History of Partnership and Results
New York, New York Dec. 16, 2008 – New Leaders for New Schools sends warm congratulations to Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan for being nominated today by President-Elect Obama as the next U.S. Secretary of Education. We at New Leaders believe President Obama and Secretary Duncan will lead and unify our nation toward dramatic progress in education for all children in the coming months and years.
Secretary-Designate Duncan has been a strong leader for Chicago’s public school children and an active partner with New Leaders for New Schools in Chicago. This partnership and Arne Duncan’s championship of New Leaders for New Schools has boosted student achievement for 50,000 children in Chicago. We also congratulate the New Leaders for New Schools Chicago program which has played a key role in Duncan’s educational leadership.
The site of today’s press conference, Dodge Renaissance Academy, is a school led by a New Leaders principal. It once was closed down as one of Chicago’s worst schools and, after being reopened under the leadership of New Leader Dr. Jarvis Sanford, became the fastest-improving school in the state of Illinois in 2006. Dodge is part of the Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) school and teacher training network, co-founded by a Chicago New Leader and supported by Secretary- Designate Duncan. Six of 11 AUSL schools are led by New Leaders principals. Indeed, our New Leaders principals in Chicago are getting a well-deserved recognition in the selection of Dodge and AUSL as the site for President-Elect Obama’s important announcement this morning.
The choice of Arne Duncan as Secretary of Education is a great opportunity for our students and our schools.
ABOUT NEW LEADERS FOR NEW SCHOOLS New Leaders for New Schools has partnerships in Baltimore, the Bay Area of California, Charlotte, Chicago, Memphis, Milwaukee, New Orleans, New York City, Prince George’s County (MD), and Washington, DC. Since 2000, New Leaders has selected and trained 560 outstanding leaders from almost 8,500 applicants. New Leaders for New Schools was recognized in 2005 as the highest rated social `enterprise and nonprofit in the nation by Fast Company magazine, and was the only national group chosen by the U.S. Department of Education in its best practices guide to school leadership. New Leaders receives support from the nation’s leading education philanthropists including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, The Broad Foundation, NewSchools Venture Fund, NewProfit, Inc., The Walton Family Foundation, The Boeing Company, and FedEx. New Leaders for New Schools also receives support from the U.S. Department of Education. Additional information can be found at www.nlns.org.
