Across Florida, many charter schools are already welcoming students back to campus. For high-performing charters, the first day of school isn’t the starting line, it is a milestone in a much longer runway of planning, preparation, and strategic alignment.

At the Florida Charter Institute (FCI), we define “readiness” not by how quickly a school opens, but by how intentionally it begins. The schools that open with momentum don’t get there by chance. They do it by investing in systems, people, and purpose before the first bell rings.

So, what does it really mean to be “charter ready” in 2025?

Six Dimensions of Readiness That Matter Most

1. Operational Readiness, Precision Behind the Scenes: Carlos Capellan, FCI District Director, Leadership – Operations

Systems, systems, systems! Clean operations are the backbone of a smooth school launch. Thinking beyond updated schedules, operational readiness means transportation contracts locked in, staffing rosters finalized, and student information systems ready to go.

Assume the best AND prepare for the challenges. Even the best laid out plans don’t always go exactly to plan. The more proactive, organized and detailed you are in your approach, the easier it will be to react to any shift that arises. The detailed planning will also provide clarity to all of the community members that need to be informed. Avoid “the curse of knowledge” ( a cognitive bias that occurs when a person who has specialized knowledge assumes that others share in that knowledge.) and lay out the details even if it seems like common sense. 

Checklist Preview:

• Are all core systems tested and live?
• Have operational leads aligned on contingency plans?
• Is your instructional calendar board-approved and compliant?

 2. Financial Readiness: Cash Flow Meets Clarity, Dana Vignale

For many charters, the school year begins alongside a new fiscal cycle. The new fiscal year presents an ideal opportunity to strengthen your school’s financial systems for greater accuracy and efficiency. 

As you plan for the months ahead, consider the following: 

• Is your budget built on a realistic enrollment projection? 
• Does your chart of accounts align with your budget structure? 
• Do your workflows support clean, timely, and accurate data entry? 
• Are financial reports being reviewed regularly to ensure revenues and expenditures stay on track? 
• When might a budget amendment be necessary to reflect changing conditions? 

Without strong systems, tight controls, and clear cash visibility, even a successful academic start can be disrupted by mid-year financial constraints. Learn how to manage your budget and improve your financials here.

3. Academic Readiness: Insight from Kathryn Perkins, FCI Executive Deputy Director of Learning

A school’s readiness to engage students in a rigorous, meaningful academic experience is paramount to its success. Though there’s much that goes into ensuring a school’s readiness here, FCI recommends two tools that schools can use to get started: the action step guide and beginning of year observation tool. 

• The Action Step Guide  was developed from our experience observing hundreds of teachers and their coaches and aligning on a proposed sequence of the highest leverage action steps for teacher development; we recommend rolling it out to your full teaching team to offer transparency into the bar of successful teaching at your school.

• The Beginning of Year Observation Tool does a deep dive into the key systems and teacher moves you want to ensure are present in 100% of classrooms within the first month of school, as they will enable rigorous academics can thrive. Again, share it with your teachers, then use it to walk through classrooms and offer quick feedback in the opening weeks of the year.

Together, these tools can help your team start the year with clear expectations, shared language, and a strong foundation for instructional excellence. We encourage you to explore, adapt, and make them part of your school’s readiness plan.

Read about Foundations of Instructional Coaching through our FCI Insights Blog.

4. Community Readiness, Building Trust from Day One: Carlos Capellan, FCI District Director, Leadership – Operations

Families, students, and staff all return with expectations. Strong charters are proactive about engagement, they focus on reintroducing their mission, clarifying expectations, and creating space for connection. As such, important questions to answer as you get ready to start the year is, “How will I get everyone grounded? What does it mean to be part of our community? What does it mean to understand and believe in our values? What does it mean to be grounded in our mission as a community so that we can navigate the year as one unit, with each individual carrying their load?” You can get too many of these answers through impactful and meaningful conversations. Sometimes the conversation can happen after an activity and sometimes it can happen after looking at data. There are many other spaces where these conversations can spark up, but it is important that the debrief of the initiating interaction is solid. Here is a structure to support the debrief. 

Structure the Conversation

A debrief is most effective when it has a clear direction. The simpler the structure the clearer the content will be. There are three types of questions that will help to provide that direction and structure.

