The Arizona Charter School Business Summit has come to a close for 2017, but it’s easy to see how the impact of the event will ripple throughout the year.
The event hosted a number of incredible workshops diving into challenges and solutions specific to Arizona charter schools, but the main conference day was kicked off with a passionate opening keynote by Colin Seale. Learning about his background and how he overcame childhood obstacles to become a math teacher, get his law degree, and work with youth in the juvenile was absolutely remarkable. However his message on critical thinking was even more impactful. Because charter schools are all so unique, he challenged all charter leaders to think differently when it comes to education. As technology changes, so will the type of careers our kids will have to choose from, and as such, critical thinking skills will be even more important moving forward for your youth’s success.
One of my personal highlights was having the opportunity to represent Charter School Capital in a presentation on “Best Practices for Charter School Expansion” with Megan Olson, the co-founder of Odyssey Preparatory Academy Family of Schools. The presentation went through the different stages of growth and Megan was able to dive deeper into common misconceptions, challenges, and best practices using her broad set of experiences as the framework. You can access the slides from that presentation here.
I had the pleasure of meeting with a variety of charter leaders to discuss facility needs, working capital issues, and even the Title 1 issues that continue to linger for our schools. It was also great to see familiar vendors and even many new ones that are in support of the charter movement here in Arizona.
All in all, this year’s Arizona Charter School Business Summit was great. I’m looking forward to working with you all throughout the year and can’t wait for next year’s incredible conference.
Category: Arizona Charter Schools
Charter schools make up eight of the top 10 high schools in Arizona according to a report recently released by the Arizona Department of Education and College Board, ranked by average SAT scores. Charter schools account for 15 of the top 20 public high schools in Arizona overall.
Recently, the Phoenix Business Journal reported on the rankings which highlighted charter schools in the story.
In total, 21 of the top 50 public high schools by SAT score in Arizona are charter schools. Approximately 30% of Arizona public school students attend charter schools in the state.
For a complete run down of the top 50 public high schools in Arizona by SAT score, visit the Phoenix Business Journal’s slideshow.
About Charter School Capital
Charter School Capital provides working and growth capital and charter school facilities financing nationwide. We have helped 500+ charter school educate 550,000 students across the country putting more than $1 billion to work for charter school education, including charter schools in Arizona. Ask us how we can help your school.
Across the country, today’s charter schools need better access to charter school funding for working capital and facilities financing at all stages of growth. Having reliable sources of charter school funding when needed allows schools to hire teachers, purchase textbooks, upgrade classroom technology, and expand the school’s facilities footprint so charter leaders can focus on what’s most important – educating students.
Working exclusively with charter schools, Charter School Capital understands the daily pressures charter leaders face. Our team works with school leaders to develop the best strategies matched to the school’s unique financial needs. By providing funding for charter schools, we’re empowering you. We give you access to the working capital and facilities financing options you need to stay focused on education, so every student has the opportunity to become someone incredible
Let us help you in planning for your school’s future.
Our team is excited to learn more about your charter school needs. Set up a one-on-one with our client services team to find out how we can help your school. Call 877-272-1001 or email GrowCharters@charterschoolcapital.com.
Want more information on growth capital and facilities financing? We offer information on growth strategies, facilities financing options, student enrollment marketing, and more.
In June of this year, we announced a $500 million facilities fund, and the formation of American Education Properties (AEP), a collaboration between Charter School Capital, the nation’s leading provider of working and growth capital to charter schools, and American Infrastructure MLP Funds (AIM), a leading private investment firm specializing in real property, infrastructure and natural resources businesses.
We’re excited to announce that just months later, the first $75 million in charter school facilities funding has been distributed to 11 schools across six states as part of the $500 million in innovative charter school financing to meet schools’ demand for facilities.
The distribution of the first $75 million marks one of the largest charter school facilities financing deals to date. This investment supports facilities at nine schools in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, and Washington, D.C., which educate roughly 4,550 Imagine Schools students, as well as students at two charter schools run by independent operators in Arizona and California.
