Last week I had the honor of attending the Silicon Valley Education Foundation’s (SVEF) “Pioneers and Purpose” event in San Jose. SVEF is a non-profit organization that provides literacy and academic enrichment programs to public school students in grades pre-K through 12th in partnership with the private sector and education community. Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers was presented with SVEF’s Pioneer Business Leader Award for 2009 to recognize Cisco’s deep commitment to education and philanthropy.In his acceptance speech, John said that public schools need significant support, citing grim statistics: Only 37 percent of eighth graders pass the California standardized test in Algebra 1, and the state ranks 45th in eighth grade math, and second from the bottom in science. He explained that businesses lose out as much as the students do because 21st century jobs rely on science and math proficiency.Perhaps more moving, however, was the significant hardships overcome by the family of Olga Aguilar, who received this year’s SVEF “Family of Distinction Award.” The impact of the partnerships between non-profits, the private sector and the education community are evident in individuals like Olga Aguilar.John Chambers acceptance speech: