The New “Sheriff” in Town
On July 5, the new Superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) took office in Madison.
Dr. Jill Underly won the 2021 April election for the four-year term as the state’s top education official. She comes to Madison after six years as the Superintendent of the Pecatonica School District, which has a total enrollment of fewer than students. Of that, about three percent are minority and 36.7 percent are economically disadvantaged. The district has no private schools located within its boundaries.
Before that, Underly served for one year as a school principal in the Pecatonica district. She moved into that position after working for five years at the DPI in educator licensing and as a Title I consultant.
Underly first came to Wisconsin in 2005 as a UW graduate student, hailing from the state of Indiana where she was raised. She graduated from Indiana University (BA) and Purdue University (MA). She taught high school for six years in that state after graduation there.
The bulk of her time in Wisconsin has been as a UW graduate student, a DPI employee, and then principal and superintendent of a sparsely populated, rural district.
As a result of that limited background, her knowledge and experience with private schools and the Wisconsin Choice programs, and the diverse students they serve, is not extensive. On the campaign trail, she was a fierce opponent of parental choice programs. However, her own children attended a Madison Catholic school for their early years.
WCRIS has met regularly for decades with the State Superintendents to increase their knowledge of private schools and to champion equity for our students.
WCRIS and DPI have shared interests that accrue to the benefit of the common good. For example, our teachers hold licenses administered by the DPI. Also, the vast majority of our students attend K-8 and will go on to attend public schools.
For those reasons and many more, WCRIS looks forward to continuing that productive and positive relationship with Dr. Underly. Stay tuned to Current Events for updates.
