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, addressed conference attendees the morning of Wednesday, October 21. Pastorek’s speech highlighted the state of public education in Louisiana, and specifically, the impact of the charter movement in rebuilding New Orleans’ public schools post-Katrina. This was followed by a plenary panel, “High Standards, High Impact: Scaling-Up Quality Education Through Chartering,” featuring:
- John Chubb, Co-founder, EdisonLearning
- Dr. Joshua W. Murfree, Jr., Professor, Albany State University and National/International Mentoring Chairman, 100 Black Men of America, Inc.
- Dean Kern, Director, Parental Options and Information, Office of Innovation and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education
- Nelson Smith, President and CEO, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Harold Ford, Jr., Chairman, Democratic Leadership Council, delivered a luncheon keynote on October 21. Ford emphasized the importance of providing high-quality education to all children and emphasized the vital role of charter authorizers in ensuring autonomy and accountability in charters.
Conference Program Book
Descriptions of conference sessions, special strands, and more.
Conference Sponsors
NACSA thanks the 2009 conference sponsors.
Past Conferences:
Indianapolis 2008
Savannah 2007
San Diego 2006
