Pennsylvania Governor-Elect Tom Wolf has selected Lancaster Superintendent Pedro Rivera as the next state commissioner of education. Rivera is a veteran educator who previously worked in the Philadelphia public schools.
“Mr. Rivera has been superintendent of the School District of Lancaster since 2008.
“In September, Mr. Rivera was honored at the White House as one of 10 Hispanic leaders in education.
“A Philadelphia native, Mr. Rivera worked for 13 years in the Philadelphia public schools, as a principal, assistant principal, classroom teacher and human resources director.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
One point for the good guys!
Paul, Good news for PA, I hope. Susan
I wait with bated breath….
Is this a good appointment, Diane? You never said in your blog! I am waiting to see what Gina Raimondo and the Board of Ed does for commissioner of Ed in RI. I wonder who will replace Deborah Gist. I would be in shock if they keep her.
On Mon, Jan 19, 2015 at 7:14 PM, Diane Ravitch’s blog wrote:
> dianeravitch posted: “Pennsylvania Governor-Elect Tom Wolf has > selected Lancaster Superintendent Pedro Rivera as the next state > commissioner of education. Rivera is a veteran educator who previously > worked in the Philadelphia public schools. “Mr. Rivera has been > superintend”
http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20150119-gist-wont-confirm-report-shes-finalist-for-schools-superintendent-job-in-tulsa.ece
I don’t know, Jo. Let’s hope he doesn’t join Chiefs for Change. He is an educator and that’s a plus.
Hopefully he will reduce class size in Pennsylvania public schools. It is the best solution.
I am so hopeful for PA schools with Wolf.. I have my fingers crossed.
At least he does not have a business degree, and he’s familiar with public education in PA.
Gov-elect Tom Wolfe has made an excellent choice with Pedro Rivera as PA Secretary of Education. Public education in Pennsylvania is celebrating with this one! The PA BAT Facebook page has been buzzing with excitement all day. We were fearing that Nancy McGinley, a Broadie, would be chosen but now can let out a huge sigh of relief. Pedro Rivera is a tried and true ‘public educator’ who has experience at all levels of grass roots public education, specifically, urban education…formerly a Philadelphia classroom teacher, principal, PFT union staffer, and presently Superintendent of the School District of Lancaster (since 2008) . He has a reputation of being an outstanding administrator who values and works closely with teachers and communities. With degrees in education from Penn State, Chaney U of P and a superintendent’s certificate from Arcadia University (Elkins Park, Pa), he is committed to quality public education. He really does ‘walk the walk’!
Ron Whitehorne of PCAPS writes, “I worked with Pedro with the PFT Community Outreach Committee in the 90s. We worked to develop dialogue and build relationships with parents. He also has been a strong supporter of Youth United For Change. Finally he is a supporter of community schools, something we in PCAPS are fighting for. Many of us hoped he would be the choice and take it as a good sign of where the Wolf administration is going.”
In Sept 2014, Pedro Rivera was honored by the White House as one of 10 Hispanic educators chosen as “Champions of Change” Rivera was specifically recognized as a champion of urban education. About 84 percent of his district’s student body is economically disadvantaged, and 17 percent are English Language Learners.
Speaking on a panel at the White House, Rivera said there’s no silver bullet to lifting up disadvantaged student populations. “Education’s hard work. Ultimately, at the end of the day, you can’t phone it in. … You have to be there and be present.”
http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/watch-white-house-honors-pedro-rivera-lancaster-school-superintendent/article_3f088eee-403d-11e4-b634-0017a43b2370.html
Here’s a brief Bio…http://alasedu.drupalgardens.com/about/member-spotlight/pedro-rivera
Supt. Rivera also Testified before the Democratic House Policy Committee in 2012. . .and joined with other district superintendents to sue the Corbett administation for a ‘fair funding formula’ for public education following the drastic Corbett cuts’.
Click to access 2012_0011_0004_tstmny.pdf
I listened to Pedro Rivera’ s presentation (Franklin and Marshall link above) and he is a REAL, honest to G-d educator…..In this video, he addresses Standards and Testing at 47:42; Focus on ‘Ed as an Investment, not a Cost’ at 50:00 and ‘Privatization’ at 53:00….Very encouraging…! He’s a thumbs up on all the crucial BAT issues…
http://www.fandm.edu/common-hour/common-hour-archive/2013/09/05/leading-the-school-district-of-lancaster-what-s-at-stake-in-a-large-urban-district
With public education in its agonizing death throes in Pennsylvania, especially high poverty districts of York, Philadelphia, Reading and Chester Upland….Pedro Rivera brings our state a long needed relief from the privatization fanatics. He brings us a glimmer of hope that Governor-elect Tom Wolfe is sincerely determined to restore and strengthen public education . Oh, happy day!
Sorry. I left out an important link….Here’s the link to Superintendent Rivera’s presentation at Franklin and Marshall University…it includes a short video that highlights the SDO Lancaster..The brief Q&A begins at 41:00
http://www.fandm.edu/common-hour/common-hour-archive/2013/09/05/leading-the-school-district-of-lancaster-what-s-at-stake-in-a-large-urban-district
I work in the School District of Lancaster. Mr. Rivera definitely knows urban education. Last year, when the local newspaper reported on the poor performance of our schools on the PSSA, he and the head of the school board wrote a letter to the editor, stating their confidence in us. I had the opportunity to speak to him about this, thanking him. He expressed his support for the teaching staff in the district, as well as his belief that those scores were not the end of the world. Last fall, our district and several others began a law suit against the state due to inequitable funding. I think he understands the work of teaching, and hopefully will do well.