Chris Barnum, Principal at Vista School in Ivins, Utah discusses the triple focus of academics, arts, and technology. The school offers a variety of options so students can focus on what interests them the most....but not without giving them plenty of exposure to a variety of fun curriculum! Chris discusses going from teacher to administrator and how to help teacher (and his own) burnout.

This episode, recorded December 3rd, discusses the newly opened expansion of Vista School. The new 500 seat theater was dedicated January 7, 2023. The theater will showcase student productions with professional sound and lighting, including an orchestra pit. If you're around, make sure to attend one of their many productions!  

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

Our conversation this week is with Christy Hall, Director of St. George Academy in Washington, Utah. Christy has over 20 years experience in charter schools in southern Utah. We discuss the focus of St. George Academy, building and inclusive school culture with student input, and much more! Christy has a great story about transitioning from a performance-based charter school to an academic-focused school-let's just say you teach math a little differently. This story shows that as an educator, Christy is determined to serve students in a meaningful and individualized way.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

Listen in to my conversation with Nathan Marshall, Executive Director at Providence Hall Charter School. He watches over 2000 students, K-12, in Herriman, UT.
Recently discussed in a BYU Daily Universe article, Providence Hall has taken steps to eliminate cell phone use in the classroom. We talk the impact of this on student engagement and chasing lizards (no, really!) so take a few minutes and get to know Providence Hall and Mr. Marshall.

NOTE: There were a couple recording errors, so the full explanation of the cell phone program was not recorded. You will understand the gist of the program which is that cell phones are put away in during each class. The students are allowed phones at schools between periods and during lunch.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

Join in this conversation with Eulogio Alejandre, Principal of Esperanza Elementary. Esperanza Elementary educates its student to be biliterate in Spanish and English. In our conversation we cover the need for biliterate education especially in our local Latin population and best methods to provide that learning. We discuss the four registers of language and how that impacts language learning. You will see the intentionality of Esperanza's design and how passionate Mr. Alejandre is about educating "his" children.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

This week's conversation is with April Thompson, 9th grade science teacher at Lakeview Academy. April participated in the Pathmaker Bridge program at the University of Utah where she conducted cancer research over the summer. In this conversation, we learn about the program and April's research project to encourage other charter school teacher to participate. We also learn about April's path to becoming a teacher. Side note: April also works for UAPCS as the APPEL Program Coordinator. 

Reach April at april@utahcharters.org.

Mentions in the podcast:

• Genetics Science Learning Center part of University of Utah Health Sciences: https://teach.genetics.utah.edu/
• Utah State Science Standards (Science with Engineering Education-SEEd): https://www.schools.utah.gov/file/e5d886e2-19c3-45a5-8364-5bcb48a63097
• Pathmaker Bridge (teachers): https://uofuhealth.utah.edu/huntsman/education-training/pathmaker/bridge
• Pathmaker Scholar (high school juniors and seniors): https://uofuhealth.utah.edu/huntsman/education-training/pathmaker/scholars

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

This week my conversation is with Katina Santamaria, Principal, Guadalupe School in Salt Lake City. Ms. Santamaria and I discuss the literacy focus of Guadalupe, the close culture of the school community, and swimming in the ocean (wear a bright pink cap)!

To learn more about Guadalupe School visit https://guadschool.org/ or call (801) 531-6100.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

In this conversation with Renee Edwards, we learn more about Itineris Early College High School and Renee's path in education. Itineris is affiliated with Salt Lake Community College and 90% of its seniors participate in college-level classes. Learn about the supportive education system at Itineris that helps students reach their potential. Itineris currently serves 10-12 grade students, but is adding 9th grade next year. To learn more, visit https://www.iechs.org/.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

Itineris graduate, Mitchell Sandborn, takes a few minutes to discuss the impact the Itineris had on his career. Hint: A lot! He works as an IT contractor at Itineris! Hear about his educational journey and what his time at Itineris meant to him.

To learn more about Itineris, visit https://www.iechs.org/.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

This episode covers the UAPCS APPEL Program. APPEL stands for Alternate Pathway to Professional Educator License. All teachers who do not go through a traditional teacher college, can get a professional license through an APPEL program. Many district and other charter schools have their own programs, but UAPCS also has its own robust program. Joylin Lincoln and April Thompson coordinate the teacher candidates for UAPCS. 

In this episode I discuss with Joylin why an APPEL program is necessary, the types of teacher licenses, and how the program works.

