JOIN US AT THE 2018 NATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOLS CONFERENCE

We are excited for you to join us in Austin, Texas, for the National Charter Schools Conference (NCSC18), June 17-20! Did you know they’re expecting nearly 4,500 attendees? There will also be over 260 exhibitors on site who provide the resources and support that help charter schools succeed.
You’ll find all of the vendors in the Exhibit Hall. Please be sure to stop by and visit with us at the Charter School Capital booth (#1307).

Share the charter school love to receive a special prize! It’s as easy as 1-2-3:

Grab the We Love Charter Schools fan (find it in your registration bag)
Take a photo with it using the hashtag #welovecharterschools
Then share on Twitter for a chance to win a special prize!

Also in the Exhibit Hall, you’ll find a Charter Talks stage, including TED Talk-style presentations from school leaders and advocacy thought-leaders, live music, and book chats and signings. They will also be hosting a coffee bar and providing boxed lunches to keep us all fully charged throughout these busy days.
Ready to network? Come to the Happy Hour on Sunday night, 6-8 p.m.! We’ll be there and are looking forward to meeting other fellow charter movement enthusiasts!

We’re honored to be presenting two brand new sessions at this year’s National Charter Schools Conference:

Top Five Financial Mistakes Charter Schools Make … And How to Avoid Them

Monday, June 18 | 2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. | Room 12 A/B

Whether your school is growing student enrollment, expanding facilities, or implementing new educational programs, we can all agree that a school’s financial wellness is one of the most important aspects of running a successful charter organization. Without sound financial wellness, schools close, regardless of how successful they were at educating students. Get armed with the right knowledge, techniques, and materials to ensure financial success and learn how to avoid the pitfalls that may cause trouble.

Charter School Budgeting Best Practices: Don’t Just Survive—Thrive!

Tuesday, June 19 | 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. | Room 12 A/B

Since the opening of Charter School Capital 10 years ago, we’ve reviewed thousands of charter school budgets. Year after year, we see common mistakes many charter schools make when budgeting for their academic year. Hear from charter school finance experts as they give you a breakdown of budgeting best practices to help you have a financially successful academic year. Don’t just survive — thrive!

To learn more about the sessions, set up a 1:1 time to meet with us, or add them to your calendar, click here. And don’t worry, if you can’t be there in person, we’ll be live streaming the sessions on our Facebook page. Be sure to follow us so you don’t miss a thing!

Get the most out of your time at a conference with these handy tips

Before the conference:

Build relationships! If you know of people you want to reconnect with or get to know better who will be attending—clients, vendors, friends-of-friends—reach out a few weeks before the conference to set up a time to meet for coffee or a meal while you’re at the event.
Plan your sessions – Try to attend a range of topics, skill-building sessions, and social events, but make sure to allow for downtime. It’s all about making the most of your time there.
Know which conference social activities you plan on attending ahead of time so you can set up some great networking opportunities!

At the conference:

Connect with the speakers of all the sessions you attend.
Use Google docs to collaborate and share session notes with your team. If time is short, list the “immediate actions” you gathered from your sessions–even just the three key takeaways and any notes on follow-ups you’d like to do on the topic or with the speakers.
Keep a list of vendors you spoke to on the exhibit floor for solutions to future needs. And, so they don’t get lost at the bottom of your swag bag, bring an empty business card case to keep those cards handy for later!

After the conference:

Within a week of returning from the event, send a personal follow-up to everyone you met to let them know you enjoyed meeting them
If you met anyone you specifically want to do business or build a relationship with, set up a phone call or face-to-face meeting.
Not everyone is able to attend conferences in person. Be generous with your new information, inspiration, and contacts you made at the conference by sharing them with your fellow co-workers, colleagues, and friends!

