Education chief revamps department

As more demands are placed on her office, state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy has reorganized her department with an emphasis on school improvement, research and early childhood education.

Davy yesterday won state Board of Education approval of the new structure, which seeks to remake much of how the 1,000-employee department operates.

"We have reorganized in a way that we believe will allow us to do our work and meet our responsibilities more effectively," Davy said yesterday afternoon.

The reorganization had been expected, as commissioners commonly make changes to meet their priorities. Davy has formally held the post for six months, after serving in an acting capacity for a year.

But some changes are significant shifts for the sprawling department. For instance, the early childhood division, which will oversee programs from preschool to third grade, is now on the same standing as all other divisions.

The office of research and evaluation is new, absorbing the state's current assessment office but also aimed at addressing the explosion in education data and research. Regional offices started six years ago have been collapsed back into a Division of Field Services, with 21 county offices.

In another new office, the Division of District and School Improvement will include much of the state's current oversight of programs mandated by the Abbott vs. Burke school-equity rulings. But Davy said it will go well beyond that.

"It's not just Abbott schools that need the help, nor frankly do all the Abbotts have the same level of need," she said.

With the new organization came new appointments, including new Deputy Commissioner Willa Spicer, a former South Brunswick administrator. Former Deputy Isaac Bryant announced his retirement this winter.

Among the assistant commissioners will be Jacqueline Jones, early childhood; Penelope Lattimer, school improvement; Barbara Gantwerk, student services; Jay Doolan, academic and professional standards; and William King, field services.