Starting a Charter

The development of a public charter school is an awesome and honorable, “social entrepreneurial,” multi-phase project that will take at least 12-18 months from the initial exploration to the opening of the school. It is not a project for the faint of heart or those who want to “play school.” The creation of a public charter school requires not only passion and commitment on the part of school developers, but it also requires old-fashioned hard work.

Success is defined not only in the ability to launch a school, but also in the ability to sustain and grow the school – all of which requires research, planning, execution and a commitment of time and energy. Often social entrepreneurs fail because, in their passion and zeal, they skip critical steps in the process - steps that are critical to laying a solid foundation for the short and long term success of the enterprise.

To assist school developers and the development team in successfully developing their school concept and proposal, the MN Association of Charter Schools provides a number of resources, tools and trainings.