The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) is the leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of charter schools. The NAPCS serves as an advocate for charter schools and provides assistance to state charter school associations and resource centers.

The NAPCS concluded its annual conference in Las Vegas on July 2nd, which brought out some of the nation’s leading experts in education policy. NAPCS president Nina Rees kicked off the conference on Monday with an opening talk about the importance of public charter schools. “It’s more important now than ever that students get a great education to compete globally," Rees said.

An unlikely colleague followed up Rees that day. Stephen Quezada, an actor who played Steven Gomez on the popular show “Breaking Bad" spoke at the conference about the perceived rift between conventional public schools and charter schools. “There is no war between public schools and charter schools," Quezada said. “Charter schools are public schools."

Other speakers included Eric Cantor, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, and former CNN host, Campbell Brown. Brown created Partnernships for Educational Justice, an advocacy group that seeks to make policy changes and provide education resources for families in need.

The NAPCS handed out awards to people who helped with the advancement of the charter school movement and also promoted My Story, where people could post their experiences with charter schools to share with the public.