Chris Reykdal named president of Council of Chief State School Officers board

Washington Superintendent Chris Reykdal has been named president of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) Board of Directors for the 2025-26 term. The announcement followed board elections held during the organization’s Annual Policy Forum in Houston, Texas.

Connecticut Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker was selected as president-elect, while Alabama Superintendent Eric Mackey will transition to past president. Rhode Island Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green and Illinois Superintendent Tony Sanders were reelected to new terms on the board. West Virginia Superintendent Michele Blatt was elected as a new member. Other continuing members include Indiana Secretary Katie Jenner, Wisconsin Superintendent Jill Underly, and Georgia Superintendent Richard Woods.

“I’m honored to be selected by my peers to serve as the president of CCSSO,” said Reykdal. “This is a critical moment for public education. Young people are navigating a world that is changing rapidly, including the large-scale impacts that are coming from artificial intelligence. To best serve our students and our nation, education leaders will have to double down on learning content and strategies that focus on quantitative reasoning, data literacy and much more. While America’s literacy rates rank among the world’s best, our skills in mathematics are average.”

Reykdal added: “Our schools must reenvision the way we deliver instruction, the learning pathways we provide and what it looks like when students graduate from our schools fully prepared for their next step in today’s world. Across the country, state education leaders are working together in bipartisan ways to focus on these and other key issues facing our students. We simply must move beyond overly simplistic ways of evaluating student learning and instead shift our thinking to the multiple ways students demonstrate that they are on track to achieve success in the pathway they choose. I look forward to a year of innovation with national unity behind the belief that states are best equipped to lead teaching, student learning and evaluation and overall transformation.”

The newly elected and reelected board members will assume their roles at the end of the Annual Policy Forum on November 14.

CCSSO Chief Executive Officer Carissa Moffat Miller expressed appreciation for outgoing Board President Eric Mackey’s service: “I am grateful to Alabama Superintendent Eric Mackey for his leadership as Board president for the past year and his pivotal role in helping move our work forward,” she said. “I look forward to continuing our progress with Superintendent Chris Reykdal, a strong advocate for students in Washington and for advancing academic outcomes for all students. I congratulate him and Board members elected to new terms.”

The CCSSO Board oversees business affairs of this nationwide nonprofit organization comprised of public officials who lead elementary and secondary education departments across U.S. states, federal districts, military activities, tribal entities, and several U.S.-affiliated jurisdictions. The board includes nine members: president, president-elect, past president, and six directors chosen by membership.

The full list of 2025-26 CCSSO Board members is:

- President: Superintendent Chris Reykdal (Washington)

- President-Elect: Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker (Connecticut)

- Past President: Superintendent Eric Mackey (Alabama)

- Board Member: Superintendent Michele Blatt (West Virginia)

- Board Member: Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green (Rhode Island)

- Board Member: Secretary Katie Jenner (Indiana)

- Board Member: Superintendent Tony Sanders (Illinois)

- Board Member: Superintendent Jill Underly (Wisconsin)

- Board Member: Superintendent Richard Woods (Georgia)

CCSSO provides leadership, advocacy, technical assistance on major educational issues nationwide; seeks consensus among its members; represents their views before government bodies; and serves public education leaders throughout its member jurisdictions.