Improving Sustainability by Scaling up Multi-School Charter Organizations Linda Dawson Sandro Lanni Greg Moser

Sustainability through:  Diversification of revenue streams  Increasing revenues  Protection of assets  Recruiting and retaining talent  Capitalizing on expertise developed  Diversification to lower political risks

Charter School A approaches  Foundation set up as private, nonprofit corporation Board of donors not required to disclose finances Not required to follow open meeting laws As “parent” of charter school seeks grants  “Sister” corporation runs “University” graduating credentialed teachers Separate from charter school corporation Helps recruit and retain teachers Separate income stream for school and charter employees  Statewide charter, in addition to local authorizer

Charter School Organization B  Parent nonprofit corporation created to: Holds real estate used by independent study schools Contract with schools for back office, purchasing, real estate management and curriculum services  Charters from three authorizers Allows coverage of all Southern California counties Renewals staggered in time

Charter School Organization C  Creating parent corporation to: Hold real estate for schools through Limited Liability Company ownership Hold new stock company to provide charter school construction services by licensed contractor Provide professional development services on fee for service basis to unrelated schools Provide school management services to unrelated school Raises funds for charitable works overseas in which students participate and travel Contracts with 7 charter schools operated by subsidiary corporation  Charters from 2 different authorizers

SIATech Charter Schools Network  Multi -state operation  9 Charters 15 Job Corps partners in 5 states (CA., AZ., NM; AR; FL) 3 MYcroSchools (GNV, JAX, Pinellas) 2 Independent Study programs (El Centro, Ca and Santa Ana, Ca.  5 NELA sites (FL.)  13 Active Boards of Directors ( ) 9 Charter Boards 4 Corporations (SIATech, NEWCorp, SIATech, AZ., RAPSA)

Mission, Vision and Values  Must be the foundation of the business model and the approach to scaling and sustainability  SIATech Mission We provide a premiere high school dropout recovery program engaging students through relationship-focused, high tech, and rigorous learning experiences resulting in Real Learning for Real Life  SIATech Values Integrity, Respect, Service and Learning

SIATech Strategic Priorities  Attract and retain quality staff  Nurture ongoing partnerships  Use accessible and timely data to inform decision making

SIATech approaches  Licensing model Provides “control” over unaffiliated schools Provides income not subject to “unrelated business” tax Protects intellectual property (curriculum, trademarks) Allows quality control, protection of reputation Licensing agreement includes related services, such as: Curriculum and teacher support Professional Development IT support, specifications and purchasing services

SIATech approaches  Subsidiary corporation (NEWCorp) Contracts/licenses with out-of-state charter schools Starts new charters out of state, generating grant funding (e.g., MYcroSchools) Holds private school corporation (New Global) Contracts to provide GED program services  SIATech expanding by offering IS programs through WIA partnerships

Sustainability approaches should:  Diversify revenue streams  Increase revenues  Protect assets  Help recruit and retain talent  Capitalize on expertise developed  Lower political risks.... while serving the mission

Potential Pitfalls  Over - Bureaucratization  Reduction in Locally Relevant Services  Over -Reliance on Funding from outside funders  Mission Creep  Replications effect on human capital  Loss of individual school visibility  Small mistakes magnified due to scale

Improving sustainability by scaling up charter school organizations Presented by:  Dr. Linda C. Dawson, Superintendent/CEO SIATech, Inc Temple Heights Drive, Suite A Oceanside, CA P: F:  Sandro Lanni,President Charter School Management Corporation Country Center Drive Temecula, CA P: F:  Gregory V. Moser Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP 525 B Street, Suite 2200 San Diego, CA P: F: