Lisa DiGaudio
Founding Board Member & Principal, New Dawn Charter School

Well, you can’t have a school without students now, can you? Your enrollment policy is so important at this time because it must be reflective of what you put in the charter. Remember, you were chartered based on certain “promises” you made to the state/authorizer when you wrote the full application. You can’t write your application for high school students and then decide that you’re going to be an elementary school. It doesn’t work that way. In fact, if you were to change your enrollment policy, you might have a deal breaker on your hands. Stick to what you wrote! (To see what we wrote for New Dawn Charter School, download a copy of our application.)

Make sure that your enrollment policy is aligned with state guidance and laws as well as your enrollment and retention targets listed in the charter. Be sure to include targets for English language learners (ELLs), students with disabilities and students eligible for free or reduced lunch. Even if it is not formally required, it is best to submit your enrollment policy to your authorizer prior to beginning the enrollment process in order to ensure full compliance with your charter and state laws/regulations.

Hand-in-hand with the enrollment policy should be your recruitment plan. As a charter school, you must perform outreach to your entire community, including  the ELL population as well as the Special Education population. So, where do you go and how do you effectively recruit students? Part of the process in getting your charter was reaching out to the community. The same needs to be done for recruitment. This means handing out flyers, attending school fairs, going to local churches, meeting local representatives, and attending community board meetings. All of these activities will put your school on the map. Radio spots, newspaper articles, interviews, anything you can do to get the mission and vision of the school out there for the public to see will help you make your numbers. Stick to your recruitment plan outlined in your charter. This will help you stay on course. Social media like facebook and twitter are also two methods to get your name out there. In many instances, you can connect all of these on your website, enabling visitors to see any kind of activity happening with the school. Check out the websites from some of the Model Schools in the Network of Independent Charter Schools to see how they provide materials and information to help in the recruitment process:

Academy of the City Charter School

Bridge Boston Charter School

Broome Street Academy

Challenge Pre Charter School

Heketi Community Charter School

Inwood Academy for Leadership

John W. Lavelle Preparatory Charter School

Launch Expeditionary Learning Charter School

Lefferts Gardens Charter School

New Dawn Charter School

Renaissance Charter High School for Innovation

Staten Island Community Charter School

Tech International Charter School

Do not forget to make sure your recruitment materials are in the languages that dominate the community in which you seek to open. Handing out flyers in English will not encourage non-English speaking applicants to come to your school. By distributing flyers in many languages, community members know that you are in tune with the entire community living in the neighborhood who will benefit from having a charter school in the area. Again, this includes reaching out through local media (newspapers, radio and TV stations, etc.) but in multiple languages. I know of several schools that have weekly spots on different local radio stations, have had camera crews come in to do small spots advertising the school for websites and local TV stations, and have written small articles for the local papers in the languages spoken within their neighborhood. Making sure that your website is available in the predominant languages within your community is key to successful recruitment. See, for example, the Boston Bridge Charter School website, which uses the Microsoft Translator tool to allow users to translate pages in their website into various languages. There are a number of other translation tools available for free on the web, including Google Translate and Free Website Translation.

Reaching the special education population can be a bit tricky, as some potential parents do not want to entrust their children in a new school if they have special needs. One of the myths about charter schools is that special education students are not serviced in the same way as traditional public schools. It’s important to reach out to local supports for special education. (In New York State, you should contact your local Committee on Special Education). Establishing a relationship with local resources agencies is paramount to ensuring your students receive the proper services. It’s also important that parents see that you are active in implementing the goals set forth in a student’s individualized educational plan (IEP) and helping that student be successful in achieving those goals. These small steps speak volumes to parents and community members who may be skeptical of a charter school’s effectiveness in teaching students with IEP’s.

If you begin thinking about recruitment as soon as you are chartered, then you will be on the right track. Once again, there are many resources available to you for help. Authorizing agencies typically provide you with the timelines in which certain activities must be conducted. The Network for Independent Charter Schools, particularly through the Online Hotline, is available to help with questions and training that you may want to receive. Don’t be afraid to ask for help--it is there for the taking and is intended to help your school be successful! When we’re successful at recruitment, we are successful at helping more kids achieve their dreams.

Outside of writing the full charter school application, preparing for the interview with the review committee is one of the most stressful parts in the chartering process. This is the job interview of all job interviews, folks. It seems like a huge task, the applicant group sitting with the review committee around a table, needing to answer their questions on point. For some board members who may have expertise in banking or real estate, for example, they may have a hard time understanding the nuances of the instructional program. On the other side of that, educators may have a hard time fielding responses related to the budget over the five-year period or the impact of using a private facility instead of shared space. Either way, the committee needs to be comfortable with each other, be able to jump in and respond where appropriate and most of all, be confident with the panel and the team.

