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School Support Services

Starting a Charter Public School in Washington State

Washington’s charter school law was intended to support the creation of up to 40 high-quality charter public schools specifically designed to close opportunity and achievement gaps that correspond with race, family income, and/or immigration status. Research shows the strongest schools are those that are led by folks from the community they serve. Opening a charter public school in Washington is a multi-year start-up journey. Our online course provides resources and insights to get started on the path to designing and launching a charter public school in Washington.

Illustrated roadmap showing eight steps to launching a new Charter Public School

Get Started

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Take a Free Online Course

Future charter starters can move at their own pace as they learn about best practices in school design and common application-writing pitfalls to avoid.

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Participants can access resources to design community-centered schools and hear from current Washington charter leaders who have navigated charter authorization and launched schools that are co-constructed with–and responsive to the needs and assets of–families and communities.

Twelve engaging modules with six hours of video content cover the basics of the charter application, providing tips about how to prepare for a capacity interview about your school model – an important step in the authorization process. Each video has closed captions, and if viewing on Google’s Chrome browser, captions and website text can be translated into over 100 languages.

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color are strongly encouraged to apply.

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Schedule a Conversation with our Team

Have you been dreaming of starting a new public school but don’t know where to begin? WA Charters’ Innovative Schools Team can meet with you to share more about the process and requirements for starting and operating charter schools in Washington state.

Email info@wacharters.org to schedule a Charter 101.

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Explore Best Practices

Starting Strong: Best Practices in Starting A Charter School
Vanderbilt Peabody College