Jennifer McCormick is an American politician and educator who is the former
Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th st ...
. Formerly a
Republican, she upset the Democratic
incumbent
The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-el ...
Glenda Ritz in the
2016 election
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and served one term. Switching to the
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in 2021, she is running for
governor of Indiana
The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the State of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state governmen ...
in
2024
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
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.
Biography
McCormick began her career as a special education teacher. She later worked as a middle school language arts teacher from 1996 to 2004. Then she became principal of Yorktown Elementary School in 2004. In 2007, she became the assistant superintendent of
Yorktown Community schools and served in that position until she was selected as superintendent in 2010. She serves on the boards for
Ivy Tech East Central Region, the Indiana Association of School Business Officials, and Delaware County Youth Salutes. In 2014, she was invited to the National Connected Superintendents Summit at the White House in Washington D.C. In June 2021, McCormick announced that she had officially switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party.
State Superintendent
Election
McCormick was chosen by the
Indiana Republican Party as the nominee for
the Superintendent of Public Instruction on June 11, 2016. At her convention speech, McCormick said Indiana must continue to reject national Common Core learning standards. She said "days of reckless testing must end" and that she knows what it takes to recruit the best teachers. McCormick and Ritz had one debate on October 17, 2016, in
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...
. McCormick defeated Ritz for the position of Superintendent on November 8, 2016.
Indiana 2016 Superintendent of Public Instruction Election
Tenure

McCormick ran as a Republican candidate for Indiana superintendent of public instruction. She defeated Dawn Wooten and won the Republican nomination at the state party convention on June 11. McCormick defeated incumbent Glenda Ritz in the Indiana superintendent of schools election. The theme of her campaign was to remove politics from education and that the superintendent should again work in tandem with the
Department of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
. It also stated including support for improving the current state assessment program and providing teachers with quality tools to enhance instruction. A primary responsibility for the superintendent will be to implement the
Every Student Succeeds Act
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is a US law passed in December 2015 that governs the United States Kâ12 public education policy. The law replaced its predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and modified but did not eliminate pr ...
, a federal education law that replaces the
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based educati ...
signed into law by
President
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George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
in 2002.
2024 gubernatorial race
In May 2023, McCormick announced that she would enter the 2024 race for Indiana Governor as a Democrat.
Personal life
McCormick is married to Trent, a public school science teacher and wrestling coach. They have one son, Cael, who attended
The United States Military Academy.
Awards
*Outstanding Contributor to Education Award from the Muncie Delaware County Chamber of Commerce
*2013: Person of the Year, Yorktown Chamber of Commerce
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCormick, Jennifer
Ball State University alumni
Educators from Indiana
American women educators
Indiana Republicans
Indiana State University alumni
Living people
Muncie
Politicians from Indianapolis
Purdue University alumni
Superintendents of Public Instruction of Indiana
Women in Indiana politics
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century American women
21st-century American politicians
Indiana Democrats