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

California Charter Schools Conference 2018
March 26th – 28th | San Diego, CA

After another great year for California charter schools, we are eager to celebrate your success at this year’s annual California Charter Schools Conference. Be sure to stop by booth #1400 to say hello and claim your special gift.
Extra Credit: Use the hashtag #WeLoveCharterSchools hashtag onsite, and you’ll be entered to win an extra special prize.
In addition to our exhibitor presence, we will be leading three breakout sessions and a special networking event for charter leaders. We’re so excited to meet with you onsite, have you attend our informative sessions, and learn how we can support your school and students!
If you’re unable to attend the conference in person, don’t worry, you can watch our sessions live on Facebook! Find more information on our sessions below and other conference details here:

LEARN MORE

“Laissez les bons temps rouler” means “let the good times roll” in Cajun French, and it is quite appropriate this month in particular.
Why you may ask?
First, it is the 10-year anniversary of the Louisiana Charter School Conference! I am looking forward to attending several sessions this year on charter school financial practices, becoming a better partner with your school district, and a session on the roles Louisiana charter schools are playing in the national debate over school choice. It looks as if there are going to be a couple of great keynote speeches, too!
Second, Charter School Capital is one of just over two dozen exhibitors this year, meaning that you will likely have time to stop by our booth to say hello and grab a goodie item or two.
Third, it also happens to be Charter School Capital’s 10^th anniversary financing and funding charter schools across the nation; and if you would like to discuss how we might be able to assist your charter school in Louisiana, we will have a team ready to talk to you. In fact, you can book some time on my calendar while we’re there, by emailing me at kburgess@charterschoolcapital.com.
With all of the great sessions and networking events going on, the real challenge of this year’s conference will be fitting in a few minutes to grab a beignet!

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.

The 2017 Florida Charter School Conference is a wrap, and having had some time to reflect on this year’s flurry of activities, I can safely say this one was perhaps the best yet!
A clear topic trend at the conference seemed to be centered on facilities needs for charter schools. By my count, there were at least four different breakout sessions discussing different challenges and best practices around facilities.
One of those sessions was even hosted by Charter School Capital, titled “I Need a New Facility for My School, Now What.” Aptly named, panelists Thom Jackson, President and CEO of EdisonLearning Inc., Mike Morley, President and CEO of American Charter Development, and Stuart Ellis, President and CEO of Charter School Capital, walked through funding options, challenges and best practices for schools finding themselves in need of a new or updated facility. If you missed the session, you can find the slides and recording here.
I had the pleasure of meeting onsite with leaders from charter management organizations, education management organizations, independent charter schools, and others. While the funding needs and visions for these organizations differ, they are all rooted in and motivating passion for the charter school movement, and were inspiring to speak with.
I even found some time to attend sessions outside the Charter School Capital content, and particularly enjoyed the “Legal Update for Florida Charter Schools” presentation provided by Daniel Woodring, of Woodring Law Firm. His session covered lawsuits over Florida House Bill 7069, information on what happens to persistently failing schools, legal issues for charter schools in Florida with respect to public records, among others.
All in all, this year’s conference was a hit. I am sincerely looking forward to the return of the Florida Charter School Conference next year in Orlando, Florida at the Caribe Royale Resort and Convention Center. Mark your calendars now for October 16 – 18, 2018 and I hope to see you there!

It’s hard to believe the Charter Schools Development Center’s “Leadership Update” Conference is next week! Held in San Diego,CA November 16-17, the event is designed to provide California’s charter school movement with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive during the school year ahead. This year’s event will undoubtedly promote thought-provoking content on the latest charter issues.

I am genuinely looking forward to meeting with charter leaders and members of the charter community again at this years conference. If you have the time, I’d encourage you to stop by our table and say hello. As Charter School Capital’s California funding specialist, I love speaking with charter school leaders on funding and facility needs – but also any educational or how-to content we can provide.

