growth strategies for charter schools: start-up, expansion, maturity | california charter schools...

Copyright © 2015 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

California Charter Schools Conference

March 22, 2017

Growth Strategies for Charter

Schools:Start-up, Expansion and

Maturity

2Copyright © 2015 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

WELCOME

Stuart Ellis President and CEOCharter School Capital

Dr. Darlene Chambers SVP for Programs and ServicesNational Charter Schools Institute

Tricia Blum, Head of Consulting ServicesCharter School CapitalFormer executive leader at AEALAS, Inc. and iLEAD Inc.

Laura MudgeExecutive DirectorOlive Grove Charter School


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 atCharterSchoolCapital.org/California2017


Stages of Growth


STAGES OF GROWTH

# of Students

Start-upSurvival/Establish

GrowthFlexibility/Stability

Sustainable MaturityEfficiency

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%

FinancialMismanagementAcademicAuthorizer ObstaclesFacilitiesOther

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

“While the charter public school movement saw many new schools open last year, 272 charter schools ceased operation. These schools closed for a variety of reasons, including low enrollment, financial concerns, and low academic performance.” – A Closer Look at the Charter School Movement, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools


STAGES OF GROWTH

Strategic approach

Start-up Growth Sustainability

Financing

Facilities

Community involvementAcademic accountabilityOperational support


STAGES OF GROWTH

Strategic approach


Financing Any liquidity

Facilities In target locale

Community involvement

Awareness

Academic accountability

Establish program

Operational support

Outside experts


STAGES OF GROWTH

Strategic approach


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



Cost

Facilities In target locale Modular Curb appeal/cost


Awareness Fulfill the promise Fabric of community


Establish program Measure program Continuous improvement

Operational support


In-house team


STAGES OF GROWTH

Strategic approach



Cost






Operational support


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 MisperceptionsFounding team to “create” best practices

“If you build it, they will come.”


STAGES OF GROWTH

Start-up

The ChallengesFinding good leadership and teachers

Securing resources

Finding suitable facilities

Healthy enrollment

Sustaining high performance as network expands


STAGES OF GROWTH

Start-up

Best PracticesStudy 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

GrowthChallenges

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 PracticesContinuous professional development and leadership training

Build on the culture

Focus on individualized instruction and data analysis

Increase visibility in the movement


GROWTH ESTIMATOR


STAGES OF GROWTH

Sustainable maturity

Common Misperceptions

The snowball effect

Time to cash in

Challenges decrease as you scale


STAGES OF GROWTH


The Challenges

Focus, Engage, Act

Right team on the right bus in the right seats

Recalibration


STAGES OF GROWTH


Best PracticesBe mindful of the “tipping points”

Strategic enrollment = Stable performance

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

Celebrate your successes and analyze your failures as strategic opportunities

Develop pillars that define what you do – core strategies for your “preferred future”

Assess all management systems regularly and use assessment to improve


Recap


STAGES OF GROWTH

Recap



Cost






Operational support


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


Questions?Presentation available at: CharterSchoolCapital.org/California2017


THANK YOUPresentation available at: CharterSchoolCapital.org/California2017

Stuart [email protected]

Darlene [email protected]

Tricia [email protected]

Laura [email protected]