The 2024 Florida Charter School Conference + School Choice Summit (FCSC+SCS) was a premier gathering of key advocates for educational choice, educators, administrators, governing board members, and other stakeholders. According to the Florida Department of Education, a record-breaking 1,300 attendees and exhibitors attended the conference.
The Florida Charter School Alliance (FCSA) once again participated in the conference — as an exhibitor, session presenter, host of the inaugural Charter School Teacher of the Year celebration, and Opening Session sponsor. The Opening Session featured welcome remarks from Dr. Tony Arza, followed by a conversation with Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. and Eva Moskowitz, the founder of Success Academy, a charter school network based in New York. Click here to watch the Opening Session.
The conference was filled with dynamic speakers and presenters who addressed various topics, including strategies for accessing choice scholarships as new revenue streams for charter schools. “We were charged to be laboratories of innovation,” stated Jim Horne, a board member of FCSA and former Florida education commissioner and lawmaker who sponsored the state’s first charter school bill. “I challenge you to step out of the proverbial box. If you don’t innovate, you will stagnate.” The Brevard and Glades school districts currently offer individual courses to scholarship students. Conference attendees were encouraged to embrace the concept of a la carte learning as an additional way to serve scholarship students and generate revenue. Listen to Mr. Horne’s remarks at the conference closing session here.
The FCSA team participated in several breakout sessions, including From Succession to Success: Building a Future-Ready Leadership Pipeline at Your School and Enrollmania Masterclass: Strategies to Elevate Your Charter School Enrollment (download presentation here: FCSA Presentation_enrollmania_FCSC+scs 2024). Attendees were invited to participate in a District/Charter Collaborative dialogue. Led by Dr. Tony Arza, Education Consultant and Board Vice Chair, Florida Virtual Education; Maria Alba, Academic Officer of Quality, Charter School Solutions; and Ashley Barber, Charter School Appeal Commission member, the dialog invited conference participants to provide feedback and share their authorizing stories and suggestions of best practices. The Technology Lab’s Empowering Educators: Harnessing AI in the Classroom breakout session addressed the evolution of artificial intelligence and facilitated an open discussion about the current pros and cons surrounding this misunderstood technology. Click here Technology Lab_Harnessing AI to download their presentation.
FCSA’s School Leaders Fellowship Cohort 4 (Class of 2025) also attended the conference. The Fellows participated in a hands-on leadership standards workshop led by two experienced and respected charter school principals. Carmen Cangemi, Principal, Mater Brighton Lakes, has more than 20 years of charter school administration experience — as an assistant principal of the award-winning Mater Academy Middle/High (Miami-Dade), Principal of the academically-successful Pinecrest Academy South (Miami-Dade) for a decade before overseeing the opening of Mater Brighton Lakes in Osceola County. Ms. Alex Prieto is a respected administrator, educator, and mentor. Under her leadership, Somerset Miramar has earned two National Blue Ribbon Awards and has consistently ranked among the top K-8 public schools in Broward County.
At the end of day 2 of the conference, the FCSA hosted the inaugural Florida Charter School Teacher of the Year reception in cooperation with Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. and the Florida Department of Education. Three finalists were recognized and one — Ms. Shereen Reid —was named the 2025 Florida Charter School Teacher of the Year. Ms. Reid will serve as an ambassador for the Florida charter school movement throughout the 2024-2025 school year. Read more about the Charter School Teacher of the Year celebration here. The Charter School Teacher of the Year celebration — and award prize — was made possible by our generous sponsors: Building Hope, Academia, ESS Learning, and Technology Lab.
