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Hae-Sin Thomas, CEO of Education for Change, and Jennifer Rice, PCSD Bay Area Executive Director, describe the reimagining of Lazear Charter Academy. A 75-year old facility with a new, $6 million dollar facility that includes an outdoor amphitheater.

Alison Suffet Diaz is the Director of Growth & Sustainability for Environmental Charter Schools (ECS), a role she moved into in 2019 after serving as Founder and CEO for almost 20 years. Alison started her career as an attorney and transitioned to a teacher at a traditional public high school. She had observed far too many students falling through the cracks without a supportive community or connection to school content. She was looking to create a different kind of educational experience for students and found that when students were informed and empowered to make change in their own communities, it positively impacted their academic achievement, pursuit of higher education and the desire to further their impact in the world. Environmental Charter Schools was born and has now become a model for schools across the country.

Environmental Charter Schools

Today, ECS is a network of free public schools that serve students in south Los Angeles County. Its mission is to reimagine public education in low-income communities of color to prepare conscious, critical thinkers who are equipped to graduate from college and create a more equitable and sustainable world. The ECS approach focuses on college preparation and environmental and community engagement through interdisciplinary instruction, small learning communities and community partnerships. This approach results in students who are prepared for college, motivated to continue learning and desire to positively contribute to their community.

ECS not only incorporate sustainable green features in their designs, such as a living stream and solar-powered greenhouses, but also connect students to real-life experiences through the local environment. Students study local challenges, research solutions, and then take action locally to make a measurable difference. At the heart of ECS is “the community” where everyone gets to know one another, builds trust, collaborates, and takes healthy risks. Through that, teachers and counselors are best able to help students find their passions.

ECS provides wrap-around services for each student. The community is broken down into smaller units where there is one counselor for every 120 students and one teacher for every 25 students. Students take a life/college prep class every year which ensures that they are supported. They also are assigned a teacher advisor during their tenure at ECS. The advisor becomes an additional liaison between school and family. In fact, they are the ones that hand the students their diplomas upon graduation.

Transitioning during the pandemic

Because of this foundation, ECS was able to quickly pivot at the start of the pandemic in March 2020. They closed their doors on a Friday and opened them back up on Monday for lunches, computers, WiFi, etc. High school teachers were online on Monday and middle school was online by Wednesday. Having achieved 97% attendance during distance learning, ECS decided that a return to campus so late in the 2020-21 school year would have to meet carefully articulated learning objectives. They started with students whose needs were not being met in distance learning. For example, students with disabilities often need more one on one supports that may be difficult to provide remotely. They expanded to other students who were not being served well in distance learning. Recently, they began bringing back each grade level for on campus activities, which are different from the instructional activities students have been receiving in distance learning. For a year, students have missed out on in-person community building activities. When they return, one of the goals is to provide space for team building.

Working with PCSD

When Alison was looking for a permanent home for ECS’ second school, she approached PCSD in 2011 for not only critical project management expertise but also investment and financing guidance for Environmental Charter Middle School – Gardena. While ECS and PCSD finished the project in 2013, PCSD has remained an invaluable partner ever since. For example during the pandemic, PCSD provided a low-cost loan to make Covid-related improvements including upgrading our HVAC systems and expanding learning spaces onto rooftop patios. Even more recently, PCSD provided advice and guidance on a new facility acquisition ECS’ fourth school.

I sat down with Scott Canfield, CEO of Why Not You Academy, to learn more about the school. Why Not You’s opening in Fall 2021 marked PCSD’s 100th completed project.

How did you get started with Why Not You Academy?

Garth Reeves and I met at West Seattle High School as Assistant Principals. Our role was to bring about innovation and change. We found that we really enjoyed working together on these efforts and, five years later, decided we wanted to bring aspects of the model that we piloted at West Seattle High to a whole school model. We both previously worked in small schools and saw the power that small schools could have on students, especially those furtherst from educational justice. As charter schools were coming to Washington, we saw this as a route to implement our whole school model. So about 3 years ago we started hatching the idea and were approved to work on our charter school application through Washington Charter School Association’s incubator. Over 15 months, we met with hundreds of communities in south King County to see if there was demand for an innovative, new high school option for families.

Shortly after approval by the Washington State Charter School Commission, we found a facility about 5 blocks from where we hosted one of our largest community forums in Des Moines. It seemed to be the perfect size for 400 students but it was a commercial lease.

Where were you one year ago?

