Dekalb County GA teachers and administration using 400,000.00 Stimilus money for a 2 1/2 day Seminar "We need to pay attention to what is happening within our public schools!"
UHHH? Question please? Dekalb County, GA Teachers and Administrators using $400,000.00 Stimilus money to go on a 2 1/2 learning seminar by America's Choice, in Hollywood CA !
What's this all about? Well let's take a look!
The first time I had ever heard of America's Choice was during the election
But this America's Choice is a new kind of educational organization. We are a solution provider. We offer comprehensive, proven solutions to the complex problems educators face in the era of accountability.
About America's Choice; State Alliance
Our Mission- America’s Choice is a mission-driven organization. Everything we do is directed towards producing: Students who leave high school ready to do college work without remediation, Schools we would want our children to attend, Schools that can get all students to high standards, no matter where they start.
What We Offer- The America’s Choice School Design provides an unmatched combination of professional development, technical assistance, and high-quality materials to help turn around schools that have a substantial group of students with difficulty meeting standards. The design is customized for elementary, K–8, middle, and high schools. Ramp-Up Literacy and Ramp-Up Mathematics are comprehensive instructional systems designed to accelerate the learning of middle and high school students who are two or more years behind grade level. These solutions feature yearlong, double-period classes to help students catch up. Literacy Navigator and Mathematics Navigator are modular interventions for elementary and secondary students who are experiencing difficulty with specific topics. These interventions supplement any curriculum and stop achievement gaps before they start.
America’s Choice Writing Aviator™ is an intensive, research-based writing program for students who are working on grade level. It improves their writing effectiveness and fluency and prepares them for state tests, college essays, and postsecondary education and workplace success. This carefully sequenced, coherent program features intensive instruction, a content-rich curriculum, and daily practice in a one-hour class. The America’s Choice Coaching Program provides district and school instructional coaches with targeted, systematic training. District Partnerships help districts design and implement coherent districtwide strategies for curriculum, instruction, assessment, and learning climate—to optimize performance for all students. The State Alliance for High Performance works with state education departments to implement global best practices. We help create state-level policies and structures that help our students match or exceed the performance of their peers in the world's highest-performing nations.
Our History- America’s Choice began as a program of the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), a not-for-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. In the autumn of 2004, America’s Choice was reorganized as a for-profit subsidiary of NCEE. Since its founding in 1988, NCEE has been a leader of the educational standards movement in the U.S., and the America’s Choice program has become a premier provider of comprehensive school and instructional design services, technical assistance and teacher professional development. America’s Choice began its work with 40 schools in 1998. Over the past nine years, over 1,000 schools nationwide—elementary, K-8, middle, and high schools—have adopted the design.
Year America's Choice Milestones International Benchmarking Research Tips
1989 The NCEE, America's Choice's parent organization, creates the National Alliance for Restructuring Education, the precursor of America's Choice. The international research of top-performing countries that is the foundation of America's Choice's programs begins. Japan, Singapore
1990 The NCEE releases the landmark report America's Choice, high skills or low wages! that helps launch the standard's movement. Denmark, Ireland, Sweden
1991 The NCEE helps to establish New Standards, a leader in the national standards movement. England, Scotland
1992-1997 Australia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Indonesia, New Zealand, Thailand,
1998 America's Choice School Design launched China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore.
1999 America's Choice goes national, establishing regional offices from coast to coast Denmark, England, France.
2000 Australia
2001 Georgia chooses America's Choice to be "Georgia's Choice" China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore
2002 Belgium, Netherlands
2003 Mississippi chooses America's Choice as statewide partner to provide assistance to low-performing schools. New York City chooses America's Choice to provide assistance to students entering high school significantly behind in reading. China, Denmark, England, France,
2004 Massachusetts chooses America's Choice to provide assistance to low-performing districts. Netherlands
2005 Duval County in Florida cited as "Most Improved District" in the state, based on its work with America's Choice. Hawaii chooses America's Choice to turn around schools in restructuring. America's Choice, the NCEE, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and other partners form the State Alliance for High Performance. Australia, , Canada, China, Czech Republic, England, Finland,
France, Hong Kong, India, Italy, New Zealand
2006 America's Choice collaborates with the Mississippi Department of Education to deliver Project ASSIST, a Bill and Melinda Gates-funded initiative in support of 50 schools impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Arkansas, Chicago, Washington DC and Pittsburgh chose America's Choice to help turn around their lowest performing schools. Three New York City districts adopt America's Choice Mathematics Navigator as their summer school math program India
2007 New Mexico chooses America's Choice to assist low performing schools across the state. Prince George's County Maryland partners with America's Choice to improve student performance in targeted schools across the district. Eight high schools in North Carolina begin implementing the America's Choice school design. Denmark, Singapore
District and State Partnerships- During its years of international research into what makes top-performing countries so successful, NCEE (our parent organization) repeatedly observed strong, intentional vertical alignment between schools and their equivalents of U.S. school districts. While schools may have some flexibility, systemwide there is a common understanding of the standards and a shared goal of aligning all aspects of the school and district to ensure that every student succeeds.
