Confirming Mike's post from last night, Kerri Briggs is the new state chief for Washington, DC.
Kerri and I worked together at the Department, and she's a great choice for this position. As Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, Kerri oversaw the work-horse office of the Department. In addition to working closely with state departments of education every day on accountability issues, Kerri's shop was also in charge of lots of important policy matters, like the NCLB regs, the differentiated accountability pilot, the growth models program and more. She also held various other positions in ED over the years, so she's very well-suited for this new job. I wish her well.
But given the importance of the Department's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, it's more than a little curious that the current administration still hasn't picked someone for this post. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, they certainly have been busy, and let's assume that they've identified someone and they're just waiting for the vetting process to play out.????
But if they haven't made a choice yet, here's my two cents: With NCLB/ESEA reauthorization looming, OESE's????broad scope of work and????daily contacts with state chiefs, Secretary Duncan's relative newness to the DC scene, and the general benefits associated with placing a recognized reformer in a senior, Senate-confirmed post, they ought to choose someone with DC standing and savvy, state policy experience, broad K-12 expertise, and a track record of pushing innovative solutions. Hmmm...