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How Independent Charter Schools are Helping Students Achieve Career Success

First, let me say congratulations to the Renaissance Charter High School for Innovation (Innovation), an independent charter school in East Harlem, NY. In November, Innovation’s Culinary Arts Program (CARTS) was approved by the New York State Education Department to become the first charter school in New York City to achieve Career and Technical Education (CTE). I’ve worked with Innovation for nearly a decade, and I could not be prouder of the Innovation team and this incredible accomplishment. Innovation is a great example of how independent charter schools are helping students—and especially at-risk students—succeed in careers and non-traditional educational paths.

CARTS is part of Innovation’s comprehensive experiential learning and CTE strategy that also includes its Software Engineering Program (i.e. Innovation is the only charter school admitted into NYC’s groundbreaking Software Education Pilot). Students in CARTS learn under the direction of professional chef Geraldo Vega and receive hands-on learning experiences, including internships in restaurants and food service companies. Its young “Chefs-in-Training have had incredible learning opportunities, including working with celebrity chef and winner of Food Network’s Chopped Maria Petridis CARTS students graduate with a CDOS and CTE endorsement in Culinary Arts and are qualified to work in a variety of roles in the restaurant and food service industries.

Innovation’s CTE programs are among the many independent charter schools across the country that are meaningfully engaged in CTE. For instance, in a CTE Charter Roundtable held by Opportunity America in 2017, participants and panelists included more than a dozen representatives of independent charter schools with CTE programs or focuses from California, Washington DC, Georgia, Rhode Island, New Mexico and New York. In their discussions, they expressed the key advantages that independent charter schools have in implementing effective CTE programs including:

Flexibility—Independent charter schools, while held to rigorous accountability standards, have a degree of flexibility in programming and operations that is greater than that of traditional school districts and network-based charter schools. One independent charter school participant confirmed this saying “Our biggest strength as a CTE charter is our flexibility,” while another stated “We have more flexibility for our teachers to plan alongside industry experts.”
Adaptability—Independent charter schools are uniquely positioned to be “learning organizations” that can react quickly to data about what is working and what is not and to “change course” as needed to improve. Unlike traditional school districts and network-based charter schools, independent charter schools can adapt its programming without having to overcome layers of administrative or corporate bureaucracy. In CTE programs, where new best practices and potential landmines are being discovered every day, this adaptability is a major strength.
Connections with the Community—Independent charter schools typically have strong connections with parents, activists, faith-based leaders, elected officials and businesspersons in their respective communities. These connections are invaluable when establishing programming and internships/mentorships in and community support for CTE initiatives.

I am encouraged that the work being done by these independent charter schools to create effective CTE programs is aligned with the goals and objectives of the incoming Biden/Harris administration. In his campaign platform, President-elect Biden committed to “guaranteeing every American the skills and education they need to get ahead” by expanding and improving CTE opportunities. The President-elect expressed his belief that “students who participate in high-quality career and technical education are more likely to graduate, earn industry credentials, enroll in college, and have higher rates of employment and higher earnings.” He also promised to support CTE by investing in partnerships between high schools, community colleges and employers. Through these partnerships, he said, students will have opportunities to earn industry credentials at the time of high school graduation that will lead to good-paying careers.

We are experiencing an amazing shift in American history, especially as it relates to education. As the education policy of the Biden/Harris administration transitions from the “idea stage” of the campaign to the “reality stage” of governing, independent charter schools can play a significant role in expanding and improving CTE programs across the country. To my friends and colleagues at independent charter schools, let’s continue to claim our voice in the national discussion about where K-12 education goes from here.

Email: wdjcompany@att.net
wjones@jpssolutions.com

As a Partner at JPS Solutions, Wayne helped to establish more than a dozen independent charter schools. He also worked with charter schools throughout New York State to secure full charter renewals, expansions and replications. Wayne wrote or co-wrote proposals that secured more than $50 million in grants and government contracts for school districts, charter schools and not-for-profit organizations.

[email protected]

Why the Biden/Harris Administration Should Support Independent Charter Schools

I saw a headline in the New York Post recently that grabbed my attention. The headline read “Joe Biden Reportedly to be Tough on Charter Schools.” The article went on to discuss how the incoming Biden/Harris administration has been working closely with people and organizations that have historically not been friendly to charter schools. The article implied that the Biden/Harris education policy might be influenced by “broad brush” arguments that categorize all charter schools as alike.