For that reason, America’s Choice has, from the outset, focused on building partnerships with districts, helping schools boost academic performance. From Jacksonville, Florida, to New York City and from Bethel, Washington, to Prince George’s, Maryland, we have endeavored to build systemic, scalable improvements at the district level. Districts and states interested in improving student achievement can take advantage of America’s Choice expertise through a district or state partnership. We will help you develop, implement, and evaluate strategies for school improvement, instructional leadership, professional development, and standards-based teaching and learning. States interested in creating an internationally competitive educational system are welcome to join the State Alliance for High Performance, which engages participating states in a rigorous international benchmarking process.
State Alliance-The State Alliance for High Performance is a collaboration of America’s Choice and its affiliates, the National Center on Education and the Economy and the National Institute for School Leadership, along with three other leadership organizations: the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Consortium for Policy Research in Education, and the Asia Society. The State Alliance engages participating states in a process to enable them to match the educational performance of the highest-performing countries worldwide. As part of this process, state delegations visit top-performing nations to benchmark their policies and practices. State Alliance staff and partners provide states with Policy and practice audits Preparation and implementation of strategic plans for improvement Valuable networking opportunities with state, national, and international policymakers, educators, researchers, and other stakeholders The State Alliance draws on America’s Choice solutions to address the problems of the participating states’ lowest-performing schools and districts.
Our Staff-A hallmark of America’s Choice solutions is intense, sustained, and effective professional development and high quality, research-based materials. Our professional staff comprises highly qualified, certified educators, including former state and district leaders, principals, coaches, and teachers with proven success in the field. Every staff member who works with states, districts, and schools completes a rigorous, one-year certification program, specializing in instructional leadership, literacy, mathematics, or science. We also have longstanding partnerships with leading national and international researchers and practitioners who collaborate with us in developing all of our educational solutions.
MANAGEMENT
Judy B. Codding
President and Chief Executive Officer
Judy B. Codding is President and Chief Executive Officer of America’s Choice. She was previously the Vice President of the National Center on Education and the Economy now Commission Leader with The New Commission on the Skills of the American workforce http://www.skillscommission.org/codding.htm, the parent company of America’s Choice. Before assuming these positions, Dr. Codding was the award-winning principal of Pasadena High School, a large urban comprehensive high school in Los Angeles. Dr. Codding has been a teacher and principal at Bronxville High School and Scarsdale High School in New York. Dr. Codding was a charter principal of the Coalition of Essential Schools, a national high school reform effort. She was an Associate in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She served as an education consultant to the Ministry of Education in the People’s Republic of China and the U.S. Department of Defense schools. She also served as a commissioner on the California Commission for the Establishment of Academic Content and Performance Standards.
Judy Codding was a key player hosting the conference of the standards movement at the First Annual Standards-Based Reform Conference: God Bless All the Little Children http://www.sweetliberty.org/ Marc Tucker and Fiends: Meet the fiends promoting Rockefeller's.
[The public perceives a need for standards because of Slick Willy Clinton, the controlled media and government education "change agents". Goals 2000 Act contains a section, which clearly states it is not mandated. The kicker: School Districts do not receive funding to operate UNLESS they adopt Goals 2000 restructuring. Since the federal government sucks the lion's share of tax dollars (including State Income Taxes) out of the states and only sends it back when states "comply" — any state or school district which rejects Goals 2000 will be looking for other ways to raise necessary funds. The alternative of course would be increased taxes.]
According to Tucker's letter to Hillary, we can assume that Tucker "came to standards" by orders from David Rockefeller.] Tucker is widely known as the author of an 18-page letter to Hillary Rodham Clinton which laid out an ambitious plan to "remold" the public schools into a "national human resource development system" that "literally extends from cradle to grave and is the same system for everyone — young and old, poor and rich, worker and full-time student."