Ask ‘What’ questions – these questions refer to what happened during an exercise and are used to get the discussion off to a good start. For example, “What thoughts are you having after reviewing the data?”, “I noticed that during the activity John did not speak. What happened?”

Ask ‘So What’ questions – these questions relate back to the goals of your program, and add meaning to it. For example, “Why do you think people stopped talking all of a sudden?”, “Why did we see an increase in ‘X’ data?”

Ask ‘Now What (How)’ questions – these questions drive home the lesson’s objective by discussing future behaviors and goals. For example, “How can we react to this data to be proactive for this upcoming year?”, “Now that we know the impact on the group when a teammate goes silent, what do we want to see happen in the future?”  Relating the observed behavior to the work the group will be doing together is also impactful. “How will you address a similar situation if it occurs in your classroom?”

Quick Win:

Looking for team builders and ice breakers? You can do research on the web, but here is a link to a few simple team builders: 29 Fun Free Team Building Activities to Try with Your Team

5. Leadership Readiness: The Engine of Execution

No readiness plan succeeds without strong, visible leadership. Schools that invest in onboarding new leaders and aligning school-based teams are far more likely to sustain momentum through Q1.

The leader is the engine of execution, the driving force that provides resources for the school and community, gives direction, and shows the inner strength needed to succeed. Great leadership is the embodiment of an inspirational visionary who empowers and motivates their community to achieve their goals. Leaders who stay curious and develop a learners mindset, will sharpen their skills to continuously evolve for the needs of their students, teams, and beyond. 

Here are some resourceful leadership reads:

• Great Leadership Reads for Educational Leaders to Strengthen the Engine

• The Influencer – Patterson, Granny, McMillan, Maxfield, Switzler 

• Leadership in the Line – Hiefetz, Linsky 
• Good to Great – Jim Collins 

6. Florida Policy Awareness, Readiness Includes Regulation: Curtis Fuller, FCI Chief Operating Officer, and Thibaut Delloue, FCI Policy Fellow

Overview:

Florida’s charter school regulatory landscape is continually evolving, with statutory updates introducing greater complexity for school operations. Effective charter leaders must remain vigilant and informed to ensure compliance with shifting legal requirements. Staying current isn’t optional—it’s essential.

“To stay ahead, regularly review updates from trusted sources such as the Florida Charter Institute (FCI), your school’s legal counsel, and statewide charter support organizations. Pay close attention to communications from your authorizing school district and remain subscribed to the Florida Department of Education’s charter school mailing list.” Curtis Fuller, FCI Chief Operating Officer

Take a Deeper Dive Into Florida Regulation, Thibaut Delloue, FCI Policy Fellow:

It was a busy and consequential legislative session in Florida this year, with new laws that will impact charter schools’ operations, governance, and classrooms. Below, you’ll find highlights of key legislation every charter leader should be aware of as you prepare for the upcoming school year. For a more in-depth look, explore the full summary on the Florida Senate website.

• HB 809: Moving forward, school social workers are no longer required to be certified teachers.

• SB 296: Repeals former restrictions on middle and high school start times in the state that would have taken effect in 2026. This new law allows districts and school boards to set their own school start times.

• HB 1101

• • Elementary and middle school students will be banned from using their cellphones during the school day (with exceptions for high school students outside the classroom).
  • To convert a district school into a charter school, only approval by at least 50 percent of parents whose children are enrolled in the school is required (conversion no longer requires teacher approval).
• HB443: Allows charter schools to adopt their own code of student conduct and requires acknowledgement by the parents if the code is more stringent than the code adopted by the charter’s sponsor.
• HB1255: Local governments cannot enforce building, site, or operational rules on charter schools–such as parking, student capacity, hours of operation, or site size–unless those rules are also uniformly applied to public schools in the area

Bottom Line: Readiness Is a Strategy, Not a Checklist

The charter schools we support that start strongest have something in common: they treat readiness as a mindset—ongoing, intentional, and cross-functional. At FCI, we’re proud to partner with Florida’s charter leaders who don’t just open their schools, but launch their vision for the year ahead.

Ready to Build Your Charter Readiness Plan?

Explore our suite of back-to-school tools, checklists, and expert support at FCI Support, or reach out to our team directly at info@flcharterinstitute.org