The New Dawn applicant group was at an advantage, as most of us had worked together in various stages on the PICCS program, which helps charter schools implement a series of tools to help drive performance forward for all students. With the experience and training in our PICCS school improvement engine, we were already aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the group, and we all took pieces of the charter that would showcase our strengths. We spent hours upon hours studying and building a “go-to closet” of resources that we could cite when responding to questions. For example, if a question came from the panel regarding our accommodation of the projected ELL population in the school, not only should any one of us be able to answer that question, but we should be able to cite curriculum and other resources to support our response. This meant studying a great deal of information over a very short period of time.

Slowly, we built out our sections of expertise. Each of us took our areas of expertise and worked on these elements, making notes, practicing answering questions with each other, and then having a conversation about our responses. Like following a Peer Review protocol, we each gave warm and cool feedback to increase our ability to respond and improve the level of ease in which we could answer questions in our field of comfort, and out of our field of comfort.

The New York City Charter School Center was so helpful in this regard. We scheduled a meeting with the center as a “mock interview.” The panel asked us very tough, very pointed questions, and if we did not respond in a way that completely answered the question, they would redirect and force a response out. After the question and answer period, the panel gave us feedback on every aspect of our responses. If you don't have such an ally organization in your area, then reach out to other charter schools that are already open and see if members of their founding team would be willing to hold a "mock interview" for you.

This process was extremely helpful! They critiqued our opening statement, the way we actually looked when we answered questions, and whether we smiled or showed we were nervous. They were even able to show us how to look confident when we might falter on a response. They advised us on where to sit (which of the panel should sit next to each other to show unity) and how to sit. It actually reminded me of a funny seen in Ocean’s 11, when Brad Pitt’s character is telling Matt Damon’s character to do all of these things in his performance with Andy Garcia, “Don’t say three words when two will do, don’t keep your hands in your pockets, don’t look away, he’ll think you have something to hide.” The depth to the feedback really gave our teams the ability to further prepare, and to prepare well. So thank you so much, once again, Charter School Center staff!

Having that vital feedback then gave us the chance to go to work. We made notes, we read the charter inside and out. We practiced with each other. The more you practice, the better you get at responding. It really gives you the confidence walking in to the real thing that you've “got this.” The other factor was the level of trust that our team had in each other. We all had each other’s backs. During the interview we would support each other, filling out answers when needed, and each of us had a chance to respond to the panel. Thanks to the rigorous mock interview we had with the Center, when we met our review panel, the entire meeting just flew by. We were able to answer the questions with ease, we were able to be comfortable with the panel (who were very inviting and supportive in their own right), and after it was all said and done, the panel warmly thanked each of us, noting the preparation we had brought to the table.

Just like the public meeting, there a few things to be absolutely ready for: 

• Treat your appointment like a job interview. DO NOT show up in jeans and a sweater. Suits only folks!
• Make sure you remember everyone’s name on your panel. People tend to make very silly mistakes when they get nervous. Write everyone’s name down by creating a very simple seating chart, so you can mention your reviewer or colleague by name when you need to speak.
•  Smile. It really shows confidence and ability.
•  Write the key words of the question down, and take your time responding. Showing that you are thoughtful and not just pulling information out of a hat so to speak will win points.
•  Make sure when you leave that you shake every reviewer’s hand and thank them. They spend a lot of time reviewing your application and your interview. Ultimately their feedback is the key in getting your application chartered.

It was quite an accomplishment for New Dawn making it through this process. We are lucky to have a close knit group of educators dedicated to building student achievement. We work together on various levels and share many of the same ideas on effective instructional practices. We took the time to be organized, to practice, and to be super prepared. In the end, all of these elements truly helped us be successful.

Next up…Hooray we’re chartered! Now what do we do?

The views expressed in Charter Notebook blogs represent the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the Center for Educational Innovation-Public Education Association or the U.S. Department of Education.

In my last post on starting a charter school, I rather lengthily talked about writing the full application. The narrative section of the application is one of the most important pieces of the entire process. In New York State, there are information sessions set up for groups looking to submit applications. You can go here http://www.p12.nysed.gov/psc/documents/NovDecInfosessions.pdf to get the latest information on dates and times for the 2011-2012 cycle of applicants. It would be helpful to review the 2010 and 2011 cycles, which outline the process, and show you how many applicants started the process to how many applicants finished with a NYS Board of Regents approved charter. The guidelines in the kits are strict. Page overages or being under the required pages could end up costing you a spot further along in the process. If you are located outside of New York State (where I am working on our charter application), be sure to take time to review all of the specific guidelines provided by your authorizer.

And don’t forget about the Network of Independent Charter Schools Online Hotline. You can use it ANY TIME, free of charge, to ask questions specific to your charter application process!

