New Report Examines Future of Public Education

PHILADELPHIA and ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Association of School Administrators (AASA), in partnership with ARAMARK, a global leader delivering food, facilities and uniform services, has released The Shifting Education Landscape: Advocating for Student Success, an in-depth white paper which examines the changing role of educational leaders in preparing students for higher education and career development. The report focuses on the opportunities and challenges posed by the Common Core State Standards, a universal curriculum adopted by 46 states to ensure consistency among student achievement; improving teacher and principal evaluations; and engaging the community to serve as academic advocates.

As part of its annual National Superintendent of the Year program, AASA invited the 2012 State Superintendents of the Year to meet in Washington, D.C. for a three day forum to discuss the challenges facing today's educators and to share best practices for implementing change and increasing academic achievement.  The resulting 21 page report, The Shifting Education Landscape: Advocating for Student Success, focuses on the opportunities in today's academic environment and the imminent need to advocate for public education.

"These superintendents are some of our finest education practitioners," said AASA executive director, Daniel Domenech. "They are serving on the front lines in school districts all across the country.  They understand first hand the issues students and teachers face in the classroom.  It is a great privilege of us to be able to share their wisdom."

The white paper includes insights from superintendents about the impact of consistent academic standards; the importance of effective educator evaluations and increased accountability for student learning; and the need to engage parents, guardians and community members - all with the goal of ensuring a quality education for every student.

Additionally, the report identifies the critical communicator role that K-12 superintendents play to promote improvements to academic programming, increase student achievement and stimulate robust support for public education throughout communities.

"This year's Superintendents of the Year Forum provided our educational leaders with an opportunity to discuss the challenges faced by educators today as well as to highlight successful strategies to ensure the continued success of our K-12 educational system," said Dennis Maple, President, ARAMARK Education. "As an avid supporter of AASA, we believe that The Shifting Education Landscape: Advocating for Student Success can help to encourage dialogue about the future of public education with a focus on our children."

To download The Shifting Education Landscape: Advocating for Student Success, please visit http://www.aasa.org/content.aspx?id=3404.

About AASA 
The American Association of School Administrators, founded in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and throughout the world. The mission of AASA is to advocate for the highest quality public education for all students, and develop and support school system leaders. For more information, visit www.aasa.org. Follow AASA on twitter at www.twitter.com/AASAHQ. Become a fan of the AASA Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AASApage. 

About ARAMARK Education
ARAMARK Education provides a complete range of food, facility, uniform and other support services to more than 500 K-12 school districts in the U.S.  It offers public and private education institutions a family of dining and facility services including:  on-site and off-site breakfast and lunch meal programs, after-school snacks, catering, nutrition education, retail design and operations, maintenance, custodial, grounds, energy management, construction management, and building commissioning.  For more information on ARAMARK's K-12 food service programs, please visit www.aramarkschools.com.

About ARAMARK
ARAMARK delivers experiences that enrich and nourish people's lives through innovative food, facility, and uniform services. United by a passion to serve, our more than 250,000 employees make a meaningful difference each day for millions of people around the world. ARAMARK is recognized among the Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE and World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute.  Learn more at www.aramark.com or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE American Association of School Administrators (AASA)