building a charter school growth strategy: startup, expansion, maturity
TRANSCRIPT
Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
Charter School
Growth
Strategies
Start-up, Expansion,
Maturity
California Charter Schools
Conference
March 18, 2015
2Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
WHAT WE’LL COVER
• Charter school growth stages
• Challenges school operators face at each stage
• Best practices and takeaways
Agenda
Presentation available at:
SlideShare.net/CharterSchoolCapital
3Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
WHO WE ARE
Caprice Young, CEO, Magnolia Public Schools
Skip Hansen, EVP, Learn4Life Concept Charter
Schools
Stuart Ellis, President & CEO, Charter School Capital
Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
Stages of Growth
5Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
STAGES OF GROWTH
# of
Students
Start-up
Survival/Establish
Growth
Flexibility/Stability
Sustainable Maturity
Efficiency
Time
(years)
0 2-3 5-10
100%
Students as
a % of
mature
targets
10-25% 25-90% 90-100%
6Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
CHALLENGES
Reasons for charter school closures
42%
24%
19%
6%
5%4%
Financial
Mismanagement
Academic
Authorizer Obstacles
Facilities
Other
Source: The State of Charter Schools,
The Center For Education Reform, December 2011
7Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
STAGES OF GROWTH
Strategic approach
Start-up Growth Sustainability
Financing
Facilities
Community
involvement
Academic
accountability
Operational
support
8Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
STAGES OF GROWTH
Strategic approach
Start-up Growth Sustainability
Financing Any liquidity
Facilities In target locale
Community
involvement
Awareness
Academic
accountability
Establish program
Operational
support
Outside experts
9Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
STAGES OF GROWTH
Strategic approach
Start-up Growth Sustainability
Financing Any liquidity Flexibility/scalabil
ity
Facilities In target locale Modular
Community
involvement
Awareness Fulfill the promise
Academic
accountability
Establish program Measure program
Operational
support
Outside experts Transitional
resources
10Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
STAGES OF GROWTH
Strategic approach
Start-up Growth Sustainability
Financing Any liquidity Flexibility/scalabil
ity
Cost
Facilities In target locale Modular Curb appeal/cost
Community
involvement
Awareness Fulfill the promise Fabric of
community
Academic
accountability
Establish program Measure program Continuous
improvement
Operational
support
Outside experts Transitional
resources
In-house team
11Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
STAGES OF GROWTH
Strategic approach
Start-up Growth Sustainability
Financing Any liquidity Flexibility/scalabil
ity
Cost
Facilities In target locale Modular Curb appeal/cost
Community
involvement
Awareness Fulfill the promise Fabric of
community
Academic
accountability
Establish program Measure program Continuous
improvement
Operational
support
Outside experts Transitional
resources
In-house team
12Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
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
13Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
MILE
M – Management
I – Instruction
L – Leadership
E – Excellence
Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
The Start-up Phase
15Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
STAGES OF GROWTH
Start-up
Common Misperceptions
Founding team to “create” best practices
“If you build it, they will come.”
16Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
STAGES OF GROWTH
Start-up
Marshall speak to this series of slides
The Challenges
Finding good leadership and teachers
Securing resources
Finding suitable facilities
Healthy enrollment
Sustaining high performance as network expands
17Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
STAGES OF GROWTH
Start-up
Best Practices
Study 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
Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
The Growth Phase
19Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
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
20Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
STAGES OF GROWTH
Growth
Challenges
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
21Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
STAGES OF GROWTH
Growth
Best Practices
Continuous professional development and leadership training
Build on the culture
Focus on individualized instruction and data analysis
Increase visibility in the movement
Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
22Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
The Sustainable Maturity Phase
23Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
STAGES OF GROWTH
Sustainable maturity
Common Misperceptions
With growth, comes distance
Time to cash in
Challenges decrease as you scale
24Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
STAGES OF GROWTH
Sustainable maturity
The Challenges
Developing and executing a sustainable strategic plan
Anticipate challenges
Identify aspiration – mission, vision, core values, SWOT
Right team to implement strategic vision and plan
Reevaluate financing to match your needs
25Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
STAGES OF GROWTH
Sustainable maturity
Best Practices
Define your objectives clearly and communicate them extensively both internally and
externally
Celebrate your successes and analyze your failures
Develop data-driven culture and make sure you retain the passion that got you
started
Take what you do seriously with out taking yourself too seriously
Develop pillars that define what you do
Assess performance regularly and use assessment to improve
Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
Recap
27Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
STAGES OF GROWTH
Recap
Start-up Growth Sustainability
Financing Any liquidity Flexibility/scalabil
ity
Cost
Facilities In target locale Modular Curb appeal/cost
Community
involvement
Awareness Fulfill the promise Fabric of
community
Academic
accountability
Establish program Measure program Continuous
improvement
Operational
support
Outside experts Transitional
resources
In-house team
28Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
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
Copyright © 2015 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Questions?
30Copyright © 2013 Charter School Capital, Inc.
Thank YouPresentation available at:
SlideShare.net/CharterSchoolCapital
Stuart Ellis
877-272-1001
Skip Hansen
Caprice Young