Walton Names PCSB Executive Director Scott Pearson an ‘Education Reformer to Watch’

The Walton Family Foundation has named Scott Pearson, Executive Director of DC Public Charter School Board, an ‘Education Reformer to Watch.’ Pearson is one of four education leaders recognized for successfully working to create high-quality educational options for families. (Walton launched its Education Reformers to Watch award this year and Pearson is among the first to be recognized.) 

“I am grateful to the Walton Family Foundation for recognizing PCSB’s work overseeing DC's extraordinary charter schools.  Working with such a talented group of school leaders and with the outstanding staff at PCSB makes the hard work of education reform a true pleasure,” Pearson said.

Here’s what people in the education community had to say about why Scott deserves this award:

“Scott is working hard to support charter schools and hold their programs accountable.  He diligently engages school leaders on how we should advocate and position ourselves.  PCSB has gotten stronger in shaping the landscape for education reform policies and implementation, becoming a stronger organization overall.  In addition, he has helped to move the special education conversation to the forefront.”
Olivia Smith, Executive Director, Bridges PCS

“I have greatly valued Scott’s calm and focused leadership style, and his commitment to collaboration and transparency, which strengthen the public charter sector and increase high-quality options available to students and families in our city. On behalf of the entire DC Prep organization, we congratulate Scott on this well-deserved honor.”
Rick Cruz, CEO, DC Prep PCS

 “Scott Pearson’s leadership at the PCSB has continued to move the charter sector forward for the benefit of DC families. The sector’s growth, diversity of great options and continuous improvement are evidence of what happens when there is serious accountability for results, collaborative engagement, and advocacy on our behalf for equity and protection of our autonomy.”
Shantelle Wright, Founder and Head of School, Achievement Prep PCS

“Marian Anderson once said, ‘Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it.’ I believe Scott Pearson has the unique ability of knowing what our children need in order to thrive in education and in reform. I am so thankful for his innovation, passion, leadership and mission to the benefit our children in the District of Columbia. Well done Mr. Pearson! Continuing doing! We need you!"
Selma Patillo-Simms, DC charter parent and Community Advisory Group Member

 “When Scott is involved he makes the people around him more effective.  He helps organizations become more efficient and productive, executives smarter and more strategic, and he infuses a welcome sense of humor and purpose into everything he does.  Scott hasn't just strengthened our organization, he has strengthened our entire community.”
Don Soifer, Member, DC Public Charter School Board

 “Scott Pearson is an education reformer to watch because he isn’t constrained by the prevailing charter versus district competition narrative, but instead is working in collaboration with DCPS to find ways to improve educational outcomes for all students in DC.”
Kaya Henderson, Chancellor, District of Columbia Public Schools

“Since his arrival at PCSB, Scott has brought the relentless sort of leadership necessary to provide families in the District with greater and greater access to high-quality public charter schools. Scott’s commitment to prioritizing school quality while respecting school autonomy is a great model for excellence in charter school authorizing and oversight nationally.”
Anne Stoehr, Program Officer, Walton Family Foundation

“Scott is one the great leaders in the charter sector. He understands that a healthy charter sector needs room for innovation, encouragement for the growth of successful models, and a commitment to accountability no matter how hard that may be. He is leading the DC charter school movement toward a position of even far greater outcomes for students. He is certainly a reformer to watch.”
Nina Rees, Executive Director, National Alliance of Public Charter Schools

"Over the next several years D.C. will be the place to watch in education reform and the charter school movement. Charter schools are poised to drive significant gains in educational achievement for children across the District--making access to high-performing schools a reality for all children. Scott Pearson has already played a critical role in sustaining and developing effective authorizing policies and practices that have enabled D.C.'s charter sector to reach this point. Now, as we face the new challenges of driving school performance to even higher levels and ensuring access for all students in a mixed delivery system, Scott's thoughtfulness, strategic acumen, and dedication to doing what's best for children will play a key role in enabling D.C. to become a model for the nation of how to use chartering to deliver quality education for all children."
Sara Mead, Member, DC Public Charter School Board

