Community Conversations with NACSA
The only podcast that tells the stories of charter school authorizing and the people that strive to ensure students and families have access to quality public schools.
Episodes
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 S...
Dive deep into NACSA's recently released 2025 State Policy Recommendations with Veronica Brooks-Uy, NACSA's Senior Vice President of Strategy, Policy & Research.
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 ...
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 S...
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 West...
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, too...
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 h...
Chelsea Waite and Janette Avelar with the Center on Reinventing Public Education provide practical takeaways and trends from the most recent Canopy Project report.
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:
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:
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.
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.
86 authorizers, across 30 states and the District of Columbia participated in our 2024 State of Authorizing survey. These authorizers oversee nearly two-thirds of the charter schools in the country and their answers help paint a comprehensive picture of overall trends in the field. In today’s episode, we’ll hear directly from NACSA leaders and authorizers as they grapple with the question—what is the current state of authorizing an...
One of the most important goals of quality authorizing is to create more transparency and access for families to truly understand and engage in the education their children receive. Parents are an integral part of improving our nation’s education system. They play a vital role in their child’s education—and their voices should be heard by those making decisions that have direct implications on their communities and children.
Live at...
One of the most consequential decisions any authorizer makes for students and communities is whether to approve a new school to open. NACSA’s Vice President of Authorizer Learning and Development, David Greenberg, sits down with Jay Whalen, Director of Authorizer and School Quality to discuss the importance of centering accountability during the new school application process.
Special guests:
- PJ Foehr, Deputy Director ...
In this episode of Community Conversations with NACSA, NACSA's President and CEO, Dr. M. Karega Rausch, Vice President of Authorizer and Learning Development, David Greenberg, and Vice President of Policy and Institutional Change, Veronica Brooks-Uy, come together to share why the time to center accountability is now.
Resources mentioned:
For Mental Health Awareness Month, NACSA examines the role of authorizing and school accountability in ensuring student wellness. To kick-off Season 2 of our podcast, Community Conversations with NACSA, we spoke with Andrea Browning (WestEd), Tricia Noyola (Rocky Mountain Prep), and Dr. John Gasko (Uplift Education), to learn how authorizers and schools can work with communities to ensure access to learning environments that foster...
Tressa Pankovits, Co-Director of Reinventing America’s Schools Project at the Progressive Policy Institute, Priscila Dilley, Senior Officer at the Leadership Academy Network, and Dr. David Saenz, Chief of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships at Fort Worth ISD come together to tell a unique and powerful story. The partnership between Leadership Academy Network, Fort Worth Independent School District, and Texas Wesleyan Universit...
NACSA Vice President of Authorizer and Learning Development, David Greenberg, sits down with Laurie Schroeder (Innovative Quality Schools) and Jason Moore (Buckeye Community Hope Foundation) to discuss the importance of shifting the rigor of the new school application process from paper to people and what they are doing in their offices to accomplish this.
Explore NACSA's latest resource, The Capacities of Charter Sch...
NACSA’s Vice President of Communications, Courtney Hughley, sits down with Ebony Lee, partner at the Charter School Growth Fund and NACSA board member, and Steven Cruz, communications director at City Fund.
Live from NACSACon 2023, Courtney, Ebony and Steven discuss the importance of authorizers using their platforms to tell the story and the work of the free, public and open to all charter schools.
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