Governor Deval Patrick (D-MA) Selected to Join Achieve Board of Directors

NEWS STATEMENT

CONTACT:

Sandy Boyd, (202) 419-1542, sboyd@achieve.org

WASHINGTON – March 2, 2009 – Achieve today announced the appointment of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to its Board of Directors, a group comprised exclusively of governors and top business leaders that is responsible for guiding Achieve in its mission to ensure that all U.S. students graduate from high school prepared for postsecondary success.

"We are honored to have Governor Patrick join Achieve's Board," said Mike Cohen, Achieve's president. "Governor Patrick's belief in the transformative power of a high-quality education and his longstanding commitment to high standards for all students will be especially helpful to Achieve as it undertakes a number of ambitious projects this year," said Cohen.

Achieve is a national, independent, bipartisan, education reform organization based in Washington D.C. that helps states raise academic standards and graduation requirements, improve assessments, and strengthen accountability.

Among Achieve's immediate priorities is the revision of the American Diploma Project (ADP) college- and career-ready benchmarks in mathematics and English.

"Given that the revision of the ADP benchmarks will include understanding the expectations of the highest performing countries in the world, Governor Patrick's leadership in ensuring that Massachusetts students receive not just a top-notch U.S. education but a world-class education will be especially instructive for Achieve as it plans and carries out its mission, " Cohen noted. Massachusetts received internationally competitive scores on the most recent Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) exam.

Massachusetts, already regarded as a leading state in education reform, is not resting on its laurels. Under Governor Patrick's leadership, Massachusetts is working to ensure all of its students are prepared to lead and thrive in 21st century careers. Efforts under way in Massachusetts to promote equity and excellence in public education include a concentration on early childhood education, expanding the school day in elementary and secondary schools, and ensuring access and affordability for higher education.

"I am honored to join this esteemed board and I look forward to the opportunity to help promote high education standards across the nation," said Governor Patrick. "In Massachusetts, our students have achieved at the highest levels, but we still have a persistent achievement gap. We must continue to reform our education system so that every student is prepared for success in the 21st Century global economy."

For more information about Governor Patrick's education agenda, please view the Readiness Project or visit www.mass.gov/education.

Created in 1996 by the nation’s governors and corporate leaders, Achieve is an independent, bipartisan, nonprofit education reform organization based in Washington D.C. that helps states raise academic standards and graduation requirements, improve assessments, and strengthen accountability. Achieve is leading the effort to make college and career readiness a national priority so that the transition from high school graduation to postsecondary education and careers is seamless. To make college and career readiness a priority, in 2005 Achieve launched the American Diploma Project Network. Starting with 13 original states, the Network has now grown to include 34 states educating nearly 85 percent of all U.S. public school students. Through the ADP Network, governors, state education officials, postsecondary leaders and business executives work together to improve postsecondary preparation by aligning high school standards, assessments, graduation requirements and accountability systems with the demands of college and careers. For more information about the work of Achieve, visit www.achieve.org.