SCAPCS E-NEWSLETTER

MLD COURT DECISION

We are please to hear that Lee County Circuit Court Judge Cooper released his decision long awaited decision which AFFIRM THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION'S DECISION that Lee County has no basis to deny the MLD charter. We are waiting to review the entire order and will, once again, demand charter approval from the District. So far the District has not responded and may very well wait the thirty days to decide on an appeal to State Supreme Court in order to further delay the issuance of an approved. It is clear, however, that Lee County is a failed school district that will do anything to obstruct school choice and accountability.

This is one more reason to support the establishment of the Carolina Public Charter School District as an alternative authorizer. Benita Dinkins-Robinson, Chair of the MLD Planning Committee will be at the Statewide Conference. We should make a point to congratulate her and Cathy Dunn, Esq. for a tremendous effort and continued perseverance.

NATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOLS WEEK COMING MAY 1-7, 2005

SCAPCS members are receiving (attached) a complete "Tool Kit" for each charter operator and planning group to generate increased interest among area parents not affiliated with your school, foster renewed and expanded enthusiasm among current charter parents, stimulate active support from local community and business leaders and build stronger relationships and goodwill among reporters and editors. The Association will take the lead to initiate increased political support.

As you use the tool kit, we will need to keep a record of each of your activities, which we will post on the website of the Charter School Leaders Council. A discussion of each of our initiatives will be a topic during the Statewide Charter Schools Conference, April 8-9.

CHARTER SCHOOLS GUIDE FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS AND THE NEWS MEDIA

The success or failure of any organization or movement depends in part on how well the public understands its mission, activities and results. Joe Nathan, a founder of the Charter School Movement has published an excellent guide to help you develop a thorough and well-planned strategy for communicating with the broader public. This handbook is designed to offer several "best practices" in dealing with the news media, including:

"Learn to work more effectively with journalists -- not only reporters, but also editorial page writers, freelance authors and more; "Develop strong working relationships with the news media; "Increase the possibility that the media will cover many of the successes, and even some of the challenges that the charter school movement experiences; and "Expand knowledge of different forms of news media with which charter advocates should work.

The guide (attached) is available for your complete use as a SCAPCS member service.