Best in Class: How Top Corporations Can Help Transform Public Education

By any measure, the U.S. education system faces daunting challenges. Among developed countries, the U.S. ranks 24th out of 29 in math scores. A shockingly high number of students — nearly 30 percent — don’t finish high school, and the number is much higher among minority students. If the U.S. education system were a company, we might politely call it a "turnaround situation."

The situation is far from hopeless. In fact, some leading corporations have decades of experience helping to turn around the most intractable problems in education. They have recognized that to remain competitive in today’s global economy, schools must produce graduates who are prepared for the 21st-century workforce.

Every day, business leaders manage complex bureaucracies, leverage finite resources, lobby policymakers, and lead change efforts. Just as they seek to improve underperforming business units, corporations need to bring their expertise to bear on improving America’s underperforming educational system.

Join Ernst & Young LLP and a distinguished panel as they discuss practical recommendations for how corporations can repeat the successes and avoid the pitfalls of those pioneers who are successfully working to make a difference in education.