Excel Academy Charter School’s Owen Stearns on Academic Quality & Bridging Gaps

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts Alisha Searcy of Center for Strong Public Schools and Prof. Albert Cheng of the Ohio State University speak with Owen Stearns, CEO of Excel Academy Charter Schools. Stearns discusses his more than two decades of experience in charter school leadership and education reform. He shares how his formative educational experiences and background in strategy consulting shaped his approach to leading Excel, which now serves nearly 2,000 students across six schools in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He explores Excel’s academic expectations, distinctive school culture, teacher leadership, and focus on strong outcomes in reading and math. Stearns also discusses serving urban students and families, supporting students at risk of falling behind, and managing the network’s expansion while maintaining academic quality. Finally, he examines Massachusetts’ charter school landscape, the political challenges facing the sector since the 2016 ballot initiative loss, and what policymakers and charter leaders can do to support high-performing schools.