CDE News Release on Charter School Grant Award

Colorado Awarded Three-Year, $40.8 Million Federal Grant To Expand Charters And Public School Options

Denise Mund, director of the Schools of Choice Office at the Colorado Department of Education announced today that Colorado will receive a $40.8 million charter school grant to increase public school options in Colorado. The state will be awarded $13.6 million each year for three years.

The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday the award of 12 charter school grants, totaling $136 million per year to state education agencies in Arkansas ($3.4 million), California ($51.8 million), Colorado, the District of Columbia ($1.3 million), Georgia ($13.1 million), Indiana ($10.9 million), Michigan ($16.7 million), Missouri ($2.2 million), New Hampshire ($1.3 million), Rhode Island ($2.4 million), South Carolina ($5.7 million) and Texas ($13.8 million).

The purpose of the Charter Schools Program is to increase financial support for the startup and expansion of these public schools, to build greater national understanding of the public charter school model and to increase the number of high-quality charter schools across the nation.

"Ninety-five percent of these funds will go directly to new charter schools in their first three years of operation," said Mund. "The grant will fund curriculum, professional development, administrative costs, desks and classroom supplies, office equipment, furniture and technology."

The remaining 5 percent of the grant funds the Schools of Choice Office and provides development opportunities for charter school leaders. Numerous trainings are offered throughout the year, including a finance seminar, business manager network meetings, mentoring opportunities, online board training modules and a variety of other online resources.

CDE's Schools of Choice Office is recognized for its support of developing charter schools and received a very good monitoring report from the federal government in 2009. Last year Mund provided technical assistance to 14 states and was a featured presenter at a national conference and webinar. Colorado, which has seen an overall increase in charter school funding since 1998, received $7.4 million in grant funding last year.

Through the Colorado Charter School Startup and Implementation grant, CDE's Schools of Choice provides technical assistance to charter schools and authorizers, processes waiver requests for the Colorado State Board of Education, collects data on charter schools, produces special topical studies, performs the state evaluation of charter schools, and responds to questions from the general public. For more information, visit www.cde.state.co.us/cdechart/index.htm

More information about the Charter Schools Program is available from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement at www.ed.gov/programs/charter/index.html

New Charter Schools in Colorado Get Grant Award

The Colo. Department of Education announced today the Schools of Choice Unit has received a $40.8 million grant award from the U.S. Department of Education under the Charter School Grant Program. The state will continue administering a federal startup and implementation grant program designed to assist new charter schools in up to their first three years of operation.

The state will have $13.6 million for each of the next three years to fund the unique startup expenses of a charter school. Many of the schools receive these funds in the spring prior to their opening, which allows them the opportunity to hire an administrator early. New charter schools don't get operating funds until July 1.

The schools rely on this startup grant to purchase desks furniture, technology, lockers, curriculum, and train their new staff members. Further, the money is often used to inform the community about a new charter school through advertising.

The grant is competitive and as many as 40% have been denied funds. For further information on the grant program, click here.

Charter School Boot Camp 2010

People brand new to the charter school community have been attending a boot camp this week to prepare for writing a charter school application. The training is a collaboration with CDE, the League of Charter Schools and the state Charter School Institute.

Attending boot camp and hearing all the presentations, which include a wide variety of topics including the application components, has been likened to drinking from a fire hose. Most founders begin with learning the lingo we use in education. Almost every component of the application requires a great deal of background knowledge and discussion. The components interplay with each other to comprehensively communicate the school's vision and philosophies. Even the budget should reflect the school's vision.

There are a host of resources available for charter school applicants. Many are on the charter page of the CDE website. Resources include other charter school applications, the model application, primary documents such as bylaws and articles of incorporation, and financial models. The sample contract language that's now available was reviewed; in particular, the pre-opening checklist and ESP provisions attachments.

This boot camp is for three days each June and the fee is nominal (to cover food). The primary purpose of the training is exposure to people the applicants will need to contact for help as they go through the application process and explain the detail of what should be included in a charter school applicaction.

Scholars to Leaders Academy

I spent the morning at Scholars to Leaders Academy in Colorado Springs. STL is authorized by the Charter School Institute and sits in the Colorado Springs 11 School District. The school is ending its second year of operation, but just last October separated from the Cesar Chavez School Network.

STL serves 225 students in grades K-8 in a building that had previously been used by a private Catholic school. The school's principal is Dr. Carolyn Gery. Success for All, used for reading and Everyday Math supplement the Core Knowledge curriculum. There is an extended day and school year. Students are 74% Free and Reduced-Price Lunch and 76% minority.

Last fall STL merged with a second Cesar Chavez School Network school that also operated in Colorado Springs and was authorized by the state Charter School Institute. There wasn't enough enrollment to support both schools.

When STL separated from the Network last fall they established a new board of directors, incorporated and signed a new contract with CSI. After consulting stakeholders, the board has adopted a mission statement. The school has rebounded from the turmoil of the first semester and is focused on improving academic achievement.