NACSA | Annual Conference & Events
2009 Annual Leadership Conference
2009 NACSA Leadership Conference Debriefing
On October 19-21, public officials, education leaders, entrepreneurs and philanthropists gathered in Salt Lake City, Utah to share innovative ideas and best practices on how to strengthen the quality of the charter school sector.
Thank you to all who attended!
NACSA President and CEO Greg Richmond
NACSA President's Address: "Authorizers in Wonderland"
Download a transcript of the speech given by NACSA President and CEO Greg Richmond at the opening plenary session.
Richmond shared examples of data being collected and publicized by authorizers around the country and identified three core responsibilities of authorizers: maintaining high standards, preserving school autonomy, and protecting student and public interests. He also shared highlights from NACSA's newly revised Principles and Standards for Quality Charter School Authorizing and NACSA's annual report on authorizer data.
NACSA Announces Grants to Three Authorizers
NACSA established The Fund for Authorizing Excellence (The Fund) earlier this year to provide direct support to NACSA members who are working to create charter environments that foster schools with high student achievement. Thanks to the generous support of the Walton Family Foundation, grants were awarded on October 20 to the following recipients at the 2009 NACSA Leadership Conference: Georgia Charter Schools Commission; Milwaukee Common Council; and the Indianapolis Mayor's Office.
2009 NACSA Awards for Excellence Recipients Announced
The NACSA Awards for Excellence program celebrates individuals and organizations that advance the authorizing profession in three fields: Advancing Knowledge, Improving Policy, and Improving Practice. NACSA announced this year's recipients of its Awards for Excellence at the 2009 NACSA Leadership Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. The recipients were as follows: Inside Urban Charter Schools: Promising Practices and Strategies in Five High-Performing Schools (Knowledge); The State of Minnesota (Policy); Polk County Public Schools – Office of Magnet, Choice and Charter Schools (Practice).
Conference Photo Gallery
View photos from key conference events.
Featured Speakers
Paul Pastorek, Louisiana State Superintendent of Education
Louisiana State Superintendent Paul Pastorek is leading the most significant transformation of a state's public education in America. He has been a driving force behind the development of the charter school sector in New Orleans. Less known to the rest of the nation is Pastorek's use of charter schools to turn around failing schools elsewhere in the state, in cities like Baton Rouge and Shreveport as well as small towns like Pointe Coupee.
Pastorek was appointed Louisiana's State Superintendent of Education in March 2007 by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and was re-appointed to that position in January 2008. Under Pastorek's leadership, the number of charter schools has grown to serve 60 percent of New Orleans students - the highest percentage in the nation. Pastorek served on the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education from 1996-2004, including the last three years as President of the Board. After stepping down from the Board in 2004, Pastorek formed Next Horizon, a non-profit organization that serves as a statewide think tank to connect Louisiana's leadership - education, government, business and community - as a force supporting school improvement.
Harold Ford, Jr., Chairman, Democratic Leadership Council
Harold Ford, Jr. served Tennessee in the United States Congress for 10 years. Described by President Bill Clinton as "the walking, living embodiment of where America ought to go in the 21st century," Ford is now Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, a news analyst for NBC and MSNBC, and a Visiting Professor at New York University. Ford is deeply committed to tackling the nation's education crisis. He passionately believes that charter and other school reform strategies that improve student opportunities and achievement deserve support and replication, while being accountable for results. Ford is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his B.A. in American history, and the University of Michigan Law School.
Featured Panelists
Dr. John E. Chubb, Author, Liberating Learning: Technology, Politics, and the Future of American Education
Dr. John Chubb co-founded and serves as Senior Executive Vice President for Development at EdisonLearning, where he oversees the organization's initiatives to establish new partnerships. He joined Edison in 1992 as a member of the core team charged with developing the company's plan for a new school design and served as executive vice president of curriculum, instruction, and assessment until 1999.
Chubb came to EdisonLearning from the world of research and America's leading universities and think tanks. He was previously a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution and a professor at Stanford University, and is presently a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Chubb has authored numerous books and articles on education reform, including the recently published Liberating Learning: Technology, Politics, and the Future of Education (with Terry Moe). He has served as an adviser to the White House, numerous state governments, and public and private schools and school systems. Chubb holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and a B.A. summa cum laude from Washington University, both in political science.
Dr. Joshua W. Murfree, Jr., Professor, Albany State University and National/International Mentoring Chairman, 100 Black Men of America, Inc.
Dr. Joshua Murfree, Jr. is a professor at Albany State University, where he has served as Chairman of the Department of Psychology, Sociology and Social Work; Director of the Center for the African-American-Male; and Director of the Honors Program.
As National/International Mentoring Chairman and Vice Chairman of Programs for 100 Black Men of America, Inc., Murfree oversees Economic Development, Education, Health and Wellness, and Mentoring programs. Murfree is the architect of one of the most comprehensive mentoring programs in the nation, "Mentoring the 100 Way," which presently serves 121 Chapters representing 10,000 members and 125,000 children, youth and their families in America, Africa, the Caribbean Basin, and the United Kingdom.
Murfree is Board-certified in forensic examination and psychotherapy, as well as a certified criminal justice specialist and Master Addiction Counselor. In 2006, Murfree received the National Alumni Award from Fort Valley State University.
Dean Kern, Director, Parental Options and Information, Office of Innovation and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education
Dean Kern is Director, Parental Options and Information, Office of Innovation and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. In that role, Mr. Kern oversees a portfolio of discretionary grant programs that expand and support high-quality public school choice and parental options. These programs include the Charter Schools Program, Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities, State Charter School Facilities Incentive Grant, Magnet Schools Assistance, Public Voluntary School Choice, Parent Information Resource Centers (PIRC), the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship, and Full Service Community Schools. Mr. Kern serves as the Department's resource on national public school choice policy, research, innovation, and technical assistance. Mr. Kern received a dual bachelor of education degree in elementary education and special education (1981) and a master's degree in Education Administration from Northern Arizona University (1988) with continuing graduate work at Trenton State College and the University of Colorado-Denver.
Nelson Smith, President and CEO, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Nelson Smith is President and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. The Alliance is the national nonprofit that works to increase the growth and quality of public charter schools through advocacy, communications, and capacity-building initiatives. Smith has previously held senior management positions at the U.S. Department of Education, the New York City Partnership, and New American Schools, and served as the first Executive Director of the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board. He has written and published extensively on issues affecting the charter sector, and is a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.
Conference Program Book
Descriptions of conference sessions, special strands, and more.
Conference Sponsors
NACSA thanks the 2009 conference sponsors.
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