‘Charter School Champion’ award winner

Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools (FCPCS) drives statewide awards program to honor 25 ‘Charter School Champions of the Year,’ including San Jose Support in Jacksonville

San Jose Support won the award in the category of “Florida Champion Charter School Preferred Partner.” Its state-level award is one of 25 presented in June 2022 by the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools (FCPCS), the leading charter school membership association in the state.

For the ninth year, FCPCS received nominations in several categories, including charter school teachers, charter school leaders, charter school governing board members, charter school innovators, charter school pioneers and charter school preferred partners. 

“The Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools is proud to honor so many of our outstanding charter school teachers, leaders, pioneers, innovators, preferred partners and governing board members,” said Robert Haag, FCPCS President. “They represent the very best individuals who are working as part of the Florida charter school movement.”

San Jose Support provides behind-the-scenes support and expertise for Jacksonville charter schools that include San Jose Primary (gr. K-5 in Mandarin), San Jose Prep (gr. 6-12 in Mandarin), San Jose Cyber (gr. K-12 online school) and San Jose Early College at Cecil (gr. 9-12). 

The nonprofit organization launched in 2020 to better structure, manage and operate innovative educational initiatives. It builds public-private partnerships, develops a network of preferred vendors, streamlines management needs, leads expansion projects for its member schools and shares knowledge with charter schools outside of its immediate network. 

San Jose Support also provides services to contract and private schools if an institution’s needs fit the expertise of its talented team. Examples of these include the Padawan Academy, which is a private preschool serving infants through VPK in Mandarin, and the Horizon Institute, which is a public-private partnership in alternative education. The Horizon Institute enrolls students who are two or more grade levels behind their age in Duval County. This school grew to more than 990 students at three locations in its first year of operation. At least 100 students will graduate with Florida-approved high school diplomas June 2022 at the first annual graduation ceremony. 

“We are proud of the work we are doing in education,” says San Jose Support CEO Alan Hall, Ed.D. “One example of how San Jose Support has made a difference in this past school year was related to the health of our students and staff. At the start of the 2021-22 school year, when we knew that COVID-19 would remain a challenge, our team sought creative solutions that would minimize the spread of COVID-19 among students and staff.”

San Jose Support employed a certified COVID-19 manager who also heads the HR Department. It built and managed COVID-19 dashboards on all of its schools’ websites starting August 27, 2021 – before other charter schools in Northeast Florida were doing so – because transparency was the critical first step. By January 2022, San Jose Support was able to locate a plentiful supply of COVID-19 tests and hire a school nurse who could implement on-site tests at no charge for students (with parental permission) and staff members. The nurse remains able to serve students and adults at each of our member schools with drive-up and in-person testing. 

“The coordination and expense would have been prohibitive for a single school,” says Dr. Hall. “But San Jose Support could pool resources and expertise to get the job done efficiently and effectively. We did it because it was the right thing to do. That’s how we approach the work we do to support charter schools in all areas of management and operations.”

The Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools (FCPCS) is the leading charter school membership association in the state, with a membership of nearly 75 percent of all operating charter schools. Since its inception in 1999, FCPCS has been dedicated to creating a national model of high quality, accredited public charter schools that are student-centered and performance-driven. FCPCS provides a wide array of technical support, mentoring, training, networking, and purchasing services to its membership, as well as serving as an advocate for all Florida public charter schools.