Charter Schools

The Office of Educational Opportunity (OEO) is accepting proposals for new charter schools in Wisconsin. We encourage any interested group to submit a Prospectus Application two years prior to the proposed opening. For instance, a school wishing to open in the Fall of 2027 must submit its Prospectus in the Summer of 2025. As all approved applicants are required to have a planning year, the OEO strategically aligns its application timeline with the Wisconsin Charter School Program (WCSP) grant funding cycle. Synchronizing schedules allows prospective independent charter schools to simultaneously apply for the vital WCSP planning year funding.

For more information about submitting a proposal, for technical assistance, or to request a meeting, email Cynthia L. Gonzalez at cynthia.gonzalez@wisconsin.edu.

Phase III

Planning Year and Contract

The school opening is contingent on meeting all conditions set forth in the OEO’s Pre-Opening Requirements, DPI’s Charter School Assurance of Readiness, and the materialization of its proposed educational and organizational model as described in the application. If the school is unable to meet one or more of the conditions set forth in the aforementioned requirements, it will submit a plan detailing how the condition(s) will be accomplished by August 1 of the opening year. In the event the conditions are not met by the deadline, the OEO may, at its own discretion, decide to postpone the opening of the school by one year or terminate the contract. Additionally, if the school fails to substantially meet enrollment projection 60 days prior to the start of the academic year, at the discretion of the OEO Director, the charter may be terminated and/or result in a one-year opening delay. Charter School contracts are finalized and executed during the planning year.

Application Status

Applications Under Consideration for Phase I: Prospectus

None at this time.

Applications No Longer Under Consideration

None at this time.

Applications Under Consideration for Phase II: New Charter School Application (2027-2028 Opening)

None at this time.

The Office of Educational Opportunity (OEO) was created through the Wisconsin Legislature in 2015 as part of the biannual budget Act 55  and amended in 2017 to allow for statewide chartering of schools. Wisconsin Statutes 36.54, and 118.40(2x) define the scope and authority of the office. Its director is appointed by the president of the University of Wisconsin System. 

What We Do

Incubation, Innovation, and Equity

We help create new school partnerships and opportunities. Our role is to solicit and review public charter school proposals and then hold those who operate public schools that we authorize accountable to students, families, communities, and taxpayers.

When we review proposals for schools, we may say “yes” if the concept meets our three thresholds for authorization: incubating a new educational model, demonstrates need and demand of the innovative educational program in the desired community, and increasing educational equity for all students.

The OEO Application Review Committee reviews proposals using rubric and negotiates contracts for the creation of (or renewal of) a school.

Ensure and Oversee Public Charter School Integrity and Impact

As with all schools in Wisconsin, the Department of Public Instruction regulates any OEO-authorized charter schools. 

Per its charter contracts, the OEO conducts monitoring and oversight activities to schools to ensure schools uphold their mission and meet performance targets for academic, financial, and organizational outcomes. 

These activities include evaluations, presentations at board meetings, formal written communication to the school leadership and board, site visits, data review and analysis, and informal feedback.

Our Team

Leadership

Cynthia Gonzalez, Office of Educational Opportunity (OEO) Director

Advisory Council  

The OEO Advisory Council meets quarterly or as needed to advise the OEO Director on:  

• Operational Policies  
• Budget Development  
• Charter School Application Process and Criteria  
• Charter School Monitoring Functions  
• Charter School Evaluation Process and Criteria  
• Universities of Wisconsin Policy and Procedures  

• Relationships with Outside Agencies  
• UW Campus relationships: interfacing with the programs and research assets of each campus, including its educator preparation programs. 

Membership  

Members are drawn from the following Universities of Wisconsin units:

1. The Division of Academic and Student Affairs;
2. The Office of Government Relations;
3. The Office of Financial Administration; and
4. The Office of Public Affairs, Communications, & Branding.

