This virtual event offers tons of value to anyone involved in the charter school movement. There will be tracks appealing to any role in education, from remote learning to equity and inclusion, from leveraging ESSER funds to facility financing, from teacher recruitment to board succession.

The conference kicks off Monday, June 21st, with a session on culturally responsive teaching, a session on building and sustaining community, and an intriguing panel challenging the one-teacher-one-classroom model of schooling.

There’s also a panel aimed at closing the education gap affecting middle-schoolers due to COVID-19 and a great breakout session on seizing the opportunities digital teaching has shown us during the pandemic.

We’ll be engaging in a spirited conversation about charter school facility financing at 8:00 am-8:45 am on Monday.

Also, on Monday morning, there’ll be a breakout session on the ways schools can foster a sense of belonging in students and ways to prioritize students with disabilities. Other breakouts will focus on student engagement and on the future of online learning.

All of this before 9:00 am!

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Charter School Capital sessions:


Tuesday, June 21 at 1:00 am ET
The Secret Sauce: Charter School Enrollment Marketing

Tuesday, June 22 at 10:00 am ET
Help is Here: Putting COVID-Relief Funds to Work

Tuesday, June 22 at 3:30 pm ET
Facilities Financing + No-Cost Bond Alternative

Wednesday, June 23 at 12:00 pm ET
The Secret Sauce: Charter School Facilities Financing

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At 9:00 am, Dr. Priscilla Chan will deliver the opening keynote, focusing on student and teacher needs post-COVID-19.

Throughout Monday, several exciting panels and breakouts will follow, from the role of Black institutions in the charter school movement to solutions for reaching homeless students. In addition, there will be a breakout session on teaching computer science and an intriguing panel called ‘Moral Courage: The No-Shaming Approach to Antiracism and Inclusion.’

On Monday afternoon, a breakout on charter schools as true community anchors has our attention. We at Charter School Capital have long believed in the role of charter schools as hubs of stability and support for families.

Also on Monday afternoon, there will be a showing of the film ‘Girl Rising‘ – featuring powerful stories about courageous girls around the world.

On Tuesday, there will be a panel on learning loss prevention, a breakout on opening a new charter, tackling COVID-related depression in kids, a panel on LGBTQ+ students and allies, a breakout on charter school marketing, and a great panel called “Not Going Back to Normal.”

Additionally, Kairos Academies will lead a panel on personalized learning, two panels on Social-Emotional Learning, a panel on raising money for your school, and a breakout on enrollment marketing.

Dr. Miguel Cardona is scheduled to speak on Tuesday at 11:00 am. His speech is titled ‘Celebrating Educator Excellence.’

On Tuesday afternoon there will be a session on parent engagement, a breakout for startup charter schools, a breakout on online tutoring, a celebration on 30 years of charter schools. 

These are just some of the exciting sessions we’re looking forward to attending. The 2021 National Conference promises to be an information-packed event with something for everyone. We hope to see you there!

Visit Our Booth at NCSC21

National School Choice WeekNational School Choice Week is Only One Week Away!

National School Choice Week (NSCW) is coming January 20-26th, and we want to make sure you’re up-to-date on all the cool happenings so you don’t miss a thing!  

What is National School Choice Week?

Not familiar with NSCW? This inspiring week recognizes all K-12 options, including traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, private schools, online academies, and homeschooling. It’s the world’s largest annual celebration of opportunities in education that includes over 10,000 independent events. It’s a nonpartisan, non-political, independent public awareness effort that’s not associated with any legislative lobbying or advocacy efforts.
Every child deserves a bright future. Having school choice simply means that parents are empowered to select the best possible educational experience and learning environment for their unique child’s individual needs—helping them thrive!

Join the Conversation!

Make sure to join the conversation all next week with Charter School Capital, as we share stories and quotes about school choice on Facebook, Twitter, and on LinkedIn. Follow all the school choice week festivities, events, and conversation using the #schoolchoice and #SCW hashtags.

