Author: Grow Schools, formerly Charter School Capital

 

charter school authorizingCharter School Authorizing: A Change In The Landscape

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published here, by The 74, and written by Greg Richmond, the president and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. In it, we learn about some trends showing that fewer new charter schools are being authorized under school districts. You’ll learn more about a change in the charter school authorizer landscape, why we’re seeing a shift from district authorizers to non-district authorizers, and what impact that may have on producing better outcomes for students. Read this article in its entirety to learn why these shifts can be seen as both bad and good for the charter school movement.
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.

Richmond: Why School Districts Are Walking Away From Authorizing New Charter Schools — and Why That’s Both a Bad and a Good Thing

In recent years, more school districts have walked away from the opportunity to authorize new charter schools. New research from the National Association of Charter School Authorizers has found a shift in the national charter school landscape: For the first time, most new charter schools are opening under authorizers other than local school districts, with state education agencies and independent chartering boards leading the way.
In 2016, school district authorizers opened 222 fewer schools than they did in 2013. While fewer new schools opened overall during this period, the drop among school districts is striking: It’s nearly 2.5 times as large as the decrease in new charter school openings under all other types of authorizers combined.
Many districts did not slow down their authorizing activity; they simply stopped. Nearly two-thirds of districts with charter schools did not authorize a single new charter school in the past four years. Conversely, 70 percent of state education agencies and independent chartering boards authorized a school in at least three of the four years examined.
This trend is a bad thing. Yet it is also a good thing.
It is bad because millions of children in the United States lack access to a good school that will prepare them for success in life. Rigorous research has found that quality charter schools are providing better education opportunities to students, especially students from disadvantaged backgrounds. No other public education activity of the past quarter-century has been as effective for disadvantaged children as charter schools. We need to be doing more to make these schools available, not less.
So when we see local school districts — a group of authorizers that at one point was helping 350 new charter schools open every year — walk away, we know they are shunning the opportunity to provide a better education and a better future for young people who need it.
This is especially troubling because school districts make up 90 percent of the authorizers around the country. In fact, in six states — Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Virginia, and Wyoming — districts are the only entities that can authorize charters. Giving more students access to great schools requires districts to embrace, not flee, the opportunities and responsibilities that come with authorizing charter schools.
But the trend is also a good thing.
Earlier this year, our research found that the authorizers with the strongest school portfolios have an institutional commitment to charter school authorizing and see it as their mission to provide more quality options to kids. Authorizing is visible and championed within their institutional framework, not buried in layers of bureaucracy. Their day-to-day authorizing staff has meaningful influence over decision making.
These qualities are more likely to be found in authorizers like state education agencies and independent chartering boards than within school districts. It is not impossible for districts to be good authorizers — and they exist — it simply is not their core mission.
We know that districts, by far, use fewer nationally recognized authorizing best practices than any other type of charter school authorizer. In some places, districts are openly hostile to charter schools and look for any reason to decline applications.
When viewed through this lens, the shift from district authorizing to non-district authorizing could be a net positive, as it will likely lead to better authorizing and better charter schools. That’s why public education advocates and policymakers should work to ensure that every city and state has a non-district authorizer.
Experience shows that independent, statewide charter boards hold the most promise, as a singular focus on authorizing can build substantial expertise and strong practices that lead to better outcomes for children. In some places, a state education agency may be the better route; in other places, it may be universities.
There is much to learn about what is driving this trend within school districts, and whether it is possible to reverse it — or whether we should even try. Are districts receiving fewer applications, or are they denying them at higher rates? Is this all just a result of increased political opposition and competition for scarce resources?
But given that all types of authorizers are opening fewer schools, we need more great authorizers that are willing to step up, identify obstacles to growth, and work to solve them. In places like Colorado, New York, Washington, D.C., South Carolina, and Massachusetts, we see authorizers that are looking for areas of need in their communities, recruiting new operators, and creating transparent and accessible application processes. They’re working with education leaders in their cities and states to create an ecosystem that fosters innovation and policy conditions that support quality growth.
Too many U.S. children lack access to a good school. One powerful way to provide more children with a better future is through better authorizing and more high-quality charter schools. Let’s keep working.
Greg Richmond is president and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers.

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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Top 5 Financial Mistakes Charter Schools Make and How to Avoid ThemHow To Avoid The Top Financial Mistakes Charter Schools Make

If you missed this information-packed webinar on how to avoid the top mistakes charter schools make, don’t despair! We’ve got the recording for you to watch at your convenience. In this webinar, we were joined by some phenomenal charter school leaders from Desert Star Academy, SALTech, and Wayne Preparatory – and they generously and bravely shared the mistakes they’ve made as charter leaders, and of course, how they solved those problems for the future.
Watch the video recording to understand the five mistakes and walk away armed with the tools you’ll need to avoid them.
Our esteemed panelists:
Tricia Blum Head of Business Consulting, Charter School Capital
 
 
Margie Montgomery Founder, Desert Star Academy
 
 
Sharon Thompson, Chairman of the Board, Wayne Academy
 
 
Michael LaRoche Founder/Executive Director, SALTech

 
 

Watch the video of the live presentation, here.

And, to download a printable PDF datasheet, click here.

charter school financingThe Charter Leader’s Definitive Guide to Budgeting Best Practices
Over the past decade, we’ve reviewed thousands of charter school budgets and helped guide countless schools through their charter school financing processes. Year after year, we see many charter schools make the same mistakes when budgeting for the academic year. To help you achieve your goals, we’ve put together this informative and thorough guide to share best practices and call out common pitfalls to avoid.
It covers:
• Planning for long-term financial health
• Implementing best practices for achieving buy-in and setting internal controls
• Understanding key financial metrics to watch
• Utilizing tips on cashflow planning and more!
Download it now and get the tools to be more strategic about your budgeting practices!
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charter school performanceCHARTER EDtalk: How to Measure Charter School Performance and Achievement

In this CHARTER EDtalk, Charter School Capital’s Chief Marketing Officer, Janet Johnson, and Chief Operating Officer, Kirt Nilsson, were privileged to sit down with the “father of the charter school movement”, John Cairns.  John shares his perspective on how to best measure charter school achievement and performance. He also provides some thoughts on what steps he believes should be taken if a school is found to be underperforming. At the heart of the conversation is the vital nature of accountability and engagement between the school Board, the executive director, and the teaching staff. Watch the video or read the transcript below for the full story.

Janet Johnson (JJ): Good morning. I’m Janet Johnson with Charter School Capital and we’re here with John Cairns, who is one of the founders of the first idea of charter schools and the first law in the nation about charter schools. We’re honored to have you here, John.
John Cairns (JC): Nice to be here.
JJ: Thank you. Along with Kirt Nilsson from Charter School Capital and we’re going to be talking about charter school performance with John.
JC: Good.