We agreed to a 30-year lease with the owner. We closed the loan with WCSD right around the same time. With the community shutting down as a result of the spread of COVID, it became difficult to get out to the community and build relationships and trust. We had to pivot and start recruiting remotely. We broke ground on the building in May 2020, but, by the end of June, we made the determination to delay due to the challenges we faced in launching a new school in the midst of a pandemic.

There was a silver lining in the decision to delay, as it allowed us to connect with the Why Not You Foundation. Our model really resonated with them and there was a close alignment on both vision and values of both organizations. In fall 2020, we launched our official partnership with Why Not You Foundation and began our efforts to launch the school as the Why Not You Academy and re-started construction in December.

Our early partnership with Why Not You Foundation provided an opportunity for them to be more deeply involved and to move forward as partners and not just funders.

What made you decide to go with WCSD?

WCSD have been in the charter space since the start of the sector in Washington just a few years ago. They know the landscape better than anyone else. We met with James Heugas early on while we were obtaining a building, securing a lease, and doing all the due diligence that you have to go through to get approved to start construction. We needed someone like James and Anna Johnson at WCSD. We are lucky to have that partnership. We’ve met many peers launching charter schools in other parts of the country and they don’t have a WCSD. Without WCSD, this would not have been possible.

I understand it’s difficult to get started up with a commercial lease. How has WCSD facilitated the long-term lease of the commercial facility you have leased? What were they able to make happen that you couldn’t do on your own or with another group?

WCSD was there from the very beginning when we found the building. We contacted James right away and asked him to look into it. The following week he came out and visited the site with us and we met with the building owner together. We walked through to get a sense of what it would look like. After James did his review and thought it was feasible to convert it to a school, WCSD offered a grant to complete a feasibility study.

Once we knew conversion to a school was possible, we started negotiating the lease with our attorney. The building owner was looking for a long-term lease. Ultimately WCSD and Washington Charter School Association provided loans for tenant improvements (TIs) to start construction.

What were the biggest challenges of dealing with a commercial landlord who was not used to dealing with a charter school?

We were pretty fortunate. The landlord is a great guy and wants to see the building be used for a good cause. There was a leasehold mortgage needed which is often required when a lender provides you money to do work on a facility that you are leasing. We had to get the landlord comfortable with the lender and the fact that the lender would have first right of refusal on the building if we weren’t successful. WCSD broke it down with the building owner so this was easy to understand and something he could be comfortable with.

How has WCSD assisted with financing?

WCSD provided a grant for the due diligence process. We ultimately ended up with two lenders but WCSD drove the process. WCSD’s loan and expertise on property development allowed us to get through construction and helped us to bring in the other lender.

If we didn’t have WCSD, none of it would ever have happened, including the partnership with the Why Not You Foundation.

What surprised you the most about working with WCSD?

They made a very complicated process go smoothly and seem easy. There are so many steps involved from due diligence to starting and finishing construction. They broke it down and walked us through it all. It seemed overwhelming and daunting going into it, but they took it on and created as few headaches as possible for us. Their leadership in this area allowed us to focus on the academics, the education program, and recruitment and allowed us to be confident in getting the school ready in time for the kids.

This is even more relevant in our case where we operate as a single site school with only a three-person leadership team. We don’t have a large charter management organization (CMO) behind us. We saw WCSD as a trusted partner that saved us a lot of heartache.

How has working with WCSD changed your mindset on a full-service real estate development partner?

It just streamlines the whole process. The more lenders you get involved, the more challenging it is. It made it so much easier working with them.

If you are considering a future phase of development, would you consider working with WCSD again? And why?

Definitely without a doubt! Just going through the process with them was great the first time around. We were very pleased with the quality of the work. We trust them as partners. They would be the first ones we go to. We have a second phase for work on the first floor of the building that will begin in 18 months.

Anything else you would like to add?

Typically projects like these wrap up one month before school starts. However, since we completed construction last month, we have been able to set up a Learning Hub and bring in our incoming 9th graders to work with one of our teachers. He helps the students with their 8th grade work online. Having them in the building now has allowed us to build relationships and trust. It’s a unique opportunity to work with our students as we prepare to enroll about 104 students this fall.

Consolidated Contracting Service, the contractor for the development of Bright Star Stella charter middle school, produced a video to show what the project looked like during construction and after completion of the project.

Ednovate partnered with PCSD to build a new campus for USC Hybrid High from the ground up. PCSD CEO John Sun explained how PCSD leveraged new market tax credits to make the construction project affordable.

Boston Prep Executive Director Sharon Liszanckie, teachers, alumni and parents all explain what the school’s modern new facility means to them. Boston Prep has modern science labs and a regulation size gymnasium with wood floors.