In their nascent stages, charter schools formed under competing ideologies. In academic circles, charter schools were envisioned as pedagogical laboratories that would allow for educator- and community-driven school improvement. In other circles, charter schools emerged as a free-market reform driven by accountability, choice, and growth. Amid the neoliberal accountability era, the latter ideology has emerged as a stronger driving force across the educational landscape, particularly amid the proliferation of Charter Management Organizations (CMOs). Based on real events, a charter school founder struggles to hold onto organizational values while scaling from a small charter school to a large CMO.