Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley plans to step down on March 15 after six years leading Massachusetts’ K-12 school system, according to a letter he sent to the state’s education board on Thursday.
Riley plans to recommend Deputy Commissioner Russell Johnston to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to serve as the acting commissioner, and Riley will stay on as an advisor through the end of the school year, according to a press release from DESE.
The commissioner wrote in his resignation letter that it was “the right time for me to pass the baton.”
“On a personal level, my role as a son to aging parents requires more of my time, and my commitment to provide that support is not compatible with the demands of the Commissioner’s job. More broadly, as I reflected on major new initiatives such as the Literacy Launch, I realized the Commonwealth needs and deserves a Commissioner who can commit on an all-in basis for at least another five years, and I simply cannot do that,” he said.
