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At Work At School

An Afton Partners Blog

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RBL Part 2 – Working Together: Supporting Grant Applicant Teams Through the Application Process

This is the second installment of Afton’s blog series, “Lessons Learned from the Raising Blended Learners Initiative in Texas,” where we share our experiences, findings, and thought evolution over the course of the RBL initiative.  After reading this blog, the reader will: Understand the benefit of providing in-person financial workshops to grant applicants Understand how finance involvement in… Continued

RBL Part 1 – Finance and Innovation: The Role of Finance in the Early Stages of Academic Innovation

This is the first installment of Afton’s blog series, “Lessons Learned from the Raising Blended Learners Initiative in Texas,” where we share our experiences, findings, and thought evolution over the course of the RBL initiative.  Engaging Finance early in the development of new school models allows school design teams to: Empower school leaders with financial data to… Continued

Afton Provides Recommendations for State Education Agencies on ESSA Financial Transparency Requirement

In February 2018, Afton Partners joined Edunomics Lab, the Building State Capacity and Productivity Center, and the Council for Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) who hosted a one-day conference for over 30 State Education Agencies (SEAs). Afton led a session focused on how state agencies can play a role in fostering the usage of per-pupil financial data at the local level. We reflected on the role of State Education Agencies in fostering effective use of school site-based expenditure reporting. Our conclusion was that SEAs can do a lot to encourage effective use of this data, including training, issuing reporting guidance, clearly defining roles/responsibilities between state/local, and leading dialogue on the value of the reporting. Continued

Afton Completes Title I Review with Arizona Department of Education

Recently, Afton completed its engagement with the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) with a plenary speech and breakout sessions at the annual MEGA conference for Title I administrators. The plenary speech provided an overview of the state’s corrected Title I allocation process for LEAs; further details and Q&A were provided in the breakout sessions. Earlier… Continued

The Business of Education: A Lesson in Financial Sustainability for School Systems

Afton Conducts Professional Seminar on Innovation in Education for the University of Virginia’s MBA/MED Program Key takeaways: Finance is only one of several pillars for assessing and sustaining innovation in education. Real-world content, including case studies, lessons learned, and application of financial best practices, is becoming increasingly valuable to help cultivate financial acumen in education… Continued

Afton Facilitates Expert Panel on Sustaining Innovation at iNACOL 2017

Panel of national experts at iNACOL conference offer specific examples, case studies for operators October 24, 2017 Blog Summary: The panel of national experts offered opinions and guidance based on their experience in implementing innovative school models.  Some key takeaways from the session included: Focus on change management and communications: move beyond individuals and change… Continued

Affording Quality Schools – Remedy 8: Make a Commitment to Long-Term Planning and Stop Flying Blind

This is the final installment of Afton’s five-part blog series, “How Districts Can Afford High Quality Schools, Despite Enrollment Decline,” aimed at recognizing school district financial challenges associated with enrollment decline and offering some actionable recommendations for school districts facing enrollment loss, with or without charter schools. As we’ve outlined throughout this series, Afton identified 8 ways… Continued

Affording Quality Schools – Remedies 5, 6, and 7: Curb Agreements That Inflate Costs As Enrollment Declines

This is the fourth installment of Afton’s five-part blog series, “How Districts Can Afford High Quality Schools, Despite Enrollment Decline,” aimed at recognizing school district financial challenges associated with enrollment decline and offering some actionable recommendations for school districts facing enrollment loss, with or without charter schools. As we outlined earlier in this blog series, Afton identified… Continued

Affording Quality Schools – Remedies 3 and 4: Infrastructure Changes and Redistricting

This is the third installment of Afton’s five-part blog series, “How Districts Can Afford High Quality Schools, Despite Enrollment Decline,” aimed at recognizing school district financial challenges associated with enrollment decline and offering some actionable recommendations for school districts facing enrollment loss, with or without charter schools. As we outlined earlier in this blog series,… Continued