Lori Sommer

2016 NACSA Leader

Assistant Director, Charter School Compliance

Lori Sommer currently serves as the Assistant Director of Charter School Compliance at Washington University in St. Louis. She is responsible for ongoing oversight and evaluation of the charter schools sponsored by the University.

Lori has extensive experience with charter school administration. Prior to her position at Washington University, she worked for the Associated General Contractors of Missouri as Director of Operations for the Construction Careers Center Charter High School.

Lori received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Missouri – Columbia and her Associate of Science from Ranken Technical College in St. Louis.

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...

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...

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...