Great Schools for Nevada Charter School Grant Program

Great Schools for Nevada

Great Schools for Nevada, facilitated by Opportunity 180 through the federal Charter School Program (CSP) Grant, supports the launch and expansion of high-quality public charter schools across Nevada. The program provides funding and technical assistance to innovative leaders and proven school models that expand access to education for students statewide.

The Great Schools for Nevada project has two objectives:

Expand Charter Schools

Increase the number of high-quality charter schools serving high-need communities and educationally disadvantaged student populations.

Academic Leaders

Position Nevada’s charter sector as a leader in authorizing quality and academic performance.

Grant Impact

Million

Five-year grant and the largest U.S. Department of Education grant to a Nevada nonprofit, according to USAspending.gov

Total Grants

13 for new schools, 10 to replicate proven & high-quality schools from established school models, and 4 expansions for existing local models with a track record of sustained success

Estimated Seats

Total estimated “seats” at schools served by the grant

What is the Charter School Program (CSP) – State Entities Grant?

Funds flow from the federal government to states, which award sub-grants to schools opening, expanding, or replicating high-quality charter models.
Supports new school launches, helping leaders prepare for operations, governance, and success.
Shares best practices and provides technical assistance to schools and authorizers on preparing for opening, operations, replicating and expanding successful school concepts, and fiscal oversight and auditing of charter schools.
Improves accountability by strengthening authorizer capacity for fiscal, operational, and academic performance audits.

How The Grant Works

Schools apply for the CSP grant through Opportunity 180’s competitive annual grant cycle.
Through an independent reviewer process, applications are scored. Awards of up to $2 million per applying school per cycle are awarded to sub-grantees (schools) with the highest-quality applications to launch, replicate, and expand charter schools.
Technical assistance is provided to eligible applicants.
Opportunity 180’s grants team monitors sub-grantees for fiscal, operational, and academic performance, with sub-grantees submitting reports and providing status updates quarterly.
90% of sub-grantees will enroll educationally disadvantaged students at or above district average of enrollment.

Elevating the Ecosystem

Opportunity 180 will also host workshops, webinars, and fellowships to provide technical assistance, share best practices, and enhance collaboration among authorizers of charter schools, sub-grantees, district schools, and the broader education community in Nevada.

Long-Term Grant Goals

Graduation Rates

Four-year graduation rates for economically disadvantaged students and students with disabilities attending charter schools exceed statewide averages.

Academic Achievement

Economically disadvantaged students and students with disabilities outperform their peers by 5-8% on the SBAC exam.

Star Ratings

The number of sub-grantees with a 3-star rating or higher on the Nevada State Performance Framework exceeds statewide averages.

Authorizers

Progressively higher scores on the Nevada Department of Education evaluations

Knowledge Sharing

Progressively higher scores on the Nevada Department of Education evaluations

What Are Public Charter Schools?

Free, public, and open to all students

Charter schools are part of the public education system and have served students for more than 30 years.

Innovative and community-driven

They have flexibility to design learning models that meet their students’ unique needs.

Accountable to families and taxpayers

In exchange for autonomy, charter schools must meet rigorous academic, financial, and operational performance standards.

Focused on student success

Each school operates under an authorizer that ensures quality and results.