, yes.
JJ: John Dahlberg from Charter School Capital, and we’re going to have a conversation about charter school facilities. Take it away gents.
Jon Dahlberg (JD): Thank you. Hey Mike, thanks for making the time.
MM: My pleasure.

Why Charter Schools?

JD: We’re doing a campaign, We Love Charter Schools, can you share what you love about charter schools in less than 20 minutes.
MM: That may be hard, but I can sure try. You may know, in fact I know you know that we’ve got a large family. I come from 13 kids and have nine children of my own and so we’re into kids, and so we’re into whatever is good for kids. Several years ago I was in the legislature in Utah and was introduced to charter schools, didn’t really know much about them. A wise senator told me, as I was looking at that in terms of policy decision, that if parents can vote with their feet we’re going have a lot less administrative and regulatory needs for schools.
I got into charter schools, started looking at them, seeing that they were doing more with less, and in many cases outperforming schools that were run by districts with seemingly unlimited funds. Not obviously that, it is something that is debatable, but certainly on less funds that are being provided for district schools and being successful. We fell in love with the choice in education. We started a couple charter schools, started doing facilities for charter schools, and they were accepted well and been successful. My children, at least those that were growing up during the years that we were in charters schools and been in them, and we’ve been really pleased with the outcome. We love philosophically the choice option and we also are committed to providing that opportunity for others.

How to Know When You’re Ready for a New Facility

JD: That’s great. Well, so let’s take that to our listeners here. How do you know when a school is ready for a new facility?
MM: Well, we have been in the business of trying to help schools get facilities from the beginning, and we initially started back in the early 2000s trying to figure out how to bring construction and development funds into the charter school. Because obviously, it’s not available through state funding, they get funded based on the kids that they have in the seats. It’s kind of cart before the horse because they don’t have any kids in the seats when they’re starting out. We have funded schools from inception or even before inception and help them get their charters, help them establish a board, help them move through the process and having a school, a brand new school, ready for them to start in the first year.
Not all schools are able to do that, and it may not even be wise for all schools to do that. It really has a lot to do with the demand in the area, what the curriculum is going to be. I mean we’ve helped schools from project-based, sports, STEM and STEAM. We’ve helped classical education schools, and there are schools that are focused on a particular niche that may not be as widely accepted as maybe some other schools.
We look at the experience of a board. We like to see a wide diversity of experience on a board. We like to see the somebody that has accounting experience, marketing experience, legal experience business experience, school experience, but usually, that’s not the problem. Usually, most of them have good education experience, but we like to see a really diversified board with experts in many areas so that they can pull from that. We like to see some experience in the charter school world now. In the beginning not many had it, but now there’s usually good experience to be had on a board from the charter world. If we’ve got that, and we are comfortable with their curriculum, and their focus, and their direction, we may take them on right out of the chute.
If not, we like to see them have a year or two in maybe a rental facility, and it’s hard sometimes to find. But they may have to start out a little small and rent some space from a church, or some other local facility that’s not going to be maybe the best situation for the first year or two, but to build a little bit of a track record to see if they’re going to be successful. It really is ultimately a business and ultimately it’s pretty risky. We’ve had a few of those, as you know, that hasn’t been quite as stellar and so we’re trying to make sure that we don’t repeat those that are not quite as well prepared as others.
JD: Well, I think to the point about the risk, I think that proof of concept starting in any space where you can get your school open and get the kids coming and prove your operation of success and your academic success, that momentum builds and builds and creates opportunity in the future.
MM: It does.

