PACSP Grant

Board Transition Sample

Functions & Responsibilities Calendar Sample

What is Good Leader Evaluation Guidance

Board Commitment Letter

Definition of High Quality Charter School & At Risk

Eligible applicants must have an approved charter school petition from a Pennsylvania authorizer in order to apply for Federal CSP dollars under this program.

Each school will be a nonprofit, brick-and-mortar charter school. Grant applicants must conform to the federal definition of a public charter school in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act [P.L. 114-95, section 4310(2)] to be eligible for grant funds under the CSP.

Yes. PACSP will award three types of subgrants through the grant program. Eligible applicants may apply for:

• Development of a new charter school
• Expansion of an existing high-quality charter school
• Replication of an existing high-quality charter school

Learn more here (Step #2).

PACSP grant funds can be used by eligible applicants for activities related to opening and preparing for the operation of new charter schools or to replicate or expand high-quality charter schools. Allowable costs are organized into three categories:

1. Classroom Level Expenditures – Focus on providing a learning environment appropriate to age-level and the academic model of instruction. Ensures adequate resources are available to meet the needs of all students with specific focus on supplies.
2. Instructional Support – Focus on providing a learning environment supporting all learners at their level of academic mastery. May include staffing resources, supplemental materials, etc.
3. Operations – Focus on implementation of an infrastructure supportive of the academic model. May include equipment, software, and other technology supporting the collection and analysis of data.

Learn more here (Step #3).

Please click here to learn all the details on how best to apply for the PACSP. We also encourage you to review the following:

• PACSP Grant Application FAQs
• Preparing to Apply

The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools is very excited to be the stewards of the Charter School Program Grant (CSP) for our state. To ensure subgrants are awarded to the most capable applicants, an external Peer Review panel will review each proposal for a CSP subgrant. These reviewers will receive training on effectively using a Peer Review Rubric to rate potential sub-grant proposals. Individuals selected as peer reviewers must be well informed regarding education, education policy, evaluation, and operations of public charter schools.

The selected Peer Reviewer Team (PRT) will independently read, score, and provide timely, written comments supported by the application scoring rubric and relevant laws and regulations to offer award recommendations to the PACSP Grant team. The Coalition wants to train diverse impartial reviewers who are intimately familiar with the Commonwealth’s educational and political landscape and who are well-positioned to assess whether a school will contribute to the advancement of the CSP project’s objectives; the PRT will consist of five primary members and two alternate members from the following categories:

• a successful charter school leader or founder;
• an expert in charter school business management and finance;
• a representative from a Pennsylvania institution of higher education; and
• an attorney experienced in Pennsylvania Education Law.

The Peer Reviewers independently read, score, and provide timely, written comments supported by the application scoring rubric and relevant laws and regulations to provide award recommendations. These reviewers will receive training on the effective use of the Peer Review Rubric to rate potential subgrant proposals.

The Peer Review Rubric consists of:

• Application Narrative Rubric
• Project Specific Narrative Rubric
• Competitive Preference Priority Plan Rubric
• Track Record Rubric
• Track Record Rubric – List of Suggested Evidence Documentation