Resources for Start-up Charter Schools In order to assist new charter schools during the start-up process and allow school staff to focus on academic performance from day one, Charter School Partners has developed a comprehensive set of materials to facilitate the preoperational and first year of operation. These resources draw from authorizer start-up checklists, the MDE Start-up checklist, MDE trainings for new charter schools and the expertise of experienced charter school leaders. Tasks Required of Start-up Schools Charter School Partners research has broken down the requirements of a pre-operational charter school into comprehensive, helpful categories to assist the start-up team:           Organizational: receive 501(c)3 status, set up bank account Financial: contract with financial services provider, establish state and federal funding inflows HR: hire school leader and staff, create staff contracts and staff handbook, contract for benefits Facility: contract with a realtor, obtain liability insurance, complete the lease aid application Special education: contract with special education director, complete special education forms Food Service: contract with food service provider, obtain proper institutional food licenses Transportation: contract with transportation vendor MDE Compliance: verify school site, register for all accountability systems requiring yearly submission Enrollment/External relations: create branding, marketing, and promotional materials, design outreach strategy Board Governance: develop and approve appropriate board policies to facilitate the above activities Support Process The Start-up Gantt Chart and Resource Guide Provide a detailed, easy to follow, step by step guide to complete each of the tasks in these categories. In addition, sections are hyper linked to our MN Charter Operations Google site which provides specific draft materials needed to complete these tasks The MN Charter Operations Website After linking from the previous resources, the google site provides templates for a majority of the materials a start -up school needs.     Draft forms, contracts, and handbooks Vendor recommendations Task Specific Checklists (Lease Aid) Tools and Trackers (enrollment/HR) First Year Operations Support: Charter School Partners also provides an MDE submissions calendar to schools we work with. This lays out all major submissions required by the Minnesota Department of Education and their usual timeframe. As a part of this resource there is also an explanatory presentation that includes helpful tips and tricks for operations managers as well as a helpful overview of each system. Example: A Snapshot of CSP Resources for Hiring Staff and HR Functions The CSP Gantt Chart and Resource Guide provide both a step by step list of instructions as well as a broader month by month summary of the deliverables for the start-up team. These resources hyperlink to our operations website’s HR sections which includes teacher position descriptions, sample staff contracts and handbooks, sample teacher pay proposals and many other resources in an easily downloadable format.