Rebecca Holcombe
Vermont Secretary of Education
In office
January 1, 2014 – April 1, 2018
GovernorPeter Shumlin
Phil Scott
Preceded byArmando Vilaseca
Succeeded byDaniel French
Personal details
Born1966 (age 57–58)
Political partyDemocratic
EducationBrown University (BA)
Simmons University (MBA)
Harvard University (PhD)

Rebecca Holcombe (born 1966) is an American educator and politician who served as the Vermont Secretary of Education from 2014 to 2018.[1] In 2022, Holcombe was elected to one of the two seats in the Windsor-Orange-2 district in the Vermont House of Representatives.[2]

On July 16, 2019, Holcombe announced her intention to run for Governor of Vermont in the 2020 election.[1] In the Democratic primary, Holcombe placed second after incumbent lieutenant governor David Zuckerman.

Early life and career

The daughter of United Nations employees, Holcombe grew up in Fiji, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Sudan. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University, Master of Business Administration from Simmons University, and Doctorate in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She received certification as a classroom teacher through the Upper Valley Educators Institute, and completed coursework for her public school administrator certification at Lyndon State College.[3]

Holcombe worked as a teacher, principal, and school district leader in the Upper Valley.[4] She was the director of Dartmouth's Teacher Education program (2011–2014).[5][6]

Vermont Secretary of Education (2013–2018)

Appointment and confirmation

Governor Peter Shumlin (D) appointed Holcombe Secretary of Education in the fall of 2013, replacing interim commissioner Armando Vilaseca. Shumlin cited education philosophy similarities as the reason he appointed Holcombe, while Holcombe cited policy similarities in their shared support of an extended school year, support for early childhood education, and support for Personalized Learning Plans.[7]

Tenure under Shumlin

Holcombe’s tenure coincided with a period of significant legislative change and new demands on Vermont’s Education System. In 2013, the Vermont General Assembly passed legislation relating to flexible pathways,[8] universal subsidies for Pre-K,[9] and approved new Education Quality Standards.[10]

Holcombe was obligated by the Federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 none of Vermont’s schools were meeting federal standards, despite being ranked 4th globally in science, and 7th in math compared to 49 states and 47 countries.[11] Holcombe used this opportunity to demonstrate the failure of the NCLB Act.[12] Her response received national attention, leading education activist and historian Diane Ravitch to call her a “hero” of American Education.[13]

Reappointment by Scott

After Phil Scott (R) was sworn in as governor, he chose Holcombe as his secretary of education and reappointed her to the position. Holcombe was Scott's first Cabinet appointment upon taking office.[14] In 2015, the Vermont General Assembly passed Act 46, an Act designed to unify very small districts to reduce administrative overhead, create more sustainable school districts, and improve student equity and outcomes. Holcombe was given responsibility for implementing this act.[15] By the time Holcombe stepped down, the Agency of Education had supported the voluntary consolidation of 157 school districts into 39 unified school districts.[16][17] Holcombe and the Vermont Agency of Education received national recognition for their innovative work on School Quality Reviews and equity through her extensive collaboration with school districts and over 2,000 members of the public.[18][19] Holcombe also led the development of policy supporting transgender students [20] and spoke against bigotry in the community.[21]

Resignation

On March 27, 2018, Scott announced Holcombe's resignation from her role as Vermont Secretary of Education, effective April 1, 2018.[22] Holcombe did not give a specific reason for her resignation. Phil Scott cited "personal reasons" for Holcombe's resignation, not a difference in policy, while Krista Huling, chair of the State Board of Education cited "differences in opinion about major issues."[23] Several school boards were reportedly concerned with how Holcombe's resignation would affect the timeline of the implementation of Act 46 and the subsequent school mergers.[14][17] After Holcombe's resignation, some school boards reportedly asked the state to slow down work on the implementation of Act 46.[17] Deputy Secretary Heather Bouchey was appointed as interim Education Secretary on April 3, 2018.[24] While searching for a new Education Secretary, Scott said that school experience was not a strict criteria for his new Education Secretary.[25] After stepping down, Holcombe wrote several pieces critical of Phil Scott's education policy, suggesting policy reasons for her resignation.[26][27][28]

2020 gubernatorial campaign

On June 14, VTDigger reported that Holcombe was exploring a run for governor. Holcombe was quoted as saying, “I do believe the state needs a new direction, so I am giving serious consideration to a run”.[29] On July 16, 2019, Holcombe announced her intention to run for Governor of Vermont in the 2020 election.[1] Holcombe explained she was running because she, "joined Gov. Scott’s administration because I took him at his word that he was serious about working to make Vermont more affordable and more equitable [...] I resigned when I realized that was just talk.”[30] The other two candidates in the Democratic Party primary were Progressive/Democrat Lt. Governor David Zuckerman and Bennington attorney Patrick Winburn.[31] Due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, she restricted herself to virtual campaigning.[32]

Electoral history

Democratic primary results[33]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic David Zuckerman 48,150 44.03%
Democratic Rebecca Holcombe 37,599 34.38%
Democratic Patrick Winburn 7,662 7.01%
Democratic Ralph Corbo 1,288 1.18%
Total votes 109,365 100.0%

