Winter Milestones
The winter has been a long and productive one over here with the Charter School Initiative (PCSI). We sent board members to the Colorado League of Charter Schools annual Conference and to the CDE’s Charter School Bootcamp, finalized our academic plan, started building a relationship with our new consultants, received two grants, toured over 10 potential school locations in Pagosa Springs, received letters of intent for 100% of our first year’s projected enrollment, and we’re a little over a week away from finishing up our first draft of our charter application. This project is feeling very real!
Saying Good-byes
There have also been some hiccups. We lost six board members, who all realized that they didn’t have the time to commit to this project at this point in their lives, and now only three of the initial founding board remain.We are currently in the process of recruiting new board members who will also serve on the actual school’s governing board through the 2017-2018 school year at the minimum. We are specifically looking for individuals who can bring educational, financial, legal, and/or non-profit experience to our table. PCSI currently holds regular meetings on the first Sunday of every month, and all board members are also required to chair one committee, most of which meet monthly as well. Expected investment of time is around 30 hours per month during this start-up process, which will continue until Pagosa Peak Open School opens its door in September of 2017. Please email Kierstan Renner kierstan.pcsi@gmail.com if you are interested, or know someone who may be.
Forming Relationships
Since our last newsletter PCSI is ecstatic to announce that our group has partnered up with Designs for Learning – a consulting firm that has extensive experience in founding, managing and growing charter schools since 1995. They have been helping PCSI write our charter application, specifically focusing on the following departments: Financial Management, Human Resources, and Special Education. Over the next year they will also offer additional program and technology support. We anticipate working with them for many years to come.
Grant Awards
At the start of the month we were awarded the Stage 2 Planning Grant from the Colorado League of Charter Schools, which will help us pay for this summer’s community outreach events, a lawyer, who specializes in public school law, and a financial consultant, who specializes in charter school finances.
This past week we were rewarded the Stage 5 Planning Grant, which will cover the expense of the 8-week charter application review process that will be carried out by the Colorado League of Charter Schools themselves. The League will evaluate each section of our application draft and provide constructive feedback about its comprehensiveness based on the League’s Quality Standards for Developing Charter Schools. Following the Quality Standards, at the end of PPOS’s first year we will have a solid foundation in six quality outcomes. These outcomes, seen in the image below, are critical toward the overall health and long-term success of a school, with each carrying equal importance.
Click here to learn more about the League’s New School Support Services.
Letters of Support
Evidence of Community Support is a small yet important section in our charter application. In order to submit a strong application to our district, we need to provide a significant number of Letters of Support from community members and leaders who are willing to step forward in support of PPOS. These letters are addressed to the Archuleta School District #50 JT, but should be given to a PCSI board member to include in our application. If you or anyone you know is interested in writing a letter, please email Kierstan Renner kierstan.pcsi@gmail.com, and she will send you our most recent informational packet, along with example letters to draw from.
This week we will be working with the district to discuss our future contract, writing our food program, finishing our first budget drafts, and putting finishing touches on our school-day schedule and academic calendar.
We can’t wait to share more information about this massive project in the coming months, and hopefully visit with you over the summer. Stay tuned for updates on our application and announcements about summer events!