State education chief takes job with school-betterment firm

Ken James, who is resigning effective today as Arkansas' education commissioner, will become executive vice president and chief operating officer for America's Choice, a national school improvement company based in Washington, D.C.

James, 58, will be in charge of the day-to-day operation of the company that provides instructional design services, technical assistance and teacher professional development to schools and districts across the country.

In Arkansas, the firm works with academically troubled schools through a contract with the state Department of Education.

"I'm really excited about this," James said in an interview about the new job. "They are an outstanding group of people. Throughout my career, I've been able to watch what they do from the standpoint of instructional solutions."

James announced May 29 that he would from resign after five years from his $217,024-a-year job as head of the state Education Department to go into the private sector. He said at the time that he was considering a few options.

America's Choice is now working with schools in 32 states. The company has regional centers in New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Austin, Texas, as well as smaller offices around the country.

James' role will be to provide supervision and direction for the staff in those field offices and supervision of the sales and business-development staff. He also will deal with policy and personnel.

Additionally, the company will be involved in the development of state-led national education standards - an initiative that James already has been intricately involved in because of his role as the president of the Council of Chief State School Officers.

He will do his new work in large part from an office in his Little Rock home, he said.

"That's one of the beauties of what I'm going to do. Arkansas is home, and we definitely wanted to stay here," he said.

America's Choice began in 1998 as a program of the National Center on Education and the Economy, a not-for-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. In 2004, America's Choice was reorganized as a for-profit subsidiary of the National Center on Education and the Economy.

Judy Codding, president and chief executive officer of America's Choice, said in a prepared statement that she has known James for 20 years and admires the work he's done as a school district superintendent and a state agency head.

"Like America's Choice, Ken is committed to both high standards and to getting all children to those standards, no matter where they start," Codding said. "These commitments have been the hallmark of a career in public education that has earned him the admiration of his peers. America's Choice is very fortunate to have Ken join us in a major leadership position."

The state of Arkansas first entered into a one-year, $6 million contract with America's Choice in 2006 to work with 36 Arkansas schools that had at the time been on the state's list of schools needing improvement for three or more years because of low standardized-test scores.

"We selected America's Choice from the four proposals we considered because it was really the only total-school, research-based design," James said in 2006 about the state contract, which was to be paid with federal Title I funds for education.

The state Education Department continues to require underperforming Arkansas schools to work with America's Choice programs and consultants.

A spokesman for the state Education Department said the contract has been amended slightly and renewed each year, going through a legislative review process annually.

The current contract is for about $6.2 million for the 2009-10 school year, the spokesman said, covering 36 of the most chronically underperforming schools. The state uses Title 1 money that's designated for the purpose of serving those schools.

Dane Linn, director of the National Governors Association's Education Division, said in a news release that James' expertise will no longer be limited to just Arkansas.

"The nation will now have an opportunity to benefit from Ken's expertise. His leadership and demonstrated results in Arkansas over the last several years is proof that raising expectations for children can lead to improved outcomes."

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe praised James for his work in Arkansas, including his help in moving the state's education system "out of the courtroom and onto the path of excellence.

"The educational advancements he oversaw have already produced measurable improvements for our students, but the true extent of those advancements will be revealed further with each additional school year," Beebe said in a prepared statement.

Rich Nagel, executive director of the Arkansas Education Association, the state's largest teacher union, said in the news release that James understands the importance of the classroom teacher.

"He knows that student achievement really improves with fully prepared and supported teachers who are so vital to the learning process," Nagel said. "America's Choice is fortunate to have an individual who will bring that same level of understanding and dedication to the schools it serves."