Five Reasons Independent Charters Outperform In-District Hybrid Schools

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published here on August 23, 2018, by Forbes and written by Emily Langhorne, policy analyst for the Reinventing America’s Schools project at The Progressive Policy Institute.
We think it’s vital to keep tabs on the pulse of all things related to charter schools, including informational resources, and how to support charter school growth and the advancement of the charter school movement as a whole. We hope you find this—and any other article we curate—both interesting and valuable.
Read on for the complete article.

Five Reasons Why Independent Charters Outperform In-District Autonomous Schools

Over the past 15 years, cities across the country have experienced rapid growth in the number of public charter schools serving their students. Charter schools are public schools operated by independent organizations, usually nonprofits. They are freed from many of the rules that constrain district-operated schools. In exchange for increased autonomy, they are normally held accountable for their performance by their authorizers, who close or replace them if they fail to educate children. Most are schools of choice, and unlike magnet schools in traditional districts, they are not allowed to select their students. If too many students apply, they hold lotteries to see who gets in.
The charter formula – autonomy, accountability, diversity of learning models, choice and operation by nonprofits – is transforming urban education. In states with strong charter laws and equally strong authorizers, charter schools have produced impressive students gains, especially in schools with high-minority, high-poverty populations.
Recently, districts from Boston to Los Angeles have tried to increase student achievement by replicating parts of this formula, in particular giving their school leaders more autonomy.
District-run “autonomous” schools are a hybrid model— a halfway point between charters and traditional public schools. They’re still operated by district employees, but school leaders can opt out of many district rules and, in some models, union contracts.
The Progressive Policy Institute’s recent analysis of state exam scores from 2015 and 2016 in Boston, Memphis, Denver, and Los Angeles shows that public charter schools outperformed both traditional public and in-district autonomous schools on standardized tests in three of the four cities studied. In the one exception, Memphis, the district concentrated its best principals and teachers in, and provided extra funding and support to, its autonomous schools.
The analysis reveals that district-run autonomous schools in these cities sometimes performed better than traditional public schools, but they seldom performed as well as independent public charters. So the big question is: what do independent charter schools have that district-run autonomous schools are missing?
Below are five reasons why public charter schools outperform district-run autonomous schools.

1. Most Independent Charter Schools Have True Autonomy

Charter school leaders have true autonomy over staffing, school models, curriculum, budgeting, school calendars and schedules and professional development. Without the constraints of district policies, charter leaders can create educational models that work best for their students – whether Montessori, project-based, dual-language, or others. They can choose curriculum and materials that engage their teachers and students. They can manage their own school budgets, using money creatively and effectively and to meet the unique needs of their students. If needed, they can extend the school year.
Many in-district autonomous schools allegedly have these freedoms too. In reality, however, the long reach of the district’s central office sometimes hamstrings them, making their autonomies little more than paper promises.

2. Most Charter Schools Are Schools of Choice

Because independent charter schools are schools of choice, charter leaders can develop schools with specific educational models and cultures. Children learn differently, come from different backgrounds, speak different languages, have different interests, and thrive in different environments. Having multiple learning models allows parents to choose the schools that best fit the needs of their children.
When a district assigns children based on their neighborhoods, as some do, it’s much harder to have diverse school designs. Most parents would object to being told their child must attend a specialized school – such as Montessori school, a STEM school, or a performing arts school – so neighborhood schools often rely on the traditional one-size-fits all model.
In contrast, schools of choice can specialize. And when families have choices, both parents and students are more likely to “buy-in” to the school’s culture and academic philosophy.
Giving families the choice to attend a variety of schools also creates a second layer of accountability for independent charters, because the public dollars follow that choice. School operators are in direct competition for funds, and parents have much more leverage in demanding what their children need because they can send their children elsewhere and the money will follow them.

3. Most Independent Charter Schools Are Held Accountable for Student Performance

Unless forced to by the state, elected school boards rarely close or replace failing schools – because it’s political suicide. Teachers unions often initiate district-wide protests over school closings, and parents and community members often join in. Because turnout in school board elections is often under 15 percent, their votes may determine the winners. For a school board member, closing or replacing a failing school often means losing the next election – even if it benefits children.
Most charter schools are not unionized, however. They answer to authorizers, which often have appointed boards. Even when an elected board closes a charter, it may trigger a protest from one building, but not from all teachers in a city or district.
If they are doing their jobs, authorizers hold schools accountable for student achievement benchmarks laid out in their charters, which are essentially performance contracts. Every few years, authorizers review their schools. If the students aren’t learning, the school will undergo a period of probation – after which time, if student performance does not improve, authorizers will close or replace the failing school.
When authorizers fail to hold schools accountable, charter schools generally don’t perform much better than traditional public schools. Studies show that, in states where authorizers consistently close low-performing charters, charter students far outpace their district counterparts on standardized tests. Where they don’t close schools, charters often underperform their district counterparts.

4. Most Independent Charters Go Through a Careful Authorization Process

Strong authorizers also investigate charter operators prior to allowing them to open schools. Not all parents have the ability to assess schools, so effective authorizers ensure that the schools available to their children are of high quality. This requires evaluation of performance and replacement of failing schools, but also scrutiny of applications to ensure schools have a strategy for success before they open. As part of the authorization process, charter applications undergo a thorough vetting process before authorizers grant applicants a charter and allow them to open a school.

5. Independent Charter Sectors Are Sustainable

The Achilles heel of most in-district autonomous approaches is sustainability. In a large district, the autonomy agenda often rests with one or two innovative leaders at the district level. When they depart (as they always do), the bureaucracy usually reasserts its control. People in bureaucracies tend to resent any special privileges given to those in “autonomy zones” – in all sectors of government. Education is no different. In-district autonomous schools are vulnerable to shifting political winds and changes in attitudes at district headquarters, either of which can endanger their autonomy. In contrast, independent charters operate outside of school districts, so it would take a change in state law, rather than district leadership, to infringe upon their autonomy.

Since the company’s inception in 2007, Charter School Capital has been committed to the success of charter schools. We provide growth capital and facilities financing to charter schools nationwide. Our depth of experience working with charter school leaders and our knowledge of how to address charter school financial and operational needs have allowed us to provide over $1.8 billion in support of 600 charter schools that have educated over 1,027,000 students across the country. For more information on how we can support your charter school, contact us. We’d love to work with you!

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How Charter School Capital Helped Minnesota School Thrive

With so many choices for where go to access financial resources for your school, it’s important to select the right one for you. At Charter School Capital, we believe in the power of charter schools and their leaders to deliver quality education to families across the country. And we’re proud to provide the reliability and stability charter leaders require as they walk their journey to better educate more students today—and in the future.
Please watch and listen as Eric Mahmoud Founder and former CEO of the Harvest Network and Best Academy in Minneapolis shares his experience working with Charter School Capital during some very difficult financial times for charter schools in Minnesota.
This video was originally published Jul 17, 2014. While we’re no longer funding Best Academy, we are proud of the way our support has helped them continue to serve their students. Because, when you no longer need Charter School Capital, that means we’ve done our job and your school has become financially stable, successful, and set up for future growth. To learn how other school’s have achieved success by partnering with us, check out our other success stories here and filter by the content type, “School Spotlights”.
Watch the short video to hear Eric’s story and find the transcript below. You can learn more about Charter School Capital here.

We started as a daycare in our home with about 10 children and then after seeing our children graduate from our preschool program and go into the public schools where they weren’t being challenged, we decided that we would expand our preschool program to elementary school, which we did in 1992.
We’ve taken a population that traditionally (both in Minneapolis and around the country) has not done well, and we’ve actually raised their achievement all the way up to the top. And, while at the same time we were growing our BEST academy program, the state was going through their own financial crisis.
And so we went from a 10 percent [state] hold back – maybe about five, six years ago – to subsequently 17 percent, 27 percent, then 30 percent. And last year, a 40 percent hold back. And for many schools it actually crippled them. And, actually, I thought it was very appalling.
The opportunity to talk with Charter School Capital came about and within a very short period of time, we were able to get the resources that we needed.
There was a whole lot of flexibility working with Charter School Capital in a number of situations when we thought that we were going to get a certain amount of revenue from the state and we didn’t.
Charter School Capital was very flexible and it’s been very easy working with Charter School Capital to fulfill the needs that we have as a school. Certainly, they helped us think about our overall financial picture. And so it was more than just writing us a check.
We had a very good relationship during the years that we’d been using charter school capital. I think it was a good business decision. And as a result of that business decision, we’ve been able to move our children where they need to be academically.

Are you looking into funding options for your charter school? Our team of dedicated professionals works with you to determine funding and facilities options based on your school’s needs. If you are trying to meet operational expenses, expand, acquire or renovate your school building, add an athletic department, enhance school safety/security, or buy new technology, complete the online application below and we’ll contact you to set up a meeting.

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Is Charter School Expansion Supported by Strong District-Charter Partnerships?

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published here, by The Rivard Report out of San Antonio, Texas and written by Inga Cotton, a parent activist and blogs at San Antonio Charter Moms about school choice and local educational activities for families.
As we continue to support the efforts around charter school expansion across the country, we always seek to bring you articles that help ask the question, “What can help the charter school movement continue to thrive?” This charter parent discusses how charter partnerships with traditional district schools can strengthen the entire public school system by raising the quality of education and, thus, creating benefits for our nation’s children. But, both opportunities and risks lie in bringing partnerships into our neighborhood public schools. Read on to hear her perspective.
We think it’s vital to keep tabs on the pulse of all things related to charter schools, including informational resources, and how to support charter school growth and the advancement of the charter school movement as a whole. We hope you find this—and any other article we curate—both interesting and valuable.

A Parent’s Perspective: District-Charter Partnerships Strengthen Public School Systems

Put yourself in the shoes of San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) leaders earlier this year: faced with a perpetually failing campus, they chose to enlist the help of charter operator Democracy Prep to transform Stewart Elementary into a school that offers high-quality education and a brighter future for its students.
Now put yourself in the shoes of a Stewart parent: the forthcoming district-charter partnership is almost certain to have brought on both change and uncertainty.
A recent commentary on the topic mentioned my blog, San Antonio Charter Moms, but did not accurately describe its mission. It is not an “advocacy group for charter expansion;” rather, it aims to give parents tools and information to make informed decisions and raise the overall quality of education in our city.
The blog started in 2012 with a small group of moms curious about some of the new charter schools that were coming to San Antonio. While the “charter moms” name has stuck, the purpose has expanded to include all types of schools.
School models tend to be secondary to parents as governance systems usually work in the background. That is, unless there is a breakdown and a school is faced with closure or new management. At the end of the day, parents want a school where their child is happy, feels safe, and makes progress in learning.
Charter partnerships, such as the forthcoming one at Stewart Elementary in SAISD, can strengthen the public school system by raising the quality of education and, thus, creating benefits for San Antonio’s children. But from a parent’s standpoint, both opportunities and risks lie in bringing partnerships into our neighborhood public schools.
Looking to charter schools for expertise makes sense. The Texas charter school sector as a whole is successful. According to Charter School Performance in Texas , a study published by CREDO at Stanford University in August 2017,
” … on average, charter students in Texas experience stronger annual growth in reading and similar growth in math compared to the educational gains of their matched peers who enroll in the traditional public schools … The impact on reading gains is statistically significant. Thinking of a 180-day school year as ‘one year of learning,’ an average Texas charter student exhibits growth equivalent to completing 17 additional days of learning in reading each year.”
Those are averages – meaning, some schools do better than others. Public school districts must select successful charters with expertise in serving certain types of students, such as low-income students or those who have too few credits for their age. When those charter schools bring proven expertise to help a district school succeed, students benefit.
Charter schools can learn from district schools, too. Neighborhood schools experienced in supporting groups like English-language learners and special education students must pass that knowledge on to charter operators. Democracy Prep is tasked with accommodating all students assigned to Stewart Elementary.
Not all charter schools are doing a good job. Like failing district schools, failing charters should be closed, too. Resources and students should go to the successful schools, but ensuring that happens requires thorough analysis on behalf of leaders and parents.
This raises the broader issue about school quality and parental choice that applies to all public schools: Parents need support to make good decisions. They need objective information about school quality, like the TEA’s school report cards, and forthcoming letter grades for districts and campuses.
There should also be limits on choice: Parents should not be allowed to choose a failing school, either district or charter. Why would parents want their children enrolled in a failing school? A child’s lag in academic progress often does not become apparent until there is a serious problem.
But parents may like intangible things about their kids’ school – friendly people on campus, a feeling of safety and belonging, a sense of tradition, a location within walking distance from their home – and we must have compassion for families who make the best decisions they can with the information and resources available to them. Many parents have told me that transportation, application processes, deadlines, and wait lists are all major limiting factors in choosing a different school.
That’s why every neighborhood needs a high-quality public school. In neighborhoods where public schools have been failing, the tendency to cover up the problem has eroded parents’ trust. SAISD is working to fix the problem of failing schools through innovative partnerships, but the district must now also work to rebuild trust with its constituents. While there is a lot of uncertainty among Stewart Elementary parents, experiences at other campuses give reason for hope.
Ogden Elementary, for example, has been a residency lab school of the Relay Graduate School of Education for one year now, and both teachers and school leaders there have said parent engagement has increased because children are talking about the changes in their school.
Part of rebuilding trust is reassuring parents that, in the new world of district-charter partnerships, the community’s most vulnerable students will be taken care of. The system needs safeguards to ensure it is fair and improves – not worsens – inequality in our city.
To ease the discomfort of change and uncertainty, SAISD must communicate clearly and compassionately with affected families and ensure its most vulnerable students still get the attention they deserve.
These are difficult times, but there is the potential for SAISD to emerge as a stronger district and a true leader in the region and the nation.

Since the company’s inception in 2007, Charter School Capital has been committed to the success of charter schools. We provide growth capital and facilities financing to charter schools nationwide. Our depth of experience working with charter school leaders and our knowledge of how to address charter school financial and operational needs have allowed us to provide over $1.6 billion in support of 600 charter schools that educate 800,000 students across the country. For more information on how we can support your charter school, contact us. We’d love to work with you!

