Designing and growing a charter school introduces a set of challenges to work through, and generally academic and programmatic requirements take priority over operational function. But operational functionality is incredibly important; it creates a safe, purposeful, and effective space for learning.

During the initial growth stages, charter school academic professionals can find themselves making decisions concerning school operations—an area often beyond their expertise. Typically it is only once charter schools transition from a small school in a retrofitted space to a large school in a long-term space that they begin to hire specialized operations staff, however by then challenges have arisen. For example, costs have escalated in the construction of the new facility due to late design adjustments, and academic and operations staff have experienced conflict as they are learning to communicate, collaborate, and co-exist.

One solution is to bring in specialized operations staff earlier. When that is not possible, there are still ways to avoid the operational pitfalls associated with expansion. Namely, school leaders and project design teams can think proactively about how to incorporate school operations into conversations on school design and post-occupancy function. It can be difficult to picture exactly how that looks, so consider the following.

When should operations be involved in design conversations? From the beginning! Operational function needs to have a seat at the initial planning table and be included in the overall vision of the charter school’s new space. Including operations early in conversations can help identify areas that may have been overlooked in design. For example, if the charter school has a Pre-K program, how do storage requirements for materials differ across grades? Operations can guide design from the beginning to streamline the ultimate use of the space and help think through creative solutions that balance vision and function.

Involve members of the school’s daily operations team in the design and construction process. School leaders and board members often represent the school in making design and construction decisions. However, they are frequently not the boots on the ground managing the day-to-day operations of the school, which can cause problems once the school opens. Involve the daily staff in the design and solicit their feedback, as their perspective can combine academic vision with practical applications. As the project progresses, hold weekly or bi-weekly meetings with this group to give project updates and get their opinion on design decisions. If the charter school does not have specialized operations staff on board yet, reach out to your local charter school community for support.

Important operations staff to include in these project groups could be operations managers, front desk staff, IT, foodservice, security, and even custodial staff. These staff members often point out items that can be missed by people who are not routinely involved, such as: Our school has several large packages arriving daily—where are they stored until they are delivered to individual recipients? How large do our trash receptacles need to be and how are they pulled by the trash company? The daily operations perspective is invaluable and can save money on last-minute design changes and makeshift solutions down the road.

Now that you have designed a new building, how do you manage the new systems? Invest in building maintenance! New buildings mean newer, sophisticated systems, particularly HVAC and lighting. Set aside time in the construction schedule for training sessions on the new equipment and make it a priority for operations staff to attend, ask questions, and receive the operating manuals. It is important to know limitations of expertise with operations staff.

Also be sure to budget for regular maintenance contracts and professional facility maintenance staff, even when systems are under construction warranty. This budget line item increases during expansion and should not be disregarded. It will keep the equipment running properly, ultimately improving the student and staff experience and lowering long-term repair costs.

With more staff and students in a new space, deliberate operations and academic interaction is crucial to the success of the program. To help bridge the gap between operations and instruction, make sure everyone is flexible and using the same language. Use the charter school’s norms and values to describe operational practices and hold everyone accountable to the same standards. Emphasizing the importance of building systems to academic staff can be challenging, especially during times of growth, so ensure there is support for operations staff from school leadership to carry out the new operational policies and building uses.

How do you manage all the new operational policies and procedures for the new space? Create a comprehensive internal procedures manual. New buildings, systems, policies, students, parents, etc. can be overwhelming, and school operations usually fall lower on the list of priorities. By creating a comprehensive manual, all operational policies and procedures—from building use to supply ordering to allergies—can be found in one location. This allows all staff to quickly reference instructions and frees up time for operational staff to do other tasks. This is especially successful if there is buy-in from other departments, like special education, compliance, etc., to include their information in the manual. Having one location for everything maximizes efficiencies and reduces confusion.

While periods of expansion for charter schools are exciting, they can also be challenging for the school’s operations. Following the strategies described here during design and post-occupancy can mitigate the impact of these challenges and provide a smoother transition.

