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Halfway through the academic year, one of the nation’s largest online charter schools, Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT), is closing abruptly, leaving families of the roughly 12,000 Ohio students scrambling to find other schooling options. According to one Marietta Times article, “ECOT students would have to be accepted by their local public school districts, some of which already started preparing for that scenario.”
We can imagine that many students, families, and schools might be in panic-mode as they struggle to figure out what to do in light of the sudden ECOT school closure. Getting students, their transcripts, and other records transferred quickly and efficiently is just one of the challenges being faced. As area schools scramble to help, they may be wondering how they’ll be able to fund this unexpected growth and the costs associated with increased enrollment. This is where Charter School Capital can help. Whether your school is taking on many new students or just a few, we can help fill any funding gap so you can get back to your focus—educating kids.

In order to make sure other charter schools are able to re-home these students, we’re offering flexible funding to Ohio schools to offset the costs of teachers, staff, onboarding, and facilities in order to enroll them. We can secure funding to offset the unexpected costs in as little as 14-30 days to make sure you can serve those students. Let us know how we can help.

Get started by filling out our interest form, emailing us at growcharters@charterschoolcapital.com, or calling our Ohio representative Michelle Godin directly at 971.634.1897.

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EDITORS NOTE: This article was originally published here on January 3, 2018, and was authored by the President of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Michael J. Petrilli. We think it’s vital to keep tabs on the pulse of educational reform and hope you find this—and any other article we curate—both interesting and valuable.

The 5 Big Educational Reform Stories of 2018

Advertisements for investment funds always say that past performance is no guarantee of future results; in the case of my forecasting skills, that’s probably a good thing. After all, in 2016 I claimed that Donald Trump would never become president, and a year ago I thought that 2017 might be the year of coming back together again. So in the spirit of third time’s a charm, not three strikes and you’re out, here’s what I see coming down the pike in 2018.

NAEP. The release of the National Assessment of Educational Progress results is always big news, but I have a hunch that this one will be bigger than usual. That’s because it’s been a long time since we’ve seen significant progress on the Nation’s Report Card and analysts will consider this round a legitimate indicator of the success or failure of Obama-era reforms. I’ll admit to being worried that gains will be minimal. The headwinds of the 2008 recession and the changing demographic mix of the student population are significant. Still, if states’ higher standards and tougher tests are leading to real changes in the classroom—especially as schools adopt high quality curriculum like Eureka Math—we ought to start seeing a bump soon, at least at the fourth grade level. If not, color me worried. Meanwhile, state-by-state results will give us lots to chew on as well. Will Arizona continue to defy the doubters? Will Tennessee and D.C. continue their climb out of the cellar? And will curriculum-based reform prove its mettle in Louisiana? Stay tuned.
The Janus Supreme Court case. I thought the Friedrichs decision was going to be the big ed reform news a few years ago—until Justice Scalia went and passed away. But its sequel is back, and barring another unforeseen event the forthcoming decision will likely place a significant curb on the fundraising abilities of the teachers unions. A majority of the justices are likely to rule that unions can’t charge “agency fees” to non-members—making it financially advantageous for more teachers to drop out of their union, and allowing non-members to cease paying into it. That’s especially likely for politically conservative teachers, who may be tired of supporting causes with which they disagree. Given that three in ten teachers nationwide voted for President Trump, it’s not hard to imagine the NEA especially losing a significant amount of revenue and clout. That in turn could weaken the relationship between the teachers unions and the Democratic Party, with big pro-reform implications, especially in blue states.
Gubernatorial elections. I’ve given up on the notion that America’s political polarization will come to an end anytime soon. Both parties have too many incentives to play to their bases as the mid-term elections approach. But while the makeup of Congress will only have a marginal impact on education reform going forward, given ESSA’s devolution of power to the states, who wins the races for the governors’ mansions in the thirty-six states with elections this November could have major implications for the years ahead. California is the big prize; can reformers keep the union-endorsed Gavin Newsom from winning? In Colorado, can at least one of the reform candidates—Mike Johnston or Jared Polis—make it through the Democratic primary? Will a Democratic wave election spell doom even for popular, reform-seeking Republicans in deep blue states, namely Charlie Baker (Massachusetts), Larry Hogan (Maryland), and Bruce Rauner (Illinois)? And will reform ideas like accountability and school choice be more or less popular once all the electioneering is done?
School discipline. 2017 ended with a flurry of activity and opining on the issue of school discipline, especially as it relates to Washington’s role in the matter. But while the Trump Administration has started to hear from both sides, it has yet to tip its hand about its intentions. As someone who wants the Obama-era policy on school discipline revised or rescinded, I very much hope we’ll see action on this front in 2018. Not that it’s easy, given the real conundrum involved in addressing racial discrimination without making our schools less safe or jumping to dubious conclusions from raw data on student suspensions. The fact that our president has a proclivity toward making racially divisive statements doesn’t help either.
The first release of school ratings under ESSA. After years of debate and design, this summer will bring the debut of school report cards that reflect the new requirements and flexibility of the Every Student Succeeds Act. The greater focus on student growth versus mere proficiency in most states should make it somewhat likelier for high-poverty schools to get decent grades, but it could also result in many schools in affluent suburbs getting mediocre marks. It’s conceivable that this could spark an ed reform movement among soccer moms. Regrettably, yet another testing backlash is likelier.

