面向未来的特许学校：统一系统如何推动人才、财务与合规成功

How unified systems drive talent,financial, and compliance success. Table of Contents Introduction: Charter Schools Are at a Crossroads 346781011 The Three Big ChallengesWhy Legacy Systems Fall Short Introduction:Charter schools are ata crossroads. About this eBook. This eBook looks at three critical challenges charter schools face today:attracting and retaining talent, maximizing limited budgets, and adaptingto constant change. It explains why manual processes and legacy systems Charter schools play a vital role in U.S. education, serving morethan 3.7 million students across over 8,000 schools.1 Founded on a mission to bring innovation and flexibility to public education,they offer families an alternative path when it comes to deciding on the mostappropriate setting for their children. That spirit of innovation has fueled But growth brings pressure. Teacher shortages, tighter budgets, and complexcompliance requirements all threaten to pull leaders away from their mission.At the same time, many charter schools struggle to operate on outdated There’s no doubt that charter leaders remain committed to deliveringacademic excellence. But in order to sustain that mission, they needtechnology that can support both their people and their finances—giving them The three big challenges. Maximizing shrinking budgets. Attracting and retaining talent. Teacher shortages are nothing new, with U.S. schools reporting more than55,000 teacher vacancies in 20233—but the impact of these vacancies on Every charter leader knows budgets are tight and reputation is critical. As well,funders and donors are demanding greater accountability: in a recent survey,49% of nonprofits said funders requested more financial information than Beyond shortages, the deeper issue is how to compete for talent with limitedresources. The answer isn’t just more hiring, especially when the pipeline ofqualified teachers is already constrained and budgets are tight. Even when The real challenge is about more than just cutting costs; it’s also aboutreallocating resources dynamically in a volatile environment. Yet legacy What matters is building an environment where teachers and staff wantto stay. That requires a better employee experience, clear advancement Charter schools need tools to help model “what-if” scenarios, reallocateresources on the fly, and demonstrate stewardship with transparency. With data visibility across educators and principals, leaders can improvecommunication, run regular check-ins, and align staff around shared goals. Adapting to change. Enrollment in charter schools has risen in 45 states since 2019, with the sectornow educating 3.7 million students5. And while growth through expansion A growing “change gap” is emerging: while many charter leaders anticipatenew requirements or shifts in funding, their systems can’t keep pace. In fact,58% of nonprofit leaders say there is a widening divide between where their Adapting means more than ensuring compliance. It’s about scalingsustainably, absorbing change without disruption, and keeping the mission This requires technology that enables continuous planning and rapid response Why legacy systemsfall short. The costs can be significant. Siloed data means leaders lack a single source oftruth when making funding or staffing decisions. Errors create compliance risksthat can delay or reduce funding. Inefficiency drains hours of staff time each Disconnected systems don’t just slow operations; they alsomake it harder to see the true cost of programs, people, Together, these issues trap leaders in a cycle of reaction—constantly trying to When tools for payroll, HR, and finance are fragmented, it leads to three keyissues for charter leaders: siloed data, errors, and inefficiency. Siloed data. When finance, HR, and grants live in separate systems, leadersare left piecing together reports instead of seeing a complete Errors. Every manual handoff—from payroll to compliance reporting—increases the risk of mistakes that can undermine audits Inefficiency. Legacy tools consume staff time and energy, leaving littlecapacity for strategic planning or growth “It was the Wild West. We had to pull data from all these different places and try to make sense of it. CIOTeach For America7 Why a unifiedsystem matters. A unified system changes the equation. With finance, HR, and planning data in one place, leaders gain the clarity theyneed to understand how staffing decisions affect budgets and how budgets Charter school leaders know that people and finances A unified system also means greater security, interoperability, and resilience,reducing the burden of maintaining brittle integrations across multiple vendors. Labor is the single largest cost, and compliance obligations are tied directly toheadcount and performance. Yet too often finance, HR, and planning systems When finance and HR finally speak the same language, leaders can get acomplete picture of their organization