Season 3 Episode 4 - Graduation Season

It’s Graduation time in California! The CharterNation Podcast celebrates with a new segment called Best in Class which highlights exceptional charter schools in the Golden State. Our first series of interviews focuses on 10 exceptional charter high schools that are sending a significant number of historically disadvantaged students to college or the workforce.

But first, we hear from Cady Ching, the new Executive Director of Summit Public Schools, another charter that is growing the next gen of college graduates.

Changemakers Interview Series: California is home to the largest population of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. As such, charter public schools educate students with ties to countries as different as China, India, Samoa, and Vietnam. Cady Ching, the new executive director of Summit Public Schools, understands their student experience . CCSA’s President and CEO Myrna Castrejón recently sat down with Cady to talk about her background and how it shapes her work as the new leader of a leading charter public school network.

Research Spotlight: The state’s charter sector has a lot to be proud of this year. CCSA’s annual report entitled Portrait of the Movement: How CA Charter Public Schools Are Preparing Students for College and Career finds charters are sending a significant number of historically disadvantaged students to UC and CSU campuses compared to the traditional public school average. We dive into data with Jonathan Slakey, CCSA's Managing Director of School Performance, Accountability, and Research at CCSA.

Best In Class Series feat. Lighthouse Community Public Schools: CCSA's 2024 Portrait of the Movement identified 10 charters that are truly the “Best in Class” when it comes to preparing students for college and career. We speak to leaders at one of those schools, Lighthouse Community Public Schools in Oakland, about their best practices.

Season 3 Episode 3: Film Club Edition

We shine a spotlight on two documentaries about two charter public schools that are working to educate some of the most vulnerable student populations in California.

First, Watts Learning Center (WLC) is the focus of A School Grows In Watts which offers an intimate and powerful portrayal of how WLC is changing the lives of Black and Latino children in Watts.

The other documentary, La Lucha: Getting Schooled in America, centers on Learn4Life which follows five students who are trying to graduate amid tremendous personal challenges.

Host Ana Tintocalis plays clips from both films and interviews:

• Eugene Fisher, Co-Founder and Board President, Watts Learning Center
• Skip Hansen, Co-Founder and President, Lifelong Learning

Season 3 Episode 2 - Women’s History Month Special:

March is Women’s History Month and in this episode, you hear from some amazing women in California’s charter school movement who are standing tall.

Changemakers Interview Series: The tables are turned on CCSA’s fearless leader Myrna Castrejón. Instead of hosting our Changemakers segment, she’s our special guest! Learn more about one of the most powerful charter school female leaders in the U.S. Cristina De Jesus of Green Dot Public Schools CA serves as guest host.

Reflections on Female Leadership in the Charter Sector: Tap into the great mind of Amy Held, Executive Director Larchmont Charter School, one of the highest-performing public schools in Los Angeles. Amy has been leading Larchmont’s expansion over the years and reflects on her leadership style, the benefits of having women in leadership, and barriers for female leaders. Amy sits down with CCSA Director of Local Advocacy in L.A. Kasey Kokenda for the interview.

Postcards from Charterland: This month’s audio postcard comes from a charter school student who is skateboarding her way to success. Thirteen-year-old Katelyn West attends California Pacific Charter Schools. Katelyn lives in Sebastopol and discovered her love for skateboarding a couple years ago and is now training to qualify for the 2028 Olympics.