Grow Schools, formerly Charter School Capital, Author at Grow Schools

JOIN OUR WEBINAR TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28!
What does it take to start-up, expand and replicate a charter school? Hear from Ron Packard, President and CEO of Pansophic Learning and Stuart Ellis, President and CEO of Charter School Capital, about growth strategies for your school.
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WEBINAR – Tuesday, February 28, 9 a.m. Pacific / 12 p.m. Eastern
Charter school leaders face many challenges during each phase of growth from start-up to expansion, through maturity. Our discussion will walk through these challenges and highlight best practices to implement at your school.
SPEAKERS
Ron Packard, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Pansophic Learning
Ron Packard is the CEO and Founder of Pansophic Learning, a global technology based education company. Packard is a well known educator, entrepreneur and visionary as well as the author of the highly regarded and reviewed book Education Transformation. Packard was previously the long time CEO and Founder of K12 Inc. He oversaw the growth of K12 from just an idea to almost one billion in revenue, making it one of the largest education companies in the world. During his tenure, revenue compounded at near 80%. Before K12, Packard was the Vice President of Knowledge Universe and CEO of Knowledge Schools, one of the nation’s largest early childhood education companies. He was also instrumental in the successful investments in Learn Now, Children’s School USA, Leapfrog, TEC, and Children’s Discovery Center. He holds a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, both with honors.

Stuart Ellis, Founder, President and CEO, Charter School Capital
Stuart is the President and CEO of Charter School Capital, the nation’s leading provider of growth capital and facilities financing to charter schools nationwide. The company has provided in excess of $1.5 billion in support of 550+ charter schools educating more than 650,000 students across the country. Ellis has work with teams across many companies including Bain & Company and Opera Solutions, and he has led multiple high growth companies during his career. Ellis is a graduate from the University of California Berkeley, with honors.

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Learn more about other charter school topics and check out our past webinars including facilities financing for charter schools as well as marketing stratgies to boost student enrollment.

We are excited to announce that American Education Properties (AEP), the facilities arm of Charter School Capital, has acquired the building occupied by Detroit Public Safety Academy. The acquisition secures the charter school a facility location to operate for the long-term.
Opened in 2013, Detroit Public Safety Academy provides students in grades 7-12 with a curriculum tailored to careers in the public safety sectors, including law enforcement, fire and emergency services, corrections and security. Law and government career programs are also incorporated into the curriculum. For the 2015/16 school year, Detroit Public Safety Academy celebrated a 100 percent graduation rate, with all students going on to continue their education in college or safety academies, or straight into career employment.
“We are delighted to support the future of Detroit Public Safety Academy by acquiring the building in which it operates,” said Stuart Ellis, president and CEO of Charter School Capital. “This remarkable charter school thrives on partnerships with local businesses to provide alums with jobs and training, ultimately making Detroit a viable community for future generations. We look forward to supporting this institution for many years to come.”
Detroit Public Safety Academy is operated by The Leona Group, a charter management organization (CMO) driven by a philosophy that every child can and will learn, regardless of ethnicity, economic or educational disadvantage.
“Detroit Public Safety Academy brought its program to Detroit at just the right time, and Charter School Capital purchased the school’s facility at a crucial time in the academy’s growth,” said Richard Kerwin, executive vice president of acquisitions and dispositions for Lormax Stern. “It has been a pleasure working alongside Charter School Capital to assure a long-term home for Detroit Public Safety Academy, and ultimately a better tomorrow for the community.”
Today, more than 1 million students find themselves on waiting lists for their local charter schools. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools continues to highlight the lack of facilities options available to charter schools as a major issue charter leaders face. To meet this demand, charter schools require facilities that address the unique growth needs of each school and community and require access to capital to expand. Charter School Capital focuses solely on charter school needs, providing customizable facilities financing options to charter schools. Charter leaders retain control of their buildings and are afforded the flexibility to make the modifications necessary to expand their enrollment and academic programs.
Looking for more information about facilities expansion? Get in touch with our team at GrowCharters@charterschoolcapital.com.

