School Development

School Development

Highmark does much more than facility development. As experienced education professionals, we work alongside school boards, school leadership, finance managers, and teachers to assess the capacity of an organization and guide it on the journey toward academic and operational success, long-term financial health, and sustainability – all to ensure schools are creating environments where children can learn and grow.

Our Work

School Development

We partner with schools to develop plans in the areas of academics, finance, governance, and operations so that they can deliver quality academics, sustainable financials, and a governing board aligned with the mission of the school.

  • Governance training and board recruitment
  • Succession planning
  • School expansion/replication affordability analysis
  • Facility usage optimization
  • Budget development and financial analysis
  • Marketing, community engagement, and student recruitment
  • Academic growth and instructional coaching

Authorizer and Association Support

We assist authorizers and associations seeking to boost school support and augment staffing during peak work periods.

  • Budget and projection analysis
  • Customized in-person and webinar training for all stages of charter school growth and development
  • Coaching and intervention
  • Charter board preparation and interviews
  • Charter application review and scoring

Risk Assessment and Management

We provide performance oversight to investors and charter authorizers to ensure schools are viable and high-quality.

  • Facility affordability and pro forma analysis
  • Pre-investment school and facility underwriting
  • Proactive asset protection and risk mitigation
  • Performance monitoring and reporting
  • Default intervention

Our How

We understand that school challenges are complex and nuanced.

One-size solutions do not fit all. We customize services to help our partners overcome obstacles and achieve better outcomes.

We’re eager to help you advance your organization. Reach out to us by email or call us at 801.256.9550

Our first step is to get to know you and your organization. We’ll meet with you to dive deep into your key objectives, obstacles, and timelines. Together, we’ll assess strengths and areas of concerns. Once we have gained a deep understanding, we’ll formalize our collaborative work to improve the viability, sustainability, and growth of your school.

Our Team

We are driven by a deep commitment to ensuring that all students have access to a great education.

Our hands-on education and school experience includes strategic school development, founding board leadership, policy development, operational improvement and procedural systems development, teaching, academic programming, school expansion and replication, and professional charter policy and advocacy organization management, and more.

Our team combines a variety of professional experience in business, marketing, non-profit management, school operations, instruction, accounting, and school finance. Collectively, Highmark’s education consultants have been serving the education space for nearly four decades in 18 states and the District of Columbia.

Our Why

We believe our work helps schools create environments where children can learn and grow, where students can realize their full potential. We recognize the importance of collaboration and trust to drive the best outcomes. We are passionate about making a significant impact on the lives of students, teachers, school leaders, and communities.