CMS Superintendent Dr. Peter C. Gorman and New Leaders for New Schools CEO Jon Schnur announced on Dec. 10 that following a year-long, national competition, the New Leaders Board of Directors has selected Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools as its newest partner. New Leaders for New Schools is a nationally recognized non-profit organization which serves as an innovative pathway for passionate and effective educators to become successful principals in high-need schools.
Community leaders gathered at Sedgefield Middle School for today’s announcement that over the next six years CMS and New Leaders will recruit, select, train and support more than 50 highly talented and motivated new principals to lead high-need schools in Charlotte. The organization seeks outstanding individuals with an unyielding belief in the capacity of all children to achieve at high levels, strong instructional, strategic management, and interpersonal skills, and a relentless drive to lead the district’s highest-need schools.
“This represents an enormous stride forward for the district,” Dr. Gorman said. “The principal is the key lever for change at any school. That’s why this partnership, with its innovative approach and commitment to academic excellence, is so important for CMS."
The announcement launched recruitment efforts for the first cohort of New Leaders principals in Charlotte. Each New Leader is expected to make a long-term commitment to serve Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and commit to achieving ambitious goals for students. This includes the goal that schools led by New Leaders principals for at least five years will have 90 percent to 100 percent of students achieve proficiency or above in core academic subjects.
“We are truly excited to partner with Superintendent Gorman and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools,” said Mr. Schnur. “Investing in education during an economic downturn is essential to our recovery. This partnership will focus on ensuring that all children in CMS’ high-need schools are prepared with the skills they need to graduate from high school ready for college, careers, and citizenship.”
New Leaders for New Schools will immediately begin accepting applications for its Charlotte fellowships online. Individuals interested in applying for this prestigious full fellowship or in nominating strong candidates should apply or go online now at www.nlns.org, email charlotteinfo@nlns.org, or call (704) 858-7968 before this year’s final deadline of February 17, 2009. The first Charlotte cohort will begin its training in June 2009.
“North Carolina’s economic future hinges on our ability to improve K-12 and graduate more students who are fully prepared for today’s knowledge-based global economy,” said University of North Carolina President Erskine Bowles. “I’m thrilled to support this partnership, which will produce thousands more CMS students who will be ready to enroll on one of our UNC campuses and will be fully prepared to compete and compete successfully with the world’s best and brightest, wherever they may be.”
With a growing percentage of principals eligible for retirement and more than ten new school openings planned in the next two years alone, this partnership could not come at a better time. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ strong track record and commitment to policies and practices that support CMS’ highest-need schools, along with strong support from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and Mecklenburg Citizens for Public Education (MeckEd), played a critical role in attracting New Leaders for New Schools. Local corporations and foundations supporting the partnership include Bank of America, Duke Energy, Presbyterian Health Care, Rodgers Builders, and the Wachovia Foundation.
“Our high-need schools are where the hardest battle to educate every student is fought,” said Darius Adamson, principal of Sedgefield Middle School and a member of the team who worked on the district’s application to New Leaders for New Schools. “For so many of our high-need students, education represents a way out of poverty into a lifetime of opportunity --- and that path begins or ends with school. New Leaders for New Schools can help CMS educate every child well by building strong leadership at the school level.”
Schnur also announced that Eric Guckian will be the Executive Director of the local New Leaders for New Schools program. Guckian has over a decade of experience as a public school teacher, administrator, and leader. “Outstanding principals are essential to school and student success,” said Mr. Guckian. “I look forward to working with the community to recruit, train, and support results-oriented leaders who possess an unwavering commitment to ensure that every CMS student achieves academic excellence.”
All New Leaders must have K-12 classroom teaching experience; half of the program’s participants typically come directly from school systems, with the other half coming from backgrounds in schools, universities, businesses, the military, non-profit organizations, or foundations.
Candidates will be evaluated on criteria in ten competency-based categories and admitted through a merit-based process. Successful applicants will participate in a fellowship beginning with intensive summer training and a yearlong, full-time, paid residency in a leadership position with a mentor principal. New Leaders receive the benefit of coaching and ongoing school-level support, as well as a life-long network of like-minded colleagues across the country.
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ABOUT CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG SCHOOLS
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is a consolidated city-county public school district serving 137,180 students in the 2008-2009 school year. It is the second-largest district in North Carolina and one of the 25 largest districts in the U.S. CMS has 174 schools and more than 18,000 employees.
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 its inception in 2000, New Leaders has selected and trained 550 outstanding leaders from over 8,000 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, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, The Broad Foundation, The NewSchools Venture Fund, New Profit, 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 about New Leaders for New Schools can be found at www.nlns.org.