Since 1995, David Gordon has served as superintendent of the Elk Grove Unified School District in Elk Grove, Calif. He received his bachelor's degree from Brandeis University, and his master of education and certificate of advanced study in educational administration from Harvard University. He has served as a special education teacher of children with emotional disturbances and as the staff director for early childhood education within the California State Department of Education. He has served on a number of state commissions and boards, including the California State University Chancellor's Committee on Improving Teacher Preparation, the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and the Professional Personnel Development and School Readiness Working Groups of the California Legislative Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan for Education.

Upon his arrival at the Elk Grove Unified School District in Sacramento, Calif., as assistant superintendent for elementary schools in 1991, one of the first things Gordon observed was that 13 percent of the district's students were placed in special education. Of that 13 percent, more than half were labeled "learning disabled." Gordon suspected that most of these children were not disabled but merely experiencing difficulty learning to read. Yet the district had no system in place to intervene at the first sign of trouble.

In 1993, Gordon went to the California State Board of Education to request a waiver in two areas: First, to allow the district to use special education personnel to develop and implement evidence-based early reading intervention programs; and second, to hold the district harmless in terms of funding if early intervention worked and fewer students were identified. The board agreed, and the results were astounding. The district's special education rate decreased to 9 percent and student performance significantly increased. Elk Grove's early intervention program is now available as a national model for the implementation of effective early identification and intervention programs for children at risk for reading failure.

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