National Charter Schools Week 2013 Highlights

During this year’s National Charter Schools Week (NCSW), NAPCS hosted 16 of our key state association leaders (from AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, GA, IL, IN, MD, MA, MI, NJ, OH, SC, and TX) in Washington, D.C. to advocate for greater support for public charter schools.

Our goal was to both influence the discussions around the re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) by focusing on ways within the statute to enhance charter school quality and to ask for greater funding for charter schools – to support the creation of new schools and replicating effective models.

NCSW highlights included:

• Charter Champions Award Reception: The reception honored the leadership of this year’s Charter Champions: House Education and Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN), Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mississippi Lt. Governor Tate Reeves, Mississippi State Senator Gray Tollison, and Nashville Mayor Karl Dean. We were also joined by many Members of Congress, including House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Rep. Greg Harper (R-MS), Rep. Alan Nunnelee (R-MS), and Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ).

U.S. Rep. Hoyer, Nashville Mayor Dean, and U.S. Rep. Kline at the Charter Champions reception


NAPCS President Nina Rees presents Charter Champion award to Miss. Sen. Gray Tollison

• Meeting with Senator Durbin (D-IL): Because the Senator could not attend our reception in person, Andrew Broy, President of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, presented the Senator with the Charter Champion award in the Senator’s Capitol office and spent time discussing the state of the movement in Illinois, with a particular focus on the Senator’s interest in East St. Louis and North Chicago. 

Illinois Network of Charter Schools President Andrew Broy presents Senator Durbin with his Charter Champion Award

• Meeting with Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA): Tony Roberts, President of the Georgia Charter Schools Association, met with Rep. Kingston, who is the Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education and gave him an update on the high level of demand for charter schools in the wake of the passage of Georgia’s Constitutional amendment.

Georgia Charter Schools Association President Tony Roberts and U.S. Rep. Kingston

• Meeting with Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO): Congressman Polis met with state leaders and NAPCS staff to discuss his All-Star Act, which will make improvements to the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP).

Congressmen Polis and Kline at the Charter Champions reception

• Meeting with Nadya Dabby, Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Innovation and Improvement at the U.S. Department of Education: The meeting was both informative about the Department’s priorities, and allowed for state leaders to articulate their priorities for the CSP and its administration.

Finally, there were a number of meetings with Congressional staff who will play an instrumental role in the writing of ESEA. State leaders met with staff representing: House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH); House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Kline (R-MN); Senior Democrat, Rep. George Miller (D-CA); Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA); Ranking Member Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN); and Chairman Harkin’s Appropriations staff.


Katherine Haley with Speaker Boehner’s office meeting with state leaders

In addition, the NAPCS State Leaders Council members met with a dozen more offices from their state delegations, updating members of Congress and their staffs about the charter school movements in their respective states and districts, and the importance of increasing funding for the federal CSP.

We look forward to building on the NCSW momentum as we gather in Washington, D.C. again in July for the National Charter Schools Conference! 

Nashville Mayor Honored as 2013 Charter Champion

Throughout National Charter Schools Week, the Charter Blog will announce the 2013 Charter Champions! This year’s Charter Champion awards recognize five outstanding public officials for their service to the students and parents of the public charter school movement.

Given annually during National Charter Schools Week, the Charter Champion awards are presented to the very top federal, state, and local public officials who lead the most impactful public charter school initiatives, who serve as the most visible charter school advocates and who—throughout their career in public service—have tirelessly supported charters as a high-quality public school option.

This year’s local Charter Champion is Mayor Karl Dean of Nashville, TN.

Mayor Karl Dean (Nashville, TN)
Karl Dean is the sixth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. He was first elected in September 2007 and re-elected in August 2011. As part of his agenda for strengthening public education in Nashville, Mayor Karl Dean has been an active supporter of creating more high-quality public charter schools for the city's families. He has recruited successful charter school operators from across the country to come to Nashville and was instrumental in the creation of the Tennessee Charter School Incubator, the first state-wide charter school incubator in the country. He has also championed improvements to the state's charter school law to make the environment in Nashville more supportive of high-quality charters.

“We have several excellent public charter schools in Nashville where students are being given the tools to write their own destinies, irrespective of zip codes or family circumstances,” Mayor Dean said. “That is one of a city’s most important responsibilities to its young citizens, and I am proud to play a role in helping make that happen. Quality charter schools can – and should – play a big role in reforming our education system and in providing our students with the excellent education they deserve.”