Avoiding Mistakes

JD: When you talk about the business aspect of it, right? The education is not hard. What are some of the avoidable mistakes that a school should be mindful of as they’re building and growing in to their next facility project?
MM: You know, to be honest, most of the mistakes that we have seen have been very preventable and most of them have been friction within the board, within the founding boards. When the schools have the most trouble it’s typically when the board itself gets heavily in two separate directions and end up in a collision course with each other, and end up destroying what they created or trying to change direction from what was originally envisioned. Because of that they lose half the parents, they pick sides, and it becomes a disaster. Cohesiveness on board is really key and to avoid that they need good board training, they need to recognize what a board does, how a board operates and the way that a board should function with regard to the administration, and the product that they’re proving. They’re really providing an education product, and they need to be on board with that and need to understand how a board effectively is to run, so that’s been our biggest problem.
There are mistakes. They get into a building that doesn’t meet their needs, they get into a building that they didn’t really clearly think out what their program was or growth options. They could then be unable to grow in that position in that particular building and then be tied into either a long-term lease, or they purchased the building, and it isn’t suitable for their current needs or expanding needs. It’s really important that you really sit down with somebody that understands and lay out a long-term vision of the school.
Have the board be on board with that decision as well. Make sure that everybody is kind of firing with the same cylinders and moving in the right direction. Recognizing that, “Hey, we want to be a 400-student school forever. We want to grow to a K-12, or we’re going to stay at K-6, or we want to grow to 600.” Come up with what your ultimate vision is because if you’re in a place that can’t be expanded and you’re tapped out at 200 kids and you got a long-term commitment and you want to grow, you’ve contract yourself. Those are some concerns that need some-
JD: I think the advice that you gave to our audience about making sure that your building and your charter are in sync is really, really sound advice here. The building is going to create the culture of your school. We do speak with leaders who are very intentional, and we also speak with leaders who have that aha moment that goes, “Oh, a stem school but I don’t have a science lab.” That’s a good …
MM: A sports school and don’t have a gym or a …
JD: Right.
MM: … or a performing arts school and no place to perform. Yeah, those are a lot of the issues.
JD: If you’ve got a board that’s cast division and everybody’s on board, what are some of the guidelines and guiding principles that schools should pay attention to when they’re thinking about that next facility?
MM: Well, if everybody’s locked stamp, then I think it’s important to maybe look at what’s the most economical and formal way to provide those facilities. It always seems to be the vision of every school to bond. That’s the goal. We just come out of a situation not too long ago where the school was ready to bond, they were so excited about it. They were saying, “Hey the cost of this building is too high, we can’t really bond because we’re going to be paying $106,000 a month for our facility.” I said, “Whoa, what are you paying for it now?” In a lease scenario, they were paying $65,000 and they were expanding with the bond. They were going to add on a gymnasium and some other classroom, but we’d already priced that out, and under the lease scenario they were going to be at $85,000 a month with total expansion taken into account. I said, “Why are you so anxious to bond and pay $20,000 more a month for a facility that you can control and have long-term security for $85,000.” That was the A-ha moment.
“But their interest rate is lower than your PACT rate.” Okay, let’s look at that, what that means. Interest rates are easy to talk, but they were adding on several million dollars in reserves, they had the cost of issuance, they had attorneys fees that were building up this huge amount that they would have to bond and pay interest on. Then it was advertised rather than just an interest only, so by the time you take all that into account the interest rate of the bond had very little to do with the cost of the facility on a monthly basis. Be careful that you’re not misled by some arbitrary interest rate or some lost leader kind of thing, and becoming so consumed with owning the facility.
Ownership is great and there are some times when it is a good decision, but ultimately if you own it you really own it. You’re responsible for all of the future expansions, you’re responsible for whatever taxes or insurance or other things, and you may have those kinds of things in the lease agreement as well, but you’re amortizing the facility and the ultimate goal is to own it, and if it’s a 30-year bond you own it just in time to completely refurbish it and start over. I’m not saying ownership is not a good thing, but it’s not the only way to do it.
JD: What’s in the middle? There’s the bond, which historically meets the need of about 12% of the charter schools since the exception. Then we talk about the lease. You’re in the market, are there other options besides the lease or beside a bond that you’re seeing schools take advantage of right now?
MM: Well, you know, there are organizations like the CSC that have purchased facilities and leveled the lease market and created an option for schools. That we have worked together on a couple of schools where you would’ve been able to purchase the school and put them in a better position than they would’ve been in a bond situation. It’s an interesting dynamic because right now the cost of constructions is going up.
JD: And so is the cost of money.
MM: And so is the cost of money, which is hard. You got the cost of construction, cost of land skyrocketing in this market which is … The fed just raised the rates again last week, and so we’ve got interest rates going up. And they’re indicating that there will probably a couple more bumps, in trying to cool inflation. In a market where cost and money are going up even though we are seeing increases in education funding that are a much lower rate, you may get a two or three percent bump each year, while we’re seeing double digit increases in funding cost and in construction cost. We are in a kind of a paralysis market right now, and it is hard. We’re struggling to try and balance those things and make sure that schools are getting affordable facilities for themselves. It’s a bit of a challenge.
JJ: It’s a dance.
MM: It is.
JD: It’s a dance.
MM: We’re in that dance, and you’re in that dance, and we’re all trying to …
JD: It’s a fun place to be.
MM: It is.
JD: It’s work, because if it was easy they would call it a PTO.
MM: A while back it was kind of easy you know because the cost were fair. Right now, we’ve talked about this multiple times, there is a point where the school can’t pay any more than maybe 20% max of their gross revenue. If the cost of facilities goes beyond that then it really does make it difficult, if not impossible, for them to go for owning. There are places in the country like that.
JJ: But you’re here to help.
MM: We’re here to do what we can.
JJ: Right, yeah. That’s right. That’s great. Well, we’re very grateful for your time today Mike, and John thank you for facilitating this discussion and I know you guys speak a lot on the road so I’m sure that our viewers will see you again soon. Thanks for your time.
MM: You’re welcome. My pleasure, thank you for inviting me.

