New K-12 state education commissioner begins tenure with mixed support

Massachusetts' new K-12 education commissioner steps into the role Tuesday, taking the reins of an agency that is in charge of functions like educator licensure, state learning standards and adult education programs for English learners.

Pedro Martinez, the former head of Chicago Public Schools, now steers the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education after receiving a majority vote from the board in late April. He was chosen out of three finalists and among several dozen applicants for the position.

The state has not had a permanent education commissioner since Jeff Riley stepped down in March 2024 and interim commissioner Russell Johnston departed earlier this year. Massachusetts Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler has been performing the duties of both commissioner and state's top education executive since February.

“Mr. Martinez will bring a new perspective and a renewed commitment to addressing Massachusetts’ opportunity gaps,” Tutwiler said in a written statement in May, shortly after Martinez's appointment became official.

Tutwiler added that he looks forward to working with Martinez on such issues as the Statewide K-12 Graduation Council, which is tasked with developing new uniform graduation standards following the removal of MCAS as a standard for high schoolers.

Martinez will serve as the state's 25th education commissioner, overseeing 450 employees. He was born in Mexico and will become the first Latino to serve in this leadership position. In a statement in May, he said he was "thrilled to be coming to Massachusetts, the birthplace of public education in this country" and that he "look[s] forward to meeting the state’s students, educators, administrators and families.”

Martinez  was not immediately available for an interview.

As education commissioner, Martinez said he will prioritize literacy, recruiting and retaining teachers and bilingual education, State House News Service reported last month, following his remarks at a Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education event in Boston.

“My first priority is to understand what’s working and where we need to do more to support our students,” Martinez said at the event, according to a MBAE news release. “The best way to do that is by showing up — listening to students, visiting classrooms, and seeing firsthand how Massachusetts’ vision for education is taking shape.”

Martinez's incoming tenure has been greeted with a mix of excitement and skepticism among education leaders in Massachusetts. Members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, which voted 9-2 in favor of hiring Martinez, expressed mostly positive sentiments.

"His commitment to students in poverty and multilingual learners is extremely important as we try to close opportunity gaps," BESE member Ericka Fisher said during a vote in favor of Martinez in April. "If we really want to see equity, if we really want to close opportunity gaps, we need a leader who is passionate."

Massachusetts teachers unions, however, have expressed reservations. Shortly after the April vote, Max Page, the president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, called Martinez a “divisive” figure due to his history of tense contract negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union. Martinez was fired by the Chicago school board in December after defying the mayor and CTU leadership earlier that year by passing a school budget that did not include funding for new contract costs.

But Page, in a recent interview, said he will have an open mind about Martinez as he begins his leadership role in Massachusetts.

"We will come with open ears and open hands and with the hope that the commissioner will share our values about how to advance public education in Massachusetts," he said. "We think that there's a possibility for real collaboration and we'll look forward to that."

Groups that represent school district leaders said they’re also going to reserve judgement on the appointment until Martinez has been on the job longer. Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, said he has high hopes for Martinez but knows that the state's K-12 education commissioners have had a long history of sparring with his group.

"Like any state agency, the people who are regulated are not really enamored of the agency that regulates them," he said of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. "I'm looking for somebody who will make significant changes in the culture and in the curriculum. And will listen to people who take a different point of view."

Koocher said he personally feels hopeful about Martinez. He sat on the selection committee that sent BESE members a small list of finalists for the commissioner job, which included Lily Laux, a former Texas deputy commissioner, and Jack Elsey, an education nonprofit administrator. Martinez was also in Koocher's top three.