Dear Indiana Educator,
First, please know I am both humbled and excited to serve as your next State Superintendent of Public Instruction. With this awesome privilege to serve comes an even bigger obligation to lead. I promise to lead using the knowledge and experience gained while I served as a teacher, principal, and superintendent. Furthermore, I promise to lead by considering the voices of all stakeholders. Understanding the complexity, difficulty, and rewards associated with our profession, educators in the field will be called upon to assist the department. It is our team’s hope that administrators, principals, teachers, and additional school personnel will reach out to offer great ideas and solutions, provide feedback, and share concerns. We will listen. We are here to serve you. |
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Secondly, to better serve, provide support, and improve guidance for Indiana schools and districts, your new Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) leadership team has begun immediately to work on your behalf. Initially, we rolled out a transition team who represented K-12, pre-K, and higher education. We also secured team members who represented many of the professional organizations associated with Indiana’s K-12 schools. The transition team conducted over 200 interviews, with sixty of those interviews assessing for leadership roles. In addition, the team provided feedback regarding current IDOE programs, offered suggestions on internal organizational structures, and communicated insight into current field concerns. The field will continue to be well represented as our current transition team will stay in place and serve as a Senior Advisory Committee. Our Senior Advisory Committee members’ names will be posted on the website soon.
Linked below is the IDOE reorganization chart with contact information for many of the department’s employees. We will continue to update with employee information so you can have direct access to the resources you need in our office. We will also be sharing more information soon regarding the Every Student Succeeds Act, updates on state-mandated assessments, and opportunities for feedback and input. Additionally, you will see a focus on CTE, STEM, pre-K, educator talent development, state-wide broadband capacity to support information age schools and classrooms, school funding, assessment and accountability, research-practitioners, better aligned resources and tools, and targeted school improvement efforts. Stay tuned for more information.
From the beginning, I talked about the need for better partnerships. Clear, timely, and consistent communication will be key to developing successful partnerships. In this area, you will see an immediate improvement. Our goal is to have the best Department of Education in the nation. I understand it will take a lot of work; however, our team will work tirelessly for you. I eagerly anticipate improved overall success for Indiana’s students and educators which will be supported by a great department.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jennifer McCormick
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Indiana Department of Education