4th Annual D.C. Public Charter School Recruitment Expo
Saturday, January 5, 2012
Washington Convention Center
Event Details
About
The 4th Annual DC Public Charter School Expo is a half-day fair that attracts more than 2,500 students and parents who want to learn more about charter schools, which are independent, tuition-free public schools. Charter schools that exhibit at the fair are looking for reliable and professional vendors.
The Event
The morning of the fair, vendors will network exclusively with charter school leaders, who make purchasing decisions for their individual schools. In the afternoon, the fair is open to the public and vendors will have more time to network with charter school leaders, other vendors and parents and community members.
The Market
DC Charter School Market - 2012-2013 School Year
There are currently 57 charter school districts operating 102 campuses in DC, serving more than 32,000 students (41% of the public school population); each is publicly-funded and independently-operated. DC’s public charter schools will receive more than $600 million in government funding this school year. They also raise additional money from private and philanthropic sources. While about half of that funding goes to personnel costs, the rest is spent on products and services to run schools. Unlike most traditional school systems, procurement is NOT centralized, and purchasing decisions and payments are made by individual schools. Charter schools expect high levels of customer service; in exchange, timely payment of vendors is the norm.
Benefits of doing business with charter schools:
• Government funding without procurement bureaucracy
• Efficient decision-makers who typically pay on time
• Contribute to a high-quality public education for DC children
Advantages of participating in the Charter School Expo
• Charter school decision-makers will be present and actively looking for reliable, reputable vendors.
• The expo will be heavily marketed for two months prior through print, radio and outdoor (DC metro train stations and buses) advertising, as well as community and grassroots promotion.
• Vendors will have exclusive access to school leaders from 9:30am – noon and can continue to market to schools until 4:00pm.
• The vendor fair will be limited to no more than sixty vendors.
• Vendors may also market/promote themselves to other vendors, teachers and parents where appropriate.
• Vendors will receive additional vehicles for marketing to charter schools throughout the year. (Click here for more details.)