The Education Trust, a nonprofit education advocacy organization, announced on Feb. 2 that former U.S. Department of Education Secretary John B. King Jr. accepted the position of president and CEO of the organization.
David Britt, chairman of the Education Trust’s board of directors, said in a statement that King is “exactly the right leader for this next stage of the organization’s work.”
For more than 25 years, the organization has worked to close the academic achievement gap between low-income students of color and their peers, Britt stated. That history, he added, forms a foundation for the organization’s future under King’s leadership.
King, who started his career as a high school social studies teacher, co-founded the Roxbury Preparatory Charter School in Boston. The success of the high-poverty public charter school led to it winning The Education Trust’s Dispelling the Myth Award.
“The Education Trust’s mission is my life’s mission,” King said in a statement.
He was orphaned at a young age. But New York City public school teachers “literally saved my life,” he stated.
King added, “At The Education Trust, I want to help more kids like me — kids for whom schools make all the difference — get the education they need and deserve.”
The District of Columbia-based organization has recently expanded its operation by opening new offices in California, Michigan and New York. At the same time, it has stepped-up networking with civil rights, business and education reform organizations. Part of King’s mission is to continue that momentum.
SOURCE: The Education Trust
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