This would be a huge mistake. Simply stated, not all charter schools are alike.

I’ve spent the better part of the last two decades working with independent community-based charter schools. I’m talking about charter schools created by parents, educators and faith-based and civic leaders. Specifically, I’m talking about nonprofit charter schools created by concerned community residents who came together to address the needs of their children and families.

The independent charter schools I work with are often referred to as “mom and pop” charter schools. Typically, they are not part of charter school networks nor are they “for-profit” charter schools. They are schools created by parents and community members working together to help kids.

They are also exactly the schools that should be supported by the Biden/Harris administration.

In the Biden Plan for Educators, Students and Our Future—President-elect Biden says that K-12 educators will “have a partner in the White House“ and that his Education Department will support and expand “community schools.” Independent charter schools are community schools, in the truest sense of the term. They work with parents, students, teachers and community organizations to identify and address families’ unmet needs, and they establish themselves as “community hubs.”

To see how independent charter schools are in fact the very community schools that President-elect Biden is seeking to support, you need only to look at Challenge Preparatory Charter School (Challenge Prep). This is a school I worked with since it was just an idea. Roughly 10 years ago, my partners and I met with Rev. Dr. Leslie Mullings and several parents and community leaders to talk about the need to improve educational outcomes for children, mostly Black and Brown, in Far Rockaway Queens. We worked together to create Challenge Prep, which began as an elementary school and has since grown to become an elementary, middle and high school with one of the most innovative Career Technology Education (CTE) programs in the nation. What’s more, Challenge Prep established itself as a leader in the recovery efforts during and following 2012’s Hurricane Sandy, which hit Far Rockaway with a 32.5 foot wave that shut it down and left most of the school’s students and their families homeless. In response, Challenge Prep stepped up and launched emergency initiatives to help its students and their families. Challenge Prep became the central hub in Far Rockaway for facilitating distribution of $6.8 million in relief supplies and providing services and resources to people throughout the community. Challenge Prep continues to be a beacon in its community, most recently by providing free meals and supporting children and families in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another example of how independent charter schools are dedicated to serving their communities is the Renaissance Charter School (TRCS). TRCS is one the oldest and most successful independent charter schools in New York City, with a commitment to civic education and fostering student empathy, advocacy and activism. In an absolutely heartbreaking article published earlier this year, the stories of several young children and families in the hard-hit neighborhoods served by TRCS struggling with COVID-19 were told. TRCS is located in Corona/Jackson Heights, which is among the most severely impacted communities by COVID-19 in the country. Indeed, at one point this year at least 80% of students in its counselors’ caseloads were sick or had sick family members and more than 40% of its families had had someone laid off or furloughed. In keeping with its mission to holistically serve its students and families, TRCS added more mental health providers through a federal grant program and expanded its morning meeting, advisories and social emotional wellness initiatives. It also enhanced its professional development with training in anti-bias and culturally responsive instruction to ensure that all teachers have a “common understanding of trauma and resilience.” As a result, TRCS has been a leader among all New York City public schools in serving its community during the pandemic.

I expect that much will change in the next few months as the Biden/Harris educational policies are established. I’m encouraged that the President-elect has promised to include diverse voices and views in the discussion. As we envision a new future in K-12 education, let’s make certain that the voices and views of the independent charter school community are heard.

As a Partner at JPS Solutions, Wayne helped to establish more than a dozen independent charter schools. He also worked with charter schools throughout New York State to secure full charter renewals, expansions and replications. Wayne wrote or co-wrote proposals that secured more than $50 million in grants and government contracts for school districts, charter schools and not-for-profit organizations.

[email protected]

Thoughts About What the Biden Presidency Means for Independent Charter Schools

Many of us were excited with the announcement last weekend of a new President-elect and Vice President-elect, especially after living through the exhausting vote counting and hand wringing process of that preceded it. Now that the election looks to be settled, the question on my mind—and probably yours too—is “what’s next?”

For those of us working in or with independent community-based charter schools, our expectations of the Biden-Harris administration are complicated. On the one hand it’s great that, after years in which the Department of Education has prioritized vouchers and for-profit educational ventures, the new administration will probably focus on bolstering public K-12 educational programs, especially in high-need communities. Indeed, the Biden Plan for Educators, Students and Our Future calls for “Investing in all children from birth so that regardless of their zip code, parents’ income, race or disability, they are prepared to succeed in tomorrow’s economy.” Accordingly, we can expect new grants and investments in K-12 initiatives for schools that support disadvantaged and at-risk students.

