New Orleans has this magnetic pull for me. Does it for you too?

There’s that sense of being far away from home, someplace more exotic, but more welcoming and comfortable than I expected. There’s what I know of the city’s deep suffering and heroic re-creation after Hurricane Katrina. There’s the explosive array of eats and live music on every corner. There’s the mix of vine-draped walls, modernized antiquity, edgy design. There’s the sense that entrepreneurs and artists are busy breaking ground, while traditions are preserved and promises kept.

So, when I get a chance to go to New Orleans, I want to go. I know many of you may be going too, for all the reasons you love, or are lured to, this city, and then for one more great reason: the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is hosting its annual Charter Schools Conference there next week.

As NACSA’s new Director of Development, I’ll be there to listen and learn and talk with as many attendees as I can. And I’m not going alone. NACSA will be there in force. A whopping one-third of our staff will be there, many of us presenting, sharing ideas and solutions, and learning from you. And our very own Nelson Smith is one of this year’s inductees into the Charter School Hall of Fame.

Please find us in a session, look for us at lunch, send us a text, or call us for coffee. One easy way to connect? Come to our sessions to hear what we hope is relevant to you as teachers, as school leaders, as decision makers, as stakeholders, as you make your public charter schools the absolutely best they can be.

Charters are no longer a new kid on the block, nor a gangly adolescent concept. At almost 25 years old, the sector knows a lot about who we are and who we’re becoming. We have the maturity and stamina to enrich our perspectives and face challenges.

Come hear some of our perspectives, and let’s build the knowing and doing base deeper and wider. Let’s connect names to faces to ideas to actions.

We can’t wait to see you:

Greg Richmond, President and CEO, @GregRichmond
Featured Session: Big but Not Easy: How Authorizing Shaped Public Education in New Orleans (Tues. 6/23, 9:30-10:30am)  

Parker Baxter, Director of Knowledge, @Parker_Baxter
What Can We Learn from Tipping-Point Districts? (Mon. 6/22, 2:30-3:30 pm) AND Financial Transparency and Public Accountability: Do We Have a Problem? (Wed. 6/24, 10-11 am)

William Haft, Vice President of Authorizer Development, @WilliamHaft
How’s Your Authorizer? (Tues. 6/23, 10:45-11:45 am)

Karega Rausch, Vice President of Research and Evaluation, @KaregaRausch
A Common Expulsion Policy: Early Lessons from New Orleans (Tues. 6/23, 10:45-11:45 am) AND Defining Equity: Special Education Policy in Charter Schools (Mon. 6/22, 11:30 am-12:30 pm)

Nelson Smith, Senior Advisor, @NelsonSmith60
Dropout Recovery: Matching Accountability Policy with Instructional Practice (Mon. 6/22, 3:45-4:45 pm) AND General Session 2 (Tues. 6/23, 3-4:15 pm)

Jennie Crichlow, Digital Media Manager, @QualityCharters

Amanda Fenton, Director of State and Federal Policy, @ahelenfenton

Kristen Forbriger, Director of Media Relations, @corrieleech

Alex Medler, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, @AlexLMedler

Kristin Rennels, Director of Development, Growth and Strategic Partnerships, @KristinRennels