Kentucky Commissioner of Education Dr. Stephen Pruitt will be at Logan County Schools' Opening Day Ceremony for the new school year on Monday, July 31, beginning at 8 a.m., Superintendent Paul Mullins has announced.
In September 2015, the Kentucky Board of Education unanimously voted to hire Stephen L. Pruitt as Kentucky's sixth commissioner of education.
Commissioner Pruitt came to Kentucky with an extensive background in education at the local, state and national levels, and he currently serves on the board of directors for the national Council for Chief State School? Officers.
Pruitt started his education career as a high school chemistry teacher in Fayetteville and Tyrone, Ga. He later served as the science and mathematics program manager and director of academic standards with the Georgia Department of Education. Subsequently, he was named associate state superintendent for assessment and accountability and ultimately chief of staff for the Georgia Department of Education.
Before coming to Kentucky, Pruitt served as senior vice president for Achieve, Inc., a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit education reform organization based in Washington, D.C. During his tenure with Achieve, he coordinated the development of the Next Generation Science Standards.
Pruitt also served as president of the Council of State Science Supervisors and a member of the writing team for the College Board Standards for College Success (Science). In addition, he served on the National Academies of Science Committee on Conceptual Framework for New Science Education Standards which developed the Framework for K-12 Science Education – a foundational document for the Next Generation Science Standards.
A native of Georgia, Commissioner Pruitt holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry from North Georgia College and State University, a master's degree in science education from the University of West Georgia and a Doctorate of Philosophy in chemistry education from Auburn University.
Pruitt and his wife are the parents of two children. Their son attends the University of Colorado-Boulder; their daughter is a Kentucky high school graduate and attends the University of Kentucky.??