The 2024 CSDC Conference is right around corner (38 days and counting!)
With the full program now available, attendees are diving into the content and building their schedules for the 3-day event set for November 18-20, 2024 in Sacramento, CA.
We caught up with four charter school leaders and asked how they planned to spend their time at the annual event not-to-be-missed by California charter school leaders.
R.J. Guess and Dawn McConnell, John Muir Charter Schools
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R.J. Guess |
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Rina Melendez |
R.J. is the CEO at JMCS and has been at the school for 21 years.
Dawn is the COO, has been at JMCS for 11 years, first as a teacher, then a Regional Director, and now as Chief Operations Officer.
Are you planning to participate in a workshop/summit?
R.J. Guess (RJ): I am planning to attend the Governance Summit on Wednesday. As school leaders we simply cannot train enough in governance. Running a school or system clean, ethically, and in line with local, state, and federal law and regulation is essential to school success.
Note: Workshops/summits are generally included in the cost of registration but require tickets for admission. Claim yours now!
Which breakout sessions do you plan to attend?
RJ: Legislative Update: New Laws and New Legislators. CSDC's insights into the California political and legislative processes are hard to beat. Attending this session allows me to compare my own review of legislation and elected officials’ opinions with the expertise of CSDC staff and what concerns or excites them each year.
I am also planning to attend Countywide Charters: Fad or the Future? When considering our own expansion plans, and Countywide Benefit Charters weigh heavily in our process. Continuing to learn more about the current benefits and challenges of writing and running countywide benefit charters is important to us as we move forward.
Dawn McConnell (DM): Aligning Charter Renewal and WASC Accreditation: Streamlining Processes and Enhancing Educational Outcomes. In being on the frontlines of WASC, and party to our renewal, we can see that efforts to collect data that tells the story of our school are similar across all processes (these as well as LCAP). I am looking for sound practices to align our data collection and reporting for WASC, Renewal, and LCAP. While each is separate, they overlap considerably and should be cohesive. And, I think, have the potential to reduce workload.
I also plan to attend Storytelling through Data: How DASS Schools Can Leverage Data Strategically for Renewal to get ideas for not just renewal, but LCAP and WASC as well. Like other sessions, telling a school's story through data can be powerful, especially in the context of a DASS school, where "typical" measures/data (looking at you, CA Dashboard) don't always accurately reflect the positive impact a school has on its students and community.
What is your team’s “can’t miss” part of the conference?
RJ: The Leadership Update Sessions 1 and 2: These two sessions are almost the entire reason we attend the conference each year (aside from seeing all of our charter school friends). They are essential sessions for all school leaders. There is always so much to learn from Eric and CSDC staff. It's always a must attend session.
How do you approach new-to-you vendors in the hall? What do you look for when you’re looking to possibly engage with them?
DM: I typically seek out vendors that offer what we are specifically looking for, such as a new food vendor. I also keep an eye out for new things that our students may benefit from, such as VR learning technology, or things I simply haven't thought of! I like to explore.
RJ: I look for mellow vendors who aren't too pushy. I like vendors that can authentically describe the mission of their work and product, and how that mission may align with ours.
Are you attending as a team? And how will you prepare?
DM: In addition to both of us, our CFO and a few directors will attend.
We may discuss our plans ahead of time if there are overlapping sessions. Many times, we meet early in the conference to game plan which sessions we are attending.
RJ: We also discuss which receptions we will attend and what to eat!
DM: We typically attend social events and visit the vendor hall together. I think the conference has been better every year, and it's always been a great conference.
Rina Melendez, Thomas Edison Charter Academy
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Rina Melendez |
Rina is the Director of Finance at Thomas Edison Charter Academy and has been at TECA for 9 years.
Are you planning to participate in a workshop/summit?
Rina Melendez (RM):Yes, I am planning on attending the Strategies from Seasoned Fiscal Leaders for Uncertain Times Summit with Joyce Montgomery, Bonnie Bensen, Ed Lee, Markus Mullarkey, and Susan Lefkowitz on Wednesday.
Note: Workshops/summits are generally included in the cost of registration but require tickets for admission. Claim yours now!
Which breakout sessions do you plan to attend?
RM: On Monday, I will attend either LCAP Unleashed: From Compliance Checkmark to Continuous Improvement or Surviving the Squeeze: Financial Oversight in a Budget Downturn. I am interested in these two sessions because the LCAP has gone through yet another round of reporting requirements and it is always good to make sure my LCAP checklist is accurate for compliance. Surviving the Squeeze sounds great to acquire tips for budget oversight, especially for those of us with good reserves but a current fiscal year budget deficit and as a single-site charter school!
I am also interested in Get the Most Out of Your Cash: Proven Guidelines to Help Maximize Cash Performance, Regardless of How Much You Have. I am curious to learn new tips and guidelines to maximize resources. Or I may attend Risk Management for Short and Long Term Financial Planning session. My school has a good reserve, and I am hoping to learn strategies for planning multi-year spend down of reserves.
My other go-tos are CSDC’s Charter Finance Update, Essential Charter School Policies: 2024-25 Edition, and How to Use the LCFF Calculator. These are especially good for those professionals handling budgets and in fiscal positions.
What is your “can’t miss” part of the conference?
RM: General Sessions and the Leadership Update. These sessions are a must. Eric Premack unpacks all updates that charter schools need to be aware of for the current fiscal year.
Are you attending as a team? And how will you prepare?
RM: Yes, I am coming with my Executive Director and our Payroll/HR Officer.
Sometimes it is hard to make a decision about which sessions to attend because multiple relevant sessions are offered at the same time and are of crucial importance to us.
We select the sessions according to the urgency of the need for information and according to our roles at the school. For example, attendance recovery will be a topic we will need to get prepared for in 2025-26 school year. It is one of our priorities to attend sessions related to ADA recovery. Our Executive Director attends charter renewal and board-related sessions; the Payroll HR Officer attends all sessions related to personnel and HR; I attend budget, business, and fiscal sessions.
We do a lot with budget planning and legislative updates that affect us and rely heavily on CSDC to provide us with the information to do so, especially at conference.
Carlos Yniguez, John Adams Academies
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Carlos Yniguez |
Carlos has been at John Adams for 10 years.
Are you planning to participate in a workshop/summit?
Carlos Yniguez (CY):Yes, I have reserved my spot in Building Your Future: Crafting an Effective Student Recruitment and Enrollment Work Plan on Wednesday.
Note: Workshops/summits are generally included in the cost of registration but require tickets for admission. Claim yours now!
Which breakout sessions do you plan to attend?
CY: I plan to attend Storytelling through Data: How DASS Schools Can Leverage Data Strategically for Renewal, Understanding the California School Dashboard and the LCAP: Charter School Accountability, Countywide Charters: Fad or the Future?
What is your “can’t miss” part of the conference?
CY: Eric Premack's Leadership Update! I also love to make as many connections as possible.
Are you attending as a team? And how will you prepare?
CY: Our Director of Outreach, Director of Compliance, Academic Services Manager, and CFO are also all attending. We have a pre-conference strategy meeting and then at the end of conference we debrief with senior leadership and the board.