On the other hand, many voices critical of charter schools have been prominent in the campaign and will probably have a say in the Biden/Harris administration. We can expect that the next President and Education Department will face pressure from teachers’ unions and others to impede the expansion of charter schools. Indeed, President-elect. Biden has proposed significant changes to federal Charter Schools Program (CSP) grants along with some restrictions for new federal charter school funding. However, most of the criticism leveled against charter schools by the Biden campaign has been targeted at the less -than-15% of charter schools that are overseen by for-profit companies. The Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force recommendations state that “we will ban for–profit private charter businesses from receiving federal funding” for charter schools. Clearly President-elect Biden, who served as Vice-President in President Barack Obama’s pro-charter school administration, is not condemning all charter schools but is pushing to limit a small percentage of them.

So what does this mean for independent, community-based charter schools?

We are in a time of incredible opportunity for independent charter schools. President-elect Biden has promised hundreds of millions of dollars in new education spending from pre-K through college. The Biden Education Plan calls for the country to “Build the best, most innovative schools in the country in low-income communities and communities of color.” Independent charter schools are currently providing innovative and effective education to students in disadvantaged communities and communities of color. These schools are perfectly positioned to help achieve the Biden Education Plan’s goals.

The strength of independent charter schools is their fundamental and organic connection to their communities and families. The independent charter schools I have been privileged to work with were created by parents, educators and community leaders, and they are committed to addressing the specific needs of children and youth in their communities. In one instance, I can remember participating in preliminary “kitchen table” meetings with prominent pastor Rev. Dr. Leslie Mullings and parents, local businesspersons and activists in Far Rockaway NY as they discussed the dire need for educational alternatives in their community and laid out the building blocks for an innovative charter school. I’m proud to say that my partners and I worked with this group to establish the Challenge Preparatory Charter School (Challenge Prep), one of the most successful independent charter schools in New York City. Challenge Prep has been renewed twice and is now expanding to create a groundbreaking K-12 CTE program in connection with the multi-billion-dollar transformation of the JFK International Airport.

I believe that independent charter schools can leverage their trusted position with parents and their communities, which is their core strength, to succeed in the new Presidential era. President-elect Biden and his wife Jill, a teacher, have often spoke of the need for strong connections between parents and schools. Independent charter schools traditionally have strong community roots and provide service to their communities. Take for example VOICE Charter School in Queens NY, which bought and distributed food to low-income children and families in its community throughout the 2020 COVID-19 disruption. VOICE Principal Franklin Headley and his staff rented a U-Haul truck to bring food to its site and established a food-sharing center at its school for families throughout the community. The VOICE Charter School story is not an outlier but is just an example of how independent charter schools typically “step up” to help their parents and families whenever needed. Indeed, the key ingredient that fuels the success of independent charter schools is their relationships with and service to their students’ parents and families.

The connection between the Biden Education Plan and the every-day life of independent charter schools is direct and clear. Independent charter schools are living the objectives of the President-elect’s educational plan. A key objective of the Biden Education Plan is to increase the number of students in “community schools”—i.e. schools that “work with families, students, teachers and community organizations to identify families’ unmet needs and then develop a plan to leverage community resources to address these needs in the school building, turning schools into community hubs.” This description of “community schools” is the absolute definition of most independent charter schools. Frankly, most of the independent charter schools I’ve worked with have embraced the concept of community schooling by partnering with community agencies and organizations to serve their students and parents.

So to all my friends and colleagues in the independent charter school community, I suggest that we work with the new Presidential administration and that we take advantage of every opportunity that comes along to show how independent charter schools are helping children. I expect that new grant and other funding opportunities for independent charter schools will arise in the next few years. I also expect that new openings will emerge for independent charter schools to claim a significant voice in the national dialogue about K-12 education, JPS Solutions and our Essential Charter School Services team will monitor these opportunities closely and will share them with you.

Let’s look positively to the future as we continue to support our children and families. Better days are ahead.

