NACSA Blog

NACSA Blog

Press Releases


NACSA President and CEO Greg Richmond Remembers Donald Fisher, Gap Inc. Cofounder and Charter School Advocate

The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) President and CEO Greg Richmond released the following statement today in response to the death of Donald Fisher, Gap Inc. Co-founder and Charter School …


New Study Sets Priority Areas and Recommends Strong Standards So All St. Louis Students Have Access to a Quality Education

St. Louis, MO – The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) and IFF, in conjunction with the St. Louis Mayor’s Office, released a new study today analyzing the performance, location, and …


NACSA President Applauds Findings of New Survey on New Orleans Charter Schools

A new survey of New Orleans citizens has found that they strongly support charter schools and education reform efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The survey, conducted by the Council for …


NACSA President Appointed to Aspen Institute’s Commission on No Child Left Behind

National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) President and CEO Greg Richmond was selected today to serve as a Commissioner on The Aspen Institute’s Commission on No Child Left Behind. Richmond, an …


NACSA Announces $9.4 Million in Grant Funding

The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) announced today that it has received $9.4 million in investments from three of the nation’s preeminent foundations — the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, …


School Reopenings: One Authorizer Focuses on Student Safety in Reopening Plans

This is a guest blog post by Scott Pearson, former Executive Director of the DC Public Charter School Board and NACSA Board Member. Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic has required urgent and …


Moving Beyond “Accountability” in Monitoring a Virtual Learning Environment

This is a guest post by Laura Stabler, Director of Academic Performance and Accountability at CMU’s Governor John Engler Center for Charter Schools.  Do you ever feel like Alice from the literary classic Alice’s Adventures …


Missouri’s Charter School Authorizer Oversight: Not Pretty, But It’s Working

The headline of a recent story covering the Missouri State Board of Education could, on first read, be seen as a knock on charter school authorizing. After all, when state officials threaten sanctions or even revocation …


NACSA Statement on School Reopenings

Any school opening plan must include state and local health guidelines and be driven by two cornerstones: the health and safety of students and staff, and continuous learning for students. We know …


Authorizer Conversations: Dr. Kelli Peterson Addresses Racism and Injustice in Education in America

    Dr. Kelli Peterson, NACSA National Advisory Board Member and new Assistant Superintendent, Equity, Inclusion and Opportunity at the Louisiana Department of Education, addresses racism, inequity, and injustice in America and …


The Paycheck Protection Program: What is an Authorizer’s Role?

As you may know, part of the federal stimulus packages that were passed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is a federal loan program: The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This program provides …


Authorizer Conversations: Peng Chao on Balancing “Meaningful Support” and Autonomy

In the next installment of Authorizer Conversations, NACSA’s interim VP of Policy, Veronica Brooks-Uy interviews Peng Chao, Executive Director of the Charter Schools Office at the School District of Philadelphia. Peng shares …


Charter School Authorizers Must Rebalance Accountability, Flexibility, and Support During the Pandemic

This guest blog was written by Miho Kubagawa, a Partner with New Schools Venture Fund. When schools closed in March, I naively assumed that the biggest challenge public schools would face this …


Message to the Charter School Authorizing Community from Karega Rausch, Interim President & CEO

To the Authorizing Community: Like so many of you it has taken me some time to process a range of emotions after seeing Black people being murdered, most visibly George Floyd and …


Authorizer Conversations: Joseph Escobedo on Virtual Site Visits and the Human Side of Authorizing

“When we talk about the human side, that was something I was not expecting. I was not expecting that I would need to provide emotional support to our charter leaders or that …