Board Governance

As the school’s governing body, the board of trustees is legally responsible for the academic, financial, and operational quality of the charter school. Given the centrality of autonomy to charter schools, the board is integral to the proper oversight of schools. The National Charter School Resource Center leverages the existing body of knowledge to offer best practices and tools to enable charter schools to establish and maintain an effective board.

Featured Board Governance Resources

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A Synthesis of Research on Charter School Facilities
“A Synthesis of Research on Charter School Facilities” examines the…
Reports | 06 Oct, 2020
Identifying Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools
Identifying Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools Part 1: The Role and Perspective of Charter School Authorizers
Identifying Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools labels and categorizes the indicators of…
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Indicators of Distress and What They Mean in the Charter Sector: A Webinar for Charter Sector Stakeholders Introducing…
Charter school stakeholders from across the country joined together to explore findings from NCSRC’…
Webinar: Recruitment for Governing Boards
This webinar, Recruitment for Governing Boards, is presented by the Colorado League of Charter…
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The Death Spiral: Identifying Early Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools (A Conversation with Authorizers)
Charter school authorizers from across the country joined together to explore the findings of NCSRC…

All Board Governance Resources

Cover of the Capacity-Building Guide for Founding Native American Charter Schools
Capacity-Building Guide for Founding Native American Charter Schools Toolkits07 Oct, 2021 Charter schools are a viable option for Native American tribal communities to engage in and support sovereignty and self-determination in education. The charter model affords the autonomy… Read more
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Starting a Charter School, State Education Agency, Authorizing, Charter School Management Organizations, At-Risk Students, Charter School Family and Community, Opening and Expanding, Board Governance, Facilities
Cover of the Indicators of Distress Part 2 publication
Identifying Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools, Part 2: The Roles and Perspectives of Charter School Leaders and Board Members Reports04 Oct, 2021 Although school failure and school improvement are complex challenges that look different in different contexts, patterns and trends associated with schools in distress are emerging. This… Read more
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State Education Agency, Charter School Management Organizations, Turn-around, Educators, Policy Maker, Discipline, Board Governance, Increasing Achievement, Operations and Compliance, Leadership
Title slide of the "Identifying Distress in Charter Schools" webinar
Identifying Distress in Charter Schools: A Workshop for Authorizers and State Departments of Education Webinar17 Jun, 2021 to 17 Jun, 2021 NCSRC hosted an interactive workshop to support authorizers and state departments of education in using its Identifying Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools: Tools to Support… Read more
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State Education Agency, Policy, Board Governance, Increasing Achievement, Operations and Compliance, Leadership
Cover of the "Tools to Support Authorizer Data Collection" toolkit
Identifying Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools: Tools to Support Authorizer Data Collection Toolkits01 Jun, 2021 This toolkit is a self-guided resource for authorizers to identify indicators of distress, audit their current data collection methods for evaluating indicators of distress, and assess… Read more
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State Education Agency, Charter School Management Organizations, Educators, Charter School Family and Community, Policy Maker, Policy, Board Governance, Increasing Achievement, Operations and Compliance, Leadership
A stack of books with the publication title: Charter School Governance, the Essential Guide
Introducing Charter School Governance: The Essential Guide ToolkitsBLUUM01 Oct, 2020 BLUUM has created a series of informative videos that provide a high-level overview of the responsibilities, opportunities and obligations of public charter school board members. Real-life… Read more
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Finance and Fundraising, Starting a Charter School, Board Recruitment, Charter School Management Organizations, Board Fundamentals, Board Effectiveness, Board Roles and Responsibilities, Charter School Family and Community, Opening and Expanding, Board Governance
cover page of report
A Synthesis of Research on Charter School Facilities Reports06 Oct, 2020 “A Synthesis of Research on Charter School Facilities” examines the current state of charter school access to facilities, including facility acquisition and ownership, and facility funding… Read more
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State Education Agency, Charter School Management Organizations, Charter School Family and Community, Policy Maker, Opening and Expanding, Policy, Board Governance, Operations and Compliance, Facilities, Funding
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Indicators of Distress and What They Mean in the Charter Sector: A Webinar for Charter Sector Stakeholders Introducing New Research Related to the Early Indicators of Distress Webinar30 Sep, 2020 to 30 Sep, 2020 Charter school stakeholders from across the country joined together to explore findings from NCSRC’s new report, Identifying Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools Part 1: The Role and… Read more
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Indiana Charter Schools, State Education Agency, Tennessee Charter Schools, Charter School Management Organizations, Educators, Charter School Family and Community, Policy Maker, Policy, Board Governance, Increasing Achievement, Operations and Compliance, Leadership
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Indicators of Distress (And What They Mean in the Charter Sector) Event30 Sep, 2020 Indicators of Distress (And What They Mean in the Charter Sector) Wednesday, September 30, 2020 2:00-3:00 PM EDT (11:00 AM-12:00 PM PDT) Register To Attend The National Charter School… Read more
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State Education Agency, Charter School Management Organizations, Educators, Charter School Family and Community, Policy Maker, Policy, Board Governance, Increasing Achievement, Operations and Compliance, Leadership
title slide of presentation
The Death Spiral: Identifying Early Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools (A Conversation with Authorizers) Webinar09 Sep, 2020 to 09 Sep, 2020 Charter school authorizers from across the country joined together to explore the findings of NCSRC’s Identifying Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools report. They heard from their… Read more
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Delaware Charter Schools, Indiana Charter Schools, State Education Agency, Tennessee Charter Schools, Policy Maker, Policy, Board Governance, Increasing Achievement, Operations and Compliance, Leadership
Identifying Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools
Identifying Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools Part 1: The Role and Perspective of Charter School Authorizers Reports21 Sep, 2020 Identifying Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools labels and categorizes the indicators of distress that authorizers encounter as a school’s quality begins to decline. This report can… Read more
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State Education Agency, Charter School Management Organizations, Turn-around, Educators, Policy Maker, Policy, Board Governance, Operations and Compliance, Leadership

