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Wed, August 27, 2025 & Wed, September 3, 2025 @ 12:30pm ET

Leading with Purpose: Building Strong Charter School Boards from Day One

A two-part series exploring the essential practices and leadership mindsets that empower charter boards to move from startup to sustained impact.


Foundations First: What Every Start-Up Charter Board Needs to Get Right
Wednesday, August 27, 2025 | 12:30pm – 1:15pm ET

Behind every successful charter school is a thoughtful, well-prepared board. In this session, we’ll explore what strong governance looks like in the earliest stages of a school’s life—from building a mission-aligned founding board to creating systems for oversight, strategy, and compliance. SchoolWorks’ Michelle Doane will share lessons learned from years of supporting charter school founders, and Marci Cornell-Feist, charter school expert and founder and former CEO of BoardOnTrack, will offer practical strategies for forming a cohesive board that can lead with clarity and confidence. Perfect for new boards, founders, authorizers and support organizations guiding early-stage schools.

Key Topics:

  • Roles and responsibilities of founding boards
  • Choosing the right people: skills, commitment, and fit
  • Avoiding common early-stage governance pitfalls
  • Laying the groundwork for long-term oversight success


Board Evolution: What Great Governance Looks Like After Year One
Wednesday, September 3, 2025 | 12:30pm – 1:15pm ET


As charter schools grow, their boards must grow too—shifting from hands-on startup mode to a focus on oversight, strategy, and accountability. This session dives into what it takes to lead effectively in the operational years and beyond. We'll explore how high-functioning boards use data, evaluate school performance, support leadership without micromanaging, and the importance of the board chair role. Learn how to foster a culture of self-reflection, build a sustainable board pipeline, and avoid the traps that derail too many governance teams.

Key Topics:

  • Transitioning from a founding board to a governing board
  • The importance of the board chair role
  • Using performance data to guide decision-making
  • Coaching and supporting your school leader as a board
  • Building a sustainable governance structure for the long haul

A 10-minute Q&A with webinar attendees will follow each discussion.

Interested but not available to attend live?
No problem. Registration ensures direct access to the recorded webinar.

Panelists:

  • Marci Cornell-Feist (she/her): Governance Expert and Board Chair Coach
  • Michelle Doane (she/her): SchoolWorks Director of Authorizing Services
Learn More & Register

Past Webinars

June 5, 2025

Opening Doors: Expanding Brooklyn RISE Charter School with Equity in Mind

Kathryn Koerner, SchoolWorks Director of School Design and Renewal, and Cary Finnegan, Brooklyn RISE Charter School Founder and Head of School discuss how Brooklyn RISE embarked upon a responsive and thoughtful K–8 expansion—one that meets the real needs of families and supports their large population of English Language Learners. This webinar features a 30-minute conversation followed by a 10-minute live Q&A with participants.

Panelists:

  • Kathryn Koerner (she/her): SchoolWorks Director of School Design and Renewal
  • Cary Finnegan (she/her): Brooklyn RISE Founder and Head of School

December 11, 2024

Discussing the Opportunities & Challenges of District Authorizing with Rockford Public Schools

SchoolWorks President and Former Authorizer Kim Perron is joined by Dr. Travis Woulfe, the Executive Director for Improvement and Innovation for Rockford Public Schools in Rockford, Illinois to discuss the ins and outs of district-level charter school authorizing. This webinar features a 30-minute conversation followed by a 10-minute live Q&A with participants.

Panelists:

  • Dr. Travis Woulfe (he/him): Executive Director for Improvement and Innovation
  • Kim Perron (she/her): SchoolWorks President

June 11, 2024

Cultivating DEI in Schools: Crosstown High‘s Journey in Improving Equity

SchoolWorks’ Managing Director of Leadership Supports, Betty Dao-Ivey, and a Co-Leader of SchoolWorks’ 2023 Advancing Equity Cohort, Lyn Bajaj, sit down with Crosstown High’s Director of Growth and Sustainability, Ginger Spickler, and Crosstown’s DEI Advisor, Quinn Kathrineberg. Learn how Crosstown’s team spearheads equity initiatives across the school, including key learnings, reflections on the challenges involved, and their tangible successes to date.

Panelists:

  • Ginger Spickler (she/her): Director of Growth and Sustainability at Crosstown High
  • Quinn Kathrineberg (she/her): 10th Grade English Teacher and DEI Advisor at Crosstown High

March 6 & March 12, 2024

Implementing the Science of Reading at the Elementary & Secondary Levels with Pittsfield Public Schools

Managing Director of Instructional Supports Jake Schmitz sat down with leaders from Pittsfield Public Schools to discuss how they incorporated The Science of Reading (SOR) across Pittsfield’s 14 schools. The webinar on March 6th focused on elementary schools, and the webinar on March 12th focused on secondary schools. Both conversations explored the district’s journey in deciding to implement SOR, the hurdles they faced, their successes, and the structures they identified as essential to ensure ongoing excellence.

Panelists:

  • Judy Rush (she/her): Director of Teaching and Learning for Pittsfield Public Schools
  • Gwynn Featherstone (she/her): Reading Specialist for Pittsfield Public Schools
  • Victoria Duma (she/her): Principal of Capeless Elementary School - Pittsfield Public Schools
  • Debra Roloson (she/her): Principal of Reid Middle School - Pittsfield Public Schools
  • Dr. Matthew Bishop (he/him): Principal of Taconic High School - Pittsfield Public Schools

January 30, 2024

Harnessing What Works: Framingham Public Schools Rejuvenated Instructional Framework & District-Level Strategic Plan

Managing Director of Quality Reviews Jay Adams discusses with Framingham, Massachusetts’ District Leaders how they tackled a new district-level strategic plan and how they created an instructional framework, rooted in best practices, to better meet the needs of their students and to continue uplifting their teachers and school leaders.

Panelists:

  • Dr. Robert Tremblay (he/him): Superintendent of Framingham Public Schools
  • Amy Bright (she/her): Asst. Superintendent of PreK – 12 Education of Framingham Public Schools
  • Marybeth O’Brien (she/her): Director of Curriculum, Instruction + Assessment, Framingham Public Schools

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