Dallas-Based Education Nonprofit's CEO Tapped as New Mexico's New Secretary of Education

DALLAS, Dec. 21, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The CEO of Dallas-based education and teacher training nonprofit, Laying the Foundation, Hanna Skandera, has been nominated to the post of Secretary of Education for the State of New Mexico in January 2011.

"It's not every day a nonprofit CEO is tapped to lead a state's education program.  While we're disappointed to lose Hanna, we think New Mexico's selection of her simply confirms that we hired someone of enormous capacity, and we have benefited from her vision and leadership.  We made a great choice when we chose her as CEO of Laying the Foundation," said LTF Chairman Dick Agnich.

New Mexico Governor-Elect Susanna Martinez named Ms. Skandera to lead New Mexico's education program at a news conference in Albuquerque earlier today.  

Laying the Foundation is a fast-growing, national teacher training program for teachers of English, mathematics and science in grades 6 through 12.  LTF has provided training for thousands of teachers in Texas and nine other states.  

LTF trains teachers in content and skills to help their students become ready for success in college.  They are in school districts in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Virginia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Florida and South Dakota, in addition to its home state of Texas.  Its programs have succeeded in school districts ranging from large urban districts (Dallas, El Paso, San Antonio) to suburban districts (Richardson, Coppell, Garland), discrete local communities (New Braunfels, Mansfield, Weslaco) and charter schools (KIPP Houston).  

Noting Laying the Foundation's role as a game changer in education, Dr. Christy Hovanetz Senior Policy Fellow with the Foundation for Excellence in Education said, "LTF continues to build and develop strategic partnerships while solidifying the core principles of effective teacher training."  She added that its program partnering with the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) in support of the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project, is adding to the knowledge base for teacher evaluation.  

During her term of office, which began last September, Ms. Skandera focused on honing Laying the Foundation's strategy in emerging as one of the nation's foremost teacher training programs.

"We will immediately begin a search for our next CEO, a leader who can take Laying the Foundation to new heights in becoming the nation's premier teacher empowerment and training program," Agnich said.  

"We are very pleased with Hanna's enthusiasm and strategic thinking that she brought to Laying the Foundation.  We wish her all the best as Secretary of Education in New Mexico and look forward to working with her in the future on our mutual goals of improving education in the U.S.," said Peter O'Donnell, Jr., Chairman of the O'Donnell Foundation and founder of Laying the Foundation.

Of her time with LTF, Ms. Skandera said, "My time here at Laying the Foundation has been an unbelievably good experience.  I have a wholehearted commitment to LTF's mission to equip teachers and ensure student success.  They absolutely have chosen the right mission.  The Laying the Foundation program works."

About Laying the Foundation, Inc.:

LTF was founded in 2003 as an outgrowth of the O'Donnell Foundation's deep commitment to raising the bar for math, science and English education for American students. Laying the Foundation, Inc. officially became a separate non-profit organization in January 2008, furthering its training capabilities with the goal of scaling up nationally to strengthen the content knowledge and skills of classroom teachers of math, science and English. Today LTF is training thousands of teachers in Texas, as well as in ten other states, six of which are where the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) is replicating both the APStrategies and LTF models. Its program is highly regarded among classroom teachers.

For more information on LTF and its mission, visit www.ltftraining.org.

SOURCE Laying the Foundation, Inc.