May 17, 2021 MCPSA News Missouri Charter School Stakeholders, Last Friday, the Missouri legislature missed a critical opportunity to ensure equitable funding for all public school students across Missouri. With 4 hours left in Session, the Senate adjourned early leaving the question of charter public school funding equity unanswered. While we are deeply disappointed with this result, we still celebrate the tireless efforts of people like you, who make up the incredible Kansas City and St. Louis charter school community of parents, caretakers, teachers, educational leaders, and supporters. So please allow us to say, “Thank you.” Because of you, we’ve come closer to passing charter public school funding equity for your students than ever before. Every phone call, text message, email, sign, testimonial, and story helped to move the needle and show critics that we were up to the challenge. And, not only have you stepped up for your students, but you’ve also modeled to your community how to stand up and fight in the face of injustice. You have given a voice to charter public school students, who don’t usually have a seat at the table. While the session is over and legislators depart the Capitol, we will still be here, planning, advocating, and fighting for our students, so that one day we can guarantee their right to equitable funding, choice, and a quality public education that’s right for them. We will continue the battle because each and every one of them deserves someone in their corner. Today is not the end, it’s only a pause in productivity and the time will come when your students receive the equitable funding they deserve. Finally, it's not all doom and gloom! There was good news last week when the Missouri General Assembly passed an appropriation of $5 million for charter public school deferred maintenance. Without bonding authority Missouri's charter public schools have long had to use operating dollars for high dollar maintenance costs. With this grant covering deferred maintenance costs it leaves more dollars in charter school budgets for students and their instruction. That's worth celebrating! A year of pandemic schooling highlights education gaps for English-language learnersMCPSA's Bilingual Director of Advocacy, Christy Moreno, discussed ELL during the pandemic on the public radio program, The World. Introducing our NEW Charter School Leaders Conference Register TODAY & join fellow Charter School Leaders for a conference experience created just for YOU on October 6 and 7th at Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center in Columbia, Missouri. We listened to your needs. In response, MCPSA introduces the 1st Annual Missouri Charter Schools Leadership Conference. We value your time. MCPSA and MO DESE have agreed to hold the Charter School Administrator Summit and MCPSA Leadership Conference back to back. We hope to see you there! TWO amazing Charter School Leader experiences in one location over one and half days! For more information email Bailey Geist or call 314-776-3551. We must remember who we are fighting for. Listening to the stories of parents, students and educators is most important. In Other News Planning for Family Engagement in the Charter School Life Cycle: A Toolkit for School Leaders The National Charter School Resource Center recently released a free toolkit funded by the US Department of Education: Planning for Family Engagement in the Charter School Life Cycle: A Toolkit for School Leaders. The toolkit provides school leaders with an understanding of: In this webinar, attendees will: Tap Into The Power Of Technology To Help You Meet Your Schools' GoalsOur friends at LEANLAB Education are looking for innovative schools to join their Pilot Research Program. Participating schools will receive up to $10K in grant funding to select and research an emerging education technology at their district. Missouri Elementary Teacher Perceptions of Mental Health in Schools We are asking you to participate in a research study examining your perceptions of the current mental health status of Missouri elementary and middle school students. We ask that you read this form before agreeing to complete the survey. This study is being conducted by Jessica Simpson, a doctoral candidate in Behavior Disorders through the Department of Special Education at the University of Missouri. Charter MarketPlace Gallagher’s Charter School Team currently manage the insurance for over 1,250 Charter Schools around the country and specialize specifically in Charter School insurance and risk management. New Plan Learning (NPL) is a nonprofit developer that specializes in collaborative project management & construction, innovative financial solutions and turnkey development. With over 20 years of experience transforming communities, we have developed and constructed over 1,000,000 SF of school buildings, with a total project size of more than $100 million. MCPSA Quicklinks Copyright © *2021* *MCPSA*, All rights reserved. |