Ethan Hemming named executive director of Charter School Institute

Hemming.

Ethan Hemming, charter school whiz and former interim executive director of the Charter School Institute, is no longer interim. The institute's board of directors has made him the official executive director and head of an organization in the process of righting itself after several things went wrong, as explained in our feature "A Hard Line." Coming up on the institute's agenda: Deciding whether to renew the charter of the complaint-ridden Ricardo Flores Magon Academy.

Before joining the institute last year, Hemming was deputy executive director of Denver Public Schools' Office of School Reform and Innovation, which authorizes and oversees all of the district's charter schools.

"Ethan's years of experience in working with charter schools and school choice issues will be extremely valuable in managing the institute," board chairman Wayne Eckerling, who also worked authorizing charters for DPS, said in a statement. "He understands the unique nature of the institute's mission: to provide support for a growing and diverse portfolio of charter schools and to also hold those schools accountable for delivering what every student, parent and taxpayer expect -- a quality education. The board has tremendous confidence in Ethan's skills and we look forward to his leadership."

More from our Education archive: "Ricardo Flores Magon Academy: Petition outlines concerns about charter school."

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