Dr. Patricia I. Wright ('75)
Chief of Virginia's public schools
JMU's program of teacher preparation has been widely recognized as
Virginia's best, producing more teachers each year than any other
university in the commonwealth, and, more importantly, producing highly
qualified teachers. It's not surprising that one of Madison's own,
Patricia Wright, is Virginia's twenty-third superintendent of public
instruction. She embarked on her career in education as a high school
math teacher and went on to serve for two decades in the Virginia
Department of Education. She was instrumental in creating the state's
Standards of Learning accountability system. "There's not much in this
agency I have not done," Wright says. In appointing Dr. Wright as chief
of the commonwealth's public schools, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine noted her
longstanding commitment to raising the achievement of all students and
preparing them for success in life beyond school. This world changer
sees education as the key to preparing students for citizenship in a
global economy.
"Success in the 21st century economy will belong to those who can compete with peers all over the world. Our challenge as educators is to prepare young people for this new reality while instilling the shared values that distinguish us as Americans."
