Pam Stewart got to drop the word “interim” from her title and became Florida’s newest education commissioner. Her appointment has has some education watchers hoping the revolving door at the Florida Department of Education will stop turning.
Stewart becomes Florida’s fourth full-time education commissioner in the three years since Governor Rick Scott took office. During the Board of Education meeting which confirmed her, state Board of Education member Sally Bradshaw alluded to the seemingly high turnover in the job:
“I am thrilled you’re willing to do this. I’m not sure there are many of us willing to take this on," Bradshaw said to chuckles in the room.
The position has been unsettled for most of Scott’s tenure. Eric Smith was forced to resign when Scott first took office – but that’s normal in times of regime change. Gerard Robinson took over, but he stepped down after school grades came in worse than expected. His successor Tony Bennett was on the job only eight months before resigning in August amid a school grading flap in his previous job as Indiana Education chief. State Board member John Colon says it’s time for some stability in Florida’s top education post:
“Pam has served as interim education commissioner more than once now," he said. "And I think she’s been a steady hand, considering all the handicaps she’s been going through. And I for one, would like some continuity here at this board, and at the Board of Education."
The problems with keeping an education commissioner have been compounded recently as frustration over the state’s rocky transition to Common Core learning standards mounts. School grades have plummeted in recent years, with districts complaining of too many changes too soon. The way the state assigns grades to schools is also in question. What that means is Stewart is taking a job in choppy educational waters. Although, as she notes, she’s seen plenty of rough seas in her time:
“I’ve spent...since my age was in the newspaper yesterday, I guess it’s not embarrassing to say I’ve spend 32 years in Florida’s education system in one way or another, so I am fully committed to the students in the state of Florida and making sure we get it right.”
Before heading to the Florida Department of Education, Stewart was a deputy superintendent in St. Johns County and a Principal in Marion County. That experience has Florida Parent-Teacher Organization President Eileen Segal hoping she’ll be more sympathetic to her group’s issues:
“Every time someone new came in we would take three steps forward and two steps backward. And at least now the principals and administrators know where we’re going and she knows where we’re going. So I just think it’s a good fit right now and this is just what we need," Segal said.
Other groups, including the Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teacher’s union, have been quitter about what they expect. The education funding advocacy group 50th No More takes a less-enthused view:
“There’s always hope. Our children need for there to be hope. We want Pam Stewart to do the right thing. We want her to be a great commissioner of education, but we’re facing some very serious problems," said the group's Kathleen Oropeza.
The new commissioner’s path forward won’t be easy. The Florida Department of Education is at a crossroads. One of the biggest issues facing Stewart is the fate of Common Core standards in Florida. Politicians on all sides have ideological problems with Common Core, the price tag associated with new tests is a concern and some doubt students can even pass the tests.
Governor Rick Scott recently convened an education summit to discuss Common Core, and he’s expected to issue an executive order about it soon. State Board member Kathleen Shanahan says she hopes that order doesn’t contradict decisions made by DOE and the State Board.
“I just want to hear from Pam, that she understands, with full clarity, who she reports to."
Stewart will find herself walking a very fine political line. She is appointed by the Board of Education but must also answer to the Governor—two groups that may have conflicting agendas. But Stewart told the board this week she’s prepared to be pulled in several directions at once:
“It’s been said...Kathleen, I think we all know we serve many masters, but ultimately this board is the boss of the commissioner of education. And I am fully aware of that and understand that.”
But that could mean Stewart finds herself having to choose which master to obey.
