breaking down "the chartered course: can private school choice proponents learn from the...

THE CHARTERED COURSECan Private School Choice Proponents Learn from the Charter School Sector?

breaking down

@edchoice

As demand for private school choice grows,

STUDENT PARTICIPATIONIN SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAMS

350,000

300,000

250,000

200,000

150,000

100,000

50,000

02000

36,000

2005

106,000

2012

212,000

2013

260,000

2014

+314,000

@edchoice

it’s imperative we examine ways to improve not only the diverse supply of schools but also the quality.

@edchoice

Charter schools have been experimenting with both for more than two decades and their market share is growing faster than any other school type.

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

01999-00

1% 1% 1% 2% 2% 3% 4%

89% 89% 89% 89% 88% 88% 88%

10% 10% 10% 9% 9% 9% 8%

2001-02 2003-04 2005-06 2007-08 2009-10 2011-12

CharterTraditionalPrivate

@edchoice

Indeed, many charter schools have coupled innovation with best practices from private and public schools with great results.

are low-incomeand

of graduates matriculated

to college

86%

83%are low-income

and

of graduates matriculated

to college

83%

100%are low-income

and

of graduates matriculated

to college

72%

100%

@edchoice

So what can the private school sector learn from some of the top charter schools?

@edchoice

Researcher

Andy Smarick

@edchoice

• a partner at Bellwether Education Partners,

• former Deputy Commissioner of Education of New Jersey and Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education,

• former COO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools,

• hot sauce aficionado,

• and fanatical blues guitarist,

analyzed charter schools to produce this synthesis of best practices.

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

To date, there are now about 6,000 charter schools serving nearly 2.3 million students.

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

In fact, student enrollment in the charter sector has outpaced enrollment in private schools of choice.

2,400,000

2,000,000

1,600,000

1,200,000

800,000

400,000

02008 2009 2010 2011

Private School Choice EnrollmentCharter Management Organization EnrollmentCharter School Enrollment

Sources: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, “The Public Charter Schools Dashboard: A Comprehensive Data Resource from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools,” accessed Apr. 4, 2014, http://dashboard.publiccharters.org/dashboard/schools/page/mgmt/year/2013; The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, The ABCs of School Choice: The Comprehensive Guide to Every Private School Choice Program in America, 2014 ed. (Indianapolis: Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, 2014), http://www.edchoice.org/ABCs.

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

How have top-performing charter schools expanded so quickly to meet the demand of families?

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

Many created Charter Management Organizations (CMOs), which develop new schools, all structured upon a unique educational model, and help those schools operate.

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

Students enrolled in schools overseen by CMOs have increased by more than174 percent since 2007.

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

What makes CMOs effective?

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

Economies of Scaledef. – the consolidation of support functions for all CMO network schools in one place.

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

Single-campus charter schools’ employees must often wear multiple hats, spreading their efforts thin...

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

...whereas CMOs might hire a few specialists that utilize their expertise for multiple schools, ensuring:

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

Back-Office Supportdef. – the freeing up of school principals’ time spent handling recruitment, fundraising, budgeting, data processing, and facilities management so they can spend more time mentoring teachers.

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

What’s the most important back-office support?

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

Human Capitaldef. – the process of competing to recruit the best new talent and grooming the top teachers for leadership positions.

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

How can CMOs compete with the dominant public school system and

higher union wages for the best potential talent?

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

External Partnershipsdef. – establishing relationships with organizations that cultivate teachers outside the fairly uniform colleges of education.

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

Teach For America and TNTP are examples of such organizations.

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

But CMOs don’t just recruit and cycle through new teachers as critics claim.They focus significantly on:

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

Internal Investmentsdef. – fostering continuous improvement by providing individualized professional development programs for existing teachers and grooming the best to be principals.

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

The biggest driver of whether we could open more schools—and of how successful those schools went on to be—was the strength of the school leaders.

– Dacia Toll,co-leader of the CMO

@edchoice

1. How Charter Schools Structure Themselves

We have retained 100 percent of the school leaders who[m] we grew from within the organization, and we’ve retained 40 percent of the ones we brought in from outside.

– Don Shalvey,founder of the CMO

@edchoice

2. How Charter Schools Identify Where to Open

New Locations

@edchoice

2. How Charter Schools Identify Where to Open New Locations

A charter school incubator is a nonprofit organization that identifies opportunities for opening new charter schools based on the needs of communities in a specific area.

