National Alliance Celebrates Movement Contribution of its President, Nelson Smith

Alliance President and CEO to Step Down After Five Years at Helm of Charter Movement's National Advocacy Group

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools today announced that President and Chief Executive Officer Nelson Smith will be stepping aside from the leadership position he took on in 2004, specifically with the goal of establishing a national voice and policy presence for public charter schools.

Since its inception in 2004, the Alliance has supported and fought for federal and state policies promoting charter schools as a high-quality public education option. The Alliance's focus has included key priorities like lifting "caps" that prevent charter school growth, expanding federal support for charter facilities, and closing the funding gap between charters and traditional public schools across the nation.  The Alliance has also helped build capacity at the state level, providing training and support for state organizations that serve and represent the nation's public charter schools.

During Smith's tenure as the Alliance's first president, the national charter school movement opened over 1,500 new charter schools, with nearly 5,000 schools now serving over 1.6 million students. Smith emphasized charter school quality as the path to greater growth, including creating a movement-led task force on quality and accountability, encouraging state charter associations to adopt quality standards, and developing a new model state charter school law with strong accountability provisions. Several states are now using the new model law as a template for statutory reform.

"Over the past six years, the public charter school movement has become an important part of the delivery system for public education, bringing not just competition but high-quality options for parents and real energy for systemic reform," said Alliance President and CEO Nelson Smith. "I'm proud of the role the Alliance has played in this evolution, and intend to keep serving the movement in a new capacity."

"It has been an honor to work closely with Nelson since the founding of the Alliance more than five years ago," said Caprice Young, President of the Board of Directors for the Alliance. "As our founding President and Chief Executive Officer, Nelson has energetically led the national charter school movement during a time of tremendous growth and an increasing, positive impact upon the broader public school system. Nelson's policy expertise, deep relationships with reformers and policy makers alike, and his commitment to advancing high-quality educational opportunities through public charter schools are unsurpassed.  I'm very thankful for his service and for his continuing commitment to the public charter school movement."

Smith will continue to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer and will remain at the helm until his successor is in place. The Alliance will be conducting a national search for his replacement, and following the leadership transition, Smith will continue to serve as a senior advisor to the Alliance.

About the Alliance:

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (http://www.publiccharters.org) is the national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the charter school movement. The Alliance works to increase the number of high performing charter schools available to all families, particularly low-income and minority families who currently do not have access to quality public schools. The Alliance provides assistance to state charter school associations and resource centers, develops and advocates for improved public policies, and serves as the united voice for this large and diverse movement. Over 1.6 million students attend more than 4,900 charter schools in 39 states and the District of Columbia.

SOURCE National Alliance for Public Charter Schools