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Governor Taps Broad Cross-Section of Commonwealth Residents for Readiness Project

More than 150 Volunteers to Serve on Subcommittees

 BOSTON — Friday, September 14, 2007— Drawing on a wealth of talent, experience and practical expertise across all aspects of education, Governor Patrick today released the names of the more than 150 Massachusetts citizens appointed to subcommittees of the Readiness Project Leadership Council.

 These volunteers will address the following issues from a systemic perspective, offering specific recommendations for state action:  Assessment & Accountability, Curriculum Alignment, Early Education and Care, Education Technology, Expanded Teaching and Learning Time, High School Plus, Innovative Schools, Long-Term Funding, MCAS and Assessments, Public and Private Education, Recruiting and Retaining Educators, Whole Child and UMass and Public Higher Education.

  “The Governor has challenged all of us to think long-term and he has effectively given the Commonwealth permission to collectively evaluate the fundamental assumptions upon which our education system is built,” said Dana Mohler-Faria, the Governor’s Special Advisor on Education and President of Bridgewater State College. “This is a bold move by a bold leader who recognizes that continuous improvement in education – even from a position of relative strength – is fundamental.”

The subcommittee members reside in more than 75 Commonwealth communities from Rockport and North Adams to Brewster and Ayer.  In addition to the substantive work required for the Project to succeed, subcommittee members have agreed to join the Governor at a series of town hall-style meetings between now and the conclusion of the Project in late spring.

"I am sure I speak for many when I say that I am honored to be part of this initiative," said Michael Flynn, a teacher at the William E. Norris Elementary School in Southampton, and the recipient of the 2008 Massachusetts Teacher Award.  "We are looking forward to the work, to reaching out to residents throughout the state, and to putting the Commonwealth, its cities and towns, and most importantly its students, on a path to a productive and rewarding future."

The Governor appointed Flynn to replace Paul Reville on the Leadership Council.  Reville, recently appointed the Chair of the Board of Education, stepped down from the Leadership Council but will serve on the Subcommittee on MCAS and Assessments.

 The Commonwealth Readiness Project

Chairs

Jackie Jenkins-Scott, Co-Chair

President Wheelock College

Tom Payzant, Co-Chair

Former Superintendent of the Boston and Oklahoma City Public Schools.

Joe Tucci, Co-Chair

Chairman, President, CEO and Chairman of the Board EMC Corporation

Leadership Council

Senator Robert Antonioni, Senate Chair, Joint Committee on Education

Dan Asquino, President of Mount Wachusett Community College

Eduardo Carballo, Superintendent Holyoke Public Schools

Patricia H. Crosby, Executive Director, Franklin Hampshire Regional Employment Board

Ed Dugger, UNC Partners, Inc.

Grace Fey, Executive VP and Director of Frontier Capital Management Company
Michael B. Flynn, Teacher, South Hampton Public Schools and Recipient of the 2008 Massachusetts Teacher Award
Chris Gabrieli, Founder Mass2020
Representative Patricia Haddad, House Chair, Joint Committee on Education
Clare Higgins, Mayor, Northampton Massachusetts
Kathy Kelly, Former President American Federation of Teachers, Massachusetts
Dr. Ioannis Miaoulis, President and Director, Museum of Science Boston
Dana Mohler-Faria, Governor’s Special Advisor for Education, President, Bridgewater
Janet Palmer-Owens, Acting Assistant Superintendent, Triad A, Boston Public Schools
Paul Sagan, CEO Akamai Technologies
Andrea Silbert, CEO, EOS Foundation
Harry Spence
Henry Thomas, President, Urban League of Springfield

Subcommittees

ACCOUNTABILITY & ASSISTANCE

Co-Chair, Paul S. Grogan, President and CEO, The Boston Foundation (Jamaica Plain)

Co-Chair, Karla Baehr, Superintendent, Lowell Public Schools (Newton)

Bill Bourbeau, 8th Grade Reading Teacher, Fitchburg Public Schools (Fitchburg)

James Caradonio, Superintendent, Worcester Public Schools (Worcester)

Dan French, Executive Director, Center for Collaborative Education (Boston)

Sue Gee, Superintendent, Quabbin Regional School District (Rockport)

Jose Irizarry, Principal, Margaret Cells School (West Springfield)

Ed Moscovitch, Chairman, Bay State Reading Institute (Gloucester)

Linda Noonan, Executive Director, Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education (Westwood)

David Roach, Principal, The Nativity School (Sutton)

