Good day, CharterFolk.
We have a treat for those of you who can find some time this weekend: going straight up, no chaser with Andrew Broy, President and CEO of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools.
You can find episode on the CharterFolk Website with a transcription, on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, and on YouTube.
It’s an interesting time to have a chance to catch up with Andrew. Today, thousands of students in Chicago are out of class at union-hosted protests.
Meanwhile, INCS is coordinating with many charter schools to highlight a contrast: signing days showing how many graduating charter school students are on their way to college.
After learning more about Andrew’s background, we dive into how Chicago’s charter movement has held its ground against CTU, what the Indianapolis reform model means for the rest of the country, and why state associations have to remain on offense and have to evolve faster than they’ve ever evolved before. He also offers a compelling argument that all state associations should be developing the political infrastructure needed to excel in advocacy, and he encourages school leaders across the country to increase the dues they are offering their associations and to get involved in their associations’ governance.
Along the way, we explore why CTU isn’t the enemy, low expectations are; the Brandon Johnson administration’s repeal of the SQRP school rating system; what Indianapolis is actually doing that nobody else is; the math that turned $4 million of political spending into $300 million of recurring operational funding; what 40 Chicago high schools with fewer than 200 students say about urban governance; the three preconditions Andrew lays out for blue-state, blue-city governance reform; and Andrew’s closing John Lewis story about what real advocacy looks like.
I find that every hour I spend with Andrew, I learn a great deal. And in this “straight up, no chaser” discussion, I would report that I learned even more than I normally do. I trust you will find the same.
A last thank-you to Andrew.
On we go.