Every Great School Starts Somewhere—Even with a Rejection
What to Do If Your Charter School Application is Not Approved
by Wayne D. Jones, JPS Solutions | May 20, 2025
Muhammad Ali. Serena Williams. Michael Jordan. Tom Brady.
For my money, these are the GOATs of their respective sports. Not because they never lost. But because they faced setbacks, shook off their losses and came back to win.
Now I say this not to provoke arguments about which athletes are the greatest of all time. After all, reasonable people can disagree. Rather, I ask you to think what it takes to become great. In education, as in sports, success rarely comes easy. First-time charter school applicants often stumble. But, like the record-breaking stars I mentioned, those who persevere—who learn from early missteps and keep refining their “game”—are the ones who ultimately succeed.
Having worked with dozens of charter school applicant groups, I know firsthand the hard work, commitment and genuine excitement that go into preparing and submitting a charter school application. I also understand, knowing you gave your best effort, how frustrating it feels if your charter school application is not approved. However, the hard and painful truth is that few charters are awarded to first-time applicants. Nationally, only 35% of first-time applicants are successful. For some authorizers, the approval rate for first-time applicants is even lower. In New York, for instance, the State University of New York (one of only two entities that can sanction new schools) approved only 18% of first-time applicants in recent years, with independent charter school first-time applicants being approved at a much lower rate than those affiliated with CMOs.
So what does this mean to you if you’ve submitted an application for a new charter school that wasn’t approved? First, whatever you’re feeling about it is ok. After all, rejection is a real thing, and it hurts. Chances are, though, the reasons for denial are issues you can address. You can learn from the experience, refine your plan, try again and succeed.
I’m not just trying to be motivational here. Yes, perseverance is important, and an initial rejection—or several—does not have to be the final say. Even Stephen King, JK Rowling and Dr. Seuss were each rejected by dozens of publishers before they achieved their successes. But while motivation is great, strategy is better. And strategically, if your application has been rejected, the next question must be: “How do we turn a rejection today into an approval tomorrow?”
Don’t be discouraged and be open to constructive criticism. If there is one thing I’ve learned from conversations with authorizers in several states, it’s that they really want to approve your application. By that I mean, they want you to submit an application that meets their requirements and gives them confidence that you will create an exceptional school. Adding another successful charter school to its portfolio is a feather in an authorizer’s cap.
That said, no authorizer will approve a new school unless it is convinced of the school’s potential for success. As an applicant, your job is to provide compelling evidence that your team and school design are strong, credible, and capable of delivering results. If your initial submission is not successful and you intend to re-apply, then you’ll want to solicit and act on advice and criticism from trusted and credible sources. If you can talk with the authorizer about what they perceived as flaws in your application, you will learn a lot about how to improve it. Similarly, you should seek out the opinions of charter school leaders and independent consultants who can review your application with “fresh eyes” and suggest improvements. Take what they say seriously and incorporate their input in your next application.
Communicate with the authorizer. In most cases, the authorizer will provide you with a written explanation of why your application was denied. If so, review the notes and comments carefully and determine what you must do to address the authorizer’s concerns. In some instances, the required changes will be relatively minor and easily achievable. Perhaps the authorizer says your goals are too vague, so you’ll need to refine them and make sure that they are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound). Or maybe the authorizer feels that you need more evidence of community support, so you’ll have to step up your public outreach efforts with surveys, public meetings, social media and the like. On the other hand, sometimes an authorizer’s concerns may be serious enough to require major changes—like reworking your school model or rethinking your founding Board. When that happens, it’s important to connect with the authorizer, ask questions and get a clear sense of what’s behind the feedback. The more you understand about the authorizer’s concerns, the more confidently you can refine your next application to meet its expectations.
Focus your next application on the authorizer’s concerns. When it comes to writing the next application, the most important thing is to take a fresh, objective look at the process. Chances are, much of what you originally submitted still holds up—but the feedback you received from the authorizer, peers, and independent consultants gives you a roadmap for making it even stronger. And with a clearer sense of what needs to change, you can shape a new application that’s more focused, more compelling and more likely to earn approval.
Every great school starts with a vision—and sometimes with a setback. If your first application wasn’t approved, that doesn’t mean your vision was wrong. It just means the path to realizing it will take more effort, more refinement and a little more time. You’ve already done the hard work of imagining a great school. Now’s the time to take the next steps to turn that vision into reality. With persistence, a willingness to adapt and a collaborative approach with your authorizer, you can turn a rejection around and create the school your community deserves.
If you’d like to explore this further or discuss how it applies to your school, feel free to get in touch.