Peter McWalters, Commissioner

Peter McWalters has served as the Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education since 1992. His priorities have been to establish an education system that is responsible for student results from the classroom to the State House. He has supported the development of high student performance standards, assessments that measure what students know and can do, school improvement procedures that inform school and district decision-makers and curriculum, and professional development that improves classroom practices. He has advocated for increased access to quality early childhood education, interagency collaboration in support of families of children in school, and the development of an education finance system that recognizes state responsibilities to meet individual student needs while being fair to taxpayers.

The commissioner serves in the governor's cabinet, as well as on numerous boards and professional organizations, including the Rhode Island Children's Cabinet and the Human Resources Investment Council. He is co-chair of the National Task Force on the Arts in Education, and is a past president of the Council of Chief State School Officers.

Prior to becoming Rhode Island's commissioner, McWalters served over twenty years in a variety of educational leadership and teaching positions, including superintendent of schools in the City School District of Rochester, NY. McWalters received both an M.P.A. and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (C.A.G.S.) in School Administration from the State University of New York at Brockport, and a B.A. in history and philosophy from Boston College. He served in the Peace Corps in the Philippines.