FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Susie P. Gonzalez

susie.gonzalez@trinity.edu

Oct. 21, 2009

Trinity University to Honor Education Pioneer as Outstanding Alumnus

SAN ANTONIO – Mark Larson, a triple-degreed alumnus of Trinity University who is a high-profile voice for education reform, has been named the 2009 Outstanding Young Alumnus for his work in the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) among San Antonio schools. Mr. Larson will receive the award at a luncheon on Thursday, Nov. 19, in the Great Hall on the Trinity campus. 

He earned a bachelor’s degree in math in 1997, a Master of Arts in teaching in 1998, and a Master of Education in School Administration in 2002, and began his career as a math teacher at the International School of the Americas in San Antonio. In 2002, he received a Fisher Fellowship for aspiring school leaders at Berkeley’s Hass School of Business and spent his fellowship year designing KIPP Aspire Academy, a school for grades 5 through 8 that opened in 2003.

Within six years, the KIPP Aspire Academy boasted outstanding state and national scores, the highest attendance rates in the city, and waiting lists at each grade level. Earlier this year, he was appointed CEO of KIPP San Antonio, and he is currently spearheading a plan to expand KIPP to 10 schools – four elementary, four middle, and two high schools by 2017, all serving primarily disadvantaged kids. 

KIPP began in 1994 when two Houston teachers launched a fifth-grade public school program after completing their commitment to Teach for America. The growing national network, which includes 82 KIPP schools in 19 states and the District of Columbia, enrolls more than 20,000 students in free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools with a track record of preparing students  in underserved communities for success in college and in life. To learn more, visit www.aspireacademy.org/html_english/about.html or www.kipp.org.

Mr. Larson, who was a member of Leadership San Antonio 31, was named a “Forty Under 40” leader in 2005 by the San Antonio Business Journal, recognized by State Representative Mike Villarreal as an “Innovator in Education,” and named “Outstanding Young San Antonian” by the Downtown Rotary Club of San Antonio.

Trinity’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award is given annually to those whose achievements in their profession and in service to the community set a standard of excellence worthy of recognition by the University and the Trinity University Alumni Association. Tickets to the luncheon are $15 per person or $150 for a table of 10. To make a reservation, visit www.trinity.edu/alumni/OYA or call the Alumni Relations Office at 210-999-8404.

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