Among a slew of appointments, the U.S. Department of Education announced that Chris Rush has been tapped to be the director of educational technology in the Office of the Secretary.
Rush will be tasked with reinvigorating the office, as it had operated with minimal staff under the Trump administration. The Department of Education said that Rush joins the department “with a critical focus on reimagining the role of technology and innovation in teaching and learning, as we move towards a post-pandemic world.”
Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, Rush co-founded New Classrooms Innovation Partners, a nonprofit focused on new instructional models.
Before his work in the nonprofit space, Rush served in local government. He did a one-year stint with the Office of Accountability at the NYC Department of Education. On his LinkedIn page, Rush said he was brought into the Office of Accountability to “salvage and co-lead the troubled design and development” of New York City’s Achievement Reporting and Innovation System (ARIS). ARIS, which cost New York City more than $95 million, serves more than 1.1 million students and 90,000 educators across more than 1,400 schools. Rush also has classroom teaching experience, having taught earth sciences for the Upper Dublin (Pa.) School District at Robbins Park Environmental Center.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in management science and information systems from Penn State and a Master of Science in information technology from American Intercontinental University.
The Biden-Harris administration has already earned praise over Rush’s appointment from the Aurora Institute, a nonprofit intended to drive the transformation of education systems.
“At a time when technological innovation is uniquely positioned to shape the context for next-generation learning, we are filled with delight and optimism over the appointment of Chris Rush as the director of educational technology in the U.S. Department of Education Office of the Secretary,” said Susan Patrick, president and CEO of the Aurora Institute. “His role will help shape the Federal government’s work to support educators and cement the field’s work on advancing educational equity.”
