One of the most important goals of quality authorizing is to create more transparency and access for families to truly understand and engage in the education their children receive. Parents are an integral part of improving our nation’s education system. They play a vital role in their child’s education—and their voices should be heard by those making decisions that have direct implications on their communities and children.

Courtney Hughley, Vice President of Communications at NACSA, sits down with Guerschmide Saint-Ange, NACSA’s Chief Operating Officer, and Tricia Noyola, Chief Executive Officer at Rocky Mountain Prep, to discuss how authorizers and parents work together to ensure students are receiving a high-quality education that prepares them for success in college, career, and life.

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Eric Mahmoud, CEO of Harvest Best Academy in Minneapolis, sits down with his former authorizer and NACSA’s Vice President of Authorizer Learning and Development, David Greenberg, to talk about critical capacities of a charter school founding team. Through concrete examples and anecdotes, this conversation brings to life the importance of several capacities identified by NACSA: reflective learning, creating problem solving, and a healthy relationship with success and failure.

Resources:
New Charter School Application
Capacities of New School Founding Teams

qualitycharters.org

One of the most consequential decisions any authorizer makes for students and communities is whether to approve a new school to open. NACSA’s Vice President of Authorizer Learning and Development, David Greenberg, sits down with Jay Whalen, Director of Authorizer and School Quality to discuss the importance of centering accountability during the new school application process.

Special guests:

• PJ Foehr, Deputy Director at Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission
• Mia Howard, Managing Partner, Innovative Schools at New Schools Venture Fund
• Mabel Lajes-Guiteras, Vice President, Seed at Charter School Growth Fund

Resources:

• NACSA's New School Application Recommendations

Learn more about accountability and the new school application at NACSACon 2024. Learn more and register today: www.nacsacon.com

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In this episode of Community Conversations with NACSA, NACSA's President and CEO, Dr. M. Karega Rausch, Vice President of Authorizer and Learning Development, David Greenberg, and Vice President of Policy and Institutional Change, Veronica Brooks-Uy, come together to share why the time to center accountability is now.

Resources mentioned:

• Principles & Standards
• Performance Frameworks
• New School Application Resource and Guidance
• Barriers to Innovation: Addressing Policy Challenges

Join us in Houston, Texas October 21-24 for NACSACon! Learn more and register today.

qualitycharters.org

For Mental Health Awareness Month, NACSA examines the role of authorizing and school accountability in ensuring student wellness. To kick-off Season 2 of our podcast, Community Conversations with NACSA, we spoke with Andrea Browning (WestEd), Tricia Noyola (Rocky Mountain Prep), and Dr. John Gasko (Uplift Education), to learn how authorizers and schools can work with communities to ensure access to learning environments that foster social, emotional, and academic success.

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Tressa Pankovits, Co-Director of Reinventing America’s Schools Project at the Progressive Policy Institute, Priscila Dilley, Senior Officer at the Leadership Academy Network, and Dr. David Saenz, Chief of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships at Fort Worth ISD come together to tell a unique and powerful story. The partnership between Leadership Academy Network, Fort Worth Independent School District, and Texas Wesleyan University epitomizes using the principles and practices of charter school authorizing to rethink improving public education more broadly.

Resources:
Leadership Academy Network
Texas SB 1882 Partnerships Program
PPI Report – Putting Students First: Texas’ 1882 Statute Sustains Partnership Schools in Fort Worth

qualitycharters.org

NACSA passes the mic to EnTere Ed Collective. EnTere Ed, a space where Black, Brown, and Indigenous authorizers and authorizing-adjacent professionals thrive, aims revolutionize the K-12 charter school education sector by elevating equity, authenticity, and innovation, inspired by historical figures, ancient traditions, and cultural values.

Hear directly from the founders of EnTere Ed John Carwell Jr. with the Delaware State Department of Education, and Vashaunta Harris, Executive Coach and founder of V. Harris Enterprises.

They’re joined by special guest Derrick White, Director of School Development & Sustainability at the NACSA Inspired Schools Network.

The group will discuss the importance and inner workings of intersectionality, allyship, and solidarity among all black, brown, and Indigenous communities. Let’s listen.

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Veronica Brooks-Uy, NACSA's Vice President of Policy and Institutional Change sits down with Dr. Kelli Peterson, founder of The Ed.ucateD Approach, to discuss the ongoing need for and importance of closing the DEI gap and challenges on the journey.

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