Charter School Authorizer

The City of Henderson is authorized to oversee charter schools within its municipal boundaries. Committed to high-quality authorizing practices, we actively engage with the latest research and developments in the field to strengthen its capacity and apply best practices. As a member of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, we participate in ongoing professional development and collaborates with authorizers nationwide.

First Charter School Approved

We are excited to share that Kesher Academy was approved as a charter school operator during the August 5, 2025 City Council meeting.

As a charter school authorizer, we're excited to expand educational opportunities for Henderson families. Our thorough and rigorous application process ensures that the charter schools we authorize to operate in our City will be held to high standards—providing our community with accountable, responsive and high-quality educational options. We support giving families more choices to find the best learning environment for their children.

Resources

Why the City of Henderson?

Local Focus and Community Alignment: Henderson's local authorizing office allows charter schools to align more closely with community needs and priorities. Local oversight may better reflect Henderson’s demographic, educational, and social requirements—fostering partnerships tailored to the City’s specific context. This proximity could enable quicker responses to local issues and opportunities

Enhanced Flexibility and Autonomy: By sponsoring through the City, charter schools can experience a more streamlined approval process and potentially more adaptable governance structures.

Opportunity to Influence and Participate in a New System: As a new charter school authorizer, Henderson is designing establishing and shaping its authorizer framework, processes and policies. The City is interested in working with schools to help tailor its authorizing services to help schools grow stronger and faster via a well- designed authorizing division.

Direct Connections with City Services that Support School Communities: Partnering with the City of Henderson authorizer enables schools to integrate more easily with City programs and services, such as local transportation, community centers, and workforce development initiatives—and increase connections with local leaders. This can enable faster partnerships with local leaders beneficial to your students and families as we’re all part of the Henderson team.

Schools applying now may have opportunities to influence these early-stage design and authorizing frameworks and benefit from fresh, innovative approaches to charter school sponsorship

Increased Visibility and Local Support: Being part of a smaller, focused municipal authorizer can give your charter school greater visibility among residents, businesses, and local government, which may translate into better community support and resources

Direct connections to current information and research: The City of Henderson values high quality charter school authorizing practices and aims to stay connected to the latest information and research in the field to continually build capacity and implement best practices. The City maintains membership in the National Association of Charter School Authorizers and participates in professional development opportunities and connections with authorizers across the country.

Community Meeting support

Enrollment Marketing information support

Please visit our City's Strategic Plan for information on our City's goals.

Timeline

To be eligible to submit a 2025 Charter Application to Form a Charter School for a school beginning in the fall of 2026, applicants must submit a Notice of Intent (per NRS 388A.225, NAC 388A.260 aka Letter of intent per NAC 388A.125): By January 30, 2025
Application Submission: April 15—30, 2025
Capacity Interviews: June 2—5, 2025
City of Henderson Staff Recommendation to City Council: July 28, 2025
City of Henderson Decision: August 5, 2025

*Timeline Subject to Change - Reference the 2025 Charter School Application for more details

Academic Needs

Pursuant to NRS 388A.249(2)(c), the City of Henderson must, in evaluating the application, "consider the degree to which the proposed charter school will address the needs identified" in the "evaluation of the demographic information of pupils, the academic needs of pupils and the needs of any pupils who are at risk of dropping out of school in the geographic areas served by the sponsor" NRS 388A.220(6). Additionally, in accordance with NRS 388A.249(3)(c) the City of Henderson may only approve an application to form a charter school if, in addition to meeting other requirements, the proposed charter school will address one or more of the "needs identified" in the NRS 388A.220(6) evaluation.

Application Documents

Application

Attachments

Applications Submitted

Founders Classical Academy of Henderson

Kesher Academy

Pioneer Technology & Arts Academy - Henderson

Signature Preparatory: West

Note: Following the capacity interviews applicants were asked to provide some limited clarifications and resubmit written documentation as needed. Those revisions are reflected in the documents above and labeled as revised.

History of Henderson and Charter Schools

To meet the evolving needs of our community, the City of Henderson Charter Sponsoring Division (CSD) aims to cultivate premier learning environments that empower every student to be well-prepared for success, enhancing the quality of life for all who live, play, and work in Henderson.

Through innovative education practices, strong systems of accountability, community engagement, and a commitment to developing well rounded individuals, we aim to foster a thriving and inclusive educational ecosystem where every student can fulfill their potential.

The City of Henderson, Nevada, is a thriving community with 359,000 residents, including more than 75,000 children under the age of 18. Known for its blend of small-town values and big-city efficiencies, Henderson is committed to providing diverse educational opportunities to meet the needs of its growing population.

Rapid growth in recent decades has challenged local schools to keep pace with demand, prompting the City to support the expansion of public charter schools starting in 2011. Today, Henderson is home to 41 Clark County School District schools and 16 public charter schools. While these efforts have helped address overcrowding and enhance educational options, the City continues to focus on providing innovative, localized solutions to serve students and families better.

Henderson residents place a high value on education, ranking it as a top community priority alongside public safety. To meet these expectations, the City established a Community Education Advisory Board in 2017 and dedicated staff to education initiatives in 2019. These efforts reflect Henderson’s ongoing commitment to fostering high-quality education and ensuring every child has access to exceptional learning opportunities.

In 2024, the City of Henderson was approved to sponsor charter schools in the City. The City is now inviting qualified applicant groups, i.e., committees to form, to review the provided information on this website. Potential applicants should also contact city charter school sponsoring staff regarding submitting an application to start a charter school or to add a campus in the City.

Watch a Virtual Charter School Application Training

Want to learn more about the charter school application process? Please view our comprehensive training sessions below. These sessions will guide potential applicants through the application steps, provide helpful tips, and answer any questions you may have. For questions, please email COHAuthorizing@cityofhenderson.com.

Training Session 1

Training Session 2

Training Session 3

Training Session 4

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