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What Do Voters Want? 7 Takeaways From New Education Reform Poll

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published for The74 on August 6, 2018, here and written by Taylor Swaak.
With midterm elections just around the corner, we thought this article and poll by the Democrats for Education Reform both timely and interesting. Most notably, an overwhelming number of those polled believe our children deserve a better education, that there should be a ‘variety’ of public school options, and schools should be held accountable. We couldn’t agree more.
Our mission is to see continued charter school expansion, the overall growth of the charter school movement, and more students better served by having educational choice. We think it’s vital to keep tabs on the pulse of all things related to charter schools, including informational resources, and how to support charter school growth and the advancement of the charter school movement as a whole. We hope you find this—and any other article we curate—both interesting and valuable. Please read on to learn more about the poll’s findings.

Democrats for Education Reform Release New Poll Suggesting Most Voters Are ‘Education Progressives.’ Here Are 7 Takeaways

New poll findings released by Democrats for Education Reform on Monday found that a majority of U.S. voters believe in reform policies such as expanding public school choice and rewarding quality teachers and hold that funding alone won’t push the needle forward on helping struggling schools.
For DFER, a left-of-center political action committee, the findings demonstrate that most Americans are what they call “education progressives” — a result that would seem to contradict reports of a splintering within the Democratic party over issues like school choice and merit pay.
Pollsters from the Benenson Strategy Group and 270 Strategies interviewed more than 2,000 voters between May and July.
The poll, on top of informing a new social media campaign, anchored the organization’s latest announcement that it will spend more than $4 million this year — an exponential hike from the reported $83,456 it spent in 2016 — on “priority races.” These include gubernatorial contests in Colorado, New York, and Connecticut and the superintendent’s race in California. Certain beliefs of “education progressives,” such as charter school expansion, may put them at odds with other self-described progressives within the party.
“Being an education progressive means doing anything and everything we can to improve public schools for all — especially for poor students and students of color,” DFER President Shavar Jeffries said in a statement.
Here are seven main poll findings:

1. A large majority of voters believe children deserve a better education

Seventy-eight percent of all voters — 93 percent of Democratic primary voters — strongly agree that “we need to do everything we can to ensure every child has a fair shot to succeed, no matter where they are from.”
The finding is underscored by stark achievement gaps. Black students, for example, were more than 1.5 academic years behind their white peers in 2017, according to NAEP data. Reforms such as free, high-quality pre-K have amassed support across the political spectrum as a way of narrowing the gap, while Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has also pushed for expanding charter schools.

2. The majority of Democratic voters say money isn’t the sole answer to fixing schools

Sixty-nine percent of Democratic voters say fixing schools “will take more than just additional money … we need new ideas and real changes to how schools operate.” Among African-American voters, that percentage spikes to 73 percent, but it drops to 56 percent when put to all voters, regardless of party.
Opinions (and research) remain split on whether funding is linked to student performance. While some research has found that student test scores can rise following long-term, stable financial investments, critics have pointed to the Obama administration’s $7 billion program to overhaul chronically low-performing schools — which yielded no significant impacts on test scores — as evidence that funding isn’t a panacea.

3. However, voters believe schools should still get the funding they need

The vast majority of voters — 89 percent — believe that every public school should still “get the funding that it needs, even in disadvantaged areas.” These voters gave this issue a 6 or 7 on a 7-point importance scale.
Per-pupil spending nationwide is not equitable, according to many critics. Across the country, districts with the highest rates of poverty receive about $1,000 less per student than those with the lowest rates, the Education Trust reported in February. State-to-state fluctuations reveal the scope of the problem: New York, for example, spends more than $22,000 per student, while states such as Utah and Idaho spend less than a third of that.

4. Most voters say we should be doing more to reward ‘great’ teachers

Seventy-six percent of voters, including 90 percent of black voters and 80 percent of Latino voters, strongly agree that “we need to do more to identify and reward great teachers who make a difference.”
The idea of evaluating and rewarding teachers remains contentious, however. The Obama administration’s calls for merit pay and tying teacher evaluations to student test scores spurred backlash from teachers unions.
Educators themselves are some of the most fervent critics, with 78 percent opposed to merit pay, according to a 2017 Education Next survey. Research is mixed on whether merit pay correlates with improved student performance.

5. Ensuring a ‘variety’ of public school options is a top priority

About 65 percent of voters said access to public charter schools, magnet schools, and career academies “no matter where [people] live or how much money they have” is a very important priority (a 6 or 7 on the 7-point scale). Latino and Democratic primary voters closely aligned with this percentage, compared with an overwhelming 86 percent of black voters.
All but six states have laws allowing charter schools. But support of traditional public education hasn’t necessarily waned. Most Americans oppose channeling public funds to for-profit school tuition, and nearly three-quarters say all schools “should have to meet the same state education standards as traditional public schools,” according to a Harvard poll.

6. More than 60 percent of voters want schools held accountable

Nearly two-thirds of voters, or 66 percent, rank “holding schools accountable for making decisions based on what works to educate kids” as a very important priority — a 6 or 7 on the 7-point scale.
Increasingly localized control of education policy has diminished the role of the federal government in school accountability — a shift evident in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the main U.S. education law that replaced No Child Left Behind in 2015.
“There seems to be a lack of commitment to any meaningful federal role in terms of accountability,” DFER’s president told Chalkbeat last year. “We’re very worried about what we’re going to see coming out of the ESSA accountability process.”

7. More than two-thirds of voters want increased financial aid for college

Sixty-eight percent of voters say “increasing the availability of financial aid for college” is a top priority (a 6 or 7 on the scale).
A lack of financial aid has resulted in about $1.52 trillion in student loan debt among 44 million borrowers in 2018. The class of 2016 alone had an average loan debt of $37,172, according to Forbes.
The polling reflects a disconnect between voters and the policies of the Trump administration. Trump earlier this year proposed slashing nearly $4 billion in annual funding for student aid programs in the 2019 fiscal year budget. DeVos in July also made moves to repeal the 2016 Obama borrower defense regulation, which supported waiving federal student loan debts for students who were ripped off by “predatory” colleges.

Since the company’s inception in 2007, Charter School Capital has been committed to the success of charter schools. We provide growth capital and facilities financing to charter schools nationwide. Our depth of experience working with charter school leaders and our knowledge of how to address charter school financial and operational needs have allowed us to provide over $1.6 billion in support of 600 charter schools that educate 800,000 students across the country. For more information on how we can support your charter school, contact us. We’d love to work with you!

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Editor’s Note: For this CHARTER EDtalk, we sat down with Michael LaRoche, Founder and Executive Director (ED), SALTech Charter High School. We wanted to learn what unique challenges he faces as the ED for a dropout-recovery high school for “at risk” or as he prefers to say “at promise” students. On the flip side, what are the greatest rewards in serving this economically disadvantaged—and underserved— student population. Read the transcript and/or listen to his inspiring story and perspective on both below.

Janet Johnson (JJ): Hello, and welcome to Charter EDTalks. My name is Janet Johnson, I am with Charter School Capital, and we’re honored today to have Michael LaRoche, who is the founder, CEO, and principal of SAL Tech Charter High School.
Michael LaRoche (ML): Thank you for having me, and all those labels are correct.
JJ: Thank you. It’s a mouthful. And Tricia Blum from Charter School Capital. It’s been a really great day, we’re at the national conference where we have an opportunity to speak with Charter leaders here and share with the rest of the charter school folks out there who weren’t able to attend. So welcome.
Tricia Blum (TB): Thank you.
ML: Thank you.