Learn More

There are so many events going on across the country next week, that we can’t list them all here; but if you’re interested in finding a National School Choice Week activity in your area check out this state-by-state map to see what’s happening near you! We’d also love to hear what you’re doing to celebrate the week. Leave us a comment below.
Have a great #schoolchoice week!

National Charter Schools Week

National Charter Schools Week is May 7-11

National Charter Schools Week is May 7-11 and we’re happy to take this opportunity to recognize and raise public awareness for charter schools, the academic success of charter school students, and the charter school movement as a whole.
The charter school movement has been growing steadily since the first charter law passed in 1991 in Minnesota. To date, 44 states and D.C. have charter schools, 3.2 million students attend charter schools, there are 7000 public charter schools nationwide receiving $400 million in funding and employing 219,000 charter school teachers.
This year, during National Charter Schools Week, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is highlighting “Change Makers”— these are the teachers, leaders, elected officials, advocates, families, students, and alumni who make up the charter movement. They are encouraging schools and advocates alike to join in the celebration by hosting/attending local rallies, inviting elected officials to classroom visits, and sharing your voice and the voices of “change makers” through blog posts, media outlets, and social media posts.
Get some awesome resources, social templates, and guides here.


Some Shareable Facts!

Looking for ideas on what to post to your social circles? Why not use some of these facts? Or, whether you are a school leader, a teacher, parent, etc., the National Alliance has compiled some specific messaging tailored for you here.

  • In 2017-18, there are more than 7,000 charter schools. (National Alliance, 2018)
  • Charter schools serve nearly 3.2 million students in 43 states and D.C. (National Alliance, 2018)
  • Charter schools serve 6 percent of the 50 million public school students in U.S.
  • In 2015-16, 67 percent of charter school students identified as students of color, compared to 51 percent of district school students. (CCD)
  • In 2016-17, 60 percent of charter schools were independently managed and 26 percent were part of a non-profit CMO.
  • Students in urban charter schools gained an additional 40 days in math and 28 days in reading per year compared to their district school peers—low-income Black and Hispanic students showed even more progress. (CREDO, 2015)
  • In 2017, 6 of the 10 best high schools were charter schools. (U.S. News, 2017)
  • According to a nationally representative survey, nearly 80 percent of parents want public school choice. (National Alliance, 2016)
  • There are more than 5 million additional students who would attend a public charter school if they had access. (PDK, 2017)
  • 47 percent of U.S. adults support public charter schools, 29 percent oppose them, with the rest having no opinion. (EdNext, 2018)

Our team will be following along and featuring some of these National Charter Schools Week activities on our social channels including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. We invite you to join the conversation as well by using the hashtags #CharterSchoolsWeek and #WeLoveCharterSchools so we can help amplify your voice and the voice of the movement!

 

charter school advocacy monthCharter School Advocacy Month

April is a pivotal time in the legislative process when lawmakers make decisions on key legislation affecting charter schools in California. That is why CCSA has dubbed April “Charter Public Schools Advocacy Month.”
For the past five years, the CCSA Advocacy Day was held on a Tuesday during the first week in May to coincide with National Charter Schools Week. However, with new threats and powerful special interest groups working against charter public schools, one day is not enough.

Why Should You Get Involved?

California Charter School LegislationSenator Jim Beall (D-San Jose) has introduced a bill that would allow districts to deny new and renewing charter schools based on the so-called negative impact on district budgets. The impact of this bill would be a charter school moratorium, similar to Senate Bill 808 (Mendoza). It is supported by CTA and CSBA.
Senate Bill 1362 (Beall) would cripple California’s charter public school movement by making it easy for hostile authorizers to stop new schools from opening, despite parent demand, and close existing charter schools, despite strong academics.

How Can You Help?

We cannot stop this bill without your direct advocacy. Legislators need to hear your first-hand stories about how this change would impact the students and families you serve.
Make it a top priority to be heard and join California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) this April in the State Capitol for Charter Public Schools Advocacy Month!
CCSA invites you to join them in Sacramento each Tuesday in April to advocate for bills that will significantly affect charter public schools because lawmakers listen to voters and community leaders from districts they represent. Your participation can make a difference! Learn more here.


