NEW YORK, Nov. 20, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New Leaders has been named one of the 20 highest-rated applications for the 2012 Investing in Innovation (i3) grant fund by the U.S. Department of Education. New Leaders requested $15 million over five years under the first priority of the Validation grants, Improving the Effectiveness and Distribution of Effective Teachers or Principals. The i3 contest is one of Secretary Arne Duncan's education reforms, designed to identify and fund innovative ideas that have delivered results. The goal is to bring these ideas to scale.
New Leaders ranked among the top 5 highest scorers out of more than 727 distinct projects requesting grants. New Leaders will continue to follow the process to secure this funding, including identifying $1.5 million dollars in matching private funding.
"New Leaders is incredibly grateful to the Department of Education for this show of confidence in our organization, specifically our work training and supporting exceptional school leaders who drive dramatic gains in schools throughout the country," said New Leaders CEO Jean Desravines. "We are excited that the department has begun to provide a clear message on the importance of leadership as a focal point in their work to advance reform initiatives. Secretary Duncan's remarks this past weekend at the Council of Chief State School Officers confirmed that the department will place a growing emphasis on school leadership reforms in their second term and New Leaders is hoping to help move those efforts forward."
New Leaders has seen the impact a great leader can have on a school since its creation 12 years ago. Earlier this year, New Leaders celebrated a number of successes for schools led by New Leader principals:
- New Leader David Pinder was named Washington, D.C.'s principal of the year after leading McKinley Technology High School to becoming a 90 percent proficient school and culminating in a National Blue Ribbon Award which less than one percent of schools nationwide achieve
- New Leader Quinhon Goodlowe led The Academy of College and Career Exploration in Baltimore, MD to achieve gains of 42 percentage points in high school assessment results, ranking the school among the top 10 of all high schools in Baltimore
- New Leader Claudia Aguirre and Dual-Language Middle School in New York City received an "A" in every category of its 2011-2012 Progress Report, the only school the district to do so
The i3 funding will allow New Leaders to move forward with its 2015 vision. Specifically, the organization will be able to:
- Accelerate student achievement by doubling the number of New Leaders that will be on pace to closing the achievement gap in their schools
- Increase the number of New Leaders in order to reach half a million students, the reach of the 4th largest school district in the country
- Put in place principals specially trained to turn around failing schools and help ensure that major education reform efforts around teacher effectiveness, innovation and common core are carried out effectively
"New Leaders is serving an important role in our nation's future by strengthening school leadership in the public education system which will help ensure students are prepared with the skills needed to keep the U.S. competitive and our communities healthy," said Chris Chadwick, president of Boeing Military Aircraft and New Leaders board member. "Boeing is proud to partner with New Leaders and others to turn this vision into reality."
Contact Information
Terrence Kneisel
401.440.3556
ABOUT NEW LEADERS
New Leaders is a national nonprofit that develops transformational school leaders and promotes the system-level conditions that allow strong leaders to succeed. Founded in 2000, New Leaders has trained more than 900 school leaders who are raising student achievement and graduation rates in high-need district and charter schools across the country. Beyond its signature principal training program, New Leaders develops teachers' and administrators' leadership skills and designs effective leadership policies and practices for school systems nationwide. For more information, visit www.newleaders.org.
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