Creating and Operating a Charter School

Turning dreams about a new school into reality can be an exhilarating, challenging, and rewarding endeavor. As a result of the successful efforts of many people in creating charter schools, there are numerous sources of helpful information available to planners and operators of new schools.

Opening a new charter school is a community’s affirmation of its commitment to children and its hopes for the future. You’ll want to engage a planning team of parents, educators and other people who share your new school vision and commitment to community. It’s important to involve parents early in the planning and development stages. Allow plenty of time for your team to assess parent expectations and to achieve clarity about the essential mission of your school. Your leadership team should include individuals with the time, talents, and desire to plan and launch the new school. You’ll want to nurture ongoing discussions among team members in order to reach consensus about the philosophical underpinnings and mission of the school.

It is understandable that as parents and educators consider and begin the steps necessary to create a charter school, the focus is predominately on instructional strategies and school design. These educational issues can be all consuming as the planners pursue the creation of a charter school. Nonetheless, some attention should be given to the school’s organizational structure and governance system. A background paper on Charter Schools – The Case for Organization explains the importance of the founders creating a non-stock, non-profit corporation, along with bylaws, as the governance structure and holder of the charter (contract) on behalf of the school.

Adequate planning time is critical for ensuring that everything is ready before your school opens. The time will be needed to design the school, develop the curriculum, get approval from the authorizer, engage in marketing, communicate with parents and community leaders, recruit students, engage and train staff, plan special services, establish decision-making processes, and develop accountability systems.

As your team plans the new school, it’s important to continually ask yourselves these questions:

• Why a CHARTER school?
• What are your reasons for creating a charter school, rather than a non-charter (conventional) public school or program? Is it because of the school-site autonomy and accountability inherent in the charter idea?
• Will the charter school’s broad exemption from most state regulations allow your school to innovate in significant ways?
• What is it about a chartered school that’s so important to the success of your new school?
• What will be the results of your planning and implementing a charter school?
• Will students learn as revealed on measures that go beyond scores on standardized tests?
• What kind of school culture will be created?
• Will students have gained the knowledge, insights, and wisdom to connect with the community in significant ways? Will they exercise the freedom and power gained through their education in such a way as to make the world a better place not just for themselves, but also for everyone and everything around them?
• Will your vision be fulfilled?

Clarifying the answer to these questions, will help your planning team put in place an effective governance system, decision-making processes, and contract provisions that sustain the vision, mission, and autonomy of the school over the long run.

Links for Creating and Operating a Charter School

• Learning Alternatives
• Charter Starters
• Wisconsin DPI
• Creating Family Friendly Schools
• Charter Schools Development Center
• Continuous School Improvement
• Effective Charter School Governoring Board
• Steps to Starting a Charter School
• Charter Schools: Non-Regulatory Guidance
• Technical Assistance & Leadership