public charter schoolsUnderstanding The Value And Importance Of Public Charter Schools
Todd Feinburg with Amy Wilkins

In this informative podcast, Todd Feinburg from Radio.com interviews Amy Wilkins, Sr. Vice President Advocacy National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
They answer the question if charter schools are the only alternative for poor, minority and urban students to find alternatives to public schools, why aren’t there more of them, and why don’t Democrats fight for them? They go on to discuss the need for more charter schools as well as the benefits of charter schools in a failing public school system. Finally, they’ll dispel some common myths around charter schools and the charter school movement.
Please listen to the podcast or read the transcript below to learn more.
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.

TRANSCRIPT
Todd Feinburg:  WTIC. You know I love Charter Schools. I want everybody to get a great educate in America and we are far from that point. Joining us now to talk about it is Amy Wilkins, Senior Vice President at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. How about that? Amy, welcome to WTIC. Thanks for talking to us.
Amy Wilkins: Hi, Todd, how are you this afternoon?
Feinburg: I’m psyched to have you here, so let’s talk Charter Schools and what’s going on. What are the trends going on in the choice world in providing alternatives, particularly in poor communities where it would be nice if people had Charter School options and more choices for their kids for schools. What’s your assessment of where we’re at right now?
Wilkins: Demand far outstrips supply, especially in communities of color. There are far more families who would choose Charter Schools for their kids than currently can, just because of limited space and really, the biggest obstacle we face, to opening more high quality Charter Schools for kids, whether they’re low income, urban, rural, wherever they are, is the facilities question, the school building question. You know, if you’re a district-operated school, the district just gives you a building, right? You get a school building. Charter Schools have to finance their own buildings and finding appropriate and adequate space is really among the things that are holding back growth for these much-needed schools.
Feinburg: And what is the … well, before I ask you that, I’m surprised by what you’re saying about the facility. I understand. I’ve seen Charter Schools that are in church basements and in what were industrial buildings, where they throw up some dividers and make classrooms and those aren’t ideal, but what you find out when you see those schools in action is that the facilities maybe are over-emphasized in our public schools. And what’s really important is having a great education in whatever kind of walls you can find.
RELATED ARTICLE: BEST PRACTICES FOR CHARTER SCHOOL FACILITIES FINANCING 
Wilkins: Oh, absolutely. You know, what matters most, what is the heart of any school are the teachers and the curriculum, I would agree with you 100% on that, Todd. But, I also think the kids whose families choose Charter Schools deserve libraries, labs, playing fields, all of those facilities as well. So, yes, better to go to a strip mall and get a really strong educate, than to go to a palace where you get a not so strong educate. In the best of all worlds, you go to a high-quality Charter School that has a lab, a library, a playing field, all of those facilities.
Feinburg: So, how do Charter Schools get the buildings?
Wilkins: Well, you know, too often they have to buy a building and then they face the same mortgage problems that all of us face when we want a mortgage and the problem, as you know, is Charter Schools, when they’re looking for a building, are often brand new and don’t have much of a track record to stand on, so it’s hard for them to get financing or they pay rent for a building. And what happens then, as you know, you have district-operated schools where their building is just free, it’s given to them by the district. Charter Schools, when they’re paying rent or financing a mortgage are having to take funds that would otherwise be directed to their instructional programs and pay building costs.
Feinburg: Have Charter Schools proven to be worth the investment? We hear all this conflicting information about whether they’re actually a successful alternative or not.