Written by Wayne D. Jones
Partner, JPS Solutions LLC

As a Partner at JPS Solutions, Wayne helped to establish more than a dozen independent charter schools. He also worked with charter schools throughout New York State to secure full charter renewals, expansions and replications. Wayne wrote or co-wrote proposals that secured more than $50 million in grants and government contracts for school districts, charter schools and not-for-profit organizations.

[email protected]

New York Charter Schools Conference Materials

JPS Solutions and ECSS are attending the New York Charter School Virtual Conference! Listed below are some of our fact sheets about who we are and what we can do for YOU!

About JPS Solutions and ECSS

JPS/ECSS 6 Phase Model

Rochester-Based Charter School ELL Consortium

Written by Wayne D. Jones
Partner, JPS Solutions LLC

As a Partner at JPS Solutions, Wayne helped to establish more than a dozen independent charter schools. He also worked with charter schools throughout New York State to secure full charter renewals, expansions and replications. Wayne wrote or co-wrote proposals that secured more than $50 million in grants and government contracts for school districts, charter schools and not-for-profit organizations.

[email protected]

Grant Opportunity: Online Webinar

On Thursday April 30, members of the JPS Solutions executive team held a Zoom webinar to discuss a grant opportunity for the Teacher & School Leader (TSL) Incentive Fund Grant. We enjoyed meeting with everyone and discussing this exciting opportunity. Linked below is a recording of the meeting for those who are interested or could not attend.
Best,
The JPS Solutions team

Teacher & School Leader (TSL) Incentive Fund Grant Webinar (04/30/20)

Written by Wayne D. Jones

Partner, JPS Solutions LLC

As a Partner at JPS Solutions, Wayne helped to establish more than a dozen independent charter schools. He also worked with charter schools throughout New York State to secure full charter renewals, expansions and replications. Wayne wrote or co-wrote proposals that secured more than $50 million in grants and government contracts for school districts, charter schools and not-for-profit organizations.

[email protected]

Question #1—Do I Want to Create a Charter School?

This is the second of a series of blogs designed to help people interested in establishing new charter schools.

I was talking the other day with a client and friend who is the Executive Director of a very innovative New York City charter school. We’ve known each other for years and I can vouch that he is dedicated not only to the success of his school and the advancement of his students but also to the growth of the independent charter school movement. We were speaking generally about what makes charter schools successful and eventually the conversation focused on the role of a charter school’s founder and leaders on its eventual success.

My friend stated, and I wholeheartedly agreed, that the distinguishing characteristic of successful independent charter school founders and leaders is that they are “mission-driven.” They were inspired to create their schools based on having a clear vision, boundless enthusiasm and an earnest commitment to transforming the lives of children. They believe in their students, their teachers and their school community. They are confident that their school will provide their students with the tools and skills they need to succeed. Yet they are also practical people who recognize that achieving their mission requires them to develop and implement pragmatic strategies, programs and policies to foster student achievement and build strong schools.

Indeed, it is a balancing of the aspirational goals of bettering the lives of children and the practical considerations of designing and operating a successful educational corporation that defines a successful charter school founder and leader. If you are considering starting a charter school, then balancing the “aspirational” and the “practical” is something you will need to consider—and perhaps wrestle with—as you chart your course, design your school and prepare your charter application.

Do you really want to start a charter school?

I understand that this may seem like a simple question, but wrapped within it are many aspirational and practical issues I’d like us to consider. I’ve had the privilege of meeting with many groups in the “early exploration” or “I have an idea for a new school” phase of developing an independent charter school. Some of these groups were made up of parents and community leaders who felt a strong need for new and effective educational options for their children. Other groups comprised K-12 teachers and/or college professors who wanted to consider ways to use their expertise and experience to help children in non-traditional public school environments. Yet others were affiliated with organizations that served specific, high-need communities (e.g. children with autism, children in foster care, etc.) and wanted to explore opportunities to expand their service by creating charter schools.

The members of each of these groups asked similar questions. Some were about the charter application process, while others were about the practical elements of developing and operating charter schools. Let’s try to address some of these questions in this blog series.

Why a Charter School? In a recent conversation with the leaders of a successful nonprofit organization seeking to further its mission by establishing a school, I was asked whether it was better to create a charter school or a private school. I thought it was a great question, and it led to a discussion about the pros and cons of developing a charter school. Here’s what we discussed:

The bottom line about charter schools, at least as originally designed, is that they have greater flexibility than traditional public schools in exchange for greater accountability. That’s the trade-off. As a new charter school, you will have five years to demonstrate success and earn a new charter renewal. If you cannot do this, you risk immediate closure.

