Youngkin names next Virginia schools superintendent, assistant superintendent

Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin has named two women with track records of opposing critical race theory to top posts at the commonwealth’s Department of Education.

Youngkin has named Jillian Balow as the next superintendent of public instruction. Elizabeth Schultz is his pick to be the next assistant superintendent.



“Jillian and Elizabeth are going to be crucial in helping Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera restore excellence in education. Under my direction, they will get to work on ensuring our schools remain safely open, ban critical race theory and political agendas from our classrooms, and rebuild our crumbling schools,” Youngkin said in a statement.

Balow recently stepped down after serving seven years as Wyoming’s elected state superintendent of public instruction to join Youngkin’s team.

Schultz is a former Fairfax School Board member who also served as a senior fellow for Parents Defending Education — a national organization whose stated goal is to “reclaim our schools from activists imposing harmful agendas.”

Youngkin will be sworn into office Saturday in Richmond.

Will Vitka

William Vitka is a Digital Writer/Editor for WTOP.com. He's been in the news industry for over a decade. Before joining WTOP, he worked for CBS News, Stuff Magazine, The New York Post and wrote a variety of books—about a dozen of them, with more to come.

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