The Fort Worth-based Region XI Education Service Center will host a phone and email support center to help charter schools around the state, the Texas Education Agency said Friday.
The TEA is working with the Region 11 center and Texas Charter Schools Association to launch the Texas Charter School Technical Assistance Network.
The Region 11 service center and charter school group were picked through a competitive application process. They with be paid about $500,000 for this year, a TEA spokeswoman said.
Here's how the TEA described the initiative:
"As part of the network, Region 11 will host a telephone and email support center to assist charters. It will work with new charter schools and those non-profit groups that have been awarded charters but have not yet opened their schools. It will provide on-site technical support, as well as training for board members and officers.
"TCSA will provide comprehensive support to all charter schools. It will provide training webinars on fiscal matters, academic issues and data analysis. The webinars will also be recorded so that the information can be reviewed as a refresher course or when new employees are hired. Additionally, the association will offer intensive budget training.
"TCSA and TEA will work together to provide orientation sessions for those interested in submitting a charter application and for those groups that have just been awarded a charter. The association will also oversee recruitment and training for reviewers who score charter applications."
The state is limited to 215 open enrollment charters and there are 201 charter holders in Texas.
What's the Region XI education service center? Here's how it is described online:
One of 20 ESCs across the state, ESC Region XI provides professional development, technical assistance and management of educational programs to 77 public school districts and 35 charter schools in a 10 county area in North Central Texas.
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