Charter school authorizing is still a new kid on the education block. While authorizing is nearly 25 years old, it was not until 15 years ago that a group of the first authorizers formally came together as NACSA to develop and share standards, tools and resources.

One event has become a staple in the authorizing community for professional development—the Annual NACSA Leadership Conference.

The NACSA Conference builds expertise on the fundamentals of authorizing, offers in-depth sessions for more advanced authorizers, and engages all attendees on the most critical issues in the field. These sessions hit at the core of being a strong authorizer—navigating political waters, managing decision makers, and being an agent of change within their organization.

This year’s conference, hosted next week in Colorado, offers attendees a wide variety of sessions for authorizers and colleagues at every level.

Here is a small sample of what attendees can expect at the 2015 NACSA Leadership Conference, indicative of our commitment to offering sessions that meet real needs in the field:

The Art of Managing Up

This session will discuss why “managing up” is critical to both effective leadership and quality authorizing, explore the challenges of “managing up,” and will help attendees consider how they can strengthen their ability to manage up.

Quality Professional Development on a Shoestring

This interactive session will provide attendees with ideas they can implement right away along with a high-level plan for delivering ongoing professional development for little to no cost.

Management Organizations: Cultivate and Attract Best Performers

Attendees will learn how transparency, governance innovation, and oversight strategies create an ecosystem that welcomes quality growth from both local talent and top national operators.

It’s Not Them, It’s You! How Managers Hold the Key to Employee Engagement

Participants will explore the connection between effective management and employee engagement and walk away with a plan to start strengthening management muscles to enhance their team’s engagement.

Charter Authorization for School Restart

Participants will leave with practical guidance, appropriate for both new and experienced authorizers in the realm of school restart.

Authorizing for Innovation

This session will feature a lively discussion among authorizers who have grappled with questions related to how they can best foster innovation within their portfolios and how can they do so while maintaining a high bar for quality.

Like what you see? There is still time to join us at this year’s event. Online registration closes tomorrow, but walk-in registrations are welcomed.

Already registered? Take a moment to browse this year’s session list and tell us which sessions you are most interested in attending. Your feedback will help our session presenters better prepare for their audience.