However, an alternative to this structure is a teachers' professional cooperative or partnership, whereby teachers work as members of an independent professional group. Because every group proposing to start a charter school is different, proposed school structures may also differ. A board of directors reflecting diverse backgrounds and expertise is established to govern the school. The board contracts with a group of teachers to handle the school's instructional program. Then, the teachers form a cooperative or a partnership.
Partnerships are flexible and the least formal.
The people who work in the school could collectively establish themselves as a professional cooperative, where everyone who works in the school is a member of the coop or partnership.