Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 3, 1 March 2013 — Executive director named to charter school panel [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Executive director named to charter school panel

Tom Hutton, a national authority of education law and policy, has been named the executive director

. otthe8tatePubiic Charter School Commission. The commission oversees the state's puhlie charter schools including Hawai-ian-focused

and Hawaiian-language charter schools. Hutton has served as in-house counsel for the Nahonal School Boards Association and was a eofounder of noted Washington, D.C., charter school Thurgood Marshall Academy. He is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center and an alumnus of the University of Hawai'i Puhlie Administration graduate program. A law passed last year created a solid charter school govemance structure with clear lines of authority and accountability that is designed to improve student achievement. The appointment of an executive director is a step in fully implementing the law. "I am excited to be able to play a role in what I think is a critical moment for public education in Hawai'i, one full of challenges but also opportunities," Huūon said. "I look forward to working with the charter school community and with others so that we ean contribute to meeting those challenges and seizing those opportunities for Hawai'i's children."

Hutton