Dr. Otho Tucker, Chief Executive Officer of Lake Oconee Academy, received the GCSA Champion for Children Award during the 2023 Georgia Charter Schools Conference.
Over the past fifteen years, he has led LOA from its founding year in 2007 with 11 kindergarten students to becoming a 2014 National Blue Ribbon School. LOA has been ranked as one of the Top 50 Public Elementary Schools in the nation and is consistently one of the highest performing schools in Georgia. In 2015, Lake Oconee News named Dr. Tucker the Greene County Person of the Year. He has also served as Board Chair for the Georgia Charter Schools Association and as a Board Member for the Greene County Chamber of Commerce.
Prior to coming to LOA, Dr. Tucker served as President and CEO of OTES services, his own school consulting company, which served schools across the nation. Before starting his own consulting company, Dr. Tucker was a leader in North Carolina education programs. As a founder and operator of one of the first and most successful charter schools in North Carolina, he was active in that state’s authorizing and legislative practices. Dr. Tucker also served on the initial North Carolina Charter School Advisory Committee.
In 2001, Dr. Tucker was selected as the Director of the North Carolina Office of Charter Schools. Dr. Tucker has also been active on the national scene. He was the former chair of the National Charter School Institute Advisory Team and served on the National Association of Charter School Authorizers Board of Directors.
Dr. Tucker received his B.S. from the University of Illinois, his MA from UNC Pembroke, and his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.
