Washington, DC (February 14, 2012) – Knowledge Alliance’s Board Chairman Mark Elgart gave the following statement today on the President’s FY2013 Budget Priorities for education.

“We greatly appreciate the focus on education research in President Obama’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2013. Strong support from the Federal Government will help to improve educational outcomes for students and create enduring partnerships with state and local educators across the nation.  This, in turn, will help all 50 states, hundreds of school districts and thousands of educators implement actions focused on improving student performance. Continued funding will provide access to the very latest information, policy guidance and research that directly leads to improvements in classrooms that help teachers educate millions of American students. We applaud the President for making education research a priority and encourage significantly greater investments in educational research and development in the future so that we can continue to improve the quality of education for all students.

The President’s request for continued funding of Regional Education Labs and Comprehensive Centers, as well as a boost in spending for the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), are critical to ensuring effective programs and better outcomes for students.

Finally, we support the President’s funding request for School Improvement Grants. However, we believe that school improvement efforts should be focused on implementing research-based strategies that are proven to increase impact on teaching and learning. There is a significant knowledge base available around that research that needs to be disseminated widely and implemented effectively. Knowledge Alliance stands ready to help serve that need.

Knowledge Alliance looks forward to the year ahead, and working with the Administration and Congress toward education reform.”

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Knowledge Alliance is a non-profit, non-partisan strategic alliance established to address the increasingly urgent need to apply rigorous research to persistent educational challenges facing our country’s schools. Composed of leading education organizations, Alliance members are involved in high-quality education research, development, dissemination, technical assistance and evaluation at the federal, regional, state, tribal and local levels. The Alliance works closely with the US Congress, US Department of Education and other federal agencies in advocating knowledge-based policy for innovation and improvement in education.

Please see a complete position description here.

Position:                          President and CEO   

Supervisor:                     Board of Directors
Position Summary:      Responsible for executive leadership and management of Knowledge Alliance

Application packets are due by February 12, 2012 and must include a letter of interest, current resume, and contact information for five references and can be e-mailed to KASearch@iel.org.

Applications may also be mailed to:

Michael D. Usdan, Search Consultant
The Institute for Educational Leadership
4455 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Suite 310
Washington, D.C. 20008 

Knowledge Alliance’s mission is to improve K-12 education by widely expanding the development and use of research-based knowledge in policy and practice.

NEWS RELEASE

For More Information: Contact:
Jennifer H. Oliver
Vice President of Communications
AdvancED
678.392.2285, ext. 5547

Mark Elgart Named Chair of Knowledge Alliance, a Major U.S. Education Policy Group

ATLANTA, GA, December 5, 2011 – Mark A. Elgart, Ed.D., president and chief executive officer of AdvancED, was selected by the Board of Directors of the Knowledge Alliance to serve as chair of the board for 2012.  In this role, Elgart will lead the Knowledge Alliance’s Board of Directors in providing oversight and advice to the organization’s professional staff members.

At AdvancED, Elgart is responsible for leading the development and implementation of AdvancED’s accreditation system as a catalyst for powerful school improvement.  He was the visionary and designer of the nationally acclaimed District Accreditation protocol.  Through his leadership, accreditation has been transformed into a quality-driven, systems-oriented process that focuses on helping schools and school systems build their capacity to improve student learning.   Additionally, Elgart is active and influential in helping policy leaders at the state and national levels shape and enact policy related to educational quality, continuous improvement, and accountability.

“Education policy continues to be at the forefront of issues facing both federal and state policymakers.  The time has come for bold changes, and we are fortunate to have Mark leading the Knowledge Alliance efforts to drive research-based innovations in education,” shared Jim Kohlmoos, president and CEO of Knowledge Alliance.

“Education has the power to shape the world we live in, changing lives, one child at a time,” said Elgart.  “Knowledge Alliance has an important responsibility to provide policymakers with research and information to help ensure that their decisions are in the best interest of all students.”

Elgart has more than 30 years of experience in the field of education, bringing a wealth of knowledge and expertise from his work with 30,000 schools around the world about what works in education today and for tomorrow.  He is also a national and international trainer and presenter on the topics of accreditation, school improvement, leadership, and accountability in education.

“AdvancED has benefited greatly from Mark’s visionary leadership and Knowledge Alliance will be no different,” stated Lisa McLaughlin, chair of the AdvancED Board of Trustees.  “Mark has challenged us to share our breadth of understanding about quality education to inform and influence federal and state policymakers regarding policy decisions that will benefit educational institutions and students alike.”

About AdvancED

AdvancED provides effective strategies and practices to assist education providers of all types in their pursuit of excellence in ensuring that all students achieve.  A global organization, AdvancED operates three of the nation’s regional accrediting agencies and serving more than 30,000 public and private schools and districts in 70 countries and touching nearly 16 million students.  For more information, please visit www.advanc-ed.org.

About the Knowledge Alliance

Knowledge alliance was founded in 1997 as a non-profit, non-partisan strategic alliance to address the increasingly urgent need to apply rigorous research to persistent educational challenges facing our country’s schools.

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Thanks to the powerful legacy of excellence that Jim will leave behind, Knowledge Alliance is well positioned to move forward to even greater levels of accomplishment. With a compelling vision for change in education, we are enthusiastic about our prospective initiatives in federal education policy and industry leadership. While some of the challenges on the horizon are daunting, our coaliton sees great opportunities for stimulating innovation and continuous improvement in K12 education through evidence-based policy and practice. Indeed, we believe we are on the threshold of a new knowledge era of education reform.

To assure a seamless transition, we are immediately launching a search process for Jim’s successor. We will be posting more information on the Knowledge Alliance web site in the coming days. If you know of potential candidates (including yourself) who are interested in assuming the leadership position in a dynamic trade association in Washington DC, please contact one of us via email at Steve.Fleischman@educationnorthwest.org or Melgart@advanc-ed.org.

Best regards,

Steve Fleischman,
2011 Chair of Knowledge Alliance Board of Directors
and Deputy Executive Officer of Education Northwest

Mark Elgart,
2012 Chair of Knowledge Alliance Board of Directors
and Chief Executive Officer of AdvanceED

at a November 16 hearing on “Education Research: Identifying Effective Programs to Support Students and Teachers.”

Testifying in Washington, DC, before the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, Fleischman described how he struggled to find evidence to help him become a more effective middle and high school history teacher in the 1980s. “We’ve come a long way since then,” said Fleischman, “but not far enough.” Read all about it here