So there you have it. Yes, it’s a mixed bag, with only glimmers of good news to look forward to. Then again, the dumpster fire that was 2017 turned out to be surprisingly kind to education reform; here’s hoping that 2018 will do the same.

Overview

This week, the Governor presented his final Californian budget proposal. As he has in the past, the Governor was very cautious about proposing spending on new programs. He also continued to warn about recessions that might be around the corner for Californians. This manifests itself in the budget as an increase in the ‘rainy day’ fund that has been established to protect the state against future economic downturns.
Now that his budget has been introduced, the legislature will begin budget subcommittee hearings on the proposal and then, in early May, the Governor will release the May Revision of his budget to reflect tax receipts and revenue projections. The legislature will then pass a final budget for the Governor’s signature by June 15th. Below are some education highlights from the proposal.
2018-19 Budget Proposal includes:

$135 billion in General Fund revenues
$15 billion total state budget reserves
$78.3 billion Proposition 98 guarantee
$2.9 billion for full implementation of LCFF
$1.8 billion one-time, discretionary funding ($295 per ADA)

For charter schools specifically, the budget proposes an ongoing increase of $28.3 million to the SB 740 Charter School Facility Grant Program. With $112 million in the base, this increase results in about $140 million in ongoing funds in 2018-19.

Proposition 98 and LCFF Implementation

The Department of Finance (DOF) calculates the 2018-19 Proposition 98 guarantee to be $78.3 billion, an increase of $3.8 billion over the 2017-18 Proposition 98 guarantee provided in the 2017 Budget Act. The DOF’s Proposition 98 calculation is a little higher than the $77.8 billion estimate by the LAO in November 2017. Based on revenue growth, the 2017-18 guarantee was increased by $700 million to $75.2 billion, and an additional $3.1 billion was added for 2018-19.
Growth in Proposition 98 allows the Governor to achieve “full implementation” of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) in 2018-19, two years earlier than anticipated when this school funding reform was adopted six years ago. The budget proposes about $2.9 billion to close the remaining LCFF funding gap, including a cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 2.51%. This is welcome news, and schools will now actually receive the LCFF grant amounts (base, supplemental and concentration) calculated by the state rather than merely having those amounts be a “target.”

One-Time Discretionary Funding

Continuing his fiscally conservative approach over the last several years, the Governor avoids any significant on-going expenditures other than for LCFF, and proposes nearly $1.8 billion in discretionary, one-time funding for school districts, county offices, and charter schools. This amounts to about $295 per average daily attendee (ADA). These funds offset any outstanding mandated costs reimbursement claims by local educational agencies.

