Mary Cathryn Ricker is the new Commissioner of Education in Minnesota. This is great news. She is a teacher and a union activist.
Governor-elect Tim Walz selected Ricker, who previously served as President of the St. Paul teachers’ union.
Walz is a former teacher. “Having taught in classrooms from St. Cloud to St. Paul, Mary Cathryn understands the shared challenges and diverse needs of schools across our state,” Walz said in a prepared statement. “This teacher-governor is proud to put a teacher-commissioner at the Department of Education.”
Congratulations to Mary Cathryn Ricker!
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Agreed. Here’s a link to & part of an article that appears in today’s St Paul Pioneer Press.
Tim Walz taps former St. Paul teachers union leader to head Department of Education
By PIONEER PRESS | news@pioneerpress.com
PUBLISHED: December 20, 2018 at 12:42 pm | UPDATED: December 20, 2018 at 7:43 pm
Minnesota Gov.-elect Tim Walz named the former head of the St. Paul teachers union to head the state’s Department of Education.
In a second round of leadership announcements this week, Walz named several future commissioners with east metro ties, including Mary Cathryn Ricker to become the state’s education commissioner.
Ricker served as president of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers union during the recession and helped it earn recognition for its efforts to boost student outcomes.
“Having taught in classrooms from St. Cloud to St. Paul, Mary Cathryn understands the shared challenges and diverse needs of schools across our state,” Walz said in a prepared statement. “This teacher-governor is proud to put a teacher-commissioner at the Department of Education.”
Ricker called it an honor to work with an education-focused administration. Walz is a former teacher himself.
“I am excited to work together with students, families, teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, and school staff to build on Minnesota’s past innovations and reshape them to be truly equitable and intentional in meeting the needs of all Minnesota students,” she said.
RICKER’S PAST LAUDED
Ricker headed the teachers union in St. Paul between 2005 and 2014, when she became the executive vice president of the American Federation of Teachers. The national group has about 1.6 million members.
Under her leadership, the St. Paul union was noted for working with the district to launch a program in which educators mentor and help evaluate less experienced colleagues. The union also broadened its contract bargaining agenda to include issues such as class size and testing and worked aggressively to enlist parent support for the agreement.
“Having worked closely with Mary Cathryn Ricker, I think that she has a deep passion for working with students and families,” said Joe Nathan, the director of the Center for School Change. “While St. Paul Federation of Teachers president, she was willing to work with, listen to and share with chartered public school educators, as well as district educators. She has been open to new potentially more effective approaches in public education. I think the Walz/Flanagan administration made a good choice, and look forward to working with her.”
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Really wonderful news, especially if she is sharply focussed on public schools rather than charters and collective bargaining rights.
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This. Is. Fabulous. Mary Cathryn is the real deal–the heart of a creative, conscientious teacher and smart as a whip. I once drove around St. Paul with Mary Cathryn, in her Mom-mobile, discussing public education, our mutual passion. She’s wonderful.
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Wow! Can’t remember the last time this has happened. Go get em!
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So refreshing given the usual spate of Broadies.
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