Spectrum Academy Charter School #5

This paper is the status report on the development of a charter school. This paper will discuss the strategic plan, plan status, budget, staffing, and other issues. Included in the discussion will be an overview of the project, preliminary organizational chart, communication plan, manager responsibilities, and specific areas of attention. In addition to the previous items we will also cover high level WBS tasks with schedules, network diagrams, critical path, deliverables, costs, technology, resources, and potential problems with contingencies.

The objective of this project is to define and assess the requirements for the development of a charter school. The result will be the opening of the charter school. Diverse learning ability and cognitive skills are a primary focus of this type of environment and will be incorporated in the design and infrastructure of the facility. Many pieces of these educational processes have been developed individually in alternative, charter, public or private schools to date. We shall bring these necessary tools together to facilitate a resurgence of true scientific inquiry, engaging mind, body and spirit in the process of education.

The parent organization, Be The Dream, will function as the non-profit organization responsible for developing the charter and facilitating the organizational development. The goal of the organization is to develop educational delivery systems that meet the current and future needs of students, primarily in the secondary arena. The creation of a charter school that demonstrates the application of this goal fits the overall goal of the organization. This project includes mandatory and alternative curricula that meet the needs of the individual student, support groups for processing through educational barriers, and the support staff necessary to administer and facilitate the educational environment. The integration of arts, science, and technology provides a balanced approach to meeting the educational goals of the school and students. Students properly prepared have the greatest chance of success in life.

The functional areas of the project are three-fold. The Education area is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the school, including administration, curricula development and implementation, and staff training and development. The Commercial area is responsible for the strategic plan to meet Arizona State requirements, developing business partnerships, and product development of saleable results. The Community area is responsible for outreach programs, after school programs, and adult education opportunities. These areas all form the core of the project. It is apparent that they overlap to meet the requirements of a functional relationship. We will be introducing the term “jobarchy” as the name for this type of structure. Its three-fold relationship creates a unique and synergistic service toward meeting the needs of the job. The job is the boss and everyone wins in the end. It is anticipated that many new lexicons will be developed as the project continues to grow, each serving as new jargon in the educational and business worlds.

Jobarchy serves as both a structural foundation and a communications methodology. Ideally, the core team consists of 3 to 5 people who bring the necessary skill sets. The structural foundation may not be identical in the development of this organization, yet the ultimate purpose is to serve the mission. It allows the freedom to make critical assessments and reflections of what is needed for the project’s success in terms of labor, materials, and resources. Once this analysis is made, the jobarchical structure communicates functional tasks as a work breakdown schedule unfolds. It becomes the ultimate team effort and the players trade off in the role of facilitator within their areas of expertise, or as required by the work itself. The basic organizational chart and areas of focus are below:

“Communication plans should be divided into two categories: project communications and constituent communications. Project communications include the interaction that is required in order to deliver the engagement with quality. Included in this category are the project plan itself, the memos and status reports that the team distributes to one another, the team meetings, and the minutes that are issued from them. In the realm of constituent communications are the executive briefings, auditorium presentations, newsletters, "lunch and learn" sessions, posters, brochures, focus groups, and feedback mechanisms like e-mail and voicemail suggestion boxes.” (Freedman, 2000)

Due to the nature of the project it is imperative that facilitators in each major area of focus are continually updated and aware of the progress. Best practices in pro-active management include up-to-the-minute reporting in order to anticipate and resolve problems before they have a chance to impede progress of the project. Along with the items mentioned above we will be including e-room, net-meetings, and video-conferencing via the Internet. Technology use will be an asset of the curriculum and functioning of the school. Demonstrating its use in the development of the project is a key feature of the process and stakeholder training. An IT partner will be utilized by the Project Manager to ensure appropriate systems are in place.

“We would not presume that all communication plans reflect these findings. We're sure there are exceptions. However, based upon all the other findings within How We Communicate, we believe it is fair to say that; overall...Corporate America is not focused on designing behavioral- and performance-based communication plans. And if we can't create communication plans that reflect our drive for performance and behavioral change, how can we expect to simplify work and decision-making?” (Jensen, 2000)

Investigating the communication requirements of the major phases of the WBS determines the key elements of the communication plan. The WBS for the project includes the following major areas within the three-fold project: strategic planning, curricula, training, State fulfillment, business partnerships, distribution channels, community outreach, after school programs, and adult education. The Education, Commerce, and Community group facilitator determines the lines and types of communication necessary to properly serve their group, while maintaining the integrity of open communication philosophy.

The Education Group facilitator shares the vision and has an in-depth understanding of educational systems, including effective school administration, exemplary exceptional student services, outstanding curricula and faculty development, rapport-building student promotion and retention, and innovative information technology systems. The Commerce Group facilitator also shares the vision and has an equally in-depth understanding of State and Federal laws and regulations, creating collaborative alliances, supply chain integration, sales and marketing, and information technology. The Community Group facilitator shares the vision as well and has a mastery of marketing school programs, adult education programs, grant research and writing, after-school program development, and information technology. The Project Manager holds the vision and has an understanding and mastery of strategic planning, educational and organizational development, business administration, and information systems integration.

