Education Pioneers Launches in New Orleans to Recruit, Train 80 New Education Leaders by 2015

OAKLAND, Calif., April 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Education Pioneers, a national nonprofit with a network of education leaders, managers, and analysts, today announced the launch of a new site in New Orleans, LA, with the goal of recruiting and training 80 new education leaders by 2015.

Education Pioneers will connect key education organizations, including school districts such as the Louisiana Recovery School District, charter schools, and education nonprofits, with talented Education Pioneers Fellows who have the skills needed to create effective systems and support teachers' and principals' important work to increase student achievement. New Schools for New Orleans and The Booth-Bricker Fund, as well as local individual champions, have all pledged financial support for Education Pioneers' launch in the region.

"With this launch, we hope to accelerate the tremendous education innovations already underway in New Orleans by providing a new source of talented, skilled leaders to organizations dedicated to providing all students with an excellent education," said Scott Morgan, Founder and CEO of Education Pioneers.

Education Pioneers recruits top graduate students in business, policy, law and education from premier universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Rice, the University of North Carolina, the University of Virginia, Tulane, and Duke. Through its rigorous and highly selective Fellowship programs, Education Pioneers mobilizes emerging leaders to launch careers in education and trains them on the challenges of K-12 education through case studies and access to a network of top education industry leaders. The organization helps their rapidly growing network of Alumni advance into permanent high-impact executive leadership roles in the field, including district administrators, nonprofit executives, policymakers, and philanthropists. Of Education Pioneers' employed Alumni today, more than 70% work full-time in the field of education.

"We are excited to partner with Education Pioneers as they build the New Orleans talent pipeline in hard to fill positions. This will be an important contribution to the work of creating great schools for all children in the city," said Jay Altman, CEO of FirstLine Schools.

Founded in 2003 in the San Francisco Bay Area, Education Pioneers now operates offices in seven major metropolitan areas nationwide. In less than a decade, Education Pioneers has grown into a thriving national organization that places talent in 16 cities, with a network of over 1,600 leaders and partnerships with more than 180 education organizations. Education Pioneers has significantly expanded the talent supply in education by connecting professionals to high-impact careers in education and supporting them to succeed.

"I had the privilege of working with Education Pioneers prior to my arrival in New Orleans. The passion, intelligence, and most importantly — productivity! — of these individuals consistently left me in awe and makes me that much more excited for ACSA to hire our first Education Pioneer this summer. EP is a fantastic addition to the NOLA education-reform community," said Adrian Morgan, CEO of Algiers Charter School Association.

"We are thrilled to help bring Education Pioneers to New Orleans," said Neerav Kingsland, CEO of New Schools for New Orleans. "The organization will create a talent engine of new leaders that will drive forward critical public education improvements in Louisiana."

More than 12 regional education organizations will benefit from Education Pioneers' New Orleans program during 2013. Organizations participating in the 2013 program include: 4.0 Schools, Algiers Charter School Association, Arise Academy, Bricolage Academy, Choice Foundation, Crescent City Schools, FirstLine Schools, Kickboard, Leading Educators, Orleans Parish School Board, Recovery School District, and Teach For America.

About Education Pioneers

Education Pioneers mobilizes and prepares a national network of talented leaders and managers to accelerate excellence in education and transform our education system into one that equips all students with the skills they need to thrive in college, career and life. Through the organization's Fellowship and Alumni programs, Education Pioneers increases the talent supply of top leaders in education to improve the leadership capacity in key education organizations—such as school districts, charter school organizations and nonprofits—and to advance our goal to make education the best led and managed sector in the U.S.

More information about Education Pioneers can be found at www.educationpioneers.org.

SOURCE Education Pioneers