Personal life

Holcombe lives in Norwich, Vermont.[30]

Holcombe served on the board of trustees for the Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital.[34]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Heintz, Paul. "Former Ed Secretary Rebecca Holcombe to Run for Governor of Vermont". Seven Days. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Rebecca Holcombe, Balletpedia |". Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Former Ed Secretary Rebecca Holcombe to Run for Governor of Vermont | Rebecca For Vermont". Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  4. ↑ Heintz, Paul (July 19, 2019). "Former Ed Secretary Rebecca Holcombe to Run for Governor of Vermont". Da Capo Publishing. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Q&A with Vermont gubernatorial candidate Rebecca Holcombe". The Dartmouth. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Scott re-appoints Holcombe as education secretary". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  7. ↑ Sep 19, 2013September 23, Alicia Freese; Footnotes, 2013 | 5 Reader (September 19, 2013). "Vermont-N.H. educator Rebecca Holcombe named Secretary of Education". VTDigger. Retrieved March 27, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ "No. 77. An act relating to encouraging flexible pathways to secondary school completion" (PDF). Vermont Legislature. State of Vermont. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  9. ↑ "No. 166. An act relating to providing access to publicly funded prekindergarten education" (PDF). Vermont State Legislature. State of Vermont. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Vermont State Board of Education Manual of Rules and Practices" (PDF). Vermont State Board of Education. State of Vermont. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  11. ↑ King, Meredith (November 4, 2013). "Vermont Eighth Graders Rank High Globally in Math, Science". The University of Vermont Continuing and Distance Education. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  12. ↑ Valdmanis, Richard (September 9, 2013). "Vermont to Washington: Your education policy is broken". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  13. ↑ Ravich, Diane (August 7, 2014). "Rebecca Holcombe, a Hero of American Education". Diane Ravitch's blog. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  14. 1 2 Carson, Derek; Banner, Bennington. "Secretary of Education Rebecca Holcombe to step down April 1". The Brattleboro Reformer. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  15. ↑ Danitz Pache, Tiffany (November 10, 2015). "Decoding Act 46: What it means, how it works". Vermont Digger. VT Digger. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  16. ↑ "ACT 46: STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION'S FINAL REPORT OF DECISIONS AND ORDER". Vermont Agency of Education. State of Vermont. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  17. 1 2 3 "Secretary of Education resigns amid Act 46 consolidations". The Seattle Times. March 31, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  18. ↑ Rothman, Robert. "SCHOOL QUALITY REVIEWS: PROMOTING ACCOUNTABILITY FOR DEEPER LEARNING" (PDF). Jobs For the Future. Students at the Center. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  19. ↑ Klein, Alyson (September 27, 2016). "School Inspections Offer a Diagnostic Look at Quality". Editorial Projects in Education. Education Week. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Vermont Schools Implement 'Best Practices' for Transgender Equity".
  21. ↑ Holcombe, Rebecca. "Memorandum to Superintendents, Principals, Independent School Headmasters, All Educators" (PDF). Vermont Agency of Education. State of Vermont. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  22. ↑ Danitz Pache, Tiffany (March 27, 2018). "UPDATED: Holcombe abruptly resigns as education secretary". Vermont Digger. Vermont Digger. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  23. ↑ Freese, Alicia (April 18, 2018). "Principled Stand? Why Vermont's Former Ed Chief Split With Scott". Seven Days. Seven Days. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  24. ↑ WCAX (April 3, 2018). "Scott names interim Vt. education secretary". www.wcax.com. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Scott: School experience not a must for education secretary". The Seattle Times. April 2, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  26. ↑ Holcombe, Rebecca (May 29, 2018). "Rebecca Holcombe: Scott's veto is rebuke to voters". Vermont Digger. VT Digger. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  27. ↑ Holcombe, Rebecca (October 25, 2018). "My Turn: Vermont needs new education playbook". Burlington Free Press. Burlington Free Press. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  28. ↑ Holcombe, Rebecca (January 17, 2019). "Rebecca Holcombe: Is Scott using funny numbers to discredit public schools?". Brattleboro Reformer. Brattleboro Reformer. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  29. ↑ Duffort, Lola; Jun 14, 2019June 15, Colin Meyn; Footnotes, 2019 | 11 Reader (June 14, 2019). "Former education secretary Holcombe exploring a run for governor in 2020". VTDigger. Retrieved March 28, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  30. 1 2 Duffort, Lola (July 16, 2019). "Holcombe-announces-run-for-governor". Valley News. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  31. ↑ Cutler, Calvin (March 4, 2020). "Bennington lawyer joins Vermont gubernatorial race". www.wcax.com. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  32. ↑ Hanson, Alex (April 18, 2020). "Running for governor from isolation, Norwich's Holcombe hopes victory begins at home". Valley News. Valley News. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  33. ↑ "OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE CANVASSING COMMITTEE UNITED STATES AND VERMONT STATEWIDE OFFICES" (PDF). Vermont Official Election Results. Vermont Secretary of State. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  34. ↑ "APD Appoints Four New Trustees to the Hospital Board". Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
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