With growing enrollment and nearly one million students on charter school waiting lists nationwide, charter school leaders need to find facilities that meet their needs, both now and in the future. AEP launched in June of this year, addresses this increasing challenge.
AEP enables school leaders to determine their long-term facility needs and retain control of their buildings, so they can focus on their mission of educating our children. With facilities financing in place, charter schools can expand their enrollment and academic offerings with confidence, knowing they can access and maintain the facilities to sustain their ongoing programs and growth.
“We are supporting one of the top needs charter schools face – facilities,” explained Stuart Ellis, President & CEO of Charter School Capital. “Charter School Capital has committed more growth capital to support the movement and now we are able to ensure that charters have the best facilities to meet their educational goals. With $500 million to invest over three years, we are dedicated to providing charter schools access to the capital they need to thrive.”
“We are pleased to have an organization that focuses on charter schools supporting our efforts and mission,” said James McFadden, Vice President and Treasurer of Imagine Schools. “Having a landlord who partners with us and others in the charter school movement to support the growth of schools makes our collaboration more meaningful.”
Imagine Schools is one of the nation’s largest and most highly regarded charter school networks. Their unique, full-service model currently administers a single, multi-state “school district” with 67 schools across 11 states and the District of Columbia. With total enrollment at approximately 36,000 students, the network is larger than each public school district in Tacoma, Boise and Cincinnati. The model has been successful. Imagine was one of only three school districts in the nation to be named a “2013 National District of Character” by the Character Education Partnership for promoting positive character development in a school environment.
Charter schools often have difficulty accessing funding and affordable credit. Recently, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) downgraded the value of charter school transactions, and Fitch Ratings downgraded the value of charter bonds. With its committed pool of capital, AEP enables schools to get the funding they need when they need it, without strings or fluctuating interest rates. Charter School Capital facilitates all origination and sourcing, underwriting, asset administration and property management for the fund.
“At a time when many are turning away from the needs of charter schools, we look forward to putting more dollars to work for charters of all sizes that will enable school leaders to focus on what they do best – educating students – while alleviating concerns about their schools’ facilities,” said Ellis.
To find out how we can help you with your charter school’s facility needs, give us a call at 877-272-1001 or email us at GrowCharters@charterschoolcapital.com.
Desert Star Academy, a college preparatory charter school in Arizona, opened its doors this past Monday. The Arizona State Board for Charter Schools approved the academy’s charter school application for the 2014-2015 school year in February.
“It has been a day two years in the making,” said School Director and Principal Margie Montgomery. “We’re so excited to provide the community with a quality school incorporating a college preparatory curriculum.”
After working with the Charter School Capital team to receive vital start-up charter school funding, Desert Star Academy welcomed 82 student scholars on its first day. The charter school, geared towards kindergarten through sixth-grade students, recites their school’s Scholar’s Pledge each morning and has a combination of computers and tablets in every classroom.
“We’re thrilled to provide charter school funding to help Desert Star Academy finally open its doors to students,” said Frank Yanez, the Arizona Client Services Representative for Charter School Capital. “Not only is the Desert Star Academy staff an exceptional group of educators, but they’re very motivated to get every one of their students into college. Fort Mohave is lucky to have this resource for their kids.”
Welcome to Charter School Capital’s weekly round-up where our team will feature news about charter school operations, policy, funding for charter school, facilities financing, and other trends.
As charter school leaders and their teams prepare for students to return to school this Fall, at lot is going on in the charter school world. We hope you’ll find this round-up valuable. Read on!
New Report Shows Encouraging Improvement in Arizona Charter Schools
The Arizona Department of Education’s recent release of the 2014 AIMS test scores show that more than 70% of Arizona charter schools have improved in math and reading. The Phoenix Business Journal interviewed Ildi Laczko-Kerr, vice president of academics for Arizona Charter School Association, who noted:
“The fact that we saw such a large number of our schools improve from one year to the next is reflective of the changing systems in their schools and designing them to meet the needs of their students.”
