Startup Overview
The FOCUS Startup program has two phases: Pre-Approval, when founding groups write their charter petitions, and Post-Approval, when they spend a year turning their charter into a school.
Startup: Pre-Approval
Since 2004, when FOCUS first became a one-stop training and support center, 100% of the founding groups that have received charters have taken advantage of some or all of our application preparation offerings. For both local groups interested in starting an innovative public charter school and proven CMOs interested in replicating a strong model in D.C., FOCUS provides workshops and a guidebook to help groups successfully navigate the charter application process.
- Charter Startup Seminar
- FOCUS Guide to Starting a Charter School in the District of Columbia (9th Ed)
- School Design Workshops
- Application Consulting
Please click on a program above for more information.
Startup: Post-Approval
For those who have been conditionally chartered, FOCUS offers a series of meetings with local and national experts to provide guidance in everything from labor law to curriculum development to finding teachers, leaders, and a facility. We facilitate a Professional Learning Community where schools in their planning year learn from each other while receiving advice from experts. Schools in our Startup: Post-Approval program can also attend any of our Achieving Mastery workshops.
Schools in our Startup: Post-Approval program will receive:
Networking opportunities
Consulting
Help seeking funding
Workshops:
- Operations & Compliance
- Facilities
- Finance
- Board Governance
- Labor Law & Employee Handbooks
- Personnel: Hiring a Principal and Teachers
- Curriculum Development
- Student Recruitment: Marketing Your School
- Data Management
- School Culture
- Special Populations
For more information on the FOCUS Startup programs, please contact Alison Collier at acollier@focusdc.org.