Charter School Capital has been providing financial solutions for working capital and facilities financing to the charter community in California for over a decade. In fact, we have now provided over $1.6B in financing to over 600 charter schools serving over 650,000 students nationally. Since our entire business is 100% focused on charters, we truly have the experience and the focus to solve some of the unique financial challenges charter schools face. Running a charter school comes with some unique business challenges and we seek to understand the whole picture of a school’s operations and look for a way to solve those challenges collectively with the school. Here are a couple examples:

Many times new and expanding charters will face cash flow crunches in the early stages of the year. New schools do not receive their first principal apportionment payment sometimes until the first week of October and, unless they have a start up grant or some philanthropy, they may not have the cash on hand to open the doors for the start of the school year. Expanding charters with increasing enrollments, either by adding grades or straight organic growth will have the challenge of cash flow crunches in P1 until the state catches up with payments in P2. In. In both situations Charter School Capital has helped many charters throughout California over the years receive the necessary funds in time to open the doors or balance the cash flow issues during these times.
Another area that Charter School Capital has been helping charters in California is with unique facilities financing solutions. Proposition 39 space is an ongoing challenge for many charters in California. The uncertainty of available, equitable space continues to be a point of contention for charters and their authorizing districts. Reapplying year after year for district provided space can be time consuming and create a lot of uncertainty for potential parents and students enrolling in the schools. The space often does not provide enough parking, access to labs, libraries, and outside space. While colocating on the same campus with district schools poses a bevvy of other issues. At Charter School Capital we provide the opportunity for charters to acquire properties that will allow for expansion in a permanent facility knowing they have full control of the property. And they don’t have to become real estate experts over night or become landlords. They can focus on teaching kids while Charter School Capital provides a long term lease with no out-of-pocket expenses, while also collecting SB740 money. If the school ultimately wants to use bond financing long term that is an option too. Either way, the schools can make this dream a reality today without having multiple renewals or deep reserves.

I hope you will stop by the table to introduce yourself. I look forward to the chance to meet with you and hear about the wonderful things that you organization is doing for California students. I want to know your story and learn more about how we may be of service.

If you’d like to set up time in advance to discuss your school’s vision and funding or facility needs, email us at growcharters@charterschoolcapital.com and we’ll get something on the books. Safe travels and I look forward to seeing you there!

Our team is looking forward to this year’s Florida Charter School Conference in Daytona Beach, FL. We’ll be presenting an info-packed session, “I Need a Better Facility for My School: Now What?” and streaming it live on Facebook for anyone who isn’t at this year’s event. Additionally, our team will be located at booth #400 to answer questions about working capital and facilities financing support, and passing out our free Facilities How-To Packet.

Jake Wissink — Find Jacob Wissink of Charter School Capital onsite at the 2017 APLUS+ Network Conference.

Charter School Capital is proud to support APLUS+ at the 15th annual network association conference in 2017 in Anaheim, California.
For the 15th consecutive year, the APLUS+ Personalized Learning Network Association continues a passionate commitment to offer professional development opportunities exclusively focused on Personalized Learning Public Charter Schools (a.k.a. those that are non-classroom-based, independent study classified).
This year, Charter School Capital’s Jake Wissink will be attending and is available to chat with anyone seeking charter school funding or facilities financing. Additionally, he’ll be handing out our free Charter School Facilities How-To Packet to those interested. To set up time with Jake while onsite, you can email him at jwissink@charterschoolcapital.com or give him a call at 971-222-0905.

Charter School Capital is hitting the road this October!
We will be heading to the Texas Charter Schools Conference held October 11-13 in Greatvine, Texas. The conference will feature a session about tackling the challenges involved in finding adequate facilities, I Need a Better Facility For My School. Now What? on 10/13, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Speakers will include Mike Morley, President & CEO of American Charter Development, and Stuart Ellis, President & CEO of Charter School Capital. Attendees will learn about the financing options and best practices to get the facility that meets your needs and accommodates your growth for tomorrow.
Charter School Capital will also be in to New York for the CS3 Independent Charter School Symposium, the first annual independent charter school symposium for school leaders, social visionaries, and policy-makers from across the country. This event is happening October 11-13 in Long Island, NY, and Charter School Capital will be speaking on a facilities lunch panel on 10/12, at 12:45 p.m. ET. The panel will feature Jon Dahlberg, VP of Business Development and Facilities for Charter School Capital, and Russell Jackson, Senior VP of Marketing at American Charter Development.
Our team is honored to speak with these industry leaders and excited to take part in gatherings of charter school leaders, educators and innovators.