After the application narrative is completed, you must spend some time thinking about what attachments you will include to support your narrative.  I’m going to walk through the attachments prepared in the New Dawn full application, which you can find here: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/psc/2011CSFullApplications.html. The first two attachments are standard for the full application. It includes a roster of all the individuals associated with your charter: board members, prospective employees, and community activists. The next is a certification statement that the lead applicant must sign. Those are the “easy” attachments to fill out.

The next attachment is the school schedule. This takes some careful consideration, because you have to think about the needs of your student body and what they will be taking over a period of time. For high schools, the challenge of what new entrants will need vs. a student who needs everything can be tricky. Elementary schools have less struggles with scheduling, just needing to account for scheduling with student/staff projections over the course of the charter. The school calendar must also be included, ensuring the number of days of instruction, along with holidays and school closures are listed over the course of the charter.

The Corporate By-Laws is a legal requirement. The By-laws of your charter establish the name of your school, the mission of the school and the purpose of the charter. This document outlines the roles and responsibilities of the board of trustees. This includes the roles of the board in relation to school governance. Code of Ethics is next.

The next section is dedicated to the proposed employees and board members of the school. With each role, a curriculum vitae is included, which supports the individual’s credentials. This is important, because it provides transparency to the authorizers on the abilities of the team to run a school. The New Dawn applicant group features many talented educators and administrators who have decades of experience with children, managing organizations and designing curriculum for the target cohort of students. Following the credentials of the members, attachments include a Statement of Assurances for each member, along with a signed Request for Information sheet, providing information required on the pages from the charter office. Essentially ,the request for information establishes no conflicts of interest from the board and prospective school employees.

The organization chart is another important component of the attachments. This gives you the opportunity to really think about the structure of accountability and reporting from the student level up to the board of trustees. These relationships establish the basis for school culture and relations within the community with teachers and parents. Following the organization chart is the description of each of the positions listed in the organizational chart. New Dawn chose to have an Executive Director and Principal, so that the Principal would be free to spend time in classrooms and foster a true learning community with feedback regularly taking place in the classroom. The last section is the budget. This shows the fiscal health of the organization and its capacity to serve its students over the life of the charter.

No matter what may be required by your specific Authorizer, these attachments are important, and I would recommend preparing all of them even if they are not legally required by your Authorizer. It shows how the instructional program of the school will be supported through the organization, board of trustees and budget. All of these components demonstrate the health of the organization and the ability to run the school throughout the length of its charter and through renewal to the next charter. Demonstrating sustainability is the key to getting your charter approved.

Next time…preparing for the meeting with your community board.

The views expressed in Charter Notebook blogs represent the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the Center for Educational Innovation-Public Education Association or the U.S. Department of Education.

Lisa DiGaudio, Founding Board Member, New Dawn Charter High School

In this blog post, I am going to talk about writing the full charter application, which is the next step after writing a successful prospectus. After some nail biting, we were invited to submit our full application, and this time around, full adherence to the New York Stated Education Department guidelines on submissions had to be followed. The full application, the narrative being forty pages in length, and attachments to support the application following that, was our time to show the review committee that we had the necessary tools to run a charter school. If our application wasn’t accepted, that would be it. Eighty applicant groups submitted a prospectus. Out of those eighty, thirty-six groups were asked to submit a full application. The odds were getting tighter and tighter. Every word on the page mattered!

In keeping with our group dynamics, we all took the prospectus sections that we had helped Sara Asmussen, our lead applicant, write. This part of the process was so important for a number of reasons:

• First, you really had to make a decision about what the instructional program was going to look like.
• Second, you needed to be certain of your school calendar, the budget and staffing, as well as have a viable school model that will be sustainable over the life of the charter: five years. This application would be our contract with New York State, should it be accepted as a school.
• Third, you needed to be aware of so many other elements of the school that are outside of your comfort zone. That meant being involved in the community you were seeking to open in, understanding the dynamics of the neighborhood, obtaining letters of support from the community that showed our commitment to building a true school-community partnership. The month was filled with community building, meetings with key people who would support the mission of our school.

Hours and hours were dedicated to writing, editing, and meeting with others to get the word out about our school. This was one of the toughest parts of the process. Looking back, I wished that we had the "Online Hotline" through the Network of Independent Charter Schools! Advice on putting all of these pieces together would have been really helpful. (So if you’re thinking about starting a charter, take advantage of the hotline!)

The first part of the full application is the narrative. (You can read our full application at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/psc/documents/combined_redacted_new_dawn.pdf.) The narrative first addresses any issues raised by the review committee from the prospectus submission. In our case, because we were building upon the successes of the JVL Wildcat model, we needed to specifically clarify how we will be different.  The next part is the description of our instructional model, beginning with our mission and vision, as described in last week’s discussion of the prospectus. The next part, which is a key differentiation from Wildcat, is our implementation of the PICCS School Improvement Engine (SIE) from day one. The SIE allows us to create a data culture in our building right from the beginning, garnering our own baseline data and growing the longitudinal data as we progress from semester to semester. Key factors include a curriculum mapping system, data analysis reviews and Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s), which will help unite our staff in working together to brainstorm best practices that can be replicated from classroom to classroom.

