By Jay Whalen

From their inception, public charter schools promised to provide innovative ways to meet the students’ learning needs. At NACSA, we’re invested in helping authorizers be responsive to those needs, to ensure that every community—including those that have historically had the fewest options—has access to a full range of quality choices. It’s not about preferring one model over another. It’s about making sure that authorizers are prepared to evaluate applications for unique and innovative schools. 

And these applications are coming!  

There is a growing number of successful innovative schools, and, increasingly, communities are demanding more of these choices. But knowing they exist doesn’t always mean we understand how they work. I have evaluated many new school applications and heard plenty about models like Montessori, Opportunity Schools, Early College, and others. I’ve also visited several  of them. But when I reviewed these applications, at times I felt out of my depth in evaluating if they had a quality assessment plan, adequate staffing equations, or realistic budget assumptions that fit their specific model. 

While it’s impossible to be an expert in every aspect of every model, dedicated and tailored learning can help authorizers have enough knowledge to evaluate different educational approaches and ask the right model-specific questions.  

NACSA is creating resources and learning opportunities to better understand unique and innovative models like Montessori, Opportunity Schools, Career and Technical Education, and Early College.  So, if—and more likely when—an authorizer receives an application, they have enough knowledge to review and evaluate each model. This is part of NACSA’s role as a guiding light for the field: making sure authorizers, especially those without deep resources or access to national networks, aren’t left to figure out unfamiliar models alone. 

This September, NACSA invites you to a special three-part Third Thursday webinar series focused on the Montessori model. Join us as we convene the field to share insights from school leaders, authorizers, and experts around the country. As the year unfolds, NACSA will publish resources to highlight key design elements, how the New School Application process can create barriers and gateways for approval, and how oversight and evaluation processes may be impacted. 

I hope you’ll join and learn alongside us.