October Conference Speakers — Mike Morley | Stuart Ellis| Russell Jackson | Jon Dahlberg

Our last two days at the National Charter Schools Conference were a dynamic mix of great keynotes, our second breakout session and lots of networking at our Booth #501.
Tuesday started-off with a keynote by U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos followed by a Q&A session facilitated by Derrell Bradford, Executive VP of 50CAN. Many charter leaders in attendance were eager to hear how DeVos planned to support charter schools with the current administration’s education budget cuts. DeVos talked about her early experience working to get the first charter school legislation passed in her home state of Michigan, where her husband also started a charter school focused on aviation and STEM.
Her main message to charter school leaders and advocates was to embrace all forms of school choice, including vouchers and tax credits for private schools. “Whatever your own journey looks like, we’re here because we came to the same conclusion that, as a nation, we are simply not doing a good enough job educating our kids,” said DeVos. Critics state that vouchers will divert funds from public schools — both traditional districts and charters.
She also warned against becoming another education bureaucracy resistant to other forms of reform, and that charter schools should not be seen as a “cure-all to the ills that beset education.” DeVos summed up her stance this way, “Education is not a zero-sum game. We should not think of it as such. There is no one right way to help kids learn, and just because a school educates children differently than you might propose to does not make them the enemy. Let’s applaud and encourage others who serve students well. It’s a both/and situation, not an either/or.”
Other speakers from today’s general session included Marc Sternberg, K-12 Education Program Director of the Walton Family Foundation, Margaret Fortune, President and CEO of Fortune Schools, and last but not least, Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix. Although most know him for leading the company that has helped change the way people watch TV and movies, he is also well-known in the charter movement. Hastings has been a board member of KIPP charter schools for 10 years.
Hastings’ speech focused on two current trends in science — artificial intelligence, robotics and how these two areas contribute toward science and society. So how does this apply to charter schools and schools in general?
Hastings thinks that technology will continue to play an increasingly central role in education, in particular around personalization. Personalization in technology is what enables apps and services to offer information, content and products that are customized to fit an individual’s taste. Although he believes we will continue to see improvement, but we need to figure out how to deliver it one by one to people. The same concept applies to education – there is more school choice now than ever before, but more work needs to be done to accommodate the unique needs of every student.
His overall message was hopeful, but also requires a show of patience – “human society does change, but it changes slowly. Together, we have the excitement of changing it together.”
We also held our second breakout session on Tuesday, Digital Marketing 101 for Charter Schools – What You Need to Be Successful, which shared tips and best practices for charter schools who are interested in growing their student enrollment and engaging a community through digital marketing. Our panel of experts covered all bases around digital marketing trends and gave a quick rundown of the many tactics that charter schools can test out; including SEO, social media, PPC, retargeting advertising, video marketing, email marketing, and display advertising.
If you missed this session, or our other breakout session, I Need a Better Facility for My School: Now What?, on-demand recordings and slides are available here. You can also watch the Facebook Live recordings of the sessions here as well as on our Facebook page.
Wednesday’s half-day of sessions and the closing session with National Alliance of Public Charter School’s new VP of Advocacy, Amy Wilkins, provided a great wrap-up of many of the themes focused on this week — education, innovation and engagement. The panel particularly addressed ways to get school board members and legislators to take action on education-related bills and budget. Wilkins had two key takeaways: continue to use personal stories to show members why your students and schools are great, and have the courage to push the people whose lobbying we agree with to keep moving forward rather than just focusing on the opposition.

Fellow panel speakers, Dave Winston, President of The Winston Group, Erik Fatemi, VP of Cornerstone Government Affairs, and Lindsay Fryer, VP of the Penn Hill Group discussed the future of federal education policy. Recognizing that the current atmosphere on Capitol Hill is unsettled and tense since the education budget doesn’t reflect both parties’ desires, the panel discussed ways to stay focused on overall advocacy for charter schools and education.
“We must work hard and we must work together to build long-term, sustainable relationships with Congress,” concluded the Honorable Mary Landrieu, Former United States Senator from Louisiana. Her message to attendees — the more compelling your story and more organized your message, the better.