Beth Anderson, the Chief Executive Officer and founder of the Phoenix Charter Academy Network, began her career in education teaching bilingual kindergartners in Los Angeles in 1991 through Teach for America. Working with the mostly under-educated young parents of her students in South Central LA sparked a deep commitment to serving adolescents disconnected from traditional public education avenues that eventually crystallized in the form of the Phoenix Charter Academy Network.
An education growth venture response to a severely underserved and untapped cohort of Massachusetts’ urban adolescents, Phoenix has grown into a network of three schools in Chelsea, Lawrence, and Springfield, with more than 100 game-changing educators serving over 500 students. Over the past eight years more than 100 young people who were never expected to graduate have earned high school diplomas from Phoenix and gone on to college success. Building the Phoenix Charter Academy Network has transformed Anderson into a social entrepreneur focused on tackling poverty-generated social and economic issues that create barriers between older youth and the economic freedom that comes from educational achievement. Anderson is an alumna of Brandeis University, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Teach for America. She serves as the Vice Chair of the Massachusetts Public Charter School Association, in addition to serving on several advisory boards. Anderson will be part of the panels: “Alternative Schools in Massachusetts” and “Over-Age, Under-Credited Students and Public Charter Schools.” |