Superintendent (education)

In education in the United States, a superintendent (also known as a chief school administrator in many states) is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization.

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United States

Many state departments of education in the United States refer to their senior administrator as superintendent. Generally, public school district superintendents are selected by a school board of a local school district. As chief executive officer of the public school, the superintendent has oversight for what is often one of the larger businesses within the community the district serves.

Most superintendents are members on the board of education (school board) of their school district, but they usually cannot vote as members of the board. While there are exceptions, many school districts now require, or desire, that their superintendent hold a doctoral degree. Depending on the state in which they serve, a public school superintendent might also be referred to as "chief education officer", or "chief executive officer". Most superintendents are hired by the board of education (or board of trustees), which is a governing entity of the district composed of elected officials from the communities the school district serves.

Current chief state school officers

State Head of education Elected Name
Alabama Alabama Superintendent of Education No Dr. Joseph B. Morton
Alaska Commissioner of Education No Larry LeDoux
Arizona Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Yes John Huppenthal
Arkansas Arkansas Commissioner of Education No Dr. Thomas Kimbrell
California California Superintendent of Public Instruction Yes Tom Torlakson
Colorado Colorado Commissioner of Education No Dwight D. Jones
Connecticut Connecticut Commissioner of Education No Dr. Mark K. McQuillan
Delaware Delaware Secretary of Education No Dr. Lillian Lowery
District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education for the District of Columbia[1] No Dr. Kerri L. Briggs
Florida Florida Commissioner of Education No Dr. Eric J. Smith
Georgia State Superintendent of Schools Yes William Bradley Bryant
Hawaii Hawaii Superintendent of Education No Kathryn Matayoshi
Idaho Idaho Superintendent of Education Yes Tom Luna
Illinois Illinois Superintendent of Education No Dr. Christopher Koch
Indiana Indiana Superintendent of Education Yes Dr. Tony Bennett
Iowa Iowa Director of Education No Judy Jeffrey
Kansas Kansas Interim Commissioner of Education No Dr. Diane DeBacker
Kentucky Kentucky Commissioner of Education

[2]

No Dr. Terry Holliday
Louisiana Louisiana Superintendent of Education No Ollie Tyler, Acting
Maine Maine Commissioner of Education No Susan A. Gendron
Maryland Maryland Superintendent of Education No Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick
Massachusetts Massachusetts Commissioner of Education No Mitchell D. Chester
Michigan Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction No Michael P. Flanagan
Minnesota Minnesota Commissioner of Education No Alice Seagren
Mississippi Mississippi Superintendent of Education No Dr. Tom Burnham
Missouri Missouri Commissioner of Education No Dr. Chris L. Nicastro
Montana Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Yes Denise Juneau
Nebraska Nebraska Commissioner of Education No Dr. Roger Breed
Nevada Nevada Superintendent of Education No Dr. Keith Rheault
New Hampshire New Hampshire Commissioner of Education No Virginia Barry
New Jersey New Jersey Commissioner of Education No Bret Schundler
New Mexico New Mexico Secretary of Education No Dr. Veronica García
New York New York Commissioner of Education No David Steiner
North Carolina North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Yes June St. Clair Atkinson
North Dakota North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Yes Dr. Wayne G. Sanstead
Ohio Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction No Deborah S. Delisle
Oklahoma Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Yes Sandy Garrett
Oregon Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction Yes Susan Castillo
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Secretary of Education No Dr. Gerald L. Zahorchak
Rhode Island Rhode Island Commissioner of Education No Deborah A. Gist
South Carolina South Carolina Superintendent of Education Yes Jim Rex
South Dakota South Dakota Director of Education No Thomas J. Oster
Tennessee Tennessee Commissioner of Education No Dr. Timothy K. Webb
Texas Texas Commissioner of Education No Robert Scott
Utah Utah Superintendent of Public Instruction No Larry Shumway
Vermont Vermont Commissioner of Education No Armando Vilaseca
Virginia Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction No Dr. Patricia I. Wright
Washington Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Yes Randy Dorn
West Virginia West Virginia Superintendent of Education No Dr. Steven L. Paine
Wisconsin Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction Yes Dr. Tony Evers
Wyoming Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Yes Dr. James M. McBride
American Samoa American Samoa Director of Education N/A Dr. Claire Tuia Poumele
Guam Guam Superintendent of Education N/A Dr. Nerissa Bretania-Underwood
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Secretary of Education N/A Carlos Chardon
U.S. Virgin Islands U.S. Virgin Islands Acting Commissioner of Education N/A Dr. Laverne Terry

Other countries

The term 'superintendent' is rarely used for education in the United Kingdom (possibly to avoid confusion with the police rank); in most Local Education Authorities the equivalent title is Chief Education Officer. According to the history of the school (published in 1985), in 1885, when the Church Schools Company took over a school to form Newcastle High School, later Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School, the mistress of the former school was briefly considered for the post of Lady Superintendent, below the headmistress.

See also

References

  1. ^ Office of the State Superintendent of Education for the District of Columbia official website. Retrieved 7/2/08.
  2. ^ Kentucky Commissioner of Education official website. Retrieved 9/30/10.

External links