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Authorizer readies application rubrics, reviewer training and digital tools ahead of March window
Summary
Board and consultant reviewed updated application rubrics, a 'ready to open' checklist and plans for recorded reviewer training; consultant recommended an authorizer data platform such as Epicenter or ReportWell when the portfolio grows.
Board members received an update on application materials and readiness tools intended to improve consistency in reviewing new charter applications.
Alan Bus, chairing the applications committee, said the group has finalized a rubric and an evaluation tool to be used by WDE reviewers and the board to ensure applications contain sufficient information. "We were able to leverage our experiences from this last cycle to say, 'Wait a minute, we didn't have enough information here or we didn't have enough information there,'" he said.
Consultant Gina presented a short slide deck describing completed deliverables—rubrics, a ready-to-open checklist and draft monitoring calendar—and upcoming items including recorded application reviewer training and a Zoom calibration session. She recommended separating the recorded module from the live calibration so reviewers can practice scoring consistently: "We're going to spend more time calibrating because I think that's where things fell through the crack last time," she said.
Gina also outlined two authorizer-specific platforms—Epicenter and ReportWell—that can centralize applications, monitoring and annual reporting. "When you get up to five, six, seven schools, that's when it starts to take more time on staff, and time is money," she said, recommending early adoption if the board expects to scale.
Board members asked about compatibility with state systems and whether to require platform use contractually; Gina advised against specifying a vendor in the charter contract and suggested language that requires schools to submit required data via an authorizer-approved method. Staff said financial compatibility is limited to audit reports already collected by the department, and that further integration planning will continue.
Next steps include delivering recorded training before the next week, holding a reviewer calibration session, finalizing performance frameworks and aligning the monitoring calendar, and deciding whether to procure a management platform as the portfolio expands.
