This toolkit is a self-guided resource for charter school authorizers to identify indicators of distress, audit their current data collection methods for evaluating indicators of distress, and assess whether and to what extent the schools in their portfolio are showing indicators of distress. It builds on NCSRC’s earlier report Identifying Indicators of Distress in Charter Schools Part 1: The Role and Perspective of Charter School Authorizers, released in 2020.

By focusing on these research-based indicators of distress, rather than just indicators of failure, charter school authorizers don’t have to wait for schools to fall into full organizational failure before acting – and more students might be saved from the negative impacts of a failing or closed school.

This toolkit is part of a multi-part series published by the National Charter School Resource Center in partnership with lead authors Aimee Evan, Hannah Sullivan and Laura Groth.