Featured Publications

Identifying Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools, Part 2: The Roles and Perspectives of Charter School Leaders and Board Members
Reports | 04 Oct, 2021
How Charter Schools Can Leverage Community Assets through Partnerships
Reports | 16 Jun, 2021
Identifying Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools: Tools to Support Authorizer Data Collection
Toolkits | 01 Jun, 2021
School Quality Assessment: Where Are You on the Pathway to Success?
Toolkits | 01 Dec, 2020
A Synthesis of Research on Charter School Facilities
Reports | 06 Oct, 2020

Featured Events

American Association for Teaching and Curriculum - 2021 Annual Conference
Albuquerque, NM | 07 Oct, 2021 to 09 Oct, 2021
The theme of this year's annual conference is Creativity and the Muse, with a focus on creativity and the “muses” (or…
Florida Charter Schools Conference 2021
Orlando | 20 Oct, 2021 to 22 Oct, 2021
The Florida Charter School Alliance will host their 2021 meeting from October 20 - 22. Exact location TBD.
Missouri Charter Schools Leadership Conference
Columbia, MO | 06 Oct, 2021 to 07 Oct, 2021
The Missouri Charter Public School Association introduces the first Annual Missouri Charter Schools Leadership…
NCSRC Webinar: Indicators of Distress - The Role of Leaders and Board Members
| 27 Oct, 2021
Join the National Charter School Resource Center (NCSRC) to explore the key concepts in Identifying Indicators of…
Trauma-Informed Schools Institute
| 04 Nov, 2021 to 05 Nov, 2021
The Trauma-Informed Schools Institute is a two-day conference designed to build the capacity of educators to implement…

Featured News

Credit Enhancement Grants for FY2021 Posted by ED
News | 24 Jun, 2021
Family Engagement Toolkit Featured in NAFSCE Webinar
News | 25 May, 2021
New Blog Post Highlights NSCRC's State Profiles
News | 05 Mar, 2021
FY2020 Grants to Charter School Developers for the Opening of New Charter Schools and for the Replication and Expansion of High-Quality Charter Schools (CFDA #84.282B/E)
News | 20 May, 2020
U.S. Department of Education's Coronavirus Response
News | 12 Mar, 2020
U.S. Department of Education

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