“In his short period at the PCSB, Scott Pearson has helped craft a bolder yet more nuanced leadership vision for the PCSB. He has articulated a concomitant organization turnaround philosophy, hired staff to carry out that vision, and installed systems to implement the organizational upgrade. While the Performance Management Framework (PMF) is the most visible, and perhaps impactful policy and operational change, many Board policies ranging from charter renewal to accelerated procedures for “experienced operators” are cutting edge. Further, his advocacy for more rational city-wide educational planning and for charter access to surplus school system facilities continues to help remove barriers to there being ubiquitous quality education in the District. So, through policy change, organizational revitalization, stakeholder advocacy, and innovation of practice, Scott has established himself as an ‘education reformer to watch.’
John H. “Skip” McKoy, Board Chair, DC Public Charter School Board 

“It’s amazing how Scott has been able to remake himself from his role at the U.S. Department of Education to becoming one of the top authorizers in the country. I look to him often for his advice and insight as we grow our New Orleans charter schools.”
Kathleen Padian, Deputy Superintendent, Orleans Parish School Board

“Scott is an education reformer to watch because he has a clear vision to improve the quality of public education in Washington, DC, and is working collaboratively with other leaders in the city to achieve that vision.  Scott is tireless in his quest to ensure that every student in Washington, DC has their choice to attend the school that is the best fit for them and helps them reach their full potential.”
Maura Marino, NewSchools Venture Fund

“Scott brings to PCSB a rare combination of local and national experience as both a charter school founder and a federal charter school policymaker.  As a result, the perspective he brings to his work in DC is both broad and deep.  He has led the effort to attract educational innovators from around the country to DC, while recommitting the PCSB staff to the nuances of sound accountability policy.”
Brian Jones, Board Member, DC Public Charter School Board

“All charter schools are unique.  Scott knows how to work with individual schools to overcome their specific problems and to address their unique needs”.
Charles Vincent, Ed.D., Executive Director, Options PCS

"Scott Pearson has a laser-like focus on quality.  He upholds rigorous standards for our schools to ensure that our students get the education they deserve.  He is clear-eyed and determined to make DC a model charter sector."
Jennifer C. Niles, Founder and Head of School, E.L. Haynes PCS 

“In Scott Pearson, DC's charter school leaders are fortunate to have a strong advocate -- particularly with respect to securing public school buildings which by law should be offered to charter schools when they are deemed surplus facilities -- and spokesman.”
Ramona Edelin, DC Association of Chartered Public Schools 

“Scott is an education reformer to watch because in the short amount of time he has led PCSB, he has greatly sharpened its focus on charter school quality while at the same time demonstrating a deep understanding of the importance of charter school autonomy to the schools' success.  He also has shown a refreshing willingness to work closely with DC charter schools and their advocates on these issues.”
Robert Cane, FOCUS 

“Scott brings a practical, business-minded approach to the regulation of the charter school sector.  He is committed to improving the performance of the charter sector through the creation and consistent implementation of holistic policies and procedures that both encourages the expansion and replication of high performing LEAs and fairly incentivizes lower-performing schools to improve or close.  These policies and procedures are transparently created in partnership with the charter schools and contain clear and measurable goals for schools to achieve.  Not surprisingly, Scott's management philosophy is remarkably similar to the one employed by many of the leaders of our highest performing charter schools.”
Josh Kern, TenSquare Consulting

"Scott is an education reformer to watch because under his leadership the DC public charter sector continues to authorize innovative schools, confidence in the DC public charter sector continues to grow with DC families and he is not afraid to make tough decisions while still giving high-performing schools their well deserved autonomy."
David Pickens, Executive Director, DC School Reform Now

“Scott has been integral in setting the vision for charter school education in the District. His broad experience at the charter school level and the Department of Education, as well as the private sector, position Scott to have a comprehensive perspective on how DC charter schools can be a national model for raising student achievement. His steadfast commitment to student achievement is at the core of his work.  If anyone wants to get a better sense of how charter school reform is working nationally and identify early trends, one need to look no further than what is happening in DC under Scott’s leadership.”
Alexandra Pardo, Executive Director, Thurgood Marshall Academy PCS

“As the Executive Director of the only independent charter authorizer in the country, Scott Pearson is poised to transform education in DC through the city's growing charter sector. With a laser-like focus on quality and a commitment to all kids in the nation's capital, Scott is truly an education reformer to keep your eye on!”
Mieka F. Wick, Executive Director, CityBridge Foundation

Scott Pearson is one of four education leaders recognized for successfully working to create high-quality educational options for families.