Thank you To all the presenters earlier tonight in the WOW gallery and on stage and, in particular to David

Mantus and his fabulous apprentices..every kid should have a science teacher like David. To all Board and event Co Chairs..incredible staff..lead corporate sponsors !idelity and Bank of "#erica, thank you, and thanks to all of you $ho have supported this organi%ation so heartily for so #any years as $e have gro$n fro# serving &' kids in Dorchester &( years ago to running progra#s in )' cities across the country $ith increasing evidence of effectiveness, and a gro$ing role in syste#ic education refor#. *pecial shout out to all the Citi%en *chools graduates in the roo#, and particularly to the *herif +ada a$ard $inners, De,+a -ohnson and .eith +olen /Denison 0niversity as 1osse *cholar2.."lso $ant to congratulate and introduce you all to 3#ily McCann, $ho as of -uly $ill be stepping up as 1resident..4 $ill be re#aining as C3O 5 at least as long as you all $ill have #e 5 but 3#ily #ore than ever $ill be #y partner in leading this organi%ation, and she,s a terrific partner.&) letter varsity athlete at 6arvard, Morgan *tanley.6B*..Disney, C!O, COO and no$ 1resident at C*. 4 speak to you tonight at the ti#e of greatest peril, and 5 by a significant #argin 5 greatest opportunity for Citi%en *choolsThe peril is obvious.We are not i##une to the do$nturn in the econo#y, and this $inter, like so #any of you and so #any of the fa#ilies $e $ork $ith, $e needed to tighten our belts. We eli#inated nine positions at our national and Boston offices 5 a &78 cut 5 instituted a one $eek unpaid furlough for all 9'' full ti#e staff, cut senior staff salaries by an additional 98, eli#inated cost of living increases for all staff, and pruned travel budgets and special initiatives. But it,s an also a ti#e of incredible opportunity, $ith a ne$ 1resident, an innovative *ecretary of 3ducation, and the econo#ic do$nturn causing a reassess#ent of values and a ne$ openness to paradig#atic change. 4t,s a fun ti#e to be a leader and $e stand ready to lead. ( years ago 4 rode to Washington $ith a van load of volunteers and young staff and $e testified 5 fro# #idnight to ( a# $ith 1aul Begala as the #oderator as part of &'' hours of testi#ony to *ave "#eriCorps, $hich had beco#e victi# of partisan s:uabbles in Congress, fro# a )'8 cut. ;ast Monday the 6ouse voted al#ost 9 & and the *enate voted by a ( & #argin to pass the 3d$ard M. .ennedy *erve "#erica "ct to triple the si%e of "#eriCorps "nd the service #ove#ent is #ore audacious no$ and is focused on solving big proble#s, like the high school drop out crisis, through fullti#e service as $ith our Teaching !ello$s but also through a volunteer #obili%ation fund, encore service fello$ships, and a ne$ co##unity solutions fund that Citi%en *chools helped to craft that $ill #ake the federal govern#ent a direct investor $ith philanthropy in scaling effective organi%ations..We kno$ that <=8 of the graduates of our <th grade acade#y progra#s finish high school on ti#e co#pared to 7>8 of their peers and ?ust =)8 of all children in the country. With a co##unity solutions fund $e can partner