Mississippi Officials Named 2013 Charter Champions

Throughout National Charter Schools Week, the Charter Blog will announce the 2013 Charter Champions! This year’s Charter Champion awards recognize five outstanding public officials for their service to the students and parents of the public charter school movement.

Given annually during National Charter Schools Week, the Charter Champion awards are presented to the very top federal, state and local public officials who lead the most impactful public charter school initiatives, who serve as the most visible charter school advocates and who—throughout their career in public service—have tirelessly supported charters as a high-quality public school option.

This year’s state Charter Champions are Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves (MS) and State Senator Gray Tollison (MS).

Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves (MS)
Elected in 2011 as Mississippi's Lieutenant Governor, Tate Reeves leads the 52-member state Senate. Lieutenant Governor Reeves made it a priority to enact legislation to improve the state's public charter school law. Through numerous speeches, op-eds and interviews, he made the case to the state's citizens about why Mississippi's students needed to have the option of attending high-quality public charter schools. In the 2012 and 2013 legislative sessions, he fought hard for major changes to Mississippi's charter school law, as evidenced by the fact that the Senate passed several charter school bills during this time period. Those efforts paid off when Mississippi enacted sweeping reforms to its charter school law in April 2013. These reforms would not have happened without the strong leadership of Lieutenant Governor Reeves.

"I thank the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools for this honor and their support in our efforts to provide school choice,” said Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves. “I truly believe that improving the educational attainment level of our citizens is fundamental to improving our economy. Every child in Mississippi deserves an opportunity for success, and public charter schools are an essential ingredient to achieving that goal.”

State Senator Gray Tollison (MS)
State Senator Gray Tollison is a member of the Mississippi Senate, representing District 9 since 1996. In January 2012, Tollison was appointed Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. Senator Tollison has been a strong supporter of public charter schools throughout his time in the Mississippi Senate and has sponsored several charter school bills over the course of his tenure. In the 2012 and 2013 legislative sessions, he served as the primary sponsor of the major charter school bills passed by the Senate. He was a passionate and forceful advocate for charter schools during the floor debates on these bills and worked with his colleagues in the House and the Senate to pass a bill to make major improvements to Mississippi's charter school law in April 2013.

"Public charters across the country, and soon in Mississippi, are giving parents faced with failing schools a choice – the choice to give their child a high-quality public education that prepares them for college and careers,’ said Senator Gray Tollison. “I am honored to be selected as a 2013 Charter Champion, but the true champions are the parents in Mississippi who this year fought tirelessly to pass legislation to build a high-quality public charter school sector in our state.”

NAPCS Announces 2013 Charter Champions

Throughout National Charter Schools Week, the Charter Blog will announce the 2013 Charter Champions! This year’s Charter Champion awards recognize five outstanding public officials for their service to the students and parents of the public charter school movement.

Given annually during National Charter Schools Week, the Charter Champion awards are presented to the very top federal, state and local public officials who lead the most impactful public charter school initiatives, who serve as the most visible charter school advocates and who—throughout their career in public service—have tirelessly supported charters as a high-quality public school option. Now in its eighth year, awardees will be honored today at our nation’s Capitol.

This year’s federal Charter Champions are Senator Richard Durbin (IL) and Congressman John Kline (MN).

Senator Richard J. Durbin (IL)
Senator and Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Springfield, is the 47th U.S. Senator from the State of Illinois, the state’s senior senator, and the convener of Illinois’ bipartisan congressional delegation. Senator Durbin is one of the strongest proponents of public charter schools in the United States Senate. In 2010, he introduced a bipartisan bill, the All STAR Act, to replicate and expand the most successful of charter schools across the country. In addition, he was instrumental in the establishment of the first charter school in North Chicago, the LEARN Public Charter School. Located on the edge of the Great Lakes Naval Station in Lake County, IL, the charter network partnered with the United State Navy to open this school.

Congressman John Kline (MN)
Congressman John Kline proudly represents the men and women of Minnesota’s 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives since first being elected to Congress in 2002. As Chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, Congressman Kline skillfully forged a bipartisan compromise on legislation to reauthorize the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP), which passed the House of Representatives in September 2011 with 365 votes – the strongest showing yet in the House for public charter schools. This Congress, Chairman Kline will lead efforts to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, including the CSP.

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