State School Superintendent Kathy Cox today announced she will leave her post effective June 30 to become the founding CEO of the U.S. Education Delivery Institute (EDI) as of July 1. 

Below is a released statement: 

"I will greatly miss my colleagues and friends in Georgia, especially at the Department of Education," said Cox. "But I feel confident that I will be leaving the Department and Georgia?s public K-12 system better than I found it. And in this new position, I will have many opportunities to work with leaders across the country, including Georgia, so I will still be able to help Georgia continue making great progress." 

EDI is a non-profit dedicated to building the capacity in state public education systems to implement school reform effectively. Launched by Achieve and The Education Trust and with a major pro bono contribution by McKinsey & Co., this new organization will adapt and apply practices developed in the United Kingdom by the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit - which was led by EDI's founder Sir Michael Barber. In doing so, EDI will help K-12 and higher education systems connect the dots between state policies and the schools and teachers that must implement them to ensure that they have their intended benefit: dramatically improved student outcomes.

"I am thrilled to join Sir Michael, the Education Trust, and Achieve in launching the U.S. Education Delivery Institute," said Cox.

"This organization won't be another think tank, but rather the fuel to inject action in state and local efforts to improve student achievement across our country. The performance management methods collectively known as Delivery provide the critical implementation link between system reform and classroom improvement, and thus greater student outcomes," she said.