Whether your school is new to fundraising or simply busy navigating the school year, you may think you are out of time to conduct a year-end campaign. Don’t skip this great opportunity to boost your bottom line! Approximately 30% of all annual giving occurs in December, and around 10% occurs in the last three days. It’s not too late to launch a year-end campaign. Here are five tips to help you maximize your results.

1. Cast A Wide Net

Your fundraising efforts shouldn’t stop at currently enrolled families. Consider inviting your broader community to support your school – including local businesses, grandparents, alumni, and community leaders. Ask your staff, volunteers, and school leadership to share campaign news with their contacts by emailing your appeal letter, forwarding school newsletters, and liking social media posts – you may be surprised at who steps up with a gift!

2. Set A Deadline

Gifts to public charter schools are typically tax-deductible as long as no goods or services are exchanged. Year-end fundraising appeals generally set a deadline of December 31 (or sooner!) to maximize donors’ tax deductions during the calendar year. Set a deadline for your campaign, and be sure to let your families know by what date they need to make their gift. It adds some urgency to the campaign, and they’ll respond in a timely way.

3. Keep It Simple

Busy parents have so many messages coming at them via email, snail mail, and social media. When writing your appeal letter, be sure to keep it streamlined and simple. A one-page mailed or emailed letter should include recent highlights and a clear request for support. Don’t overwhelm your readers with too many statistics or stories – a few well-chosen anecdotes will go a long way in reminding your parents why they love your school and why they should support it with a gift.

4. Ask For What You Need

Do you need help finishing your playground? New microscopes for your science classroom? School supplies for families in need? Or simply general support to make your school stand out as an excellent center for learning? Don’t make your families guess what your needs are – clearly outline what their gift will support and the impact that it will make on your students.

5. Don’t Forget to Say Thank You

Once your campaign ends, reach out to your donors with a personalized letter to say thank you. It’s a great way to let them know they are valued and appreciated members of your school community. Include your school’s IRS tax identification number and the amount and date of their gift to help them at tax-filing time. And don’t forget to report on the outcome of your campaign on school social media and your website. Your donors – and you – should be proud of the results!

Additional Resources

K-12 Fundraising Tips:
https://www.blackbaud.com/industry-insights/resources/k-12-schools/the-k-12-fundraiser-accelerate-your-back-to-school

Easy School Fundraising Ideas:
https://www.weareteachers.com/fundraising-ideas-for-schools/

Fundraising Letter Writing Tips:
https://doublethedonation.com/fundraising-letters/

School Fundraising Event Ideas:
https://www.signupgenius.com/School/school-fundraising-ideas.cfm

Need fundraising help?

Looking for ways to grow your fundraising efforts? Grow Schools partners with our clients to help them meet their contributed revenue goals and plan for the future. Our fundraising team brings a deep knowledge of designing, launching, and growing fundraising campaigns for schools of all sizes. Interested in learning more? Contact us today and see how Grow Schools can help maximize your fundraising efforts!

About the Author

Mara Winke, CFRE, has over 20 years of experience as a professional fundraising consultant for charter, public and international schools. Mara helps her clients maximize their contributed revenue through campaign strategy and analysis, annual and capital campaigns, grant research and writing, and Board and volunteer training. She enjoys running and reading Scandinavian mysteries and is an avid hockey mom.

The idea of the audit can invite stress, and it’s understandable to feel daunted by the need to address compliance and other issues while you’re focused on the day-to-day aspects of growing a school. The Charter School Audits Guide Preparing Your School for the Annual Audit offers month-by-month breakdowns schools can use to stave off overwhelm. The key is preparing a little bit at a time.

Here’s what the plan looks like:

As seen in the chart above, month one is dedicated to the fiscal audit overall. That’s because month one is when schools have just completed the previous year’s audit, so the first steps are about how to move forward from there.

For a detailed look at previous months, click the links below:

Month 1 – What do after your audit

Month 2 – Post-Audit Conversations

Month 3 – HR

Month 4 – Insurance

Month 5 – Operations

Month 6 – No Audit, Fiscal Year End

Month 7 – Governance

Month 8 – Skip it! Focus on your back-to-school efforts

Month 9: Facilities

A facility audit, often referred to as a “facility inventory,” entails a thorough evaluation of all your facility’s assets. A well-executed facility audit can provide invaluable insights into your school’s home and whether it aligns with your mission and plans for growth.