Special Education and Teachers

Last spring, the DOF held four special education stakeholder discussions, during which stakeholders expressed the need for a number of changes to the current special education system, including: more local transparency and accountability, additional financial support for special education, a shift to a system improving outcomes for students with disabilities, and integrating special education and general education into a cohesive system. However, it appears as if Jerry Brown has decided not to tackle major special education reform in his final year as Governor.
Instead, the Governor proposes $10 million in ongoing Proposition 98 funding for Special Education Local Plan Areas (SELPAs) to work with County Offices of Education (COEs) to provide technical assistance to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to improve student outcomes. The proposal also places additional requirements on SELPAs, requiring them to complete a SELPA local plan template that aligns their services and resources with the goals in their member districts’ Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAPs) and to summarize how a SELPA’s planned expenditures and services align with the improved student outcomes strategies include in their SELPA plan.
To help address the state’s need for more special education teachers, the Governor has also provided $50 million for a Teacher Residency Grant Program to support locally sponsored, one-year clinical teacher preparation programs aimed at preparing and retaining special education teachers; and another $50 million for a Local Solutions Grant Program to provide competitive grants to LEAS to support locally identified solutions (new or existing) that address a local need for special education teachers, for a total of $100 million in one-time Proposition 98 funding.

Early Learning and Child Care Access

Aimed at increasing early education and case access for children aged zero to five years old, especially in low-income areas and areas with relatively low access to care, the Governor proposes to create the Inclusive Early Expansion Program. This competitive grant program would be funded using $125 million in one-time Proposition 98 funding and $42.2 million one-time federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program funding.
In the 2016 Budget Act, the Governor and Legislature entered into a multi-year agreement that included reimbursement rate increases and additional full-day State Preschool slots for the next three years. As part of the third and final year of that agreement, the Governor has provided an approximately 2.8% reimbursement rate increase for providers that contract directly with the California Department of Education and added the scheduled increase of 2,959 full-day slots to the State Preschool Program. The Budget also makes permanent the temporary hold harmless to the 2016 Regional Market Reimbursement Rate Survey for those providers accepting vouchers.

Earlier this month, Los Angeles charter school leaders won changes to the rules under which they operate, via the Los Angeles Unified School District. The full list of rule changes can be found in a great summary article by the LA Times. But I wanted to dive deeper into the rule change on charter schools residing in Proposition 39 space, the benefits of this change, but the challenges those schools still face.

RULE REMOVED:

Agreements that allow charters to use available space on campuses “shall be limited to one school year” and separate multiyear agreements “shall not exceed five years.”

These limits have now been removed, which could allow charters to become permanent fixtures on district campuses they are using.

This is great news for charter schools residing in Proposition 39 space. The law had previously stated that charters using available space on campuses “shall be limited to one school year” and the maximum amount of those stays “shall not exceed five years”. This type of language has caused a lot of stress on charters over the years by forcing them to re-apply each year for the same space they had the year before. Not only was this process time consuming but it had a deeper impact of creating doubt in the leaders of the school, the parents of the students, and even the students themselves. Would they have that same space or would they be moving to something completely different the following year?
Often times charter schools were happy with the existing space only to find out that they would be moved the following year to a new location, sometimes many miles away. The impact of these moves forced some parents and students to leave the charter to attend a school in closer proximity to where they lived while forcing others that wanted to stay in the program to have longer commutes to school each day. This ripple effect often impacted the enrollment numbers for charters causing strain on their finances as well. Now, charters will have the ability to have long term agreements in the district provided space which is a big relief for many charters across the LA Unified School District.
Unfortunately, the question around the length of the agreements still does not solve all of the problems that come along with utilizing the space the the district may provide. There is an old adage that “you get what you pay for” and this certainly applies to some of the frustrations that come along with Prop 39.
As referenced in the article, “the law that states that districts must make classrooms and other campus facilities available for charters in a way that is “reasonably equivalent” to what is provided to traditional schools.” In practice, I’ve found that although these schools have classrooms on a district facility, there have been concerns to consider:

They lacked equitable parking spaces, access to labs, access to open space and playgrounds, without negotiating times and adjusting schedules with the district school they co-located with.
Charter schools were often put in a corner of a campus in portables.
Although maintenance crews were provided the number of hours would often be limited to the extent that cleaning crews would have around 5-10 minutes per classroom for cleaning.
This setup can cause confusion for parents, students, and teachers regarding use of space and a feelings of unwelcome.
There are also safety concerns in these situations particularly when students of different grade levels may be placed on the same campus.