The major areas of focus are the Exploration, Application, Pre-Operations, and Operations phases. The high and second-level tasks in the WBS are outlined below.

There are several ways of presenting the WBS. In addition to the above breakdown chart, the network diagrams below further define the focus areas and tasks involved. The third and fourth level tasks complete with costs and resources will reflect the baseline schedule/budget.

The critical path was found to be contained in the Application phase, with Pre-Operations phase containing the second critical path. The critical path in the Application phase was determined by the potential time for the charter approval, from drafting to actual approval. Its duration was determined to be 237 days. The second critical path was found in the Establish Formal Organization task in the Pre-Operations phase. Its time was determined to be 212 days. This path includes Write and Submit Grants, Receive Funding, Hire Staff, and Formalizing the Organization and Instructional Program. (See Appendix 1)

The responsibility matrix is used to determine and demonstrate the various tasks and deliverables, along with the responsible personnel. For the purposes of this paper, the responsibility matrix that follows highlights the major deliverables of this project. The responsibility matrix legend appears after the matrix.

	Project Mgr.	Ed. Mgr.	Bus. Mgr.	Com. Mgr.	Asst.	Status
Deliverable

Core Group/Experts	R	C	C/S	C	C	NS

Comprehensive Plan	C/S	R	C	C	C	NS

Charter Draft	R	C/S	C	C	C	NS

Charter Application	R	C/S	C	C	C	NS

Letters of Support	R	C	C	C/S	I	NS

Operations Plan	C/S	C	R	C	C	NS

Operating Agreements	C/S	C	R	C	I	NS

Formal Organization	R	C	C	C	I	NS

Enrolled Students	I	R	C	C	C	NS

School Staff	C/S	R	C	C	C	NS

Instructional Program	C/S	R	C	C	C	NS

Support Services	S	I	R	I	I	NS

Building/Site	S	C	C	R	I	NS

Student Performance Data	S	R	I	I	C	NS

Stakeholder legend: I-Informed S-Signs-off C-contributor R-responsible
One Responsible and one Sign-off per deliverable
Legend: NS-Not Started C-Completed I-In progress D-Deferred O-Overdue

This section highlights the projected start up budget and the first year’s projected budget. The start up budget will be partially funded by the Stimulus Grant, which is available for any charter startup through the Federal Government. Each qualifying charter school applicant or charter school shall be awarded an initial grant of up to one hundred thousand dollars during or before the first year of the charter school's operation. The projected budgets follow next.

*Be The Dream* *Charter School* *Start Up Budget*	Avg. Monthly Amount	Months	No.	Total
Operating Revenue

Expenses
Teachers	$2,750	2	10	$55,000
Administration	$4,167	4	2	$33,336
Support Staff	$1,500	4	2	$12,000
Subtotal				$100,336

Services and Activities
Custodial Services	$750	4	1	$3,000
Security	$500	4	1	$2,000
Telephone	$500	4	1	$2,000
Web hosting	$250	4	1	$1,000
Subtotal				$8,000

Supplies and Equipment
Furniture				$20,000
Computers			35	$20,000
Software				$30,000
Textbooks			300	$15,000
Subtotal				$85,000

Marketing and Development
Printing				$5,000
Advertising				$10,000
Subtotal				$15,000

Physical Plant
Renovations				$50,000
Rent	$7,500	4		$30,000
Utilities	$2,500	4		$10,000
Subtotal				$90,000
Total Expenses				$298,336
Excess (Deficit)

Grants and Loans
Government Start-Up Grant				$50,000
Private Grants				$200,000
Loans				$50,000
Subtotal				$300,000
Ending Fund Balance				$1,664

Operating Revenue	Total	Assumptions/Notes
Per Pupil Revenue	$690,000	$4600 per student (150 students)
Fees	$15,000	$100 per student (150 students)
Student Entitlements	$75,000	$500 per student (150 students)
Total Revenue	$780,000

Expenses
Salaries and Benefits
Salary - Teachers	$330,000	$33,000 per teacher (10 teachers)
Salary - Administrators	$75,000	$50,000 per (1.5 administrators)
Salary - Support Staff	$37,500	$25,000 per (1.5 support staff)
Salary - SPED/Bilingual Staff	$49,500	$33,000 per (1.5 SPED/Biling.)
Benefits - Health	$72,500	$5,000 per (14.5 staff members)
Benefits - FICA	$36,900	7.5% of total salaries
Benefits - Worker's Comp.	$4,690	2.0% of total salaries
Benefits - Medicare	$2,848	1.45% of total salaries
Staff Development	$7,250	$500 per staff member (14.5 staff)
Subtotal	$616,188	51.3% of total

Services and Activities
Special Education/Guidance	$45,000	$300 per student (150 students)
Health	$22,500	$150 per student (150 students)
Custodial	$20,000	Flat fee
Transportation	$15,000	$100 per student (150 students)
Media	$7,500	$50 per student (150 students)
Food	$45,000	$300 per student (150 students)
Accounting	$8,000	Flat fee
Insurance	$15,000	$100 per student (150 students)
Telephone	$6,000	$500 per month
Postage and Shipping	$7,500	$50 per student (150 students)
Physical Education/Extracurricular Activities	$15,000	$100 per student (150 students)
Subtotal	$206,500	17.2% of total