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Strong Reactions to University of Arkansas’ Report on Charter School Productivity
Last week in our charter schools news roundup, we featured a new report released by the University of Arkansas that looked specifically at cost effectiveness and ROI when comparing the productivity of public charter schools to traditional school districts.
The report has stirred-up some debate among public charter school and traditional school district experts. NPR’s All Things Considered interview education policy experts Ted Kolderie and Joe Nathan who argue that the comparison made by the University of Arkansas doesn’t actually add up.
But Eric Hanushek, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, voices his support for the report after reviewing the report’s methodology and key findings. “This study is path breaking and is likely to spearhead a new and important policy debate. Until the 2008 recession, schools largely acted as if they were immune from considering finances and returns on expenditures, but we now know that this is no longer possible. This timely study invites a more rational discussion of policy choices, not just with respect to charter schools, but also in a wider context.”
Patrick Wolf, the University of Arkansas head researcher, gets into more detail about the study he lead with his team in a Wall Street Journal interview and an Education Next response piece.
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Washington Post: D.C. Charter Schools Sue City, Alleging Unequal Funding
The D.C. Association of Chartered Public Schools filed a federal lawsuit last Wednesday under the grounds that the city has provided unequal funding to charter schools. According to the Association, since 2008 charter school students have received roughly $2,150 less each year from District of Columbia than the district students.
Providing a quality education to at-risk students often requires multiple resources. One-on-one teacher instruction, access to current technology and customized lesson plans for students with special needs are just a few of the tools necessary to help children from underserved communities reach their potential. This formula has lead to success for Skyline Education, a charter management organization in Arizona.
The multi-disciplined approach to education that Skyline’s six campuses provides “comes at a fairly high up-front expense,” says KJ Weihing, vice president of finance at Skyline Education. “We wanted to make purchases but didn’t have the up-front funding. That’s why we called Charter School Capital; they helped us get that short-term funding.”
Skyline opened its first campus in 2000, but it wasn’t until 2009 that organization began to experience rapid growth, adding five new campuses from 2009 to 2012. Skyline now serves more than 1,000 students in socially and economically diverse communities, including the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona.
Such dramatic growth created a real need to access working capital funding, explains Weihing. Skyline Education knew that it would be receiving its funding, but given the uncertain payment schedule from the State of Arizona, they didn’t know when. Skyline administrators knew they needed some form of help to even out their budget throughout the year but were very wary of outside funders until they met Charter School Capital.
“I was impressed with them and their fee structure,” says Weihing. “A lot of times there are organizations that will lend for high interest because they know you can’t get funds anywhere else. Charter School Capital’s fee structure was not outrageous [like that].”
The relationship Skyline has developed with the Charter School Capital team is rooted in much more than just financial terms. Weihing would recommend to any charter school needing funds to start-up or for growth, that they just “start the process,” stating that the two organizations have formed a real partnership dedicated to the success of all Skyline Education’s schools.
“Last year, we wanted to make new computer purchases for one of our schools, but we didn’t have the current funding on hand to make that happen. So we worked with Charter School Capital to provide us with the funding in order to get those computers into the classroom sooner than we would have been able to if we were waiting on funding,” concludes Weihing. The whole process has been “extremely seamless, quick and easy; I’m glad we did it.”
San Tan Learning Center began its third year partnering with Charter School Capital to manage the school’s incredible growth since the school was formed in 2006. In that time, the school has grown from 250 students housed in a single 20,000 square foot campus to more than 650 students on two campuses totaling more than 60,000 square feet. That type of “whirlwind growth,” as Dr. Kris Sippel, Principal of San Tan Learning Center, refers to it, means that the school has increased their need for ongoing access to growth capital for more desks, computers and space to house the students.
A few years ago, a lapse in funding by the State of Arizona combined with the school’s rapid growth meant the staff at San Tan Learning Center, based in Gilbert, Arizona, found themselves wondering where the money was going to come from to meet their changing needs. “I remember sitting in my office thinking ‘how am I going to get that $200,000 that I need’?” recalls Dr. Sippel.