On School Choice

Kirt Nilsson (KN): John, we’re doing a campaign at Charter School Capital called, surprisingly, We Love Charter Schools.
JC: Good campaign.
KN: Definitely a good campaign. I’m sure one that you can align with. So, can you tell us in a couple sentences why you love charter schools.
JC: Well, I got interested in the charter school reform movement in 1969 when I was elected into the city council in Minneapolis. And we had a school district within a school district, meaning we had no teacher’s contract.
We had self-governed Boards, we had teachers on Boards. And EDs [executive directors] we selected. We had six elementary schools and so many high schools. That’s how I found public schools,choice was in place. In our neighborhood, where I was a city councilman, parents could choose where you go to school.
I didn’t have any real responsibility. Nobody knew who their school board members were, so they called me all the time to get involved. And I got right in the middle of this. I had no choice, even though two school board members lived on my block. Nobody knew who they were.
So, that got me into the whole choice side and the idea that schools were going to be based on the kids learning. I thought that’s how a traditional system worked, you would think. So that got me started. So, that’s almost 50 years I’ve been on the education reform side of things.

On Measuring Student Achievement

KN: That’s great. And so you mentioned how students learn in their schools, within the charter school world, choice is obviously a big component. So is achievement. How do you think about achievement in charter schools and how it should be looked at, measured?
JC: I’ve been concerned about this since we opened the first school. I think the movement towards tests tells us something about the child’s performance, and it’s a measure. You can at least see the change in the test scores, that’s a measurement.
There are other measures of growth which are not specifically tests. So I start from a standpoint of wanting to see the growth curve through the kids. And because charter schools can be more focused on the kids one-on-one and they spread their money across the classroom with as little administration as possible, there’s usually two adults in every classroom, and they can do some remediation right in that room.
And the other kids are pretty much self-learners and they get started on a project. In fact, I’ve seen several schools where they actually have tables of eight and they started on a topic and the teacher leads the discussion gets them going, and then she’ll pull out one or two of the kids that she knows needs some help. And meanwhile, a senior learner at the table will run the program. So the kids are actually teaching the kids.
KN: That’s amazing.
JC: I saw that even in first grade, some of them.
KN: Leaders of the future.
JC: You bet.

Addressing Underperforming Schools

KN:  So, choice is a very powerful thing within the charter school world because parents can choose schools based on what they perceive to be the benefits in achievement. But as we know, sometimes schools aren’t performing the way that they probably should.
What are some routes that you see how that can be addressed? So, what should be done with schools that aren’t performing to the level that probably they should be?
JC: The first place I’d start is with the Board and the ED. They have to admit, and it’s a hard admission to make. So the first step I’d take is I want the Board or the ED to recognize they’ve got a problem. And sometimes the board is very weak and they rely on the ED doing everything.
The Board’s have to understand. Too often that’s not the case. So I’d do a lot board governance to try to get the boards to understand they need to know as much about the school and ask, are the kids learning? Not necessarily all they all advanced, but are they learning?
I try to get every charter school to have their own agenda, have at least a 15-minute discussion about how are the kids learning in this area or in that area. What areas are working best? And then inside the faculty, at the beginning they have to have some sort of way of understanding that they can’t let one teacher have a bad experience and a bad classroom, because it will drag people down.
It’s compounded a bit because charter schools typically get fairly young teachers. In most States, teachers would be a bit reluctant to walk away from a tenured job. Even though in Minnesota they keep their spots. So if a five-year teacher comes to a charter school and works five years, they still have five years of tenure. They don’t gain any tenure, but they still have the five.
So I’d go to the board, the ED and I’d try to get the faculty to have some leadership to say, “This isn’t working very well. What should we do?” Out of that ought to come –with the authorizer – some sort of transformation process. It should. And it could be new leadership, it could be new ED, it could be better organizing or training the faculty. But the Board’s got to be in charge of that, and if the board isn’t willing to take charge of that then it’s simply going to stay there and get worse.
KN: It starts with leadership, right?
JC: You bet.

Assessing a School’s Improvement

KN: So then with that leadership, assuming it plays the way it ought to be, how do you know when a school that was under-performing starts to perform? What are some of the things and signs that you see of, “Oh yeah. They’re heading in the right direction.”
JC: Well, you certainly will see an improvement in internal testing on subject matter, and they do some standardized tests that aren’t required. Many schools will do something every month of their own creation that they think is a measure of kids learning. And that goes down just like the standard scores go down, so they’ll first see a turn in the internal testing.
You’ll then start to see some sort of project-based learning. So the kids not only have a test, they have a product of something they’ve done and it’s going to be out of enjoyment. So the kids identify with this, in particular, when you go to say, fourth grade. It’s a little harder in K-3. But they have an outcome. It’s visible, touchable and it’s something that happens every month, not just once a year.
And the third thing I’d look to see is, the enthusiasm from the teachers because if they’re in a school that’s not doing well they’re not going to feel very good about themselves. But when it starts to turn, they all of a sudden say, “Oh! We can do this. This will really work.” You see a completely different attitude. And then the board should be acting the same way. So you start to see a slow turn-up.
And some schools can’t pull it off, and so we have closures. In Minnesota, we have 165 schools open now but in the 20 or 30 years, we’ve done this we’ve probably authorized 260. And some of those schools today are new. So we’ve probably closed somewhere between, around 80 schools. Over the years.
Lack of money, usually it’s lack of enrollment. We’ve had no fiscal management coaches for about 10 years, because we’ve learned much about how to make that work. We had a few rip-offs back in the first round of schools, so we watch carefully about the board really being engaged. That’s a good sign.

On Working with Charter School Capital

KN: We all are interested in the success of charter schools, and those that are performing are so fun to watch. Those that are having challenges are fun to work with and try and get them to move forward. So we’re all headed in that direction, Charter School Capital included. So we’ve worked together for a bunch of years, what’s your experience been like in working with Charter School Capital?
JC: I first met Stuart and one of the partners who’s left, I think in 2009 or 2010. Minnesota schools had a budget shortfall, so we were trying to fill the gaps from the shortfall. And after the first two days of being with them, as they were leaving, I said, “Two things. One is, the biggest problem the charter school industry has, is lack of capital to grow, and lack of capital to manage the schools. And the second thing I said was, if I was 20 years younger I would stop my law practice and join Charter School Capital.”
JJ: That’s great.
JC: So, it’s been a great experience. I mean, I think in some ways I may be a little underused, in the sense that one of the things I’ve been able to do is, for anybody who gets confused or doesn’t understand the charter school concept or charter school practice, I’ve had a number of calls. And I probably should make it more clear to people that, that’s part of my mission—to take the call anytime about somebody who can’t figure out.
JJ: So you’ve heard it here, folks. He’s ready to take the call.
JC: I’m ready to take the call. From anybody inside Charter School Capital or outside.
JJ: That’s great. Thank you so much, John, for joining us today. We really appreciate your work on our behalf, too.
JC: I think Charter School Capital is just a fabulous organization.
KN: Thank you, John.

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 1,000,000 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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independent charter schoolsFive Reasons Independent Charters Outperform In-District Hybrid Schools

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published here on August 23, 2018, by Forbes and written by Emily Langhorne, policy analyst for the Reinventing America’s Schools project at The Progressive Policy Institute.
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.
Read on for the complete article.

