Sean Conlan

Sean Conlan

Senior Director of Research and Evaluation

Sean develops and executes research projects to increase knowledge of effective authorizing practices and policies.

He has spent nearly a decade in education reform researching charter school authorizing, its practices, and the relationship between authorizing and school outcomes. Prior to joining NACSA, Sean was a research design and statistics consultant. He also taught psychology, research methods, and statistics at the university level.

Sean holds a Ph.D. in psychology with minors in statistics and measurement from the University of Texas at Austin. He earned his bachelor’s degree in anthropology and psychology from the University of Michigan.

Sean believes in the power of education to transform lives and the promise of charter schools to serve students that have been underserved by the traditional public education system.

When he’s not at work, Sean spends his time hiking, biking, and camping with family and friends. He also runs, but hates it.


Most Recent Posts
2023 Performance Framework Guidance
Performance Frameworks are the accountability mechanism at the center of the charter school/authorizer relationship, and Performance Frameworks are the means by which authorizers establish performance expectations for schools that are...
Nexus at NACSA
Practice + People = Excellence For more than two decades, NACSA has been the leading source for authorizing best practice, backed by research and experience. And as schooling evolves, authorizing...
2023 Version of Principles and Standards
2023 version of Principles & Standards is here!  High-quality, innovative, and equitable educational opportunities that communities are rightly demanding have never been more important. Yet even as we emerge and seek to...