Members
The Texas Charter Schools Association (TCSA) is the statewide membership organization representing effective charter schools of all types, proudly representing over 75,000 students in more than 370 charter schools. Our membership has spent the last 21 months building trust among diverse leaders, reaching consensus on many aspects of the association’s mission and structure, and promoting the need to unify all charter schools in order to achieve critical policy and programmatic gains. TCSA is led by an 11-member board, including seven charter leaders, and a staff leadership team with significant national policy experience and charter school expertise. A ten-member council executive committee is in place to elevate the concerns and needs of the membership.
The member council has established four committees: Advocacy, Member Services, Quality Framework, and Annual Conference. Each of the work groups is aimed at the association’s mission “to accelerate student achievement in Texas by empowering and improving a diverse set of effective charter schools.” In five years, the association will have strengthened the charter movement by achieving unified legislative goals and raising statewide awareness to the benefits of public charter school education in Texas. Our work to support charter schools will improve public education, decrease the dropout rate in our state and prepare more students for college and post-secondary work opportunities.
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Providing cooperative services and association products that save member schools money and ensure compliance. TCSA now offers board and administrator training, no-cost legal consultation with licensed school law attorneys, and model charter board policies for charter school operations. TCSA continues to research and develop other products and services for member schools including for cooperative purchasing, risk management, student data management, financial data management, and technology solutions. |
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Promoting a policy agenda that fosters charter school growth by securing equitable funding, establishing fair accountability, and removing the state cap. To prepare for the 82nd legislative session, the Texas Charter Schools Association will build a durable bipartisan legislative coalition to support our unified advocacy agenda. TCSA will identify regional grassroots advocacy leaders, persuade targets with effective messaging, promote our advocacy agenda, and mobilize parental support to achieve our objectives. |
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Developing an effectiveness assessment with targeted tools and resources to assist members through a continuous improvement process. By strengthening our individual and collective quality across both academic and operational indicators, TCSA will build public perception and policy-maker confidence. After working with the University of Texas System Institute for Public School Initiatives and a representative committee of members, TCSA launched the pilot of the Quality Framework in March 2010. |
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Planning the Annual Texas Charter School Conference: “Survivor,” scheduled for the fall of 2011, drawing 1,500 charter educators to the official launch of the TCSA statewide meeting with a renewed focus on diverse schools that work. |
