National Foundations Commit Major New Support for New Leaders for New Schools
May 20, 2005
Memphis, TN - On the eve of the first New Leaders for New Schools National Summit in Memphis, TN, New Leaders has announced additional support from two new foundations - The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation - for the New Leaders principal training program.
The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation will be investing $9.2 million to support New Leaders for New Schools’ work fostering high academic achievement for every child by attracting, preparing, and supporting the next generation of outstanding school leaders for the nation’s urban public schools. The Walton Family Foundation has also committed $500,000 this year to support the New Leaders charter school initiative.
With the addition of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Walton Family Foundation, support for New Leaders for New Schools now comes from financial resources generated by four of the nation’s leading companies and their family foundations. These two new announcements follow major support announced by FedEx in 2003 and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation earlier this year.
Together this and other support will help make possible a core of more than 700 New Leaders in schools serving over 300,000 students annually by 2008. This is part of a long-term initiative to produce 25 percent of the nation’s new urban principals by 2012 and 2000 outstanding principals leading schools serving a million students annually by 2014.
This announcement comes on the heels of two devastating reports from the American Enterprise Institute and Columbia University regarding the current state of Schools of Education throughout the United States which found graduate training programs for principals to be inadequate and in need of a major overhaul.
New Leaders for New Schools has developed a nationally recognized program to recruit, train, and support outstanding future principals - including intensive on-the-job experience in a year-long, full-time, Residency under the guidance of an effective mentor principal -- who can foster high levels of academic achievement for every child. The U.S. Department of Education recently released a report in which New Leaders for New Schools was one of only six programs in the U.S. to be recognized in a "best practices" guide on school leadership. According to Fast Company Magazine in January 2005 New Leaders was the highest rated social enterprise in the United States.
This week, New Leaders will hold its first national summit—sponsored by FedEx, the Hyde Family Foundations, Pinnacle Airlines, and others—at the FedEx Institute of Technology at the University of Memphis, from Tuesday May 17th through Sunday May 22nd. The events throughout the week will bring together education leaders, major corporate funders, New Leaders principals, and New Leaders residents-in-training from across the nation to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing K-12 education in America’s cities. New Leaders currently serve schools in Memphis, New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Oakland. Baltimore recently won the competition to bring a New Leaders program to their city this summer. Approximately 80 percent of New Leaders become leaders in urban district schools while approximately 20 percent of New Leaders start or lead charter schools.
"This support from four of the nation's eight most admired companies and family foundations will make possible outstanding new principals across America." said Jonathan Schnur, Co-Founder and CEO of New Leaders. "Just like these businesses that have invested in us are successful because of their strong leadership, you can’t have a great school without a great principal. New Leaders is setting the standard and leading the way in giving so many cities across the country the opportunity to turn their school system around, starting with a strong principal."
"The New Leaders for New Schools program has taken an innovative approach to boost student achievement in public schools through advanced recruitment, training and placement of urban school principals," said Janet Mountain, executive director of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. "Developing a talented pool of inspirational leaders to run our nation's schools is a key step in closing the achievement gap and positively impacting children's lives."
"FedEx has been a player in the New Leaders for New Schools project from day one because we know that you can’t have great schools without great leaders in those schools," said Fredrick W. Smith, FedEx Chairman, President and CEO. ""We’re putting our name on this national summit because we believe New Leaders for New Schools can bring positive, systemic change to Memphis City Schools and urban school districts all over the country."
"New Leaders is poised to significantly impact urban public school leadership nationally" said Barbara Hyde, President of the Hyde Family Foundations. "In Memphis, New Leaders is creating a new cadre of school leaders and transforming the office of the principal system-wide."
Along with New Leaders residents, principals and staff from New York, Washington DC, Chicago and Oakland, representatives from the nation’s leading foundations funding education will convene in Memphis including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Kimsey Foundation, the NewSchools Venture Fund, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and others. They will be joined by representatives by six major school systems who are exploring future partnerships with New Leaders for New Schools. Events include seminars, training sessions, and information forums about the success of the Memphis program. Attendees include people from 12 states including Washington, DC.
