Biography of Tony Evers

State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Dr. Tony Evers was elected Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction in April 2009 with more than 57 percent of the popular vote. With over three decades of public education experience, Dr. Evers has dedicated his life to advancing public education in Wisconsin.

As Wisconsin's chief state school officer and leader of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Dr. Evers has relentlessly pursued his agenda, "Every Child a Graduate," to transform Wisconsin's education system to ensure all Wisconsin children graduate from high school prepared for future success. The state superintendent's agenda is built on Wisconsin's long standing commitment to public education by focusing on recruitment and retention of high quality educators, investing in innovation, advancing accountability, ensuring safe and respectful schools, and working toward fair and sustainable school funding.

In his first year alone, State Superintendent Evers has made lasting investments and reforms that will shape Wisconsin's educational landscape for years to come, including:

• Adopting new rigorous academic state standards in English language arts and mathematics that are aligned to college and workforce expectations;
• Reforming and modernizing student testing in Wisconsin by phasing out the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam and leading national efforts to build a new multi-state student assessment system;
• Implementing needed reforms in the state's largest school district -- the Milwaukee Public Schools -- to turn around struggling schools and improve student performance;
• Leading the passage of the most significant education reform legislation in over a decade, which provides the state superintendent with unprecedented state authority to directly intervene in chronically struggling schools and districts;
• Advancing accountability through new investments in data collection and research capacity, including an expansion of Wisconsin's longitudinal data system from K-12 into college;
• Investing in innovation that makes sense, including charter schools and changes to educator preparation and teacher licensing that provide more flexibility to school districts to hire highly qualified educators; and
• Authoring a sweeping new school finance reform plan, Fair Funding for Our Future, to secure fair, sustainable, and transparent funding for Wisconsin schools.

Dr. Evers began his career in 1976 as a classroom educator in Tomah and has served Wisconsin students, parents, and citizens as an education leader at every level -- principal, school district administrator, CESA administrator, and deputy state superintendent -- before his election to the state's highest educational post.

Born and raised in Plymouth, Wisconsin, Dr. Evers graduated from Plymouth High School and earned his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree in educational administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Evers is married to his high school sweetheart Kathy, an educator. They are parents of three adult children, all public school graduates, and have five grandchildren.

You can email State Superintendent Tony Evers at dpistatesuperintendent@dpi.wi.gov.

For questions about this information, contact Karen J. Nowakowski (608) 266-8687

Last updated on 2/18/2011 9:27:12 AM