DeVonté Payton

DeVonté Payton

2019 NACSA Leader

Advisor, School Development Shelby County Schools

DeVonté Payton is the School Development Advisor for Shelby County School’s Office of Charter Schools. He leads the charter authorization, interim, and renewal evaluation processes for the district’s portfolio of 57 charter schools. Previously, he served as the Director of External Affairs for KIPP Memphis, managing external partnerships, brand management support, and student enrollment.

DeVonté earned his B.B.A in Marketing Management from the University of Memphis and has over ten years of experience working in education. As an education advocate, he has worked closely with schools to develop and implement strategic plans for community engagement, recruitment & retention of talent and students, and high school/college placement.

His wife, Alyssa, is an assistant principal. They have three children – Dylan, Alyson, and Alaina.


Most Recent Posts
No Shortcuts to Student Success: The Case for Statewide Annual Assessments
When I think about why I’ve dedicated my career to advancing and strengthening the ideas and practices of authorizing, I think about the students I’ve met over the years—bright, curious...
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Raising the Bar: NACSA’s Updated State Policy Recommendations
NACSA believes that strong laws enable strong authorizing. In turn, strong authorizing leads to strong public education outcomes for students, families, and communities. That’s why we regularly update our state...
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A New Path Forward: NACSA’s Bold New School Application Guidance
I’ll never forget a foundational principle I learned nearly two decades ago, while authorizing in Indianapolis: It should be hard to gain approval to start a new charter school. But...
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