Facilitator: Alex Medler, National Charter School Resource Center
Presenter:
- Lorna Beckett, Colorado League of Charter Schools
- Jim Griffin, Momentum Strategies
- Alton Kimura, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Ben Lindquist, Colorado League of Charter Schools
- Mark Medema, Charter Impact Fund
Description: Securing a good building and affordable financing is a major challenge in the charter school sector. This webinar provided an overview of this challenge and highlighted resources that can help charter schools solve their facilities challenges. It also explored the roles that charter support organizations (CSOs) can play on this topic. Speakers included experts in charter school facilities and finance, including leaders overseeing new funding mechanisms that may help charter schools overcome these challenges.
Speakers shared information on the scale of the facilities challenge and what data from schools tell us about the need. New resources, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture's funding to support rural communities and the Charter Impact Fund, were discussed. We also shared more information on the U.S. Department of Education's Charter Schools Program Credit Enhancement funding.
This webinar was designed for CSO leaders and staff, from those who want to get up to speed on facilities supports to more experienced CSO leaders looking to see how their organizations can play a bigger role in this area.