RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – Pat Wright started as a math teacher at Sussex and Chesterfield County schools. Today Wright announced she would retire as Virginia’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, effective May 1.
Wright served as acting superintendent of public instruction under then Virginia Governor Mark Warner and was appointed state superintendent in 2008 by then Governor Tim Kaine. Governor Bob McDonnell reappointed Wright in 2010.
“I want to thank Superintendent Pat Wright for her exemplary work making our education system better for Virginia’s students, educators and economy,” Governor Terry McAuliffe said in a statement. “As a product of Virginia public schools, a former public school math teacher and a statewide education leader, Pat is living proof of the opportunity our schools can offer students and educators across the Commonwealth.”
The governor said his team will start working to find Virginia’s next Superintendent.
While on the job, Wright “oversaw a major revision of the commonwealth’s Standards of Learning (SOL) to emphasize college and career readiness, the introduction of more challenging and innovative SOL tests in all subjects, and the expanded use of technology in instruction and assessment,” Virginia Department of Education spokesman Charles Pyle noted in a press release announcing the retirement.
““In taking my leave, I do want to thank my co-workers at the department — both past and present — for the dedication they have shown to public education and improving the lives of young people,” Wright said in a statement. “Their efforts, along with those of countless teachers, principals and other educators, have made Virginia’s public school system the national model of excellence and innovation it is today.”