What makes Charter Schools Special?

TB: So Michael, we’re starting this conversation, which I know is going to be great, with a question. We’re doing a campaign called “We Love Charter Schools”, you know that — you have socks that say that. Can you please tell us in two sentences or less why you love charter schools?
ML: Charter schools, I believe offer an opportunity for most educators to be very innovative. No one likes to come into each and every day willing to be constantly told what to do. In the traditional school system, this is just a regular part of your day. In the charter land, as I like to call it, you really have a chance to be an innovator. You are in charge, it’s your school. You can decide what works and what doesn’t work and to me, that’s the ultimate challenge for an educator – or person really – and come to work each and every day. It’s just the best place to work.

About SALtech Charter High School

TB: I know about that. The next question I have for you is, what is the biggest challenge you face as you serve your student population? I thought maybe what you could tell us a little about SAL Tech Charter High School and then we can jump into that question.
“They are termed “at risk”, but we like to look at them as “at promise”, given the right situation, resources and caring staff, we help them get over the next hurdle.”
ML: I serve an underserved population, economically disadvantaged population and at-risk population. I serve those students that are not maybe in the traditional school for one reason or the other. Maybe a new immigrant to the country may have aged out of the traditional schools. And therefore, that’s a very challenging population to serve.
That’s the population that most traditional schools don’t want on their books because it affects their graduation rate and therefore is a huge challenge with helping such a population. They are termed “at risk”, but we like to look at them as “at promise”, given the right situation, resources and caring staff, we help them get over the next hurdle.

Overcoming their biggest challenges

ML: So, one of the challenges, the biggest challenges with that population is attendance. Attendance is huge because as a charter school you are looked at as a special assignment school by choice.
You are not a neighborhood school, students are not sent to you, students made a choice, along with their parents in basically deciding to attend your school.
As a result, there is no transportation provided for these students to come to school. This poses a real challenge—some of them have to sometimes take two buses. We give away bus passes, but even that doesn’t help all the time. So, attendance remains a major challenge.
One of the things we have been doing to sort of combat that challenge is really making the curriculum 24/7, so if they cannot make it to the school building they can at least continue to work using their cell phone, iPad, what have you. But attendance remains a major challenge for the at risk community.

The biggest rewards

TB: You just mentioned that attendance is one of the biggest challenges. What is one of the biggest rewards?
ML: One of the biggest rewards, of course, is seeing that you were able to make a positive difference in a student’s life, if not in a family. Sometimes these students are the first in their whole family to basically finish high school. That’s huge for the home.
So you are not only making a difference with the student that you are seeing, you are making a difference within that home. You are helping that student become a tax payer instead of being incarcerated or just to be dropped out of the system – you are maximizing ones potential.
All those things are very, very important as we look at a capitalist nation that we have where education plays such an important part in really helping us to be competitive as a nation. We don’t want to have to be constantly paying to support folks who don’t have the right education or aren’t prepared for the future. We want to be sure our workforce is well prepared, so I feel very, very positive and rewarded for being given this small part that I am contributing to our nation and future.
TB: I like that.
JJ: Me too.

On measuring academic performance

TB: I know. The next question goes to academic performance. Can you tell us a little bit about, it says, “What do you think about required academic performance measure currently used to evaluate alternative schools serving underserved students?” Now, I know in your situation, with your authorizer, it’s kind of been back and forth, right?
ML: Right
TB: Can you tell us a little bit about that and then maybe moving to more general?
ML: Absolutely. One of the things that you really have to fight for and make sure to see it’s within your contract is that as an alternative school, which SAL Tech is, is we deal with students who were unable, like I said earlier on, to make it in the traditional schools, so we are looked at as an alternative, dropout-recovery school. We are trying to get students to recover credits that may have gotten a D or an F in, recover enough credits so that they can graduate with their cohorts and therefore we are doing so at an accelerated pace.
Even though we are doing a super job, and have done a super job since 2003, the contract itself in measuring academic success in an alternative school is written by the district and the district, obviously in writing that contract, will not not write that contract to favor the market, the situation, as exists, and you have to be very cognizant of that fact and be willing to amend that contract so that you can keep your business, charter school in this sense, operational.
So, at the alternative school, it would be very crazy to say you want to compete with a traditional school by letter grade, A, B, C or D. Therefore, alternative schools are governed by an alternative performance measure (which is written by the Florida Department of Education) which basically asks that we are able to move a student through one grade level, in one year of schooling.
I think that’s reasonable, that’s what the traditional schools do. Move from nine to ten, ten to eleven, eleven to twelve. Or then if you have a student has spent three or even four years in those traditional schools and was unable to be successful in obtaining a high school diploma, why then should we be tasked with any percentage, or basically saying you weren’t able to complete your high school diploma at the same time as your cohorts or you should complete your high school diploma by a certain time.
No, you should be tasked with the very same thing that they are tasked with, one grade level with one year of schooling and therefore the high school diploma is icing on the cake. You have taken an at risk student to now basically having them obtain their high school diploma.
Of course, that’s always going to be a toss-up when your authorizer is the one who has authored the contract and you understand the situation that you are in. It is something those of us in charter land have to be constantly aware of—that we are basically working for our performance to be measured fairly. That’s what we are asking for.
JJ: Sounds like a man who’s had that experience.

What would you like us to know about “at-risk” students?

TB: I really like this question and I think it’s a tie in question, but what do you wish people knew about the students you serve? I think that’s a great question.
ML: It’s a wonderful question, because many a time, when you hear the word at-risk, a lot of folks basically say, I don’t want to have to deal with at-risk student; you conger up this image of what at-risk students look like and therefore you want to deal with students who are very talented, you know you have very little to do to motivate them, inspire. All that is good, and that’s what most educators wish for, but there’s another side of it and that is those students with great need.
You would think that as a district or any company, in recognizing that that’s the area that needs the most help and resources and that you will funnel the correct help and resources and especially to those who are only dealing with that population, groups such as SAL Tech. But, that’s not the case, unfortunately.
And as a result, how we’ve dealt with that population since 2003, now almost 15 years, one thing we do know for sure, is that they are very, very resilient. Stuff that you would think would ordinarily take down people, a regular student…my dad just got incarcerated, my brother just got shot, my mom is pregnant again with the fourth child and I don’t know who’s the father, I just basically found out that I am pregnant or I’m pregnant with my second child, you know, on and on.
Anything you can basically conger up with an at-risk population, and you are dealing with students who live in that environment and to have the resiliency to understand the importance of getting an education so that they can take themselves out of the environment that they are in, they are to be highly commended.
So they are not only resilient, but they are also very intelligent. A lot of us feel that you are born smart or wow this person is really smart or has high IQ, etc, etc… but theory tells us otherwise. You are not born smart. You can become smart.
So it is our job as educators to build a confidence within that group that is so at risk, a promise to let them know that they have the potential, they have the brains, they have the moxy, they have the smarts, they are very resilient and they can do just as well. It is not the start that we get, but it’s how we are going to finish, is the term that is often used.
It is the same thing with this group, they are the best, in my opinion, to work with because they are the ones that are sometimes the most hungry, the most humble, and sometimes the most appreciative of the fact that you have gone out of your way to help them, where they think everything else was lost. So, I enjoy my job tremendously.