The Objective

The overarching objective of the facility audit is to weigh the value of your facility’s assets against the potential costs of replacement—or even relocation entirely. It also serves as a forecasting tool for projecting future maintenance expenses.

Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll need to consider when conducting your facility audit:

Walk Your Facility

Walk through your facility, taking note of any alterations or necessary renovations.

Meet with Your Landlord

Walk your facility with your landlord for a joint review of your facility’s condition to discuss upkeep and improvements.

Review Contracts

Read through your lease and other agreements. Make adjustments where necessary to ensure that contractual terms align with your school’s evolving needs.

Plan for Growth

Analyze how your school’s projected growth aligns with your current lease terms. Assess whether purchasing a building might be a more advantageous long-term option.

If Purchasing is the Best Option, Start on Your Space Plan

If purchasing property emerges as the best path forward, you can begin your ideal “Space Plan”.

Here’s what to include:

Classroom Requirements: Determine the number of classrooms needed to accommodate your growing enrollment.
Facilities: Consider the necessary facilities, including bathrooms, hallways, and office spaces.
Mission-Aligned Spaces: Identify spaces essential to fulfilling your school’s mission.

Auditing your facility is key in making the best choices for your school’s growth. If you decide to buy, next steps include learning about the school building marketplace, the planning process, and the four primary funding structures that charter schools use to finance facilities: cash, banks, bonds, and long-term leases. You can watch a free overview here, with live Q&A: Facilities Financing: Money to Buy Your School

Want to take a closer look at the month-by-month audit prep plan? Download The Charter School Audits Guide Preparing Your School for the Annual Audit for free here!

Here’s what the plan looks like:

For a detailed look at previous months, click the links below:

Month 1 – What do after your audit

Month 2 – Post-Audit Conversations

Month 3 – HR

Month 4 – Insurance

Month 5 – Operations

Month 6 – No Audit, Fiscal Year End

Month 7 is dedicated to your internal governance audit. Here are key areas to assess:

Governing Policies and Procedures: Review your governing policies and procedures to ensure they align with the latest legal requirements and best practices. Take this opportunity to assess their effectiveness and make sure you have a clear framework in place that supports transparent decision-making and accountability.

Conflict-of-Interest Policy: Examine your conflict-of-interest policy, which is not only required by authorizers and state regulations but also is a vital tool for maintaining integrity within your school. Ensure that it is comprehensive, up-to-date, and effectively addresses potential conflicts that may arise.

Updating Existing Policies/Procedures: Evaluate any existing policies and procedures that may need revision or improvement. This includes things like student discipline, academic standards, financial management, and personnel policies.

Board Resolution Calendar: Develop a board resolution calendar to facilitate ongoing adoption reviews at monthly board meetings. This calendar will help you keep track of important resolutions that need to be addressed and approved regularly, ensuring that necessary decisions are made in a timely manner.

Board Committees and Calendar: Assess the effectiveness of your board committees and their alignment with the school’s strategic goals. Evaluate whether the committees are functioning optimally and whether their activities are adequately documented. Additionally, review your board calendar to ensure that meetings are scheduled strategically, allowing for productive discussions and decision-making.

Organizing Meeting Documentation: Take steps to organize and centralize board meeting documentation, including agendas, minutes, and resolutions. Consider creating an annual binder for easy access and historical reference. Additionally, ensure that these documents are readily available on your school’s website.

By focusing on areas such as governing policies, conflict-of-interest policies, updating procedures, and organizing meeting documentation, you are actively fostering a culture of accountability and transparency. Insights gained will help guide your decision-making and promote continuous improvement in governance practices.

Want to take a closer look at the month-by-month audit prep plan? Download The Charter School Audits Guide Preparing Your School for the Annual Audit for free here!

Here’s what the plan looks like:

As seen in the chart above, month one is dedicated to the fiscal audit overall. That’s because month one is when schools have just completed the previous year’s audit, so first steps are about how to move forward from there.

For a detailed look at previous months, click the links below:

Month 1 – What do after your audit Month 2 – Post-audit conversations Month 3 – HR Month 4 – Insurance Month 5 – Operations

In Month 6, it’s time to take a look at your school’s budget. While this can feel like a daunting task, it’s an essential part of ensuring your school’s financial health.

