UPDATE: Kaleem Caire Named to ALEC-Affiliated NACSA's Board

NACSA's new advisory board member, Kaleem Caire

UPDATE: An April 5th press release from the Urban League of Greater Madison announced that its President and CEO, Kaleem Caire  has been named to the National Advisory Board of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA).

As documented at this site previously, the NACSA is very much a part of an effort to privatize public education and turn it over to education-for-profit operations. NACSA is also an affiliate of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

NACSA has been behind an effort to remove the authority of locally elected school boards to approve charter schools, and to place that authority under the control of governor-appointed state-wide authorization panels. Such panels would also be given the authority to approve "virtual" (online) charter and voucher schools that would draw funds from already-strapped public school districts.

ALEC is a national association of conservative corporate leaders, think tanks, foundations and legislators that prepare "model legislation" bills introduced primarily by Republican lawmakers across the country. Its various "working groups" have not only pushed "education reform" (meaning, school privatization) but have also been a source of such backward legislation as the "Castle Doctrine" and "Stand Your Ground".

Some of the very same foundations and right-wing think tanks standing behind ALEC have also supported the growth of the prison-industrial complex and the related criminalization of youth of color. That reality has consistently been neglected by proponents of privatized charter schools who sell such ventures to an unsuspecting public as a way to "save our kids most at risk"  and a way to seal off the "schools-to-prison pipeline".

Greg Richmond, the President and CEO of NACSA, speaking in regard to the appointment of the organization's new board members, stated that  “We are at a critical point in the evolution of charter schools.” Richmond went on to state “To make a meaningful difference in public education and increase opportunities for kids across the country, charter schools cannot be anything less than exceptional. NACSA welcomes the newest members of its National Advisory Board to help us make this goal a reality.”

Regarding Caire's appointment Richmond stated that, "Making this goal a reality will require the insight and bold leadership of thoughtful and innovative professionals like Kaleem. We welcome him to NACSA.”

Richmond, whom Caire previously brought to Madison, is a board member of the Illinois Charter School Commission, the state-wide chartering body created last year through the passage of ALEC backed legislation.