A number of charter schools I’ve worked with have taken advantage of the opportunities for greater flexibility, including schools like—a) the New York Center for Autism Charter School that serves students with severe disabilities; b) Hellenic Classical Charter School, a Greek-themed school designed and operated in partnership with the Greek Ministry of Education; c) the first charter school established by the Harlem Children’s Zone; d) the John V. Lindsay Wildcat Charter School that is a “last chance” transfer charter high school for over-aged under-credited high school students; and e) the Western New York Maritime Charter School which is a military-themed high school for at-risk youth run in partnership with the U.S. Navy. Over the years, however, the accountability standards to which New York’s charter schools are held have grown increasingly intense. Unlike private schools, charter schools are expected to match or exceed the achievement of traditional public schools in their district and the state for all students and for students in special populations (e.g. students with disabilities and English language learners).

If you are considering starting a charter school in New York, you’ll have incredible opportunities to do innovative things that help your students achieve. Please know, however, that if approved you will be held to strict accountability standards with very real consequences.

Charter vs. Private? Here are some of the key differences—
- Charter schools are free, no-tuition schools, while most private schools require families to pay tuition. There is no cost to attend a charter school. Charter schools, as public schools, receive public funding, including per-pupil state funding and Title I and other federal entitlement grants.
- Charter schools must meet state and federal achievement and learning standards, while most private schools are exempt from these requirements.
- Charter schools, as public schools, cannot require students to take an entrance exam. Charter schools must establish a lottery each year to select students on a random basis—with only a few exceptions such as a preference for siblings of enrolled students and, if approved by the authorizer, a preference for students with disabilities or English language learners. If you establish a charter school, you are committing to serve all students who want to enroll in your school.
As a charter school, you will receive per-pupil funding from the state and be entitled to Title I and other federal funding. Private schools are not eligible for such funding. Also, in New York State, charter schools are eligible to receive Charter Schools Program grants to support them as they plan and launch their programs. These funds are substantial and can support your efforts to hire staff, secure facilities and implement the countless tasks necessary to start your school.

The Charter School Application Process–Let’s talk a little about the New York State charter school application process. While the New York State Charter School Laws recognizes four charter school authorizers¹, only two are empowered to approve new charter schools. The New York State Education Department’s Charter Schools Office (SED) and the State University of New York’s Charter Schools Institute (CSI) oversee new charter school application rounds each year. If you want to create a new charter school, you will need to select either SED or CSI as your preferred authorizer.

When selecting the charter school authorizer to which you want to apply, you’ll want to examine each carefully. Fortunately, both SED and CSI have prepared and posted online exhaustive information and materials to help you navigate the charter school application process and distinguish between them. New York’s charter authorizers have consistently been ranked among the best charter authorizers in the country, largely because of the excellence of their charter application and charter renewal processes. If you are considering creating a new charter school, I strongly encourage you to visit the following websites:

The New York State Education Department’s Charter Schools Office http://www.p12.nysed.gov/psc/
The State University of New York’s Charter Schools Office http://www.p12.nysed.gov/psc/

Developing Your Charter School—Generally, when we work with a group seeking to apply to create a charter school, we begin by discussing the group’s motivation to develop a charter school. Applying to establish a charter school is very hard. Actually operating an effective charter school is much, much harder. It’s very important that everyone on the charter school development team is absolutely, positively committed to doing the hard work needed to launching a charter school.

After that, the real work begins. Typically, my JPS Solutions partners and I engage the charter school development team in a Guided Inquiry Process to help them define and present their objectives, programs and plans. Specifically, we facilitate dialogues to help you design your school and prepare a charter school application that addresses all of the charter authorizer’s requirements. Among the questions we consider are:

