"More Great Seats 4 Kids": A SUNY Charter Schools Institute Podcast
The State University of New York Charter Schools Institute’s More Great Seats 4 Kids podcast is designed for charter school leaders committed to sustaining high-quality schools. This series takes an inside look at the SUNY charter authorization process, highlighting the standards, expectations, and best practices that define successful charter schools across New York State. Through conversations with Institute staff and leaders from SUNY’s highest-performing schools, each episode explores what it takes to launch, operate, and continuously improve a high-quality charter school—so more students across New York have access to great seats.
Episodes
15 episodes
Growing Teachers from Within: The DREAM Teaching Fellowship
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 Officer at DREAM, and Ana Rader, Director...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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20:49
Launching a New Charter School with Natalie Lozada, Executive Director, Haven Charter High School
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 behind Haven and how the school built ties wi...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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27:28
2026 SUNY RFP for New Charter Schools: Updates & Insights with Keegan Prue
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 explores the new provisions to this year’s RFP...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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20:49
How School Leaders Collaborate to Build Strong Public Charter Schools
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 working together to overcome challenges and shar...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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41:59
Preparing Students for College and Career Success at Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy
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 through a rigorous college-preparatory curri...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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32:23
Career and Technical Education Success at The Academy Charter School
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, their process for recruiting instructional expertise ...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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42:31
Developing a Strong Internal Leadership Pipeline with Recy Dunn of Ascend Charter Schools
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 curricula and a responsive school culture, Ascend is...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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14:44
Accelerated Learning in Practice with Erin Allen
Erin Allen, Senior Analyst, SUNY Charter Schools Institute, joins the podcast to discuss the Institute's new white paper, Accelerated Learning in Practice:<...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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13:38
Introducing Experiential Learning into the Classroom with Kristie Swanson of Finn Academy Charter School
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 situations and build cultural competency.
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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12:23
School Spotlight: Designing a New Facility, Addressing Unfinished Learning with Central Queen Academy's Ashish Kapadia
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 addressing unfinished learning through targeted SEL. He ...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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16:09
School Spotlight: Lessons Learned in the Pandemic with PAVE Academy's Marsha Gadsden
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 pandemic, and more.
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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14:40
The Preopening Process
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 Institute team.
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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11:10
Renewal: Preparing for a School Evaluation Visit
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 activities, the purpose of reports, and mor...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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25:30
Charter School Renewal and What it Means to be an Academic Success
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 practice? Jeff Wasbes, Executive Deputy Dir...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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20:07
Trailer: Introducing "More Great Seats for Kids" (Launching December 2019)
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 authorized charter schools so successful. We wil...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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7:20