Back in February, I had the Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction on the podcast as the first elected official. Today, we are fortunate enough to have Joy Hofmeister, the Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction join us on Anchored in Education.
Joy has been instrumental in helping lead Oklahoma through several positive changes in the education environment. In today’s episode, we talk about standards, assessment, how to best support educators, and of course, remote learning.
On January 12, 2015, Joy Hofmeister of Tulsa was sworn in as Oklahoma’s 14th State Superintendent of Public Instruction. She was re-elected on November 6, 2018, and sworn in for a second four-year term. Hofmeister has championed a host of education reforms, including a repeal of the federal education law known as No Child Left Behind, arguing against its “one-size-fits-all” approach to public education.
Hofmeister is a former public school teacher and small business owner. As an appointee of Gov. Mary Fallin, she served on the Oklahoma State Board of Education from January 2012 through April 2013. In the private sector, Hofmeister spent 15 years as a business owner of Kumon Math & Reading Centers, which utilize parent partnerships to ensure high academic achievement for children. At Kumon, she personally worked with more than 4,000 students to improve their educational outcomes.
Hofmeister serves on dozens of commissions and state boards, chairs the State Board of Education and State Board of Career and Technology Education, is a regent for the Regional University System of Oklahoma (RUSO) and serves the Board of Equalization, Commission of the Land Office, Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, and Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness/Smart Start Oklahoma, among others.
The mother of four graduates of Oklahoma’s public school system, Hofmeister maintains a residence in Tulsa with her husband of 31 years, the Honorable Gerald L. Hofmeister.