[What are "standardized conditions"? Under the portfolio system a file will be kept on our children, containing not only students' work, but will also comprise a complete dossier with information regarding the child's attitudes, beliefs and values; results of "assessment tests" which project their value to society — the tax value — of the child (Human Capital) including a complete profile on the entire family. The child will have a number and the portfolio will follow him/her from school, to college, to work, etc. — for life. It is the beginning of Big Brother's world record-keeping system on all "human animals" — COGS in the wheel — under the total control of self-anointed World Rulers.]
A major component tying into the standards movement is the Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM), a state-certified "prerequisite for enrollment in all professional and technical degree programs," as well as for all hiring. New Standards "is well along the path that will provide the technical means to implement the CIM plan" as set forth in a 1990 report called America's Choice: High Skills or Low Wages!, a call for creating a new workforce through a nationalized training and labor market system. [during Republican, George Bush's Administration] New Standards, said Tucker, was originally designed to institute a CIM. Tucker's plan to gradually abolish the high school diploma in favor of the CIM would take place over seven or eight years, "giving everyone a chance to adjust."
[Let us be perfectly clear that the Human Resource Development System is NOT Marc Tucker's plan. Marc Tucker is no more than a trained seal for the globalists. Home, private and Christian-schooled children will NOT find work when Rockefeller's Human Resource Development System is complete. CIMs will not be issued for academic standards, but instead for attitudes, beliefs and values — for the child's International Understanding, his or her willingness to conform to global citizenship standards.
The U.S. Congress tried passing a bill last session that would require all people (human animals) eligible for work to be registered with the federal government. All businesses would be required to go through the federal government for hiring, to ensure that only eligible "workers" — those with CIMs — would be hired. The 'ostensible' reason would be to "prevent illegal aliens without work permits from working" The CIM is intended to be the work permit for all Americans.]
The standards are explicitly driven by the belief that all children, regardless of nature or nurture, can achieve at the same "high levels." The American tracking system is disparaged for its "assumption that only a few can achieve at high levels." Tucker's critics believe that, because students do differ in their abilities, standards can only be as high as the lowest achiever if every student is to meet the same requirements.
Another presupposition embedded within the standards movement is that thinking without "hands on" is useless; knowledge without practical application is superfluous. The purpose of school, therefore, is to not to learn to think or acquire knowledge for the sake of learning, but to solve "complex problems that characterize modern life and work." Standards, after all, should develop "what is needed for citizenship, employment and life-long learning." This makes the schools' mission preparing children to join the global workforce, rather than encouraging individual achievement.
Ken James
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Ken James joined America’s Choice as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 2009. He is a former Arkansas Commissioner of Education and also served as President of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). A 36-year veteran of the world of public education, James helped propel Arkansas to the forefront of the education reform movement; he is credited for the state’s aggressive, successful efforts to improve student achievement. Recently, he has been a key voice in the movement for common core standards, testifying before Congress on the potential of common academic standards to prepare students for college and careers in the 21st century. Before becoming commissioner in Arkansas, James served as superintendent in Lexington, Kentucky, and in Little Rock, Van Buren, and Batesville, Arkansas.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-james/contrary-to-conventional_b_334636.html
John A. Wozniak
Chief Financial Officer
John A. Wozniak is COO and has been the Chief Financial Officer of America’s Choice since 2005. He has over 30 years’ financial experience that includes initial public offerings, secondary offerings, bank financing, mergers, acquisitions, and turnaround situations. He has held various senior-level financial and operating positions in both publicly held and privately held companies. In addition, Wozniak has worked extensively with consumer product companies and professional services organizations. He has held senior positions with Young & Rubicam, RJR Nabisco, Adidas, DVC Worldwide, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Wozniak is a Certified Public Accountant.
Judy Aaronson
Chief of Staff
Judy Aaronson serves as the Chief of Staff for America’s Choice. Her previous position with America’s Choice was Deputy Director of Field Services. Before joining the organization in 1999, Aaronson worked for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) in a number of positions—teacher, assistant director, special assistant, and director. Her expertise is in the areas of curriculum development, professional development, and training. Before her career with DCPS, she served as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State.
Sherry P. King
Vice President, Field Services
Sherry P. King joined America’s Choice in 2005. As Vice President, Field Services, she oversees three regional offices and staff who work in partnership with states and districts to help turn around the performance of generally low-performing schools. Previously, Dr. King served as superintendent for the Mamaroneck Public Schools and the Croton-Harmon Public Schools in New York. She has been a high school principal, assistant principal, and English teacher at Scarsdale High School. Dr. King was involved with a number of educational movements, including those led by the National Center on Education and the Economy and the Coalition of Essential Schools. She was a senior researcher for the Chicago Small Schools, funded by the Joyce Foundation. She is an Annenberg Fellow and a trustee on the Board of Directors for Jobs for the Future.
