View Resource: Mastery Renaissance Project Contract
Contract between Camden school district (authorizer) and Mastery schools (operator) outlines performance expectations, student enrollment requirements, data sharing, and facilities. Contract language was consistent for all renaissance school projects. Although the three operators (KIPP, Mastery, Uncommon) selected by Camden for Renaissance Schools Projects were each charter management organizations (CMOs), the restart schools opened by these operators were contract schools, not charter schools, that operate under a renewable, ten-year operational agreement. The Camden contract provides a useful example of conditions that allowed CMOs to operate restart schools under a contract (vs. charter) with the District and State.
Outcomes and Lessons Learned: The contract has been a highly successful partnership component of the district’s work with renaissance schools. The contract itself enabled the district to ensure that renaissance schools truly functioned as community schools, for instance, while also setting clear parameters around the operational relationship between two different LEAs.