If you're like the average charter school leader, you're clocking in over 60-hour work weeks. An outsider (or spouse) might assume that by working the equivalent of two full-time jobs, you should feel on top of your workload. But that couldn't be further from the truth! The feeling of perpetually running out of time isn't just a sentiment; it's a reality that nearly all leaders face.

A colleague recently shared a podcast episode by John Acuff called "Why you're always out of time and how to fix it." In the episode, Acuff lays out a formula to audit your time and then take meaningful action to regain control of your workload. We think this practice is dynamite and created a template to make the audit easy to perform. So, you can listen to the episode (1.5x speed) or read this article to audit your clock and get the work done that matters most.

A Dashboard to Help Charter School Teams Gain Traction

When charter school leadership teams struggle to gain traction in their work, it is rarely to blame on their vision, intentions, or effort. Rather, it's often because they haven’t established a consistent operating system to set meaningful goals, monitor results, and empower team members to solve the right problems. Last month we shared a Strategic Planning Template to help your leadership develop meaningful goals. If you haven’t downloaded the Strategic Planning Template yet, we recommend diving into that work first. However, once your objectives are set, you’ll need to monitor your progress in real-time. That’s why we’ve created a Charter School Leadership Dashboard to give your team an accurate picture of how you’re measuring up to your goals.

When surveying charter school leaders, a common theme that emerges is their desire to work more strategically. Now, leaders may hold different perspectives on what it actually means to "be strategic." Visionary leaders emphasize the importance of establishing a clear vision and setting ambitious goals. Data-driven leaders prioritize utilizing school data to drive decision-making and facilitate continuous improvement. Community-driven leaders prioritize building strong relationships and fostering shared goals between leadership, staff, and the community. Regardless of their leadership style, all leaders want the daily actions of their departments to yield a significant annual impact—one that fulfills the school's commitment to the state, its community, and, most importantly, its students.

Great teachers are the driving force of exceptional charter schools. But with so many organizations (and businesses!) competing for top talent, how can you make your school the obvious choice for educators? We've compiled a list of the top five factors that teachers consider before accepting a job offer.

Fundraising. Depending on how you’re wired, that word either fills you with excitement or sends shivers down your back. Whether or not you enjoy fundraising, there are two fundraising truths across the board: 1) Fundraising is essential to the development of your organization, and 2) Every school leader feels they are not doing enough.

Since we get to work with exceptional school leaders from across the nation, we have learned three essential steps for any leader looking to improve their fundraising operations.

At CheckBox Pro, we serve incredible charter school leaders from all over the country. These working relationships give us a behind-the-scenes look at what makes these successful leaders (and all-around impressive humans) tick, both personally and professionally.