As schools across Florida wrap up the academic year and prepare for what comes next, charter school leaders are balancing two priorities at once: closing the year strong while planning ahead for a successful launch in the fall.

This time of year brings important work across every area of a school, including operations, staffing, compliance, academic planning, professional learning, governance, and student support. It is also an opportunity for leaders to reflect on what worked, identify areas for growth, and prepare their teams for the year ahead.

To assist schools during this transition, the Florida Charter Institute is leaning into two key divisions, FCI Educate and FCI Research, to provide school leaders with valuable insight, actionable resources, and timely updates that can help guide planning for the months ahead.

Strengthening Teams and Instructional Planning

As schools prepare for the upcoming academic year, summer planning offers an important opportunity to align teams, strengthen instructional practices, and create intentional professional learning experiences for staff.

LEADERS: Strategically Plan for Pre-service 

Summer launch represents a unique opportunity to roll out or refine priority initiatives, build excitement, and ensure clarity and alignment of your team. 

Resources to support you in building and/or providing best-in-class development for your teams:

• Leading for Learning – The Power of Studying Student Work Institute: Our three-day workshop (June 9-11 in Miami and June 16-18 in Orlando) will help you set a vision for instructional leadership and create a plan for rollout. 
  • If you can’t attend, a great place to start this work on your own is with our Instructional Coaching Inventory Checklist.
• Teach Like a Champion summer workshops on Foundations of Management & Engagement, or Cognitive Science of Learning will offer teachers and leaders research-backed, clinically-proven classroom practices to strengthen learning in the year ahead.
  • If you can’t attend, a great place to start this work is with our Trajectory of Core Teaching Practices. Identify 1-2 high leverage places for your team to start, and build professional learning material around it!

TEACHERS: Identify 2-3 priority teaching goals for the year ahead

• Film some footage of your teaching in the final weeks of the year. Watch and analyze on your own or with a peer, then identify some growth areas from our Trajectory of Core Teaching Practices.
• Our Teach Like a Champion summer workshops on Foundations of Management & Engagement, or Cognitive Science of Learning, offer teachers research-backed, clinically-proven classroom practices to strengthen learning in the year ahead, and may align to your goals as well!

Staying Informed on Policy and Legislative Updates

Alongside academic and operational planning, school leaders must also stay informed on legislative changes that may impact students, staffing, compliance, and day-to-day school operations.

In keeping up with the legislative updates, it is critical that Florida educators understand the latest two education bills that were signed into law recently. Here are some impactful provisions for charter schools to consider, as well as the links to the full bill descriptions below:

HB 1279

• Notification of parents if a related service in a student’s IEP is not provided as scheduled, and parental right to access logs and notes related to that service 
• Expands CAPE Digital Tool certificates to middle grades, capping them at two per school year.
• Allows marching band participation to satisfy specific high school credit requirements, includes a new dance techniques course option, and directs the creation of additional applied algebra courses aligned with career clusters.
• Expands bonuses to teachers in Florida delivering Florida Advanced Courses (similarly to AP or IB courses)
• Authorizes school districts and charter schools to implement safe-school officer options, regardless of local ordinances or orders.
• Raises the kindergarten readiness threshold from the 10th percentile to the 25th percentile and adds notifications on New Worlds Reading Initiative eligibility for students with reading deficiencies.
• See here for full bill details

SB 182

• Establishes the School Teacher Training and Mentoring Program, which authorizes school districts, charter schools, and charter management organizations to place retired or current classroom teachers in schools earning a grade of “D” or “F” to serve as teacher mentors supporting new or struggling classroom teachers. 
• Requires public schools to provide specified cursive writing instruction for students in grades 3 through 5 and requires each student to demonstrate proficiency in cursive writing by the end of grade 5.
• The bill revises charter school enrollment to prohibit a charter school implementing a school improvement plan or a corrective action plan from dismissing a student based on academic performance.
• See here for full bill details 

As you head into the summer, the Florida Charter Institute is here. Reach out to our team, explore the many resources we offer, and let us know how we can help you prepare for a strong start to the new school year.