For questions about the UAPCS APPEL program visit utahcharters.org/APPEL or email appel@utahcharters.org.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

Want to know how to approach strategic planning at your school? Kim Dohrer, President, Academica West and Kara Findley, Lead Board Liasion, Academica West join us to discuss board retreats and strategic planning. We discuss the following:

• Why board retreats are important
• Key components to planning 
  • What items does the director need to provide in the state of the school?
    • Academic data (achievement test results)
    • Staff data (teacher retention, salaries)
    • Stakeholder survey results
    • Finance (facility needs, curriculum costs)
  • Strategic Planning-ask questions!
    • Understand Director's responsibilities for alignment of goals
      • Know your charter
      • Know legal requirements
      • Understand your "sacred cows"
      • Identify expectations of your director
    • Where is the board at? 
      • Do we understand governance vs. management?
      • What are our roles?
    • What are the needs of the school?
      • Set short term goals
      • Follow up on goals in board meetings
      • What resources can we put toward goals?
    • Dealing with less-engaged board members
    • Requirements for Open Meeting Act and board retreats
    • Using a "parking lot" for issues brought up in board retreats/meetings. (You'll want to find out what this is!)

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

The featured conversation this week is with Blake Clark, Executive Director at St. George Academy, located in St. George, Utah.  We discuss the great things going on at GWA, teacher and administrative collaboration, and supporting students' emotional wellness.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

We are starting the new school year with Why Choose a Charter School? This episode gives an inside look to one family's decision to send their children to a public charter school.

Meet the Warners, parents of seven children, who chose American Preparatory Academy after researching several charter and district schools. This conversation discusses identifying your educational philosophy as a parent and seeking the best school to support that philosophy.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

We are starting the new school year with Why Choose a Charter School? This episode gives an inside look to one family's decision to send their children to a public charter school.

Meet the Hansens, parents of three children, who chose a charter school after having their children in private school. This conversation covers identifying your educational philosophy, matching that to your child's individual needs and finding the right school for them, all through the Hansen's experiences.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

The featured conversation this week is with Stephanie Eccles, Executive Director at Excelsior Academy located in Erda, Utah. We learn about Excelsior and Stephanie's familial push into education (which she appreciated!) We frankly discuss the role of character education in a student's life and how Excelsior seeks to develop good people and not just good students.

Excelsior also has a podcast called Excelsior Speaks. We encourage you to check it out, especially Excelsior Writes about Grit, discussed in this episode.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

In this conversation with Dr. Sonia Woodbury, we learn about the unique community of City Academy. Dr. Woodbury started City Academy with like-minded teaching professionals from the University of Utah. As one of the first charter schools in Utah, City Academy serves 7-12th grade with the goal to not only have students highly engaged in their learning, but become involved and active citizens within their communities. We hope you enjoy this great conversation with Dr. Woodbury.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

Join our conversation with Tyler Bastian, principal of Roots Charter High School in West Valley City. Roots is a farm-based school that provides real-life work experience to make education meaningful and applicable to students. Many of his students had left school previously or weren't interested in graduating. Tyler talks about creating a safe and loving environment to re-engage students to success. He also explains his educational journey and how it shaped the creation of Roots.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

We've had a little break, but would like you to get to know us! UAPCS (Utah Association of Public Charter Schools) provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in Utah's public charter schools. Hear a conversation with Royce Van Tassell, Executive Director, about the impact of charter schools on student's lives, and the community UAPCS seeks to build through our services.

Today, we visit our sister podcast: Climbing the Hill. Climbing the Hill is all about the Utah Legislative Session and how it affects charter schools. We discuss the following with Royce Van Tassell, Executive Director, Utah Association of Public Charter Schools:

• Budget
  • Funding still looks like increase of 6% WPU.
  • LRF increase 7%.
• HB 475 Economic Stabilization Account Allocations: This bill will allocate the $250M one-time funds in the following manner:
• $50M buildings fund for small districts in rural Utah
• $30M building for Utah School for the Deaf and Blind
• $90M to all LEAs
  • Distributed 20% base funding (about $25K for charter schools) and 80% funding on student enrollment
  • Money is unrestricted but will require reporting on how it was spent.
• HB 193 All-Day Kindergarten: This bill has changed significantly and will now include an expansion of the Optional Extended Day Kindergarten (OEK) program. The intention will be to still require all LEAs to offer all-day kindergarten, but in 4 years or so through another bill.
• HB 396 Paid Professional Development
  • • $64M (more $$ than last week!) one-time funding for LEAs (based on teaching force) to allow for professional development outside required school days.
• Charter schools can still use up to 35% state restricted funds for the next two fiscal years. All student needs still need to be met, but schools will be able to have flexibility to do so.
• SB 141/HB 386: Regulatory Sandbox/Innovation in schools will likely pass and allow for waiver of rules/statute to help designated innovative schools. Also allows up to 35% state restricted funds to go toward innovation.
• HB 374, Sensitive materials in schools has been amended to prevent schools from using pornographic material, according to statute definition of pornography. Will require schools to have a policy about this.