May 20, 2005
Memphis, TN - On the eve of the first New Leaders for New Schools National Summit in Memphis, TN, New Leaders has announced additional support from two new foundations - The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation - for the New Leaders principal training program.
The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation will be investing $9.2 million to support New Leaders for New Schools’ work fostering high academic achievement for every child by attracting, preparing, and supporting the next generation of outstanding school leaders for the nation’s urban public schools. The Walton Family Foundation has also committed $500,000 this year to support the New Leaders charter school initiative.
With the addition of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Walton Family Foundation, support for New Leaders for New Schools now comes from financial resources generated by four of the nation’s leading companies and their family foundations. These two new announcements follow major support announced by FedEx in 2003 and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation earlier this year.
Together this and other support will help make possible a core of more than 700 New Leaders in schools serving over 300,000 students annually by 2008. This is part of a long-term initiative to produce 25 percent of the nation’s new urban principals by 2012 and 2000 outstanding principals leading schools serving a million students annually by 2014.
This announcement comes on the heels of two devastating reports from the American Enterprise Institute and Columbia University regarding the current state of Schools of Education throughout the United States which found graduate training programs for principals to be inadequate and in need of a major overhaul.
New Leaders for New Schools has developed a nationally recognized program to recruit, train, and support outstanding future principals - including intensive on-the-job experience in a year-long, full-time, Residency under the guidance of an effective mentor principal -- who can foster high levels of academic achievement for every child. The U.S. Department of Education recently released a report in which New Leaders for New Schools was one of only six programs in the U.S. to be recognized in a "best practices" guide on school leadership. According to Fast Company Magazine in January 2005 New Leaders was the highest rated social enterprise in the United States.
This week, New Leaders will hold its first national summit—sponsored by FedEx, the Hyde Family Foundations, Pinnacle Airlines, and others—at the FedEx Institute of Technology at the University of Memphis, from Tuesday May 17th through Sunday May 22nd. The events throughout the week will bring together education leaders, major corporate funders, New Leaders principals, and New Leaders residents-in-training from across the nation to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing K-12 education in America’s cities. New Leaders currently serve schools in Memphis, New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Oakland. Baltimore recently won the competition to bring a New Leaders program to their city this summer. Approximately 80 percent of New Leaders become leaders in urban district schools while approximately 20 percent of New Leaders start or lead charter schools.
"This support from four of the nation's eight most admired companies and family foundations will make possible outstanding new principals across America." said Jonathan Schnur, Co-Founder and CEO of New Leaders. "Just like these businesses that have invested in us are successful because of their strong leadership, you can’t have a great school without a great principal. New Leaders is setting the standard and leading the way in giving so many cities across the country the opportunity to turn their school system around, starting with a strong principal."
"The New Leaders for New Schools program has taken an innovative approach to boost student achievement in public schools through advanced recruitment, training and placement of urban school principals," said Janet Mountain, executive director of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. "Developing a talented pool of inspirational leaders to run our nation's schools is a key step in closing the achievement gap and positively impacting children's lives."
"FedEx has been a player in the New Leaders for New Schools project from day one because we know that you can’t have great schools without great leaders in those schools," said Fredrick W. Smith, FedEx Chairman, President and CEO. ""We’re putting our name on this national summit because we believe New Leaders for New Schools can bring positive, systemic change to Memphis City Schools and urban school districts all over the country."
"New Leaders is poised to significantly impact urban public school leadership nationally" said Barbara Hyde, President of the Hyde Family Foundations. "In Memphis, New Leaders is creating a new cadre of school leaders and transforming the office of the principal system-wide."
Along with New Leaders residents, principals and staff from New York, Washington DC, Chicago and Oakland, representatives from the nation’s leading foundations funding education will convene in Memphis including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Kimsey Foundation, the NewSchools Venture Fund, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and others. They will be joined by representatives by six major school systems who are exploring future partnerships with New Leaders for New Schools. Events include seminars, training sessions, and information forums about the success of the Memphis program. Attendees include people from 12 states including Washington, DC.