Starting a Charter School

This is the list of steps that need to be followed in order to start a charter school.

1. Assemble your team – Completed
2. Decide on how you want to communicate and document the work involved in this project. – Completed
3. Choose 1 of the following establishment options: – Completed “A new public school”
   
   1. A new public school
   2. A virtual public charter school
   3. An existing public school or a portion of the school
   4. An existing alternative education program
4. Decide on what type of charter school you want to become: – Completed “Brick and Mortar”
   
   1. Brick and Mortar
      1. schools that hold their instructional program in a building
   2. Virtual
      1. instruction is delivered primarily on a computer
   3. Conversion
      1. a public school converting to a charter school
5. Identify the niche in the community that your charter school will fill- Completed ““small class sizes and character”
6. Decide on how your charter school will fill that niche.- Completed “The niche will be filled by capping class sizes at 15 kids and providing character training”
7. Write a vision and mission statement- Completed
   1. vision defines the “big picture”
   2. mission statement defines how you are going to accomplish your vision
   3. together they should tell everyone what the school will look like in operational terms
   4. Vision: Providing a quality learning environment through small class sizes, family involvement, and enriching the community.
   5. Mission: Classes will be capped at 15 students, family involvement is required, and character training is part of our core curriculum.
8. Create a budget. – Completed
9. Contact your local school district representatives to discuss requirements, formats and timelines for your proposal. – Completed
   1. Obtain a copy of the their policy for accepting and processing charter school proposals
10. Create your proposal. – Completed
11. Register with the online State of Oregon Secure Access System. – Completed
12. Determine your mailing address. – Completed
13. Apply for an Employer Identification Number with the IRS – Completed
14. Register with the State of Oregon Corporation Division. Completed
15. Register with the Oregon Department of Justice as a charitable organization. Completed
16. Apply for 501(c)(3) status from the IRS. Completed
17. Submit the proposal to the local school board. – Completed
18. Submit the proposal the ODE. –Completed
19. Attend the public hearing. – Completed
20. Have the proposal approved. – Completed
21. Receive written notice of the approval. – Completed
22. Forward a copy of the written notice to the State Board of Education. – Completed
23. A contract must be prepared and executed between the developer and the school district. It is advised that the developer seek the legal counsel before signing a charter school contract. – Completed
24. Send the following documents to the Oregon Department of Education – Completed
    1. A copy of the proposal (described in the previous section) submitted to the district and approved.
    2. Employer Identification Number (EIN) documentation
    3. A copy of the 501(c)(3) document
    4. A signed copy of the charter contract
25. Apply for a School Institution Number – In Progress
26. File Articles of Incorporation and bylaws with the Oregon Secretary of State’s office – Completed
27. File SS-4 with the IRS in order to obtain an Employer Identification Number – Completed
28. Purchase insurance for Directors and Officers
29. Receive training from the Oregon Government and Ethics Commission on public meetings and ethics policy
30. Determine how you are going to consider policy adoption – Completed
31. Create the following policies:
    1. Legal policies, such as school safety, liability/risk, conflicts of interest, and confidentiality.
    2. Internal board policies; for example, more detail than the bylaws provide in regard to election, term limits, etc., of board members
    3. Policy on how the board will adopt policies, for instance holding two hearings before final adoption
    4. Financial policies, such as internal audits, signature authority and maximum spending level without board approval (procurement)
    5. Enrollment policies, such as timelines for applications and the lottery
    6. Instructional program policies, such as the type of methodology used to deliver the curriculum instructional beliefs, and assessment beliefs
    7. Facilities, such as how and when the community can use the facilities
    8. Personnel policies, such as how many hours a part-time employee must work in order to be included in benefits
    9. Parent and student policies, such as student rights, how a parent (community member) can get something on the board’s meeting agenda and student conduct
32. Setup an employee compensation plan.
33. Hire employees.
34. Enroll students.