Gia will stay on as CEO through June 30, 2022 to continue to lead us through reopening and to allow plenty of time to ensure an inclusive CEO search and selection process as well as an effective CEO transition. We thank Gia for her unwavering commitment to and leadership of the Envision community.
Under Gia’s leadership, our graduates have gone from about 60% 4-year college acceptance to about 80% 4-year college acceptance; 99% 2 or 4-year college acceptance; and about 85% college persistence. Envision Learning Partners, our consulting arm, continues to expand its reach and increase its impact serving a dozen districts to implement performance assessment systems and deeper learning and has spread this to over 200,000 students nationwide over time.
During her tenure, Gia and the team: successfully expanded our Oakland and Hayward high schools to serve middle grades; opportunely merged the student assessment team at the Stanford Center of Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) with Envision Learning Partners; articulated Envision’s explicit commitment to becoming an exemplar network of schools with an instructional and cultural vision rooted in an anti-racist and pro-Black framework; and most recently, acquired a permanent site for our middle school in Oakland while supporting the smooth transition of Vincent Academy’s fourth and fifth grade students.
In the middle of twin Pandemics–COVID 19 and America’s racial reckoning–the Board of Directors approved the 2025 Strategic Plan for Envision to become a network of exemplary schools of excellence and equity. Gia has built a team of talented and equity-centered leaders who are as committed as Gia is to that vision. With our strong financial position and all of our collective accomplishments, we have never been more optimistic about the future of Envision Education. The Board of Directors fully supports Gia’s decision and will hire a CEO who will continue our commitment to:
- Delivering on our 2025 strategic plan to become a network of exemplary schools of excellence and equity.
- Actualizing our vision to become an anti-racist and pro-Black organization.
- Multiplying our impact through Envision Learning Partners, working with schools and districts throughout the country to spread best practices.
The Board has formed a CEO Search and Transition Working Group and has engaged Edgility Consulting, a national firm specializing in searches for education organizations like Envision. Edgility's Founding Partner Christina Greenberg and Principal Ron Rapatalo will guide our search process, engaging with community members, staff, students, and board members to ensure that we find a mission-aligned, equity-centered leader. Interested candidates can contact info@edgilityconsulting.com for more information.
I am confident that we will find a CEO who will carry forward our vision, leveraging the momentum Gia and the Envision team have built to spread our impact for children and families at our schools as well as our partner schools. We are grateful for Gia’s leadership and know that she will continue to be a champion of Envision well beyond her transition.
In community,
Mark Daoust
Envision Education Board Chair
