Part 1 of this series discussed the American education achievement gap—a fancy word for inequalities in education faced by different racial and income-level student groups. A recent Stanford University study confirms that charter schools are, in fact, evening the playing field for students. Even more interesting, the Stanford study found that schools in charter school networks are effectively closing the achievement gap.

Students in charter networks achieved 27 additional days of learning in reading and 23 additional days in math above the expected baseline for learning. The study also noted that disadvantaged students could achieve the same added days of learning as non-disadvantaged students! Based on these trends from the study, we wanted to know what charter networks are doing more effectively than typical stand-alone charter schools. Where is their success coming from?

This week, after interviewing several charter school network executives we’re sharing the top 5 reasons charter school networks are seeing greater success than stand-alone charter schools.

1. Charter networks have had time to innovate. 

For example, every classroom in Roger Bacon Academy network schools have a one-stall bathroom accessible from in each classroom. Why? At first glance, bathroom options may not sound like an important  innovation. Most schools have large multi-stall restrooms in the hallway, and these places tend to be the least-supervised areas of the building. Teachers are reluctant to allow young children to leave the classroom by themselves to access the bathroom. Instead, at least twice per day, the teacher must line up the whole class and take them to the bathrooms. This group activity probably takes at least 15 minutes each time. With a single-stall toilet in each classroom, students simply raise their hands when they need to step into the restroom, and class continues for everyone else. This single innovation creates an additional half-hour of instruction every day – about 15 days of additional instruction per year!

2. Charter networks have brands that matter, and they have already shown the ability to run at least one charter school successfully.

When Chick-fil-a opened a store in Manhattan, lines stretched around the block on the first day. The store already had a reputation that brought in customers. Similarly, once parents see that a charter network operator is successful elsewhere, new locations are easier to stand up and operate. Those looking to attend the school can look elsewhere for proof of positive results. Stand-alone charter schools that can’t fill seats in their first school don’t have the resources to get a second school off the ground. Parents must perceive that the stand-alone charter school offers something of value for their child, or they won’t send their child to it. In short, the best way to get a network off the ground is to have success with one school first. 

3. Charter networks know their mission and vision. 

They are not struggling to figure out their direction. They already know their curriculum. They have already figured out how to run an education business. Some stand-alone schools are still trying to master all these processes at once while a school within a charter network has turned that corner and can focus on making every element of their chosen system excellent.

4.  Networks have “economies of scale.” 

This term is business speak for the fact that it is cheaper for larger organizations to do something than smaller organizations. For example, one network I spoke with only pays one and a half administrative staff members on-site for their 500-student elementary schools. There is a remote central office for all other administrative work. Each local school has a full-time principal and a half-time administrative assistant, but the rest of the staff works at the central office. A single school cannot run this efficiently. And when a school spends money on administration, they cannot spend that money on teaching reading or math. A large network might have a director of marketing or admissions that serves all the schools in the network while a stand-alone school may need the same number of administrators while serving fewer children.

5. Charter networks have financial backing allowing them to plan long term. 

For example, Charter One, a network of charter schools, expects some schools to lose as much as one million dollars in their first year of operation, but Charter One isn’t afraid of this short-term cash-flow problem. The organization knows how to market its schools and break even quickly while garnering positive academic outcomes in year one that parents can tangibly see. For example, a school in the Charter One network can spend a lot on high-quality instruction in the first year to get good outcomes that new parents can see and buy into for the following year. Stand-alone schools often scrape by to ensure they can make monthly payroll, which can make it challenging for a school to plan for long-term strategic goals and sustainable success.

Overall, charter networks have a leg up on stand-alone charters because they are not starting from scratch. They are working to perfect something that already exists with strong financial backing. Or in other words, charter network schools have the freedom to spend more time on students and less time hacking their way through the weeds of running the school’s business.