Jamie Garwood

Jamie Garwood

2021 NACSA Leader

Director of Charter Schools, Ball State University

Dr. Jamie Garwood currently serves as the Director of Ball State University’s Office of Charter Schools (OCS). Prior to coming to Ball State, she helped develop and open a social justice charter school. Jamie also served as a founding board member of the Indiana Charter School Board, an authorizing body. Additionally, Ms. Garwood has more than 15 years of experience working in the non-profit sector, with accomplishments that include launching a community-wide literacy initiative to close the 3rd grade reading gap and developing one of the largest Real Men Read mentoring projects in the country. Jamie is an experienced evaluator of both schools and non-profit programs, including serving as an evaluator for federally funded 21st Century Learning Center (CCLS) after school programs. Dr. Garwood earned a Doctorate in Education Leadership by conducting a study of Indiana’s K-12 voucher program. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs, both focusing on education and social welfare research and policy.


Most Recent Posts
Applying Charter Authorizing Principles in the Early Childhood Field
This blog was written by Abby McCartney, Director, Early Care and Education, Afton Partners and Carrie Stewart, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Afton Partners Introduction: Early Care and Education at a...
2023 State of Charter Authorizing Report
Authorizing is the most consequential public school governance reform of the past two decades. For the last 20+ years, authorizers have been creating a new landscape, where school autonomy—balanced by...
The Way to More Community-Responsive Schools
Authorizers don’t develop or design new schools. But they are the gateways that help bring these schools to life, providing the conditions and expectations for what extraordinary schools and equitable...