Mark Elgart

SACS President and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Mark Elgart currently serves as the founding President and Chief Executive Officer for Advance Education (AdvancED), the parent organization for the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC), and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI). His visionary leadership and collaborative skills were pivotal to the successful unification of the 11 SACS CASI states, the 19 North Central states, and the National Study of School Evaluation (a research organization) under the umbrella of AdvancED. Under his leadership, AdvancED is recognized as a leader in achieving educational quality.
Mark Elgart is responsible for leading the development and implementation of the “next generation accreditation” model, as well as the nationally acclaimed AdvancED School System Accreditation protocol. Through his leadership, accreditation has been transformed into a quality-driven, systems-oriented process that focuses on helping schools and school systems build their capacity to improve student learning.
Mark Elgart is active and influential in helping policy leaders at the state and national levels shape and enact policy related to educational quality, continuous improvement, and accountability. He is also a national and international trainer and presenter on the topics of accreditation, school improvement, leadership, and accountability in education.
Mark Elgart currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Knowledge Alliance and Measured Progress. He is a National Advisor for the National Staff Development Council. In July 2011 he was recognized by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of the 100 most influential people in Metropolitan Atlanta. Mark Elgart also represents AdvancED as a lead business partner with the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).
Prior to joining SACS CASI in 1995, Mark Elgart served nine years as a math and science teacher, as well as a school administrator at the middle and high school levels, which included six years as a middle school principal. Mark Elgart is married with two children and resides in Alpharetta, Georgia. Mark Elgart’s children go to private school.