Greetings, CharterFolk!
This week, Andy and I are talking with Nina Rees, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, regarding charter schools and the American Dream.
Here is a link to the podcast. And for those of you who would prefer a video recording, we provide a link to YouTube as well.
This week some of the topics include:
- Introductions (00:01)
- One of the greatest accomplishments for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) over the last decade (06:11)
- How we should we think about charters relative to other choice options and what we need by way of leadership and advocacy (11:30)
- Nina’s thoughts regarding the most pressing charter issues 11+ years ago v. today (15:21)
- Nina’s biggest surprise (18:27)
- A backstage pass to leading and organization like the NAPCS and some of Nina’s enduring memories (24:33)
- The political leaders who support charter schools during a period of intense polarization, what we can do to support continued bipartisanship, and the importance of future elections (28:47)
- How to keep a charter base together, especially during vexing issues facing charter schools (34:10)
- The area Nina would encourage CharterFolk to work on for charter school success (44:10)
- Nina’s billboard for charter schools, “A ticket to the American Dream” (47:22)
Notes:
You can use the following links to access:
- The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ report, Believing in Public Education: A Demographic and State-level Analysis of Public Charter School and District Public School Enrollment Trends.
- WonkyFolk Vol 5 – Special CREDO Episode with Macke Raymond.
- CREDO’s report, As a Matter of Fact: National Charter School Study III, which is the third installment of a multi-decade study examining the academic progress of students enrolled in charter schools compared with those enrolled in traditional public schools.
- Jed Wallace’s article, “The Charter-School Movement Just Keeps On Keepin’ On: Its momentum catalyzed by shifting politics, new strength, better advocacy, and simple staying power”.
Previous volumes of WonkyFolk can be accessed here.
WonkyFolk is a discussion series between Andy Rotherham and Jed Wallace intended to provide an informative and engaging forum where education reformers can grapple with tough issues related to our shared quest to improve public education in our country.
If you have ideas for WonkyFolk discussion topics, please email me!