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NACSA Blog

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NACSA Launches Charter Operator Tracker (Beta) to Support Quality Authorizing in Florida

Today the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) announces the launch of its Charter Operator Tracker (Beta), a new database of information about charter school management organizations and the schools they …


NACSA Commends Bipartisan Charter Provisions included in Every Child Achieves Act

Today, the U.S. Senate passed S. 1177, more commonly referred to as the “Every Child Achieves Act” (ECAA), a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). In response, Greg Richmond, …


NACSA Recognizes U.S. House of Representatives for Strong Charter School Provisions included in the ESEA Reauthorization Act

Today, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 5, a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). In response, Greg Richmond, president and CEO of the National Association of …


NACSA Congratulates Senior Advisor Nelson Smith, Newest Charter School Hall of Fame Inductee

Chicago, lll. – The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) is pleased to congratulate Senior Advisor Nelson Smith on his election into the National Charter School Hall of Fame, an honor …


NACSA Helps Build Charter School Authorizing Talent with Launch of Fellowship in Partnership with University of Minnesota

Chicago, Ill. – Nearly 25 years after passing the nation’s first charter school legislation, Minnesota continues to lead charter school education with the launch of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers …


No Exit?

Imagine if you were in a contractual relationship with a service provider, and the provider told you that you couldn’t end the contract.  A recent case in Florida illustrates why NACSA recommends …


Access is Not Optional

By design, charter schools are supposed to be open to all students. The idea is that rather than gaining admission based on their zip code or test scores, charter school students are …


Septima Clark

Accepting Accountability

It is always disappointing when charter schools that are not meeting their performance expectations fight efforts to hold them accountable. We shouldn’t forget, though, that some charter schools will live up to …


Four Tips for Cage-Busting Authorizers

Rick Hess’s new book, Cage-Busting Leadership is out. Quality charter school authorizing often involves a lot of cage-busting. The vast majority of authorizers work in school districts–systems that are set up in …


Joint–Not-Central–Planning for All DC Public Schools

In the second post of a two-part series, Scott Pearson, Executive Director of the D.C. Public Charter School Board, addresses another big question raised in Emma Brown’s recent article on charter school growth in the nation’s capital: …


Silver Bullets and Unicorns

Silver bullets and unicorns have three important characteristics in common. 1.) They don’t exist; 2) No one older than 16 believes that they exist; and 3) anyone claiming that someone else believes …


School Performance Analysis 2.0

Guest Post from Rob Kimball, Sr. Director of Operations & Policy, Grand Valley State University Charter Schools Office Regardless of the size of an authorizer’s portfolio, a laser-like focus on school performance is critical to …


The Tide Rises in Washington D.C.

Scott Pearson, Executive Director of the D.C. Public Charter School Board, has a new two-part blog post up about the questions raised in Emma Brown’s recent article on charter school growth in the …


Standards and Accountability for Charter School Authorizers

Today, the Detroit Free Press covers an important new report submitted to the Michigan Board of Education. The report ranks, for the first time, the state’s 11 largest authorizers “based on student achievement, student growth over time, authorizer improvement …


Low-Performing Charter Schools Fight Closure in Indiana

Last month, the charter schools office at Ball State University announced that it was revoking the charters of seven of its lowest performing schools for failure to meet the performance expectations outlined …