Vol 13 – The American Dream Lives at WonkyFolk

WonkyFolk

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.

For those of you who would prefer a video recording, we provide a link to YouTube.

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 (44:11)
• 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. https://publiccharters.org/newsroom/publications/2023-public-school-enrollment-trends-report/

· WonkyFolk Vol 5 – Special CREDO Episode with Macke Raymond. https://www.charterfolk.org/captivate-podcast/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. https://ncss3.stanford.edu/

· 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”. https://www.educationnext.org/the-charter-school-movement-just-keeps-on-keepin-on/