CHARLES A. BENNETT 6264 Newark Drive Noblesville Indiana 46062 drtonybennett@g1nail.corn Gary Chartrand Florida State Board of Education 325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1520 Tallahassee, Florida 32399 November 29, 2012 Dear Mr. Chartrand: Please consider this my application for the position of Commissioner of the Florida Department of Education. I have enclosed a current resume highlighting my work on behalf of students in the Hoosier state. Throughout my career and through my last four years as Indiana's Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1 have been committed to setting high expectations and holding everyone accountable -- students, educators, administrators and me. It's why I keep a scoreboard in my office, and it's get up every day thinking about how to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for all students. I would welcome the opportunity to continue this work in Florida. Your state was the leader in starting this movement of making decisions based solely on kids, and I would like to take Florida to the next level. Please feel free to contact me at your convenience. I look forward to the opportunity to 'discuss my candidacy with you. Best, Dr. Tony Bennett CHARLES A. "Tour" BENNETT 6264 Newark Drive Noblesville Indiana 46062 dItonybennett@gmai1.com Proven leader in education administration and reform Multi-faceted education professional with nearly 30 years of experience in all aspects of executive leadership as well as school operations. Described as a passionate advocate for students; adept at problem-solving with strong leadership and communication skills. Areas of expertise include the following: Legislative advocacy and strategy Streamlining operations Change implementation Public policy development Time--critical problem solving Human capital management EXPERIENCE Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction, Indianapolis, Indiana January 2009 present 4- Implemented broad reforms that raised achievement of Hoosier students in almost every category: 0 Increased pass rates fiom 63.1% to 71.5% Improved state graduation rate from 81.4% to 85.7%. 0 Made Indiana the second highest state in nation in two-year improvement in AP participation and pass rates 0 Successfitlly developed and advocated for the Putting Students First legislative agenda, the most comprehensive education reform in 25 years, recognizing and rewarding great teachers, increasing options for families, and giving schools autonomy to better serve students Developed and implemented what has been called the nation's most expensive first- year voucher program, and got the program running in eight weeks 0 Implemented the #1 rated (by Bellwether Education Partners) teacher effectiveness system in the country Collaborated with stakeholder groups to give autonomy back to school corporations by restricting collective bargaining to salary and wage-related benefits I Implemented the Indiana Growth Model, giving parents and teachers an accurate representation of the amount of growth each student has made and giving communities an accurate depiction of how their schools are serving individual students and student groups I Brought fair and transparent accountability by implementing A through letter grades to Indiana schools, replacing the previous labels and using student growth as a significant factor in school grades Iv Successfully defended against caps on the number of charter schools, implemented a virtual voucher pilot program and ushered the program from pilot to fiill implementation, and proposed and developed the Indiana Charter Board -- all while bringing accountability to charter schools in the form of A through grades Earned the rating as the #1 state in the country in "Parent Power" by The Center for Education Reform for providing families access to educational options and information to make appropriate choices 0 Enforced state law requiring schools to provide students 180 days per year of instruction, ending the practice of counting half days as instructional days - Through streamlined operations, diverted administrative funds to schools through the graduation rate incentive program, granting financial rewards to schools driving success 0 Created the Indiana Education Reform Cabinet, a group of teachers charged with advising the office on matters related to the development and implementation of teacher evaluations. 0 Successfully advocated for and implemented program ending social promotion in Indiana, requiring schools to teach all students to read by the end of third grade 0 For the first time in state history, intervened in seven chronically failing schools, using interventions best suited for each (utilized a lead partner model as well as a takeover model with three difierent school talceover operators in five schools) - Updated teacher licensing rules, paving the way for alternative certification programs 0 Brought substantial investments of human capital and innovative education models, in the form of entities like The New Teacher Project, Teach for America, Caipe Diem, and BASIS I Engaged the business community in advocating for and implementing education reform in their communities throughout the state I Regularly engaged stakeholders, through quarterly advisory groups consisting of the following stakeholders: superintendents, principals, career and technical education educators, special education educators, school business otficials, and school counselors Transformed ofiice fiom a regulatory agency to a resource for schools, parents and communities, putting decision-maldng back in the hands of local leaders and exceeding previous levels of service while reducing stafi" from 360 to 250 0 Fostered a strong collaboration with the Indiana Commissioner of Higher Education through work on dual credits, academic standards, college and career readiness, and assessments Greater Clark County Schools, Clarksville, IN July 2007 -- January 2009 School Corporation Superintendent 0 Led instruction and operations of 10,500 student school corporation with an approximately $100 million budget and 600 employees New Albany Floyd County Schools, New Albany, IN 1999-2007 Assistant Superintendent for Administration and Operations, 2001-2007 - Oversaw administration and operations of 18 district schools, serving approximately 10,500 students and human resource matters for approximately 600 employees Principal, Prosser School of Technology, 1999-2001 Scott County School District 2, Scottsburg, Indiana 1991-1999 Acting Superintendent, 1994 Principal and Assistant Principal, Scottsburg High School, 1994-1999 Head Boys Basketball Coach, 1 991 -1 997 Assistant Superintendent, 1992-1 994 Acting Principal, Johnson El emenrory School, 1993 Biology Teacher, 1991 Mohawk Local Schools, Sycamore, Ohio 1990-1991 Biology Teacher and Head Boys Basketball Coach Providence High School, Clarksville, Indiana 1983-1990 Biology and Science Teacher Basketball, Baseball and Track Coach (held different coaclzing jobs throughout the six and one--half years at Providence) EDUCATION Spalding University, Louisville, Kentucky Doctor of Education, 2005 Indiana University Southeast, New Albany, Indiana Certification in Secondary Administration and Supervision, 1994 Master of Science in Secondary Education, 1988 Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education. 1984 ADDITIONAL 2010 Govemment Leader of the Year, Indiana Chamber of Commerce 201 1 "Education Reform Idol," The Fordham Institute Current board member, Council for Chief State School Officers Founding member and current chair, Chiefs for Change Chair, Indiana State Board of Education Co-chair, Indiana Education Roundtable Current governing board member, Partnership for the Assessment for Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) Former member, Spalding University Board of Trustees I Former board member, Greater Clark County YMCA