Author: Elle Carne, PMP, is an Assistant Project Manager at Brailsford & Dunlavey Inc., a program management and development advisory firm. With a passion for youth development and education, Elle formerly worked in operations in Washington, DC, charter schools and has 6+ years of experience in charter school operations management and construction advisory.

Brailsford & Dunlavey is a program management and development advisory firm with comprehensive in-house planning capabilities, dedicated to serving educational institutions, venues, municipalities, public agencies, and non-profit clients from offices throughout the U.S.

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The ASCE used data from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Department of Education and National Center on Education Statistics, and found that 24 percent of public school buildings were rated as being in fair or poor condition.

“In many cases, planning is lacking, as four in 10 public schools currently do not have a long-term educational facilities plan in place to address operations and maintenance,” according to ASCE’s report. “The main reason for repair, renovation or modernization work on school facilities relates to improving energy efficiency as well as technology infrastructure.”

Underinvestment in school facilities due to fiscal woes has resulted in a $38 billion estimated annual budget gap for repairs and modernizations. Altogether, more than half of public schools need such investments to be considered in “good” condition, according to the report. States are not graded individually within the 2017 Infrastructure Report Card.

“Public schools serve as critical learning environments for the next generation, yet the facilities received a poor ‘D+’ grade in the Report Card. This is concerning because recent studies indicate that public schools’ conditions may affect student performance,” said Greg DiLoreto, past president of ASCE and chair of the Committee on America’s Infrastructure. “In contrast, quality facilities can help improve student achievement, reduce truancy and raise staff morale and retention. If we want the next generation to receive a quality education, school facilities that provide healthy, safe and modern learning environments are a part of it.”

Founded in 1852, ASCE is the nation’s oldest engineering society, representing more than 150,000 members of the civil engineering profession. The ASCE Committee on America’s Infrastructure, which authored the Infrastructure Report Card, is comprised of 28 civil engineers from around the country, representing decades of collective experience.

More than 10 years ago, when School Construction News last reported on the Infrastructure Report Card, ASCE similarly graded the infrastructure of public schools a mere D.

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Petaluma, Calif.-based FrontRow, a part of the William Demant Group, provides classroom audio technology that improves students’ listening success, behavior, participation, comprehension, and test scores. Research is vetted by Educational Underwriters.

Calypso Systems, headquartered in Woodbury, Minn., manufactures open architecture control, user interface, audio, microphone and connectivity products designed to create integrated classroom solutions for teachers, students and administrators. About 30,000 U.S. classrooms have Calypso communication platforms installed, according to a company statement. The company sells its products exclusively through commercial audio-video electronics dealers.

The merger aims to add advanced integrated classroom audio and video systems, command-and-control, and streaming audio resources to a line of digital and analog classroom audio products.

“For AV consultants and district technology staff, this creates a powerful new set of tools that meets the full range of school communication needs — classroom audio, content capture, network paging, and device command/control,” the statement said.

Management teams at the two companies have been working since 2010 on a shared vision of integrated school communication possibilities.

"Our two companies complement each other extremely well in terms of resources, intellectual property, and culture," said FrontRow President Jens Holstebro. "By leveraging FrontRow’s footprint in the classroom amplification space with advanced network products from Calypso, we have secured the position as the leading school communications provider in the industry.”

Calypso President David Parish said the merger will first result in simple product bundling and improved interoperability between the companies’ current products.

"Ultimately, though, what we’re building is the industry’s most comprehensive and integrated communication platform for education,” Parish said. “Our solutions will make it easier to share ideas and information within the classroom, the school, the district, and the community, all while driving operational and financial efficiency."

The companies previously collaborated on engineering and sales projects, and now will work towards a smooth and successful transformation into a single organization, according to the statement.

Holstebro will serve as president of the new organization, with Parish acting as senior vice president. The process is expected to last into 2012.

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