Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for March 17, 2009 MOVIN' ON UP

Well, a Cairo-friendly person will soon be a senior advisor to new U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Many of you probably met Jo during his many ventures to Cairo...trying to save Cairo School District Number One from itself.

Having friends in high places certainly can't hurt...

Congratulations, Jo!

Jo Anderson Will Take DOE Position

March 11, 2009 – Springfield, IL The executive director for the Illinois Education Association (IEA), Jo Anderson, has accepted an appointment to join the staff of U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan as a senior advisor.

Anderson, who has spent more than 30 years with IEA, is resigning, effective April 1. The IEA Board of Directors was informed of the appointment in February, but the announcement was delayed pending the official word from the Department of Education.

“Jo has been my right hand from the day I became president and we all will miss him personally and professionally,” said IEA president Ken Swanson.

“Our sadness is tempered by the knowledge that Jo will be working with a Secretary of Education as committed as he is to giving every student the opportunity to succeed. No one has worked harder to improve education in Illinois than Jo Anderson and it’s good news that he will be working on national education policy,” Swanson added.

Jo Anderson has long been at the forefront of the IEA efforts on behalf of school transformation.

In 1995, Anderson founded the Center for Educational Innovation (CEI), created to facilitate school restructuring and reform efforts throughout Illinois. CEI serves as a catalyst for positive changes in education and provides Illinois Education Association locals with the resources, expertise and motivation to experiment with school restructuring.

As part of the work of the Center, Anderson founded and served as Executive Director of the Consortium for Educational Change (CEC), a network of 75 Illinois school districts and other partners that are working collaboratively to restructure and improve their schools.

The Illinois Education Association-NEA is the largest education employees’ organization in the state. IEA represents more than 133,000 teachers, education support professionals, high education faculty and staff, students preparing to become teachers and retired education professionals.