Putting Our Members First
Hello and welcome,
I wanted to start today with a couple of thank yous. First, to David Singer, our board chair, for his article last month on why the charter school community is so important. Parents and families have clearly demonstrated that they want more options out of public education, and that’s what charter schools bring to the table. We inject much-needed options and opportunities into a system that far too often reverts to the status quo, and that’s why our mission today is no less important than it was when charter schools started in Colorado 30 years ago.
Second, I want to thank each of you for the work you’re doing right now to start the school year off right. I’ve heard from some of you that you now (maybe?) have a slight moment to breathe. It might be like the added effort to get a train moving from a dead stop, but now that there’s some momentum, less energy is needed to keep the train going.
The League is in a similar place. We’re putting you, our members, first because we know that is how we can best contribute to your momentum—by providing the energy around various efforts and initiatives that help you drive both your school and the entire charter community forward.
TREASURE
We consistently hear from our schools that one of your biggest ongoing needs is in relation to resources – not only more funding in general but also greater funding equity for charter schools. That’s why we were excited to celebrate historic wins last year related to CSI equalization, charter facilities funding, and per-pupil revenue. But we’re not stopping there. Part of the reason why getting the $66 million dollar commitment from the legislature last year for charter school facilities over the next five years was so important was because of how it could position Colorado to compete favorably for critical federal matching funds. That competition is now underway, CDE has applied on the state’s behalf, and we should be hearing any day on whether we’ve successfully unlocked another $36 million in vital facilities resources for our schools.
That funding would be in addition to the nearly $70 million that the League has separately applied for to become the state’s new administrator of the federal Charter Schools Program for new and expanding schools. We should also be hearing about that any day. If both buckets of money come through, it would represent over $100 million dollars in additional funding for the Colorado charter school community over the next five years. All of this would be a direct result of League efforts, and all of it would be because of our focus on putting you, our member schools, first.
TEAM
So much of how we accomplish and pursue initiatives such as those mentioned above comes down to team and the quality of the individuals we’ve got working on your behalf both at the League and at our sister organization CLCS Action. I’m proud to report that, in addition to the tremendous team we already had in place, we added several critical new hires over the summer. We’ve grown our advocacy team to five and added new senior talent with the addition of Prateek Dutta (VP Policy). We also brought on Karolina Villagrana as our new Director of School Quality to ensure you’ve got the resources and support necessary to provide a world-class education to every student that enters your doors.
TOPICS
Through our Town Halls, our Regional Gatherings, and our major events, we’re bringing you topics to help you lead, manage, and staff your school. We’re kicking off this year’s Town Hall series next Friday, September 20th, at 10am (sign up here) with a focus on smartphones and the State Board. From there we hope to explore topics ranging from artificial intelligence to chronic absenteeism and more over the course of the year. We know that it is through collective development and improvement that we all lift each other up together. Our Resource Center also has a variety of materials for you, including Policy One-Pagers, news, job postings (free for members), our Vendor Marketplace, research, and access to trainings. And, of course, don’t forget to join us for our upcoming Leadership Summit at the Gaylord of the Rockies on Friday, October 11th.
I could go on from there, but whether it’s in the realm of Treasure, Team, or Topics, I hope you see all the ways in which we’re working to elevate your needs on a daily basis.
Thank you, and let us know what else we can do to help keep your trains running as the school year gets more fully underway. I look forward to seeing you all soon.
Sincerely,
Dan Schaller, President
Colorado League of Charter Schools
