If you weren’t in Sacramento for the 2024 CSDC Conference this week, you may have missed a big charter governance reveal: CSDC has just released the Boarding Pass Podcast, a series for new and returning board members and other leaders in California’s charter schools!
More than 20 years ago, CSDC’s Governance and Policy Specialist Caitlin O’Halloran Hellar was an enthusiastic, if naive, parent who had the bright idea to start a charter school in her small, rural Northern California community. In 2004, the school launched with 38 students and two teachers; today, with nearly 500 students, Dixon Montessori Charter School is the highest-performing school in the community, and one of the highest performing schools in Solano County.
CSDC created the Boarding Pass Podcast to meet busy charter leaders right where they are – on the go! Charter leaders can tune in to Boarding Pass to learn more about how and why charter schools work; they will hear how charter leaders can improve their schools as Caitlin and guests discuss everything from finance to governance, student achievement, and the future of charter schools.
Throughout, Caitlin will share from her own two decades of missteps, mishaps, and subsequent successes, as a charter founder, district board member (authorizer), and now veteran charter school board member. Through interviews with an exceptional group of charter leaders, experts, and pioneers, Boarding Pass will share how these individuals blazed the trail for today’s charter leaders.
The conversations, as well as the resources linked in the show notes, are all specifically designed to help charter school board members make a meaningful difference for students in their communities and throughout the state.
Boarding Pass can be accessed on the Boarding Pass Podcast webpage, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
