Federal Charter Schools Program Chief Picked As Executive Director of DC Public Charter School Board

Scott Pearson, who most recently served as the Associate Assistant Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education overseeing the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP), has been picked as the DC Public Charter School Board’s (PCSB) new executive director.

Pearson was a co-founder and chair of the board of a San Francisco-area charter school management organization and his business experience includes work at America Online and Bain and Company, according to a PCSB announcement December 9, 2011. Pearson gave the keynote address at the 2010 National Charter Schools Facilities Institute.

Pearson, who starts his new job January 9, 2012, will oversee a 26-person staff that reviews new charter school applications and evaluates and monitors 53 charter school on 98 campuses. He replaces Josephine Baker, who served as PCSB’s executive director from 2002 until May 2011.

The federal CSP is directed by Stefan Huh, who came to the post in June 2011 after four years leading the Office of Public Charter School Financing and Support within the District of Columbia’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education. Pearson, who had been serving as CSP acting director, announced Huh's appointment.