RT @CharterInsights Charter schools and the organizational lifecycle - The pains of Growth: When the school first opens, people ope... http://bit.ly/dXpSX

It sometimes takes a few years, but when charter schools find that they are not in competition with each other, they can work together on issues such as sharing best practices and resources like school lunch options, visiting nurses and technology support. Collaboration can be very rewarding, especially to administrators.

Well said, Julie. In Virginia, there are so few charter schools (especially start-ups) that sharing reources is difficult across distances. I work in a school divison with two charters (50% of the charters in Virginia!); one is twenty years old and existed before being awarded charter status; the other is my school which is in its second year. There's a lot of communication and sharing between the schools, but we're in completely different places in the life-cycles of our schools. It would be great to work through challenges with new charters, as well. I wonder if RTTI will impact the charter scene here.

I have written a business plan and have an idea for charter school, I have attempted to gather supporters to meet and write grants for start up costs. When it came to meeting no one showed up. How do I find people interested?

LPS -that's a great question. With different laws in different states, it's also a tough one to answer. Let me get advice from Bobbi Snow, our school's co-founder and co-moderator of this group.

Mark Hazleton, whom you can find in the Introductions discussion, works for an organization called Charter Starters Inc. Perhaps he could be of help, as well?

More soon -
C

Hi, LPS -

Here's our advice:

1. In this climate, don't have your first meetings be about money. Have your meetings be about the need for your school. Concentrate on the vision, mission, and clientele.

2. In our experience the people that you attract first are not people inclined to think of business plans. It's great that you have one and bring business expertise to the table. To get partners at the beginning of the process, stick to the vision and try to recruit people in the following ways:

-Advertise your focus by putting up fliers in local coffee shops and libraries, Advertise on the radio. Find a community space that's centrally located for your first meeting to find public support. A good place to generate interest is in front of a supermarket on a Saturday afternoon, introducing yourself and giving out fliers. Starting a charter school is a public job. Think of yourself as if you're running for mayor.

-Go to places of worship and share your vision with their congregations.

-Spread your vision wherever you can, which might not be what you have word for word in the business plan. Give a flier to anyone who might be interested, including your colleagues and allies in your school division.

As you recruit people interested in the school's promise, you'll discover your next steps according to the strengths and needs of your support network.

LPS, here is a post on marketing charter schools:

http://financeconsulting.co.cc/2010/03/i-need-marketing-ideas-for-a-char...

Here is a link for the Charter Starter organization that Mark Hazleton shared with us:

http://www.charter-starters.com/index.html

Let us know how your works progresses!

All the best,
C