Overview

Members Forum

INCS School Supports

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INCS offers a variety of School Supports programs, addressing both Educational/Practice programs and Operational/Administrative programs.

All of our programs are created in direct response to member requests and needs. INCS strives to give you access to the best national practices and models, and to enable you to collaborate and exchange ideas with your charter peers and other public schools.

Educational/Practice Support

Providing effective Special Education services is a critical concern for our members. Therefore, INCS is developing a variety of resources to support schools in offering effective programming, including:

• Training for charter teachers on school-based problem solving and inclusion methods (to be launched in the fall of 2006).
• Special education forms, guidelines, and templates located in the new INCS Members Forum.
• A Resume Bank of Special Ed teachers and resource staff. Currently in development, this will ultimately be housed on the INCS Members Forum.
• Advocacy for equity in the special education funding formula.

INCS is also helping schools investigate Using Data to Inform Instruction. We are facilitating conversations with all Illinois charter schools on improving how charters collect student data and apply it to instruction. See our Calendar for upcoming event details.

Through our co-sponsorship of the Chicago Schools Alliance, INCS is enabling a group of schools to conduct deep, school-based research into educational best practices. Other INCS members can learn from and incorporate these practices as they are refined.

Operational/Administrative Support

INCS provides a range of Legal and Regulatory Compliance Support, including information and resources as well as training and legal assistance.

• INCS member schools can access free legal services through a partnership with the Community Economic Development Law Project. For details, visit the Members Forum.
• A variety of regulatory forms and templates are located in the INCS Members Forum’s Online Resource Library.
• INCS hosts regular seminars, providing in-depth discussion and training on critical issues like Labor and Employment Law, Special Education, and Retirement Benefits planning.

INCS has also responded to member requests for assistance in managing Human Capital.

• Recruiting support: INCS maintains a Job Postings website for member schools to post jobs and hosts an annual job fair. We're also developing a Resume Bank for Special Ed teachers and support staff.
• Board development: INCS recruits, trains, and matches volunteers with charter school boards on an ongoing basis. INCS also offers resources and training for existing charter boards. For more information about volunteering as a charter board member, visit our section on Board Development.

INCS also offers resources for Financial Planning and Budgeting.

• A confidential, statistically rigorous annual Fiscal & Operational Benchmarking analysis has been created exclusively for INCS members. This can be used for strategic planning, budgeting and organizational design management, and is based on concrete, comprehensive information about how your schools’ finances and operations compare to those of other Illinois charters.
• Our new Vendor Referral Network (VRN) will be an exclusive, one-stop source of vendor information and reviews. Note: the VRN will launch in late 2006.