The continuing effort to improve the educational experiences of children, especially underserved children, is initiated and promoted by leaders at a variety of organizational levels. Sometimes the leadership is found in an individual classroom. Sometimes it is demonstrated at the building or school district level. Sometimes such a leader is found at the state level. And, sometimes an educational leader will emerge who is able to influence and impact on educational change at the federal and national level. Wilson Riles is such a man. He is one of the relatively few individuals whose vision for children transcended individual classrooms and local and state boundaries, and had an important effect on federal and national policy.
The vehicle for such wide influence was the Council of Chief State School Officers, a national organization comprised exclusively of state superintendents of education, whose mission is to work with congressional and other federal and national educational leaders to improve education for all children. State superintendents attain their position in one of three ways. They are appointed by the Governor, they are appointed by the State Board of Education, or they are elected by popular vote. In November of 1970, Wilson Riles became the first elected African American to become a member of the Council.
During his years as a member of the Council, Wilson's influence was felt in a variety of ways. He served as Chair of a variety of Committees where his insight, and unswerving commitment to children influenced the policy statements and positions adopted by the Council. His strong views and opinions, tempered by his thoughtful and gentle reasonableness, greatly influenced the positions the Council took during those years on major federal legislative initiatives such as federal aid levels to education, education for handicapped and disadvantaged children, vocational and technical education, and the creation of a separate national department of education.
In 1979 Riles' colleagues elected him to the nine member Board of Directors of the Council. As a member of the Board, his influence on the work and direction of the Council and its programs became more direct. His testimony before congressional committees and formal and informal discussions with federal education administrators, as both a member of the Council Board, and as a highly respected and effective state superintendent, had immeasurable influence on the shape and direction of federal legislation policy as it affected the education of the children Riles has dedicated his life to serving.
Even though he was running for reelection in California, and against the advice of some of his California advisors, Riles agreed to assume the additional responsibilities of CCSSO President from November 1981 to November 1982. Riles felt that the influence on federal policy on the education of children that he might have as Council President outweighed any diversion of effort toward his reelection. The Council's annual meeting is always held in November. Just days after his defeat as California's state superintendent, Riles chaired the meeting and gave the traditional outgoing President's speech to his colleagues. Always the teacher, always the gentle man, always the statesman, Riles' final speech to his colleague dealt not with defeat, but with gratitude, and, to some extent, wonder, he felt for having been afforded the opportunity, as an African American from poor southern roots, to serve the children of California and the Nation. That night, his colleagues were taught a lesson in humility and were reminded, once again, of how fortunate they, and the children they collectively served, had been to benefit from the friendship and leadership of an extraordinary man.
Prior to establishing his own consultant firm, WILLIAM F. PIERCE, Ph.D., was senior consultant and Vice President for Education and Training for the National Information and Education Utilities Corporation, a company which provides individualized instruction to any learning site through the application of integrated technologies and telecommunications. Prior to joining NIEU, Dr. Pierce served for three years as Vice President for Education and Director of the Center for Education and Employment Policy for the Indianapolis based Hudson Institute. Dr. Pierce was Executive Director of the Council of Chief State School Officers from November 1978 through June 1987. He has also served in a variety of positions in the U. S. Office of Education (now the Department of Education), including Acting U. S. Commissioner of Education under Presidents Ford and Carter, Executive Deputy Commission and from January 1973 to July 1976, Deputy Commissioner for Occupational and Adult Education.
Dr. Pierce worked in various capacities with the Michigan Department of Education from 1964 to 1973; ending his tenure in Michigan as Deputy State Superintendent of Public Instruction, after serving for three years as the Director of the Division of Vocational Education.
A former instructor, Dr. Pierce was a member of the faculty at Michigan State University from 1962 to 1964 and taught at the high school level in California from1958 to 1962.
He is also the author of numerous publications and the recipient of many awards. His pieces have appeared in a wide variety of education publications. Honors and special awards include the Office of Education Superior Service Award and honorary degrees from Lincoln University, San Francisco, California, and the University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.
Dr. Pierce received an A.A. from Riverside City College, a B.S. and M.Ed. from the University of California, and his Ph.D. from Michigan State University. His international assignments include Chairman of the U. S. Delegation to the U. S. S. R. on Vocational and Technical Education, a participant at OECD Experts Conferences on Adult Education and Lifelong Learning in Paris, a member of the U. S. Delegation to a UNESCO conference in Geneva, Switzerland, a delegate to OECD conferences in Stockholm, Sweden, and Oxford, England, a member of an evaluation team for RCA in Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt, a guest of the Government of Japan to study Japanese elementary and secondary education, and a member of an OECD study team to Austria, England, and Finland.
Send questions and comments to William F. Pierce at: wpierce@clin.org.