What is the make-up of your Applicant Team? Does your Applicant Team have the skills and experience you need? If not, how can you recruit new Applicant Team members?
- How is your Applicant Team working together to develop you charter school?
- How are you using each Applicant Team member’s unique skills and experience to support your charter school?
What is the make-up of your Founding Board? Does your Founding Board have the skills and experience you need? If not, do you have a targeted Board recruitment strategy? Also, what is your plan to ensure that the Board exercises its governance responsibilities effectively?
What is your school’s mission? What is your vision? What is the difference you believe your school will make in your students and/or community?
Who will you serve? In serious detail, what do you expect your student population will look like? How will you recruit your students?
How will you serve your students? What will you do differently from the local school district schools? How will this make a difference?
Which charter school authorizer will you select?
- We strongly suggest that, as you make your selection, you reach out to and talk with representatives of each authorizer and that you speak with other charter school leaders to learn from their experiences.
Is the community supportive of your charter school? Can you demonstrate this community support?
Have you given the community opportunities for input in the design of your proposed school’? How have you documented this input?
Are you affiliated with a Management Organization or Partner Organization? What will the Partnership Agreement or Memorandum of Agreement look like?
What is your school’s academic program? How will you meet the accountability standards of your authorizer and New York State?
How will you help all students—including English Language Learners and Students with Disabilities—achieve high standards? What is your plan to meet the accountability standards established by the state and by your proposed charter school authorizer?
What are your plans regarding school culture and discipline?
Most importantly, how are you defining “success?” How will you know you are achieving it? What must you achieve by the end of Year One? By the middle of your charter term? By the end of your charter term?

Your responses to these questions will help to establish the framework of your charter school’s programs, governance and operations. Furthermore, the information gathered from these dialogues enable us to help you design your school and prepare your charter application. By answering the Guided Inquiry questions honestly and thoughtfully, you will build a foundation that ensures that your charter school will start on the right foot.

If, after considering these questions, you still want to create a charter school, then Bravo! You are about to embark on a real adventure—one that will make a positive change in the lives of many, many kids. This blog will try to help you at every step of the charter school development and application process

Looking forward to the next time we connect. We’ll talk about how to develop a solid Applicant Team and a great Founding Board. Take care.

Written by Wayne D. Jones

Partner, JPS Solutions LLC

¹The New York State Board of Regents/New York State Education Department’s Charter Schools Office (SED)), the New York State University Board of Trustees/the State University of New York’s Charter Schools Institute (CSI), the New York City Department of Education Department of Education (NYC DOE) and the Buffalo Public Schools (BPS). While NYC DOE and BPS oversee charter schools that they approved prior to the most recent Charter Schools Law, only SED and CSI are currently authorized to approve new charter schools.

Wayne D. Jones is a partner at JPS Solutions, LLC, an educational consulting firm that has worked with charter schools for more than 15 years. Wayne developed successful charter applications for independent charter schools throughout New York State, and he helped charter schools and charter school support organizations secure millions of dollars in grants. He also helped more than a dozen charter schools secure charter renewals. Wayne and his JPS Solutions partners recently joined forces with several distinguished charter school advisors to provide Essential Charter School Services, which provides comprehensive consulting and technical assistance to help charter schools succeed.

Six Key Questions to Ask If You Want to Create a New Charter School in New York State

Do You Want to Start an Independent Charter School in New York State?

Here Are Six Fundamental Questions to Consider

This is the first of a series of blogs designed to help people interested in establishing new charter schools.

Do you have a vision for a new charter school? One that can help each child achieve his or her potential? One that will prepare each child for success in school and in life?

If you are considering applying to establish a new, community-based independent charter school, now is the time to act.

While the legislative “cap” on charters has, for now, put a hold on additional charter schools in New York City, there has never been a better time for educators, innovators and community leaders outside of New York City to create new charter schools. Currently, nearly 100 additional charter schools may still be approved and opened statewide, and New York’s charter authorizers are actively seeking applications to create new charter schools.

That said, the road to establishing a new charter school can be extremely hard to navigate. The process of applying to create a new charter school is comprehensive, thorough and frankly, very, very hard. And this is a good thing, because the school you are proposing to create will be responsible for the education and well-being of lots of children—in many instances your community’s most vulnerable children. So it is critical that all prospective charter schools are meticulously “vetted” before they are approved. If you want to establish a new charter school in New York State, you’ll have to meet exceptionally tough standards.

In nearly 20 years advising and working with New York charter schools, I have been privileged to work with parents, educators, faith-based leaders and community-based organizations that were inspired to establish innovative independent charter schools. In many cases, when I first met with the charter school planning teams, they were firmly in the “idea” stage of their charter school development—i.e. they wanted to launch a new charter school but did not know the next steps. Through a comprehensive process of Guided Inquiry, my colleagues and I helped them turn their concepts and intentions into successful charter schools.

