Now a month on the job, the new education commissioner for Massachusetts was recently in the Pioneer Valley. Still getting acclimated, Pedro Martinez shared some of his immediate priorities with WAMC.
The former CEO of Chicago Public Schools Pedro Martinez spent some time in rural western Mass. Friday, greeting students, families and staff about midway through summer vacation.
Joining state Secretary of Education Dr. Patrick Tutwiler and other officials, Martinez made stops in Greenfield and Orange – touting the statewide “Summer Eats” program and free meals it provides for thousands of children while school’s out.
"We're one of less than ten states that provide statewide support for nutrition - one of less than ten states, everybody," he told those gathered at Mahar Regional School in Orange Friday, Aug. 1. "Many states talk about it. I've worked in four different states, including Massachusetts - my other states ... they talk about it, but they don't do anything about it. This state does something about it."
Martinez joined the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) earlier this year after a nationwide search to fill the spot Tutwiler covered in the interim.
Adjusting to life in the commonwealth, Martinez tells WAMC that getting around the state and introducing himself is key.
"I'm getting to meet superintendents, I'm starting to visit sites - the school year is about to start, so I'm excited for our families, I'm excited for our staff," he said. "I can't wait to just get out and see classrooms…”
Martinez is taking on the role after finishing out the last school year at Chicago Public Schools. He was fired without cause in late-2024, following a schism with the city’s mayor and teachers’ union.
Having worked in Texas and Nevada prior to Chicago, Martinez’s record of closing achievement gaps, reaching out to students living in poverty and his commitment to multilingual learners earned high marks with the state’s board of education as they voted to recommend him in April.
Though the state’s education system ranks highly, the commonwealth has been grappling with its own achievement gaps, exacerbated by the pandemic. Martinez says that gap is on his radar, and he wants to continue taking advantage of the state’s ongoing investments in education.
"We have to work together with our districts to make sure that our children are thriving. We do have large achievement gaps in our state - that's something that I want to call out," he said. "While at the same time, we're seeing an amazing experience for a large number of our students - we have one of the healthiest Higher Ed ecosystems in the country. We have over 70 percent of our graduates that are going into higher ed, and I want to really work with with Higher Ed, I want to work with our districts. We're also investing a lot in career tech education, so I want to work with our employers around credentials to make sure our children have good jobs. So, for me, I just see a window of opportunity where we can have a bold vision for all of our students...”
Martinez is joining the education department as the state continues to see federal funding either threatened or pulled back entirely – moves challenged by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and other AGs. Some of the frozen or clawed back funding has been the subject of legal challenges and has already been released in some cases, like $107 million in grant funding for various districts.
While the federal picture is being monitored by DESE, Martinez says an immediate focus is getting in contact with districts and learning their needs.
"Number one is to build trust - I want to build relationships, I want to make sure that I'm working side-by-side, that our agency is working side-by-side with our school districts, with all of our regional schools," he said. "Let's talk about where our children are at. Let's talk about what we're doing really well - let's celebrate that, right? Let's really call out our amazing teachers, school leaders, districts that are doing that. At the same time, let's call out where there's a lot of need - whether there's a need for resources, whether there's a need for better practices, a better experience for our students. That's what I'm really anxious to do with our districts and with our regional schools."
