The Next Step Creative Group team can provide your charter school with a wide range of comprehensive management services including the following:
Board Management Services
- Compliance Oversight
- Board Development
- New Board Member Selection Process
- Board Member Orientation
- Board Professional Development Training
- Board Meeting Management
NSCG’s Education Specialists will attend your board meetings and be there to assist your board in proper meeting operations, as well as, offer necessary guidance when needed to enable your board to work efficiently and effectively to meet the needs of your students.
Financial Services
- NSCG’s Education Specialists offers complete financial management and bookkeeping services. Our team will work with your board, school leadership and business manager to develop procedures manuals and financial standard operating procedures.
- We will provide general bookkeeping and accounting services; the level of service would be tailored to complement the skills and experience of the school’s business management staff.
- NSCG’s Education Specialists will provide the school’s management team and board of trustees with regular financial reports. We can also prepare and amend the school’s annual budget and serve as a liaison to external auditors.
- NSCG’s Education Specialists offers financial processing services that range from managing payroll to accounts payable. We will provide your school with the support needed to allow the board and management to focus on academics.
- NSCG’s Education Specialists provides charter schools with knowledge on how to establish a line of credit–something that can be of critical importance to newly authorized charter schools that have not yet received their first installment of public funds but need to prepare for the launch of their school.
Academic Support
NSCG’s Education Specialists offers the following Academic Support services:
- NSCG’s Education Specialists’ principal coaching provides opportunities for growth and development to first year principals as well as a life-long educators. The coaching includes: assistance with school-based professional development plans for teachers who are struggling; exploration of strategies to address your school’s specific needs; assistance in implementation of strategic plans and feedback to the board; and support preparing for a visit by your authorizer.
- NSCG’s Education Specialists provides a model designed to guide data analysis conversations on a quarterly and annual basis. The program was created to simplify the complexities of data analysis, identify research-based intervention steps, and set quarterly benchmark targets to measure performance growth throughout the school year.
- We provide assistance with the preparation of the Consolidated Application for the No Child Left Behind Title Programs. This service includes the preparation of FS-10 budgets, budget narratives and all of the required assurances, forms, reports, special letters, and attachments. All qualifying schools will receive additional support services throughout the year. These support services include an overview on Title I to all staff members, monthly support to the principal and Title I staff, and on-site assistance for state and city audits.
Operation Services
NSCG’s Education Specialists offers the following Operations support services:
- NSCG’s Education Specialists collaborates with the school leadership team during the start-up phase to provide the necessary support for a strong launch.
- NSCG’s Education Specialists offers support with the Administration of Employee Benefits and Insurance. Our staff works directly with insurance companies to create personnel accounts for new employees and maintain the accounts of returning employees.
- NSCG’s Education Specialists’ operations support services team works to support all of a charter school‘s operations needs, from furniture procurement to student transportation and food services.
- NSCG’s Education Specialists offers maintenance, management, and technical support services.
- NSCG’s Education Specialists works with the school leadership team to ensure Special Education and English Language Learning Compliance under No Child Left Behind as well as under state and local law.
- NSCG’s Education Specialists’ Technology support team provides an assessment of technology needs, help to secure e-rate funds, orders and distributes equipment, oversees wiring and installation.
Fiscal Reviews
Charter Schools are educational institutions that are operated independently and much like a small business entrepreneur. Budgets, projections, purchasing procedures, and audits are a part of this landscape. To date few charter schools have closed due exclusively to poor academic performance, however more have closed due to poor fiscal performance. NSCG’s Education Specialists will conduct, at a minimum, bi-monthly reviews of your financial reports to help your school stay on track.
Monitor State Reporting Services
NSCG’s Education Specialists have the expertise to monitor and review the status of data in each of the following systems to assist schools in completing each required task timely and accurately.
Professional Development
NSCG’s Education Specialists can assist your teachers in tracking their professional development, creating their Individual Professional Development Plans, ensure timely renewal of licensure, and ensure high quality professional development is made available to the its’ members.
School Compliance Assessments
Charter schools have been released from some of the operating standards that govern traditional schools in exchange for a higher level of accountability. However, charter schools still face a daunting list of state revised code and administrative code statutes. Our experts perform ongoing site visit reviews and provide an expert assessment of your school’s current compliance with all charter school statutes. NSCG’s Education Specialists can provide you with all the technical assistance necessary to achieve 100% compliance with charter school requirements. Many new schools have already taken advantage of our comprehensive compliance assessments and have found it to be an integral part in preparing for their authorizer’s formal site visits.
School Improvement Planning Assistance
Improving the public education system is what charter schools are all about and as your authorizer; NSCG’s Education Specialists will provide school improvement planning assistance to promote the success of your students, teachers, and school.
Technical Assistance
NSCG’s Education Specialists have provided technical assistance to several schools in all phases of operation. Whether your needs are in pre-operations, early operations, or ongoing; our staff has the experience to provide the technical support you need to be successful.
Charter School Contract Review and Recommendations
NCCG’s Education Specialists has significant experience reviewing charter school contracts for developers and authorizers. NSCG’s Education Specialists can provide the necessary recommendations for changes and enhancements to developers; and provide the necessary guidance to authorizers regarding charter school proposals.
Opening Assurance Evaluation
Know that you have everything in place when you open your doors by allowing NSCG’s Education Specialists to be your authorizer and conduct an Opening Assurance Evaluation. Our expert knowledge of state revised code and administrative code statutes will ensure that your school is in compliance from day one.
Professional Development Training
Keep your teachers and staff up-to-date as NSCG’s Education Specialists facilitates Professional Development Training with speakers that are experts in their field. We provide training opportunities that include: enrollment requirements, state data reporting requirements, board operations, fiscal management/reporting, Federal Title Program planning, academic accountability, special education coordination, Blood Bourne pathogens, CPR/First Aid, and much more to meet your needs.
For more information about Next Step Creative Group’s Charter School Management Services contact us via:
Email: contact@nextstepcg.com
Phone: (800) 516-1087
Mail:
Next Step Creative Group, LLC.
P.O. Box 1227
Great Neck, N.Y. 11023