Innovative Schools Application

Overview

We are looking for educators who are designing new, innovative public schools launching in Fall 2024. Through this annual funding opportunity, we help early-stage charter organizations launch their first and/or second school in a new network, and support district schools to develop and implement innovative instructional designs within new schools. While the ideas we support will involve varying approaches, all the schools in our portfolio are committed to three design principles: an expanded definition of student success, equity and innovation. In addition, these teams aspire to expand their impact by serving more students directly or by influencing the work of other educators.

Our goal is to accelerate a team’s progress towards designing and opening an innovative school by providing assistance in three key areas:

• Financial support: We provide a one-year grant of $215,000 to support a team’s planning year (12-14 months prior to opening a new school). Each team is also eligible to receive additional funding to support the school’s first three years of operation.
• Community of Practice: Teams participate in an active community of practice to build relationships with and learn from peer organizations from across the country.
• Management assistance: We provide teams with relevant, timely and differentiated support. This includes access to experts in the field, coaching, and resources to meet teams where they are.

To be considered for an investment, applicants must plan to open a new, innovative public school in fall 2024, including:

• New district schools
• A single-site public charter school
• The first or second school of an emerging public charter school network
• A new school with a different model in an existing network
• Enroll students within the PK-12 grade span on a full-time basis
• Be eligible to receive public funding

We are open to ​​funding brick-and-mortar, virtual and hybrid school models

Webinar: November 30 at 9am PT [Register here]