Keywords

Make sure due diligence takes place before key decisions are made. Policies and strategies are being implemented as intended. Key risks are identified, monitored, and mitigated. Business processes and systems are working well.

Enjoys crisp mountain air and solving challenging problems.

Success through personalized learning, strong culture, and equity. Distinctive Schools operates high-performing public charter schools in Chicago and Metro-Detroit. Their mission is to support each child in becoming an engaged and curious learner, a confident self-advocate, and a creative problem-solver by setting high expectations and nurturing a positive culture that honors diversity, collaboration, and optimism.

Providing an innovative dual language immersion program.
In this session, we highlighted the DC Bilingual Public Charter School. Founded in 2004, DC Bilingual provides an innovative dual immersion Spanish and English learning program for all students, regardless of their home language. Through their rigorous academic curriculum, comprehensive arts, technology, and athletics programs, and their celebration of diverse cultures, DC Bilingual’s students learn the skills and values they need to become influential participants in their community.

Watch the Innovative School Models session below to learn about DC Bilingual’s holistic family centered approach, their focus on equity, and the implemented programs that have led to successful student outcomes.

Committed to Success and Equity for all Students
The Noble Network of Charter Schools team shares their successful to-and-through college model, the thoughtful adjustments they have made through the unprecedented time of COVID-19, and their approach to ensuring that diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the forefront of their policies, strategy, and approach.

Noble is a Chicago based system of charter public schools serving 12,500 students across 18 campuses. Noble has been recognized as a national leader in education sending on average 90% of its graduates to college each year.

In 2019, MIT researchers found that students who attended Noble grew more academically than similar peers who attended selective enrollment schools. In the annual CPS school ratings, Noble schools earned 10 of the top 12 spots for all high schools in Chicago including selective enrollment schools. Chicago Magazine named Noble schools as 13 of the top 40 high schools in Chicago and U.S. News and World Report named five Noble campuses in their top 50 schools in the entire state of Illinois.

In recent years, Noble has committed to reexamining its model to ensure students have equitable and positive experiences that prepare them to succeed in college or on other paths of their choice. Using lenses of diversity, equity and inclusion, Noble has adjusted its practices, policies, and strategies in pursuit of that vision and continues to evolve to best serve Chicago students and families.

Rethink goals, access resources, and measure school quality.
Students’ learning has been interrupted and the complexities associated with re-engagement and learning gains will not be captured by standardized state assessments alone. This session is designed for public charter school leaders and authorizers interested in revisiting school goals and academic accountability frameworks used for determining school quality. We will examine how goals are currently constructed, which students are expected to achieve, and consider a new approach that responds to the student population and school’s mission.

Adjust practices for changing times.
While school buildings are closed, teaching, learning and leading continued. How should boards or management companies adjust their practices to reflect an environment where most of what the school leader does is accomplished remotely? Learn some tips and tricks from Stephanie Hargens and Mark Weinberg to ensure your evaluation process reflects the unique nature of leadership in this new and ever-changing environment.

Fight for the things that you care about. Whether it is federal, state, or local policy, charter authorizers are impacted by the decisions of others. The good news is that authorizers can influence this policy. Join the Institute to better understand who makes these policies, how they are crafted, and how your authorizing organization can use its voice and the voices of those they serve to ensure only the best policies get enacted.

Understanding how a charter school’s goals and mission align for the best outcomes for kids is a key responsibility for a charter school board. Strategic planning provides an overall framework to help a board ensure the mission is accomplished. Listen to some practical ways board members do this work by joining Mary Bradley, the Institute’s Chief Operating Officer, as she talks with Jeff Wasbes, Executive Deputy Director for Accountability at the SUNY Charter Schools Institute, and charter school board members Joan Waldron, Amy Kolz, and Michele Joerg.

In today’s world, safety and security in schools is paramount, but the key for school leaders is to think differently about what strategies best serve their environment versus continuously adopting the latest trends. Watch Institute President & CEO Jim Goenner as he talks to Mark Paliszewski, Managing Director at Recon Management Group LLC, about how school leadership can be strategically proactive regarding school safety. Then stick around as Institute Chief Operating Officer Mary Bradley and Mark will be available for a live Q&A session.

Now is the time to ensure board members are focused on ensuring next school year’s budget supports the strategic direction of the school. Join us for this session of the Board Network Governing for Greatness series where we’ll dive deeper into questions from last month. Join Fulton Breen, Senior Director, Afton Parners, and Mary Bradley, our COO, as they discuss the board’s role in strategic budgeting and how to best work with school leadership with financial expert Fulton Breen, Senior Director of Afton Partners.

Effective boards prepare a financial plan to ensure a school’s mission will be met and take the time to regularly evaluate their school’s financial performance. Join Institute President & CEO, Dr. Jim Goenner, and Charter School Business Management Inc., Founder & CEO, Raj Thakkar, as they discuss how boards can provide sound fiscal oversight and keep their school financially fit.

Recorded January 25, 2024 | Governing for Greatness Series

One could argue that the most important aspect of board governance is ensuring that the students in your school are learning. Everyone wants to ensure that students are actually learning in their school. Join the Institute’s Chief Operating Officer, Mary Bradley, as she talks with Kelli Booth, Executive Director at the Northern Utah Academy for Math, Engineering & Science, on the best practices for measuring and reporting student academics. We’ll uncover the details to ensuring each and every student is learning and growing.

Effective charter school board members know they represent both the public and the school they serve. This involves strong communication skills and the ability to tell their school’s special story. Hear about best practices and learn how you might best promote your school as an advocate and ambassador by joining Institute Director of Policy & Partnerships Wendy Larvick and strategic communications and advocacy expert Peri Lynn Turnbull of PLT Strategies for this informative session.

Recorded August 31, 2023 | Governing for Greatness Series

Proactively Planning a Productive Meeting:
Building strong habits helps board chairs ensure highly effective board practice. Join Institute Partner Mark Weinberg as he shares the first of seven habits that boards can strive to implement to ensure productive meetings.

Recorded October 19, 2023 | Governing for Greatness Series

Learn about Charter Schools Development Corporation at www.csdc.org

View this clip on the National Charter Schools Founders Library: https://charterlibrary.org/library/former-governor-of-ny-george-e-pataki-excerpt-this-is-the-civil-rights-issue-of-the-21st-century/ Watch the full interview of Governor Pataki: https://charterlibrary.org/library/interview-of-former-governor-of-ny-george-e-pataki/

View this clip on the National Charter Schools Founders Library: https://charterlibrary.org/library/former-governor-of-ny-george-e-pataki-excerpt-negotiating-the-ny-charter-school-bill-into-law/ Watch the full interview of Governor Pataki: https://charterlibrary.org/library/interview-of-former-governor-of-ny-george-e-pataki/