Cirone selected as one of 100 District Leaders by Education Commission of the States

Superintendents and school board members  advance Citizenship Education and Service-Learning

Bill Cirone, Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools, was named by The Education Commission of the States (ECS) National Center for Learning and Citizenship (NCLC) as one of 100 District Leaders for Citizenship and Service-Learning Network.

Forty-four individuals — 23 superintendents and 21 school board members — were initially selected from a national pool of applicants based on their leadership and commitment to integrate and sustain quality citizenship education and service-learning in K-12 schools. The other 56 Network members will be selected and announced in the fall. 

“These district leaders, individually, are reversing the trend of youth disengagement. Now they have a formal mechanism to work together to advance this important mission of public education,” said NCLC executive director Terry Pickeral.

Network members will deepen support for citizenship education and service-learning in their districts. At the same time, they will broaden awareness of the importance of these two issues by writing articles, conducting workshops at state and national conferences, and hosting policy forums.

“In the face of increasing pressure to raise test scores, school leaders often lose sight of the importance of preparing our children to be contributing citizens to their own communities and to our greater democracy,” said Anne L. Bryant, National School Boards Association (NSBA) executive director. “This new network is a wonderful step to renew our commitment to the founding principle of public education.”

Bill Cirone said he was gratified by the selection and looking forward to further emphasis in this area. “Civic literacy, civic engagement, and the overall civic mission of schools have always been a major focus of my efforts and energies, along with service-learning as a tool to help engage students while helping our communities. This is an extremely important area and I am looking forward to working with these committed individuals to further these efforts,” he said.

NCLC was formed in 1997 at ECS to assist state and district policymakers and education leaders to identify, develop, and implement policies to support student academic and civic achievement. It is led by a board of chief state school officers, district superintendents, state legislators, and national education leaders.

The National Center for Learning and Citizenship is supported by funds from The Bay and Paul Foundations, Inc., the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the State Farm Companies Foundation.

The names of the initial slate of Network members is available at the NCLC website, www.ecs.org/nclc, or by contacting Ann Rautio at (303) 299-3606. or arautio@ecs.org.

The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is an interstate compact created by the states, territories and the U.S. Congress that helps governors, legislators, state education officials and others identify, develop and implement public policies to improve student learning at all levels. A nonpartisan organization, ECS was formed in 1965 and is located in Denver, Colorado.