Undertaking a facility development, acquisition, or construction project for your permanent school home is a BIG deal. This informative webinar will show you the 12 most common, fixable – but often devastating – mistakes charter school founders, board, and leaders make in their facility planning. Participants will leave with the…

Balancing budget priorities is difficult for all charter schools in Florida, but trying to prioritize the budget for high needs / turn-around schools is an even more complex puzzle. Aligning your educational priorities to your plan for spending money is essential to ensure the correct staff are in place, and…

This is a sample checklist that your school’s maintenance staff could use to do annual checks of the physical property to ensure that safety issues are addressed and taken care of on a regular basis.

This is a sample form that a school can use for staff members to acknowledge the sign out of building keys, and to warn staff about the consequences of losing keys to the building.

If you are able to sub-lease your building, we recommend having policies established regarding the process and requirements for outside organizations who wish to rent out your building’s space. If you are leasing your property, be careful to review your lease, as many leases prohibit sub-leasing your space. This form…

For new schools, or schools looking to expand, facilities issues often cause issues for charter schools in providing the best possible program. Questions around how to go about getting the best deal on a lease, or exploring the possibility of purchasing are stressful decisions for school leadership and governance. This…

This webinar will explore current financing options in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The presenters will explore rapidly evolving market conditions and examine interim financing options alongside traditional fixed rate financing to help schools bridge the current crisis.  Attendees will have a better understanding of the current options available to…

This is a sample form the school could adopt to ensure all of the typical safety issues that schools should be concerned about are completed in each classroom. The school may wish to institute a policy whereby this form is completed each semester for each classroom at the school.

This sample safety plan provides guidance and a sample for developing a comprehensive safety plan. School’s should not just adopt this document!, it is important this only be used as a guide for developing a custom plan specific to your facility, staff and school.

E-Rate is a federal program schools can take advantage to help pay for Internet access and network equipment. While this is a free resources for schools, many find the E-Rate program intimidating, time consuming and confusing. This webinar will provide you with an overview of the E-Rate program. You will…

Facilities is one of the most common difficulties faced by new charter schools. The facilities most charters are able to secure to get their school started may not be the ideal situation to support their future plans. This presentation will talk about the importance of strategically thinking about the future,…

While there is no formal requirement that schools have a specific documentation form to document their fire drills, fire drills are required to be held monthly, and we encourage schools to develop a system for monitoring and documenting these drills. This form is a sample form a school could use…

“A school is a building with four walls – with tomorrow inside.” This informative webinar will guide you in the multi-year process of planning and constructing your dream school building that will empower you to best teach the leaders of tomorrow. We will discuss creating a realistic timeline and plan…

Parents entrust their children’s education to you… and many charters face difficulty with building their dream facility. In order to make it a reality, schools need a lender willing to invest millions of dollars into the school. During this webinar, the presenters will review actual charter school budgets from a…

Whether you are looking to bring your educational model to new markets, or are pioneering a brand new charter organization, site selection will be one of the most important decisions you make in opening a new campus. Being proactive in the selection process will save you many headaches down the…

This sample form can be used for staff members to request maintenance assistance and to help the maintenance staff keep track of the requests being received.

This is a sample checklist that your school’s maintenance staff could use to do monthly checks of the physical property to ensure that safety issues are addressed and taken care of on a regular basis.

This course covers basic information about developing, implementing, and maintaining a school emergency operations plan (EOP). The goal of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the importance of schools having an EOP and basic information on how an EOP is developed, exercised, and maintained. The topics…

The January 19, 2017 is the second training as part of the 2017 New School Institute.  The aim of the New School Institute is to bring together leaders from charter schools who plan to open their doors in 2017 or 2018 to help the get on track to a successful…

The Charter Support Unit was excited to present the first New School Institute training on November 10, 2015 at the state Charter School Conference. The three hour training covered the basic steps that new schools need to start thinking about now in order to be open to open their schools…

The second training of the New School Institute was held on January 8, 2016. The training focused on the corporate structure, human resources and financial planning for new charter schools.

This week’s meeting will focus on hiring the school’s Principal and securing a facility. With regards to the Principalship, we will provide the Governing Board tips on how to establish a process to use to recruit and decide upon the most important hire you will make for your school. In…

Now that we have stepped into the world of the “new normal” for charter schools following the 2020 pandemic, there are many lessons learned and ideas to share in these challenging times for everyone involved. Building Solutions and dozens of school facilities management teams have collaborated to report on their…

The presentation focused on the connection between educational success for students and the school safety climate. The presenter focused on emergency planning and the types of plans schools should have in place to address potential crisis situations. The webinar also focused on providing attendees information on best practices as they…

Research indicates that there are almost a half million acts of violence in our schools annually with over 20% of students in grades 9-12 reporting that they have been bullied. School safety and security in these modern times is more than just policing – it is about connecting with students…

Finding a permanent home for a charter school is one of the most complicated tasks the school will face. Options abound for the facility itself and the financing of those facilities. This presentation will share the various options which are available for facilities and financing from one school’s experience moving…