Megan Tupa, Consultant, SchoolWorks (Boston)

CURRICULUM ALIGNMENT

Co-Chair, Carole Cowan, President, Middlesex Community College (Manchester-by-the-Sea)

Co-Chair, Neil Sullivan, Executive Director, Boston Private Industry Council (Dorchester)

Gail Carberry, President, Quinsigamond Community College (Auburn)

Charles Fadel, Global Lead for Education, Cisco Systems, Inc. (Chelmsford)

Bill Guenther, President, Mass Insight (Beverly)

Bill Kendall, Director of Mathematics and Technology, Braintree Public Schools (South Weymouth)

Janice Lisi, Second Grade Teacher, Lynn Public Schools (Lynnfield)

Elisa Lopez-Dobski, Interim Executive Director, Latino Education Institute at Worcester State College (Worcester)

Marinel McGrath, Superintendent, Hamilton-Wenham (Newburyport)

Kia Martin, Doctoral student, Harvard School of Education (Newton)

Fernando Reimers, Director Global Education, Harvard (Belmont)

Matthew Sloane, AVID Site Coordinator and Grant Director, Hyde Park Middle School (Newton)

Steve Winter, Senior Project Director, Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Cambridge

EARLY EDUCATION & CARE

Co-Chair, Yvette Rodriguez, Chief Operations Office, Innquilinos Boricua En Accion (Quincy)

Co-Chair, Margaret Blood, President/Campaign Director, Strategies for Children, Inc. and Early Education for All Campaign (Jamaica Plain)

Margaret Angell, Special Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer, Boston Public Schools (Boston)

Roy Belson, Superintendent, Medford Public Schools (Medford)

JD Chesloff, Policy Director, MA Business Roundtable (Arlington)

Marie Enochty, Coordinator, Cape and Islands Early Childhood Resource Center (Brewster)

Karen Fredrick, President, Massachusetts Association for Early Education and Care (Dracut)

Sally Fuller, Project Director, Cherish Every Child, Irene E. & George A. David Foundation (Wilbraham)

Sister Kathleen, Harrington, Director, John E. Boyd Child Care & Development, New Bedford

John Lippit, Early Childhood Policy Analyst, Lippitt Consulting (Reading)

Wendy Luk, Child Trainer (Chestnut Hill)

Marta Rosa, Director, Government Affairs/ Interim Director, Center for Interdisciplinary Learning, Wheelock College (Revere)

Ada Rosmarin, Director, Milton Early Childhood Alliance (Milton)

Peg Sprague, Vice President, United Way, Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley (Boston)

Valora Washington, Executive Director, The Schott Fellowship in Early Care and Education

Ardith Wieworka, Executive VP, Child Development & Education (Roxbury)

Wayne Ysaguirre, Acting President and CEO, Associated Early Care & Education (Roxbury)

EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY

Co-Chair, Mary Grant, President, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (North Adams)

Co-Chair, Robert Richardson, East Coast Education Manager, Intel Massachusetts, Inc. (Concord)

Robert Cornacchioli, Director of Instructional Technology and Media Services, Shrewsbury Public Schools (Worcester)

Sandra Faioes, Teacher, The Engineering School (Dorchester)

Gladys Franco, History Teacher, High School of Science and Tech (Springfield)

Ann Marie, Levins, Associate General Counsel, Microsoft Corporation (Newton)

Anne Manning, Information Systems Manager, Student Life Division, Wellesley College (Natick)

Chris Moore, COO, HCEC (Chelmsford)

Adam Newman, Vice President, Industry Solutions, Eduventures (Boston)

Kim Rice, CIO, Boston Public Schools (Manchester)

Mary Skipper, Headmaster, TechBoston Academy (Dorchester)

Donna Stewartson, Associate Director, Women in Politics and Public Policy (Dorchester)

Isa Zimmerman, Senior Fellow, The PK-16 Stem Initiative, UMass Donahue Institute (Boston)

EXPANDED TEACHING & LEARNING TIME

Chair, Earl Martin, Phalen, Founder & CEO, BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life), Dorchester

Sheri Adlin, Executive Director, South Shore Day Care Services (Roslindale)

Michael P. Cahill, Public Policy Director, YMCA, MA (Beverly)

Joan Connolly, Academic Director of Professional Programs, Harvard Graduate School of Education (Rowley)

Tom Gosnell, President, American Federation of Teacher Massachusetts (Winchester)

Gwynn Hughes, Executive Director, Mass After School Partnership (West Newton)