Charter School Capital is excited to announce that its facilities arm, American Education Properties (AEP), has acquired five Florida charter school facilities, securing long-term occupancy and opportunity for the schools’ expansion via charter school facilities financing.
“It is immensely gratifying to positively impact the future of 4,065 students in a single transaction,” said Stuart Ellis, president and CEO of Charter School Capital. “After months of due diligence, we were delighted to arrive at terms that provide five charter schools in Florida with the peace of mind that comes in knowing their facilities are securely theirs to operate with a partner willing to fund growth and expansion for years to come.”
Gabriel Amiel and Arnaud Sitbon, principals of ESJ Capital Partners, stated, “A transaction of this magnitude represents ESJ’s largest charter school sale to date, and confirms our early belief in Florida’s charter school growth. We are pleased to work with the Charter School Capital team to collectively commit to the long term path of charter school education.”
The charter schools, operated by four different charter management organizations (CMOs) encompass a total of 295,992 square feet over 38 acres in Broward, Indian River and Hillsborough Counties. Charter schools operating in the facilities include Renaissance Charter School at Plantation, Imagine Charter and Middle School at Broward, Imagine School at South Vero, Championship Academy of Distinction–Davie Campus, and Kid’s Community College Riverview South.
Today, more than 1 million students find themselves on waiting lists for their local charter schools. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools continues to highlight the lack of facilities options available to charter schools as a major issue charter leaders face. To meet this demand, charter schools require facilities that address the unique growth needs of each school and community and require access to capital to expand. Charter School Capital focuses solely on charter school needs, providing customizable facilities financing options to charter schools. Charter leaders retain control of their buildings and are afforded the flexibility to make the modifications necessary to expand their enrollment and academic programs.
Looking for more information about facilities expansion? Get in touch with our team at GrowCharters@charterschoolcapital.com.

It’s a new year and time for garnering new facilities knowledge for charter school leaders. Join us for our upcoming facilities webinar chock full of information useful to help charter schools make decisions about their facilities needs.
Register today!
Access to adequate facilities remains one of the biggest challenges charter leaders face today. We will touch on options charter leaders have and walk through the information needed to make informed facilities decisions.
WHEN: Thursday, February 16 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific / 12:00 p.m. Eastern.
SPEAKERS:
Larry Rieder, President, Charter School Property Solutions. He has over 30 years of experience in commercial real estate and has negotiated over $900 million of aggregate lease and equity transactions on behalf of major corporations. He founded CSPS to develop new, long-term academic facilities for charter school institutions. CSPS helps schools by managing the overwhelming tasks of locating, purchasing, financing, constructing and renovating academic facilities throughout the United States. The company has completed projects in Florida, New Mexico, Ohio, Nevada, Texas, and South Carolina.

Stuart Ellis, President & CEO, Charter School Capital. Stuart is one of the founders of Charter School Capital, the nation’s leading provider of growth capital and facilities financing to charter schools nationwide. The company has provided more than $1.2 billion in support of more than 550 charter schools educating 600,000 students.

Charter School Capital is proud to support National School Choice Week this week (and every week) by providing working and growth capital, charter school facilities financing and other resources to help charter leaders be successful. But don’t take our word for it! Hear from the charter leaders about how we’ve provided funding to help educate students.

To join the conversation with Charter School Capital, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Have a great #schoolchoice week!

National School Choice Week (NSCW) is here! Held every January, NSCW shines a spotlight on effective education options for every child across the United States.
Last year, the week boasted the largest series of education-related events in US history, including more than 16,000 events and 227 governors, mayors and county leaders with the goal of raising public awareness of all types of education options for children – including, of course, charter schools. NSCW is also hosting live broadcasts throughout the week, where you can keep up with activities across the country.
Join the conversation with Charter School Capital, as we share stories and quotes about school choice on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Follow all the school choice week festivities, events and conversation using the #schoolchoice and #SCW hashtags.
We would also love to hear what you’re doing to celebrate the week. Leave us a comment below. Have a great #schoolchoice week!