Charter School Capital is committed to the success of charter schools and has solely focused on funding charter schools since the company’s inception in 2007. 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 help your charter school, contact us!

LEARN MORE

 

supporting charter schools

HELP BOOST AWARENESS AND SUPPORT FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS TODAY

The California Charter School Conference starts today! We’re thrilled to be a part of this amazing annual event in its 25th year for a few amazing days of inspiration, connectivity, education, and collaboration—all to support charter schools and the charter school movement! But our efforts continue all year round.
Charter schools help create educational choice. We believe in the power of charter schools and their leaders to deliver quality education to families across the country. And we help by supporting charter school growth. 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 ultimately to be able to serve more students. We take pride in the social impact that we’re supporting by helping charter schools succeed. This is our passion, just as providing a quality education to children in your community is yours. We hope you’ll join us in supporting the California Charter Schools Association’s Discover Charters initiative to help boost awareness and support for charter schools.
Take advantage of their resources to help build confidence among your school staff, teachers and parents so they can effectively advocate for your charter school and the broader movement.

HERE ARE FIVE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO PARTICIPATE

  1. Review the Charter Leader Guide for in-depth tips and ideas.
  2. Customize and print posters. Display them at your school sites with your own school logo.
  3. Download and distribute FAQs with your school communities.
  4. Customize a draft newsletter article and share with your parents and school communities. You can also add this email signature to your parent and community correspondences.
  5. Share social media assets and messages directly across your social media platforms using the hashtag: #DiscoverCharterSchools.

Charter School Capital is committed to the success of charter schools and has solely focused on funding charter schools since the company’s inception in 2007. 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 help your charter school, contact us!

LEARN MORE

national school choice week
National School Choice Week (NSCW) is coming January 21-27th, and we want to make sure you’re up-to-date on all the cool happenings so you don’t miss a thing!  
Not familiar with NSCW? This inspiring week recognizes all K-12 options, including traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, private schools, online academies, and homeschooling. It’s the world’s largest annual celebration of opportunities in education that includes over 10,000 independent events. It’s a nonpartisan, non-political, independent public awareness effort that’s not associated with any legislative lobbying or advocacy efforts.
Every child deserves a bright future. Having school choice simply means that parents are empowered to select the best possible educational experience and learning environment for their unique child’s individual needs—helping them thrive!
Make sure to join the conversation all next week with Charter School Capital, as we share stories and quotes about school choice on Facebook, Twitter, and on LinkedIn. Follow all the school choice week festivities, events, and conversation using the #schoolchoice and #SCW hashtags.
There are so many events going on across the country next week, that we can’t list them all here; but if you’re interested in finding an NSCW activity in your area check out this interactive map of everything going on! We’d also love to hear what you’re doing to celebrate the week. Leave us a comment below.
Have a great #schoolchoice week!

The Arizona Charter School Business Summit has come to a close for 2017, but it’s easy to see how the impact of the event will ripple throughout the year.
The event hosted a number of incredible workshops diving into challenges and solutions specific to Arizona charter schools, but the main conference day was kicked off with a passionate opening keynote by Colin Seale.  Learning about his background and how he overcame childhood obstacles to become a math teacher, get his law degree, and work with youth in the juvenile was absolutely remarkable. However his message on critical thinking was even more impactful. Because charter schools are all so unique, he challenged all charter leaders to think differently when it comes to education. As technology changes, so will the type of careers our kids will have to choose from, and as such, critical thinking skills will be even more important moving forward for your youth’s success.
One of my personal highlights was having the opportunity to represent Charter School Capital in a presentation on “Best Practices for Charter School Expansion” with Megan Olson, the co-founder of Odyssey Preparatory Academy Family of Schools. The presentation went through the different stages of growth and Megan was able to dive deeper into common misconceptions, challenges, and best practices using her broad set of experiences as the framework. You can access the slides from that presentation here.
I had the pleasure of meeting with a variety of charter leaders to discuss facility needs, working capital issues, and even the Title 1 issues that continue to linger for our schools. It was also great to see familiar vendors and even many new ones that are in support of the charter movement here in Arizona.
All in all, this year’s Arizona Charter School Business Summit was great. I’m looking forward to working with you all throughout the year and can’t wait for next year’s incredible conference.

