Assistant Secretary Deb Delisle speaks in Elko, Nevada during ED's back-to-school bus tour. Official Department of Education photo by Joshua Hoover.
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education Deborah Delisle, says that after thirty-seven years in education, her “heart lies with kids everyday,” and is grounded in her role as a teacher.
Delisle joined the Department of Education in April after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate. As assistant secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), she directs, coordinates and recommends policy for programs designed to assist state and local education agencies with improving the achievement of elementary and secondary school students.
Assistant Secretary Delisle’s career has been dedicated to students across the country. Starting her elementary and middle school teaching career in Connecticut, she later moved to Ohio where she served as a gifted education specialist, curriculum director, elementary principal, associate superintendent and superintendent.
Delisle served as state superintendent of Ohio from 2008-2011, where she was instrumental in leading a successful application for ED’s Race to the Top Program.
With all of her experience, Delisle’s roots as a teacher remain a strong foundation for the decisions she makes each day. “When I think about the work we’re doing, and behind every piece of data,” she says, “there is the heart and soul of a child who wants someone to care about them.”
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Teachers@ED profiles some of the hundreds of current and former educators who work at the U.S. Department of Education, and how their experiences in schools inform their work for the agency.
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