Here’s a checklist you can use when examining your budget:

✔️ Check Your State Authorizer or Association for Yearly Milestones

Each state Authorizer or Association typically publishes a table of yearly milestones, so make sure to get a copy

✔️ Prepare Authorizer Templates and Worksheets

Use templates and worksheets provided by your Authorizer to ensure that your budget is in compliance with all regulations and requirements
Double-check your calculations and make sure all relevant information is included

✔️ Review Your Fiscal Year-End Budget

Take a close look at your fiscal year-end budget and compare it to actual expenses
Identify any discrepancies or areas where expenses were higher than expected, and make note of any adjustments you need to make in the future

✔️ Review Each Department’s Budget and Expenses

Evaluate each department’s budget and expenses, including Academics, SPED, Accounting, Facilities, HR, Finance, Recruiting, Marketing, Volunteers, etc.
Look for areas where you can reduce expenses or allocate resources more efficiently

✔️ Finalize Your Budget for the Next Fiscal Year

Make sure your budget for the next fiscal year is finalized and submitted by the July 1 deadline
Use the information you gathered from your fiscal audit to inform your budget planning for the upcoming year

Bonus: Create a 5-Year Forecast for Growth and Facilities Planning

If you want to take extra care in this area, consider creating a 5-year forecast to use for growth and facilities planning
This will showcase your dedication to your school’s long-term success and help you make informed decisions about resource allocation

By following these tips and being proactive about your school’s budget, you can ensure that your school is financially stable and well-positioned for growth and success. Remember to involve your team members in the process and seek guidance from your Authorizer and Back Office Provider as needed.

To take a deeper dive into this plan, download The Charter School Audits Guide Preparing Your School for the Annual Audit, a free guide for school leaders.

Starting and running a school is a challenging task, and ensuring financial stability requires careful planning and management. According to The Center for Education Reform, 42% of charter school failures within the first three years were due to finances, making it imperative to establish a solid budget from the outset. Read on to discover best practices that can help you achieve financial stability and create a thriving school.

Best Practice No.1:

Use your “petition budget” as your starting point

Most authorizers require new charter petitions to include a budget and cash flow projections, including startup costs and an operational budget for a given timeframe. The petition budget is the school’s founding financial document and should reflect the goals and priorities outlined in your charter. This means that you’ve already decided on student-teacher ratios, the different levels of professional staff that you want to hire, the expected costs of textbooks, any technology and equipment essential to meeting your mission, and the costs of getting students to enroll in your school.

The petition budget should include expected student-teacher ratios, the professional staff you plan to hire, costs of your facilities, equipment, textbooks, technology, and marketing. Although the petition budget serves as a great starting point, it needs ongoing work since there can be a significant lag time between submitting the petition and starting operations. This interval may have changes in governmental funding as well as costs of goods, benefits, and salaries that contribute to your operating costs and overhead.

Best Practice No. 2:

Make a wish list, then prioritize

When creating or updating the petition budget, include every last item on every stakeholder’s wishlist, no matter how trivial (even novelty erasers!) or unrealistic (baby grand pianos in every classroom!). Most of the time, you’ll end up with a huge deficit—and that’s okay. Your stakeholders (teachers, other staff members, and partner organizations) will feel heard and invested in the process. Then, when you begin to work backward and eliminate items that aren’t high on the priority list, everyone involved in the budgeting process will know that their requests have at least been considered.

Your petition budget should reflect the priorities spelled out in your charter, and spending should always be guided by your school’s mission. For tough decisions, conducting a marginal analysis can help to make the pros and cons more clear.

Best Practice No. 3:

Plan for surprises

Each year, the budgeting and forecasting processes will become more predictable, but expect plenty of surprises and unexpected costs in the first year. Be sure to leave room in your budget for unanticipated costs such as textbooks and supplies that cost more than expected, emergency repairs or maintenance, and changes in enrollment numbers.

The first year of operations will have challenges, and one of your preferred vendors may have been acquired by a large corporation that raised prices, your facility could unexpectedly require major repairs, or your enrollment may be lower or higher than expected. Make sure staff at every level understands this too. Showing staff your school’s monthly “burn rate” is a simple way to show how much you’re spending without overloading them with details.

Want More Budgeting Tips?

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According to an article from The Center for Education Reform, 42% of charter school closures are due to funding. It’s well known that charter schools face unique financial challenges, so it’s important to get ahead of these issues as schools grow. Making sure your school has the money to meet operational costs, pay teachers and staff […]

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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. Over the past decade, we’ve reviewed thousands of charter school budgets and helped guide countless schools through their charter school financing processes.

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In this blog post, we will explore 5 essential terms you need to know to create and manage your charter school budget.

