Tuesday General Session
Tuesday General Session
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BCEC, East & West Ballroom
Raise Your Voice
Join us for an inspiring general session as we hear from a variety of speakers, including Nikki Delk Barnes, Principal of KIPP Massachusetts, Lea Crusey, a parent and DC Public Charter School Board Member, and David Spicer, a former charter school student and MIT graduate, on why they raise their voice on behalf of the charter school movement. Later we will hear an energetic and engaging performance by Nathan "Mystic" Duguid, a National Alliance Rising Leader. In a very special moment, former National Alliance CEO Nina Rees will be inducted into the Charter Schools Hall of Fame.
Hear a stirring keynote address from Spencer Russell, Founder and President of Toddlers Can Read and recipient of the prestigious Harriett Ball Teacher Excellence Award. Spencer shares his story as an educator, struggling to teach his kindergarteners and first graders how to read until he had a breakthrough. Come to learn more about his journey and the solutions he discovered along the way.
Revolutionizing Student Achievement Through Parent Partnerships: Keynote by Spencer Russell, Founder of Toddlers CAN Read
We know more today than ever about how to teach kids to read, write, and do math. Yet despite decades of research, teacher training, and new initiatives, our children continue to fall behind. Add to this a societal shift that places greater demands on teachers while diminishing the role of parents in education ("Don't worry; they'll learn that at school!"), and the challenge of educational equity feels almost insurmountable. But what if the solution to our educational crisis isn't to adopt new programs or attend more professional development sessions? What if our children's most important educators aren't educators at all, but are the very parents we've pushed out of the educational system? Join us for this provocative keynote as we dive deep into five strategies for transforming our relationships with families to ensure success for
General Session
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Presenters
Executive Director
KIPP Massachusetts
Nikki joined the KIPP MA Team and Family in 2013 as a 6th grade humanities teacher at KIPP Academy Boston Middle School. Nikki has spent her professional career teaching in and advocating for public schools. She has over 20 years of classroom experience in elementary, middle and high school.
Great Oaks Legacy Charter School
Nathan is a multi-talented individual who wears many hats as a journalist, poet, rapper, and songwriter. Alongside his artistic endeavors, Nathan is actively engaged in various leadership roles. He serves as the vice president of his school’s Student Government Association, where he spearheads initiatives to enhance student welfare. As the founding Editor-in-Chief of the school newspaper, Nathan utilizes his platform to amplify marginalized voices and shed light on important issues. He is also working with the Civic Spring Fellowship, where he is passionately involved in organizing a community event addressing educational inequities.
Interim President & Chief Executive Officer
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Eric Paisner is the interim President and Chief Executive Officer for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Before joining the National Alliance, Eric worked as an attorney for Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC, advising clients on a variety of education and corporate issues. He also served as a senior consultant with Arthur Andersen, specializing in strategic management solutions for large corporations and government agencies. Eric has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Eric lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and three children.
Senior Fellow
George W. Bush Institute
Nina Rees is an education reform leader with vast experience in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. For nearly twelve years, Nina was the president and chief executive officer of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the charter school movement. Prior to joining the National Alliance, Nina spent 20 years shaping education policy in the public and private sectors. She served as the first Deputy Under Secretary for Innovation and Improvement at the U.S. Department of Education. Before moving to the Education Department, Nina worked in the White House as Deputy Assistant for Domestic Policy to the Vice President of the United States.
Nina also served as Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at Knowledge Universe, a leading global education company with investments in early childhood education, before- and after-school programs, and online instruction. In the 1990s, Nina was the Heritage Foundation’s senior education analyst and chief spokesperson on education. She began her career on Capitol Hill, where she worked for then-Congressman Porter Goss.
Nina has been a guest on Bloomberg, CNBC, C-SPAN, Fox News, MSNBC's Morning Joe, and PBS’s NewsHour. Her articles and opinions have been published in The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. Washingtonian named her one of Washington DC’s Most Influential People in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Nina currently serves on the board of directors of the PIE Network and the advisory committee of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. She is a Pahara-Aspen Fellow and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
A native of Iran who immigrated to America at the age of 14, Nina earned her undergraduate degree at Virginia Tech and a master’s degree at George Mason University. She is the proud mom of a Davidson College Wildcat.
Founder & President
Toddlers CAN Read
Spencer Russell, Founder of Toddlers CAN Read, is a groundbreaking entrepreneur and educator helping thousands of parents teach their children to read at an early age. A Harriett Ball Teacher Excellence award winning former teacher, he has become a trailblazer in literacy innovation. He has gained widespread recognition for his unique approach and dedication to helping kids get the best start at their education. He recently gave a keynote on "Why We Should Stop Talking About the Literacy Crisis" at SXSWEDU and his work has earned him features on major platforms like the TikTok Good Sparks series, FOX, and Parents.com. His goal is to create the best at-home reading program in the world.
Teacher & The University of Texas at Austin Ph.D. Student
Calcasieu Parish Public Schools
David is an education enthusiast blending passions for teaching, leadership, and service. His admiration for charters stems from his time teaching Algebra at E Prep Cliffs, a charter middle school in Cleveland. Today, David advocates for culturally-relevant pedagogy as an English teacher, and Gen Z-er, in Louisiana. Before teaching, David graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he served as student body president, with a B.S. in Political Science and from Western Governors University with a M.Ed. in Education Technology and Instructional Design. A Ph.D. student studying education policy at The University of Texas at Austin, David’s research explores higher education law, such as race-based admissions. His teaching and research are inspired by his service in local, state, and federal government. Working with DC Public Schools, Louisiana Board of Regents, and US Department of Education, David has advanced critical issues in education, including digital equity, absenteeism, and school funding. David seeks to utilize his background to connect diverse education stakeholders, ranging from practitioners to policymakers.
General Session
Scroll down to view handouts.