Where do we need to be by October 2026: 1500-2000 leads

Where were we last month: 1160

Where we are this month:1210 leads

Current enrollment funnel: 1,210 prospective family leads. To achieve our Year 1 goal of 260 applications, we need to convert approximately 22% of our existing lead pool into completed applications. Based on charter and higher education enrollment benchmarks, this is an attainable target with a strong, high-touch conversion strategy

Board Action: Know your network. Every conversation this summer is a potential October application.

Next Steps: 

Information Sessions- Starting at the end of July 

Volunteer program to help keep these leads warm

Applications will open in October 2026

Events around it: Fall Festival

Our Fall Festival is designed to play the long game. We want it to become a signature event that our community looks forward to each year, where giving back and building relationships go hand in hand with enrollment. Families will leave not only with a completed application, but with a clear understanding of why C.R. Neal Academy is the right choice for their child and a sense that they are already part of our school community

What we envision today: 

4-9 Monday- Friday 

What we will need: 

Board members to sign up for a shift,

Come and help families with the applications and talking about the school

Help locate sponsors that can donate items for the festival 

I will be reaching out for folks to help with this initiative 

Three-Sector Pipeline Strategy & School Positioning

The Opportunity

At the Rooted Network Retreat, the team connected with healthcare professionals benefitting from Bloomberg Philanthropies investments of $20M+. Bloomberg's model centers on a deliberate three-sector pipeline and C.R. Neal Academy is positioned to be exactly the kind of coalition they want to fund.

Bloomberg's Three-Sector Pipeline

• K–12 — Healthcare-pathway schools (e.g., Uplift Heights Healthcare Institute) embedding clinical exposure and health science careers directly into high school. C.R. Neal Academy is built in that same tradition.

• Healthcare Systems — Health systems that serve as community anchors: building direct pipelines with schools and universities, mentorship, clinical experience, and a pathway to a more diverse, locally grown workforce. A partner like Prisma Health is not additive it is essential.

• Higher Education — University partners that receive these students, track outcomes, and close the loop back into the community.

What This Means for Us

• Healthcare partners will support us in a consulting capacity to position C.R. Neal Academy and Prisma Health for a partnership of this scope.

• We are in conversation with Dr. Bobby Donaldson (USC History Department) about turning our school walls into a passive museum, honoring Dr. Matilda Evans in our healthcare wing and celebrating Columbia's historic Black Wall Street. This transforms our hallways into living curriculum.

T. Delloue will provide a brief update on ESMA status and the upcoming authorizer contract milestones.

For board members who have not been part of building a school from the ground up, this is your orientation to the process.

• A timeline of major milestones from now through construction close-out.

• The behind-the-scenes work happening between each board meeting.

• Tentative groundbreaking: October 2026 — aligned with our application window opening.

• Active work streams: SCDOT traffic flow planning, CBRE Phase 1 ESA, title commitment (Baker Donelson), pre-opening conditions with VCIL.

Breaking Ground: October 2026

Committee Participation Expectations

• Each board member should serve on one primary committee and may be asked to support another committee as needed.
• Committees will meet between regular board meetings and bring recommendations back to the full board for action.
• The Facilities Advisory Group functions differently from the standing committees, serving primarily as an advisory body that receives presentations from architects, construction partners, and facilities experts before reporting recommendations to the board.

If there are questions about the committee, we asked you to serve on, please feel free to follow up via email. 

Board Recruitment- Chaired by the Governance Committee: 

We Are Actively Searching For Board Members With:

• Healthcare experience — to deepen credibility in our sector-defining partnership conversations.

• Manufacturing experience — to strengthen our career pathway and workforce development work.

• Finance and fundraising experience — specifically to fill our open Treasurer seat.

Board Action: Who do you know? Make introductions to Chair Jackson or Lalah Radney.

One position open and vacant

Treasurer-

• Next year's National Charter School Conference (NCSC) will be held in Columbus, Ohio.

June 24-26

• Board members are encouraged to attend, put the dates on your calendar now.

• NCSC is where the national charter sector gathers and where we've made connections that directly shaped this school's model.