Five years ago, I was the COO at a charter school, and something was becoming increasingly obvious: we consistently did not have enough students enrolling to fill all our seats. In the five years since then, I haven’t spoken to a leader who isn’t facing some aspect of this same challenge. The solution is often to consolidate or merge or close schools. But for most leaders this creates another problem: talking about schools taking a different shape is hard—and often emotionally taxing! 

For more than 25 years NACSA has equipped authorizers with the support and guidance they need to do their jobs best. So last year we set out to find out if there was a way to talk about school closures that resonate with families and communities and if the way we talk about closure impacts their support. In partnership with Echelon Insights, we learned that it does! And we’ve spent the last several months sharing evidence-based messaging to equip decision makers—authorizers, advocates, board members, district leaders, philanthropic partners—to talk more compellingly about the need to consolidate merge or close schools. 

Here’s what we’ve learned: 

1. When it comes to low-academic performance, parents and voters want to know that consolidation, merger, and/or closure are only options after efforts to help the school have been made.
2. Giving students access to more opportunities resonates most with parents and voters as a reason to consolidate, merge, and/or close a school due to low student enrollment.
3. Acknowledging the loss, focusing on student benefits, including families in the journey, and providing clear next steps are the best ways to navigate these emotional conversations. 

Here is a summary and links to the full research: Focus Group & Survey Data (PDF Deck), Focus Group Survey Topline, and Focus Group Survey (Crosstabs).

We know that authorizers are no strangers to hard work, but are too often isolated, understaffed, and unaware of best practices that work in other parts of the country. Our hope is that resources like this provide authorizers and other decision-makers with a resource to enhance effective oversight and student outcomes. 

Want to talk with us more?

Check out some of these opportunities to see which might be the best fit for your organization. 

• Communications Collaborative – A vibrant community of individuals dedicated to improving communications around charter schooling.
• Third Thursdays – A monthly webinar for authorizers focused on current challenges practical takeaways.
• Community Conversations with NACSA – The only podcast that tells the stories of charter school authorizing and the people that strive to ensure students and families have access to quality public schools.
• NACSA Consulting Services – NACSA’s experience working alongside authorizers meets customized, collaborative, outcomes-focused support.