Cashflow Planning

Cashflow planning is a forecasting tool, updated monthly or quarterly, that includes costs and revenue. It allows you to track actual numbers versus what’s in the budget plan, making changes necessary to finish the year in good financial shape. By understanding your school’s cash position, you can ensure that there is enough money available to cover expenses as they arise. This approach also helps your school prepare for any unexpected expenses, such as equipment repairs or building maintenance.

Capital

Capital refers to the assets a charter school owns that have value and can be used to generate income or help the school grow. These assets can take different forms, including property, buildings, furniture, equipment, computers, textbooks, and other resources necessary for the school’s operations.

In accounting terms, capital is considered a long-term asset, as it is expected to provide value and benefit to the school over an extended period. Capital assets are different from operating expenses, which are shorter-term expenses incurred by the school in the course of its daily operations.

For a charter school, capital assets are essential for providing a safe and effective learning environment. School buildings, for example, are critical capital assets that provide a space for students to learn and teachers to teach. Other capital assets, such as computers, textbooks, and equipment, are necessary to support teaching and learning activities.

Operating Costs

Operating costs are the expenses that a charter school incurs to operate. These costs include everything from salaries and benefits for teachers and staff to the cost of textbooks, learning management systems, equipment, and facilities.

In general, operating costs can be classified into two categories: fixed costs and variable costs. Fixed costs are those that remain relatively constant over time, regardless of the level of student enrollment, such as rent, utilities, and insurance. Variable costs, on the other hand, are those that vary depending on the level of student enrollment or usage, such as supplies and materials.

Your school can manage operating costs to ensure that you have enough funds to provide high-quality education and services to your students.

Closeup of accountant hands counting on calculator and working with diagrams

Overhead

Overhead refers to the ongoing, general operating expenses and fees required to run a charter school that are not directly tied to specific goods or services. These expenses can include items such as rent or mortgage payments, utilities, insurance, property taxes, office supplies, and salaries and benefits for administrative staff. Overhead expenses can make up a significant portion of a school’s budget and can affect the availability of funds for other critical expenses such as educational programs, teacher salaries, and student support services.

Unlike direct expenses, which are tied to specific goods or services, overhead costs remain relatively constant over time. These expenses are typically predictable and recurring, making them important for charter schools when budgeting. Charter schools can manage their overhead costs by negotiating better deals with suppliers, finding more cost-effective ways to deliver administrative services, or adopting new technologies or processes that increase efficiency and reduce costs.

Marginal Analysis

Marginal analysis is a decision-making tool used to determine the additional benefits and costs of a decision—whether the benefits gained outweigh the costs.

In the context of charter school budgeting, marginal analysis can help you make decisions about how to allocate resources effectively. For example, if your school is considering investing in a new educational program, you could use marginal analysis to weigh the potential benefits of the program against the additional costs it would require. They could evaluate the expected impact of the program on student outcomes, such as academic performance or engagement and compare it to the additional expenses incurred—such as hiring new staff or purchasing new materials.

Marginal analysis can also be used to optimize existing programs or processes. By evaluating the incremental costs and benefits of small changes or adjustments, charter schools can identify areas where they can increase efficiency, reduce waste, or improve outcomes.

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The idea of the audit can invite stress, and it’s understandable to feel daunted by the need to address compliance and other issues while you’re focused on the day-to-day aspects of growing a school. The Charter School Audits Guide Preparing Your School for the Annual Audit offers month-by-month breakdowns schools can use to stave off […]

Free Download

Charter School Budget Guide

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Charter schools tend to fall within three main growth stages: start-up, growth, and sustainable maturity. These stages are defined by years in operation and the number of students served, and each phase presents unique challenges and best practices. Schools that have reached sustainable maturity are at 90 – 100% of target enrollment. They are focused on improving academic programs and getting more efficient across the board, from accounting systems to recruitment processes. While this phase comes with certain advantages, such as predictable budgeting and financing, there are still challenges to overcome. You need to adapt your curriculum, upgrade your buildings, and hire and support your staff.

As a leader in this phase, it’s crucial to remain adaptable, budget-conscious, and think strategically about the future of your school. In this blog post, we’ll share six sustainability tips from experienced charter school leaders that can help you navigate the sustainable maturity stage and keep your school on track and thriving.

1. Be Mindful of Pivotal Moments

Every school will face circumstances that can disrupt its operational rhythm and culture. The key is to acknowledge these disruptions when they occur and to have a plan in place to maintain continuity for your students no matter what.

2. Strategic Enrollment = Stability

Mature-stage schools that have already reached their maximum capacity can strategically increase enrollment to ensure financial and operational stability. Recruiting a small number of students to every grade in addition to the incoming class of kindergartners, sixth-graders, or ninth-graders can be an effective way to achieve this.

3. Continue to Cultivate a Data-Driven Culture

Keeping everyone focused on the goals and metrics that matter most can be challenging, but it’s important for ensuring that your school is meeting key benchmarks along the way. Make sure that everyone, including students and families, knows the goals for the academic year and can access school-wide metrics whenever they like.

4. Celebrate Your Successes and View Your Failures as Strategic Opportunities

Celebrate every goal that’s achieved, award that’s won, and staff member that receives recognition. But don’t forget to look at the failures, too. Analyzing failures can be a great way to identify opportunities for improvement and begin next year’s strategic plan.

5. Develop Pillars That Define the Culture That You Want to Have

On some level, culture is always aspirational. Look back at your charter and think about the values at the core of who you are now and who you want to be in the future. Choose four or five pillars that represent these values and give public recognition to anyone who embodies them.

6. Assess All Management Systems Regularly

Faulty and time-wasting systems can undermine your school’s efficiency and effectiveness. Schedule time to review and replace these systems whenever possible, so that your school can continue to operate smoothly.

Want to learn more?

Whether you’re just beginning the process of starting up a charter school, looking to expand, or you’re trying to prioritize your next steps, you can find many more tips like these in the free guide How to Grow Your School.

In this guide, you’ll find tips for you and your team on developing a strong charter, building culture and community support, and boosting your financing and practices to support your growth.

Download it for free here!

Here’s what the plan looks like:

For a detailed look at previous months, click the links below:

Month 1 – What do after your audit

Month 2 – Post-audit conversations

Month 3 – HR

Month 4 – Insurance

Month 5 is dedicated to operations. School leaders know full well how important it is to stay organized and efficient. That’s why it’s crucial to conduct an operations audit as you prepare for your annual audit, ensuring that your school continues to run smoothly. Involving staff members in the process means you’ll gain their input and buy-in.

Here are some tips for conducting an effective operations audit during Month 5:

1. Address Communication Issues and Operating Procedures Across School Channels

Review how information is communicated within your school, including emails, memos, and meetings
Identify any communication issues or breakdowns that are hindering productivity
Make suggestions for improving communication, such as implementing a communication protocol or providing training for staff members

2. Review Individual Departments in Terms of Process, Organization, and Communication

Take a close look at each department and evaluate its processes, organization, and communication methods
Identify areas for improvement, such as streamlining processes, clarifying roles and responsibilities, or improving communication channels
Make specific recommendations for each department to help them improve their operations

3. Review How Different Departments Work Together and How Communication Between Departments Can Be Streamlined

Evaluate how different departments interact with each other and whether the communication is effective and efficient
Look for opportunities to streamline communication and collaboration between departments, such as implementing cross-departmental projects or regular check-ins
Make suggestions for improving communication and collaboration between departments to help them work together more seamlessly

By conducting a thorough operations audit during month 5, you can improve the overall efficiency of your school. After you’re done, you’ll want to follow up on any recommendations you make to ensure that they are implemented effectively.

To take a deeper dive into this plan, download The Charter School Audits Guide Preparing Your School for the Annual Audit, a free guide for school leaders.

Many of the challenges school leaders face share a common theme: helping your school grow while staying flexible.

Flexibility has to be more than a mindset; it also has to be a component of a strategic plan and an aspect of your school culture. The following tips come from The Charter School Growth Guide, which relies on the expertise of seasoned school leaders. These tips can help you stay focused on your mission while also growing your school in a sustainable way for the long term.

1. Nurture your school’s culture as much as you nurture your students.

Ultimately, culture is always a product of the people involved. It can be tough to retain quality leaders and teachers, especially because many charter schools have longer days and academic years than public schools. Teachers have to believe in the mission from the outset in order to put in those extra days and hours for years to come. It’s essential that the people you hire are aligned with your mission.

2. Prioritize continuous professional development and leadership training.

In order to have motivated staff committed to continuous improvement, professional development has to be front and center. This is also an investment in continuity. When people feel like they are getting better at their jobs and have room for growth, they are more likely to stay.

Teacher retention is a top concern for many charter leaders. Expert Dr. Charlotte Pullins believes
teachers stay if they are growing at your school, which means schools need to prioritize belonging,
giving proper support, and taking care of the psychological needs of teachers. For more on teacher
retention, check out the free webinar here.

