Dartmouth education professor and teacher education program director Rebecca Holcombe will become Vermont's secretary of education in January. Gov. Peter Shumlin, D-Vt., appointed her to the position last Thursday.
Holcombe will work to close the "opportunity gap," she said, which she defined as the differential learning opportunities children have from an early age. To do so, she plans to focus on college preparatory programs and dual-enrollment programs, in which high school students take classes at community colleges.
"Many kids who enter from disadvantaged backgrounds enter school without many of the kinds of social skills and educational skills that really enable them to flourish," Holcombe said.
In her role, Holcombe hopes to encourage educators to focus on teaching analytical thinking, reacting to unpredictable situations and making sense of new information, all of which she said can help students effectively compete in an increasingly digital workplace.
Vermont's small, geographically isolated schools and varying school quality are the two biggest challenges she will face during her time in office, she said.
Holcombe will serve as Vermont's second secretary and will succeed Armando Vilaseca, who is serving an interim term until January 2014. The state board of education previously ran the agency of education, but the governor's office took over management of the agency last year.
Shumlin chose Holcombe over two other candidates recommended to him by the board of education.
"When I asked her about her philosophy, number one, it matched mine, but number two, it always came back to the kids," Shumlin said at a news conference on Thursday.
Before working at Dartmouth, Holcombe was director of academics in the Rivendell School District, which includes Fairlee, West Fairlee, Vershire in Vermont and Orford in New Hampshire.
Holcombe's passion for education stems from her grandmother's struggle to learn English as an immigrant in the American school system, she said. Her grandmother's fight to feed her family and ensure that they had an education continues to resonate.
"The lesson for me is, two generations later, that education is very powerful," she said. "It's the most important thing you can give a child because of its transformative power, and the power it gives people to live decent lives, and become productive citizens."
Education professor Sean Kang said Holcombe is passionate and committed.
"She brims with enthusiasm, with an indefatigable can-do attitude," he said.
Holcombe has found inspiration in Dartmouth's education department and her students, who will overcome obstacles to improve children's education, she said.
"Teaching is one of the few jobs I know where you can be absolutely brilliant, you can work incredibly hard and still fall on your face," Holcombe said.
Kang said he and his colleagues are sad to lose Holcombe.
"Our loss is Vermont's gain," he said.
