School Operations
Resources and guidance to help charter schools run smoothly and safely
What We Offer
Value of partnership
“The value of the partnership we’ve built with the Charter Support Unit team is immeasurable. They provided guidance and walk each school through the exhaustive foundation-building process to a successful first day of school. Through our partnership, we have developed tools and resources for new schools to utilize. We plan on exploring more opportunities to collaborate. I know they’re just a phone call away. “
– Nadia Luna, VP of Member Services
Texas Public Charter Schools Association
Resources & Templates
From checklists for new schools to sample policy manuals, employment contracts and
forms for parents, the CSU’s library contains invaluable resources to help you run your school. Topics for operations professionals include campus safety, student health, family engagement, nutrition program compliance, marketing, technology and cybersecurity — and much more.
Webinars
Aired live weekly, and archived for viewing anytime, the CSU’s webinar series brings expertise from all over the country to bear on common challenges for charter school operators.
Consultations
Have an operations issue that would benefit from an outside perspective, or would you simply like feedback on how you might move your school to the next level? CSU consultants are available to meet with school leaders and boards to work through your school’s particular challenges or to help you advance your mission in new ways.
Document Review
For schools in their first charter contract, we review operating documents at no cost to schools to provide feedback or suggestions. Whether you are developing an employee handbook, a parent guide, employment documents or forms for your staff, we’re here to help.
Budget Templates
Many schools and districts have long utilized the Budget Template tool available from the Charter Support Unit. We will continue to support and expand upon the existing tool. In addition, we will be creating additional templates and tools to help existing schools with developing future budgets, and to assist schools during their launch year with projecting actual expenses and budgets through the school opening. Watch for more later in the year.
Charters.Link (Florida)
For Florida charter schools and authorizers, this online monitoring tool helps ensure compliance with all of the documents and deliverables that schools are required to provide to their authorizing district throughout the year.
School Operations
Trainings, Webinars, Sample Documents, Resources, and more…
- Suicide: Warning Signs & Crisis Intervention
March 10, 2021
Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24 in the United States, and the first leading cause of death for college-aged women (NAMI). This ‘Suicide Prevention’ workshop will (1) explore the warning signs and risk factors of su …
Read more - Local School Performance Frameworks in the Age of ESSA and Multiple Authorizers
March 10, 2021
Many leaders express the need to better identify which schools are working in a city or district and which ones are not in a way that would allow system leaders or parents to make good decisions. Although ESSA calls for state measures, a locally develo …
Read more - If We Build It They Will Come – Or Will They?
March 10, 2021
The days of “If you build it, they will come” are long gone for charter schools across the country. Schools leaders are having to work smarter to ensure the full enrollment which is so critical to their mission and their budget. Learn the leading stude …
Read more - The E-Rate Program and its New Rules
March 10, 2021
Do you know about the changes to E-Rate or are you looking to learn about the program in general? E-Rate is a federal program schools can take advantage of to help pay for Internet access and network equipment. While this is a free resources for school …
Read more - How to Use Virtual Platforms to Reimagine Professional Development and Collaboration
March 10, 2021
New technology and online platforms have created the opportunity to reimagine what professional development and collaboration look like in education. There is no reason why educators’ access to professional development should be confined to specific ro …
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