3. Focus on providing individualized instruction to your students and on data analysis.

These aren’t contradictory! Every educator knows that one of the best ways to improve the data is to meet each student where they are and provide them with the support necessary to improve and succeed regardless of your school’s curriculum and goals. Of course, school-wide metrics are the best evidence that individualized instruction is working. Review the metrics frequently, share them widely, and make them everyone’s responsibility.

4. Develop systems for your operations to maintain consistency and efficiency.

In the beginning, you may have outsourced certain aspects of running your school, such as accounting, custodial support, and food service. You may also have used decentralized spreadsheets and documents to manage data and keep track of all your school’s information. A patchwork of spreadsheets and vendors can quickly become tough to manage.

As you grow, invest in more sophisticated systems and easier ways to manage and access data. It may still be financially wise to outsource certain functions, and you’ll likely find that you have a combination of
in-house and external operational support. While researching, investing in, and mastering new systems is time-consuming and expensive, the efficiencies you’ll realize down the road will more than make up for the pain of adoption.

5. Embrace change, cling to your mission.

Try to embody the value of lifelong learning while maintaining high expectations and staying flexible. As you grow, you may find that your culture, mission, and vision start to fade. The founding team that started the school likely aren’t the people who are now running the school, and there may even be multiple locations in different cities. Be strategic and proactive about keeping everyone connected and focused on your school’s mission and vision.

Dr. Bishop of Elite Public Schools says it best: “We of course feel what the world is feeling. We of course understand that it is a very difficult time but we cannot get so caught in that, that we are not passing on energy to our young people for the future.”

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Free Download

School Growth Guide

Whether you’re just beginning the process of starting up a charter school, looking to expand, or trying to prioritize your next steps, this guide is for you.

Get the Guide

Congratulations—you’ve started your charter school! The start-up stage is exciting and full of potential. It’s common to feel overwhelmed during this phase, but learning from others can make all the difference.

Charter schools fall within three main growth stages: start-up, growth, and sustainable maturity. These stages are defined by years in operation and the number of students served. Each phase presents unique challenges and best practices. In this post, we’ll be exploring tips for the start-up phase.

The Start-Up Phase

The start-up phase includes the very first tasks required to form a charter school: hiring, launching, and running until 10–25% of your target enrollment has been achieved. Without a doubt, this is the most challenging and stressful stage for charter school leaders.

If you’re in this stage now and you’re feeling overwhelmed, you’re not alone. The good news is there are opportunities for growth in this stage, and you’ll want to identify them early. The following tips come from charter leaders who have grown beyond the start-up stage.

1. Study and meet with schools that are doing things well.

How are other schools helping their students achieve academic success? Are there ways to adapt those tactics to your curriculum? You can learn a lot, and it’s always a good idea to maintain positive relationships with other educators.

2. Master a few things and do them really well.

Don’t try to be a master of everything—it’s impossible! Have a strong outline of the implementation plan proposed in the charter petition. What are your goals in the first few years? It’s better to have a plan and be straightforward about incremental goals than to promise a lot of things you can’t follow through on.

3. Build genuine and robust relationships.

With parents, teachers, leaders, vendors, and external constituents—have the intention to never, ever create an enemy. Always be honest and genuine, even with your detractors. Foster strong relationships with your vendors and with businesses that could become your vendors later on. You’ll have emergencies and you’ll need things you hadn’t planned on in a hurry. Vendors will be more likely to come through in a pinch if they already feel personally connected with your school.

4. Pay close attention to student progress data.

Everyone will want to see the data, and you may not have much of it at the beginning. Think about the data you do have and how you can report it in the most compelling, meaningful way possible.

In addition to the metrics you track to maintain your charter and to report to regulators, find out what’s meaningful to parents and report that out: attendance, time-to-completion, classroom hours, pages read, math problems solved, miles run.

Make sure to share the data with students, too.

5. Pay close attention to the budget.

As needs change and shift, review the budget and make sure it aligns with your goals. Always plan for the worst-case scenario and have a plan for dealing with cash flow issues. Build a solid relationship with your financial partners; treat your budget as a living document; and know how you’ll pay for everything. Above all: never miss payroll.

6. Don’t waiver in your belief or mission!

It’s likely that you will encounter many people who will try to convince you to change your mission and vision to suit their specific needs. You can’t please everyone! Your mission and vision should serve as your guideposts when you’re faced with tough decisions; they shouldn’t be the thing you modify every time you’re faced with a tough decision.

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