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Dr. John von Rohr has created a how-to guide that is indispensable to anyone inspired to launch a new charter school. For the cost of this book, one could literally save millions of dollars by avoiding common pitfalls. And the author would know. The Finding a Location chapter describes a sequence of events for Rocky Mount charter school that could dash the hopes of educators, board members, and investors. The school opened in 1999 with 600 students in a renovated store. The author was the third principal hired within months. At the start of the second year, a hurricane flood rendered the building unusable, constituting an $800,000 loss. The board of directors found temporary quarters in area churches, and flood insurance financed the acquiring thirty modular classrooms and purchasing classroom equipment destroyed in the flood. A $4.6 million FEMA grant allowed the school to build from the ground up. Rocky Mount charter school occupied their new building in 2001.
Every charter school prior to opening its doors goes through a long, complicated design phase: long because the support of so many others is needed; complicated because of handling everything that the state government does in public schools. This includes defining student population, writing budgets, planning curriculum, and determining teacher and other staff needs.
With permission granted for the charter school, next comes obtaining financing and hiring staff. The principal's role can include creating daily operational plans to arranging for services like school lunches, physical education, after-school care, and building security. Fortunately, companies can be contracted to provide these services.
This soft-cover book is 233 pages with 24 appendices of sample building plans, budgets, contracts, letters, and daily operational plans. There is contact information for charter school associations. With all of this valuable information, one can easily overlook any typos and obsolete website URLs.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review