Appointment of Lopez to State Board of Education Great News for California Kids
March 18, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Bill Lucia - 916/233-8508
Steve O'Mara - 415/250-6876
(Sacramento, CA) - EdVoice commends Governor Schwarzenegger for his appointment of Jorge Lopez to the State Board of Education. "Lopez brings a no-nonsense approach to education and a track-record of dramatically improving student achievement," explains EdVoice CEO & State Board Member Rae Belisle. "We need leaders like Lopez who can draw on a wealth of experience and know-how to improve education for our kids even as state coffers run low."
Lopez's experience as a student and educator in California classrooms gives him valuable insight into what does and what doesn’t work for students. "Lopez learned first hand what a dysfunctional school looks like decades ago as a student in a high-poverty school," said Belisle. "As an educator, he has dedicated his life to provide kids in low-income communities the opportunity and tough love that he needed but never got as a student."
Beyond proven classroom results, Lopez brings valuable personal and professional connections to migrant education. "It's critical to California's future to provide a quality education for all students,” explains Belisle. “Lopez’s ties with migrant and inner-city schools provides an avenue to drive change for two historically underserved groups of kids.”
And Lopez understands innovation. As the director of the Oakland Charter Academy, Lopez transformed the school from the gutter of academic failure to one of the best performing schools in the state. “Lopez’s outside of the box approach puts what is best for kids over all other interests,” said Belisle. Lopez and the students at Oakland Charter Academy are a role model for children living in poverty all across this state showing that with hard work they can achieve.”
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