Testing and Leadership and Prison, Oh My!

Testing and Leadership and Prison, Oh My!

Each year charter schools—one of the most sustained education reforms of the past 25 years—are woefully underrepresented at SXSWedu, one of the nation’s most revered conferences for learning and new ideas in education.

This year can be different! We need your help getting some of NACSA’s leading-edge ideas onto the agenda. Ideas that our work with charter authorizers have inspired, like how to cut through the noise on standardized testing and ending the school-to-prison pipeline.

Log on to the “SXSW Panel Picker” to vote on NACSA’s proposed sessions and then book your tickets to join us in Austin for ideas, barbecue and great music:

Greg Richmond wants to cut through the noise on standardized testing.

You have probably heard a lot of noise about standardized tests and it can be vexing. Loud and persistent voices from all sides are weighing in on the topic. There are legitimate concerns about the potential damage testing may be doing to teachers, students, and classrooms. But there are legitimate benefits that often get lost in the debate. Charter schools across the country are refining the use of limited, smart tests to gauge learning and make adjustments.

See more and VOTE.

Kasey Miller wants to help us find our joy.

In the world of education, we are all servant leaders constantly striving to improve the lives of our constituents. Most of us want to be doing this work for the long haul, but being an educator is tough work that can take its toll over time if you’re not putting the oxygen mask on yourself first. This highly interactive session will discuss why managing your energy—not your time—is key to developing resilience and will provide you with tools and techniques for upping your energy and avoiding burnout. You will walk away with a detailed plan for addressing your most pressing energy deficits!

See more and VOTE.

Jobi Cates wants to crush the school to prison pipeline.

You can’t turn on the news or look at your Facebook without reading another tragic story about teens getting lost and either ending up a casualty of gun violence or mass incarceration. There is a burgeoning movement around ending the “School to Prison Pipeline,” but it is not yet large or powerful enough to stem the tide of kids getting swept away. How can teachers, schools, districts and cities cut across traditional boundaries to keep kids from entering the School to Prison Pipeline? It is easy to say, “that is someone else’s problem,” but the impact of mass incarceration impacts all of us.

See more and VOTE.


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