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Warren Simmons has been involved in the education world for over 25 years with a special focus area on urban education issues. As a grant maker at the National Institute of Education and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, he developed and funded initiatives on youth and adult literacy, community development, and urban school reform. As Director of Equity Initiatives for the New Standards Project, a coalition of 17 states and six school districts, he led teams of researchers and practitioners who designed a performance-based assessment system to advance curricular and instructional reforms. His local experience includes serving as special assistant to the superintendent of schools in Prince George's County, Maryland, where he designed and implemented reforms that improved the achievement of disadvantaged students; these included the Comer School Development Project, the College Boards Equity 2000 Project, and the school system's multicultural education and Black male achievement initiatives.
He is currently the Executive Director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. The Institute was established in 1993 to generate, share, and act on knowledge that improves conditions and outcomes in American schools, particularly in urban areas and in schools serving disadvantaged students. Dr. Simmons has also recently helped create a Master's program at Brown University in urban education policy.
In addition to serving on PLATO Learning's board of directors, Dr. Simmons serves on boards and advisory groups of numerous education reform organizations including the Public Education Network, the Merck Institute, the National Center on Education and the Economy, and the Rhode Island Children's Crusade
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