Together, the Charter Institute at Erskine and the South Carolina Public Charter School District serve 50,000 charter school students across South Carolina in traditional brick-and-mortar and virtual formats. In an effort to bolster support for these students, the authorizers formed a historic partnership, titled “KidsFirst”, that is committed to collectively prioritize positive outcomes for students and families throughout South Carolina. The inaugural Kids First Conference was hosted by both authorizers to provide a professional development conference for the boards and leadership of both districts’ combined 65 schools. The first conference was an amazing event and the authorizers are looking forward to expanding the conference to become the largest gathering of charter school leaders in the Southeast.