Interim Commissioner Susan McCauley appointed longtime Alaska educator Betty Walters as interim deputy commissioner Wednesday.
Walters replaces Les Morse, who retired, according to a press release by the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development.
As interim deputy commissioner, Walters supervises department activities with six directors and a staff of 215. The department includes K-12 oversight and support; the state archives, museums and library; the state arts council; and Mt. Edgecumbe High School.
“I am thrilled to bring on board someone with Betty’s significant leadership experience and expertise,” McCauley said. “She will provide outstanding service to the department, the state and public education during this interim period.”
Walters has been active in education since 1964. She was as a principal in Alaska for four years, an assistant superintendent in the Kodiak Island Borough School District for five years and the superintendent there for eleven years.
Since retirement, Walters served as a mentor to new educators in the Alaska Statewide Mentor Project, a joint effort between the Department of Education & Early Development and the University of Alaska.
Walter’s has an elementary education bachelor’s degree from Marywood University, a reading education master’s from University of West Florida and an English education post-graduate certificate from New York University.
Walters also served on the Alaska State Standards Steering Committee and the Recruitment, Retention, and Training Committee of the Alaska education department.
