BOSTON—Sunday, June 10, 2007 – One week after laying out his vision for the next era of education reform, Governor Deval Patrick today named three chairs to the Readiness Project, the group responsible for the implementation of the Governor’s education plan. The Governor tapped former Boston Public Schools Superintendent Tom Payzant, EMC Corporation Chairman and CEO Joseph M. Tucci and Wheelock College President Jackie Jenkins-Scott. The three chairs selected to lead this effort are recognized as pre-eminent leaders in their respective fields who are uniquely positioned to help lead this effort to transform public education in Massachusetts.
“To ensure our children receive an unparalleled education, we need a team of the brightest leaders and thinkers in education, in business, and in local communities to work through the challenges and the solutions we face as we usher in a new era in education reform,” Governor Patrick said. “Tom, Joe, and Jackie are terrific leaders with the experience and ingenuity we need to accomplish our goals. We know where we are headed. The job of this team will be to implement that vision.”
With Governor Patrick’s vision for the future of education in the Commonwealth as the goal, the project team will develop a 10-year strategic implementation plan that will secure the Commonwealth’s position not only as a national education leader but also as a global education leader.
The Project is to focus specifically on how best to implement the Governor’s vision, including recommendations for fundamental, systemic change to:
· Deliver universal early education and care for 3-4 year olds as well as Full-Day Kindergarten;
· Expand time for teaching and learning;
· Improve teacher licensing and certification on a broad scale;
· Enhance and improve teacher mentoring, induction and professional development;
· Align curricula throughout the entire system;
· Position and support charter schools, pilot schools, and traditional district schools so they are cooperative components of a comprehensive system;
· Improve MCAS and introduce additional standards and assessments;
· Universally extend education an additional two-years; and
· Fund the education system as envisioned adequately, equitably, and reliably.
The Project will include a Leadership Team of well-known, national and local leaders of stakeholder communities including but not limited to the early education and care community, K-12 education community, community college community, higher education community, human services community, workforce development community, and business community. The members of the leadership team will be announced over the next two weeks.
The Leadership Team will be charged with creating a cluster of issue-specific subcommittees to assist in the development of implementation recommendations for target components of the Governor’s plan.
The Leadership Team will synthesize all action recommendations into a concise, coherent strategic-plan and will present the implementation plan complete with benchmarks, cost projections and timelines, to Governor Patrick no later than March 31, 2008.
Joseph Tucci is Chairman of the Board of Directors, President and Chief Executive Officer of EMC Corporation. He has been EMC's Chairman since January 2006 and President and CEO since January 2001, one year after he joined the company as President and Chief Operating Officer.
Tucci is a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). He is one of 150 CEO members of The Business Roundtable and the former chairman of its Task Force on Education and the Workforce. He is one of nine chief executives who steer The Technology CEO Council, the IT industry's leading public policy advocacy organization, and is a member of the Executive Committee of TechNet, a network of CEOs who work to advance the U.S.’s global leadership in innovation.
"So many important things flow from access to a first-rate education--the ability to acquire and extend knowledge, the habit of life-long learning, and the readiness to compete and meet life's endless challenges,” Tucci said. “And therefore I am honored and excited to be one of the chairs of the Governor's Readiness Project and to be working with Tom Payzant and Jackie Jenkins-Scott. Together we will build on the substantial foundation created by Massachusetts' successful Education Reform Law to create our state's next-generation education system, with the aim of producing tomorrow's inventors and innovators and advancing the Commonwealth's reputation as a global leader in education."
Over the past several years, Tucci has overseen the most aggressive new-product introduction cycles in the company’s history, led EMC into multi-platform open software for storage, information, and content management, expanded the company’s marketplace beyond the enterprise to commercial and small-medium businesses, broadened the company’s industry alliances, and established new selling, partnership, and distribution channels. Acknowledging EMC’s rejuvenation, the editors of Business Week named Tucci one of Corporate America’s best senior managers of 2004.
Tom Payzant is a senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Prior to that, he served as superintendent of the Boston Public Schools from October of 1995 until his retirement in June of 2006. Before coming to Boston, he was appointed by President Clinton to serve as assistant secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education with the United States Department of Education. Over the past decade he has led a number of significant systemic reform efforts that have helped narrow the achievement gap and increase student performance on both state and national assessment exams.
“The challenge for an education leader like Massachusetts is to take action today that will secure the future of all students tomorrow,” said Payzant. “With leadership, vision, and a willingness to work together to make tough choices about the fundamental elements of our education system, we can take public education where it needs to go.”
In addition to his tenure in Boston, Payzant has served as Superintendent of Schools in San Diego, Oklahoma City, Eugene, Oregon, and Springfield, Pennsylvania. Payzant's work has been recognized by educators at the regional and national level. In 1998, he was named Massachusetts Superintendent of the Year. In 2004, he received the Richard R. Green Award for Excellence in Urban Education from the Council on Great City Schools. And Governing Magazine named Payzant one of eight "Public Officials of the Year” in 2005.
Jackie Jenkins-Scott has served as the President of Wheelock College since 2004. From 1983 until 2004, Jenkins-Scott served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Dimock Community Health Center in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Previous to that she held several positions with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Departments of Public and Mental Health. As community leader, public health advocate and innovative administrator, she has been a nationally known figure for the past twenty-five years.
“By focusing on the connections between all segments of the education system and between education and the broader community, we can be assured of the Commonwealth's continued leadership in the years to come", said Jenkins-Scott. "More importantly, we can assist every student toward the lifelong goal of economic success, health and well-being that we know a first rate education can provide. I am honored to be part of what will be an historic turning point for all students in Massachusetts.
Jenkins-Scott has served on many civic and community boards. She currently serves as a Board member of the Kennedy Library Foundation and Museum, the Board of Trustees of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Board of Directors of the Tufts Health Plan. She is a board member of The Boston Foundation and Century Bank. Jenkins-Scott was recently appointed to Co-Chair Boston Mayor's School Readiness Action Planning Team.
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