Network helps with charter start-ups

When Lauren Tucker read about start-up problems at a nearby charter school,  she says she was especially thankful for her network.

Tucker is director of Aristotle Preparatory School,  a charter that opened in August on the outskirts of uptown Charlotte.  It's one of 14 schools that make up TeamCFA,  a network created by the Colorado-based Challenge Foundation.

Aristotle Prep

As charters expand in our area,  I'm getting a crash course in the organizations that are shaping them.  There are nonprofit charter chains like KIPP,  which has a school in Charlotte,  and for-profit management companies like Charter Schools USA,  which opened Langtree and Cabarrus academies this year.  Then there are charter networks such as TeamCFA and Prestige Preparatory Schools,  which provide support to area charters while those schools maintain independent identities.

TeamCFA has schools in Phoenix, Indianapolis and western North Carolina  (Aristotle Prep is the easternmost school in that group) and is working to expand.  Tucker was a math teacher at Piedmont Community Charter School,  a network school in Gastonia,  and the network trained her to launch a new school.

Tucker says the network has provided support with everything from governance to getting the building ready to creating a web site.  The Challenge Foundation also provides $100,000 grants for the first three years to help with starting expenses. The network has some requirements for all schools:  Students wear uniforms,  and all schools teach the Core Knowledge curriculum and use MAP testing to size up student progress.

Aristotle currently has almost 100 K-3 students in converted Sunday school classrooms at Christ Presbyterian Church.  "Support in the network is vital,"  says Tucker.

Individual schools have different specialties.  Piedmont has a fine-arts focus,  while Brevard Academy is breaking out grammar and Latin classes to improve writing,  says Tony Helton,  southeastern regional director for TeamCFA.

I don't claim to fully understand what chains and networks will mean for charter education in our area.  The liberal-leaning N.C. Policy Watch,  for instance,  has raised questions about the conservative political affiliations of Challenge Foundation founder John Bryan.  But as new schools continue to open,  affiliations such as Aristotle's with TeamCFA will help provide families some guidance in what to expect  --  and examples to check out nearby.

For NC charters, call Florida firm

Charter schools are changing public education in ways large and small,  as I learned last week when I did some reporting for the annual enrollment story.

Normally we report numbers for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools,  and maybe check with Wake County for comparison.  But with six new charters opening in the Charlotte area this year and 11 more pending for 2014,  it seemed like time to start checking in on their enrollment trends,  too.

When I called the two largest,  Cabarrus Charter Academy in Concord and Langtree Charter Academy in Mooresville,  I was told I couldn't speak to the local principals.  (Another twist of charters is that county lines aren't particularly important;  charters in this area often draw from two or three counties.)  Both are operated by the Florida-based for-profit Charter Schools USA,  and I was directed to a PR company in Fort Myers that speaks for the chain.

Is all information about these N.C. public schools going to have to come through you,  I asked Colleen Reynolds, president of Edge Communications.

"Yes, all media goes through me,"  she replied. "Believe me. It’s much easier that way. I tell reporters that I act as a facilitator – not a gatekeeper. This way, if you need something, I’ll get it for you by your deadline. It’s similar to when you go to the district for district schools, you go to me for our charter schools. I will help you in any way that I can."

I feel like I ought to be chagrined.  But the thing is,  I had answers  (including a follow-up about waiting lists)  from Reynolds while I was still playing phone tag with local staff in three other charters.  Both Charter USA schools had applied to take 661 K-6 students this year.  Both filled.  Cabarrus Academy has 838 students on the wait list and Langtree has 664,  according to Reynolds.  (Overall,  three of the six new local charters fell short of the numbers in their applications.)

As for CMS,  when I left Friday I still had no information on the 20th-day tally taken Sept. 23.  Wake hadn't released anything, either.  The rocky rollout of the statewide PowerSchool data system is apparently creating a holdup. 

So stay tuned.  And if you're a family having first-hand experience with the growing number of charter start-ups,  let me know how it's going.