Charter School Association Advocates Endorse Tuck

“Tuck will bring major change, needed choice and flexibility for California families”

Los Angeles--California Charter Schools Association Advocates announced its endorsement of Marshall Tuck today, citing the need for major change for California schools and more choice for families when it comes to their kids’ education. The endorsement comes as recent polling shows Tuck pulling ahead of incumbent Tom Torlakson and voters growing increasingly frustrated with California’s failing schools, which rank 45th in the nation. The CCSA nod follows yesterday's endorsement of Tuck by San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. “The Superintendent should be an independent advocate for parents and students, and stand up to the status quo,” said CCSA Advocates Executive Director Gary Borden. “As someone who has successfully opened thriving charter schools and turned around schools in some of Los Angeles’ toughest neighborhoods, we’ve seen firsthand that Marshall will be the kind of leader families need at the top. Marshall has the experience to bring local control and flexibility to schools across the state and ensure that every kid has access to a quality education.” Tuck has a long history of supporting and being involved with charter schools, serving as President of Green Dot Public Schools from 2002 to 2007, a leading charter school operator based in Los Angeles. Tuck joined Green Dot when the organization had just one school, and helped them expand to 10 charter high schools by 2006. With a student-centered approach that empowered principals, teachers, and parents, Green Dot schools substantially outperformed comparable schools’ graduation rates and overall academic achievement. Read Marshall’s plan for increased parent choice and the role of charter schools, here. About CCSA Advocates CCSA Advocates is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the involvement of the charter school community in the political process, creating a pipeline of charter school supporters and activists, electing public officials who support California charter public schools, and growing the political influence of the California charter public school movement. For more information, please visit www.ccsaadvocates.org. About Marshall Tuck Marshall Tuck is the only candidate for State Superintendent with a proven record of increasing graduation rates, improving student achievement, and turning around failing schools. Tuck served most recently as founding CEO of the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s groundbreaking collaboration with the Los Angeles Unified School District to operate 17 struggling public elementary, middle, and high schools, serving 15,000 students. Under Tuck’s leadership, the Partnership schools increased four-year graduation rates by over 60%, improved school safety and student attendance, and launched the innovative Parent College, which became a national model for getting parents more involved in their kids’ education. Over the last 5 years, the Partnership schools ranked #1 in academic improvement among school systems with more than 10,000 students. Prior to launching the Partnership, Tuck was President of Green Dot Public Schools, a leading charter school operator based in Los Angeles. Tuck joined Green Dot in 2002, when it had one school, and helped them expand to 10 charter high schools by 2006. With a student-centered approach that empowered principals, teachers, and parents, Green Dot schools substantially outperformed comparable schools’ graduation rates and overall academic achievement. Before devoting his career to helping students, Tuck was an executive at Model N, a successful enterprise software company based in the Bay Area. Prior to that, he worked in finance, and spent a year teaching and doing service work internationally, primarily in Zimbabwe and Thailand. The son of a teacher, Tuck was born in Burlingame, CA and attended parochial elementary school and public middle and high schools. He graduated from UCLA and Harvard Business School. Tuck currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Mae, and their son Mason.