Apply to be a Peer Reviewer

Join Great Schools Colorado as a Peer Reviewer

Peer reviewers from around the country are invited to join Great Schools Colorado in evaluating charter school grant applications in the current and future competitions. Applications are now open [pdf available & downloads to your computer]

Program Purpose

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The Charter School Program Grant is a federally supported grant intended to support the demand for alternatives to existing public school options in Colorado through the Great Schools Colorado project by supporting the creation of high-quality charter school seats in communities with interest in alternative models that better meet the needs of students. The program is designed with two main objectives: increase the number of high-quality charter school seats in Colorado and improve the overall quality of Colorado’s charter school sector across the state. Approximately $16 million is available for the first year of the five-year grant. 

Desired Areas of Expertise

It is preferred that reviewers are thoroughly familiar with Colorado’s education system and have experience with charter school authorization, assessment, and evaluation, as well as charter school development or leadership. Also preferred experience in high-quality charter school start-up and expansion. 

Expectations of Reviewers

Diverse teams of reviewers will be selected based on their experience, grant application type, proposed school models, and absence of real or perceived conflicts.

Before being assigned applications for scoring, peer reviewers will attend training sessions highlighting four objectives, including how the GSC project was designed to broaden students' access to high-quality learning opportunities. Applications will be reviewed in teams of three, and each team will be assigned approximately three applications for review during a given cycle.

Reviewers will read and assess their assigned applications individually and then collaborate with their team members to determine a consensus score and feedback for each application. The League will then debrief each team to finalize scores, feedback, and funding recommendations. The honorarium payment is $1000.

Conflicts of Interest

If you are unsure if a conflict of interest will preclude your participation, please let us know, and we can help determine whether you are still eligible to participate, whether that means recusing yourself from specific applications, regions, etc. Interested parties may be ineligible to serve as reviewers if they:

  • Have assisted in the preparation of an application in this competition or are employed by an eligible applicant who intends to apply or has already applied for this current competition.
  • Have agreed to serve as an employee or consultant, agreed to provide assistance or advice to an applicant otherwise, or have been offered an opportunity to do so and have not yet accepted or declined, based on whether a grant is awarded.
  • Have a personal financial interest affected by the outcome of this grant competition.

COMMITMENT TIMELINE

  • May 2nd Reviewers notified of acceptance. Week of May 9th training. 
  • Weeks of May 12th and 19th reviewing approximately three applications.
  • Scores due and facilitated team discussions remotely via video/phone conferencing by May 28th. Team discussion sessions are anticipated to run 1.5 hours or less per team.
  • Exact scheduling to be determined.

Tell a Friend or Colleague!

If you know someone with the appropriate qualifications who would be interested in this review opportunity, you are encouraged to share this page with them.

How to Make Your Interest Known

If you are available and interested in participating in this review process, please complete a short interest form below regarding your experience and availability as soon as possible. This is the first step in selecting reviewers. Responding with your interest does not guarantee your participation. Responses after the deadline will be considered for reviewer alternates, should the need arise.

Confirmation of Reviewers

Reviewers are selected based on their relevant qualifications and the number of grant applications received. Those selected will be contacted with additional information no later than May 2nd, 2025.

For questions, please contact Bright Homawoo at [email protected] or (303) 989-5356 x108.

APPLICATION

The Colorado League of Charter Schools was awarded $68 million to administer annual sub-grant competitions from 2024 through 2029. The competitive grant, referred to as the Great Schools Colorado (GSC) project, provides grant funds and technical assistance for up to five years to new, replicating, and expanding charter schools across all of Colorado. To learn more information about the CSP-GSC Program Grant and upcoming competition, please visit https://greatschoolscolorado.org and/or send inquiries via email to [email protected]

The GSC sub-grant designates funds for awards during the 2024-25 year for school developers representing both the New School application process and the Replication/Expansion School application process. Both competitions are scored against the same categories with parallel selection criteria and the same number of points. Fundable applications from both competitions will be combined after scoring and ranked from highest total score to lowest. Awards will then be issued, beginning with the highest scoring, and will continue until all available funds are awarded.

Reviewers play an essential role in ensuring the development of quality charter schools in Colorado, and we hope that you will consider being a part of this vital work. Volunteer grant reviewers will agree to participate in a two-part training (pre-recorded and live in-person or virtual settings), identify/report any conflict(s) of interest, read and assess assigned applications individually, consult with the review team to debrief, compile feedback, and final scores, and attend a reviewer/team checkout meeting scheduled by appointment. The application review process for the GSC subgrant begins and ends in May 2025. Prospective reviewers agreeing to participate will be contacted in follow-up to verify availability once all interest forms are received.