User:Charterschools/sandbox

Nina Rees (born 1968) is the president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools[1], a national nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the charter public school movement. Rees was named president and CEO of the National Alliance in 2012.[2]

In her role as president and CEO, Rees serves as a spokesperson for the charter public school movement nationwide and coordinates advocacy for policies at the federal and state level that support the growth of charter public schools. In public statements, Rees has advocated for stronger oversight and accountability of charter schools, as well as greater funding for charter school creation and expansion. She also has pointed to charter public schools as a key contributor to improving educational equity and reducing the gap in academic achievement scores between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Early life and education

Rees was born Nina Shokraii in Iran. In the wake of the Islamic revolution in Iran, her family moved briefly to France before settling in Blacksburg, Virginia, where her father became a professor at Virginia Tech.[3]

After attending and graduating from a public high school in Blacksburg[4], Rees earned a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Virginia Tech. She later earned a master of arts degree in international transactions from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.[5]

Career

Rees has held a series of senior-level positions in Washington, D.C., over the past 25 years. Immediately prior to joining the National Alliance, she was senior vice president for strategic initiatives at Knowledge Universe, a global education company with investments in early childhood education, before- and after-school programs, and online instruction.[6]

During the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush, Rees served as deputy undersecretary for innovation and improvement at the U.S. Department of Education[7] – the first person to hold the position.[8] In this capacity, she oversaw the administration of 28 grant programs supporting 1,300 projects and was responsible for spearheading innovative federal programs and policies such as school choice, charter schools, and alternative routes to teacher certification and school leadership. She also helped coordinate the implementation of several provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Prior to joining the Education Department, Rees served as deputy assistant for domestic policy to Vice President Dick Cheney. She worked closely with the White House Office of Domestic Policy and advised the Vice President on developments related to the No Child Left Behind Act and other education-related legislative and regulatory issues.[9]

In the late 1990s, Rees was the senior education analyst at the Heritage Foundation, where she authored more than two dozen policy briefs and served as the foundation’s chief spokesperson on education.[10] She previously worked on the staff of U.S. Representative Porter Goss (R-FL).[11]

Media Appearances

Rees has appeared on CNN, C-SPAN[12] and PBS’s NewsHour. Her articles and opinions have been published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, among other publications. Rees also writes regular opinion articles on education issues for U.S. News & World Report.[13] Frequent topics include the role of the federal government in promoting educational equity for poor and minority students; the value of charter schools and public school choice; and efforts in the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Department of Education to update and reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

Board service

In addition to her role as president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, Rees serves on the advisory committee[14] of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and on the national advisory board[15] of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers.

Personal life

Rees lives in McLean, Virginia, with her husband and daughter.[16]

Bibliography

Nina Rees, “Boldly Going Where Teachers Haven’t Gone Before,” U.S. News & World Report, Sept. 8, 2015

Nina Rees, “Test results support Achievement School District's approach,” Memphis (TN) Commercial Appeal, Aug. 11, 2015

Nina Rees, “Big Results in the Big Easy,” U.S. News & World Report, June 30, 2015

Nina Rees, “Meeting the Demand for Charter Schools,” Huffington Post, May 7, 2015

Nina Rees, “The Perfect vs. the Good,” U.S. News & World Report, April 20, 2105

Nina Rees, “3 Factors to Consider When Choosing an Innovative School,” Getting Smart blog, March 8, 2015

Nina Rees, “Don’t Throw Testing Out With the Bath Water,” U.S. News & World Report, Jan. 12, 2015

Nina Rees, “How to Shake Up the Education Status Quo,” U.S. News & World Report, Oct. 21, 2014

Nina Rees, “D.C. charter schools deserve equal funding,” The Washington Times, Oct. 21, 2014

Nina Rees, “Diverse Schools Bring Many Benefits,” U.S. News & World Report, July 7, 2014

Nina Rees, “Brown at 60: Time to Fulfill the Promise,” U.S. News & World Report, May 19, 2014

Nina Rees, “No Child’s Fate Should Rest In A Lottery Ball,” The Daily Caller, May 6, 2014

Nina Rees, “Separating Common Core Fact from Fiction,” U.S. News & World Report, April 21, 2014

Nina Rees, “Why the GOP Should Get On Board With Preschool,” U.S. News & World Report, Feb. 3, 2014

Nina Rees and Stephen Goldsmith, “Pre-K 101: Who should control a four-year-old's education—the government or parents?” Education Next, Summer 2007

Nina Rees, “The California Preschool Initiative,” Education Week, July 12, 2006

Nina Rees, "The Real Education Reformer,” The New York Times, August 18, 2000

Nina Rees, “How Congress Can Assure Title I Dollars Benefit Poor Students,” Executive Memorandum No. 626, The Heritage Foundation, September 24, 1999

Nina Rees, "The Real Divide on Education," The New York Times, October 8, 1998

[1] http://www.publiccharters.org/bio/nina-rees/

[2] http://www.publiccharters.org/press/national-alliance-public-charter-schools-announces-ceo-nina-rees/

[3] http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2012/06/14/five-questions-new-charter-advocacy-head-nina-rees

[4] http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2012/06/14/five-questions-new-charter-advocacy-head-nina-rees

[5] http://www.publiccharters.org/bio/nina-rees/

[6] http://www.publiccharters.org/bio/nina-rees/

[7] http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/government/rees-bio.html

[8] http://edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-weekly/2002/september-19/new-deputy-secretaries-for-innovation-and-improvement-safe-and-drug-free-schools.html

[9] http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/government/rees-bio.html

[10] http://www.publiccharters.org/bio/nina-rees/

[11] http://www.publiccharters.org/bio/nina-rees/

[12] http://www.c-span.org/person/?ninarees

[13] http://www.usnews.com/topics/author/nina_rees

[14] http://www.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/people.htm

[15] http://www.qualitycharters.org/about/national-advisory-board/

[16] http://www.publiccharters.org/bio/nina-rees/