Eddie Ruiz, Florida State Superintendent, Charter Schools USA

Invest: spoke with Eddie Ruiz, Florida state superintendent of Charter Schools USA, about the organization’s approach to growth, academic performance, teacher retention, and student support across Florida. “We believe in stage, not age. If a student is ready for higher-level work, we give them that right away,” Ruiz said.

How is Charter Schools USA identifying new communities for expansion while meeting growing demand for school choice in Florida?
Florida is the hot spot right now for school choice. When you look around the country and talk about states where the power is in the parents’ hands, Florida is leading the charge. Charter Schools USA has been around for 26 years, and we do not take growth lightly. There were times when we grew lots of schools, lots of campuses around the state, but we slowed down a little bit to make sure we were focused on quality instead of quantity. Now, we are ramping back up, but for us, it is about being intentional, not being reactive.

It is also about data. We are intentional about gathering data and what kind of data we gather because everything is data-driven. We look at the data from each community and ask, ‘What does the data tell us? What are the needs in the areas we are looking at?’ We analyze enrollment trends from district schools, charter schools, private schools, as well as the increased demand for homeschooling and microschools.

We also look at housing development and land availability. That is important. When we talk about Miami, there is not a lot of land available, and if there is, it is a high-cost area because Miami is booming right now. We also look at academic performance gaps across district schools, public schools, and charter schools.

Then we look at family demand. What do families want? If you have a business coming into the center of Doral, what type of schools do those families want, and what type of careers or skills do they want for their children?

All of that is important so that scaling for us never becomes about just adding more and more seats. In the state of Florida, we have over 68,000 students, so it is not about adding more students; it’s about replicating what we have with fidelity and excellence. 

What strategies are you implementing to improve academic performance, close learning gaps, and maintain strong outcomes across diverse student populations?
I am thrilled about the state of Florida right now. When school grades came out in July 2025, our results were the best we have ever had. Eighty-three percent of our 66 schools were A’s and B’s, and we consider that high-performing. Our schools span 17 school districts in the state of Florida. If we were rated like a school district, we would be rated an A school district. Our graduation rate is 97%, and 32 of our schools maintained their A’s and B’s.

The best part of this is that our Title I schools, the schools that really have the most need, all did really well.

For us, academic excellence starts with high expectations for all students and strong personalized instruction. Our curriculum is sacred to us. It is what makes us who we are at Charter Schools USA. We align that curriculum with assessments. We make sure we are not over-assessing students, but rather, ensuring that we know where they are and how much they need to move forward. We also put that power back in our students’ hands and our families’ hands. 

We also use a lot of data. We look at the assessment data, tied to a strong Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework. We have targeted tutoring to make sure students who need more get more, but we also do not hold students back who are doing well. We believe in stage, not age. If a student is ready for higher-level work, we give them that right away.

Because our schools are so diverse, we also want to ensure the best outcomes for all students by giving them what they need. That includes making sure the right teachers are in place and giving them strong professional development.

What approaches are you using to recruit, retain, and develop high-quality teachers, especially amid ongoing educator shortages?
First of all, we want to be competitive in the job market for salary. Education is in a tough spot in the state of Florida and across the nation. Salaries need to be commensurate with the work that teachers are doing. We also have more autonomy and flexibility as charter schools, more so than the school districts, which in turn allows us to be more innovative.

Beyond that, our culture is important. Our core values around purpose, passion, integrity, and grit are the four stakes in the ground for CSUSA. People come to our organization because they believe in those values as well as in our mission, which is “a relentless commitment to student greatness in school and in life.” Lastly, our promise seals the deal — Strong Minds and Good Hearts. Our teachers love the MVP culture and do not become employees, but family. 

Lastly, an important factor that helps us recruit and retain our teachers is the level of autonomy they have within their classroom. Teachers at Charter Schools USA have a level of autonomy to do what they feel is their passion, with a high level of accountability. In district schools, there can be more rules and bureaucracy that tend to limit that.

Once teachers stay with us past the third year, our retention is high. They see how we operate and immediately buy into our mission, values, and promise. They also see that, just like our families, they become part of the school community, and relationships are the key.

What initiatives are in place to better serve underserved and high-need communities and ensure equitable access to quality education?
At CSUSA, we believe that school choice provides equity. Allowing parents to choose which school their child goes to provides the best equity possible. 

Our Title I schools outperformed the state in every category in the school grading calculations this past year, which for us is a badge of honor because we are moving the needle for all kids.

The way we do that is by finding out where students are academically and emotionally. Some students in our Title I communities are not just one year behind, but two to three years behind. That means more intensive work is needed.

Our teachers build relationships with students and families, and once that trust is built, students respond. A lot of students have been in schools where they were told they could not and would not achieve. We flip that script and say they can do it and show them how.

We provide strong support, including MTSS, social /emotional support, as well as parental engagement. It does not stop when the school day ends. We help parents support their children at home and bring communities into our schools.

A lot of it is mindset. We instill a positive and growth mindset and give students the resources they need and deserve.

How is Charter Schools USA addressing school safety and supporting student well-being, including mental health?
We do a stakeholder engagement survey three times a year with parents, teachers, staff, and students. Every year, our parents rate us the highest on school safety.

We follow all the rules in the state of Florida, especially in light of MSD. We have single-point-of-entry, conduct safety checks, and unannounced reviews in our schools to ensure procedures are followed. We execute our drills as a safety measure but also as an educational opportunity.

On the well-being side, we conduct wellness surveys with students to understand how they are doing with things like stress, conflict resolution, and problem-solving. Each school then creates a plan based on that data.

If students need support, we have counselors, student service coordinators, and mental health therapists who work with students and families. Because of the strong relationships in our schools, we are often able to identify issues early.

We believe every student should have an adult champion on campus, and we ensure every student can identify theirs.