Key # 2: Taking the “Long View” Toward Charter Renewal: Every Day Counts!

by Wayne D. Jones, JPS Solutions | May 1, 2025

Managing a charter school is demanding work, and it’s easy to get caught up in daily pressures and put off thinking about renewal. For Board members and school leaders navigating challenges in real time, renewal can seem like a distant concern. But in reality, the road to renewal begins on Day One. Every decision you make and every action you take helps build the case you’ll eventually present to your authorizer. That’s why it’s critical to take the “long view”—understanding that renewal is not a one-time event, but an ongoing, charter-long process.

From time to time, I’ve been asked “what’s the key to a successful charter renewal.” My answer is simple—not easy, but simple. Success comes from putting one foot in front of the other, every single day. It means focusing early and relentlessly on compliance and continuous improvement. It means monitoring and discussing progress toward your charter goals and authorizer performance targets at every Board and Leadership Team meeting. It means consistently aligning your policies and practices with the mission, vision, and objectives outlined in your charter. It means focusing on data to drive student achievement and growth. And critically, it means ensuring that stakeholders at every level share a clear understanding of—and a deep commitment to—your charter commitments.

As discussed earlier in this series, a critical first step in taking the long view is unpacking your charter at the start of your term. This means carefully dissecting your charter to identify your specific academic, operational, financial, and governance commitments and translating these obligations into a pragmatic Action Plan. Such early-term planning, along with periodic monitoring of progress towards achieving charter goals, creates a powerful foundation for growth, accountability and successful renewal.

The “long view” approach requires a commitment among school stakeholder groups to achieving charter goals, meeting authorizers’ performance framework targets and sustaining achievement and growth For it to be successful, it must be led by your Board and School Leaders. Your Board sets the tone by making charter renewal a standing priority in its meetings, committee work and overall governance. By focusing consistently on legal obligations, charter commitments, accountability benchmarks and academic achievement and growth targets, your Board will provide the strategic focus and oversight needed to guide the school toward a strong renewal case. Similarly, your school leadership’s commitment to translating the charter vision into daily practice and managing the academic program and operations lays the groundwork for renewal. The Board and school leadership, working hand in hand at every stage of your charter term, can ensure that you stay “on track” to achieve a successful renewal.

So what comprises a “long view” approach? It’s about concentrating at all times on the building blocks of a favorable renewal outcome. A good starting point is to embed a series of essential questions into your policy development, instructional practice and decision-making across all stakeholder groups. One of the most important is deceptively simple: “How are we doing?” Just by periodically asking this question and assessing where you stand in relation to charter goals, prior performance and authorizer’s performance frameworks, you’ll be able to monitor and improve your preparedness for charter renewal.

On a deeper level, you’ll want to ask at least the following questions. Not coincidentally, these are precursors to questions you are likely to be asked by authorizers in renewal interviews. Forearmed is forewarned, yes?

1. Charter Alignment

• Are we consistently implementing the academic program, mission, and key design elements approved in our charter?
• How are we documenting our fidelity to the charter over time?

2. Academic and Organizational Performance

• Are we on track to meet or exceed our authorizer’s performance framework targets for academic achievement, growth and organizational health?
• How early are we identifying and addressing areas where we are underperforming?
• What data are we tracking regularly to measure progress toward renewal benchmarks?

3. Governance and Oversight

• Is our Board actively overseeing academic, financial, and operational performance with an eye toward renewal?
• How often does our Board review charter goals, performance data, and compliance requirements?
• Have we institutionalized renewal-focused practices into Board and Board committee work?

4. Compliance and Accountability

• Are we consistently meeting all legal, regulatory and reporting obligations?
• How are we monitoring and ensuring compliance throughout the charter term?

5. Continuous Improvement

• How are we using performance data and evaluation findings to drive planning?
• Are we making and documenting necessary and data-informed adjustments to strengthen our academic program, operations and organizational capacity?

6. Communication and Stakeholder Engagement

• Are all school stakeholders aware of how their work supports charter goals and renewal success?
• How are we preparing leadership and Board members to speak clearly and confidently about our performance during site visits, renewal interviews, and public meetings?

7. Institutional Memory and Documentation

• Are we systematically documenting evidence of progress, improvements, and alignment with the charter to support our renewal application?
• Are we documenting our Board’s renewal-related discussions and decisions in Board meeting minutes?
• How are we ensuring that institutional knowledge about the charter’s commitments and renewal strategy survives leadership or Board turnover?

Charter renewal success is not achieved overnight—it’s built through consistent focus over time. By taking a long view, asking these questions frequently and focusing on daily improvement, you can ensure that when renewal time comes, you’re more than prepared.

If you’d like to explore this further or discuss how it applies to your school, feel free to get in touch.