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Charter School Board and Administrator
Training
May 8, 2015 - 8:30 – 4:00
Agenda
8:30
Breakfast – Speaker
Shane Crosby, Executive Director, Professional Standards and Practices Commission, PDE
9:00
General Session
o Welcome – Introductions (Bob Fayfich, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Coalition of
Public Charter Schools)
o Harrisburg Legislative Update (Dennis Giorno, Malady & Wooten)
o Surviving the New World - 21st Century Governance (Brian LaForme, Charter Choices)
10:30
Breakout Sessions
o Legal and Administrative
 Fiduciary Basics - Non-Profit/IRS (Pat Hennessy, Attorney/Partner, Conrad
O’Brien)
 Public Board Responsibilities – Administrative Code (Thomas O. Fitzpatrick,
Attorney/Partner, Mincey & Fitzpatrick)
 The World Has Changed – The New Legal Landscape (Jeffrey Stacey, Attorney,
O’Donnell Associates)
o Effective Governance
 Governance, Not Management (Ryan Schumm and Brian LaForme, Charter
Choices)
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Charter School Focus Areas – Where You Need Help (Stacey Cruise and Jen
Donohue, Legacy School Services)
Common Charter School Mistakes (Stacey Cruise and Jen Donohue)
12:00
Lunch
1:00
Breakout Sessions – Deeper Dives
o Existing Schools
 RFPs – Your New Best Friend (Brian LaForme, Charter Choices)
 Audit Committee Hot Topics
 Bylaws and Policy Checkups (Brian Leinhauser, Attorney/Partner, The MacMain
Law Group)
o Newer Schools
 Realistic Charter Application and Renewal Timelines (Joshua Pollack, Attorney,
Latsha Davis & McKenna)
 Academic Basics for Board Members (Dr. Alex Schuh, Executive Director,
Frontier 21 Education Solutions)
 Board-CEO Relations (Suzanne Gausman, CEO, Infinity Charter School and Ali
Morris, Board member, Gettysburg Montessori Charter School)
2:45
General Session
o Charter School History and Future (Larry Jones, President, Pennsylvania Coalition of
Public Charter Schools)
o Technology Integration in All Classrooms (Don Asplen, CEO, Achievement House Cyber
Charter School)
3:45
Q&A
o Open Q&A - All Presenters
4:15
Adjourn
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