RiSE: Reimagining School Excellence
Mapping the future of charter school performance and accountability in Philadelphia
At the direction of the Board of Education and led by the Charter Schools Office, RiSE is a multi-year process to revise and reimagine the Charter School Performance Framework—our system for evaluating how our charter schools serve our students and their families.
Working in service to the more than 64,000 children educated in our charter schools and guided by our sector’s commitment to advancing student achievement, student experience, and student wellbeing, RiSE is our opportunity to raise the level of accountability and achievement in order to provide a public education that prepares our students to imagine and realize any future they desire.
RiSE Framework
The current framework has served us well, but education must continually evolve to meet the changing needs of constituents.
RiSE will build on the existing framework by:
- Putting high-quality education within reach of all students
- Improving transparency and communication with school leaders and their Board
- Providing more frequent, accurate, and reliable data to guide decision-making
- Equipping families to make informed choices about their child’s education
- Holding all charter schools to ambitious standards
- Continuing to align with state law and Board of Education goals
RiSE Commitments & Checkpoints
On behalf of the Board of Education, the Charter Schools Office oversees over 80 schools, serving over 60,000 students and families. This work must be done with intention and care, inclusive of all key stakeholders and communities, and in accordance with state law.
Having kicked off at the top of the 2024-2025 school year, RiSE is a multi-year process that will result in an updated performance framework that will be piloted at the start of the 2027-2028 school year.
Timeline
- Phase 1 (2024-2025)
Stakeholder Engagement - Phase 2 (2025-2026)
Designing of Updated Framework - Phase 3 (2026-2027)
Introduction of New Framework to School Leaders - Phase 4 (2027-2028)
Preliminary Implementation of Framework
Why Now?
Originally developed in 2012, the Charter School Performance Framework has measured school success by assessing academic achievement, organizational compliance, and financial sustainability. These three key components reflect the feedback of charter schools, education research, and national standards for charter authorizing. When taken together, they give the Charter Schools Office and the Board of Education a good snapshot of what is happening inside of our schools.
Over the last seven years of implementation, our charter schools’ leaders and their Boards have shared valuable feedback regarding the three framework components, including perceived limitations. We have listened to our schools’ leaders and their Boards who say that the system works, but that our current way of measuring school performance has areas for improvement.
Charter schools exist on the promise of providing strong academic options for all families. While the current Charter School Performance Framework remains in place, Project RiSE will reconfigure our system of charter school accountability and reimagine how we measure success over the next few years.
The current framework has served our children well for the better part of a decade. We now have the opportunity—with the help of our charter school leaders, charter school Board members, and city stakeholders—to create an updated framework that will inform the next decade and beyond.
FAQs
Why is the Charter School Office and Board of Education revising the accountability system?
The current process for charter school evaluation is transparent and in accordance with state guidelines that have been set before us. We must, however, continue building and improving upon the current framework in order to set our children up for lifelong success.
When will RiSE be implemented?
The Charter Schools Office and Board of Education are working towards preliminary implementation at the start of the 2027-2028 school year.
What stakeholders are involved in this process?
The first phase of RiSE involved deep stakeholder engagement including a series of focus groups with charter school leaders and their Board as they know their schools better than anyone else and the success of this process truly relies on their input. This is accompanied by conversations with education partners and city stakeholders, the Board of Education, and the Charter Schools Office about the purpose of the framework revisions and how these revisions will contribute to student achievement. All of this information has been used to create a formal request for proposals to identify a vendor or vendors that can help assess the Framework and update it where needed.
Will the external partners you engage to create the new framework be from Philadelphia?
The external partners selected to support this work will need to demonstrate a track record of success in understanding the needs of our charter schools and designing systems and supports for our students.
How will this updated accountability system impact students’ ability to enroll in charter schools?
Like the current Framework, the updated version of the Framework will enhance our oversight of charter schools to ensure that all students, regardless of where they live in Philadelphia or what their needs may be, have a fair opportunity to access charter schools.
Will this updated accountability system lead to any charter school closures?
Charter schools operate on the promise that they will provide a safe, inclusive learning environment that gives all students equal access to success. All charter school options must be great options for our families. The updated accountability system that results from RiSE will provide a clear understanding of our rigorous standards for charter schools and will allow the Board of Education to hold charter schools accountable.
Why will this take so long?
The work of revising the current Charter School Framework must be thoughtful and intentional as the outcome impacts well over 60,000 families and thousands of individuals who power our more than 80 schools.
What will happen to the current standards?
The current framework and standards will be kept in place up to and until the time when the new standards can be implemented. Charter schools will be held to current standards until then. Some aspects of the current framework – particularly those in compliance with state law – will be present in the updated set of standards.
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