At JPS Solutions, my partners and I have helped more than a dozen charter development teams to design effective charter schools and create successful charter school applications. We helped to establish a groundbreaking charter school focused exclusively on addressing the needs of children with autism and other severe developmental disabilities. We also helped to establish a charter school that is now launching a College and Career Technology Education program in coordination with the multi-million dollar redevelopment of a major New York City airport. We helped to develop “last chance” charter high schools for over-aged under-credited youth, and we helped a highly-successful K-12 charter school gain approval to replicate and open an affiliated charter school. With each of these schools—and with all of the schools we’ve advised—we worked collaboratively to identify what made the school unique, well-designed and likely to be successful. We then created a charter application that conveyed these points clearly and convincingly to the charter authorizer.

Along the way, I’ve identified a few key questions raised consistently by charter school applicants. Each of these questions focuses on a distinct and critical part of the charter application process, and your answers to these questions will help to define and construct your charter school. In the next several blogs, I’ll address each of these questions, including:

Do I Really Want to Create a Charter School?
How Can I Create an Effective Charter School Applicant Team and Founding Board of Trustees?
How Should I Select a Charter School Authorizer?
What are My School’s Mission and Key Design Elements?
How Can I Build and Document Community Support for My Charter School?
How Can I Develop a Successful Charter School Application?

In the next few weeks, I’ll dedicate at least one blog to each of these questions. This blog series will attempt to address the concerns of new charter school applicants and to start a dialogue about how to create successful independent charter schools. My intention is to provide constructive advice sprinkled here and there with a bit of “tough love.”

If you want to establish a new charter school, I’m on your side. I have tremendous respect for anyone seeking to create a charter school, and I appreciate the commitment it takes to prepare a charter school application. I especially admire the dedication and “sticktoitiveness” of charter school applicants who persevere if their initial charter applications are not approved. Recognizing that fewer than 10% of first-time charter school applicants are successful, and most currently-operating charter schools submitted several charter applications before eventually being approved.

If you are considering joining the elite group of education heroes proposing to create a new charter school, I hope you will find this blog series helpful. Click on this link and let me know.

Written by Wayne D. Jones

Partner, JPS Solutions LLC

Wayne D. Jones is a partner at JPS Solutions, LLC, an educational consulting firm that has worked with charter schools for more than 15 years. Wayne developed successful charter applications for independent charter schools throughout New York State, and he helped charter schools and charter school support organizations secure millions of dollars in grants. He also helped more than a dozen charter schools secure charter renewals. Wayne and his JPS Solutions partners recently joined forces with several distinguished charter school advisors to provide Essential Charter School Services, which provides comprehensive consulting and technical assistance to help charter schools succeed.

Welcome to the JPS Solutions Blog

Welcome to our blog. We’re glad you’re here.

Our blog will feature insights, news, opinions, discussions, links and educational resources to help you improve your school’s programs and grow in your professional practice. What’s more, we’ll share our thoughts about developments and research in K-12 education and invite you to comment and discuss.

Our blog’s mission is to create a safe and respectful space for discussion. We want to share our views about how to improve K-12 education, and we invite you to share your thoughts, your opinions and your experiences. We may also, from time to time, share with you our musings about schools and about life in general. We encourage you to do the same.

JPS Solutions has helped public school districts, independent “mom and pop” charter schools and educational nonprofits for more than 15 years. We’ve had the privilege of working with school boards, principals, teachers and parents in schools across the country. We’ve also helped schools and nonprofit organizations secure more than $50 million in grants.

JPS Solutions believes that fresh ideas are the key to change. We also believe that positive change in our educational system is needed now more than ever.

We hope that this blog will promote transformative dialogue to improve education for all of our children.

Thanks for visiting. We look forward to many interesting and fruitful discussions…

Written by Wayne D. Jones

Partner, JPS Solutions LLC

As a Partner at JPS Solutions, Wayne helped to establish more than a dozen independent charter schools. He also worked with charter schools throughout New York State to secure full charter renewals, expansions and replications. Wayne wrote or co-wrote proposals that secured more than $50 million in grants and government contracts for school districts, charter schools and not-for-profit organizations.

[email protected]