Murphy Announces Nomination of Kevin Dehmer as New Commissioner of the Department of Education
Governor Phil Murphy today announced his intention to nominate Kevin Dehmer to serve as the next Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education (DOE). He will succeed Acting Commissioner Dr. Angelica Allen-McMillan, who announced her retirement after three years in the position.
“Ensuring that New Jersey’s schools are ready to meet the ever-changing and evolving needs of our communities is crucial. Nobody is better prepared to meet this charge than Kevin, who has spent more than 15 years at the New Jersey Department of Education, including two stints as Interim Commissioner. His wealth of experience in education policy and proven commitment to improving educational outcomes for all New Jersey students will make him an indispensable asset,” said Governor Murphy. “A resounding thank you to Angelica for her leadership during incredibly challenging times for our schools. I wish her all the best in her retirement.”
“It has been a great privilege to lead the New Jersey Department of Education after a long career spent in service to New Jersey’s schools,” said Acting DOE Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillan. “I wish the Murphy Administration continued success in advancing our shared goals for maintaining New Jersey’s place as home to the best public education system in the country.”
“It is an incredible honor to be selected to serve as the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education. Thank you, Governor Murphy, for the opportunity to continue advancing our shared mission of uplifting our best-in-the-nation public schools to ensure all students have the opportunity to succeed,” said incoming Acting DOE Commissioner Kevin Dehmer. “I look forward to reprising my role as commissioner in a more permanent capacity and getting to work on behalf of our students, educators, and our school communities.”
Since 2022, Dehmer has served as Executive Director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, where he led a group of researchers focused on strategies that enhance workers’ skills and employability through education and training programs.
Prior to this, he worked at the New Jersey Department of Education where he held several leadership roles including Assistant Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer. Over more than 15 years at the Department, he directed numerous offices and served on several state councils, advisory groups, and commissions. Dehmer also briefly served as Interim Commissioner in 2018 and 2020.
But does he know teaching and learning? Has he worked in P-12?
Get the Wokeness out of the public schools! *I won’t hold my breath, it’s a Murphy appointment! He comes from Rutgers so it will probably increase!
Yet another COMMUNIST to destroy the minds of our kids!
Be smart!!!
Homeschooling your kids.
Find a CHRISTIAN homeschooling association!!!
New Jersey was given almost 3 billion dollars from the American Rescue Plan in early spring of 2021. This is a sizable amount of money and considered a very big deal. The money was to tackle the enormous learning loss resulting from school closures due to the pandemic.
Guiding principles and essential strategies were given to the State Board of Education as a detailed roadmap. The hard work was already done.
One of the immediate strategies was aggressive tutoring. A longer term strategy was training and certifying teachers in the science of reading. To date, 46 other states have implemented programs in the science of reading. New Jersey’s approach to aggressive tutoring was a call for an “all hands on deck” program using volunteer tutors, which failed miserably.
Nearly 3 years have passed and legislative bills, like S4061 are pending to be introduced or reintroduced in the Senate and this years State of the State address, given by Governor Murphy, (touched) on the strategies.
To the casual listener, it gives pause that it has taken 3 years for any meaningful legislative action. But, for the student that has struggled for the last 4 years, it is unconscionable. Unlike money that gains interest, time is lost. And if it is your child that has been adversely affected, you are appalled and angered.
We have heard for many years, that New Jersey is the envy of the nation, when it comes to education. Instead of “First in the Nation” we may be considered the “Slowpoke” of the nation, if we do not start moving with a greater sense of urgency. As an outsider to the process , it is a bit questionable as to why NJ has only spent 62% of its nearly 3 billion dollars. That ranks us #40 not #1.
It took one day to close New Jersey schools due to the pandemic. I am not debating on the merits of that decision. Yet, it has been well over a thousand days for any meaningful legislation other than immediately lowering our standards for the appearance of excellence.
We are better than a slow process and I hope our new Commissioner of Education takes this to heart in his new, very important role.