April

 

04.23.13 - South Carolina Charter School Conference

Charter School Tools is bringing you new tools from the California Charter Schools conference. If you missed the conference, no problem - here are some of the presentations contributed to Charter School Tools.

Bulletproof Your Charter: 10 Common Pitfalls in Making HR Decisions - Sharon Stull with CharterSAFE
Bulletproof Your Charter: 10 Common Pitfalls in Making HR Decisions is a presentation from the 2013 California Charter School Conference. Claims and lawsuits arising from employment disputes are draining school resources and creating morale problems for many charter schools.

Charter Facilities: A How-To Guide (non-Prop 39) - John Lemmo with Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP
Charter Facilities: A How-To Guide (non-Prop 39) is a presentation from the 2013 California Charter School Conference. Facilities are one of the major barriers to opening, scaling, and sustaining quality charter schools. This tool covers and demystify the major issues around finding and securing appropriate facilities, zoning/permitting/occupancy, funding source opportunities and limits, site selection, and getting it done right by building the best team for your school.

Nuts and Bolts of Facility Financing: What's Best for Your School - Cécile Chalifour with Low Income Investment Fund
Nuts and Bolts of Facility Financing: What's Best for Your School is from the 2013 California Charter School Conference. This tool discusses financing options to secure a permanent site are numerous and fairly complex, and figuring out which one will work best for your school takes time and experience. This tool will look at a variety of tools, from straight debt to bonds and New Market Tax Credits, with representatives of schools sharing the general pros and cons of each structure, practical tips, potential issues, and lessons learned.

Charter Cash Borrowing - Dr. Vicki Barber with El Dorado County Office of Education

What I Wish I Had Known - Alice Miller with the California Charter Schools Association 
What I Wish I Had Known presentation features finance experts and business managers discusses key problems and issues facing new school leaders. What are the key problem areas? What do new schools need to know that they don't? What are the chief business management hurdles facing the leaders and board members of newly-opened school? What are the key misconceptions and most common mistakes?

Charter School Tools featured article this month is by Frank Martinelli with The Center for Public Skills Training. Mr. Martinelli specializes in training and consultant services to nonprofits since 1976.

Positioning Your Charter School Board for Strategic Leadership - Part 2

In part 2, Mr. Martinelli looks at five strategies that can help your board overcome barriers and position itself for strategic leadership.  Read the full article

 

In case you missed part 1, it can be found below:
Positioning Your Charter School Board for Strategic Leadership - Part 1

In his travels across the country, Hess has met school and system leaders who have shared stories about evading, blasting through, or reshaping unnecessary and counterproductive constraints. Drawing on these stories and with his sharp eye, Hess shows current and aspiring leaders how they can cultivate and sustain powerful cultures of teaching and learning.A practical and entertaining volume, Cage-Busting Leadership will be of profound interest and value to school and district leaders and to everyone with a stake in school improvement.