Five Reasons Why Independent Charters Outperform In-District Autonomous Schools

Over the past 15 years, cities across the country have experienced rapid growth in the number of public charter schools serving their students. Charter schools are public schools operated by independent organizations, usually nonprofits. They are freed from many of the rules that constrain district-operated schools. In exchange for increased autonomy, they are normally held accountable for their performance by their authorizers, who close or replace them if they fail to educate children. Most are schools of choice, and unlike magnet schools in traditional districts, they are not allowed to select their students. If too many students apply, they hold lotteries to see who gets in.
The charter formula – autonomy, accountability, diversity of learning models, choice and operation by nonprofits – is transforming urban education. In states with strong charter laws and equally strong authorizers, charter schools have produced impressive students gains, especially in schools with high-minority, high-poverty populations.
Recently, districts from Boston to Los Angeles have tried to increase student achievement by replicating parts of this formula, in particular giving their school leaders more autonomy.
District-run “autonomous” schools are a hybrid model— a halfway point between charters and traditional public schools. They’re still operated by district employees, but school leaders can opt out of many district rules and, in some models, union contracts.
The Progressive Policy Institute’s recent analysis of state exam scores from 2015 and 2016 in Boston, Memphis, Denver, and Los Angeles shows 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 schools.
The analysis reveals that district-run autonomous schools in these cities sometimes performed better than traditional public schools, but they seldom performed as well as independent public charters. So the big question is: what do independent charter schools have that district-run autonomous schools are missing?
Below are five reasons why public charter schools outperform district-run autonomous schools.

1. Most Independent Charter Schools Have True Autonomy

Charter school leaders have true autonomy over staffing, school models, curriculum, budgeting, school calendars and schedules and professional development. Without the constraints of district policies, charter leaders can create educational models that work best for their students – whether Montessori, project-based, dual-language, or others. They can choose curriculum and materials that engage their teachers and students. They can manage their own school budgets, using money creatively and effectively and to meet the unique needs of their students. If needed, they can extend the school year.
Many in-district autonomous schools allegedly have these freedoms too. In reality, however, the long reach of the district’s central office sometimes hamstrings them, making their autonomies little more than paper promises.

2. Most Charter Schools Are Schools of Choice

Because independent charter schools are schools of choice, charter leaders can develop schools with specific educational models and cultures. Children learn differently, come from different backgrounds, speak different languages, have different interests, and thrive in different environments. Having multiple learning models allows parents to choose the schools that best fit the needs of their children.
When a district assigns children based on their neighborhoods, as some do, it’s much harder to have diverse school designs. Most parents would object to being told their child must attend a specialized school – such as Montessori school, a STEM school, or a performing arts school – so neighborhood schools often rely on the traditional one-size-fits all model.
In contrast, schools of choice can specialize. And when families have choices, both parents and students are more likely to “buy-in” to the school’s culture and academic philosophy.
Giving families the choice to attend a variety of schools also creates a second layer of accountability for independent charters, because the public dollars follow that choice. School operators are in direct competition for funds, and parents have much more leverage in demanding what their children need because they can send their children elsewhere and the money will follow them.

3. Most Independent Charter Schools Are Held Accountable for Student Performance

Unless forced to by the state, elected school boards rarely close or replace failing schools – because it’s political suicide. Teachers unions often initiate district-wide protests over school closings, and parents and community members often join in. Because turnout in school board elections is often under 15 percent, their votes may determine the winners. For a school board member, closing or replacing a failing school often means losing the next election – even if it benefits children.
Most charter schools are not unionized, however. They answer to authorizers, which often have appointed boards. Even when an elected board closes a charter, it may trigger a protest from one building, but not from all teachers in a city or district.
If they are doing their jobs, authorizers hold schools accountable for student achievement benchmarks laid out in their charters, which are essentially performance contracts. Every few years, authorizers review their schools. If the students aren’t learning, the school will undergo a period of probation – after which time, if student performance does not improve, authorizers will close or replace the failing school.
When authorizers fail to hold schools accountable, charter schools generally don’t perform much better than traditional public schools. Studies show that, in states where authorizers consistently close low-performing charters, charter students far outpace their district counterparts on standardized tests. Where they don’t close schools, charters often underperform their district counterparts.

4. Most Independent Charters Go Through a Careful Authorization Process

Strong authorizers also investigate charter operators prior to allowing them to open schools. Not all parents have the ability to assess schools, so effective authorizers ensure that the schools available to their children are of high quality. This requires evaluation of performance and replacement of failing schools, but also scrutiny of applications to ensure schools have a strategy for success before they open. As part of the authorization process, charter applications undergo a thorough vetting process before authorizers grant applicants a charter and allow them to open a school.

5. Independent Charter Sectors Are Sustainable

The Achilles heel of most in-district autonomous approaches is sustainability. In a large district, the autonomy agenda often rests with one or two innovative leaders at the district level. When they depart (as they always do), the bureaucracy usually reasserts its control. People in bureaucracies tend to resent any special privileges given to those in “autonomy zones” – in all sectors of government. Education is no different. In-district autonomous schools are vulnerable to shifting political winds and changes in attitudes at district headquarters, either of which can endanger their autonomy. In contrast, independent charters operate outside of school districts, so it would take a change in state law, rather than district leadership, to infringe upon their autonomy.

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 fundingCharter School Capital Funding Helps T-Squared Honors Academy Overcome Challenges

About T-Squared Honors Academy

T-Squared Honors AcademyEstablished in 2014, T-Squared Honors Academy is currently enrolling students in grades seven through twelve. The school focuses on four key pillars: intelligence; broad sympathy; knowledge of the world that was and is; and the relation of men to the world. Their mission is to utilize a rigorous, innovative academic curriculum to infuse a passion for people, intrinsic motivation, and self-discipline in their students. They aspire for each of their students to be challenged, develop strong character values, and to serve publicly and lead the world in social reforms.

The Challenges

  • In Ohio in 2014, there was a period where charter school fund distribution was being delayed­, creating a challenging situation for charter
    schools to operate effectively
  • As the state funding payments came through, both the timing and funding amounts were irregular and unpredictable
  • Without consistent and stable funding, T-Squared lacked the ability to provide job security for their staff, would have been forced to make operational reductions, and their future was uncertain

The Solution

  • Charter School Capital purchased Ohio state aid payments owed to T-Squared Honors Academy and then provided consistent funding to the school in advance of the state payment distribution dates
  • Charter School Capital supplied the working capital needed for T-Squared to be able to make payroll for their staff and purchase necessary academic materials like laptops and new books
  • Charter School Capital’s online Client Portal has made the documentation process much faster, easier, and more transparent for school leadershipWe’re so grateful to Charter School Capital.

Whenever we have questions or are confused about something, our account manager, Michelle, is very patient in explaining things to us. Anytime I need her, she is available or will call us right back. She’s made the process so easy and understandable.
Dr. India Ford, Superintendent,
T-Squared Honors Academy

The Result

T-Squared Honors AcademyThe funding provided by Charter School Capital provided T-Squared Honors Academy the financial predictability they needed for operational stability. It is currently the top-performing charter school in the area and they’re setting their sites on becoming one of the best charter schools in Ohio—and then the nation. Since 2014, they’ve more than doubled their enrollment, exceeded academically, and are now nearing their goal of financial stability and independence. The next milestone for them will be to move into their very own high school building. With their leaders’ dedication and commitment, we know it will happen.

