CMS Superintendent Peter Gorman Resigns

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dr. Peter Gorman has resigned from his superintendent position with Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.

The announcement came on Wednesday in a release for News Corporation.

The release said Gorman will take on leadership roles as Senior Vice President at the company's newly formed Education Division.

News Corporation recently acquired Brooklyn-based education technology company, Wireless Generation for $360 million.

Wireless Generation describes itself as a company that combines a deep understanding of teaching and learning with unparalleled technological expertise and a proven ability to bring innovations to scale.

Gorman officially became superintendent of CMS in July of 2006.

As Charlotte-Mecklenburg superintendent, Dr. Gorman led one of the nation’s largest school districts with more than 138,000 pre-K through 12th-grade students, 17,700 staff members and a budget of more than $1.15 billion.

This year, the school district has been selected as one of four finalists for the Broad Prize for Urban Education.

The announcement comes one day after Charlotte city leaders passed a $1.3 billion budget, which would give CMS schools about $24 million.

The school board called a special meeting on Wednesday to figure out how many teachers would be laid off.

Gorman has also served as superintendent of the Tustin (Calif.) Unified School District and as both chief information officer and chief operating officer/business and finance of the Orange County Public Schools in Orlando, Fla.

He holds a doctorate of Education from the University of Central Florida and an MBA from Rollins College.

News Corporation’s describes its Education Division as focused on individualized, technology-based content and learning opportunities that support world class student and teacher performance, as well as digital assessment tools for K-12 students in the United States that help eliminate the achievement gap.

News Corporation is a diversified global media company with operations in six industry segments: cable network programming, filmed entertainment, television, direct broadcast satellite television, publishing and other.

The activities of News Corporation are conducted principally in the United States, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia and Latin America.

"When it comes to K through 12 education, we see a $500 billion sector in the U.S. alone that is waiting desperately to be transformed by big breakthroughs that extend the reach of great teaching," said Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and CEO of News Corp., which includes The Wall Street Journal and Fox Broadcasting Co. among its holdings.

News Corporation also announced that Kristen Kane, former chief operating officer of the New York City Department of Education, will take on a leadership role along with Gorman.

“Pete and Kristen are recognized leaders in their field and each brings particular strengths to bear on our growing business,” said Joel Klein, CEO of News Corporation’s Education Division.

“I’m thrilled to join News Corporation, and to work with someone of Joel’s caliber, and the rest of his team, to transform the educational system through digital technology and other means,” said Dr. Gorman. “News Corporation has a reputation for leading significant change across many industries, and I look forward to what lies ahead for the education sector.”

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