As Hawaii’s charter schools adjust to a new law demanding more accountability, they are getting a helping hand from a coalition of charities led by the Chamberlin Family Foundation, which was created by two Roosevelt High School alumni.
The Pleasanton, Calif.-based foundation, formed by 1960 Roosevelt High graduates Susan and Steve Chamberlin, is teaming up with the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, Kamehameha Schools and the Hawaii Charter Schools Network. Their project, known as “The Excellence Initiative,” is designed to promote good governance in the state’s charter schools.
“Our lens is always focusing on kids and how to improve student outcomes so they have better opportunities,” said Julie Wright, executive director of the Chamberlin Foundation. “When you have effective governance, that can drive quality long-term for kids. When you don’t, you end up in challenging situations.”
Free workshops for charter school leaders and their boards are set for Monday at Kanu o ka Aina Public Charter School in Waimea on Hawaii island, and for Wednesday at the Koolau Ballrooms in Kaneohe. The sessions will feature Marci Cornell-Feist, CEO of The High Bar, and offer a crash course in governing a school, including how to avoid the “10 Top Mistakes” charter boards make.
“We’re trying to share lots of tools, so they don’t have to re-create the wheel,” Wright said.
Charter schools are supposed to be laboratories for innovation in public education. They depend on public funds and charge no tuition, but have autonomy in operations, reporting to their own governing boards rather than the state Board of Education.
The charter reform law, signed last June, will put the schools on performance contracts that include goals for student achievement. The law also changes the composition of their governing boards, focusing on professional expertise rather than ties to the school and its leader, and imposes more responsibility on them.
“When Act 130 was passed, we knew this was going to be a significant improvement opportunity in the performance of charter schools,” said Terry George, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Castle Foundation. “We want all of them to thrive. We know that moving from community boards to governing boards for some was going to be a significant challenge.”
Kamehameha Schools already provides funding and expertise to 17 charter schools with a high enrollment of Native Hawaiians, and is co-sponsoring the event.
An Excellence Initiative workshop in October attracted more than 100 people from 29 charters, and most participants left asking for more board training, Wright said. There are 32 charter schools in Hawaii, with two more opening this fall.
The mission of the Chamberlin Foundation, launched in 2006, is to “drive transformational change” in public education, Wright said.
“The Chamberlins have been a godsend,” said Mary Beth Barr, principal of Voyager Charter School, which recently received a grant from the foundation. Barr attended the first workshop and is headed back for more. “We feel like this will really support us in many ways and we appreciate it.”