Charter School Capital logoAt Charter School Capital, our team works with you to determine working capital 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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run a charter schoolHow to Run a Charter School as a Non-Educator

For this CHARTER EDtalk, Janet Johnson, Charter School Capital CMO, and our Head of Business Consulting, Tricia Blum sat down with Sharon Thompson, the Board Chair for Wayne Preparatory Academy in Goldsboro, North Carolina. We wanted to talk with Sharon in order to understand what, if any, specific challenges she faces running a charter school as someone with a non-education background. Watch the video and/or read the transcript to hear Sharon’s tips on how to run a charter school as a non-educator and what she’s learned over her time as a charter school leader.

Janet Johnson (JJ): Hello, and welcome to Charter EDtalks. I’m Janet Johnson, with Charter School Capital, and we are very fortunate to have Sharon Thompson, who is the Chairwoman of the Board of Wayne Charter School in North Carolina, and Tricia Blum, who is also with Charter School Capital. We’re going to talk a little bit about being a board member and the challenges thereof. Thanks for coming.
Sharon Thompson (ST): Thank you for having me. I’m excited.

 Why do you love charter schools?

Tricia Blum (TB): So, Charter School Capital is doing a campaign We Love Charter Schools. Can you tell me, please, in a sentence or two, what you love about charter schools?
ST: I think it’s the fact that not every child fits into the traditional school format, and so especially in the life of my children, who are now adults. I was very excited to find that the charter school, at least in our area and I’m sure in other areas as well, were going to offer something different for those students that just needed a choice to go to a school that more exemplified the way they could learn and what was going to be best for them. so, it’s exciting to have that option because we’ve not had that in our county at all except for one other charter school.

Day in the life of a Board Chairman

TB: So, since you’re a board president, tell me a little bit about the day in the life of a Board Chairman. What’s that look like?
ST: Well, I think it’s different for each person. For me, personally, I spend, some weeks, 30 hours, some weeks, 60 hours. I mean, it just depends on what we have going on. Of course, we’re in the project of a great new building, so I’m excited about us opening that this summer and having a picnic and to cut the ribbon, with all of that going on. So, that will be great.
It’s like it is for any other business. As Chairman of the Board, my responsibility is to make sure that everything is moving the way it should be from the business standpoint. That was the commitment that we made to our Managing Director because we wanted our administrative staff to focus on the scholars and our academic side, and the board was willing to take on the other responsibilities from the financial side.
I’m doing those things that a typical business would do. I’m answering emails, I’m on the phone, texting, having meetings with different people, but once we get this set up and I’ve got a working relationship with a vendor, then I can turn that over to our business person at the school, and then they’re able to continue and work with that. They should give us reports—to the board, so that we know what’s going on. I’m running the business. It’s not just sitting back and hoping somebody does it. You’ve got to get in there and actually get the work done.

Building a solid foundation

TB: Do you think that once … Like, you said 30 and 60, and I know that’s legitimate, but do you think once some of the challenges that you’re facing, that’s going to become less, or do you think you’re going to find new tasks and projects that keep that at that kind of … You know, what I call part to full-time job.
ST: Right. I think that it can certainly go to more of a part-time position once we get some of the things kind of nailed down. I want a foundation put there, so that all you have to do is come in – the next Chair or the next board member in a particular area – and all they’ve got to do is tweak that policy, or the thing that we put together—that strategic plan, so that it’s not reinventing the wheel every year.
We actually got to see what that was going to look like this summer. We just had our annual strategic planning session, and so it was very nice to be able to sit down and just kind of tweak a few things that we needed to do, and then we can move forward.
We’ve got still a lot of work to do as far as putting those policies together and making sure that they’re sound and where they need to be. But, once we get the foundation laid, then we’re going to be able to go do some of the fun stuff! More focus about the community and marketing, and then going back into the classroom and seeing all the fun programs that the children do. We don’t have that opportunity right now because we’re running a business.

How to run a charter school as a non-educator

TB: So, I think we’ve talked a little bit about challenges, but specifically, I know you don’t have an education background, so tell me what challenges do you face in running the board with a non-education background?
ST: That was huge because I didn’t expect for the education side of the business to look so different from the private sector, but it does. It’s a very big difference, so there was a huge learning curve for me.
You still have to have those good, sound business practices, but I call it knowledge by fire hose, not water hose. I really had to [quickly] get up to speed on how the educational side of things really worked, even though again, we’ve asked the Managing Director and the administrators to handle the education side.
I still have to understand it and so does the board.
A lot of times, I may go to different conventions or conferences. Any time the state offers something, I try to be there for that training. I know some people say, “No, no, don’t deal with the state because we’re a charter school,” but I don’t find that to be the case.
If you build those relationships, and then everybody’s on board with it too, and if you go and let them know you’re really trying to be a part of it, you want a great school, and you’re trying to set the right example, then they’ll come on board with you as well, if they weren’t to start with.
We’re very fortunate in North Carolina, in my state, that we have a great supporter of charter schools, and that we’re able to go and do that.
TB: Early on, what was it like, since you didn’t have a background in that, right? I think there might be more to that, even.
Relying on mentors, administrators, and personal experience
ST: I had to rely very heavily, at the beginning, on the administrators, so that they could explain. When you start talking about all these different testing elements and things that you’re using in the curriculum, that is really tough.
You either need a mentor that you can go and ask the questions of. You know, what is MAT and what is DIBELS, and how does this work? Or do they really expect me to have an 8% contingency set aside, and those kinds of things? You really have to have someone that you trust to be able to do that with. It never hurts to ask more than one person. It’s always great to have a mentor, but it’s okay to get the views of other folks to see what they’re thinking as well.
It was a little bit different for me because I had two children that had high-functioning autism, so I had kind of dealt with the school system from that level, and for me, that was why I was so excited that the charter school had come along in our county because we needed something different.
My children were very high-functioning, but they just, again, didn’t fit in that public school education setting. Had they been in this school setting, I think they would have flourished so much more.
I’ve kind of been able to look at it from both sides, from the school aspect and from the parent side of what that looks like, so that’s been a help in some areas dealing with our children with special health care needs or special needs within the school system.
Again, you can’t figure it all out at the start by yourself. You’ve got to have some help, and so you’ve got to rely on someone that will be able to explain it to you, or hopefully you’ve hired the right people, and those educators that are there in the school, those administrators, will be able to explain it to you.
One of the things, too, that we do at our particular school, is we have two board meetings a month. The first one of the month, we discuss financials and operations and kind of what’s going on with that, and then the second meeting of the month, it’s academics, so that we know exactly where our students are as far as where they’ve been placed in testing, and how they’re progressing along in their school for that year.
That’s been great in helping the board understand because most of our board members aren’t educators, and so they need to understand how we’re doing. Because although testing’s not our goal, it is a byproduct of what we have to do in North Carolina and all the other states. We’ve got to have that outcome as well as financially being responsible.