Wilkins: I think like anything, we have some really great Charter Schools and we have some Charter Schools that I think should be closed. But, in general, the general trend suggests particularly for urban kids and for kids of color, Charter Schools are their very best bet. We have solid evidence that kids, those kids in particular, gain months of learning over their peers in district-operated schools. So, the trend seems to be telling us, yes, this is really important from a data point of view, from a student achievement point of view, they are absolutely the right answer. From a parenting point of view, they are the right answer as well. I mean, parents deserve a choice. Not every school fits every child, you know? You may want a different type of curriculum for your child. Your child may have special needs that the district schools are unable to meet. So, both from an academic point of view and from the point of view of parents having some control over the kind of educate their kids get, Charter Schools are absolutely a vital part of kind of a healthy public education ecosystem.
Feinburg: We’re talking to Amy Wilkins on Charter Schools. I love talking about Charter Schools because my belief is, particularly in urban areas, that there is a crisis going on, and I don’t feel, Amy, as a country that we can afford to have millions of kids, rich, poor, minority, white, whatever … we can’t afford to have millions of kids not getting a great education.
Wilkins: Absolutely not. I mean, at bottom, it’s sort of inhumane and, you know, no adult should look at a child who’s not getting an education and feel good about it. But, I mean, there are certainly strong implications for our future economy, including who’s going to pay your Social Security and mine, Todd. There are big implications for national security. Educating our kids is the foundation of our future and Charter Schools are a proven sort of winner in that for our kids and so, to me, it’s a no-brainer, that we just have to do it. We have to do well and we have to do more of it.
Feinburg: Do you see a way to make this argument, though, for cities? So, in Connecticut, we have so many cities and they’re not particularly large, but they are part of a pattern of a city being a place where minority kids, poor kids are essentially stored and not given an opportunity to get out. It just strikes me, as you say, as some kind of human rights violation, if you want to argue from the humanity point of view, that the system is rigged to be mediocre, at best and oftentimes worse and there’s no economic opportunity. There’s really not a way out and that drives a lot of minority kids into gangs and bad behavior that puts a lot of boys into prison. And how does that pattern get broken through education, because that’s the only tool I think we have available?
Wilkins: No, you’re absolutely right. Education is the surest way out of poverty and the strongest weapon, I think, we have against racism. It really is up to … I hate to say this, it’s up to communities. You know, they have to stand up on behalf of their kids and demand something better, demand something different. Now, you could also … I don’t know, this is like being really kind of out there … you know, you saw the kids at Parkland saying, “We’re not happy with the kind of safety of our schools and we’re afraid of guns in our schools.” I think, you know, the kids know when they’re being short-changed. We really sort of have to start talking to the kids about how they feel about the schools they’re going to and, unfortunately, they’re not old enough to vote, but I think conversations … if elected officials had conversations with kids at some of these schools, some of the kids I talk to and hear what goes on in their schools, I think that would spur some action that we’ve yet to see.
Feinburg: Have you ever seen that kind of thing going on where there are public displays of rebellion or unrest over the idea that oppression, the educational oppression of minority students?
Wilkins: Well, I don’t know if I would call it unrest. I have seen groups of students in various parts of the country … I know it’s happened in Wisconsin. I know it’s happened in California, who do lobby days and go to their state legislatures to lobby and testify about the conditions in their schools. One could certainly see the same things happening at School Board meetings and City Council meetings in Connecticut, if there were folks willing to help these kids begin to organize.
Feinburg: Yeah, but there has to be a spark of something bigger because the rigged education system, the partnership between the Democratic party and the Education Unions, there is this fixed system that says this is the only way education can happen, and we live in times where we need educational agility, where policy can change quickly, where schools can adapt over the very short term to the needs of the kids. How do we get from here to there if there’s no model if there’s nothing for people to look at and say, “We want that.”