The political battle between district schools and charters is long standing and ongoing, so to think that the leaders of these schools do not face daily challenges of maneuvering through the political battle in these situations would be a misconception. Although the rent may be cheap, these living conditions certainly don’t make the charter schools feel like they are at home. This is why so many charter schools seek to find their own space through bonds, mortgages, and long term leases. It is the only true way they can create a permanent home in the community, develop their model of learning and grow their student populations in a safe, welcoming environment.
If you have questions about transitioning your school out of a Prop 39 space, you can contact me directly at reldridge@charterschoolcapital.com.

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How can social media impact your school’s brand, enrollment efforts and communications to your community? Are you up-to-date on the latest social media platforms and best practices for reaching your target audiences? How’s your overall post engagement looking?

Join our VP of Marketing, Kim Brater and the Founder of barber&hewitt, Michael Barber, as they talk about how to amp up your school communications in our exclusive webinar. Learn tactics that will help your school select the right social media networks to reach parents, students and advocates.

With the bill introduction deadline ending two weeks ago, the California legislature is now beginning to hold its first hearings on individual pieces of legislation. There were more than 2,600 bills and resolutions introduced, and several of those bills could impact charter schools. Below is a short summary for some of those bills.
AB 318 by Assemblywoman Caballero would require certificated employees and each pupil in certain independent study programs to communicate either in person, or by a live visual connection at least once per week.
AB 406 by Assemblyman McCarty would prohibit a charter school from contracting with a for-profit company for managing or operating a charter school.
AB 950 by Assemblywoman Rubio would allow a renewal of a charter petition that has been approved by the State Board of Education (SBE) on appeal to be heard either by the district that originally denied the petition or the SBE. It would also expand the use of “state-wide” benefit charter schools.
AB 1182 by Assemblyman Low is an independent study spot bill. A spot bill is a measure that has not yet been fully drafted, but has language in it that states the author’s intent.
AB 1224 by Assemblywoman Weber would create a pilot program allowing 5 County Offices of Education, picked by the SBE, to authorize 10 charter schools each throughout the state. CMOs with multiple schools would be able to apply to the program also.
AB 1360 by Assemblyman Bonta is a charter school admission and due process spot bill.
AB 1478 by Assemblyman Jones-Sawyer would apply the Brown Act, California Public Records Act and the 1974 Political Reform Act to charter schools.
AB 1528 by Assemblyman Acosta would extend the provisions allowing a virtual charter school to serve a student that has moved out of their geographical area during the school year to 1/1/21.
AB 1536 by Assemblyman Grayson is a charter school spot bill.
SB 806 by Senator Glazer is a charter school governance and oversight spot bill.
SB 808 by Senator Mendoza abolishes the appeal to the county office of education or SBE for denials and revocations of charter schools unless the county office finds that the district made a procedural violation during the hearing. It also allows a charter school petition to be denied if the district makes a finding that approving the charter would have a negative fiscal impact on the district.
To read more about these bills, visit the California Legislative Information website.

NPR’s education news site, nprEd , recently posted an article giving a rundown on charter schools, namely what ARE they and how are they different from other private and public schools?
Despite ever-growing numbers of charter schools in the country (3.1 million students currently enrolled in charter schools across 43 states), most Americans have no idea how charter schools work. The 2014 PDK/Gallup poll on public attitudes toward education found that while 63% of those asked favored charter schools (without a definition of what a charter is), 48% of those surveyed didn’t know they were public, and 57% thought they charged tuition.
The article covers how charter schools work, how they’re funded, who runs them, and whether they’re better than their public school competition. Read the full story.

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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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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.
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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.