The Board’s commitment

TB: Do your average board members or your standard board members, do you think that they instead of working 30 to 60 hours a week, do you think they work 10 hours a week, five hours a week, and then with meetings they have a little longer?
ST: Right, and we’ve got some board members that have just come on that, I think, are going to be a little bit more active, and so it’s kind of that old rule. You know, 20% of the people do 80% of the work. It doesn’t change on the Board.
Now, I think there are those times that you really do get that group that’s just going to mesh really well and everybody will be able to kind of take the load. I can see that starting to happen, but we’ve had to gel as a board first and get to know each other, and the strengths.
We’re looking for particular strengths now when we bring on board members, so that helps a lot as well because having one person that’s trying to figure it all out is not good for several reasons. I told a group earlier today, you know, if I get hit by a Mack truck, that’s a problem, but if there had been other people there with me that had been in the same trainings, then they’re going to know what I know, and that’s most important, to spread out that knowledge – all the way across – as much as you can.

On working with Charter School Capital

TB: If you would, please tell me or us a little bit about your experience working with Charter School Capital?
ST: Oh, I could talk a long time about that. It has really been a knight a shining armor for us. It’s been amazing having you to be able to come in and deal with us, or help us one-on-one as we were at the beginning with our partnership. That was a big help because you want that liaison with that person you know you can call.
Then to find out there was a whole team, and Janet was part of that team, and some of the other folks, was really very reassuring for many because we had not been in that position where we had had that kind of support.
To have Charter School Capital provide not only that for us, but the opportunity to get our building built that we’ve been waiting for for a long time (that we’re all going to celebrate in the next month or two) has been very, very exciting! I would highly encourage anyone, if they’ve got the opportunity to work with Charter School Capital, to do so. And you [,Tricia]. You’ve been a wonderful, wonderful support.
JJ: Thank you, Sharon.
TB: Thank you. Thank you, Sharon.

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 Capital Dewey AwardsWe are so honored to have received such amazing, heartfelt, and inspirational submissions for our 2018 Richard Dewey Awards. Over 100 stories of teachers making a difference were shared with us. 

The caliber of submissions made selecting our three winners a very challenging task for our panel of judges. Because the stories were just so incredibly good this year, we decided to pick FOUR winners instead of just three to receive the $1000 grants that will be given to a charter school of their choosing! 

Here are the FOUR winning stories in their entirety (and in no particular order):

Cristian Alicea
6th grade
Caridad Broche
Pinecrest Cove Preparatory Academy

Touching Lives One Student at a Time
Have you ever felt the warmth of a smile, or the genuine love from a hug? Imagine having that for THREE years in a row- now imagine being in third grade and you just finished the school year, summer passes by quickly and next thing you know you are in fourth grade- you are growing and are worried about tests, quizzes and other students. Little did you know this was going to be the year that has the best teacher you will ever have. This was me in fourth grade, I had Mrs. Broche and she changed my life for the better. She has been the best teacher I have ever had and has also changed my way of thinking through life’s moments.
One of the many things Mrs. Broche has done to help me is to support me while I was going through the passing of a loved one. I spent the first 9 years of my life with my grandma- she taught me the importance of everything and was my best friend. I woke up one day to realize that in the room next door she had suddenly passed away. I did not know what to do- or how to react, but I knew that I had to tell one person, Mrs. Broche. When I told her she hugged me and talked to me and listened to me, she gave me a warm smile and told me that my grandma would always be with me and that now I was her grandson. I never thought that a teacher would be able to help me through one of the most difficult moments in my life, but I was so thankful for her help and how she knew the right words to say to help me go through them.
Mrs. Broche also showed me how to prioritize, my Mom is thankful for that, she taught me that is important to have fun, but you first need to work hard. During class we would have to work hard writing essays and completing group projects- but the games followed. Every year with her she showed me the importance of not complaining about bookwork, because then we would be able to do projects with our friends- and she sometimes even let us talk in class. In the end, she has shown me many things that help us every day and will continue to help us in the future.
Lastly, A teacher that truly cares is hard to find but Mrs. Broche has taught me to never give up on my dreams, she continues to teach me still today in 6th grade and goes above and beyond to make sure that I am learning. She makes sure that I am successful and cheers me on even during the toughest school days. The best part is that Mrs. Broche has always been there for me, since I first met her- and she continues to be there. She has cheered me up and made me happy in times of sadness. She has also changed the way I see the most important things in my life and has proven to me that I need to work hard to achieve my dreams. I have been very lucky to have felt the warmth of a smile, and the genuine love from a hug- and you know what, if you meet Mrs. Broche, you might be able to feel that way too!

Katelyn Dorry
9th Grade
Donna Hanson-Kaasa
Northern Lights Community School

Catherine Flaherty
Art Teacher
Mr. Pittenger
Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School

Voice and Heart Grand Canyon Deep
He was stocky with a receding crew cut, thick glasses and a voice deeper than the Grand Canyon. He could teach our class equations-PROFICIENTLY-from a reclined office chair and feet up on his desk. His name is Mr. Pittenger and he was my 6th grade math teacher. Mr. Pittenger had a way of controlling our class without standing up or raising his voice. You see, he was a former military man, and used that experience, his deep voice, and a little sarcasm to keep the class in order. Troublemakers stayed in line, the slackers got moving, and the well-behaved were commended in Mr. Pittenger’s class. He wasn’t the conventional teacher and probably didn’t take classes on differentiated learning or redirecting behavior, but students were in line and material was instructed. Most importantly, we learned algebra.
Back in the 6th grade, I was quiet, reserved, studious and excelled in school. I was thin, pale and anemic. I had a small circle of friends, but didn’t have much fun. I was also an easy target for Jennifer V., a big bully in our 6th grade class. As I was walking home one day at dismissal, Jennifer V. hit me with her bike in the middle of 142nd Avenue. I laid there in the road, stopping traffic, crying and bleeding, with a sprained ankle…until Mr. Pittenger and Mr. Redman arrived. Mr. Redman was another favorite teacher of mine. Imagine a red bearded lumberjack and you’ve envisioned Mr. Redman. Effortlessly, they scooped me up and carried me inside the school. I returned to school a few days later, fearful of the repercussions of Jennifer V. and my mother, who now had a vendetta to fulfill against the bully. To my surprise, Mr. Pittenger and Mr. Redman presented me with a veggie tray and a message: ‘You were so heavy being carried in after your “accident” that we thought you could use this to lose a little weight.’ Again, not a conventional, “teacher move” but it made me, and more importantly, my mother, LAUGH. The rest of the year went off without a hitch. I recovered, started to stand up to Jennifer V. and earned all 4 PRIDE awards at the end of my middle school years. I began babysitting for Mr. Pittenger’s two sons all through high school. Mr. Pittenger and his wife, Jan, treated me like family.
At the end of high school, I was pondering the next course in life to take, law enforcement or teaching. I turned to Mr. Pittenger, also a former military police officer. He could see my angst in wanted to get started right away and steered me towards law enforcement. Note that by the end of high school, I was no longer the quiet, reserved young girl but rather an outspoken and fun-loving teenager. Everything fell into place and I became a Clearwater police officer at the age of 19. For the next 14 years I worked in patrol, training, was an undercover detective for several years and eventually taught in 14 elementary schools as “Officer Friendly.” Mr. and Mrs. Pittenger came to my wedding. Occasionally, Mr. Pittenger and I would meet for breakfast and I would share interesting cases from work with him. We caught each other up on the paths of our children. His sons followed in his footsteps and joined the military. Mine were still babies. He continued to ask me to call him Jim as I was now an adult and had four kids of my own, but I couldn’t. He would always be Mr. Pittenger to me. As life does, mine had its peaks and valleys. I have been an Art teacher at Plato Academy for the past 5 years. I’ve fulfilled both my dreams I once had as a high school graduate…and many more unsuspected ones. That is a story I now share with students. You can be anything you want…and more. I haven’t spoken to Mr. Pittenger for several years, but our last breakfast included an invite to his cabin in Tennessee. The kids and I could vacation there and visit him at his new job at Dollywood. I could share that I am now, also, a proud parent of a soldier. My oldest son is 18 and is now a Marine. I think I’ll go call the man with the heart and voice deeper than the Grand Canyon and tell him, “Thank you, Mr. Pittenger, for being my teacher.”

