Roger,
As a rule we counsel new groups in Wisconsin that it takes two full years from concept to inception--the opening of a new charter school. The first year of planning includes establishing the vision and mission,identifying the grades served and the curricular approach. All the stakeholders that you identified need to be educated and brought on board. The second year involves locating and readying the facility, hiring staff and negotiating the charter contract. At the beginning of the second year of planning, and after having established a collaborative relationship with their authorizer, we encourage groups to apply for a planning grant. We encourage the use of charter school start up funds to support adequate staff development to assure quality teachers, and to establish the benchmarks and the accountability measures that will steer programmatic and operational efforts. Too many planners try to open to soon, and end up having to decline their grants midyear, or struggle because they didn't do the necessary ground work.
Posted as a reply to:
Thinking and Learning Together Part II by Roger W. Bourassa
|
|