Members serve for 2 years and may be reappointed by the OEO Director. The Advisory Council also receives legal advice and support from the Office of General Counsel

Application Review Committee  

Members of the Review Committee follow a specified process for evaluating the application and collectively determining its merit as a Universities of Wisconsin charter school. As a committee, members: 

• Members will participate in training on conducting application reviews.
• Members will independently read, evaluate, and participate in capacity interviews for each assigned application. 

• Members will collectively provide recommendations and feedback to the OEO director regarding the approval or non-approval for each assigned application based upon the criteria outlined in the Rubric.
• The OEO director presents recommendation(s) to the President of Universities of Wisconsin, the President of Universities of Wisconsin has the final approval of each application.

Membership  

The OEO solicits the participation of highly qualified individuals from diverse educational, professional, and cultural backgrounds, who work in various education fields. The OEO solicits and appoints individuals with expertise in at least one of the following areas, but not limited to: 

High-Quality Charter School Start-Up and Expansion	Food Services, facilities, and student health
School Assessment and Evaluation	School operations
Curriculum and Instruction	Legal requirements and Procedures
School Leadership	Special Education
Charter School Authorizing	Community Outreach/Engagement
Board Governance and Oversight	Multilingual Education
Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion	Post-secondary Opportunities
Charter School Planning, Program Design, and Implementation	School Finance

For each application received, at least five (5) members will be assigned to each application. At least one member of the Advisory Council and at least four (4) members of the community from rolling committee list. When a member of the Advisory Council is unable to review applications, the OEO director will seek an additional member from the Application Review Committee. The OEO director will assign members applications based on the area of need for each application and upon the availability of members. Members serve for the duration of the application review cycle, with the specific period specified by the OEO director. 

Public Charter Schools authorized by the Office of Educational Opportunity (OEO) are accountable to the students, families, and communities they serve, the State of Wisconsin, the OEO and the Department of Public Instruction. 

Oversight

The fundamental responsibility of the Office of Educational Opportunity (OEO) is to ensure quality charter school oversight that maintains high standards of school performance, upholds school autonomy, and safeguards student and public interests. 

The OEO holds schools accountable for charter contract goals regarding student outcomes and performance. This includes standardized assessments and school data, independent financial audits, in addition to regular school-level reporting on progress including strategic plans and progress reports, budgets, policies, staff/parent feedback, student enrollment, and demographic information. The OEO also collects qualitative data during the year through formal and informal school visits, classroom and board meeting observations, and communication with staff, parents, and (where appropriate) students.   

The OEO is in regular communication with school leaders and board members to address concerns and provide updates. The OEO also uses formal notice and may direct corrective actions when schools are not meeting requirements—including revocation of authorization. Reference the OEO Oversight Handbookpdf  for oversight and evaluation guidelines. 

Ultimately, OEO evaluates a school’s progress during the term of the charter contract that leads to a summative evaluation used for renewal. 

Evaluation Measures – Performance Framework

The Office of Educational Opportunity (OEO) has the responsibility of ensuring that all OEO-authorized charter schools provide high quality education for the students they serve. The OEO uses its Performance Framework and its indicators as the accountability mechanism that sets academic, fiscal, and organizational standards. 

The Performance Framework is used to:  

• Provide clear guidance about how the charter school and the OEO define charter school success; 
• Provide the charter school leaders and board with data sources used to evaluate the school in each component (academic, fiscal, and organizational); 
• Guide the completion of the Performance Framework yearly report; 
• Provide differentiated oversight based on each school’s performance of interventions; 
• Provide comprehensive information for data-driven charter renewal decisions;  
• Ensure that all charter schools authorized by the OEO provide their students with a high-quality public education; 
• Preserve operational and programmatic autonomy of the charter school. 

The Performance Framework is dynamic and subject to continuous review and improvement based on changes in federal and state laws, state accountability, and improved authorizer policies and practices. Pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 118.40(3m)(e), the Performance Framework is used to assess school performance on an annual basis. As a result, OEO schools are currently under three Performance Frameworks. The OEO looks forward to consolidating all schools into one Performance Framework in the near future. 

