Tony Simmons is the Executive Director of High School for Recording Arts (HSRA), an independent public charter school, and Vice President of Studio 4 Enterprises, an educational services and management company. While working with numerous national recording artists and record companies as an entertainment lawyer, Tony met David Ellis and assisted him in the formation of Studio 4/
High School for Recording Arts. During that time, he co-founded
Another Level Records, the first national student-operated record label. In addition to his duties overseeing the day to day program at HSRA, Tony continues to work with students in exploring the Business of Music and mentoring those involved in Another Level Records, as well as overseeing the student-operated commercial radio show entitled
studio4allaccess, which airs every Friday evening on 89.9FM Minneapolis/St. Paul and is podcasted through iTunes. Tony has served as board member and/or provided technical assistance to such leading national school reform organizations as Edvisions, Inc. and the
Black Alliance for Educational Options. He was recently a part of the working group that lead to the National Association of Charter School Authorizer report entitled "Anecdotes Aren't Enough: An Evidence Based Approach to Accountability for Alternative Charter Schools." He is also a former board member of the Minnesota Association of Charter Schools and recently joined the board of the national education reform group, Reaching At Promise Students Association (RAPSA). Tonyhas served as a member of the Saint Paul School District Quality Review Team and as a peer reviewer for those applying to the Minnesota Department of Education for Federal Charter School Program grants. He has spoken or presented at numerous conferences including the Oxford Roundtable, Oxford University (Designing Leadership and Practices for the Future of Public Education), University of Illinois at Springfield (In The Mix: Cross Dialogues Regarding Hip Hop Culture), and Minnesota State University at Mankato (Juvenile Delinquency and the Studio Model). He was also part of the development team for Minnesota's first online project-based charter school called EdVisions Online Academy.
