Laying the Foundation, Inc. Appoints Hanna Skandera as Chief Executive Officer; Richard Agnich Succeeds Founding Board Chair Peter O'Donnell

DALLAS, Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of the Laying the Foundation, Inc. (LTF) announces the appointment of Hanna Skandera as Chief Executive Officer, and the election of its new Chairman, Dick Agnich, who succeeds founding chair Peter O'Donnell.

Laying the Foundation is a fast-growing, national teacher training program for teachers of English, mathematics and science in grades 6 through 12. Its goal is to provide excellent teacher training and a model that can be replicated across the U.S.  The program has, thus far, provided training for thousands of teachers in Texas and a growing number of other states.

"Hanna stood out from a competitive field of candidates for her proven leadership skills, remarkable and visionary thoughts on education, and outstanding ability to translate strategy into action," said Peter O'Donnell, Jr. LTF's founder.  "We have every confidence that she will move our vision forward in each aspect of our mission."

Ms. Skandera will assume her new post in September. Ms. Skandera comes to LTF from Academic Partnerships, where she served as Executive Vice President. Previously, she was Deputy Chief of Staff to Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. While working in Washington for Secretary Spellings, Skandera focused on a range of issues related to K through 12 and postsecondary education. She previously served as Deputy Commissioner of Education in Florida. Prior to that appointment, Ms. Skandera served as California's Undersecretary for Education for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. A prolific author, she has written, edited, and coauthored numerous books and papers while a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. She also taught at Pepperdine University's Graduate School of Public Policy.

"I am thrilled to be joining LTF. LTF's mission to equip and train teachers is a key to ensuring students succeed today and in the future. I am proud to be a part of this mission and look forward to leading this charge," said Ms. Skandera.

Separately, LTF announced that Richard Agnich has been elected Chairman of the Board, succeeding founder O'Donnell, who will remain a director.

Agnich served as senior vice president, secretary and general counsel of Texas Instruments from 1988 until his retirement in early 2000. He currently serves as an advisor to start ups. He served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Austin College and led the search committee who brought in current president Dr. Marjorie Hass. He was also a founder of the Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas.

"This is an exciting time to be taking the helm at LTF," Agnich notes.  "It is already a great program, but with Hanna's strong education policy background and her knowledge of national and state directions and operations, LTF will be able to scale up nationally to have the greatest possible impact in this crucial area."

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 AP Strategies and LTF models. Its program is highly regarded among classroom teachers.

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

*AP, pre-AP, and Advanced Placement are registered trademarks of the College Entrance Examination Board.

SOURCE Laying the Foundation, Inc.