"More Great Seats 4 Kids": A SUNY Charter Schools Institute Podcast

In this episode of the State University of New York (SUNY) Charter Schools Institute’s More Great Seats 4 Kids podcast, the Institute’s Mike Lesczinski is joined by Kalila Hoggard, Chief People Office...

Natalie Lozada, the founding Executive Director of Haven Charter High School, joins the podcast to discuss the STEM-based CTE high school’s launch this past August. Natalie discusses the inspiration b...

Keegan Prue, the SUNY Charter Schools Institute’s Managing Director for Strategy and Communications, joins the podcast to break down the 2026 Request for Proposals (RFP) for new charter schools. He ex...

Dermoth Mattison, founder and Executive Director of South Shore Charter School, and Mark Crusante, founder and Executive Director, Diamond Charter School, join the podcast to discuss how they are work...

Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy’s Head of School, Nicia Fullwood, and Dean of Postsecondary Success, Cassie Magesis, share how the all-girls charter high school empowers students for future success ...

The Academy Charter School's founder and CEO Bishop Barrington Goldson and his team join the podcast for an engaging discussion on The Academy's Career and Technical Education (CTE) program,...

Ascend Charter Schools is a not-for-profit charter school education corporation with authority to operate 10 charter schools rooted in Brooklyn. Beyond a reputation for rigorous inquiry-based curricul...

Erin Allen, Senior Analyst, SUNY Charter Schools Institute, joins the podcast to discuss the Institute's new white paper, Accelerated Learning in Practice: Promising Practices from the SUNY Chart...

Kristie Swanson, Experiential Learning Coordinator at Finn Academy Charter School, joins us to discuss introducing hands-on activities in the classroom to connect academic learning to real-world situa...

Central Queen Academy's Executive Director Ashish Kapadia joins the podcast to discuss the new school year, partnering with community groups to deliver critical services and supports, and address...

Marsha Gadsden, Executive Director of PAVE Academy Charter School, joins the podcast to discuss what makes PAVE Academy Charter School different than other public schools, lessons learned from the pan...

Maureen Foley, Director of New Charters, joins the podcast to discuss the preopening process leading up to the first day of instruction and how schools should prepare for a pre-opening visit from the ...

Andrew Kile, Director of School of Evaluation, joins the podcast to discuss the importance of the school evaluation visit, the types of evidence the team collects and evaluates, specific on the ground...

Charter schools in New York trade greater operational autonomy for greater accountability for academic outcomes. We call this the “Autonomy for Accountability Bargain.” But what does this look like in...

In this new series, More Great Seats for Kids, the SUNY Charter Schools Institute takes you deep into the authorization process and the high standards and best practices that make New York’s SUNY auth...