Amara Lee Brenner
Teacher
Allan Benton & Ruth Dutton
Sycamore Valley Academy

There are times when your life stops and pivots. If you are lucky, life grants you the time to pause. If you are wise, you make a careful, informed decision. It is in the times that life doesn’t grant you the time, that the heroes reveal themselves. This was the beginning of Sycamore Valley Academy.
Let’s start at the beginning.
Once upon a public school, there was a little girl, prevented from going out to her recess because she didn’t finish the task at hand. Her kindergarten assignment was to color, cut and paste. She was busy with something else. She did not finish the task. Thus, she stayed in. Her mother comes to pick her up at school and asks about her day.
“What were you doing while the rest of the class was coloring?” asks her mother.
“I was reading.”
When it was revealed that this little girl was Gifted, and well beyond coloring and pasting, her teacher gave her a puzzle in the corner, while the rest of the class did worksheets. The mother tried to work with her teachers, but her daughter was always over there, in the corner, separate, special… bored and lonely.
The pivotal moment for this mom, this daughter, was a Halloween night eight years ago. On that late night, that mother crossed her fingers, filled out the right paperwork, answered the door to Trick-or-Treaters and started her own charter school.
The application was accepted. Ruth Dutton had begun Sycamore Valley Academy.
Of course, all good stories have a twist. This story is no different.
Let’s start again.
Once upon a wish, my little sweet boy was born in 2008. He was a chubby little wonder, like all little babies. Unlike the other child, gifted in so many ways, my child was not. His gifts were hiding behind a neurological disorder. I knew regular kindergarten was not for him, nor was Special Education. My little boy and her little girl were both square pegs in a round world.
I looked around my town, my county and I put him on all kinds of waiting lists. One of which was Sycamore Valley Academy.
In kindergarten, he slept under the table. In first grade, no one from his class came to his birthday party. In second grade, I had the dreaded meeting with his teacher. I knew what she was going to say. As I walked into the meeting, the administration was already set up and waiting, too. I swallowed, and smiled, waiting for them to tell me all the ways my boy did not measure up. And here is the miracle.
Mr. Benton discussed his writing growth, not his writing grade. Mr. Benton told me about the friend he had, and told me stories of them both chasing and laughing together. Mr. Benton was encouraging that relationship, and using it to foster more social skills and emotional growth. The teacher tried to interject and tell me how he compared to the other kids, to his peers, to the normal ones, the regular ones. Mr. Benton told me a different story, of a little boy who was blossoming, in his own way, in his own time and growing, growing, growing. All I heard was, “I see your son’s gifts are hiding. We are going to find them and showcase them.”
When my boy started fourth grade, I started my first year as a Sycamore Valley teacher. I walked my children up from the parking lot and Mr. Benton called both them both by name, as he does with every other child in the school.
Mr. Benton has the skills to run a school, to run a business, to keep the kids safe and learning, to write a lunch schedule, to pass the fire inspection. What sets Mr. Benton apart is that he has another set of skills: He sees the child, not the test score; he sees the sadness hiding behind the angry outburst; he loves the little one still growing inside the big kids. Mr. Benton sees potential, not problems.
The story of two children intersects at Sycamore Valley. Each one found a place to be free, to be loved, to be valued, to be strong, to be educated. Neither square peg had to change themselves to fit in. Mr. Benton makes sure of that.
Ms. Ruth Dutton made the school but Mr. Benton made its heartbeat.

Charter School Capital CEO and Co-Founder Stuart Ellis and Richard Dewey have remained close throughout the years, a testament to the powerful impact Mr. Dewey had on Stuart’s life.

Take a look at little eight-year-old Stuart Ellis with Mr. Dewey!
Richard Dewey Awards
The two had a ball at game five of the recent 2018 World Series. Here’s a “little-bit-older” Stuart Ellis with his most inspiring educator, Mr. Richard Dewey.
Richard Dewey Awards
We are so thrilled to honor outstanding educators with our Annual Richard Dewey Awards and are already looking forward to reading next year’s submissions. Thank you to everyone who participated in this celebration of teachers making a difference.

Thank you again, to our esteemed panel of judges:
Richard Dewey – THE Dewey that the awards are named after! Richard Dewey was the 3rd-grade teacher to Charter School Capital President and CEO, Stuart Ellis, inspiring the whole program. 
Darlene Chambers – A national leader in education reform, Dr. Darlene Chambers is the Senior Vice President for Programs & Services at the National Charter Schools Institute, and a review alum from 2017.
John Cairns – Often referred to as a grandfather of Charter law, John Cairns was the nation’s first Charter School attorney. Today, he remains passionately involved in charter school policy and is a review alum from last year. 
Janet Johnson – Chief Marketing Officer at Charter School Capital and internal teacher/ inspiration officer herself (though she’s too humble to admit it), Janet is a review alum from last year. 

 

charter school fundingThe Charter School Funding Misconception: Who’s money is it?

This article was originally posted here on September 5, 2018 by The74 and written by James V. Shuls, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. It is an opinion article that challenges one key assumption about charter school funding: does the funding for public schools belong to the child or to the district? This question is at the heart of education reform arguments.
Proponents of school choice believe that every family deserves to choose the best educational option that suits their child’s specific and unique needs—whether that school is a traditional district public school or a public charter school. Opponents of the charter school movement believe that families that choose the public charter school are “taking” money away from traditional district schools. As this writer suggests, this may hold true if you believe the child, and the funding that follows them, are district property.
Do the traditional district schools have less money if the student opts for a public charter school? Yes. That is the natural result of freedom of choice as it is within any other industry, so why should it be different for education? If your local charter schools are outperforming your local district schools or offer your child something unique to their needs, shouldn’t you be able to make that choice?
If you think the funding belongs to the district and not the student, this writer makes an enlightening comparison to shopping at Walmart versus shopping at your local farmer’ s market, “It presupposes that the customer belongs to Walmart; that any time the individual chooses to buy cucumbers from a local grower or salsa from an aspiring entrepreneur, he or she is “robbing” the dominant grocer.”
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.
Read on for the complete article.

