Who Could Be RI's Next Education Commissioner?
GoLocalProv News Team
Who Could Be RI's Next Education Commissioner?
This week, GoLocal spoke with education leaders about Gist's strengths and weaknesses, accomplishments and shortfalls. So who else might be eyeing -- and vying for -- the state's top education post?
SLIDES: Potential Contenders for Commissioner of Education BELOW
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"Commissioner Gist has shown a real commitment to improving the quality of teacher preparation and support in Rhode Island, but more can always be done to diversify our teacher workforce," said Heather Tow-Yick, head of Teach for America in Rhode Island. "It’s tremendously important that we are engaging talented and committed individuals from all backgrounds and academic interests to bring diverse perspectives and experiences to RI classrooms, and to reflect the students in our classrooms.
"That decision is certainly one for the Governor-elect and her team, but I do hope that all of our current and newly elected officials are having deep conversations right now about the direction and quality of education in our state especially since a strong public school system is a key component of a state’s economic success," said Tow-Yick.
Who Could Be RI's Next Education Commissioner?
Clay Pell
The not-so-dark horse who might be in consideration for Gist's spot (or the Board of Education's Eva Mancuso's) could be Raimondo's primary opponent Clay Pell, who comes from the education policy world at the federal level -- he was Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of Education.
Given the millions Pell poured into his own campaign -- as well as how politics might have played out to give Gina the edge over opponent Allan Fung -- Pell might be well-positioned to maintain his profile in Rhode Island as he more than likely might be taking a look towards another run for higher offfice soon.
Susan Lusi
Current Providence Schools Superintendent Susan Lusi has a resume that includes having been Superintendent in Portsmouth, Chief of Staff for the Providence Public Schools -- and as Assistant Commissioner at the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Lusi has served as a consultant to RIDE, as well as groups such as the LAB at Brown, Education Resource Strategies, The Council of Chief State School Officers, and the Learning First Alliance. Lusi has a Ph.D. and Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University, as well as a MAT in social studies and an AB in economics from Brown University. Lusi could well be considered for the call up to the state's top education post.
Tom Brady
Lusi's predecessor in the Providence Public Schoools Brady the helm in 2011 after serving for three years, and has worked in education consulting and served as Director of the Department of Defense Educational Activity, over seeing all Defense Department K-12 schools, both stateside and overseas -- 191 schools in 14 districts, serving more than 82,000 students. A return to RI to fill Gist's shoes would be step up the education ladder in the state should Brady be in consideration -- and have the interest returning to RI.
Angela Romans
Providence Mayor Taveras' former education advisor, who has been at Brown's Annenberg Institute, while in the city helped secure over $5 million in education grant funding from local, regional and national public and private sources for the city and served as a tri-chair of the Mayor’s Children and Youth Cabinet (CYC).
Prior to working in city government, Romans served as New England Network manager at Diploma Plus, Inc., a Boston-based, national organization that in partnership with school districts and communities, designs schools and programs to improve the academic results of predominately urban, African-American and/or Hispanic youth.
Dave Abbott
As the Deputy Commissioner at RIDE, Abbott has had to fill the shoes of Gist at meetings and events many times -- and could probably quite easily make the move up given his working knowledge of the office.
Jennifer Wood
Lt. Governor Roberts' Chief of Staff has an extensive background -- and interest -- in education, serving as Chief of Staff and legal counsel for RIDE for 9 years, and general counsel for NEARI before that. Roberts was an instrumental supporter of Raimondo's during the campaign.
