Public/Private Organizations Begin Fellowship Program for Tomorrow’s Ed Leaders

The Ferguson Education Leadership Fellowship, created by Curriculum Associates and Rocketship Education, announced Tuesday that fellows in a new leadership program will spend ten months working full-time on curriculum, product development, and data and accountability beginning 2012 at each of the following organizations:

• Rocketship Education, a national, nonprofit elementary charter school network based in San Jose, California.
• Curriculum Associates, LLC, a privately owned, fast-growing 40+-year-old education technology company in Boston.
• An urban school district located in the San Francisco Bay Area or the Boston area.

“We have focused on the needs of teachers and students for more than 40 years, and believe that true partnerships between school districts, business, and nonprofits are the key to improving education,” said Rob Waldron, CEO of Curriculum Associates. “With the launch of the Ferguson Education Leadership Fellowship, we will create a new generation of leaders that will bridge the current silos between charter schools, public school districts, and education technology companies like ours.”
Getting Smart founder and CEO of Open Education Solutions, Tom Vander Ark, will join a nominating committee to identify elligible candidates who have the passion, work ethic, intelligence, and emerging leadership skills to become the CEO of an education technology firm, the leader of a charter school management organization, or the superintendent of a school district in the next ten years.  The nominating committee also includes Jeff Bradachof The Bridgespan Group, Mora Segal of The Achievement Network, and other education sector leaders.
The Ferguson Education Leadership Fellowship is a 30-month postgraduate fellowship for individuals interested in the interrelationship between traditional schools, charter schools, and the for-profit education technology industry. At the end of their tenure, fellows will be uniquely positioned to bridge the current divides between school districts, charter schools, and the K–12 vendor community and to teach others how to do so as well. The paid fellowship will be based in the Boston and San Francisco Bay areas.
“The time has come to figure out how to provide the best education for all children in this country,” said Aylon Samouha, Chief Schools Officer of Rocketship Education. “Our children deserve the best teachers, the best curriculum, the best materials, and the best leaders working for them. As part of that effort, the Ferguson Education Leadership Fellowship brings the public and private sector together to build and replicate meaningful and lasting change for individual children, families, and the system as a whole.”
The program prospectus, which includes the job description, application process and requirements, and a full list of nominating committee members, is available at CurriculumAssociates.com/fellowship. Applications are due onApril 1, 2012.