Matt Rado

Matt Rado

2019 NACSA Leader

Executive Director, Charter Schools Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Matt Rado, Executive Director for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) Charter Schools Office, has worked in authorizing with the district since 2016. He is a passionate believer in school choice and ensuring charter schools provide opportunities for all students to succeed while meeting high standards of equity and public accountability.

He has extensive experience in government and politics, as both a grassroots organizer on numerous campaigns and a staffer for a member of congress. Before working in authorizing with CMSD, he served as State Outreach Director for StudentsFirst Ohio. He holds a BA in Government from Cornell University and an MPA from Cleveland State University.

When he’s not working with Cleveland’s charter schools, he is busy with his wife and two young daughters.


Most Recent Posts
NACSA statement on recent decision in Oklahoma about religious charter schools
NACSA is disappointed in the recent decision by a federal judge in Oklahoma, allowing The Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation to continue with plans to open a religious charter...
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Public charter schools are not religious schools
In 2025, a divided U.S. Supreme Court preserved an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that blocked the application for what could have become the country’s first religious charter school, St. Isidore of Seville...
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Communities want unique and innovative schools. Are authorizers ready?
By Jay Whalen From their inception, public charter schools promised to provide innovative ways to meet the students’ learning needs. At NACSA, we’re invested in helping authorizers be responsive to those needs, to ensure that...
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