Lucia Mayerson-David, Director for Institute of Learning and Teaching, UMass Boston (Newton)

James McManus, Principal, Slowey/McManus Communications (West Roxbury)

Celina Miranda, Charitable Giving Manager, Bank of New York Mellon (East Boston)

John Werner, Executive Director, Citizen Schools (Brookline)

HIGH SCHOOL PLUS

Co-Chair, Buzz Nembirkow, Superintendent, Brockton Public Schools (Brockton)

Co-Chair, Melissa Colon, Associate Director, The Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy (Cambridge)

Edward Bouquillon, Superintendent/Director, Minuteman Regional Technical High School District, Lexington (Holyoke)

Dolores Calaf, Director, Lawrence Regional Center, Cambridge College (Lawrence)

Harneen Chernow, Director, Mass Branch of SEIU, State Board of Education (Jamaica Plain)

Gerald Chertavian, Founder & CEO, Year Up (Cambridge)

Charles Desmond, Executive Vice President, Trefler Foundation (Danvers)

Richard Kazis, Senior Vice President, Jobs for the Future (Brookline)

Mary Lassen, Consultant, (Dorchester)

Jim Marini, Superintendent, North Andover Public Schools (Walpole)

Libby Porter, Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator, grades 6-12, Westford Public Schools (Winchester)

Joan Quinlan, Director, MGH Community Benefit Program (Brookline)

INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS

Chair, Lyle Kirtman, President, Future Management Systems (Wenham)

Ethan d'Ablemont Burnes, Policy Director, Boston Plan for Excellence (Boston)

Ed Doherty, Assistant to President, AFT Massachusetts (Jamaica Plain)

Michael Goldstein, Director, The Match School (Watertown)

Jewel James, Vice President and Director of Public Affairs, Citizens Bank (Medford)

Dr. Marc, Kenen, Executive Director, Massachusetts Charter Public School Association (Haydenville)

Chris Martes, Superintendent, Foxborough Public Schools (Easton)

Crista Martinez, Executive Director, Families First Parenting Program (Watertown)

Irma Medina, Pathways Program Coordinator, Holyoke Community College (Springfield)

Tom Scott, Executive Director, Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (Lexington)

Caprice Taylor Mendez, Director, Boston Parent Organizing Network (Roxbury)

LONG-TERM FUNDING

Co-Chair, Jim McIntyre, Chief Operating Officer, Boston Public Schools (Boston)

Co-Chair, Thomas Downes, Associate Professor, Tufts University (Brookline)

Noah Berger, Executive Director, Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (Cambridge)

Paul Dakin, Superintendent, Revere Public Schools (Revere)

Peter Enrich, Professor, Northeastern University School of Law (Lexington)

Dorothy Galo, Superintendent, Hingham Public Schools (Hingham)

Peter Haley, Member, Winchester Board of Selectmen, Winchester, MA (Winchester)

Paul Harrington, Associate Director of the Center of Labor Market Studies, Northeastern University

Michael Hogan, Center for Labor & Market Studies, Northeastern University

Cam Huff, Consultant (Billerica)

Greg Jobin-Leeds, Co-founder, Chair of the Board, Schott Foundation (Cambridge)

John Musante, Finance Director/Treasurer, Amherst (Amherst)

Debra Rahmin Silberstein, Member, Andover School Committee (Andover)

William Rodriguez, Strategic Consultant (Norwood)

Dr. George Thorn, Senior Program Officer, Bank of America (Dorchester)

Michael Weisman, Attorney, Weisman & McIntyre, P.C. (Newton)

MCAS & ASSESSMENTS

Co-Chair, Nick Donohue, CEO and President, Nellie Mae Education Foundation (Hanson)

Co-Chair, Paul Reville, Chairman of the Board of Education/President of the Rennie Center/Lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Education (Worcester)

Marcony Almeida, Analyst, MIRA Coalition (Everett)

Sacha Garcia-Mailloux, Assistant Principal, Forest Park Middle School (West Springfield)

Lisa Guisbond, K-12 assessment reform analyst, FairTest (Brookline)

Curtis Jones, Director, Partnership for Whole School Change (Jamaica Plain)

Trudy Knowles, Professor, Westfield State College (Westfield)

David Krane, Second Grade Teacher, Vinson-Owen Elementary School (Somerville)

Kevin Lyons, Superintendent, Newburyport Public Schools (Hampton, NH)

Philomena Mantella, Senior VP for Enrollment Management and Student Life, Northeastern University (Boston)