Shuls: Do Charter Schools Take Districts’ Money? Only If You Think Children, and the Funding That Comes With Them, Are District Property

How would you respond if you stumbled across a headline that asked, “How much do farmers markets cost Walmart?” It’s a ridiculous question. It presupposes that the customer belongs to Walmart; that any time the individual chooses to buy cucumbers from a local grower or salsa from an aspiring entrepreneur, he or she is “robbing” the dominant grocer. That’s just absurd. Yet this is the standard frame we use when talking about education. We blithely assume that education is wholly different from any other field.
Consider, for example, a recent headline on the Education Writers Association’s website: “How Much Do Charter Schools Cost Districts?” It’s the same question, and it is just as absurd as when talking about groceries. Worse, it is unethical, because it dehumanizes children, reducing them to economic units. In this formulation, neither they nor their parents are individuals with aspirations, endowed with free will and the ability to act in their own self-interest; they are a mere funding stream for public school districts.
This type of headline is all too common. Most people wouldn’t even bat an eye at it. But this isn’t just semantics. It gets at the heart of the way many people view public education.
It is only in education that we presume the customer is the rightful property of a specific supplier and therefore “costs” the supplier when he or she goes somewhere else. Indeed, this is the fundamental problem with the public education system in the United States: We presume the tax dollars that fund a child’s education belong to the public school district and the child belongs in a public school seat.
If, heaven forbid, parents want to use those education funds at a charter school or a private school, they must prove that “choice” works. We demand that school choice programs justify themselves by increasing student achievement on standardized tests, or increasing graduation rates, or fixing decades-old segregation issues. We would never ask the farmers market to prove its tomatoes are bigger and juicier than Walmart’s as a condition of operation.
It doesn’t stop there. A few years ago, one writer went as far as to say, “You are a bad person if you send your children to private school.” You can almost hear Snowball from Animal Farm repeating the mantra, “Four legs good, two legs bad.” It’s us versus them. We treat public education as if it — the system, the school district — were the ultimate good to be served. Just google “school vouchers” and look at the images. The internet is replete with political cartoons that characterize school choice programs as systematically dismantling traditional public schools, brick by brick.
Challenges to this concept are not new. In his 1958 book, Freedom of Choice in Education, Father Virgil Blum wrote that “our educational policy must be philosophically based on the dignity and transcendent value of the individual, on the integrity and freedom of the human person; it must be legally based on the Federal Constitution, recognizing the individual student clothed in all his constitutional rights.” We are no closer to that reality today than we were 60 years ago.
Our commitment to educating every child, regardless of wealth or ability, is a reflection of our highest and noblest ideals. What we do today in our public education system is a feat that was almost unthinkable even 100 years ago. Yet in the process of building that system, we somehow lost our purpose. Instead of the system serving the children, we now insist the children must serve the system.
If we are ever to change this, we must first change how we talk about public education. We can’t presume, as the author of the Education Writers Association piece did, that children and their funding inherently belong to the public school system. Do public school districts have less money when a student goes to a charter school or a private school? Absolutely — as they should. This is what happens in any industry when customers choose to spend their dollars at one place instead of another. More to the point, it is what happens when students leave a district school for any reason.
In the final analysis, we must realize that public education is not about the school system, but the students that it is supposed to serve. They have value. They have worth. They should have choices.
James V. Shuls, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

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!

LEARN MORE

 

charter school fundingHow Charter School Capital Helped Minnesota School Thrive

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 Eric Mahmoud Founder and former CEO of the Harvest Network and Best Academy in Minneapolis shares his experience working with Charter School Capital during some very difficult financial times for charter schools in Minnesota.
This video was originally published Jul 17, 2014. While we’re no longer funding Best Academy, we are proud of the way our support has helped them continue to serve their students. Because, when you no longer need Charter School Capital, that means we’ve done our job and your school has 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 Eric’s story and find the transcript below. You can learn more about Charter School Capital here.

We started as a daycare in our home with about 10 children and then after seeing our children graduate from our preschool program and go into the public schools where they weren’t being challenged, we decided that we would expand our preschool program to elementary school, which we did in 1992.
We’ve taken a population that traditionally (both in Minneapolis and around the country) has not done well, and we’ve actually raised their achievement all the way up to the top. And, while at the same time we were growing our BEST academy program, the state was going through their own financial crisis.
And so we went from a 10 percent [state] hold back – maybe about five, six years ago – to subsequently 17 percent, 27 percent, then 30 percent. And last year, a 40 percent hold back. And for many schools it actually crippled them. And, actually, I thought it was very appalling.
The opportunity to talk with Charter School Capital came about and within a very short period of time, we were able to get the resources that we needed.
There was a whole lot of flexibility working with Charter School Capital in a number of situations when we thought that we were going to get a certain amount of revenue from the state and we didn’t.
Charter School Capital was very flexible and it’s been very easy working with Charter School Capital to fulfill the needs that we have as a school. Certainly, they helped us think about our overall financial picture. And so it was more than just writing us a check.
We had a very good relationship during the years that we’d been using charter school capital. I think it was a good business decision. And as a result of that business decision, we’ve been able to move our children where they need to be academically.

Charter School Capital logoAre you looking into funding options for your charter school? Our team of dedicated 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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California charter school
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on August 13, 2018, here, by EdSource, and was written by John Fensterwald, who writes about education policy and its impact in California. They interviewed Gary Hart – the “father” of California charter school law – and he shares how he feels about things now, 25 years later. Is it as he envisioned? What would he change? What is working/not working?
Our mission is to see continued charter school expansion, the overall growth of the charter school movement, and more students better served by having educational choice. 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 see EdSource’s original post.

Gary Hart, author of California’s charter school law, reflects on its impact
He’d change the appeals process if writing it today.