Charter School Financing: Your Guide to Budgeting Best Practices

The Charter School Leader’s Definitive Guide to Budgeting Best Practices

Over the past decade, we’ve reviewed thousands of charter school budgets and helped guide countless schools through their charter school financing processes.
Year after year, we see many charter schools make the same mistakes when budgeting for the academic year. We put together this guide to share best practices and call out common pitfalls to avoid. (This guide won’t teach you how to put a budget together—you’ll need to call on your finance team for that.)
Whether your school is growing student enrollment, expanding facilities, or implementing new educational programs, your annual budget should serve as an essential tool to help you achieve your goals as quickly—and as realistically—as possible.
In this guide, we discuss budgeting strategies for the various stages of charter school development including:

Planning for long-term financial health
Implementing best practices for achieving buy-in and setting
internal controls
Understanding key financial metrics to watch
Utilizing tips on cashflow planning and more

At Charter School Capital, we believe in the power of charter schools and their leaders to deliver quality education and foster success in their students. Over more than a decade, we’ve invested over $1.6 billion in more than 600 charter schools to help them grow, finance facility projects, and achieve operational stability. We view ourselves as a resource and partner of charter schools and a strong advocate of the charter school movement as a whole.
This manual is intended for charter school leaders who want to be more strategic about charter school financing and budgeting and avoid short-term mistakes that can lead to unintended long-term consequences. This manual is only for informational and planning purposes. If you’re seeking financial advice or support, please seek out the guidance of a qualified professional organization such as Charter School Capital.
Download your free copy here!
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The Charter School Solution: Helping Students Who Need it Most

Editor’s Note: This video was originally posted by PolicyEd here. Can the charter school solution help close the student achievement gap in underserved populations? Studies show that charter schools are, in fact, leading the way in improving public education in America, especially for students who are traditionally underserved.
We think it’s vital to keep tabs on the pulse of all things related to charter schools, including informational charter school resources, how to support charter school growth, and the advancement of the charter school movement as a whole. We hope you find this—and any other article we curate—both interesting and valuable. Please read on to watch the short video and find even more charter school resources and links.

The Transcript:

Charter schools represent the largest attempt to innovate in U.S. public education in fifty years.
More than 7,000 now operate around the country educating over 3 Million students.
And since they’re required to be transparent about their students’ performance, we’ve learned that two groups of students consistently show strong learning gains relative to their peers in the district schools.
The first group are predominantly minority and low-income students in urban charter schools. They make substantial gains in both math and reading compared to students in other schools in their area.
The second group is comprised of students enrolled in charter school networks called Charter Management Organizations, which are made up of three or more schools under common management.
Their students do even better than those in independent charter schools.
These networks learn what helps their students, and then replicate what works across all the schools they manage.
By identifying proven methods and spreading them to other schools, districts, and communities, charter schools are leading the way in improving education in America, especially for students who are traditionally under-served.

Additional Information and Charter School Resources:

“Urban Charter Schools Report” and 22 state-specific reports that combine to offer policymakers unprecedented insight into the effectiveness of charter schools from CREDO, available here: https://stanford.io/1C8GoKF
“Charter Management Organizations, 2017” examines the life cycle of charter school networks from founding of the flagship school to development and eventual expansion of the network, available from CREDO here: https://stanford.io/2s6uFPW
CREDO’s Charter School Performance in New York here: https://stanford.io/2oWWYCi
CREDO’s Charter School Performance in Texas, here: https://stanford.io/2BPTqau
For more CREDO Research Reports, click here: https://stanford.io/2syrRgL
“L.A. could learn a lot about charter schools from the Big Apple” by Margaret Raymond, available here: https://lat.ms/2jNLZcb
“It’s Time to Get Serious About Charter School Quality” by Margaret Raymond, available here: https://bit.ly/2mTxGEq How Well Are Teachers Doing? by Margaret Raymond, available here: https://hvr.co/2jNM8fJ

Since the company’s inception in 2007, Charter School Capital has been committed to the success of charter schools. We provide growth capital and facilities financing to charter schools nationwide. Our depth of experience working with charter school leaders and our knowledge of how to address charter school financial and operational needs have allowed us to provide over $1.6 billion in support of 600 charter schools that educate 800,000 students across the country. For more information on how we can support your charter school, contact us. We’d love to work with you!

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Dispelling Common but Unfair Charter School Myths

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on June 27, 2018, here. It was written by Demi Brown, the founding director of Empower Charter School in Linda Vista, California.
We love articles like this that help dispell some common but unfair charter school myths:

Charter schools are private schools
Charter schools are selective
Charter schools aren’t accountable
Charter Schools “take away” funding from the district (Brown’s point here, that education dollars belong to the student, not the district, is particularly poignant)

At Charter School Capital, we are 100% dedicated to the charter school space and measure our success by the number of students we serve. Our ultimate goal is to help the charter school movement grow and flourish, and be able to serve more students. We take pride in the social impact that we’re supporting by helping charter schools succeed and think it’s vital to keep tabs on the pulse of all things related to charter schools, including informational resources, and how to support charter school growth and the advancement of the charter school movement as a whole.
We hope you find this—and any other article we curate—both interesting and valuable. Please read on for Ms. Brown’s complete story.

Why the greedy corporate charter school image is so wrong

By Demi Brown
My school recently celebrated the end of the school year with a graduation ceremony. It was a moment of great pride and honor for me. After four years, our school now serves about 130 students and we offer a unique Spanish dual language immersion program — and adding Mandarin next year!
This moment of joy in our school community was a sharp contrast to how a recent report commissioned by In the Public Interest, “The Cost of Charter Schools for Public School Districts,” would have you picture my school. They would present me as Scrooge McDuck trying to overtake the school district, rather than someone who spends most of her day coaching teachers to be their best and helping students navigate the ever-changing roadblocks that hit low-income families. The greedy corporate charter school image skimming students and lacking accountability is overplayed and in need of a reality check.
The fact is charter schools are public. Like traditional neighborhood schools, they are free to attend. Unlike traditional schools, they have no attendance boundaries and are run independently of the school district. As a public school, there is also nothing private about how charters are governed, with most following the Brown Act for open public meetings. Independent? Yes. Private? No.
I founded Empower Charter School because I wanted a school like this to exist for my own children. If you talk to other charter founders, their story is similar — they rose to the challenge to build a school for students who would otherwise be left out of an education system that best fits them.
This is not to say traditional schools are bad — they work for most, but not all. There are successful and unsuccessful schools in both districts and charters. To take a few bad charters and use them as evidence against all charter schools is a disservice to the truth, and ultimately to students. Most charters empower teachers as the leaders and professionals that they are. Charter schools can work outside of the system, shredding layers of bureaucracy so we can focus on learning.
Two big lies about charter schools: They are selective, and they aren’t accountable. These mantras have been repeated over and over to the point that they are taken as truth. But they are the easiest to dispute because the facts are the facts.
RELATED: Flexibility for Accountability
In California, charter schools are open to all. If a school has more applications than available seats, they must hold a random lottery. This is a law!
In exchange for flexibility, charter schools must meet high standards of accountability, even more than their traditional district counterparts. In addition to being required to meet state and federal education standards, they must also meet high student achievement goals and rigorous academic, financial, and managerial standards to be allowed to operate.

