Resources

In recent studies of charter schools in Idaho and Alaska, the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) found that they are having trouble in a couple of key areas: setting measurable achievement standards and making sure that the mix of kids reflects the diversity of the community.

"The biggest thing we found is that goals are really fuzzy for a lot of the schools," says NWREL researcher Elke Geiger. "We also found that student populations are pretty different from the regular schools — fewer minorities, fewer Title I kids, etcetera."

To help charter schools deal with these and other thorny issues — issues that are critical to the success of individual schools and, ultimately, of the charter movement itself — the Northwest Lab has developed Charter Starters. This timely leadership training program includes research-based training modules, workbooks, and training institutes.

"We discovered a parallel between rural schools and charter schools," says NWREL's Rural Education Program Director Joyce Ley. "In rural schools in our region, educators are frequently geographically isolated, and this often creates a barrier to professional development. Educators in charter schools also tend to be professionally isolated because they're regarded as being different."

Charter Starters training modules include activities, sample forms and policies, checklists, resources, and references. A set of workbooks provide research-based strategies for effectively starting and operating a charter school. Two companion publications provide a review of leadership characteristics and a guide for using the Charter Starters program to conduct leadership training. Charter Starters training modules, with corresponding workbooks, address five core content areas of charter school development:

Workbook 1: Start-Up Logistics — drafting a charter, creating a vision and mission, developing a core founding group, accessing expert information, navigating the application process, acquiring a facility, allocating resources, establishing a legal entity, and contracting for services.
Workbook 2: Regulatory Issues — special education requirements, civil rights regulations, federal and state laws and regulations, and requirements for parent involvement.
Workbook 3: Assessment and Accountability — academic accountability, fiscal accountability, public/parental accountability, rule compliance, assessment and evaluation, financial management, developing a business plan, and how vision and mission connect with assessment and accountability.
Workbook 4: Governance and Management — creating an organizational structure, establishing strong leadership, handling personnel issues,developing internal policies, creating a board and board bylaws, managing growth, and dealing with liability issues.
Workbook 5: Community Relations — coordinating public relations, marketing the school, and dealing with controversy.

The companion publications are: A Profile of the Leadership Needs of Charter School Founders and Charter Starters Training Guide. The workbooks are targeted toward both charter school founders/developers and charter school trainers. Although originally designed as the training material for a five-day training academy, each workbook is relatively self-contained.

Charter Starter Leadership Training Institutes offer participants guidance in using the Charter Starters program to train founders in the leadership and planning skills they'll need to launch a successful charter school. For more information on setting up an institute for charter school founders and operators, state liaisons, regional service centers, higher education institutions, and others interested in charter schools, contact NWREL's Rural Education Program, by phone at (503) 275-0747, or visit their Web site at www.nwrel.org/charter/training.html. The workbooks are available for purchase individually or as a set. For ordering information, call (503) 275-9519 or 1-800-547-6339, ext. 519.

There are a number of other useful resources for charter schools, especially dealing with the difficult but critical issue of assessment and accountability. Elke Geiger particularly recommends the following:

www.uscharterschools.org/, a Web site that includes assessment and accountability resources
www.charterfriends.org/ for a list of contacts in each state
www.pioneerinstitute.org/csrc/cshb/ for the Charter School Handbook
Navigating the Standards Maze by Laude Gardner/Charter Schools Development Center. A briefing paper is available at www.csus.edu/ ier/charter/standardsmaze.html
Putnam Valley School District's site (www.putwest.boces.org) has a large number of standards-related links
http://ericae.net/ is the Web site for the ERIC clearinghouse on assessment and evaluation, with an extensive array of links
The National Charter School Accountability Network set up in 1999 with resource centers in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, North Carolina, Texas, California, New Jersey, and Wisconsin to help schools develop and strengthen accountability plans and practices. These state-funded resource centers generally manage the chartering process and develop classroom materials, workshops, and additional funding sources for schools. Contact Margaret Lin, Coordinator; National Charter School Accountability Network; 1155 15th Street N.W., Suite 300; Washington, D.C. 20005-2706; (202) 785-4311 (linmaggie@earthlink.net).