Wilkins: Well, there are models. I mean, that’s the thing. In Connecticut, for example, you have the Amistad Charter Schools which are among the best in the country and people should really go see them. They have done a wonderful job with those schools. So there are things … part of this … part of the challenge here is people don’t … and I’ve been doing education for years, and years, and years. What’s so sad is that people really don’t see schools beyond the schools that they attended and the schools their children have attended and they don’t know that something else is out there, that something else can be better and you know, part of the responsibility of groups like mine, in doing interviews like this one, is to let people know there are better alternatives and to say that it’s easy to create one, it’s easy to sustain one, I would be lying. But you know, there are better things, but like most better things, they require work and commitment.
Feinburg: Amy Wilkins is the Senior Vice President at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. So, what exactly do you folks do?
Wilkins: We represent in Washington, primarily. The Charter Schools out there in America, we lobby Congress to ensure that there’s funding to start more and better Charter Schools.
Feinburg: So, the Federal dollars are a critical part?
Wilkins: The Federal dollars really are start-up dollars. Once you’ve started, then you really are reliant on state and local funding, but the Federal government does supply … it’s a program called the Charter Schools Program and it supplies seed money for new Charter Schools to get started.
Feinburg: What are the … can you shoot down the basic arguments against Charter Schools, the kind of superficial ones that have appeal to people who aren’t very involved, and they hear about how, for example, that Charter Schools are taking dollars away from the public schools, it’s an attempt to destroy the public schools.
Wilkins: Well, that just doesn’t make any sense because Charter Schools are public schools. Charter Schools are part of the public school system, so I don’t understand how they could take money away from a system that they’re already a part of. It’s just a nonsensical argument that the Teacher’s Unions have sort of … it’s a catchy phrase, but it means nothing.
Feinburg: How about Charter Schools just have to … they get to pick whatever kids they want. They don’t have to worry about the special ed kids?
Wilkins: That’s not … in fact, Charter Schools currently are serving a slightly higher percentage of special needs kids than our traditional public schools, so that’s just not true. Charter Schools serve as many and, in some cases, a few more special needs kids than do traditional public schools.
Feinburg: I forget what else the arguments are. Is there one more you can give us?
Wilkins: Yeah, that they’re a plot to tear down the traditional public school system. At this point, Charter Schools make up less than 5% of all schools in the country.
Feinburg: So it’s a failing plot?
Wilkins: Yeah, we’re doing a pretty bad job. I mean, if the traditional public schools, which are educating 95% of the children are so scared of something that only represents 5%, there’s something deeper going on there, you know? And I think that that’s one of the things we really have to understand about Charter Schools. The demand for Charter Schools, to me, reads like an indictment of the traditional public school system. If everything were hunky-dory in traditional public schools, there wouldn’t be this enormous demand for Charter Schools. And so when the traditional public schools point to Charter Schools and say, “Oh, they’re a problem, they’re a problem, they’re a problem,” they really should turn and look more in the mirror to say, “Why are these schools even existing? Why do people demand them?” They demand them because public schools have fallen so far short for so many kids.
Feinburg: Amy Wilkins, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. What’s the website?
Wilkins: It’s www … I have to get some help here, www.publiccharters.org.
Feinburg: What is it?
Wilkins: It’s publiccharters.org.
Feinburg: Publiccharters.org. Amy, thank you so much. Great to talk with you.
Wilkins: Thank you so much. It’s great to talk to you. Have a good afternoon. Bye-bye!
Feinburg: Bye-bye. I hit her with a tough surprise question at the end.

The 5 Essential Steps to Charter School Facilities Planning

Charter school facilities planning can be daunting. If you think that finding the perfect facility for your charter school seems like a huge, complicated undertaking, you’re in good company. This handy, information-packed guide, will help as you move towards realizing your facility expansion or relocation goals.
In it, we cover these five essential charter school facility planning steps—in detail:

  1. Charter School Facilities Planning Plan – Begin planning at least one year in advance
  2. Fund – Understand your options to make savvy decisions
  3. Acquire – You know what you can afford and how you’ll pay for it … now go get it
  4. Design – Partner with experts to design your new space
  5. Execute – Let the construction begin and get ready to move in
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