Oakland, CA – Tennessee is on the forefront of education reform in this country, and making sure that talented leaders are trained to assist in this evolution is important. Education Pioneers, a national nonprofit with a network of education leaders, managers, and analysts, today announced the launch of a new site in Memphis, with the goal of recruiting and training 80 new education leaders for Tennessee by 2015.
Education Pioneers will connect key education organizations, including school districts such as the Achievement School District, charter schools, and education nonprofits, with talented Education Pioneers Fellows who have the skills needed to create effective systems and support teachers’ and principals’ important work to increase student achievement.
“We’re very excited to have the opportunity to work in Tennessee,” said Scott Morgan, Founder and CEO of Education Pioneers. “There’s tremendous education innovation already underway across the state and our hope is to accelerate that effort with a new source of talented, skilled leaders for organizations dedicated to providing all students with an excellent education.”
Education Pioneers recruits top graduate students in business, policy, law and education from premier universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Rice,the University of North Carolina, the University of Virginia, Vanderbilt, and Duke. Through its rigorous and highly selective Fellowship programs, Education Pioneers mobilizes emerging leaders to launch careers in education outside of the classroom and trains them on the challenges of K-12 education through case studies and access to a network of top education industry leaders.
The organization also helps their rapidly growing network of Alumni advance into high-impact leadership roles in the field, including district administrators, nonprofit executives, policymakers, and philanthropists. Beyond their Fellowships, more than 70 percent of Education Pioneers’ Alumni in the workforce have chosen to work full-time in the education sector.
“Quality talent is the single most important driver in creating and supporting great schools,” said Chris Barbic, Superintendent of the Achievement School District. “We’re excited to partner with Education Pioneers to help expand the pipeline of great people working to improve public education in Tennessee and ensure that the important initiatives underway continue to grow and succeed.”
Founded in 2003 in the San Francisco Bay Area, Education Pioneers has grown into a thriving national organization that places talent in 16 cities, with a network of over 1,600 leaders and partnerships with more than 180 education organizations. Education Pioneers has significantly expanded the talent supply in education by connecting professionals to high-impact careers in education and supporting them to succeed.
“We are thrilled to partner with Education Pioneers this year to accomplish some of our most critical organizational goals,” said Derwin Sisnett, CEO of Gestalt Community Schools. “Their leadership network will help to fuel the exciting public education transformation efforts underway in Memphis and across the state.”
Numerous local and statewide education organizations will benefit from Education Pioneers’ Tennessee program during 2013. Organizations participating in the 2013 program include: the Achievement School District, KIPP Memphis, Gestalt Community Schools, LEAD Public Schools, the Memphis Opportunity Scholarship Trust, Promise Academy, the Tennessee Charter School Incubator, and the Tennessee Department of Education.
About Education Pioneers
Education Pioneers mobilizes and prepares a national network of talented leaders and managers to accelerate excellence in education and transform our education system into one that equips all students with the skills they need to thrive in college, career and life. Through the organization’s Fellowship and Alumni programs, Education Pioneers increases the talent supply of top leaders in education to improve the leadership capacity in key education organizations—such as school districts, charter school organizations and nonprofits—and to advance our goal to make education the best led and managed sector in the U.S.
More information about Education Pioneers can be found at www.educationpioneers.org.