Good morning, CharterFolk.
Today we are pleased to share a Contributor Column from Karega Rausch, CEO of NACSA, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers.
We provide a bio for Karega below.
Karega Rausch is the President and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), responsible for ensuring NACSA advances and strengthens the ideas and practices of authorizing so that students and communities, especially those who are historically under resourced, thrive.
He has extensive charter school authorizing, education research and policy, community engagement, and strategic advocacy experience. Before being appointed CEO at NACSA, Karega headed NACSA’s research initiatives, was a former Education & Charter Schools Director with the Indianapolis Mayor’s Office, the Board Chair of the Indiana Charter Schools Board (Indiana’s statewide authorizer), the Director of the Indianapolis affiliate of Stand for Children, and on the leadership team of Indiana University’s Equity Project, housed at the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy.
Karega has authored or co-authored numerous professional publications and has presented at many research conferences across the country on charter school authorizing, racial/ethnic disproportionality in school discipline, and special education reform.
Karega earned his Ph.D. and master’s degree in educational psychology from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.
Karega enjoys spending time with his family, running, twirling a cane, and engaging friends at his local church.
Karega shared these remark’s at his organization’s national conference last month. We thought they contained ideas worth all CharterFolk paying attention to. So we share them here. A special thanks to Karega for allowing us to do so.
Innovation and Accountability Must Go Hand in Hand
For all of us in this room, the work we do is not easy — it’s demanding, it’s consuming, and it’s often exhausting. But it’s also work that transforms lives, not just for children, but of their families and entire communities. And that’s why we are here.
This week is a chance to reconnect, re-energize, and recommit to our shared vision: ensuring that every child has access to a high-quality education that works for them. And that’s a vision that gives us joy and purpose.
As we dive deep into conversations and sessions, let’s remember something that’s at the very heart of what we do — innovation and accountability. These two ideas aren’t just buzzwords; they are the driving force behind our efforts to create and sustain great charter schools. Without innovation, we aren’t pushing the boundaries of what education can be. But without accountability, we aren’t ensuring that all students are achieving at high levels that prepare them for the future. It’s not “either/or” — it’s “both/and.”
At this moment, the work of authorizing has never been more urgent. We’ve all been through a lot in the past few years post-pandemic. We’re all aware that student learning isn’t recovering as quickly as we had hoped. We see too many students disconnected from schools and from learning. And we see jaw-dropping numbers of students that are absent from school altogether.
Authorizing can be a force to address these trends, but it will require us to lean more heavily than ever into our DNA. That’s embracing innovation that produces real, measurable outcomes for students.
You see, innovation is in our bones y’all! We–the charter sector–have pioneered new models of education because we’ve had the courage to take calculated risks — risks that have paid off for students. Look at the wide diversity of approaches to education that have found a home and are growing in charter schooling – from schools that focus on the classics to those helping students navigate career and technical education opportunities, to those with intentionally diverse school bodies, and more. Also, remember that the very best charter networks all started with one courageous authorizer, saying yes to one unproven schooling idea. And look at how many hundreds of thousands of students’ lives are better because of those decisions. Tapping into the innovative brilliance of communities – especially those that continue to be undervalued and overlooked – is demonstrating what’s possible for students. Your work has shown there is no one-size-fits all approach to education.
And we have the receipts! As more and more data and studies come out, it’s clear that the work of authorizing and charter schooling is the most successful school improvement initiative our country has ever seen at scale. That is especially true for students of color and those from lower income backgrounds.
And there is emerging evidence that in places where a significant number of students are in charter schools, all boats rise — that is, student learning improves across all public education. That’s because you have never shied away from embracing innovation and demanding excellence. And that’s where accountability comes in.
We must stay committed to requiring strong student outcomes — not just in pockets but across the board. It’s not about chasing the newest shiny object; it’s about setting high standards and sticking to them, no matter the model or approach to schooling.
We must demand success in core competencies because those are the building blocks of a successful education. And that means never shying away from holding schools accountable for high rates of literacy, numeracy, and more that we get from state assessments. Our sector cannot contribute to misleading students and families on how well-prepared students are for their future, because of lower standards or relying on subjective measures of performance. We have to make the tough calls when schools aren’t getting it done for students. Some schools need to close, despite their best efforts, and we need to help students find a better option. Other schools need organizations that specialize in school improvement to foster partnerships so they can improve.
Now, having rigorous, high expectations does not mean over-regulating schools. And unfortunately, we are seeing some problems; problems like a narrow definition of what can count as a credit or not embracing mastery and competency-based learning. We are seeing charter application lengths and processes becoming unwieldy and shutting out too many people with powerful ideas and strong execution teams. We are seeing schools, even high-quality schools, spending too much time on renewal processes that should be streamlined. Whether this is due to state policy or authorizing practices, it’s important to aggressively address barriers that are getting in the way of talented school teams using their autonomy to do whatever it takes to strengthen student learning. We have to create the conditions that attract and foster the next breakthrough opportunities.
But having rigorous, high expectations does mean remaining open to new, expanded ways of measuring success. We need to pay close attention to authorizers and states who are piloting innovative approaches like new ways of assessing student learning, leveraging artificial intelligence-enabled tools that offer real-time insights on student progress, creatively measuring critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, crafting objective and rigorous school-specific goals, and measuring how students are doing in other important life outcomes. As the measurement of student learning evolves, we have to be open to new ways of evaluating how students are doing.
At the end of the day, you’re not just gatekeepers: you are innovators and champions for change.
It’s our responsibility to demand excellence, embrace innovation, and expand what works so we can help all students thrive. We can continue to be at the vanguard of quality innovation because of our unrelenting focus on embracing ideas that increase student outcomes.
So, as we gather over the coming days, let’s keep one thing top of mind: innovation and accountability must go hand in hand. This is the time to connect with your colleagues, to problem-solve, and to learn from one another. Our best work is more vital than ever. Students deserve nothing less.