• Performance Framework #1  
• Performance Framework #2  
• Performance Framework #3 

Charter school leaders and their respective boards are encouraged to refer to the Performance Framework on a continuing basis to inform planning and as a means of self-assessing the overall health and viability of their school throughout the charter term. The OEO collects and provides information on performance against the indicators through analysis of data submitted by the school and publicly available data. 

Wisconsin Charter School Authorizer Annual Report

Wisconsin statute requires charter school authorizers to submit to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and to the legislature an annual report containing information on charter schools currently under contract, contract renewals, nonrenewal, revocations, new contracts, performance of charter schools, authorizer operating costs, and services provided to charter schools.   

2023-2024 OEO Annual Report

Translating hope for recovery into a daily reality.

Unlike residential treatment programs, which may include educational services but primarily emphasize mental health recovery, recovery schools are traditional high schools (e.g. non-residential) that add substance abuse recovery support services into student’s daily lives. Recovery schools operate across the country, but Wisconsin currently has only one privately operated school – Horizon’s High in Madison.
For the purposes of the pilot funded by Wisconsin 2017 Act 30, a school must meet all of the following conditions to be eligible for authorization by the Office of Educational Opportunity (OEO):

• Be located anywhere in the state of Wisconsin.
• Serve up to 15 high school students annually.
• Provide coursework that meets Wisconsin diploma requirements, as well as provide recovery support services.
• Charge no admission for students attending the school.
• Not determine admission based on insurance coverage for substance abuse recovery because admission to and ongoing enrollment in the school may only be limited by three factors: (1) a student being sober for at least 30 days prior to admission; (2) an ongoing commitment to recovery; and (3) consent to random drug testing.

Additional information on the school will be provided in Technical Assistance Sessions upon request.

Recovery School Application

To apply, email your completed application to Cynthia Gonzalez, Director of the Office of Educational Opportunity.

• Recovery School Application.docx

Selection Process

Recovery School applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until a school is selected and contract negotiations are finalized.
Responses will be scored by the Recovery School Selection Committee, which is composed of the following members:

• Cynthia Gonzalez, Office of Educational Opportunity
• Vacant, Office of Academic and Student Affairs, UW System
• Jenny Malcore, Wisconsin Department of Health Services
• Skye Tikkakan, Connections Counseling
• Adrienne Wood, UW-Milwaukee Charter Office Director

Committee members will use the Recovery School Response Reviewer Guide.pdf  to score responses and make a recommendation for either authorization of a school or rejection of an application.
A majority of committee members must recommend authorization for the Director to consider entering into contract negotiations for authorization.  A recommendation for authorization from the committee is not binding on the Director, but he may not revive a proposal rejected by a majority of the selection committee.
If the Director agrees with a recommendation for authorization, contract negotiations will commence.

Background

After nearly unanimous support from the Wisconsin State Legislature, 2017 Wisconsin Act 30 directs the Office of Educational Opportunity (OEO) to solicit applications for a pilot substance abuse recovery high school.
In response to this legislative opportunity, OEO drafted a Recovery School Request for Proposals (RFP).
The Recovery School RFP was drafted based on guidance from the National Association of Charter School Authorizers best practices, resources from the Association of Recovery Schools, and input from a drafting committee composed of representatives from traditional school districts, public charter schools, recovery school experts, recovery community advocates, public health officials, and elected officials from both major political parties.
OEO issued the Recovery School RFP on August 2, 2017, in order to authorize a school needed by students, families, and communities across Wisconsin.
The first application submission period was August 2, 2017, through December 2, 2017.

Success Defined

The state-funded pilot will operate for four years. If the school is successfully operating, then it is the OEO’s intention to spin the pilot school out from our portfolio to be directly managed by a traditional public school district, a consortium of school districts via contracts or a CESA, a local unit of government, or a private operator. Applicants are strongly encouraged to strategically partner in order to use the pilot as an incubator for a school that will operate independently of OEO as additional legislative approval would be required for continued management by OEO in year five and beyond.
If a successful school is incubated, then in keeping with the tradition of the Wisconsin Idea, OEO will provide technical assistance and support to individuals and organizations who want to create recovery school opportunities in their communities.