“I was going through the mail and came across a postcard from Charter School Capital so I put in a call and a staff member called me back right away to talk about our needs. Their team got me comfortable with the process, pulled the documents together and presented to our Board of Directors.”
Dr. Sippel recognizes that at first, his board was hesitant. “They were worried about fees and paying back a loan with interest,” says Dr. Sippel. However, once the board understood that the funds provided by Charter School Capital were not a loan, the solution was embraced. “This doesn’t have all the rigmarole of a loan.” Dr. Sippel explains, “when I need funds, I get an email from Charter School Capital, process the paperwork, and provide the documents to get the funding – it’s so streamlined, it’s beautiful.”
Growth and success for San Tan Learning Center means that they are able to provide quality middle and K-6 education to local students in their community. Dr. Sippel knows that what the school has to offer is unique,“we are a very family-oriented community; it just feels different at San Tan.” And he recognizes that Charter School Capital offered the school an equally unique experience, “Charter School Capital has done such a good job making us feel a part of something –that’s rewarding. You don’t get that feeling at a bank –the relationship piece just isn’t there.”
Dr. Sippel concludes with some advice for other charter schools experiencing rapid growth and facing financial concerns, “Ask yourself, ‘who’s going to sign a bank’s personal guarantee?’ Because it is a big deal; at least it was for me.” But Charter School Capital changes all of that. When describing the process, Dr. Sippel refers to something he calls the “3 F’s”: “Finding. Funding. Fast. That’s what they did the first time and that’s what they continue to do.”“It is a big relief to know that, with Charter School Capital, our organization can stand alone.”
Charter School Capital recently attended the groundbreaking ceremony events for Cambridge Prep Academy’s new facility in Arizona. See the article that appeared in the local paper. Read article.
“It’s an exciting time for this school,” explained Jon Dahlberg, VP of Business Development at Charter School Capital. “They currently have 250 students heading toward 1,200 next school year. This new school facility will be a major piece of community development. In the future, the school’s facility will double as a community center and offer other resources for community partnership.”
Our team congratulates Cambridge Prep Academy on their growth and for their support of education in their community. Let us know how Charter School Capital facilities financing options can help your school!
Share What School Choice Means To You
In honor of National School Choice Week (Jan. 26 – Feb. 1, 2014), Charter School Capital wants you to share what school choice means to you and your community.
Open now, the “What Does School Choice Mean to You” contest is accessible on Charter School Capital’s Facebook page. Students, parents, educators, and supporters from the community all are encouraged to share their stories about how charters and choice have impacted their families and lives. As a bonus, everyone who shares a story is automatically entered to win a free Kindle Fire HD.
School Choice has become a powerful movement during the past decade. Charter schools today are positively impacting communities across the nation – increasing educational opportunities and driving up academic performance. A 2012 study by the Florida Department of Education shows that charter school students are outperforming their traditional public school counterparts on almost all benchmarks. In California, underserved or disadvantaged students who would have been left behind in their education have now received their degrees thanks to charters focused on the goal of getting everyone to the finish line.
Freedom to choose the best educational environment for yourself or your children has never been so important. In this rapidly changing digital world, flexibility and innovation have become cornerstones to success. Charter School Capital understands that, and that is why we are proud to be the nation’s leading working capital and facilities funding source for charter schools in the U.S.
Charter School Capital funds more than 400 charter schools serving 400,000 students from California to North Carolina, Ohio to Arizona. That is why we want to hear from you. Coast-to-coast, school choice is making a positive difference in education and we want to hear those stories. Share yours with us today, and then share it with your friends.
You can share your story and enter to win the Kindle Fire HD here. (Full link below) Also, be sure to keep your eyes on the Charter School Capital blog. We’ll be taking excerpts from your stories to share with our readers. We might just share yours!
https://www.facebook.com/CharterSchoolCapital/app_1448834632002022