charter school growth strategies - national charter school conference

Copyright © 2014 Charter School Capital, Inc.

Charter School Growth

Strategies

National Charter Schools Conference

July 1, 2014

WHO WE ARE

•  Caprice Young, President, Education Growth Group

•  Marshall Emerson, Co-Founder and CEO, I CAN Schools

•  Dante Simi, CEO and Founder, Learn4Life Concept Charter Schools

•  Stuart Ellis, President & CEO, Charter School Capital

Panelists

3 Copyright © 2014 Charter School Capital, Inc.

WHAT WE’LL COVER

•  Charter school growth stages •  Challenges school operators face at each stage •  Best practices and takeaways

Agenda

Presentation is available to download at www.slideshare.net/CharterSchoolCapital


Stages of Growth


STAGES OF GROWTH

# of Students

Start-up Survival/Establish

Growth Flexibility/Stability

Sustainable Maturity Efficiency

Time (years)

0 2-3 5-10

100%

Students as a % of mature targets

10-25% 25-90% 90-100%


CHALLENGES

Reasons for charter school closures

42%

24%

19%

6% 5% 4%

Financial Mismanagement Academic Authorizer Obstacles Facilities Other

Source: The State of Charter Schools, The Center For Education Reform, December 2011


STAGES OF GROWTH

Strategic approach

Start-up Growth Sustainability Financing

Facilities

Community involvement Academic accountability Operational support


STAGES OF GROWTH

Strategic approach

Start-up Growth Sustainability Financing Any liquidity

Facilities In target locale

Community involvement

Awareness

Academic accountability

Establish program

Operational support Outside experts

STAGES OF GROWTH

Strategic approach

Start-up Growth Sustainability Financing Any liquidity Flexibility/

scalability Facilities In target locale Modular


Awareness Fulfill the promise


Establish program Measure program

Operational support Outside experts Transitional resources


STAGES OF GROWTH

Strategic approach


scalability Cost


Modular Curb appeal/cost


Awareness Fulfill the promise Fabric of community


Establish program Measure program Continuous improvement


In-house team


STAGES OF GROWTH

•  Different structures of working capital – Receivable sale – Term loan – Line of credit

•  Facilities financing options – Lease option – Bond – Traditional bank loan

•  Regarding costs of funds, all costs are NOT created equal – Evaluate total $ cost rather than % rate – Consider fixed transactional costs and penalties, in addition to annual rate

related to costs

Finance considerations


The Start-up Phase


STAGES OF GROWTH

Start-up

Common Misperceptions Founding team to “create” best practices “If you build it, they will come.”


STAGES OF GROWTH

Start-up

Marshall speak to this series of slides

The Challenges Finding good leadership and teachers Securing resources Finding suitable facilities Healthy enrollment Sustaining high performance as network expands


STAGES OF GROWTH

Start-up

Best Practices Study and meet with schools doing things well Don’t be a master of everything. Master a few things and do them really well Build genuine and robust relationship with teachers, leaders, vendors, and external constituents Pay close attention to the budget Pay even closer attention to student progress data Do not waiver in your belief or mission


The Growth Phase


STAGES OF GROWTH

Growth

Common Misperceptions “After the 3rd year, all will be in place and it’s smooth sailing!” Performance and accountability requirements will be stagnant Done with professional development No need to change routines or systems We’ll have sufficient funds from operating revenue to support expansion Facility upgrades will be minimal, if at all


STAGES OF GROWTH

Growth Challenges

Maintaining high expectations and being flexible

Advancing levels of student performance

Managing growth with limited resources

Upgrading systems to support growth

Retaining quality teachers and leaders

Matching capital to operational needs


STAGES OF GROWTH

Growth

Best Practices Continuous professional development and leadership training Build on the culture Focus on individualized instruction and data analysis Increase visibility in the movement



The Sustainable Maturity Phase


STAGES OF GROWTH

Sustainable maturity

Common Misperceptions

The snowball effect Time to cash in Challenges decrease as you scale


STAGES OF GROWTH


The Challenges

Developing and executing a development plan Right team to implement strategic vision and plan Reevaluate financing to match your needs


STAGES OF GROWTH


Best Practices

Define your objectives clearly and communicate them extensively both internally and externally

Develop data-driven culture and make sure you retain the passion that got you started


Recap


STAGES OF GROWTH

Recap


scalability Cost

Facilities In target locale Modular Curb appeal/cost Community involvement

Awareness Fulfill the promise

Fabric of community


Establish program

Measure program

Continuous improvement


In-house team


STAGES OF GROWTH

•  Stages in charter school lifecycle present very different challenges

•  Strategy and focus needs to vary significantly as you grow

•  Leverage experts at every stage to allow you to focus on educating kids

•  Financial analysis illuminates positive potential impact of growth and scale

Key takeaways


Thanks. Questions? Want to download the slides?

slideshare.net/CharterSchoolCapital


Stuart Ellis 877-272-1001 [email protected]

charter school growth strategies - national charter school conference

Education

charter school closures

growth phase

state of charter schools

liquidity facilities

startup phase

experts transitional

accountability requirements

operational needs