Charter schools – whether urban, suburban, or rural – tend to share many of the same, broad needs. The challenges in addressing these needs, however, can be greater for rural charter schools. This session will address challenges related to transportation, facilities, and human capital for rural charter schools. Strategies for improving the climate for rural charter schools with be offered.
This presentation will be just what you need to brush up on cybersecurity and how you can protect your school from threats. We will discuss the various techniques you can use to keep your school safe by identifying potential threats and taking correct actions to stop them before they do damage!
Many schools and boards wait until the year the charter is up for renewal to understand the obligations of the authorizer and to take a hard look at data – both academic and non-academic. For many schools, this is too late and they run to catch up on what they should know. In this session, board members will learn how to prepare for renewal from the day it receives its charter. This session will discuss the importance of data collection, succession, planning, and the board’s role in the renewal process.
Authentic community engagement is an integral part of creating, starting and sustaining a high-quality charter school. In this session, we will walk participants through effective community engagement processes and practices from the point of concept through opening. Such processes and practices include: creating digital and print communications; identifying the right groups and individuals to engage throughout the process; using surveys and focus groups to gain meaningful input on the school design; documenting the engagement process and input from stakeholders; facilitating effective public meetings; shifting from securing application support to recruiting students; turning application allies into community partners during the planning year; bringing parents and board members onto the board; building sustainable systems for community involvement. We will provide links to planning tools, templates and exemplars to support groups in their own community engagement efforts.
