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As the Associate Commissioner for School Improvement and Educator
Initiatives with the Texas Education Agency, Dr. Smisko primarily
coordinated efforts to assist struggling schools. She designed a
statewide system of school improvement support for district and campuses
not meeting student performance goals under either Texas or federal
accountability systems. Dr. Smisko was also responsible for educator
certification programs, including development of educator effectiveness
metrics for use in accreditation of educator preparation programs, and
to support student achievement gains in the educator appraisal system.
Dr. Smisko previously worked at TEA from 1977 to 2003 in a variety of
roles. From 1996 until 2003, she served as the Associate Commissioner
for Curriculum, Assessment and Technology. In that job, she oversaw the
creation of both the curriculum standards called the Texas Essential
Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and
Skills (TAKS), which is the student testing program. She also oversaw
the state review, purchase and delivery of billions of dollars of
textbooks and other instructional material. Before returning to the TEA,
she served for four years as the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum
and Instruction with the Austin Independent School District. She is the
former Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Schools for the Texas A&M
University System and served as supervisor of student teachers for
Boston College. Dr. Smisko began her education career as a teacher in
the Boston Public Schools. She holds elementary, special education,
mid-management and superintendent certifications in Texas. Dr. Smisko
earned a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of
Texas, a Master of Education from Boston College and a Bachelor of
Science degree from Pennsylvania State University. |