Join us on Facebook Live for Growth Strategy and Facilities Financing knowledge with:

Dr. Darlene Chambers, Senior Vice President for Programs and Services at the National Charter Schools Institute
Mike Morley, President and CEO American Charter Development
Clint Satow, Vice President of Operations Performance Academies
Stuart Ellis, President and CEO Charter School Capital

Still time to register!

Finding and securing state-of-the-art facilities and financing is one of the biggest challenges facing charter school leaders this year. Learn about the various options and how to evaluate what is best for your school.
Join our President and CEO, Stuart Ellis, and the Senior Vice President of Dougherty & Company, Dick Ward, on Wednesday, November 30th from 9-10 a.m. PDT / 12-1 p.m. EDT for an exclusive webinar:
How Should Charter Leaders Approach Facilities Financing Options?
Attendees will learn:

Funding structures and options available
Pros and cons to various financing options
Balancing needs versus wants for your facility
Facing budget realities
Facilities planning best practices

Featured Speakers:
Dick Ward, Senior Vice President, Dougherty & Company
Dick Ward has 27 years experience in bond issuance and finance as an investment banker and financial advisor to schools, governments, non-profits, and developers. His experience includes tax supported and revenue based financings for education, housing, municipal utilities, and specialized project financing. In the last 15+ years, he has helped pioneer access to the bond market for the national public charter school sector. His underwriting of the Community of Peace Academy is considered one of the first tax-exempt bonds in the country. He is regarded as a national leader in this arena and has presented on the topic to the National Federation of Municipal Analysts, Bond Buyer Seminars as well as several state and local trade associations.
Stuart Ellis, President and CEO, Charter School Capital
Stuart is the Co-founder and CEO of Charter School Capital, the nation’s leading provider of growth capital and facilities financing to charter schools nationwide. The company has provided in excess of $1.2 billion in support of 500+ charter schools educating more than 550,000 students across the country. Stuart has presented around the country on growth strategies for charter schools and facilities options to aid charters in their growth.

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The Charter School Capital team sends congratulations to Olive Grove Charter School’s expansion in San Luis Obispo, California. Open since the beginning of the 2016/17 school year, this learning center joins Olive Grove’s five other Southern California locations.
Olive Grove Charter Schools have roughly 300 students enrolled including a mixture of home-schooled and independent study students. The mission of Olive Grove Charter School is to plan, monitor, and assist in the education of students K-12 in a home or blended school learning environment enabling them to speak, read, write, use technology, and calculate effectively to become self-motivated, competent, and life-long learners. The Olive Grove Charter Schools will provide students with the necessary resources to achieve success and meet state standards in core academic subjects appropriate to their level. Additionally, students will become career/college ready upon completion of the program. This will be achieved in a collaborative effort with parents as primary deliverers of the educational program, certificated teachers and the community.
Charter School Capital is excited to work with Olive Grove to meet their expansion goals by utilizing our working capital that aids in charter school financing.
“I have been working with Laura Mudge and her team at Olive Grove for almost a year to make this happen,” explained Donna Kopman, Client Relationship Manager at Charter School Capital. “We are so happy to see all their hard work come to fruition and see the positive outcomes from our charter school financing tools.”
You can read more about Olive Grove Charter Schools’ expansion in a recent article from The Tribune and images below of Olive Grove students.

What’s the latest in digital marketing today for charter schools? How are you using digital marketing to benefit your student engagement and enrollment?
Join us for an informative webinar featuring a high level overview of the digital marketing landscape and what key platforms and programs charter leaders should be paying attention to. We will also talk about what types of programs will help in brand awareness, community engagement and student enrollment.
Register today!