Through a collaboration between the Opus College of Business’ Center for Business Excellence (CBE) and Center for Nonprofit Management (CNM), the University of St. Thomas has been selected as the only college or university in Minnesota to receive certification by the state Department of Education to provide leadership-development training for board members of the state’s charter schools.
A recently enacted state law requires all board members for all 152 of the state’s charter schools to receive training in three critical leadership areas – board governance, financial oversight, and employment matters. UST is one of only nine approved training providers statewide and one of only three providers approved to deliver training in all three of the mandated areas. More information about this new law’s training requirements can be found at the Minnesota Department of Education website.
The first charter school in the nation opened in Minnesota in 1992. Today, the state’s charter schools serve more than 35,000 students, according to the state Department of Education.
The collaboration between CBE and CNM provides charter school board members with the option of obtaining their leadership-development education from a respected university whose knowledgeable instructors have expertise in all three of the mandated training areas. In addition, St. Thomas can offer charter school board members unmatched statewide reach since educational programs can be delivered on the UST campus as well as at other locations across Minnesota.
For more information about the university’s leadership-development programs for charter school board members, contact Margie Siegel, (651) 962-4291, in the Center for Business Excellence, or Ann Johnson, (651) 962.4300, in the Center for Nonprofit Management .
