Community Conversations with NACSA

This episode takes you inside NACSACon 2025, where NACSA President and CEO M. Karega Rausch, Ph.D. delivered powerful remarks about why strong foundational authorizing policies and practices have never been more important. It also features a special collaboration with our friends at the Charter School Growth Fund. CSGF President and host of the Leader to Leader podcast, Darryl Cobb, sits down with Dr. Adriana Tamez to discuss what it takes to build and sustain great public schools. 

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At its core, academic oversight is about answering a single, powerful question: Are schools academically successful? NACSA's Academic Framework Guidance helps authorizers answer this question by capturing the impact a school has—or doesn’t have—on its primary stakeholders: students.  

David Greenberg, NACSA’s Vice President of Authorizer Learning and Development, sits down with Jermaine Curtis, Charter School Coordinator, and Steve Osborn, Student Opportunity Officer, at the Rhode Island Department of Education, and Ryan Marks, Chief of Authorizing and Accountability at the Colorado Charter School Institute, to dig into academic frameworks and accountability. 

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Jay Whalen, NACSA’s Director of Authorizer and School Quality, and Dr. Windy Stephenson, Founding Executive Director at the Voorhees University Charter Institute of Learning, describe how NACSA supported Voorhees—which became a charter school authorizer in 2024—in developing and implementing its first new school application cycle. 

Explore NACSA's New School Application Guidance. 

Looking for tailored support? Contact Elisa Westapher at [email protected]

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Over the past year, we’ve been listening—to authorizers, educators, families—and asking a critical question: What does accountability look like in today’s context? The answers are reshaping how we think about our work. 

In this episode, NACSA leaders David Greenberg and Veronica Brooks-Uy dive deep into the challenges authorizers face right now, and share NACSA’s renewed vision and strategy for equipping them with the knowledge, tools, and support to ensure every child has access to a high-quality school.

Register to join us in Houston, TX, October 20-23 for NACSACon 2025.

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In this rapid rewind, we’re giving you the most powerful moments from several pivotal conversations about the new school application. NACSA’s David Greenberg, Rachel Hannah with Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, Jason Moore with Buckeye Community Hope Foundation, Laurie Schroeder with Innovative Quality Schools, NACSA’s Jay Whalen, and Mabel Lajes-Guiteras, with Seed at Charter School Growth Fund, provide key insights into how NACSA is reimagining the new school application process. 

Resources:

• After a Quarter Century: Time to Reboot the New School Application Process
• NACSA's New School Application Guidance
• The Power of People in the New School Application Process
• Accountability From the Start
• New School Applications: Shifting Rigor

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Chelsea Waite and Janette Avelar with the Center on Reinventing Public Education provide practical takeaways and trends from the most recent Canopy Project report. 

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In this rapid rewind, we’re bringing you the most impactful moments from our conservation at NACSACon 2024. Get everything you need to know about the difference between family participation and empowerment from NACSA’s Chief Operating Officer, Guerschmide Saint-Ange, and Rocky Mountain Prep CEO, Tricia Noyola, in less than 10 minutes.

Resources:

Families and Authorizers: A Partnership for Success

No More Participation Trophies For Family Engagement

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The latest NAEP scores reveal a stark and troubling reality: Students remain far behind. 

NACSA President and CEO, M. Karega Rausch, Ph.D., sits down with 50CAN CEO and Founder, Marc Porter Magee, to discuss what else the NAEP data can tell us and—more importantly—what can be done to equip our nation’s young people with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed? 

Resources: 

• 50CAN
• NAEP Shows U.S. Is in a Learning Crisis. Charter Schools Have 3 Ways to Fix It

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David Greenberg, NACSA's Vice President of Authorizer Learning & Development sits down with Rachel Hannah, Deputy Assistant Director at the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools to discuss her journey through the new school application process.

Explore NACSA's resources for rethinking the new school application. 

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2024 marks a year of growth, innovation, and dedication, and we’re thrilled to introduce you to NACSA’s Change Makers — a group of charter leaders who are making an extraordinary impact in their communities. From reimagining the future of charter schools to championing equity and access for every student, these changemakers are combining innovation with actionable accountability and inspiring others to do the same. 

Join us as we dive into their stories, explore their visions for the future, and hear how they’re paving the way for a brighter educational landscape.

Want to learn more about NACSA's Change Makers? Read our latest blog. 

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