Former Indian River teacher Susan Bunting stepping down as education secretary

Former Indian River teacher Susan Bunting stepping down as education secretary
Photo by Element5 Digital / Unsplash

Longtime Sussex County teacher Susan Bunting, who has served as Delaware's secretary of education since 2017, will be stepping down in December, Gov. John Carney announced in a press release on Wednesday.

Carney has not yet named a replacement. Bunting has not said what is next for her, but plans to stay involved in educator training, according to the release.

"Susan has spent a lifetime dedicated to public education in Delaware, and the people of our state have been lucky to have her at the helm," Carney said.

Photo via Delaware.gov

Bunting has been at that helm during a particularly tumultuous time in education, as the state figured out how to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Public schools largely went remote in the early days of the virus' spread, with the accompanying challenges of getting students access to the technology they needed. Getting students back in the buildings has come with its own set of challenges, as some parents in the state have strongly protested mask requirements.

Bunting joined Indian River in 1977 as a middle school language arts teacher, after several years teaching in Maryland.

She was named Indian River’s Teacher of the Year in 1985. She eventually became superintendent of the district in 2006 and was named Delaware's 2012 Superintendent of the Year.

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