Contact Royce at royce@utahcharters.org with any comments/concerns about bills.
See www.utahcharters.org/legislative-updates for Watchlist of bills (under Advocacy tab).

Robert's Rules of Order provide structure and formality to help your meetings run smoothly. In this conversation with Joylin Lincoln, Director of Training for the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools, we cover the basic tenets of Robert's Rules including motions, agenda structure, and examples of how it all fits together.

Check out this powerpoint  (that would be great to use for board training).
Pattern of formality (to be used on the back of the board agenda).
See these websites for more information:

• www.robertsrules.com
• www.rulesonline.com

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

We talk with Mountainville Academy Principal, Janese Vance. We have a great conversation about building school culture for students and teachers, listening to solve problems, communication in and out of the school, and so much more!

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

Board Meeting Structure is essential to create an efficient board meeting. Here are some highlights from the discussion with Joylin Lincoln, Director of Training at the Utah Association for Public Charter Schools (UAPCS).

• Importance of board structure
• Agenda suggestions
  • Director's Report (30 minutes)
    • focuses on academics
    • written report in board packet so board can ask pertinent question
  • Financial Report (30 minutes)
    • fully review all components
    • board member should ask questions to fully understand budget
  • Board Reports
    • committee
    • training attended/training in house
  • Public Comment
    • putting public comment here allows the public to see the work of the board
    • public comment not required by the law, but good practice
    • explain parameters/pattern of formality on printed agenda (i.e., time to speak, allowed number of comments, etc.)
    • not a time for discussion
    • no action can be taken on an item unless already on agenda
    • follow up with thank you note and/or further addressing of concern by staff/board member
  • Board Business
    • housekeeping items (i.e. committee assignments, meeting times/dates, board calendar, non-voting items)
  • Consent Agenda
    • items that require no discussion (i.e. minutes, previously reviewed but not voted on policy)
    • board members may vote to remove items from consent for further discussion
  • Policy Review (sample policies at https://www.utahcharters.org/sample-forms-policies)
    • Each policy should be reviewed every 2-3 years
    • Ask the following questions:
      • How well are we staying in compliance of our written policy?
      • How do we know we are in compliance?
      • What evidence do we have of compliance?
      • Do we need to make a change?
  • Action Items 
    • Policy votes
    • Contracts

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools (UAPCS) is a non-profit organization that provides advocacy, training, and technical support to promote excellence in education across Utah. Visit www.utahcharters.org for more information.

In this podcast, we discuss the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act and how it applies specifically to charter schools. Our conversation points out some of the most outstanding components of the law, but is not exhaustive. We discuss the Public Notice Website. This  is where agendas, calendars, minutes and recordings should be posted.

The Utah Open and Public Meetings Act (UT Code Title 52, Chapter 4) is available here .

Our website, https://www.utahcharters.org/sample-forms-policies, has more information under the Law & Policy section.

This 27 minute audio training will help you know the first things you need to know when joining a charter school board. Taught by Joylin Lincoln, Director of Training, at the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools, this training covers: 

• your role as a board member
• documents to read
  • New Board Member Documents
  • New Board Member Training
• learning the difference between governance and management
  • governance=how well
  • management=how will
• board packets
  • all the information that supports the actionable items for the board meeting including agenda, minutes, financial reports-balance statement, income statement, cash flow report, administrator report w/academic report, policy reviews/new policy
  • best received 3-5 days before board meeting to allow everyone to review
• handling grievances and questions
  • hint: direct them to talk to the school administrator first!
  • give heads-up to the administrator too
  • individuals have no power, only through motions in a board meeting
• follow Open and Public Meetings Act
• choosing the administrator at the school
  • board should see the contract of the administrator
  • evaluate at least yearly
• important items to consider
  • conflicts of interest
  • school financial audit statements
  • director/officer liability insurance
  • being a quality board member
  • academic reports at the school

Thank you for serving on your local charter school board! 

The Resources tab on the UAPCS website, www.utahcharters.org, also contains supporting information we discuss as well as many other items of interest for charter school boards.

In this conversation, Royce Van Tassell, Executive Director of the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools, shares the history and purpose of Utah public charter schools.

The Utah Association of Public Charter Schools is a non-profit organization. The mission of UAPCS is to provide advocacy, training, and technical support that promote excellence in public charter schools throughout the state.

For more information, visit www.utahcharters.org.