CEO chairs urban schools Board of Directors
CMSD NEWS BUREAU
7/1/2019
District CEO Eric Gordon has begun a one-year term as chair of the Council of the Great City Schools Board of Directors.
The Council of the Great City Schools represents more than 70 of the nation's largest school systems and serves as the country's leading voice for urban education. The 150-member Board of Directors includes a superintendent and a school board member from each of the districts the council represents.
"It's an opportunity for me to help shape the advocacy agenda and academic achievement agenda the council has always stood for," Gordon said. "I'm really proud to have been chosen."
Gordon succeeds Lawrence Feldman, a member of the Miami-Dade County school board who will remain on the board as immediate past chair. Other board members include Chair-elect Michael O’Neill, a member of the Boston School Committee, and Barbara Jenkins, superintendent of the Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Fla., secretary-treasurer.
“The wealth of expertise and knowledge this leadership team brings, led by CEO Gordon, a proven education reformer, will position the council at the forefront of improving academic achievement in our nation’s urban public schools,” Council Executive Director Michael Casserly said.
In 2016, the council presented Gordon with Green-Garner Award, making him Urban Educator of the Year, the highest honor available to an urban superintendent in the United States. The council cited the CEO's role as an architect of reforms in The Cleveland Plan and noted the District's rising graduation rate and strong parent participation.
Gordon will remain District CEO as he serves his one-year term as chair. He previously served as the executive committee's secretary-treasurer and chair elect.