Lawrence Molinaro
Vice President, Programs
Larry Molinaro has been the Vice President, Programs since 2005. He oversees the development program for products and services and is responsible for associated research and quality assurance. Molinaro joined America’s Choice in 2002 as the Director of the National College, a position he still holds. The National College provides certification and continuing professional development for America’s Choice professionals and consultants. Before coming to America’s Choice, Molinaro was the Global Director of Learning and Development for the James Martin Companies, an international management consulting firm focused on information technology. While there, he oversaw executive development and business management programs, consulting services, and technical training. He has also worked in non-profit organizations, including the American Red Cross, where he managed e-learning initiatives.
John C. Fryer, Jr.
Vice President, Business Development
John C. Fryer brings strong leadership skills to his role as Vice-President, Business Development. Fryer’s 46-year career includes service as an America’s Choice Senior Fellow, two years as President and CEO of the National Institute for School Leadership, seven years as superintendent of Duval County Public Schools (Florida), two years as General Manager of Cubic Applications, Inc., and three decades of distinguished service in the U.S. Air Force, retiring at the rank of Major General. He was Commandant of the National War College and interim President of the National Defense University. As Duval County’s superintendent, Fryer headed the nation's 20th largest school system with 128,000 students, 13,000 employees, 160 schools, and a $1.4 billion budget. Under Fryer’s leadership, the district became a model for how an urban school system can be reshaped through aligned internal systems and focused training for principals and teachers.
Jason Dougal
General Counsel
Jason Dougal is the General Counsel of America's Choice. He has been in this role since January 2005. He is also counsel for its parent company, the National Center on Education and the Economy, and its sister company, the National Institute for School Leadership. In addition to providing legal services, he oversees the contracts and information technology departments. He also coordinates preparation of all proposals submitted in response to formal requests for proposals. Before joining America's Choice, Dougal was a corporate associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Chadbourne & Parke LLP in New York. He has extensive experience in all types of public and private corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, and securities transactions.
SENIOR FELLOWS
Ann Borthwick
Senior Fellow
Ann Borthwick has 30 years’ experience working on school improvement in the United States and Australia. In 1994, Borthwick took the leading role in standards development for New Standards, a joint initiative of the National Center on Education and the Economy and the University of Pittsburgh. She has worked on development and implementation of America’s Choice programs since 1998. After beginning her career in teaching in Australia, Borthwick worked on state and national initiatives to improve the quality of curriculum and instruction. She directed curriculum and professional development of the Victorian Certificate of Education, a major overhaul of senior secondary schooling. She also served as executive director of the national committee on work-related competencies and the board responsible for independent policy advice to the Australian Government on employment, education and training.
Phil Daro
Senior Fellow
Phil Daro works on advancing the design and use of leadership tools for improving mathematics instruction at every level of the educational system and consults with states and school districts on their accountability systems and mathematics programs. He has served as Executive Director of the Public Forum on School Accountability, directed the New Standards Project, and managed research and development for the National Center on Education and the Economy. He directed large-scale teacher professional development programs for the University of California, including the California Mathematics Project and the American Mathematics Project. Daro is a member of the Shell Centre at the University of Nottingham. He currently serves on the mathematics work group of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
Sally Hampton
Senior Fellow
Sally Hampton is a Senior Fellow for America’s Choice. Most recently, she was a Senior Scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Previously, she was the Director of English Language Arts for the National Center on Education and the Economy and also served as its Deputy Director of Research and Development. Dr. Hampton has taught in both urban and rural classrooms, directed a National Writing Project site, and developed a K–12 research-based writing program and the staff development materials to support this program. She currently serves on the English language arts work group of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
Pat Harvey
Senior Fellow
Pat Harvey is a Senior Fellow for District Initiatives with America’s Choice. Before assuming this position, Dr. Harvey served six years as superintendent of Saint Paul Public Schools, where significant gains in the achievement of all student groups were made under her leadership. She holds the Carmen Starkson Campbell Visiting Endowed Chair in Urban Education at the University of Minnesota. Prior to her time in Saint Paul, Dr. Harvey served as Senior Fellow and Director of Urban Education at the National Center on Education and the Economy, where she also directed the America’s Choice School Design. Dr. Harvey has been a teacher and principal. She was the Chief Accountability Officer in the Chicago Public Schools, where she was one of the architects of a dramatic turnaround in the 1990s.
