Who is Florida's commissioner of education?

Answer 1

Eric Smith began his career in Florida more than 30 years ago as a classroom teacher. His commitment to affecting positive change in the field of education led him to several administrative positions in Florida school districts and eventually to 16 years of serving as a district superintendent in Virginia, North Carolina, and Maryland. His goals have remained constant throughout his career: to increase academic achievement of all students and to reduce the disparity in achievement among student subgroups. His success in consistently meeting these goals in individual districts bears testimony to his own passion to change students' lives, the urgency he brings to the challenges involved, and the leadership he demonstrates in ensuring the involvement of all stakeholders. Central to his work, beginning at Winter Park High School in 1982 and continuing in each district thereafter, has been the expansion of Advanced Placement programs and the International Baccalaureate. His leadership in each district led to significant gains in academic achievement, increased enrollment in rigorous coursework and advanced studies, improved reading and math scores among elementary students, and meaningful progress toward lessening the achievement gap among minority student populations. He also created meaningful working relationships with members of the diverse communities he served, the business community, the faith community, and the district's elected officials to cultivate a shared commitment to education of the highest quality. Eric's most recent work was with the College Board, where he served as Senior Vice President for College Readiness and was responsible for leading the EXCELerator project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and based on a mission of preparing all students for college. The project is now being implemented in five school districts across the country, including Duval and Hillsborough in Florida, and impacts nearly 45,000 young people. Eric is past Chairman of the Board of Trustees for The College Board, as well as a member on the Board of Directors for the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program; he also has served as Chair of the National Assessment of Title 1 Independent Review Panel since 2003. He received his undergraduate degree from Colorado State University and his master's degree in school administration from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. He earned his doctorate of curriculum and instruction from the University of Florida in Gainesville.