Kristen Amundson, who has led the National Association of State Boards of Education for the last five years, will step down from her position as president and CEO at the end of this year.
Amundson, a former kindergarten classroom volunteer, teacher, and Virginia state legislator, has led the organization amid dramatic education policy and governance changes in the states. She has positioned NASBE as state board members’ go-to source for training, advocacy, and learning how other states are addressing education policy dilemnas.
In 2015, NASBE worked with the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association to push for states to have more flexibility under the Every Student Succeeds Act to shape their states’ accountability systems.
“This is clearly the moment for states and state boards of education to step up and do all the things we promised we would do when we talked to people on [Capitol Hill] about the importance of passing ESSA,” Amundson said in an interview with Education Week last week.
But along with the flexibility that ESSA brings, legislatures in some states have questioned the role their state boards have over education policy in their states. Amundson has been one of the most vocal advocates of state boards’ role.
“They have become much more integral to the work of improving public education,” Amundson said. “State boards are truly the citizens’ voice of education.”
NASBE’s board announced that Robert Hull, the organization’s executive vice president will take over the organization in January of 2019.