South Carolina Charter Future Founders Fellowship

Future Founders Track Application: For leaders who are refining a compelling school vision and beginning to prepare for a strong charter application in South Carolina.

Thank you for your interest in the South Carolina Charter Founders Fellowship. This application is designed to help us get to know you beyond your charter including your experience, your leadership, and what has shaped your commitment to building an excellent school in South Carolina. We simply want to understand who you are, what you have done, and why you are the right person to lead this important work for children.

Applicants who move forward can expect to hear about next steps by mid-July. The Fellowship is slated to begin at the end of August.

Application Deadline: July 1, 2026, by 11:59 PM Questions? Email bgibson@themindtrust.org

Section 1: Candidate & School Information

First & Last Name

Email Address

Cell Phone Number

City & State

Race/ethnicity (optional)

Current Job Title

Future School Name (if known)

Proposed School Location (if known)

Proposed Grades (if known)

First Year Target Enrollment (if known)

SECTION 2: Spark Hire Video Interview (3 Questions)

We know recording yourself on video is awkward; don't worry about being perfect. Just be yourself – the purpose of this part of the application is for us to start to get to know you. These questions are designed to surface your actual experience. We are looking for specific examples grounded in your real work rather than hypotheticals. You will have one minute per video response. You can re-record as many times as you need.

Please click the link below to complete the Spark Hire Video Interview.

https://hire.li/YVvG07VlDKJHi-5bJY2y8

2A. Fast forward to an October day after your school has launched. Describe a specific math or ELA lesson that reflects your school's instructional model in action. What is the learning objective for the lesson, how is the teacher meeting it for all students, and what moves did you make as a leader to ensure that teacher could deliver that lesson with excellence?

2B. The path to founding a school is rarely a straight line. Describe the hardest moment you have faced in developing your school vision thus far or in the work that brought you to it. What have you learned about yourself in the process?

2C. Describe a time you set and held high standards for the adults around you. What systems or structures did you put in place to track progress and give feedback, and what happened when someone fell short?

SECTION 3: Written Responses (3 Questions, 300 word limit for each)

These questions are designed to surface your actual experience. Please draw on specific evidence from your past work. We are looking for real examples grounded in what you have done rather than hypotheticals.

3A. Describe the strongest student achievement results that you were responsible for and what leadership moves you made to generate them?

3B. Describe the school you want to build in South Carolina. Who will it serve and what will make it academically excellent for all students including students with disabilities and multilingual learners? Then tell us what you have already done to move this vision forward and what has been hard. A draft or in-progress vision is expected and welcome; honest uncertainty is more useful to us than false precision.

3C. Describe the most important relationships you have built in service of developing your school vision, whether families and community members in your school's neighborhood or civic, state, or national leaders whose support could matter. Be specific about who you have connected with and why.

SECTION 4: Uploaded Materials (All Required)

4A. Updated Resume

4B. Teacher Observation & Feedback Framework + Notes: Submit as video, PPT, or PDF

4C. Student Growth & Achievement Data: Submit data from the last 3 years for students you were directly responsible for. Other relevant data artifacts may be included.

4D. School Vision One-Pager: Submit a one-page description of your school as if the audience is a parent deciding where to enroll their child. It doesn't need to be graphically polished – we are looking for the strength of your vision, not the design

By selecting "Yes" below, I confirm that I understand my application is not considered complete until my written application responses, my SparkHire video interview, and all required uploaded materials have been submitted by July 1, 2026. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

Contact Information