What's this all about? Well let's take a look!
The first time I had ever heard of America's Choice was during the election
"Americas choice: Barack Obama"
But this America's Choice is a new kind of educational organization. We are a solution provider. We offer comprehensive, proven solutions to the complex problems educators face in the era of accountability.
About America's Choice; State Alliance
Our Mission- America’s Choice is a mission-driven organization. Everything we do is directed towards producing: Students who leave high school ready to do college work without remediation, Schools we would want our children to attend, Schools that can get all students to high standards, no matter where they start.
What We Offer- The America’s Choice School Design provides an unmatched combination of professional development, technical assistance, and high-quality materials to help turn around schools that have a substantial group of students with difficulty meeting standards. The design is customized for elementary, K–8, middle, and high schools. Ramp-Up Literacy and Ramp-Up Mathematics are comprehensive instructional systems designed to accelerate the learning of middle and high school students who are two or more years behind grade level. These solutions feature yearlong, double-period classes to help students catch up. Literacy Navigator and Mathematics Navigator are modular interventions for elementary and secondary students who are experiencing difficulty with specific topics. These interventions supplement any curriculum and stop achievement gaps before they start.
America’s Choice Writing Aviator™ is an intensive, research-based writing program for students who are working on grade level. It improves their writing effectiveness and fluency and prepares them for state tests, college essays, and postsecondary education and workplace success. This carefully sequenced, coherent program features intensive instruction, a content-rich curriculum, and daily practice in a one-hour class. The America’s Choice Coaching Program provides district and school instructional coaches with targeted, systematic training. District Partnerships help districts design and implement coherent districtwide strategies for curriculum, instruction, assessment, and learning climate—to optimize performance for all students. The State Alliance for High Performance works with state education departments to implement global best practices. We help create state-level policies and structures that help our students match or exceed the performance of their peers in the world's highest-performing nations.
Our History- America’s Choice began as a program of the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), a not-for-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. In the autumn of 2004, America’s Choice was reorganized as a for-profit subsidiary of NCEE. Since its founding in 1988, NCEE has been a leader of the educational standards movement in the U.S., and the America’s Choice program has become a premier provider of comprehensive school and instructional design services, technical assistance and teacher professional development. America’s Choice began its work with 40 schools in 1998. Over the past nine years, over 1,000 schools nationwide—elementary, K-8, middle, and high schools—have adopted the design.
Year America's Choice Milestones International Benchmarking Research Tips
1989 The NCEE, America's Choice's parent organization, creates the National Alliance for Restructuring Education, the precursor of America's Choice. The international research of top-performing countries that is the foundation of America's Choice's programs begins. Japan, Singapore
1990 The NCEE releases the landmark report America's Choice, high skills or low wages! that helps launch the standard's movement. Denmark, Ireland, Sweden
1991 The NCEE helps to establish New Standards, a leader in the national standards movement. England, Scotland
1992-1997 Australia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Indonesia, New Zealand, Thailand,
1998 America's Choice School Design launched China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore.
1999 America's Choice goes national, establishing regional offices from coast to coast Denmark, England, France.
2000 Australia
2001 Georgia chooses America's Choice to be "Georgia's Choice" China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore
2002 Belgium, Netherlands
2003 Mississippi chooses America's Choice as statewide partner to provide assistance to low-performing schools. New York City chooses America's Choice to provide assistance to students entering high school significantly behind in reading. China, Denmark, England, France,
2004 Massachusetts chooses America's Choice to provide assistance to low-performing districts. Netherlands
2005 Duval County in Florida cited as "Most Improved District" in the state, based on its work with America's Choice. Hawaii chooses America's Choice to turn around schools in restructuring. America's Choice, the NCEE, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and other partners form the State Alliance for High Performance. Australia, , Canada, China, Czech Republic, England, Finland,
France, Hong Kong, India, Italy, New Zealand
2006 America's Choice collaborates with the Mississippi Department of Education to deliver Project ASSIST, a Bill and Melinda Gates-funded initiative in support of 50 schools impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Arkansas, Chicago, Washington DC and Pittsburgh chose America's Choice to help turn around their lowest performing schools. Three New York City districts adopt America's Choice Mathematics Navigator as their summer school math program India
2007 New Mexico chooses America's Choice to assist low performing schools across the state. Prince George's County Maryland partners with America's Choice to improve student performance in targeted schools across the district. Eight high schools in North Carolina begin implementing the America's Choice school design. Denmark, Singapore
District and State Partnerships- During its years of international research into what makes top-performing countries so successful, NCEE (our parent organization) repeatedly observed strong, intentional vertical alignment between schools and their equivalents of U.S. school districts. While schools may have some flexibility, systemwide there is a common understanding of the standards and a shared goal of aligning all aspects of the school and district to ensure that every student succeeds.
