Delivering on the Promise: The Education Revolution
Richard A. DeLorenzois cofounder and consultant for the Re-Inventing Schools Coalition (RISC) and an internationally known leader in education and organization restructuring. DeLorenzo is best known for his uniquely comprehensive grassroots approach to reinventing school systems. DeLorenzo led the first K-12 district in the United States, Alaska's Chugach School District, as it moved from a time-based system to a performance-based system in which students must meet performance targets to graduate instead of earning credits. Under DeLorenzos leadership as assistant superintendent and later superintendent, this historically challenged rural district made remarkable strides in student achievement and became one of the first-ever education recipients of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. DeLorenzo has more than 24 years of experience working with high-risk youth and students with disabilities of all ages in a wide variety of settings, from urban classrooms of 30 multiage elementary students to rural school settings of at-risk secondary pupils.Wendy J. Battinois a cofounder and executive director of the Re-Inventing Schools Coalition (RISC). Battino began her formal education career working with students who did not fit in the traditional system. She soon realized that a focus on innovations was imperative to meeting the needs of all students. Through this recognition, she began a journey to improve school systems across all boundaries. Experience at the classroom, school, and district levels provided Battino with an extensive background in standards-based instruction and assessment, school improvement planning, and curriculum design. Battino seeks to solve educational problems through collaboration and research. As a testament to this commitment, she was integral in the initial development of the RISC Approach to Schooling through her grassroots efforts in team-building and continuous improvement. Battino is the author of one of the first award-winning applications in education for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for the Chugach School District. She has worked with numerous organizations, in the U.S. and abroad, that are committed to transforming their education systems based on the RISC Approach to Schooling.Rick M. Schreiberis cofounder and director of operations for the Re-Inventing Schools Coalition (RISC). Schreiber has spent many years guiding and facilitating systemic school reform as a head teacher, staff and curriculum developer, consultant, and executive. Schreiber has a passion for helping schools and districts build cohesion through systematic processes to accomplish common goals, and he is well-versed in using standards-based approaches to carry out these goals. Schreiber has consulted with schools and districts, both in the United States and abroad, that are committed to transforming their approach to education. Schreiber has extensive experience in using evaluative methods related to school improvement efforts. He has been the team leader for on-site evaluations of RISC implementation efforts since 2004. Schreiber cowrote the Chugach School District's award-winning application for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Schreiber was a head teacher with the district during the time that the district reinvented its education system.Barbara B. Gaddy Carriois a writer with extensive experience in the field of education, specifically standards-based approaches to schooling. Gaddy Carrio was director of development communications at the University of Denver. She subsequently joined the staff of Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), where she worked closely with Robert Marzano and then was managing editor of publications with McREL.