Two candidates for Florida’s education commissioner are former public schoolteachers who worked their way through the ranks to become education leaders. The third is an attorney with experience in education policy and research, who worked for various government and nonprofit agencies devoted to education reform.

All three met with the Florida Board of Education on Tuesday to answer questions and explain why they are the best choice to oversee Florida’s educational system.

Board members expect to name a new commissioner Wednesday morning. Here are highlights from the interviews and applications:

Charles Hokanson Jr. is a Harvard-trained attorney who served as counsel to the chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce. He wrote legislation with a focus on special education, early childhood programs and civil rights law, among other areas.

Hokanson

He later served as chief of staff and counsel to the U.S. Department of Education and as deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Hokanson, who heads Hokanson Consulting Group in Arlington, Va., is also a former president of the Alliance for School Choice.

Hokanson told the board that among his first priorities as commissioner would be to hire a strong chief of staff. That way, Hokanson could travel across the state to reach out to stakeholders, including teachers, parents and superintendents.

He said he would also take time to get to know department personnel, discover strengths and weaknesses in the system, and build trust.

“I would be a commissioner who would start walking the halls,’’ Hokanson said.

He downplayed his lack of school leadership experience, saying he comes from a family of educators. “I’m not a teacher, but I love working in education reform because of the ability to change students’ lives,” Hokanson said.

What does he see for the future in classrooms? “We are going to need to continually address online opportunities,’’ Hokanson said, including blended learning.

In his application, Hokanson highlights his background in strategic planning, along with expertise in federal and state law and a suite of education policies. Having been inside the “belly of the beast,’’ Hokanson said he is poised to continue reforms that have made Florida a national leader. (more…)