For that reason, America’s Choice has, from the outset, focused on building partnerships with districts, helping schools boost academic performance. From Jacksonville, Florida, to New York City and from Bethel, Washington, to Prince George’s, Maryland, we have endeavored to build systemic, scalable improvements at the district level. Districts and states interested in improving student achievement can take advantage of America’s Choice expertise through a district or state partnership. We will help you develop, implement, and evaluate strategies for school improvement, instructional leadership, professional development, and standards-based teaching and learning. States interested in creating an internationally competitive educational system are welcome to join the State Alliance for High Performance, which engages participating states in a rigorous international benchmarking process.
State Alliance-The State Alliance for High Performance is a collaboration of America’s Choice and its affiliates, the National Center on Education and the Economy and the National Institute for School Leadership, along with three other leadership organizations: the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Consortium for Policy Research in Education, and the Asia Society. The State Alliance engages participating states in a process to enable them to match the educational performance of the highest-performing countries worldwide. As part of this process, state delegations visit top-performing nations to benchmark their policies and practices. State Alliance staff and partners provide states with Policy and practice audits Preparation and implementation of strategic plans for improvement Valuable networking opportunities with state, national, and international policymakers, educators, researchers, and other stakeholders The State Alliance draws on America’s Choice solutions to address the problems of the participating states’ lowest-performing schools and districts.
Our Staff-A hallmark of America’s Choice solutions is intense, sustained, and effective professional development and high quality, research-based materials. Our professional staff comprises highly qualified, certified educators, including former state and district leaders, principals, coaches, and teachers with proven success in the field. Every staff member who works with states, districts, and schools completes a rigorous, one-year certification program, specializing in instructional leadership, literacy, mathematics, or science. We also have longstanding partnerships with leading national and international researchers and practitioners who collaborate with us in developing all of our educational solutions.
MANAGEMENT
Judy B. Codding
President and Chief Executive Officer
Judy B. Codding is President and Chief Executive Officer of America’s Choice. She was previously the Vice President of the National Center on Education and the Economy now Commission Leader with The New Commission on the Skills of the American workforce http://www.skillscommission.org/codding.htm, the parent company of America’s Choice. Before assuming these positions, Dr. Codding was the award-winning principal of Pasadena High School, a large urban comprehensive high school in Los Angeles. Dr. Codding has been a teacher and principal at Bronxville High School and Scarsdale High School in New York. Dr. Codding was a charter principal of the Coalition of Essential Schools, a national high school reform effort. She was an Associate in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She served as an education consultant to the Ministry of Education in the People’s Republic of China and the U.S. Department of Defense schools. She also served as a commissioner on the California Commission for the Establishment of Academic Content and Performance Standards.
Judy Codding was a key player hosting the conference of the standards movement at the First Annual Standards-Based Reform Conference: God Bless All the Little Children http://www.sweetliberty.org/ Marc Tucker and Fiends: Meet the fiends promoting Rockefeller's.
[The public perceives a need for standards because of Slick Willy Clinton, the controlled media and government education "change agents". Goals 2000 Act contains a section, which clearly states it is not mandated. The kicker: School Districts do not receive funding to operate UNLESS they adopt Goals 2000 restructuring. Since the federal government sucks the lion's share of tax dollars (including State Income Taxes) out of the states and only sends it back when states "comply" — any state or school district which rejects Goals 2000 will be looking for other ways to raise necessary funds. The alternative of course would be increased taxes.]
According to Tucker's letter to Hillary, we can assume that Tucker "came to standards" by orders from David Rockefeller.] Tucker is widely known as the author of an 18-page letter to Hillary Rodham Clinton which laid out an ambitious plan to "remold" the public schools into a "national human resource development system" that "literally extends from cradle to grave and is the same system for everyone — young and old, poor and rich, worker and full-time student."
