Community Conversations with NACSA

Spotting a financial red flag at a charter school is one thing. Knowing what to do next is another. In this episode, David Greenberg sits down with Jamie Garwood of Ball State University to talk through a real financial oversight challenge she faced—and how NACSA's financial oversight community helped her navigate it. It's a candid look at what strong financial oversight actually requires: not just standards and tools, but a network of peers willing to share what they know.

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This episode is drawn directly from a Third Thursdays session with NACSA's financial oversight community — a monthly peer group where authorizers work through real oversight challenges together.

David Greenberg, who leads NACSA's Authorizer Learning and Development team, walks through NACSA's Guide to Performance Frameworks and works a live case study with the group: a K-8 school (anonymized here) carrying significant long-term debt, a clean but improving audit history, and a board that shows up — but doesn't always ask hard questions. You'll hear David's framework in his own words, along with reactions from authorizers in the room as they debate how much oversight this school actually needs.

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What happens between a charter school's approval and its opening day? In this episode of Community Conversations with NACSA, Sophie Binenfeld Gilmore of the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission joins us to unpack how NACSA's Ready to Open Criteria helps authorizers ensure new schools are truly prepared to serve students from day one.

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What does it actually take to become a charter school authorizer—and what does it look like when the right partners show up to support that work? In this episode, we sit down with Shantelle D. Wright from UNCF to explore the full arc of the journey to help VUCIL become an authorizer, and the pivotal three-way partnership between VUCIL, UNCF, and NACSA that made it possible. This conversation builds on our earlier episode with Windy about navigating the new school application process for the first time, widening the lens to explore how these organizations worked together to build the infrastructure, relationships, and capacity needed to authorize with purpose and integrity.

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Last season, we sat down with Rachel Hannah (Arizona State Board for Charter Schools) to discuss her journey to rethink their new school application process and prioritize people. In this episode, she talks with NACSA’s Jay Whalen, sharing insights into where they are now—including updates, successes, and lessons learned.

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Molly Ferrer and Tayo Adeeko of Jeffco Public Schools share how the charter contract functions across the full lifecycle of school oversight. Listens for lessons learned about quality contracting and to learn more about how clear, enforceable conditions can support academic, financial, and organizational accountability at each phase. 

*Please note we encourage listeners to also consult their own legal teams for advice and guidance.

Episode resources:

• NACSA Events
• NACSA Consulting Services

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Courtney Hughley, NACSA’s Vice President of Communications, and Clarence Burton Jr., CEO of Denver Families for Public Schools, walk us through NACSA's evidence-based school closure messaging suggestions and share what they look like in practice. 

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Veronica Brooks-Uy is joined by Alex Medler of the National Network for District Authorizing (NN4DA). Together, they examine how NACSA’s state policy recommendations support effective district authorizing, including attacking some of the more difficult conversations head on. 

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We’re excited to recognize NACSA’s 2025 Change Makers—individuals whose leadership and dedication are helping to move authorizing forward. From improving systems and policies to supporting schools and students on the ground, these Change Makers exemplify what it means to lead with purpose and impact. Congratulations to our 2025 Change Makers:

• Talia Gerstle
  Senior Policy and Communications Manager, BluePrint Labs
• Dr. Richard Seigler-Carter
  Managing Director, LeveragED Foundation
• Raj Thakkar
  Founder & CEO, Charter School Business Management
• Robin Lake
  Director, Center on Reinventing Public Education
• Colleston Morgan, Jr.
  Executive Director, City Forward Collective

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Dive deep into NACSA's recently released 2025 State Policy Recommendations with Veronica Brooks-Uy, NACSA's Senior Vice President of Strategy, Policy & Research. 

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