Supplies and Equipment
Supplies - Instructional	$45,000	$300 per student (150 students)
Supplies - Administrative	$3,000	$2000 per (1.5 administrators)
Supplies - General	$15,000	$100 per student (150 students)
Computers	$30,000	$200 per student (150 students)
Furniture	$15,000	$100 per student (150 students)
Athletic Equipment	$15,000	$100 per student (150 students)
Other Equipment	$7,500	$50 per student (150 students)
Subtotal	$130,500	10.9% of total

Marketing and Development
Printing	$2,500	Flat fee
Advertising	$5,000	Flat fee
Subtotal	$7,500	.63% of total

Physical Utilities
Rent			$195,000	$13 per sq. ft. (15,000 sq. ft.)
Utilities			$30,000	Estimate @ $2,500 per month
Maintenance and Repair			$10,000	Flat fee
Renovations			$5,000	Improvements on existing
Subtotal			$240,000	20% of total

Loan Repayments
Debt Service			$4,400	8% int. rate ($55,000 avg. debt)
Principal			$9,320
Subtotal			$13,720	1.4% of total
Total Expenses			$1,200,688
EXCESS (DEFICIT)			-$420,688

Grant and Loans
Government Grants			$50,000	Estimate
Private Grants			$350,000	Estimate
Loans			$25,000	Estimate
Total Grants and Loans			$425,000

Beginning Fund Balance from Previous Period			$1,664
Ending Fund Balance			$5,976



	Key Variables
		Number of Students		150
		Number of teachers		10
		Number of administrators		1.5
		Number of support staff		1.5
		Number of SPED/bilingual staff		1.5


		Students per teacher		15
		Students per administrator		100
		Students per support staff		100
		Students per SPED/bilingual staff		100


		Salary: Teacher		$33,000
		Salary: Administrator		$50,000
		Salary: Support Staff		$25,000
		Salary: SPED/bilingual		$33,000


		Payment per student		$4,600
		Fees per student		$100
		Entitlements per student		$500
		Total principal owed- beg. of fiscal year		$55,000

In the organizational chart an Information Technology partner is defined. To accomplish the communication plan we will need to prepare the computer network capable of handling the tasks. Our IT partner will help define the needs for the school as our plan develops. We anticipate a minimum of a Local Area Network with 35 computers for start up.

Human resources for the project will include the expertise and time of the project team; the advisory board; administration and operations personnel; school staff; educational, business, and community contacts; and volunteers. Material resources will include charters on file; Arizona State Handbook for Charter Schools; various Federal workbooks on charter school development; a host of foundations and corporations; post-secondary academic, technical and vocational schools; and various civic organizations. The list will no doubt grow.

Several areas of concern were uncovered in the process of investigating potential problems. In the Exploration phase there are potential problems of volunteer availability, technology service interruptions, developing contacts and resources, funding and supplies, and buy-in of the core group and experts have been discovered so far. The Application phases reveals the same volunteer and technology service issues and include schedule conflicts, loss of data or information, and approval issues or problems. The Pre-Operations phase includes no interest in development, application for non-profit denied, no State or Federal funds available, minimal student enrollment, difficulty in hiring staff, and setbacks in acquiring a site. The Operations phase potential problem list includes not finding a suitable building, no reporting structure in place, governance transition delayed, staff does not understand policies and procedures, students are undisciplined, technology malfunctions, and the school is understaffed.

In the event of volunteer unavailability there are several options. Schedules could expand; other volunteers could be found, compressed task work periods facilitated, or funds could be garnered to increase availability. Most of the other potential problems can be addressed proactively in the strategic plan so that each problem is anticipated and action items developed to dissuade their occurrence. Technology problems happen, even in the best of environments. Our IT partner and capable staff will be able to address on-site issues. In the case of ISP service, if problems persisted, a different vendor would be sought. The remainder of the potential problems can be addressed by a cohesive communication plan being in place to make sure nothing escapes the loop for those in the need to know.

This paper discussed the strategic plan, plan status, budget, staffing, and other issues in the initial development of a charter school. Included in the discussion was an overview of the project, preliminary organizational chart, communication plan, manager responsibilities, and specific areas of attention. Information regarding the high level WBS tasks with schedules, network diagrams, critical path, deliverables, costs, technology, resources, and potential problems with contingencies were also presented. Any concerns, compliments, or suggestions may be directed to: Vision@bethedream.org.

Starting a charter school, along with innovative development ideas, is the vision of both Ms. Engel and Mr. Benefiel. Special appreciation is expressed for the team members that helped develop this project and the work they put in during this class. An expanded version applied to community development is here: The Vision or at http://www.bethedream.org/vision.htm.

Freedman, Rick, (Sept. 25, 2000), Communication plans are key to project success, [WWW document]. URL: http://builder.com.com/article.jhtml;jsessionid=FVCLB5POYDHADTQQACQCFEY?id=r00720000925fre01.htm&_requestid=323319