[What are "standardized conditions"? Under the portfolio system a file will be kept on our children, containing not only students' work, but will also comprise a complete dossier with information regarding the child's attitudes, beliefs and values; results of "assessment tests" which project their value to society — the tax value — of the child (Human Capital) including a complete profile on the entire family. The child will have a number and the portfolio will follow him/her from school, to college, to work, etc. — for life. It is the beginning of Big Brother's world record-keeping system on all "human animals" — COGS in the wheel — under the total control of self-anointed World Rulers.]
A major component tying into the standards movement is the Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM), a state-certified "prerequisite for enrollment in all professional and technical degree programs," as well as for all hiring. New Standards "is well along the path that will provide the technical means to implement the CIM plan" as set forth in a 1990 report called America's Choice: High Skills or Low Wages!, a call for creating a new workforce through a nationalized training and labor market system. [during Republican, George Bush's Administration] New Standards, said Tucker, was originally designed to institute a CIM. Tucker's plan to gradually abolish the high school diploma in favor of the CIM would take place over seven or eight years, "giving everyone a chance to adjust."
[Let us be perfectly clear that the Human Resource Development System is NOT Marc Tucker's plan. Marc Tucker is no more than a trained seal for the globalists. Home, private and Christian-schooled children will NOT find work when Rockefeller's Human Resource Development System is complete. CIMs will not be issued for academic standards, but instead for attitudes, beliefs and values — for the child's International Understanding, his or her willingness to conform to global citizenship standards.
The U.S. Congress tried passing a bill last session that would require all people (human animals) eligible for work to be registered with the federal government. All businesses would be required to go through the federal government for hiring, to ensure that only eligible "workers" — those with CIMs — would be hired. The 'ostensible' reason would be to "prevent illegal aliens without work permits from working" The CIM is intended to be the work permit for all Americans.]
The standards are explicitly driven by the belief that all children, regardless of nature or nurture, can achieve at the same "high levels." The American tracking system is disparaged for its "assumption that only a few can achieve at high levels." Tucker's critics believe that, because students do differ in their abilities, standards can only be as high as the lowest achiever if every student is to meet the same requirements.
Another presupposition embedded within the standards movement is that thinking without "hands on" is useless; knowledge without practical application is superfluous. The purpose of school, therefore, is to not to learn to think or acquire knowledge for the sake of learning, but to solve "complex problems that characterize modern life and work." Standards, after all, should develop "what is needed for citizenship, employment and life-long learning." This makes the schools' mission preparing children to join the global workforce, rather than encouraging individual achievement.
Ken James
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Ken James joined America’s Choice as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 2009. He is a former Arkansas Commissioner of Education and also served as President of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). A 36-year veteran of the world of public education, James helped propel Arkansas to the forefront of the education reform movement; he is credited for the state’s aggressive, successful efforts to improve student achievement. Recently, he has been a key voice in the movement for common core standards, testifying before Congress on the potential of common academic standards to prepare students for college and careers in the 21st century. Before becoming commissioner in Arkansas, James served as superintendent in Lexington, Kentucky, and in Little Rock, Van Buren, and Batesville, Arkansas.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-james/contrary-to-conventional_b_334636.html
John A. Wozniak
Chief Financial Officer
John A. Wozniak is COO and has been the Chief Financial Officer of America’s Choice since 2005. He has over 30 years’ financial experience that includes initial public offerings, secondary offerings, bank financing, mergers, acquisitions, and turnaround situations. He has held various senior-level financial and operating positions in both publicly held and privately held companies. In addition, Wozniak has worked extensively with consumer product companies and professional services organizations. He has held senior positions with Young & Rubicam, RJR Nabisco, Adidas, DVC Worldwide, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Wozniak is a Certified Public Accountant.
Judy Aaronson
Chief of Staff
Judy Aaronson serves as the Chief of Staff for America’s Choice. Her previous position with America’s Choice was Deputy Director of Field Services. Before joining the organization in 1999, Aaronson worked for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) in a number of positions—teacher, assistant director, special assistant, and director. Her expertise is in the areas of curriculum development, professional development, and training. Before her career with DCPS, she served as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State.
Sherry P. King
Vice President, Field Services
Sherry P. King joined America’s Choice in 2005. As Vice President, Field Services, she oversees three regional offices and staff who work in partnership with states and districts to help turn around the performance of generally low-performing schools. Previously, Dr. King served as superintendent for the Mamaroneck Public Schools and the Croton-Harmon Public Schools in New York. She has been a high school principal, assistant principal, and English teacher at Scarsdale High School. Dr. King was involved with a number of educational movements, including those led by the National Center on Education and the Economy and the Coalition of Essential Schools. She was a senior researcher for the Chicago Small Schools, funded by the Joyce Foundation. She is an Annenberg Fellow and a trustee on the Board of Directors for Jobs for the Future.
