About
From Experience to Knowledge
Alex Quigley
Currently, I serve as the Executive Director of Healthy Start Academy in Durham, a K-8 school serving over 500 students. I have over 20 years of experience creating and leading high-performing organizations. I’ve led the successful transformation of three different charter schools in two states. In the most recent three consecutive years of my principal service, schools I led were ranked in the top ten of all charter schools in the state each year in terms of academic growth. During my time serving as a Managing Director at PAVE Schools, I oversaw the opening of PAVE Southeast Raleigh, and travelled weekly to New York to coach the network’s principals. While I served in this position the school saw the largest increase in student achievement in history, growing in ELA by 20 points and Math by 9 points, outperforming average growth rates in the city and state.
I have been a member of the North Carolina Charter School Advisory Board for the last eight years, serving as Vice-Chair for the first three years and Chair for the last five. Through this experience I have gained firsthand experience in charter school board oversight, and been personally involved in every decision regarding charter school authorization, renewal, closure, and policy in the state from 2013 until today. I’ve personally presented before the State Board of Education over 30 times and served as an on-the-ground expert annually for the DPI Office of Charter Schools for over five years as part of the Ready-To-Open training. I’ve also been directly involved in the design of the NC ACCESS program, and have led sessions for program participants.
I’ve worked for or served on seven different charter school boards, including being a Founding Board Member of Henderson Collegiate and the current Finance Committee Chair of Research Triangle High School, two of the highest performing schools in the state. Prior to my time as a school leader, I was the Executive Director of Teach For America – Eastern North Carolina. During my time with TFA in NC, I led the organization through a period of rapid growth, securing the first ever state appropriation for the organization, and established a customized program to train and license TFA teachers at East Carolina University, where I served as an adjunct faculty member.
I hold a B.A. in Government from Colby College, an MEd in Curriculum from the University of Mississippi, and an EdS in School Leadership, also from the University of Mississippi. In 2019 graduated with honors from the Relay Graduate School of Education National Principals Academy Fellowship. I began my career as a 2nd grade teacher in the rural Mississippi Delta. I live in Durham with my wife Ashley who I have been married to for 19 years, and my four children. My high school aged children attend Research Triangle High School.
Most importantly, I have a deep desire to see more charter schools achieve their mission so the power of school choice can be realized by parents and children in North Carolina.
Based on my experiences of being coached myself and coaching others, evaluating schools, and managing boards, I believe Better Is Possible for charter schools in North Carolina who choose to invest in leader and board development.
“If better is possible,
good is not enough."
Benjamin Franklin
Our Model
I work with a select group of schools each year that would like to commit to sustained growth and development. I only partner with schools that share my vision that a substantial investment in the leadership team is necessary for a charter school to be successful. In order to manage towards outcomes, I ask schools to commit for at least six months.
Our Rationale
As a leader who has seen the transformative impact of executive coaching, school inspections, and on-site coaching on my own development, I believe that the single best investment a school can make is in the growth of the leader. Additionally, as the Chair of the Charter School Advisory Board, I’ve seen that charter boards need coaching and guidance to be successful. My goal is to provide personalized executive coaching and some additional high leverage support to a select group of clients who share my vision that the success of the school will depend upon its leadership.