Throughout the last nine weeks at TCSA, I’ve met charter leaders from around Texas, visited schools implementing innovative student-centric models, networked with reformers from throughout the country, attended a fundraiser to support high-quality growth, and overall gained a greater appreciation for the work that we collectively do for students and families. And while these experiences […]
I recently had the opportunity, along with fellow TCSA staffer Elliott Nguyen, to attend the 2016 National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The NACSA gathering allowed an opportunity to better understand the national charter landscape as a whole and the particular challenges that charter authorizers face in regards to ensuring […]
By: Denise Nance Pierce For many Texas kids of color, the promise of a quality public education remains elusive. The achievement gap that separates African-American, Hispanic and children in poverty from their Caucasian and affluent peers remains a stubborn, disappointing fact in our public schools. Texas school districts work hard every day to clobber this […]
The 2016-2017 school year is well underway! Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and soon we will be wrapping up the first semester. But before we get there, make sure your Model Policy Subscription is up to date so you have access to the most recent updates. This week TCSA Legal added a new policy […]
Needed: Independent Reviewers of the Open-Enrollment Charter Applications With more than 130,000 students across the Lone Star State on waiting lists, the need for high-quality charter schools is greater now than ever before. While networks throughout the state have ambitious plans to address this challenge, the simple truth is that there are too many students […]
As we mark the 20th year of public charter schools operating in Texas, we can look back at our successes and how far we have come as a movement. Currently, there are nearly 250,000 students enrolled at a charter school at 629 campuses across the state. With 130,000 students on a waiting list, there is […]
The 2016 Texas Charter Schools Conference is the largest gathering of its kind for the charter school community in the state and was held in Austin earlier this week. More than 1,600 attendees participated in training sessions over three days. The Conference Chair, John Armbrust of Austin Achieve, kicked off the conference with a warm […]
The upcoming 85th Texas Legislative Session will be our biggest challenge to date. Parents, teachers and board members are at the forefront of our advocacy efforts. It is critical to engage your lawmakers on an on-going basis. We are faced with difficult times in passing pro-charter legislation due to a variety of obstacles and competing […]
The Texas Charter Schools Association (TCSA) named Mr. Chuck Cook the Leader of the Year and Dr. Alissa Russell the Teacher of the Year at the 2016 Texas Charter Schools Conference earlier this week. Both Mr. Cook and Dr. Russell received recognition and their awards at a luncheon with keynote speaker Governor Greg Abbott and […]
On Thursday, September 29, 2016, David Dunn, Executive Director of Texas Charter Schools Association, testified at a joint hearing before the Texas House Appropriations and Public Education Committees. On a panel with other fast growth school districts, Dunn talked about the rapid growth of charter school enrollment in Texas, student waiting lists, and the need […]
