Education Pioneers Recruits Thousands of Applicants from Top Graduate Schools

Non-profit organization provides highly-skilled leaders to drive urban education reforms

OAKLAND, Calif., March 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Education Pioneers, a national network of leaders and entrepreneurs committed to improving leadership within public education, but outside the classroom, today announced it received more than 2,000 applicants from top graduate programs across the country. If chosen, the applicants get the opportunity to participate in a summer Fellowship position that includes rigorous leadership training within K-12 public education. With a highly-selective admissions process, Education Pioneers plans to choose approximately 300 graduate students from the pool of applicants for the 2011 Summer Graduate School Fellowship Program – an admissions rate of less than 15 percent.

The national non-profit provides top graduate students and career professionals with an opportunity to embark upon a career in K-12 education. The selected applicants come from top schools such as Harvard, Columbia, Duke, University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford, with previous careers including companies such as Google, Teach For America, Goldman Sachs, and Boeing. To further advance their mission to bring the best and brightest new leaders into education, Education Pioneers increased the fellowship program's eligibility requirements to include two years of work experience. Fully two-thirds of the 2011 applicants hail from law, business or public policy backgrounds and 47 percent identify as a people of color.

"I applied for an Education Pioneers Fellowship because I believe it will provide a unique chance to combine my personal passion, professional experience and academic training with the practical experience needed to make a lasting impact in education reform," says Delicia Jones, an MBA student at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business and former Senior Consultant with Deloitte. "I want to be part of an organization committed to inspiring the next generation of education leaders and am excited by the prospect of joining a nationwide community that shares my vision for closing the achievement gap and providing all students with the skills needed to succeed." Delicia will be an Education Pioneers Fellows based in Houston this summer.

Education Pioneers partners with more than 130 organizations across the country, including school districts, government agencies, charter schools, and other leading education organizations. During the summer program, Fellows get the opportunity to become leaders in the field of education through working experience and rigorous training. Conversely, Education Pioneers' partner organizations receive direct access to highly-qualified individuals who have the skills necessary to help improve leadership and project management within K-12 public education. Education Pioneers Fellows remain in education at a very high rate with nearly 70 percent going on to work full time in the field.

"We have always had a rigorous and selective admission process," said Scott Morgan, founder and CEO of Education Pioneers. "This year we elevated our standards further by implementing a two-year minimum work requirement, in addition to earning a Master's degree, for all of our applicants. We are confident that the leaders we admit have the talent, experience, and drive needed to transform our education system."

During the summer Fellowship, the selected graduate students apply their unique skills and prior professional experience working full-time on a high-impact education project. Examples of projects include integrating teacher effectiveness research, the development of a student achievement data system for a school district, management of a facilities-renovation project, preparation of growth and quality expansion plans for charter schools, as well as many other critical projects to improve education and increase student achievement.

Education Pioneers was founded in 2003 in the San Francisco Bay Area. It currently operates in Washington, D.C., New York City, Boston, Chicago, Houston, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Los Angeles. Since its launch, Education Pioneers has placed more than 900 Fellows in public education organizations across the country.

About Education Pioneers

Education Pioneers mobilizes and prepares a national network of talented leaders and entrepreneurs to 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 leadership programs, Education Pioneers increases the talent supply of top leaders in education and improves leadership capacity in key organizations - such as school districts, charter school organizations, and nonprofits - in the education sector. More information about Education Pioneers can be found at www.educationpioneers.org.

SOURCE Education Pioneers