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
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 ...
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-ter...
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.
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...
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.
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 guida...
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.
Veronica Brooks-Uy is joined byAlex 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.
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 ...
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 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 supp...
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 equ...
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 k...
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...
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