• A charter school is an independent public school that must perform well and attract parents to stay in business.
• A charter school must practice open admission policies, meet health and safety standards, comply with civil rights laws and state laws.
• A charter school is held accountable. Its students must show satisfactory achievement equal to or better than the state average.
• A charter school will often serve children whose needs, for one reason or another, are not met by traditional public schools.
• A charter school provides freedom for educators and school founders to use curricula or programs to set up the school day in a way that meets all legal requirements. This freedom allows a school to address the special needs of its children directly.

The Sponsor:
Community Schools must have a Sponsor, who oversees the school’s fiscal procedures (working with the School’s Fiscal Agent), educational progress, and compliance with state laws and provides technical assistance as needed. In 2006 the Richland Academy took on the role of Sponsor.

The Role of the Sponsor includes the following:

• To provide general technical assistance
• To monitor and give oversight
• Compliance with contract (charter), state and federal rules and laws
• Intervene when necessary
• Assess performance to determine contract renewal/non-renewal

Potential Applicants:

The application window for sponsorship of community schools by The Richland Academy of the Arts has closed for the 2011-2012 school year.  For those interested in seeking sponsorship from The Richland Academy of the Arts for a proposed community school for the 2012-2013 school year, please make note of the following timeline:

• At the moment our foot print is located in the counties of Franklin, Richland, Lucas, Summit, Cuyahoga, Mahoning, or Hamilton, contact Richland Academy for an application contract at mcooper@richlandacademy.com
• Deadline for hard copy of applications – December 31, 2011
• Upon review of the applications, we will notify each school as to whether they advance to the interview round.
• Final decisions will be made before March 15, 2012.

Richland Academy takes its legal responsibilities as a sponsor under Ohio law very seriously and does not lightly decide to sponsor any proposed community school. Furthermore, it has no obligation to sponsor anyone, at all, or anyone in particular. There are many factors, objective and subjective, that it is permitted to consider in reaching its decision. It is a not for profit private corporation which also must meet certain State-mandated criteria to enjoy the privilege of sponsorship. It must consider its own mission and whether sponsoring a particular school will be complimentary to that mission.   It also considers whether a particular entity will be a good steward of public monies in the public school environment. It is the applicant’s responsibility to research sponsors and to ask each potential sponsor of its requirements.  Just because you are communicating with a sponsor does not automatically equate to acceptance for sponsorship. 

If at any time you have questions regarding sponsorship by Richland Academy, please contact the Executive Director -- Marianne Cooper at 419-522-8224, ext. 223. In addition, the following link to the Community Schools section of the Ohio Department of Education webpage will be of great help to you –

http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEPrimary.aspx?page=2&TopicRelationID=662

Wishing you the best in this exciting endeavor to help our children!

For more information about Community Schools visit:

The Ohio Department of Education Community Schools Division at http://www.ode.state.oh.us/ and click on the “School Options” tab

The National Association of Community Schools Authorizers (NACSA) at http://www.qualitycharters.org/ (you may also visit the new Ohio Association of Community School Authorizers through this web page)

The Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools (OAPCS) at http://www.oapcs.org

The Center for Educational Reform at http://www.edreform.com/