$ith govern#ent and philanthropy to e@pand this opportunity to do%ens #ore co##unities and tens of thousands of additional children. 4t,s also an e@citing ti#e at the federal Depart#ent of 3ducation, no$ led by "rne Duncan, for#er *uperintendent of the Chicago 1ublic *chools and for#er captain of the 6arvard basketball tea#. /4 need to pause here to share an ongoing daydrea# of #ine about #y first #eeting $ith "rne Duncan, $hich 4 a# scheduling later this spring.huge office.$hat do you $ant..4 really $ant to play basketball $ith you and 1resident Oba#a..2.Whether it,s on the basketball court or the national education refor# arena, $e can do great $ork $ith *ecretary Duncan and 1resident Oba#a. They have been very clear about identifying four pillars of education refor# 5 high national standardsA teacher :uality and ne$ path$ays to teachingA charter schoolsA and 3@panded ;earning Ti#e. The recent sti#ulus bill gave Duncan B&'7 billion for education i#prove#ent and $hile #uch of that $ill go to states and districts on a for#ula basis and $ill be used to reduce layoffs of teachers, he is being aggressive about leveraging refor#. Most e@citing for us is the Cace to the Top !und and 4nnovation !und. We think this is an ideal funding source to help scale up the 3@panded ;earning Ti#e progra# $e are helping to run at the 3d$ards Middle *chool in Charlesto$n. Was in botto# three of all #iddle schools in the city, and a school designed for D'' children $as only dra$ing >' Dth graders and probably a year or t$o a$ay fro# being closed. 3;T has given the school a ne$ lease on life. !ro# a D hour day to a > hour day. More acade#ics but also football, arts and, thanks to David, rocket science."chieve#ent gap cut in half in #ath, and for <th graders )E9 of gap erased in english and #ore than F erased in #ath..We,ve been #eeting $ith Carol -ohnson in Boston about bringing this progra# to #ore Boston #iddle schools, and $e are hoping the federal 4nnovation !und $ill provide half the #oney to take this 3;T #odel and bring it to 9' additional schools over the ne@t ) 9 years $ith local schools districts and philanthropy covering the rest. 4f $e can build a net$ork of these great 3;T schools in *anta !e, +e$ Me@ico and 6ouston, Te@as and Charlotte, +orth Carolina and +e$ark, +e$ -ersey and +e$ Gork and here in Boston $e can say goodbye to the old, anti:uated agrarian era school schedule and $elco#e in a ne$ generation of > and &' hour a day schools filled $ith #ore acade#ics but also #ore #usic and art and sports and chances to get e@cited about la$ and literature and science. "s $e develop a longer learning day in urban and poor rural districts across the country, $e #ust take care to not fill it $ith #ore of the sa#e. We need different adults, teaching different topics in different $ays. *o#e should be Teaching !ello$s beginning their careers in education, but there should also be a role for #illions of Citi%en Teachers, so#e $ho #ight get a stipend and others $ho $ould volunteer. Why should kids only get to learn fro# the certified, full ti#e science teachers currently in our schoolsH 6o$ about tea#ing the# up $ith actual scientists for e@ternships, internships and apprenticeships that could spark the creativity and inventiveness of #illions of childrenH 4 a# absolutely convinced that in the years ahead Citi%en *chools can not only help to re i#agine and lengthen the learning day in "#erica, $hich is so long overdue, but $e can also re i#agine and broaden $hat it #eans to be a teacher in "#erica.

4t re#ains for #e an e@traordinary privilege to lead this organi%ation. Gou all in this roo# have helped us gro$ across "#erica and to change the lives of tens of thousands of children, $hile beginning to shift the la$s and the culture of the country. The days ahead $ill bring challenges and setbacks as $ell as great #ilestones, and 4 hope you $ill all step up and help us sei%e the day as boldly as $e can. +o$ is not a ti#e to be ti#id. The stakes are high for our country and the ti#es call for boldness but also for :uiet acts of leadership and generosity that advance our co##on ideals of co##unity and opportunity. "s 4 close tonight 4 $ant to share $ith you a story 4 believe reflects these values that 4 recently heard fro# a Citi%en *chools alu# 5 an &&th grader na#ed 4van Tavares. 4van Tavares story. Thank you again for helping 4van and thousands of others young #en and $o#en beco#e the leaders $e need in the $orldI +o$ it gives #e great pleasure to introduce an e@traordinary young $o#en 5 a senior at Boston Co##unity ;eadership "cade#y and a for#er Citi%en *chools apprentice in the Dth grade and the <th grade, a volunteer tutor and #entor $ith our <th Jrade "cade#y progra#, and a future leader in college and in life, "rielys Morales.