It’s hard to believe the Charter Schools Development Center’s “Leadership Update” Conference is next week! Held in San Diego,CA November 16-17, the event is designed to provide California’s charter school movement with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive during the school year ahead. This year’s event will undoubtedly promote thought-provoking content on the latest charter issues.
Ryan Eldridge
Ryan Eldridge
Charter School Capital
I am genuinely looking forward to meeting with charter leaders and members of the charter community again at this years conference. If you have the time, I’d encourage you to stop by our table and say hello. As Charter School Capital’s California funding specialist, I love speaking with charter school leaders on funding and facility needs – but also any educational or how-to content we can provide.
Charter School Capital has been providing financial solutions for working capital and facilities financing to the charter community in California for over a decade. In fact, we have now provided over $1.6B in financing to over 600 charter schools serving over 650,000 students nationally. Since our entire business is 100% focused on charters, we truly have the experience and the focus to solve some of the unique financial challenges charter schools face. Running a charter school comes with some unique business challenges and we seek to understand the whole picture of a school’s operations and look for a way to solve those challenges collectively with the school. Here are a couple examples:
  • Many times new and expanding charters will face cash flow crunches in the early stages of the year. New schools do not receive their first principal apportionment payment sometimes until the first week of October and, unless they have a start up grant or some philanthropy, they may not have the cash on hand to open the doors for the start of the school year. Expanding charters with increasing enrollments, either by adding grades or straight organic growth will have the challenge of cash flow crunches in P1 until the state catches up with payments in P2. In. In both situations Charter School Capital has helped many charters throughout California over the years receive the necessary funds in time to open the doors or balance the cash flow issues during these times.
  • Another area that Charter School Capital has been helping charters in California is with unique facilities financing solutions. Proposition 39 space is an ongoing challenge for many charters in California. The uncertainty of available, equitable space continues to be a point of contention for charters and their authorizing districts. Reapplying year after year for district provided space can be time consuming and create a lot of uncertainty for potential parents and students enrolling in the schools. The space often does not provide enough parking, access to labs, libraries, and outside space. While colocating on the same campus with district schools poses a bevvy of other issues. At Charter School Capital we provide the opportunity for charters to acquire properties that will allow for expansion in a permanent facility knowing they have full control of the property. And they don’t have to become real estate experts over night or become landlords. They can focus on teaching kids while Charter School Capital provides a long term lease with no out-of-pocket expenses, while also collecting SB740 money. If the school ultimately wants to use bond financing long term that is an option too. Either way, the schools can make this dream a reality today without having multiple renewals or deep reserves.
I hope you will stop by the table to introduce yourself. I look forward to the chance to meet with you and hear about the wonderful things that you organization is doing for California students. I want to know your story and learn more about how we may be of service.
If you’d like to set up time in advance to discuss your school’s vision and funding or facility needs, email us at growcharters@charterschoolcapital.com and we’ll get something on the books. Safe travels and I look forward to seeing you there!

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

Charter School Capital sponsored a breakfast meeting this week in Florida with more than 50 charter school principals and assistant principals from the Orange County Public School District in attendance. This gathering was co-sponsored by Kia Scott, Executive Director, and Gina Doyle, Senior Administrator of the School Choice Services of the Orange County Public Schools.

We presented information focused on charter school resources, particularly growth capital and charter facilities funding. Keeping with an education focus, attendees were then asked to take an open book “pop quiz” based on some of our handouts.
This was our team’s second breakfast meeting for the Orange County School District, and we hope to continue working with charter leaders to provide additional sessions focused on growth capital and charter facilities funding. If you are interested in having our team meet with your group, please contact GrowCharters@charterschoolcapital.com.