Jim Nehring, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Education, UMass Lowell (Ayer)

Shirley Owens-Hicks, Retired State Representative (Mattapan)

Ruth Rodriguez Fay, Family and Community Outreach Coordinator, Boston Day and Evening Academy (Chelsea)

Jibril Salaam, Higher Education Outreach Director, TechBoston/Boston Public Schools (West Roxbury)

Dr. John Sbrega, President, Bristol Community College (Fall River)

Elaine Webb, Advocacy Liaison, Reading School Committee (Reading)

PUBLIC & PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATION

Co-Chair, Jean McCormack, Chancellor, UMass Dartmouth (Dartmouth)

Co-Chair, Joseph Aoun, President, Northeastern University (Boston)

Janelle Ashley, President, Worcester State College (Paxton)

Phil Clay, Chancellor, MIT (Cambridge)

Francis Couvares, E. Dwight Salmon Professor of History and American Studies, Amherst College (Amherst)

Richard Doherty, President, Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts (Milton)

Edelina M. Burciaga, Attorney, Mass Law Reform Institute (Cambridge)

Sylvia Simmons, Lecturer, Boston University (Roxbury)

Peter Stokes, Executive Vice President, Eduventures, Inc. (Arlington)

RECRUITING & RETAINING EDUCATORS

Co-Chair, Don McCallion, Executive Director, Massachusetts Association School Personnel Administrators (Southborough)

Co-Chair, Dr. Cheryl Stanley, Professor of Education, Westfield State College (Springfield)

Michelle Boyers, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, Boston Public Schools (Boston)

Anna Bradfield, Dean, School of Education and Allied Studies, Bridgewater State College (East Taunton)

Thelma Burnes, Consultant to Belmont Public Schools (Dorchester)

Susan Freedman, President, Teachers 21 (Needham)

Bob Knittle, Senior Project Manager, Jobs for the Future (Worcester)

Ophelia Navarro, Research & Policy Analyst, Strategies for Children, Inc./Early Education for All Campaign (Cambridge)

Isabellina Rodriguez Babcock, Superintendent, Northampton Public Schools (Springfield)

Paul Schlichtman, Past President, Massachusetts Association of School Committees (Arlington)

Paul Toner, Vice President, Massachusetts Teachers Association (Cambridge)

Ron Walker, Associate Director, Atlas Communities (Lynn)

WHOLE CHILD

Co-Chair, Mark Culliton, CEO, Federated Dorchester Neighborhood Houses, Inc. (Dorchester)

Co-Chair, Carla Jentz, Executive Director, Massachusetts Administrators for Special Education (Newton)

Joe Burke, Superintendent, Springfield Public Schools (Springfield)

Dennie Butler-McKay, President & CEO, Leaders of Tomorrow, Inc. (Jamaica Plain)

Charles Conroy, Executive Director, Doctor Franklin Perkins School (Lancaster)

Frankie Cruz, Executive Director, Boston Scholars Program (Watertown)

Kathy Hassey, President, Mass Nurses Association (Carlisle)

Edward Madaus, Executive Director, Guild of St. Agnes Child Care (Boylston)

Isolda Ortega-Bustamante, Director, Engaging Latino Communities for Education/Holyoke Community College (Granby)

Caroline Ross, Senior Director of Community Impact, United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley (Newton)

Roosevelt Smith, Executive Director, Urban Dreams (Lansdowne, PA)

Mary Ann Stewart, Parent and Board Member, Massachusetts Parent Teacher Association (Lexington)

Judy Thompson, Guidance Director, Worcester Public Schools (Worcester)

Nancy Tyler Schoen, 2005 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year/Director of Music, Franklin Public Schools (Franklin)

 UMASS & PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION

Chair, Bob Antonucci, President, Fitchburg State College (Fitchburg)

Fred Clark, Chair, Board of Higher Education (Easton)

Patricia Crosson, Professor Emeriti, Umass Amherst (Amherst)

Richard Freeland, President Emeritus, Northeastern University (Boston)

Deborah Hirsch, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Mount Ida College (Newton)

Jim Karam, President & CEO, First Bristol Corporation (Tiverton, RI)

Arthur Pippo, Director, MTA Division of Higher Education (Ipswich)

John Portz, Professor, Northeastern University (Watertown)

Alan Solomont, Chairman, Solomont Bailis Ventures (Weston)

Sid Topol, President, Topol Group, LLC/Topol Family Fund (Boston)