High Expectations, Strong Partnerships: The Buckeye Hope Approach to Authorizing

Lessons from the work of Buckeye Community Hope Foundation 
By Mary Bradley, Chief Operating Officer, National Charter Schools Institute

Authorizers make decisions every day that shape the future of a school. Behind those decisions are performance measures, financial reviews, compliance requirements, policies, and reports, but behind all of those are people: leaders working to build strong schools, families looking for the right opportunities, and students who ultimately experience the impact of what we decide. 

That is why one of the most persistent questions in authorizing matters so much. Can authorizers hold schools to high expectations while also being the kind of partner that helps them get better? Those responsibilities are sometimes treated as if one must come at the expense of the other, but some of the strongest authorizing work suggests something different. 

Buckeye Community Hope Foundation has built its approach around the belief that accountability and partnership can strengthen one another. Since becoming an approved charter school sponsor in Ohio in 2004, Buckeye Hope has grown to support more than 50 charter public schools serving more than 14,000 students. Their work is grounded in a commitment to expanding access to high-quality public school options, particularly in underserved communities, while maintaining strong expectations for academic achievement, responsible governance, and financial stewardship. 

I saw this commitment firsthand while working with Buckeye Hope to develop its strategic direction. Throughout the process, the team demonstrated a clear understanding of its responsibility to the public and the importance of strong accountability. But their conversations went further. They were equally focused on how their work could help schools succeed and create better opportunities for students. They examined their own systems and practices while also considering how they could better support school leaders and governing boards. Underlying those conversations was a belief in what is possible when authorizers, boards, and schools work together toward a shared purpose. 

I also had the opportunity to speak with school leaders and board members across Buckeye Hope’s portfolio. What stood out was how consistently they expressed appreciation for their relationship with Buckeye Hope. They described a team willing to listen, have honest conversations, and work through challenges rather than simply judge performance. That approach was especially meaningful when concerns arose. Their experiences reinforced something I had seen in my work with Buckeye Hope: the importance they place on relationships influences how they carry out their responsibilities. 

Expanding Opportunity with Purpose 

One of the ways Buckeye Hope puts its philosophy into practice is through its approach to new education opportunities for students and families. The team is focused on where families across Ohio need greater access to high-quality school options and how different educational models might better serve those communities. 

Buckeye Hope uses a phrase to describe its approach to reviewing new school applications: “people first, paper second.” It reflects a recognition that while plans, evidence, financial models, academic programs, and governance structures matter deeply, schools are ultimately built and sustained by people. 

Understanding the leaders behind an application can tell us things a document alone cannot. Their connection to a community, their readiness to lead, their ability to respond when something does not go according to plan, and their clarity about the students they hope to serve all matter when determining whether an idea has the foundation to become a strong school. That does not mean lowering the bar or replacing evidence with good intentions. It means recognizing that a technically strong plan and a team capable of bringing that plan to life are not always the same thing. Strong authorizing requires us to pay attention to both. 

For Buckeye Hope, expanding opportunity means understanding where families need greater choice while identifying leaders with the vision and capacity to deliver their promises to students. It is an approach that recognizes the important role authorizers play in bringing new possibilities to communities while ensuring those opportunities meet high expectations for quality. 

When Accountability Helps Schools Move Forward 

The same philosophy is evident in how Buckeye Hope approaches schools once they are operating. Accountability remains a core responsibility, but the information gathered through that work is also used to help school leaders make informed decisions, strengthen their schools, and expand opportunities for students. 

Buckeye Hope’s team works with schools to examine academic performance, enrollment, attendance, financial health, and operational practices, helping leaders identify emerging challenges and trends so they can act early. 

Their customized data conversations are designed not only to answer, “How did we perform?” but also, “What is this telling us, and what do we need to do next?” 

This distinction matters. Data is essential for accountability, but its greatest value lies in helping leaders make better decisions for students before the next results arrive, not simply documenting past outcomes. This approach supports schools at every performance level: it helps struggling schools chart a path forward, and thriving schools strengthen their programs and expand opportunities for current and future students. 

Buckeye Hope also recognizes that understanding performance is only part of helping a school improve. Through its Accountability and School Improvement team, Buckeye Hope works directly with educators and school leaders on the challenges and opportunities they face. That can mean holding up a lens to see areas that need attention, supporting leadership development, improving systems for serving students with different learning needs, or helping schools plan for long-term sustainability. 

The team also provides professional learning opportunities for educators, administrators, and governing board members. This is where Buckeye Hope’s approach to partnership becomes especially meaningful. They bring expertise and practical support to help schools turn what they are learning into action. 

That support continues through regular school visits, participation in board meetings, and ongoing conversations with school leaders. Buckeye Hope’s team serves as a resource for navigating regulatory requirements and operational challenges while maintaining clear expectations for school performance. These ongoing relationships create opportunities for honest conversations, greater clarity, and earlier identification of issues that need attention. 

Partnership does not make the difficult parts of authorizing disappear. Strong authorizers will still face hard conversations and decisions, especially when students are not being served well. What partnership can do is create the transparency and trust that allows those conversations to happen with greater clarity and purpose. 

What the Field Can Learn 

Buckeye Hope’s model belongs to Buckeye Hope. It reflects its history, communities, schools, and responsibilities as an Ohio authorizer, just as every authorizer’s work must reflect the students and communities it serves. 

But there is a larger lesson in the way Buckeye Hope connects accountability, relationships, and improvement. Authorizers do not have to choose between maintaining high expectations and building strong partnerships. They can do both, and in many cases, doing one well makes the other stronger. 

We can use data to measure performance while also helping leaders understand what it means. We can bring expertise and resources to help schools address challenges while remaining clear about their responsibilities. We can protect public trust while examining whether our own practices create clarity, encourage improvement, and expand opportunities for students. 

None of that makes authorizing easier. In many ways, it asks more of us because it requires judgment, transparency, consistency, and a willingness to look beyond a report to understand the people, circumstances, and students behind it. 

As the education landscape continues to evolve, I believe that approach will only become more important. Strong authorizing should tell us whether schools are meeting their responsibilities and fulfilling their promise, but it should also help create the conditions in which leaders can make better decisions, schools can continue to improve, and families can find high-quality opportunities for their children. 

That is ultimately why this work matters. When accountability and partnership work together, we create more opportunities for schools to succeed and for students and families to thrive. Buckeye Hope reminds us that the work of authorizing reaches far beyond the policies, reports, and decisions that fill our days. When we approach that responsibility with high expectations, sound judgment, and a genuine commitment to helping schools succeed, we can help make possible the kind of educational opportunities that change lives. 

Ready to strengthen what’s possible for your schools and students?