Interesting Woman!
Rhode Island’s new education commissioner comes from similar post in Washington, D.C.01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, April 2, 2009
By Jennifer D. Jordan
Journal Staff Writer
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PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island’s new education commissioner,
who has summited Mount Kilimanjaro, now faces a steeper climb — significantly improving achievement gains for all students in the state, especially low-income and minority students stuck in low-performing urban schools.
Deborah A. Gist, 42, was the top choice, from an initial field of 35 candidates, of the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education and will be the first woman to lead the state Department of Education. She resigned Wednesday from a comparable post in Washington, D.C., to succeed Peter McWalters, who will step down June 30 after 17½ years.The Regents intend to formally vote at 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon in a ceremony at the State House. Governor Carcieri, in accordance with state law, will also cast a vote for her appointment.“She is a high-energy, passionate person who impressed us all,” said Robert G. Flanders Jr., chairman of the Board of Regents. “She combines both practical experience and a top-notch education.” Flanders said Gist was well-prepared for her private interviews with the search committee and the Regents and was knowledgeable about state laws and the powers of the education commissioner. “She’s coming from an urban background in D.C. and that’s a critical component of raising the bar here in Rhode Island.”
The Regents were also impressed with her work to improve teacher quality and make it easier for highly skilled professionals to enter the teaching ranks through alternative certification, Flanders said.
Gist says her eight years as a classroom teacher were “hands-down the most important experience I have with me every day as I serve in a leadership role.” She began her career as an elementary school teacher, twice earning Teacher of the Year awards — the first in Fort Worth, Texas, and the second in Hillsborough County, Fla.
Gist grew up in Oklahoma, a granddaughter of teachers. “I decided when I was 12 I would be a teacher,” she said by telephone Tuesday. “I just knew. But I never even thought about becoming a principal. I thought I would stay in the classroom forever.”
She earned a master’s degree in elementary education in 1997 and launched a family literacy program in Hillsborough County. Eventually, she became an administrator and after earning a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard, she began working as Washington, D.C.’s, “state education officer.” The position was elevated to “state superintendent,” in 2007, a job analogous to Rhode Island’s education commissioner. After her 2007 appointment, she called McWalters for advice and guidance. Both were members of the Council of Chief State School Officers.
“He’s one of the commissioners I have known the best,” she said. “I know this transition will be seamless.” McWalters said Gist’s experience in urban education and her political acumen will be assets when she comes to Rhode Island.
“Trying to move these big systems is partly about leadership, partly about the quality of the systems and partly about public policy decisions,” McWalters said. “It’s also political. You have to work with the governor, the legislature, the department itself, local school committees and labor. You need to be able to work these systems and I think she brings a freshness and experience to that process.”
Gist is married to Jock Friedly, a former investigative reporter who runs Internet-based companies that allow citizens to download information about government spending. Friedly will commute between their home in Washington and Rhode Island, Gist said.
The couple own a dog and a cat, both rescue animals. They enjoy taking on ambitious projects in their spare time — such as climbing Kilimanjaro together in 2006, a goal she said was on her “life list.”
“In addition to being very driven in my professional life, I am pretty driven in my personal life,” she said. Gist has flown in an F-18 fighter jet with the Blue Angels, and run the New York City Marathon.
Perhaps her most amusing project involved 112 kisses.
“I just thought I’d like to break a world record,” she said. Leafing through the Guinness Book of World Records, Gist dismissed several feats as “a little bit much.” But one caught her eye.
“There were 62 kisses recorded in a minute and I thought, ‘That’s not too hard,’ ” she said. “So we organized it and got friends of friends to participate and it was fun, it was great.” In the end, 112 of the 118 consecutive kisses she received on the cheek this past Valentine’s Day broke the previous record.
In 2007, Gist was accepted into a prestigious national educational leadership program run by the Los Angeles-based Broad Center, where she excelled, said Tim Quinn, managing director of the program.
Out of 500 applicants, Gist was one of a dozen selected for the 10-month program that brings together future leaders over long weekends of classes and seminars. Participants are trained to become superintendents in school districts that have large numbers of low-income and minority students. Providence Schools Supt. Tom Brady is another graduate of the Broad program.
“She distinguished herself among those in the program as someone who is extremely knowledgeable and understands issues and education reform from a state and national perspective,” Quinn said. “I think she will be very clear about vision and mission and she will definitely be results-oriented. And she has off-the-charts interpersonal skills. She will bring people along with her.”
Rhode Island was lucky to get Gist, said Regent Angus Davis, who co-chaired the search.
“We reached out to national leaders when we began our search, and asked everyone we could think of who they would recommend,” said Davis, who had invited Gist to apply. “And everyone we talked to said, ‘Deb Gist.’ Everyone said she was one of the two or three best people in the country.”Deborah A. Gist
•Age: 42
•Marital status: Married, to Jock Friedly
•Administrative experience
2007 – present: District of Colombia’s first “State Superintendent of Education,” analogous to Rhode Island’s Education Commissioner
2004-2007: State Education Officer for DC’s education office
2001-2004:
Ran community service organization Serve DC, Executive Office of the Mayor
•Academic credentials
2000: Master in Public Administration, Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Kennedy Fellow and Littauer Fellow for academic excellence and community service.
1997: Master’s in elementary education/curriculum, University of South Florida
1988: Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, University of Oklahoma
•Classroom Experience
1994-1996: Taught second grade in Hillsborough County School District, Tampa, Fla.; won Teacher of the Year award.
1988-1994: Taught first, second and third grade in Ft. Worth Independent School District; won Teacher of the Year award
1994-1996: Taught second grade in Hillsborough County School District, Tampa, Fla.; won Teacher of the Year award.
