Breaking: Massachusetts Early Education and Care Commissioner Tom Weber Plans to Depart In June
It was was just posted on Mass Gov that Early Education and Care Commissioner Tom Weber plans to depart at the end of the fiscal year in June.
First off, I want to thank Tom Weber for his service to the Commonwealth and the early education and care field. Tom Weber took over the Commissioner post at a turbulent time during a mini scandal which caused the previous commissioner to resign. Tom Weber took over during the Patrick administration and continued the job during the Baker Administration. The fact that he worked for a Democratic and Republican boss speaks to the acumen he had for the job as he led EEC with a steady hand. While of course things are not perfect in EEC, Commissioner Weber led the department to a myriad of improvements. He helped get the department access to grant money which led to many opportunities for early educators to receive professional development and take college classes at cheaper rates. He helped get increased funding for other initiatives as well including getting more children into quality preschool for free, providing grants for programs to improve their environments, and more.
One of Tom Weber’s strong suits is he actually got of the office and met with people in the field. I first met Commissioner Weber at event six years ago at Wheelock College ( before BU took it over) Since then, I’ve probably seen him at a dozen or so early education events. From what I have heard from others my experience is the norm. Commissioner Weber is known for going out to event? meeting people in the field, taking questions from the crowd, and talking to people on a one basis to get feedback and share ideas.
The commonwealth is greater for his service and his successor has big shoes to fill.