Lawrence Molinaro
Vice President, Programs
Larry Molinaro has been the Vice President, Programs since 2005. He oversees the development program for products and services and is responsible for associated research and quality assurance. Molinaro joined America’s Choice in 2002 as the Director of the National College, a position he still holds. The National College provides certification and continuing professional development for America’s Choice professionals and consultants. Before coming to America’s Choice, Molinaro was the Global Director of Learning and Development for the James Martin Companies, an international management consulting firm focused on information technology. While there, he oversaw executive development and business management programs, consulting services, and technical training. He has also worked in non-profit organizations, including the American Red Cross, where he managed e-learning initiatives.
John C. Fryer, Jr.
Vice President, Business Development
John C. Fryer brings strong leadership skills to his role as Vice-President, Business Development. Fryer’s 46-year career includes service as an America’s Choice Senior Fellow, two years as President and CEO of the National Institute for School Leadership, seven years as superintendent of Duval County Public Schools (Florida), two years as General Manager of Cubic Applications, Inc., and three decades of distinguished service in the U.S. Air Force, retiring at the rank of Major General. He was Commandant of the National War College and interim President of the National Defense University. As Duval County’s superintendent, Fryer headed the nation's 20th largest school system with 128,000 students, 13,000 employees, 160 schools, and a $1.4 billion budget. Under Fryer’s leadership, the district became a model for how an urban school system can be reshaped through aligned internal systems and focused training for principals and teachers.
Jason Dougal
General Counsel
Jason Dougal is the General Counsel of America's Choice. He has been in this role since January 2005. He is also counsel for its parent company, the National Center on Education and the Economy, and its sister company, the National Institute for School Leadership. In addition to providing legal services, he oversees the contracts and information technology departments. He also coordinates preparation of all proposals submitted in response to formal requests for proposals. Before joining America's Choice, Dougal was a corporate associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Chadbourne & Parke LLP in New York. He has extensive experience in all types of public and private corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, and securities transactions.
SENIOR FELLOWS
Ann Borthwick
Senior Fellow
Ann Borthwick has 30 years’ experience working on school improvement in the United States and Australia. In 1994, Borthwick took the leading role in standards development for New Standards, a joint initiative of the National Center on Education and the Economy and the University of Pittsburgh. She has worked on development and implementation of America’s Choice programs since 1998. After beginning her career in teaching in Australia, Borthwick worked on state and national initiatives to improve the quality of curriculum and instruction. She directed curriculum and professional development of the Victorian Certificate of Education, a major overhaul of senior secondary schooling. She also served as executive director of the national committee on work-related competencies and the board responsible for independent policy advice to the Australian Government on employment, education and training.
Phil Daro
Senior Fellow
Phil Daro works on advancing the design and use of leadership tools for improving mathematics instruction at every level of the educational system and consults with states and school districts on their accountability systems and mathematics programs. He has served as Executive Director of the Public Forum on School Accountability, directed the New Standards Project, and managed research and development for the National Center on Education and the Economy. He directed large-scale teacher professional development programs for the University of California, including the California Mathematics Project and the American Mathematics Project. Daro is a member of the Shell Centre at the University of Nottingham. He currently serves on the mathematics work group of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
Sally Hampton
Senior Fellow
Sally Hampton is a Senior Fellow for America’s Choice. Most recently, she was a Senior Scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Previously, she was the Director of English Language Arts for the National Center on Education and the Economy and also served as its Deputy Director of Research and Development. Dr. Hampton has taught in both urban and rural classrooms, directed a National Writing Project site, and developed a K–12 research-based writing program and the staff development materials to support this program. She currently serves on the English language arts work group of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
Pat Harvey
Senior Fellow
Pat Harvey is a Senior Fellow for District Initiatives with America’s Choice. Before assuming this position, Dr. Harvey served six years as superintendent of Saint Paul Public Schools, where significant gains in the achievement of all student groups were made under her leadership. She holds the Carmen Starkson Campbell Visiting Endowed Chair in Urban Education at the University of Minnesota. Prior to her time in Saint Paul, Dr. Harvey served as Senior Fellow and Director of Urban Education at the National Center on Education and the Economy, where she also directed the America’s Choice School Design. Dr. Harvey has been a teacher and principal. She was the Chief Accountability Officer in the Chicago Public Schools, where she was one of the architects of a dramatic turnaround in the 1990s.
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