Dive Brief:

• Dianna Wentzell, Connecticut's next education commissioner, has teaching credentials, something the previous ed chief lacked. 
• "I made it clear that we were looking from day one for someone who has been a teacher," Malloy said at a press conference. 
• Wentzell, who taught for over a decade, has been serving as the  interim commissioner since January. 

Dive Insight:

According to the CT Mirror,  Stefan Pryor, the previous ed chief was "a lawyer with a background in economic development whose educational experience involved opening a charter school." This did not bode well with the teachers union, which is why Malloy was sure to stress Wentzell's role as an educator.

The state's Education Committee seems to agree. Last month it unanimously approved a bill that requires the ed commissioner to have been a teacher for a minimum of five years and an administrator for a minimum of three.