With the aid of the SIE, our instructional program can effectively reach our target group of students (the over-aged and under-credited of Sunset Park, Brooklyn). The features of our model include a robust Social-Emotional Curriculum through Advisories. The Advisories will act as a safe haven for students to share their feelings, learn how to cope with the stresses of their lives, overcome academic failures by regaining confidence in reading and math, as well as receiving health services at the school based health center through Lutheran Hospital (one of our letters of support).

The other key pieces of our program include internships and classes at the Borough of Manhattan Community College’s campus (they are a partner in our application). These two elements of our program give our students real world experience for life after high school. Internships that provide them consistent feedback and training on a real trade will allow our students to continue with that path after graduation, with experience and support from their mentors. College classes will give every student the real college student flavor, in addition to the preparation of the rigors of college level courses (as illustrated in the Common Core standards, in addition to the PARCC exams to be implemented through NYS in 2014).  A sizeable chunk of the application is dedicated to instruction- just about fifteen pages. This should be evidence on how important the instructional program of a school is. Without it, nothing else really matters.

Following instruction comes all of the elements that make instruction work: the calendar year and daily instructional schedule (important to note the daily PD embedded in the schedule for the staff), and the target population. Here, the projected enrollment over a five year period is laid out; including approximations in ELL and Special Education percentages. (These percentages can be projected based on the current data for the community you are targeting. It is important to use that data and reference it in your application. It also demonstrates your knowledge of the community and the commitment to helping ALL student groups achieve.) Accommodations and levels of support to these populations must also be illustrated here. For New Dawn, the implementation of the workshop model is a clear cut way to differentiate instruction and provide numerous opportunities to place students in the driver’s seat of their progress. The workshop model supports transparency between the school and the student, and encourages an open dialogue about the trials and celebrations of a student’s academic journey.

The final pages of the instructional program outline assessment, accountability measures and interventions. This is paramount to the success of any instructional program. Using measures that support professional learning communities, curriculum mapping for a consistent core, action plans and professional develop need to be fully developed and easily defended to anyone who should ask about your plans. It’s great to come up with a fabulous idea that would make a fabulous school, but you really need to have the goods to back it up. You need to not just write about these programs, accountability measures and interventions, you have to prove that you have used them, are fluent in their implementation and able to trouble shoot as part of the learning curve of operating a school. If you can’t write and then do it, then you need to find someone in your group that can. A charter would never be approved without this level of competency from the founding group.

The next section, governance, describes the founding group and prospective employees of the school. The roles and responsibilities of key positions are outlined in this section. It is also in this section that the expertise of the founding group be explained. A founding group that lacks experience in running schools and the programs of the School Improvement Engine may raise red flags at their capacity to actually run a school on their own.  I’ll be talking about all of these positions in later blog entries, but it bears mentioning here. A good mix of expertise in all areas, business, law, teaching, administration and real estate make for a strong board.

The remaining pages of the application need to showcase the fiscal strength of the school. Budgeting is just as important as the instructional program. Without the money to buy everything a school needs…desks, chairs, computers…books…you can’t open a school. This means showing a budget that reflects five years of projected staffing, insurance costs, professional development costs, materials, food, transportation (if applicable), and a building. This is the downside of the charter world, asking for shared space with a DOE school is a recipe for disaster in some cases. The schools can rally entire communities to block this, leaving the charter school without a home. On the other side of this, without shared space, you will need to include a LARGE amount of money (at least a million dollars) towards a private building. And with private buildings come more insurance, build out costs (not all buildings are move in ready) and the rate of inflation and interest over the life of the charter. This is a significant cost, and if you recall my first blog, where the advice I received was to have two million dollars ready to go, well, that’s not that far off. 

We’ll get to the attachments in the next blog installment. I am sure I have given you a lot of information to mull over (and be nervous about). This is by no means an easy decision to make. Opening a school is going to take every minute of your time, and then some. Your responsibilities to an entire community to create a GOOD school is astounding. It will literally take your breath away. The most important thing to take away from all of this, from writing all of this down in an application and creating a system for students to learn is where to place your priorities. A good school puts the child first. If you can always keep sight of that simple statement, children first, then you will be able to do great things. I am a firm believer in action, but with action, you need to take small steps first. Read, use the hotline, ask us questions. We are here to help you achieve your dreams too, as it means more children will be helped to become successful.

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This blog post is part of the Charter Notebook, sponsored by the Network of Independent Charter Schools, a project of the Center for Educational Innovation - Public Education Association.

The views expressed in Charter Notebook blogs represent the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the Center for Educational Innovation-Public Education Association or the U.S. Department of Education.