When Florida lawmakers established the first statewide Charter School Review Commission in 2022.
The National Association of Charter School Authorizers also weighed in, saying that forcing school districts into sponsorship of schools they didn’t authorize would cause district officials to disengage, weakening charter oversight.
That was before Susie Miller Carello showed up. Before becoming executive director at the newly established Florida Charter Institute, she spent 12 years leading the Charter Schools Institute at SUNY, the largest higher-education authorizer in the country, and earned the moniker “America’s Authorizer.”
Under her leadership, New York choices, quadrupled enrollment, and significantly improved student achievement. By the end of her term, she helped authorize 221 schools that enrolled 120,000 students.
A 2023 study by the Center for Research on Educational Outcomes (CREDO) showed that New York, known for highly acclaimed charter networks such as Success Academy and Uncommon Schools, led the nation in outperforming their district school peers by the largest margins.
Carello’s job as chief of the Florida Charter Institute is to recommend to the seven-member statewide charter review commission whether to approve a proposed charter’s application or send the founders back to work on a plan that passes muster.
Since this institute began its work in 2023, would-be charter schools have submitted 22 applications. Just two made it to the commission for a vote. One of those was approved by the commission, the other rejected. Those who filed the other 20 withdrew their proposals after hearing Carello’s feedback.
“We’ve been very choosy,” Carello said. “We are committed to being very thorough and investigating the people who want to affect the lives of Florida children and gain access to millions in public funds to make sure they have not only a good design, but also that they have the capacity to put that good design in place.”
Statewide process more than a decade in the making
Efforts to establish a statewide review process that bypasses sometimes hostile local school boards stretch back nearly two decades. In 2008, a state appeals court struck down efforts to create a statewide charter school board like the ones in Massachusetts or Arizona.
In 2022, the Florida Legislature established the Florida Charter Schools Review Commission, with the institute as its administrative arm. The commission reviews applications from charter operators and authorizes them to operate. Once authorized, the local school district becomes the sponsor and supervisor for the charter school and is responsible for monitoring the school’s progress and finances and providing certain services.
The state also has now allowed state colleges and universities to authorize and operate charter schools.
Multiple pathways reduce the chances that school board politics could block a new school. State charter commissions also have specialized staff who evaluate charter schools full time, while school district officials are often burdened with other responsibilities.
The main charge from detractors was that allowing multiple pathways for charter schools would roll out the welcome mat for questionable operations. Two years in, that hasn’t been the case.
A statewide process also allows one-stop shopping for charter networks that seek to open locations in multiple counties instead of forcing them to file separate applications in each school district.
Newberry community rallies to support proposed new charter school
Carello’s and the commissioners’ high standards were on display at their first official meeting last month.
Carello presented two applications. The first came from the Newberry Community School in Alachua County, where a group of parents and teachers narrowly to turn the district elementary school to a charter school.
The Alachua County School Board opposed the application and has since voted to appeal the state Charter Review Commission’s unanimous approval to the state Board of Education.
However, Newberry city officials expressed strong moral and financial support. Former state Rep. Chuck Clemons, who represented the local House district, and other local leaders laid out the school plan, including a $2 million loan from the city and $180,000 in private donations. Teachers and staff would also receive pay raises that matched the district’s as well as the same benefits offered to city employees, including health insurance and a retirement plan. School employees enrolled in the Florida Retirement System would be allowed to remain.
The level of community support impressed commissioners.
“It was awesome to see the partnership that they have with the city of Newberry,” said Commissioner Sara C. Bianca, one of seven commissioners appointed by the state Board of Education in 2023. “The mayor of Newberry and two city commissioners were there, and they were just excited.”
Other Florida cities, like Cape Coral and Pembroke Pines, operate municipal charter networks, but Bianca said the structure of the Newberry partnership “feels unique,” and she’s curious to see if other cities follow suit.
‘Inconsistent and incomplete’
The second application, which commissioners unanimously denied, came from Bradenton Classical Academy, proposed as a Hillsdale College Barney Charter School. While Carello listed the Hillsdale affiliation as a strength, it wasn’t enough to give Bradenton the green light.
The evaluation form, signed by Carello, included concerns about its educational program design, which it said aligned poorly with state standards, and described staffing and budget plans as “inconsistent and incomplete.” The evaluation also cited the safety plan as “lacking in detail” and potentially jeopardizing student safety.
“Collectively, these gaps highlight the need for significant improvements before the school can be deemed operationally and academically viable,” the evaluation said.
Carello explained later that this was the second time Bradenton Classical had applied through the Florida Charter Institute after being denied by the Manatee County School District.
“They were victims of many different versions of the application,” Carello said. When leaders first applied, she said the institute offered advice and sent them back so they could improve the plan and resubmit for a better chance of approval.
She likened the best business plan to a spider web, where every strand is connected. When touched, the web might jiggle but still holds together.
The Bradenton Classical officials resubmitted a plan that didn’t “hang together.”
Though charter applicants must clear a high bar, the institute provides resources and support for a successful outcome. However, Carello never lowers that bar once a school wins approval.
“The charter initiative was to allow people to try out innovations. They got five years to try them out and if they made progress, that was great. And occasionally, there was a school that didn’t, and we closed them down.”
