Beyond Compliance: Building Data Partnerships that Drive Success
Charter schools and their authorizers often find themselves in adversarial relationships during renewal cycles, with data becoming a weapon rather than a tool for improvement.
This session will transform how to think about oversight data by demonstrating how Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) has shifted from traditional compliance monitoring to collaborative data partnerships that truly serve students.
Drawing from LACOE's comprehensive Charter Schools Data Book and real-world renewal experiences with 25 diverse charter schools, participants will learn how to create transparent, performance-based oversight systems that foster innovation rather than stifle it. They will explore how effective data visualization, community demographic analysis, and financial transparency can become powerful tools for school improvement rather than mere accountability checkboxes.
This interactive session will demonstrate practical strategies for aligning charter operators and authorizers around shared student success metrics while maintaining rigorous oversight standards. Participants will examine case studies of high-performing, middle-performing, and struggling schools to understand how data-driven conversations can lead to targeted support rather than punitive measures.
Whether a charter leader preparing for renewal, an authorizer seeking to improve oversight practices, or a policy advocate interested in performance-based accountability, participants will leave with concrete tools and frameworks for transforming data from a source of tension into a catalyst for collaboration. Join to discover how transparent, comprehensive data reporting can actually increase school autonomy while ensuring student success remains the central focus of all charter school oversight.
Presented by
Indra Ciccarelli
Director II
CASI and LACOE
Indra Ciccarelli is an accomplished educator with 25 years of experience in education, with a focus on special education and at-promise youth. He has worked within a wide range of educational settings, including large public school districts, large and small conversion and start-ups, and dependent and independent charter schools. He currently works as the director for the Charter School Office for the Los Angeles County Office of Education
Rene Cardona
Coordinator III
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Rene Cardona brings over 25 years of experience as an educator and administrator in two of California’s largest school districts - Los Angeles Unified and San Diego Unified. His career has been dedicated to advancing equity, compliance, and language development for English Learners across elementary and secondary schools. He brings deep expertise in the charter school sector, having served for 12 years in LAUSD’s Charter Schools Division, where he supported authorization, oversight and accountability systems for over 270 charter schools, and most recently with the Los Angeles County Office of Education’s Charter Schools Office, where he continues to champion student outcomes through collaborative leadership. Grounded in a belief that access and opportunity should be universal, Rene’s work reflects a commitment to ensuring English Learners and historically underserved students receive the support they need to thrive academically and beyond.