…education dollars belong to the student, not the district. To suggest that the funding is lost presumes it was the district’s to begin with.

A new concern came up recently when In the Public Trust released a study stating charter schools are costing districts money. However, when calculating the “cost to the districts,” the study calculated a regional dollar value by the number of current charter students enrolled in each district. This is erroneous for many reasons. First, education dollars belong to the student, not the district. To suggest that the funding is lost presumes it was the district’s to begin with.
Second, charter schools have been around in California for 25 years, school districts should have been prepared to adjust to shifting enrollment due to many other factors, including declining birthrates, families moving out of the state and students choosing non-district schooling options. Furthermore, the San Diego Unified School District chose to stop offering services to charter schools, which is a big missed revenue opportunity. And, the math doesn’t add up. Charter school enrollment has been steady over the last few years in San Diego Unified, the state has increased its revenues to schools, but somehow the district faces a large deficit and charter schools are to blame.
Today, about one in 10 students in California attend a public charter school. Charters are one piece of the education puzzle. We are not billionaires running faceless schools. We are educators who care deeply about ensuring all students have an education that best serves their needs.
That is the simple truth. Unfortunately, the lies funded by anti-charter groups have been louder, so the truth gets lost. I encourage people to dig deeper, question, and visit a charter to see firsthand the innovative work we do to meet the diverse needs of all students.

Since the company’s inception in 2007, Charter School Capital has been committed to the success of charter schools. We provide growth capital and facilities financing to charter schools nationwide. Our depth of experience working with charter school leaders and our knowledge of how to address charter school financial and operational needs have allowed us to provide over $1.6 billion in support of 600 charter schools that educate 800,000 students across the country. For more information on how we can support your charter school, contact us. We’d love to work with you!

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Navigating the Most Complex Challenge Facing Charter Schools Today

Charter school facilities financing represents the single greatest challenge facing educational leaders across the United States. While your expertise lies in education—not real estate or finance—securing the right facility at the right price is critical to your school’s success and your students’ futures.

This comprehensive guide breaks down everything you need to know about facilities financing, from initial planning through final approval, helping you make informed decisions that align with both your educational mission and financial realities.

Why Charter School Facilities Financing Is So Challenging

Unlike traditional public schools that receive taxpayer-funded facilities, charter schools must navigate the complex world of private real estate markets and commercial financing. This fundamental difference creates unique challenges that can distract leadership teams from their core mission of educating students.

The facilities challenge extends beyond just finding space—it involves balancing educational requirements, aesthetic considerations, budget constraints, and long-term strategic planning while maintaining focus on academic excellence.

Critical Pitfalls That Derail Charter School Facilities Projects

Pitfall #1: Not Understanding Your True Budget

Before exploring any facility options, you must have a clear understanding of your financial capacity. This means conducting a thorough analysis of your revenue streams and existing expenses to determine realistic parameters for facility investments.

Essential Budget Analysis Steps:

Calculate current monthly operating expenses
Project future enrollment and revenue growth
Determine maximum affordable monthly facility payments
Account for one-time costs like moving, renovations, and equipment
Maintain adequate cash reserves for operational stability

Understanding your budget limitations early prevents costly mistakes and ensures you focus on realistic facility options that won’t compromise your educational programs.

Pitfall #2: Inadequate Planning Timelines

Facility projects require extensive advance planning—typically a minimum of 12 months for any significant expansion or relocation. The complexity of these undertakings affects your entire organization, from administrative staff to teachers and students.

Why Extended Planning Is Essential:

Legal and regulatory approval processes take time
Renovation and construction projects often face delays
Staff and student transitions require careful coordination
Furniture, equipment, and technology installations need scheduling
Program continuity must be maintained throughout transitions

Schools that underestimate these timelines often face rushed decisions, cost overruns, and disruptions to their educational programs.

The Strategic Triangle: Requirements, Aesthetics, and Budget

Successful charter school facilities decisions require balancing three critical factors that often compete with each other.

Educational Requirements: Mission-Critical Needs

Your facility must support your specific educational approach and student population. Different school models have vastly different space requirements.

Questions to Consider:

What specialized spaces does your educational program require?
Do you need state-of-the-art science laboratories for a STEM focus?
Does your arts program require performance spaces with specific acoustics?
Are you serving students with special needs requiring specialized accommodations?
Do you offer dropout recovery programs needing flexible classroom configurations?

Aesthetic Considerations: The Enrollment Impact

Your facility’s appearance directly affects enrollment, which drives the operating revenue that funds your academic programs. In competitive markets, aesthetics can make or break enrollment success.

Aesthetic Impact Factors:

First impressions for prospective families during tours
Competitive landscape—how does your facility compare to alternatives?
Community expectations and demographics
Impact on student pride and school culture
Long-term brand positioning in your market

Budget Reality: What You Can Actually Afford

Financial sustainability must guide all facility decisions. Even the most educationally perfect facility becomes a liability if it strains your budget beyond sustainable limits.

Pre-Qualification Process: Financial institutions evaluate multiple factors when determining your borrowing capacity:

Existing cash reserves and financial stability
Current and projected operating revenue
Charter renewal status and term length
Public subsidies and private funding sources
Grant opportunities and foundation support

Comprehensive Guide to Charter School Financing Options

Option 1: Cash Financing

Pros:

No interest payments or ongoing debt obligations
Complete ownership and control over the property
No collateral requirements or underwriting processes
Faster transaction completion

Cons:

Depletes cash reserves that could fund educational programs
Limits financial flexibility for unexpected needs
Opportunity cost—funds could generate returns elsewhere
Not feasible for most charter schools

Best For: Well-established schools with substantial reserves considering smaller facility investments.

Option 2: Investment Bank Financing

Overview: Traditional bank loans for charter school facilities typically require significant equity contributions and extensive underwriting processes.

Requirements:

Typically 20-40% equity contribution from the school
Demonstrated financial stability and enrollment trends
Strong leadership team with proven track record
Comprehensive business plan and financial projections

Pros:

Lower transaction costs compared to bond financing
More flexible terms than bond structures
Builds equity ownership over time

Cons:

Substantial upfront cash requirement
Extensive underwriting and approval process
Personal guarantees may be required
Limited availability for newer schools

Best For: Mature schools with substantial cash reserves undertaking major facility projects ($7+ million).

Option 3: Bond Financing

Reality Check: While many charter schools aspire to bond financing, only 12% of charter schools nationwide actually secure bond market funding. The remaining 88% rely on alternative financing methods.

Bond Financing Process:

Extremely thorough underwriting process
Hundreds of thousands in legal fees per transaction
Requires maintaining cash reserves for taxes and bondholder security
Typically 30-year terms with fixed costs

Pros:

No major upfront cash investment required
Potentially attractive interest rates for large projects
Fixed long-term costs provide budget predictability

Cons:

Complex, time-consuming approval process
Substantial legal and transaction costs
Ongoing compliance and reporting requirements
Reserved for larger transactions ($10+ million minimum)
Requires continued interest payments during cash accumulation period

Best For: Large, stable schools ready for permanent “forever home” facilities with no expansion plans.

Option 4: Long-Term Lease Financing

Overview: Long-term leases offer many benefits of ownership without the capital requirements and risks of property ownership.

