MOVIN' ON: On January 16, Aspire Public Schools announced that CEO James Willcox, who's been with Aspire since 2007, will step down from his position at the end of October 2015. The Aspire Board of Directors will soon start a search for his replacement. According to Chief Academic Officer Elise Darwish, the new CEO will have large shoes to fill, saying, “James has dedicated himself, and of course Aspire, to supporting technology to improve student achievement for all."
Darwish adds that with Willcox's leadership, "the blended learning program has grown throughout Aspire. In addition, Aspire was able to incubate Schoolzilla – which launched independently in 2013. The comprehensive data warehousing and visualization platform has helped more than 50 school systems increase student achievement for over 1 million students nationwide.”
Aspire now operates 38 schools across California and in Memphis, Tennessee, and has expanded student enrollment from 5,900 students to over 14,600 students.
