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Our Statement on Impact PSE Charter Renewal

Yesterday, Impact Puget Sound Elementary (Impact | PSE) received a two-year renewal of its charter from the State Charter School Commission. Impact | PSE serves students ranging from transitional kindergarten (TK) to 5th grade and has recently shown favorable data-based outcomes for its students as compared to their peers in traditional public schools and has … Read More

Fundraising Learning Series: Q&A with James Heugas, Washington State Charter School Development

Facility Financing 101 Facility Financing Charter school operators require access to different forms of project funding over the course of facilities development. Beyond typical fundraising, which generally acts as a leave-behind equity contribution from the school, there is the need for financing to fund predevelopment, acquisition, and construction. As charter school operators grow and stabilize … Read More

Our Statement on Ingraham High School shooting

Our hearts are with the family of the student killed yesterday at Ingraham High School in Seattle, and the entire Ingraham and Seattle Public Schools community, following yesterday’s school shooting.  As a nation, we must urgently, deeply, and continuously address the hatred that leads to school shootings, as well as address the legal systems that … Read More

Favian Martinez (Rainier Prep) at Pathfinders 2022

By Favian Martinez I am a proud founding student from Rainier Prep’s Class of 2019.  I am currently a senior at O’Dea High School.  My sights are set on Seattle University to study psychology and to play on their soccer team.  As I look back at starting Rainier Prep, I had no idea the impact … Read More

Public Education and Charter Options: Urban Native Perspectives

The history of public education in America is complicated and rife with institutional and systemic racism. For Indigenous people in particular, American public schooling in the 19th and 20th century was brutal, characterized by forced assimilation and overt efforts to erase culture, separation from family, physical harm and even death in boarding schools, and generational … Read More

Haid’s Story

By Haid Bloxham, Co-President, Finance and Operations Since stepping into the role of Co-President of WA Charters alongside Natalie and Rekha, I have been reflecting on why education has been a north star for me and my career. I grew up in Atlanta, the middle of three girls, and benefited from the love, resources, and … Read More

Rekha’s Story

By Rekha Bhatt, Co-President, Innovative Schools Each fall, as a new school year kicks off, I reflect on my own experience with schooling and what drives me in this work. This year, I am entering my 16th year in education. I started my professional career in education with Teach for America serving as an English … Read More

Fundraising Learning Series: Q&A with Gina Fafard, BoardOnTrack

What are some effective ways you’ve seen board members support charter schools? One of the most effective ways board members can support their charter schools is to clearly understand their roles and responsibilities and maintain a relationship with their CEO grounded in mutual trust and respect. Boards that do this well are actively engaged in … Read More

CSP Grantee Spotlight: Washington State Charter Schools Association

NCSRC regularly features interviews with CSP grantees in this newsletter to help grantees learn from each other’s work. This month, we hear from Jeannette Vaughn, CSP Project Director and School Implementation Coach at the Washington State Charter Schools Association (WA Charters), which has held a CSP SE grant since 2019. NCSRC spoke with Vaughn about WA Charters’ … Read More