2. How Charter Schools Identify Where to Open New Locations

@edchoice

Incubators encourage the growth of the charter school supply in a few ways:

2. How Charter Schools Identify Where to Open New Locations

@edchoice

1. building relationships with great school leaders and educators to launch and run new charter schools in their area,

2. convincing existing CMOs to open schools in their area, and

3. providing support, such as:

2. How Charter Schools Identify Where to Open New Locations

@edchoice

Leadership Pipelines def. – a program strategy or service that provides rigorous training for educators by preparing them to become strong future school leaders who can start and run a new, successful school.

2. How Charter Schools Identify Where to Open New Locations

@edchoice

Start-Up Capital def. – money to pay for new school start-up costs, such as creating leader training programs; purchasing books and materials; and constructing, renovating, or leasing a facility.

2. How Charter Schools Identify Where to Open New Locations

@edchoice

Strategy Guidancedef. – expert consultation to ensure soon-to-be school leaders know how to: pass school proposals through authorization checkpoints, develop a local governing board, build relationships with communities, plan performance tracking strategies, and otherwise map out key steps toward a successful school launch.

2. How Charter Schools Identify Where to Open New Locations

@edchoice

Political Advocacy def. – the process of staying up to date on legislative changes that affect the charter school sector, discussing developments with school leaders, educating the public on the effects issues will have on their communities, and advocating for policies that promote the growth of high-quality schools.

@edchoice

3. How Charter Schools Set Goals and Hold

Themselves Accountable

@edchoice

3. How Charter Schools Set Goals and Hold Themselves Accountable

A charter school authorizer is responsible for writing and submitting charter contracts typically to the state, and then holding its charter schools accountable for their performance according to the terms of those contracts.

3. How Charter Schools Set Goals and Hold Themselves Accountable

@edchoice

That means an authorizer is also responsible for shutting down its charter schools that fail to meet certain performance goals.

3. How Charter Schools Set Goals and Hold Themselves Accountable

@edchoice

Authorizers can have few or many schools in their portfolios, and they come in a few forms:

3. How Charter Schools Set Goals and Hold Themselves Accountable

@edchoice

LEAs, SEAs, HEIs, NEGs, NFPs, and ICBs

3. How Charter Schools Set Goals and Hold Themselves Accountable

@edchoice

Got it?

3. How Charter Schools Set Goals and Hold Themselves Accountable

@edchoice

Just kidding.We’ll explain:

3. How Charter Schools Set Goals and Hold Themselves Accountable

@edchoice

LEA – a local education agency, which is usually the local district public school board

SEA – a state education agency, which is the state’s department of education

HEI – a higher education institution

NEG – a non-educational government entity, such as a mayor

NFP – a not-for-profit organization

3. How Charter Schools Set Goals and Hold Themselves Accountable

@edchoice

Most of those authorizer types serve many other functions, spreading their skills and time thin.

3. How Charter Schools Set Goals and Hold Themselves Accountable

@edchoice

Utilizing independent chartering boards (ICBs) as authorizers is one way to ensure greater thought and time are put into planning which metrics schools track, how they’re tracked, and whether they’re successful.

3. How Charter Schools Set Goals and Hold Themselves Accountable

@edchoice

ICBs are what we call...

3. How Charter Schools Set Goals and Hold Themselves Accountable

@edchoice

Independent Agenciesdef. – an organization run by a staff of experts in accountability models, finance, and other areas with a single purpose—to authorize charter schools.

3. How Charter Schools Set Goals and Hold Themselves Accountable

@edchoice

ICBs have practical perks, too.

3. How Charter Schools Set Goals and Hold Themselves Accountable

@edchoice

1. They are not dependent upon the political interests of a district board or SEA.

3. How Charter Schools Set Goals and Hold Themselves Accountable

@edchoice

2. They can set longer, staggered terms to further insulate themselves from constantly changing political leadership and the personal interests that follow.

3. How Charter Schools Set Goals and Hold Themselves Accountable

@edchoice

3. They are less inclined to place the task of evaluating charter schools on the back burner for other institutional tasks.

@edchoice

Conclusions

@edchoice

The growth of school choice is inevitable, and demand for diverse, high-quality private schooling options is on the rise.

@edchoice

We’ve got to look for and be willing to test strategies that will expand the supply of private schooling options.

@edchoice

“The Chartered Course” is one way, but far from the only one, private schools can or should take.

@edchoice

This report simply aims to open the doors for collaboration between sectors.

@edchoice

Got different ideas?We’d love to hear them.

Reach out on Twitter @edchoice,on Google+ +edchoiceorg,or on Facebook /edchoice.

@edchoice

For more details, real life examples, and resources from the charter and private sectors, read the full report atedchoice.org/CharteredCourse.