How Can Federal Pre-planning Grants Help Educators Start High-Performing Schools?
How can we best help support educators in building on their expertise and starting new high-performing public schools? One idea: Provide federal pre-planning grants to ensure they have the resources and time to make their school great. The Empower Charter School Educators to Lead Act, led by Senators John Cornyn (TX) and Cory Booker (NJ) in the Senate and Representatives Julia Letlow (LA-5) and Jill Tokuda (HI-2) in the House, would do just that.
Current educators may be in the best position to design innovative new schools that meet the needs of their communities but many lack access to an equitable source of public funding to support the development of charter applications. Most educators don’t have the personal resources to take a leave of absence from the classroom to focus on developing a high-quality charter application and access to philanthropic support isn’t evenly distributed, meaning that educators of color, those from low-income backgrounds, and those in rural areas are less likely to access philanthropic support.
Inspiring charter school leaders discuss the impact of early funding and resources on developing their schools and why Congress should allow existing Charter Schools Program (CSP) funds to support aspiring school leaders from the beginning.
Featured:
Fiona Sheridan-McIver, Director of Policy at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and a former educator
Dr. Angela Lang, Co-founder and Executive Director at I Dream Big Academy in Tuscaloosa, AL
Ignacio Prado, Executive Director and Lead Founder at Futuro Academy Charter School in Las Vegas, NV
Lagra Newman, Founder and Head of School at Purpose Preparatory Academy in Nashville, TN
Rafiq Kalam Id-Din, Founder and Managing Partner at Ember Charter Schools in New York, NY