Sara Mead

Sara Mead

Board Member

Managing Director, Afton Partners

As a partner with Bellwether Education Partners, Sara leads Bellwether’s early childhood work across both our policy and strategic advising teams. Since joining Bellwether in 2010, she has written and conducted policy analysis on early childhood education, charter schools, teacher quality, and state and federal education policy issues and has provided strategic advising support to foundations, advocacy organizations, and early childhood operators. Her work has been featured in media outlets including The Washington Post, The New York Times, Slate, and USA Today, and she is a regular contributor to U.S. News & World Report’s Knowledge Bank vertical. Before joining Bellwether, Sara directed the New America Foundation’s Early Education Initiative. She has also worked for Education Sector, the Progressive Policy Institute, and the U.S. Department of Education. From September 2009-July 2017 she served on the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board, which authorizes charter schools in Washington, D.C. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Vanderbilt University.


Most Recent Posts
How to Communicate about School Closures
Few conversations in authorizing are harder than the ones about a school that is changing form or closing its doors. Whether you’re merging, consolidating, or closing a school, you know...
Montessori Applications Are Coming. Is Your Authorizer Office Ready?
Does your charter authorizing team know what a strong Montessori school application looks like? Charter schools were created to try new ways of meeting students’ learning needs. But the more...
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...