Harrisburg, PA – Today, Secretary Dr. Khalid N. Mumin announced his resignation after nearly 2 years of service as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). Dr. Mumin, a lifelong educator, was confirmed by the Senate of Pennsylvania to serve as the Secretary of Education on June 26, 2023.
“Dr. Mumin has dedicated his life and career to ensuring Pennsylvania children have real opportunity through a quality education that sets them up for success in life,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “He has led the Pennsylvania Department of Education with passion and integrity. I am grateful for his service to Pennsylvania’s students and educators and wish him great success in his future endeavors.”
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Education,” said Sec. Mumin. “I began my career as a teacher in a classroom, and those early experiences watching students get excited about learning inspired me to become a principal, a superintendent, and ultimately Secretary of Education, so I could continue to fight for those students to get more support and more opportunities. I’m so grateful to Governor Shapiro for this opportunity to lead the Pennsylvania Department of Education and help build a bright future for Pennsylvania’s students and educators.”
Dr. Mumin will step down on December 6, 2024. Angela Fitterer, Executive Deputy Secretary for the Department of Education, will serve as Interim Acting Secretary.
During Dr. Mumin’s tenure, Pennsylvania has made historic investments in K-12 public education across two budgets, delivering $1.5 billion in new funding to schools and driving resources to the public schools that need it the most.
The Shapiro Administration has delivered universal free breakfast for 1.7 million Pennsylvania students, strengthened career and technical education programming by investing in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and apprenticeships, and invested in student mental health, repairs for safer and healthier schools, and free menstrual products for students in schools.
The Department has also made significant strides to strengthen the pipeline of qualified teachers ready to take up jobs in our classrooms. PDE has created a new CTE program in Education for high school students, awarded $1.5 million in grant funding to colleges and universities to bolster the Commonwealth’s next generation of special educators, eliminated the Basic Skills Assessment to become an educator, worked with the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) to create and expand the Student Teacher Support Program to provide a stipend to student teachers, allowed individuals authorized to work in the United States to earn certification and serve as educators in the Commonwealth, reduced the wait time for new teachers in Pennsylvania to receive their teaching certification by more than ten weeks, and more.
In his first budget address, Governor Shapiro called on state leaders to rethink higher education in the Commonwealth and charged Dr. Mumin to bring higher education leaders together to begin that conversation. Over the past year and a half, the Shapiro Administration brought together dozens of vested partners to have meaningful conversations about higher education in Pennsylvania, and to build on the Administration’s plan for higher education. The 2024-25 budget makes the first significant progress on higher education in 30 years. The budget establishes a new State Board of Higher Education, provides more support for public universities, and invests in making a college education more affordable for Pennsylvania students.
For over 25 years, Dr. Mumin has served in various capacities as a teacher, dean of students, principal and central administrator. Most recently, Dr. Mumin served as the Superintendent of Schools at Lower Merion School District. Prior to Lower Merion, Dr. Mumin was the Superintendent of Reading School District for seven years. Beginning as a Secondary English teacher in Scotland, Pennsylvania in 1997, Dr. Mumin rose through the leadership ranks of the education system in Pennsylvania.
Dr. Mumin earned a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Education in Teaching & Curriculum from Pennsylvania State University, a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary English Education from Shippensburg University, and an Associate of Arts in English from Northeastern Christian Junior College.
Angela Fitterer is a lifelong public servant who currently serves as the Executive Deputy Secretary of Education for the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Over her 25-year career in state government, Angela has served as Deputy Chief of Staff to former Governor Tom Wolf, Deputy Secretary in the Governor’s Office of Legislative Affairs, Legislative Director at PDE, and has held various positions in both the Pennsylvania Senate and House of Representatives focused on crafting and steering public policy. Throughout her career, she has used her passion for education and public policy to build coalitions to better serve the students of Pennsylvania.
# # #