Jefferson City News

Missouri Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven has announced her decision to step down from her role, effective July 1, 2024. Vandeven has held the position for over seven years, serving from January 2015 to December 2017 and again from January 2019 to the present.

During a board meeting, State Board of Education President Charlie Shields confirmed receiving Vandeven's resignation and invited her to address the board. "Serving as Commissioner of Education for the great state of Missouri has been the honor and the opportunity of a lifetime," Vandeven stated.

Vandeven highlighted collaborative efforts with various stakeholders that have led to improvements in serving Missouri's nearly 900,000 public school students. She discussed initiatives such as addressing educator recruitment and retention challenges, ensuring school safety, increasing accountability and support for educational institutions, expanding career and technical education programs, streamlining early childhood education through the Office of Childhood, implementing statewide reading instruction strategies, and managing COVID-19 relief funding.

"Commissioner Vandeven has led the department through unprecedented events and challenging times," said Shields. "Missouri is better because of Margie's service to our state."

Governor Mike Parson also praised Vandeven's leadership: "Margie has been a true champion for public education... During COVID, Margie kept a level head and successfully led Missouri schools through a global pandemic."

Vandeven explained that she announced her resignation now to allow sufficient time for finding a successor. She pledged continued dedication in her remaining months in office.