Typical Structure:

20-40 year lease terms available
Minimal upfront cash requirements
School maintains operational control
Landlord retains property ownership and maintenance responsibilities

Pros:

Low initial capital requirements
Predictable monthly costs over lease term
Less complex underwriting than bonds or bank loans
Allows financing for furniture and equipment
Future operating revenues not held as collateral
Available to schools at various maturity stages

Cons:

No equity building over time
Potential rent escalations based on lease terms
Less control over major property modifications

Best For: Schools at any stage seeking facility control with minimal upfront investment and predictable costs.

Four Critical Factors for Financing Approval

1. Sustainable Enrollment Patterns

What Lenders Evaluate:

Current enrollment compared to charter capacity
Historical enrollment trends and stability
Waiting list size and demographic alignment
Local market demand for charter options
Competition analysis and market positioning

Red Flags for Lenders:

Enrollment significantly below projections
Declining enrollment trends over multiple years
Waiting lists that don’t support expansion plans
Oversaturated local charter market

2. Strong Leadership Team

Leadership Factors Lenders Consider:

Previous experience successfully operating schools
Educational leadership credentials and track record
Financial management experience
Board composition and governance experience
Organizational management depth

How to Strengthen Your Leadership Profile:

Document previous successes and achievements
Highlight relevant experience in education and management
Demonstrate board expertise and engagement
Show succession planning and organizational depth

3. Sound Financial Management

Financial Health Indicators:

Debt service coverage ratios above minimum thresholds
Operating margins that support debt payments
Facility costs representing less than 20% of operating revenue
Strong internal financial controls and reporting
Appropriate cash reserves for operational stability

Financial Documentation Requirements:

Multi-year audited financial statements
Current year budget and financial projections
Cash flow analysis and debt service projections
Enrollment and revenue modeling
Expense management and cost control evidence

4. Excellent Governance and Authorizer Relations

Governance Evaluation Criteria:

Board composition, experience, and engagement
Compliance with charter requirements and state regulations
Financial oversight and audit processes
Academic performance and accountability measures
Community relations and stakeholder engagement

Authorizer Relationship Assessment:

Charter renewal history and prospects
Compliance with authorizer requirements
Academic performance relative to authorizer expectations
Financial management and reporting quality
Communication and collaboration effectiveness

Strategic Planning for Long-Term Success

Aligning Facilities with Educational Vision

Your facility should support and enhance your educational approach rather than constrain it. Consider how different spaces can:

Support innovative teaching methodologies
Accommodate diverse learning styles and needs
Enable collaborative and project-based learning
Provide flexibility for program evolution
Create positive school culture and community

Financial Sustainability Beyond Initial Financing

Ongoing Facility Considerations:

Maintenance and repair costs over time
Utility expenses and efficiency improvements
Technology infrastructure and upgrades
ADA compliance and accessibility requirements
Future expansion or modification needs

Building Community Support

Strong community relationships can provide additional resources and support for facility initiatives:

Parent and family volunteer assistance
Local business partnerships and support
Community foundation grants and donations
Municipal cooperation and assistance
Neighborhood integration and support

Next Steps: Moving from Planning to Action

Immediate Action Items

Complete Comprehensive Budget Analysis: Determine your realistic facility investment capacity
Assess Current and Future Educational Needs: Define space requirements that support your mission
Evaluate Market Conditions: Research available properties and competitive landscape
Strengthen Financial Position: Build cash reserves and improve operational efficiency
Engage Professional Support: Connect with experienced charter school facilities specialists

Building Your Facilities Team

Successful facilities projects require expertise beyond your educational leadership team:

Commercial Real Estate Professionals familiar with educational requirements
Architecture and Construction Specialists experienced with charter schools
Financial Advisors knowledgeable about charter school financing options
Legal Counsel specializing in educational and real estate transactions
Project Management Support to coordinate complex timelines and processes

Conclusion: Making Informed Facilities Decisions

Charter school facilities financing doesn’t have to derail your educational mission. With proper planning, realistic budgeting, and the right financing approach for your school’s stage and circumstances, you can secure facilities that support excellent education while maintaining financial sustainability.

The key is starting early, understanding your options, and choosing financing approaches that align with your long-term educational and financial goals. Whether you’re a startup school seeking your first permanent home or an established school ready for expansion, the right facilities financing solution can enhance your ability to serve students and strengthen your community.

Ready to explore charter school facilities financing options? Our team specializes in helping charter schools navigate complex facilities decisions and secure financing that supports long-term educational success. Contact us to discuss your specific needs and explore solutions tailored to your school’s unique circumstances.

Editor’s Note: We understand that the planning and financing of any facility project are complex, time-consuming, and have the potential to distract your team from its core mission: serving your students. That’s why we wanted to sit down with the Founder and Executive Director of Desert Star Academy, Margie Montgomery, to get her insights and tips on planning for a charter school facility project. To help other charter leaders embark on their facility project, Margie generously shares what she’s learned and what she wished she knew before she started her facilities project—and what she’ll do now as she embarks on yet another!
We think it’s vital to keep tabs on the pulse of all things related to charter schools, including informational resources, and how to support charter school growth. We hope you find this—and any other blog post we write—both interesting and valuable. Below you will find the video and the transcript. Please read on to learn more.

Janet Johnson (JJ): Hello. I’m Janet Johnson with Charter School Capital and we’re honored today to be with a rising star in helping other people understand how to negotiate the charter school landscape, Margie Montgomery, who is the executive director and founder of Desert Star Academy in Arizona. And Tricia Blum, who is also with Charter School Capital and we’re just going to talk a little bit today about how facilities can trip you up and how you can be so much better as a result of negotiating your way through the morass Right?
Margie Montgomery (MM): Absolutely.
Tricia Blum (TB): So before we get there, I’d like to ask you a question that we’re asking all of our schools and thought leaders we’re talking to and that’s … We’re doing a campaign called We Love Charter Schools. You know that because you have socks that say that.
MM: Absolutely.
TB: Can you please tell us in two sentences or less why you love charter schools?
MM: It gives family and friends a choice of education. They can choose what charter school to go to and charter schools have a lot more flexibility than the district schools.
TB: I think that’s super interesting. Can you tell me how many days a week your students or scholars go to school?
MM: In Arizona, the charter school calendar is 144 days. We typically, as most charter schools in Arizona, go 144 days and it’s a four day work week. We go Monday through Thursday. Our hours are a little bit longer. We go an hour and a half longer than the other schools in our area but we get it done in four days.
TB: Your parents are really appreciative of that, right?
MM: They do love that. We’ve noticed it helps on attendance. It also helps with staff attendance because you have that Friday to do all of your business. You can schedule doctor’s appointments then, you can schedule whatever you need to do on Friday and still have a full weekend.
JJ: That’s awesome.
TB: I know. I’d forgotten about that. That’s why I was like, “Oh we have to talk about that.”
MM: It’s amazing. Yes, absolutely.

