Matthew Randazzo Named Interim CEO of National Math and Science Initiative

DALLAS, March 16, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) announced today that it is naming Matthew Randazzo as interim chief executive officer.  Its current CEO, Sara Martinez Tucker, is stepping down to focus on her activities and responsibilities outside the organization.

"Sara came to NMSI at a crucial transition point and positioned it for increased scalability.  On behalf of the NMSI board, I would like to thank her for her many contributions," said Tom Luce, NMSI board chair.  "We congratulate her on her appointment to the University of Texas System Board of Regents.  I have asked her to stay on in an emeritus capacity to ensure a smooth leadership transition."

Randazzo, NMSI's current chief growth and strategy officer, served as founding president and CEO of Choose to Succeed where he mobilized $45 million in local, state and national pledges to support high quality, tuition-free public education options for families in San Antonio, Texas.  Previously, he served as chief growth officer for IDEA Public Schools, where he led the growth plans for a network of public charter schools serving more than 20,000 students in 36 Texas Schools.  Randazzo earned his BA in political science and Latin American Studies from Albion College (Michigan) and his Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Texas.

The Board has also asked Gregg Fleisher, the chief academic officer, to work closely with Randazzo and help lead the organization.  Gregg is a valued NMSI veteran and education leader, and he will be critical to providing the institutional knowledge and wisdom to maintain NMSI's growth.

Under Tucker's leadership, through its College Readiness Program (CRP), boosted student enrollment in college-level math, science and English courses by more than 50,000 in the 2013-2014 school year and – working in just 566 schools – also raised the number of Advanced Placement qualifying scores by more than 18,000 exams, representing more than 13,000 additional students who are better prepared for college after this past school year.

In that same period, NMSI's UTeach Expansion Program produced almost 500 content-rich math and science teachers, while expanding to 10 additional college campuses.  In addition, the UTeach Expansion Program was recognized by the Business Roundtable as one of five K-12 education programs that have demonstrated a strong potential for helping prepare more U.S. K-12 students for college and the workplace.

"I am proud of the strides we have made.  NMSI is now poised for even greater growth to meet America's students and teachers where they are and bring them the resources they need to get more students STEM college- and career-ready," said Tucker.  "I have agreed to stay on as president emeritus and look forward to working with Tom through this transition."

About National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI):  NMSI, a non-profit organization, was launched in 2007 by top leaders in business, education, and science to transform education in the United States.  NMSI has received national recognition for training grade 3-12 teachers and improving student performance through the rapid expansion of highly successful programs: NMSI's College Readiness Program, NMSI's Laying the Foundation Teacher Training Program, and NMSI's UTeach Expansion Program.  Inaugural funding for NMSI was provided by ExxonMobil, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.  For more information, visit www.nms.org.

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SOURCE National Math and Science Initiative

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