What does the “father” of California’s quarter-century-old charter school law think of it now? EdSource recently caught up with former State Sen. Gary Hart, a Democrat who represented Santa Barbara in the Assembly and Senate for 20 years before retiring in 1994. In 1992, as chairman of the Senate Education Committee, he authored the nation’s second charter school law. Sue Burr, a consultant to the committee at the time and currently a member of the State Board of Education, played a major role in drafting it. EdSource writer John Fensterwald asked Hart in an interview and in writing what he was trying to do then and how, in hindsight, he might write a different law today. The answers have been edited for length and clarity.
The original law capped the number of charter schools statewide at 100, with no more than 10 in any one district and 20 in Los Angeles Unified. In 1998, the Legislature raised the limit to 250 charter schools plus an additional 100 more each year after that.
EDSOURCE: Is it as you envisioned, that we would have more than 1,200 charter schools in California?
HART: No. It’s always hard to predict how legislation is going to play out. Although it was very contentious, I didn’t view it as something that was going to be earth-shaking or have the magnitude that it has.
The original law called for up to 100 charter schools. That was changed a number of years later. When the law first passed, we had no idea as to whether there would be any charters. It was like you give a party and you don’t know if anyone will come or not. It was kind of slow in the beginning. The accelerated growth has been just extraordinary, and it’s not something that not only myself, but I don’t think anybody else could have predicted or even imagined.
EDSOURCE: So what do you attribute that growth to? Are the charter schools from what you can tell doing collectively or individually what you would have hoped?
HART: It’s really hard to generalize because charters vary so much. Generally speaking, I’m supportive. With any legislation of this magnitude, there are always going to be issues and concerns. I do think there has been such a focus on how many new charters, it’s focusing on quantity and I had hoped initially there would be a lot more focus on quality, a more careful review of charters.
EDSOURCE: One of the questions originally was whether charters should be seen as a way to innovate and set examples for other district schools to learn from or to give parents a choice in high-poverty neighborhoods where they are dissatisfied with their schools. Those are really two different focuses.
HART: I think it was both. First and foremost was innovation and reform, giving an opportunity for people to do things differently and not be constrained by all of the rules and regulations from the district, from collective bargaining.
I heard over and over again from school folks, “Stop passing all these laws. We’re spending all of our time being compliance officers and bureaucrats and we’re not able to do our jobs as educators.” I thought that there was some truth to that and so passing this law really gave an opportunity for educators to be educators and not be as concerned about rules and regulations.
After the law was passed, there wasn’t much that came forward either from teachers or administrators or school board members who had complained bitterly about state laws. Instead of going out and doing it, a lot of people resisted. That’s not to say they were wrong because going through the whole process can be quite time-consuming and there’s a lot of blood on the floor sometimes for establishing these things.
This other aspect was also important — the people who felt that the existing schools, particularly in low-income areas, were not serving their needs; their school districts were too large or dysfunctional. They needed to have something that would be their own.
One of the concerns was, “This charter law will be for sophisticated parents who have a lot of time on their hands.” It was somewhat of a surprise to see that places like LA Unified and Oakland and other large urban school districts were where the charters were taking off. I think there was a dissatisfaction on the part of parents, but also because the business community and the foundation community got behind these efforts and provided resources. I never anticipated that charter management organizations would have such an important role.
EDSOURCE: The financial impact on a district was not part of the law. Was it brought up at the time?
HART: I don’t think so. The law didn’t have large-scale financial ramifications. We were talking about 100 charters statewide.
The bill was a major effort to try to defeat the voucher proposal that was going to be on the ballot and we saw it as an alternative to vouchers that would not go down that path of providing the large taxpayer subsidies to private schools and violating the church-state separation right. (Editor’s note: Prop. 174, which would have given parents a tuition subsidy to a private or parochial school equal to half of per-student funding at public schools eventually did make the November 1993 general election ballot; voters defeated it 70 to 30 percent.)
There was strong teacher opposition to the charter legislation from both AFT (American Federation of Teachers) and CTA (California Teachers Association) even though ironically, I got the idea from Al Shanker (the late president of the American Federation of Teachers) who had written about it. I was a great fan and Shanker had come out and testified on a number of occasions to legislation that we were considering.

“Charter fights in places like L.A. Unified have become almost religious wars, where large amounts of money are spent, and having an appeals process that is less political makes sense to me.”

The focal point of the unions was largely to ensure that collective bargaining laws would not be tampered with in the charter law. That issue was very contentious and I refused to budge. My position was that there needed to be a choice for teachers whether to form a union at a charter school.

Legislative ‘jiu-jitsu’

EDSOURCE: How did you ever get it passed?
HART: It wasn’t easy. The unions were strongly opposed and many other education groups — ACSA (Association of California School Administrators) and CSBA (California School Boards Association) — were neutral perhaps because they didn’t want to antagonize CTA. It was pretty lonely out there. We engaged in some legislative jiu-jitsu and pulled the bill out of conference committee and passed it quickly off the Senate floor with no debate and sent it to Gov. Wilson, who signed it into law. If we had followed traditional procedures and the unions had had time to work the bill, it likely would not have passed.
EDSOURCE: Did it become apparent that there would be resistance and that some folks in many districts at the time didn’t like competition? You knew that, right, because you set up an appeals process?
HART: We did, and it wasn’t that we had a cynical view towards school districts, but there was a potential conflict of interest that made, I thought, an appeals process a good idea. School boards and school administrators might oppose any charter because it might mean less district control, less revenue and more competition. So having an appeals process made sense and I thought county boards, who were also elected and had a sense of local issues, were the right bodies to hear appeals. Six years later the charter law was amended to provide another appeal to the State Board of Education. I understand now the state board spends up to half its time hearing charter appeals, which I’m not sure is a good use of state board time given all the other policy matters on their plate.
EDSOURCE: Would you eliminate that ultimate appeals process because it’s not a good use of (state board) time, or do you think someone else ought to be the ultimate authority or should you just keep it at the county level and whatever happens there happens?
HART: I still believe a charter appeals process is a good idea but charters are now becoming a campaign issue with some county boards of education so I’m not sure they are the right venue for appeals. Charter fights in places like L.A. Unified have become almost religious wars, where large amounts of money are spent, and having an appeals process that is less political makes sense to me. Perhaps the State Board of Education could appoint an expert panel to review and have the final say on charter appeals. I favor making the process less political and handled by more neutral people.

Financial impact on districts

EDSOURCE: Some districts are very frank about the financial impact of charter schools. “Look, we can’t afford it. We’re making cuts and you’re asking us to start new charter schools adding to the financial problems we have.” If you were to redo the law, would you hold a district harmless for the financial impact or compensate it for the impact of a charter?
HART: Some districts face loss of revenue due to charter growth, and many districts face unsustainable long-term employee health care costs and all districts face escalating pension contributions. A review of state financing seems in order. We have had funding adjustments to mitigate for declining enrollment. Perhaps something like that ought to be considered for districts with many charter schools. But a strict “hold harmless” for districts losing students to charters doesn’t make sense, as it would reward districts for not being competitive and it might also provide an incentive for districts to push out “undesirable” students. Trying to accommodate various factors that are affecting the financing of a district gets very complicated. There are unintended consequences you have to be careful about.
Districts have many financial challenges and it seems to me that charters are not the primary or even significant part of the financial problems districts face in the long term — those problems are going to remain with or without charter schools.
EDSOURCE: Looking back, seeing what people are saying now are some of the challenges to the law, what changes might you make?
HART: We now have more than 1,000 charter schools in California and we know little about their successes and failures. Some work has been done comparing charter to traditional public schools on student achievement but, given the great variety of charter schools, I’m not sure about the value of that body of research.
I would be interested in research on topics like school size — charters tend to be smaller. School mission — charters tend to have a specific rather than a comprehensive mission. Accountability — it’s easier to dismiss staff in charter schools. And school governance — charter board members are not elected by the general public and do not have to raise money to run for office. There’s a lot to explore with 25-plus years of experience and data.
I think we’re hungry for highlighting and replicating what is working well, whether it’s in a charter school or in a traditional school. We don’t do a good job of that.

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