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2004
ANNUAL REPORT
Chairman's Message
Dear Colleagues:
The word transformation often conjures a vision of overnight success…a radical change occurring right before our eyes.
In reality, transformation requires long, steady, arduous effort. The kind of effort that Superintendent Grasmick, teachers
across the state, elected officials and Maryland’s business community have invested in transforming education and the
landscape of opportunity for today’s young people.
After more than a decade of pushing, pulling, shaping, prodding, improving, and stretching, we are seeing concrete signs
of transformation in education…a culture shift in expectation and possibility.
- More students are passing the state’s assessments at every grade level.
- More students are taking and completing rigorous math and science courses.
- More students are being prepared for success in college and in the workplace.
Knowing a little something about investment, my advice is to become even more aggressive when it is apparent that the
trend is moving in the direction you are aiming. This is no time to congratulate ourselves, sit back and let nature take
its course.
What we are doing is working, and now it’s time to step up the game.
The Maryland Business Roundtable for Education (MBRT) is committed to achieving the best possible gain on its investment:
a high quality workforce, opportunity for our children, and a thriving economy.
Freshmen entering high school this fall will be the first class required to meet the State’s new standards in order to receive a
diploma in 2009 – the first real test of expectation and possibility. It is our responsibility, indeed our mandate, to provide
students with what they need to succeed in this endeavor. Their failure is our failure.
For five years, MBRT has effectively created innovation after innovation to spark students’ interest and bolster their resolve to
take learning seriously and begin preparing for a rewarding future. Achievement Counts has grown from an 80-person
speakers bureau in one county to a comprehensive statewide campaign that mobilizes the entire community to support
student achievement, including a Speakers Bureau of 2,000 business volunteers; Maryland Scholars that encourages and
rewards students for taking rigorous coursework; a teen career website – www.BeWhatIWantToBe.com; and Parents Count
to help parents advise and support their children.
Achievement Counts has been recognized nationally and locally for its innovation and effectiveness. This year, MBRT won
the Silver Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America for “successfully addressing a contemporary issue with
exemplary professional skill, creativity and resourcefulness.”
The MBRT Board of Directors is unanimous in its resolve to accelerate its efforts and take Achievement Counts to every
school district in Maryland in 2005 so that all students benefit from the program. To achieve transformation, we must find
ways to scale up programs that work and ensure that efforts can be sustained over time.
Investing in achievement is the most important action we can take to ensure our good future.
--
Raymond A. "Chip" Mason
Chairman, MBRT Board of Directors
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