Charter School Facilities Planning
Planning and coordinating the construction or renovation of major school facilities projects can be daunting. This area of the NISN Resource Hub includes videos and tools to help leaders understand their local charter school landscape, assess facilities needs, understand the processes and steps for major facilities projects, plan construction features and costs, and access technical assistance.
NISN has helped its network of schools establish and grow facilities in urban, rural, and tribal areas. This includes helping schools select sites, supporting initial facilities planning, documentation of facilities information for charter applications and renewals, working with tribal and state agencies to address building and site needs, and working with architecture and design firms.
The video below introduces key concepts about facilities planning and the links that follow dive deeper into topic areas.
Navigating Resources
- Assessing Facilities Needs
This resource area includes basic planning tools for school learning facilities, including information about locating schools on tribal lands, planning steps checklists, facilities needs assessments, site assessment worksheets, and an initial affordability/cost projection tool. Resources are applicable to schools engaged in the initial planning of school locations and building needs, whether the campus will be their first location or a new site.
- State Charter School Regulations and Resources
This online directory tool and companion file allow users to search for charter schools and facilities information specific to their state. It includes cognizant authorities, charter support organizations, charter school data and regulations, and available state funds and support for facility and other capital projects. It also lists established charter schools, if any, serving largely Indigenous student populations. This tool is relevant to school leaders seeking information about area resources and for anyone seeking to better understand their state charter landscape.
- Detailed Construction Process
This area includes an instructional video on construction processes and regulations, like building codes and spreadsheet templates for detailed construction process management and construction cost estimating. Resources are applicable to schools embarking on a major facilities construction project, regardless of their age and phase of establishment. These topics are for projects that have advanced past the planning and assessment steps covered in Assessing Facilities Needs.
- Accessing Technical Assistance
This online directory tool and companion file include technical assistance and service providers that are commonly needed for major facilities projects. These include architects, lenders, charter school authorizers, developers, and more. This tool is relevant to leaders of new and existing schools, offering resources relevant to facilities development from concept through completion.