The Partnership for Inner-City Education today announced that it has completed its search with the hire of Kathleen Porter-Magee as the Superintendent and Chief Academic Officer of its network of inner-city Catholic elementary schools in Harlem and the South Bronx.
Porter-Magee’s hire accelerates the process set in motion by the landmark 2013 agreement with the Archdiocese of New York, which granted the Partnership broad authority to offer educational, administrative and operational services on behalf of six inner-city pre-K through 8th grade Catholic schools. This is the first time that an independent organization has been given the opportunity to manage a set of schools in the Archdiocese of New York and reflects the Partnership’s 20-year track record and unwavering commitment to inner-city Catholic education.
“We are committed to raising the academic bar at our six Catholic elementary schools, to break the cycle of poverty, and help all our students lead fulfilling, productive lives,” said Jill Kafka, Executive Director of the Partnership, “I can’t think of anyone better prepared to lead our schools and academic team than Kathleen.”
Ms. Porter-Magee comes to the Partnership most recently from the College Board, where she serves as the Senior Advisor for Policy and Instruction, and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, where she serves as a Bernard Lee Schwartz Policy Fellow. Porter-Magee, who has emerged as one of the most influential voices on the Common Core State Standards, has more than 17 years of experience in education and policy, nearly a decade of which was spent working directly in and with schools. She got her start in education as a Catholic School teacher in Maryland and previously served as the Senior Director of Curriculum and Professional Development at the charter school management organization, Achievement First, and the Director of Teacher and Principal Professional Development and Recruitment for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.
“I am delighted to be part of this innovative network,” said Ms. Porter-Magee. “All six of the schools have played an important role in their communities for generations and I look forward to working with our pastors, principals, teachers, and parents to help sustain them for generations to come. For me, this is also bit of a homecoming since my mother, who grew up in the projects in the South Bronx, attended Immaculate Conception, one of our network schools. ICS helped lift her family out of poverty, and I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the role Catholic education played in all of our lives.”
About the Partnership
The Partnership for Inner-City Education is an independent nonprofit charitable organization whose mission is to develop outstanding Catholic elementary schools that provide low-income students with the academic preparation, values and skills they need to break the cycle of poverty and lead fulfilling, productive lives. The Partnership manages a network of six inner-city Catholic elementary schools in Harlem and the south Bronx.
For more information about the Partnership for Inner-City Education, please contact: Cee Greene, Director of Development & Communications, Cecilia.Greene@www.pnyc.local.com, (646) 794-3349, or cell: (917) 797-5887.