Larry Lee of Alabama writes in bewilderment about the state board of education’s decision to choose a new state superintendent who was never a teacher or an administrator. Michael Sentance is a lawyer; he was an educational consultant and did some work in Massachusetts about 25 years ago. He just beat out three veteran superintendents from Alabama districts. Larry wonders why. The state board seems to act on the premise that their decisions must not include the views of anyone who has ever taught or worked in the state’s public schools.
He tried to make sense of the vote but couldn’t do it.
Larry Lee started a petition calling on the state board to rescind its decision. If you live in Alabama and think the state superintendent should be an educator, preferably one who knows the state, please consider signing.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This happened in Ohio as well. Our superintendent doesn’t possess a superintendent, teacher or administrator license….never taught or ran a building.
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NYC has also had several chancellors with zero educational background.
Money talks
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Experience working with children in the public schools might get in the way of what these people were actually hired to do, thus the consistent pattern among those bankrolling so-called reform to hire mercenaries to run districts.
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Experience working with children might also mean that they’d have to deal with that irritating thing called empathy.
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Utah just tried that. It was a disaster. The guy continually denigrated teachers and public education and students. People were furious. A bunch of people at the state office of education resigned or retired. Then, suddenly, this guy resigned after only 18 months. Utah did learn its lesson though. The new superintendent has been a teacher and administrator.
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Same thing happened in Texas when the governor appointed Mike Morath head of the Texas Education Agency. Morath has no real experience in education. Once a member of the Dallas ISD school board but never really taught. see Diane’s log: https://dianeravitch.net/2015/12/15/texas-governor-appoints-businessman-as-state-commissioner-texans-react-with-concern/
It’s the wave of no future–no one needs experience in education to teach, administrate, or be in charge of a state’s education department.
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