Consider Your Facility Constraints and Know the Rules for your Charter School Facility

TB: Okay so we’re going to talk, as we said, about facilities and you have been in what I would call hyper-growth mode, right? Four years, 460 students. Bang, bang, bang, bang. So you have a new building, tell me what were your expectations going into getting a new building?
MM: I didn’t have time for expectations. I was like get me a building. We had our first year of 67 kids and we were renting, literally, a strip mall. We had four different offices of a strip mall. And it was like, “I need help, I need help.” So we were talking to Charter School Capital from the beginning and the process is very long and it takes a little while to get off the ground so I was just … I need a building.
I had 50 scholars to one classroom and two teachers in that classroom and we literally were calling the fire department to say, “How many scholars can we put into a classroom? What is the capacity for one room?” And I found out that a child’s desk occupies a child. But if you put in a teacher’s desk or you put in other types of tables, it takes away from your square footage and you cannot have as many scholars in the room.
So my teachers were teaching from clipboards and on the board because we had no room for them or their desk. And we just had the scholars in the desks. And we did this for three months. For a whole entire quarter. And it was a challenge.
It was a challenge keeping the parents happy knowing that they were getting incredibly impatient. But in the end, Charter School Capital came through for us, they built us a fabulous building, beyond belief and made everybody incredibly happy.
TB: Yeah. Amazing, right?
MM: It was. And it still is.
TB: I think what you said is amazing too because what I’m hearing you say is look, I just needed a building, I could have done with anything, doesn’t matter, right? Just give me a building.
MM: I was. I was like I don’t need a Taj Mahal, I just need a building. I need walls and I need a building. But by the time it actually all rolled around, we were picking colors and we were doing landscaping and furniture and all this exciting stuff. And pretty soon I got the Taj Mahal.

Understand the Realities of the Process and Get Prepared

TB: What do you wish you knew before you started? Because like you said, I didn’t have time to think, I just needed a building.
MM: I wish I knew the process and the length of time that it truly takes and the planning involved and all of the construction aspects of the planning. Getting it through Charter School Capital, it had to be approved through this business and that business or the sections of the different companies.
I wish I had a better understanding of that. In fact, if anybody has a building, that should be one of the things that the client should go through, is this is the process and this is the time that it takes and this is what you need. Because they were always asking for financial this or that and this. And so I was literally jumping through hoops and I found myself not as prepared as I would have liked to have been.
TB: Right. And that’s because you have to have financials, there’s a plan that has to be agreed on with you and construction and then you have to get permits and you’re talking about all sorts of that kind of process, right? Is that what I’m understanding you say?
MM: I was a building principal and I ran the school and so the whole everything else from building to facilities was just … I had no idea about it. But it was a learning process and I would do it all over again.
TB: Well you’re getting ready to do it all over again.
MM: Absolutely.
TB: Right. We’re gonna add some more grades. She’s already facilities constrained. Right?
JJ: That’s great.
MM: Yes.
TB: So apparently if you build it they will come.
MM: They absolutely will come and that has been our story. We started with 64 scholars in 2014 and we right now have 437 and our cap is 475. So we are really constrained.
JJ: Well but congratulations on the success.
MM: Thank you so much.
JJ: You’re making a lot of families happy, aren’t you?
MM: We are. We have a lot of happy children.
JJ: Yes.

Make a plan with your builders: the details matter

TB: What would you have done differently? I know we talked a little bit about that but I have some ideas, like on the (furniture, fixtures, and equipment) FF&E, on the whiteboards and the lockers and paint colors … tell us about paint colors because that was a really funny, funny as in interesting, right? Because Margie had a very clear idea what paint color she wanted and the contractor had a very clear idea on what paint colors the contractor did not want. So I think that’s an interesting, again you have to negotiate that. The thing is why would you even think you have to negotiate that, right?
MM: You wouldn’t think so. But we came across that, absolutely. And so I think the next time I want to sit down with the builders and talk about a plan. Well, in education you have to have colors. I couldn’t live with just two colors. And so it was quite funny because I was talking to the contractor and to the superintendent and saying, “Well, if these are the only two colors that I have to pick from, this is what I’m picking. But I will tell you, as soon as you’re out of town, we’re going to repaint these walls and we’re gonna add color.”
And so it was a negotiation as far as alright, well if you have this can you live without that? And I was like yep, I can do that. So, we had brick on the outside of our building and it was like well we only need brick on half of the building so let’s take the other half of the building brick off and we added lockers because that was a commitment to the parents, to our community that we have lockers.
The year before when we were constrained in this building, before we had our facility, parents were like, “They have to carry their books around.” Some of these backpacks were heavier than these girls and you thought they were going to tip over.
Just have knowledge of the process and meet with the builders because the facilities people are out of state, they don’t know the community. Every community is different and unique. And if you’re going to be successful in the community, I think it’s really important as a leader of the community and leader of the school to listen to your community. Truly listen to them. Listen to the parents, listen to their concerns, listen to what they like.
The first thing that they do when they come in either one of our buildings is like, “Whoa.” And it’s the colors. We are not a white school, we are not an institution. Our elementary school is turquoise, and red, and yellow, and bright. And it’s all mixed up. It looks like blocks and it looks fun and exciting. Our middle school is apple, orange, and blueberry, literally. And it looks very techy. Very techy for that customer. And so we kind of looked at those scholars and the parents as our customers so we aim to please and it was really exciting. A lot of fun.
TB: Congratulations.
MM: Thank you.
TB: Now you’ve got a new building to do, are you going to do the same colors?
MM: Similar. Similar.

Working with Charter School Capital

TB: One last question, if you would, please tell me or tell us a little bit about your experience working with Charter School Capital.
MM: Amazing. Absolutely amazing. From everybody to Tricia to the COO, Brad, yes. I remember Brad.
TB: He did visit your school.
MM: And he saw all the colors.
TB: And he said it was a sweet school. He said he would love to send his kids there. And I agreed with him for sure.
MM: Incredibly supportive. Very, very supportive. And you know, I was very excited through the whole building facilities process is they allowed the contractors and the people to actually talk with us and negotiate with us. So they were not rigid like, “No, this is what we’re doing and this is what we like.” Because they liked two colors. And from what I understood it wasn’t bright colors, it was very subdued colors. But they understood and I think as a whole Charter School Capital understands that every market is different. So I appreciate that.
MM: On the funding side, again, Tricia’s been amazing.
JJ: She is.
TB: Thank you.
MM: You know, Bryan and Christina has led us in a lot of different directions, helped us out when they don’t have to. But they have that very personal touch and commitment to the schools and to the client. So it’s very nice to say that we’re partners with Charter School Capital.
JJ: What a nice way to end.
TB: Thank you.
JJ: Thank you, Margie.
MM: Absolutely. We would not be the school that we are and we would definitely not be in the position that we are without Charter School Capital funding the growth and really taking an interest in charter schools and helping the charter schools grow. Charter schools are a huge movement, they’re so successful across the country and the states do not typically like … There’s not money for facilities provided for the state. So I think for you guys, whoever came up with a niche to go out to the charter schools and help them fund is amazing. Thank you.
TB: Thank you.
JJ: Thanks.

The 5 Essential Steps to Charter School Facilities Planning

Charter school facilities planning can be daunting. If you think that finding the perfect facility for your charter school seems like a huge, complicated undertaking, you’re in good company. This handy, information-packed guide, will help as you move towards realizing your facility expansion or relocation goals.
In it, we cover these five essential charter school facility planning steps—in detail:

Plan – Begin planning at least one year in advance
Fund – Understand your options to make savvy decisions
Acquire – You know what you can afford and how you’ll pay for it … now go get it
Design – Partner with experts to design your new space
Execute – Let the construction begin and get ready to move in

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