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Special issues in charter school governance

Special issues in charter school governance. Agenda. Charter Board duties Charter School Boards vs. other nonprofit Boards Committees Open meetings law and Board Communication Monitoring performance Founding team challenges. My definition of an expert:.

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Special issues in charter school governance

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  1. Special issues in charter school governance

  2. Agenda • Charter Board duties • Charter School Boards vs. other nonprofit Boards • Committees • Open meetings law and Board Communication • Monitoring performance • Founding team challenges

  3. My definition of an expert: “…a person who knows enough about what’s really going on the be scared” PJ Plauger

  4. 100 9th grade students

  5. 52 complete high school in 4 years

  6. 29 are considered “college ready”

  7. 25 will actually enroll in college

  8. Half will take remedial classes

  9. And after 8 years. . .

  10. 9 will graduate from 4 year colleges

  11. Colorado Landscape • Nearly half of students fail to graduate from high school on time • Drop outs cost $3.4 billion each year in lost earning potential • Fewer than 30% of students who are not currently proficient are making adequate growth to reach proficiency by 10th grade.

  12. National Landscape • Colorado ranks 32nd worst in the nation on the poverty achievement gap in reading and 43rd in math • America’s high school graduation rate ranks 21st in the world • 2/3 of new jobs being created require college education or advanced training. Just over 1/3 of current high school students are college bound. • One additional year of school reduces the odds that a student will someday commit a crime like murder or assault by almost one-third. 

  13. How did we get here?

  14. School Models

  15. Why New Schools? • Easier and more effective than transforming failing schools • High performing new schools 2 to 3 applicants for every open slot. More than 25,000 students statewide are on waitlists for charter schools • The Colorado Commission for High School Improvement and the Denver Commission on Secondary School Reform both called for a dramatic increase in school choice options • Successful models have proven it is possible

  16. Barriers to new school creation • Leadership: Traditional leadership programs do not prepare principals to run autonomous schools • Facilities: To date, districts and autonomous schools have not worked together effectively to find innovative facility solutions • Financial resources: On average, it costs $1 million to create a new school without considering facility costs • Strong Boards!

  17. Get Smart Schools The mission of Get Smart Schools is to stimulate and support the creation of new high performing schools serving low-income students in kindergarten through twelfth grade in Colorado’s front range. Criteria: • Autonomy • Budget control • Curriculum control within the context of state standards • Ability to hire and fire at the building level • Accountability • Clear standards • Consequences for failure • Strong leadership • Entrepreneurial staff • Strong governance

  18. Education Models

  19. Our Approach

  20. Charter School Board Duties • Setting and protecting the mission and vision of the school • Hiring, evaluating, terminating the school leader • Providing financial oversight • Ensuring adequate resources • Ensuring legal and ethical compliance • Recruiting new board members • Serving as ambassadors for the school

  21. Charter School Committees • Standing • Executive • Nominating/Governance • Finance • Development • Accountability • Ad Hoc • Facilities • Personnel

  22. Time Commitment • 2 hours/month for Board meetings • 1-2 hours/month for committee meetings • 3-6 hours/month for independent work and school stewardship activities

  23. Charter Boards vs. Nonprofit Boards

  24. Open Meetings Law • Any gathering of either 3 members of the Board or a quorum constitutes a public meeting • All meetings require 24 hours advance public notice • Physical posting in a public place • Place of posting determined annually • Email discussions between 3 or more members also constitute a public meeting • All meetings must have recorded minutes and those minutes must be available for public inspection • Executive session permitted for limited reasons: • Real estate transactions • Personnel matters (unless employee requests otherwise) • Attorney client privilege • Requires 2/3 of membership vote to go into executive session • Minutes must be taken and kept for 90 days • May see new requirement coming for recordings of meetings

  25. Implications for Board Communication • Informational emails are fine • Reply all is not • Committee meetings need to be treated like regular meetings • Talking about the school informally is fine • Talking about issues that will come up for a vote is not • Open meetings law can be a tool in fighting tendencies toward micro-management

  26. Monitoring Performance

  27. Head of School Performance • Set clear goals and a timeline now • Determine who will do the evaluation early so that group can gather information all year long • Review the many tools available and select/adapt one • Teacher input is valuable – student and parent input debatable

  28. Finding your match • Learn about the mission/vision of the school and understand if that mission is aligned with your views of education • Understand the time commitment • Ask about financial expectations • Get to know the Head of School • Observe a Board meeting • If the school is already open, spend time visiting

  29. Motivation • Connection to the work • Individual accountability • Recognition • Renewal

  30. Founding Team Challenges • Micromanagement • Fatigue • Old Guard vs. new members • Anxiety about evaluating school leader

  31. Learning Boards • Use available resources (Colorado League of Charter Schools, Get Smart Schools, CDE) • A learning opportunity at every meeting • Annual self review and retreat

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