Deb Delisle will have to postpone the full-time enjoyment of her North Myrtle Beach home, now that she has been nominated by President Obama as assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education at the U.S. Department of Education.
“It’s nice being a block from the beach, but I’m excited about the opportunity,” said Delisle, 58, who was nominated Monday along with 16 others for key positions in the Obama administration. Her nomination now goes to the Senate Education Committee and then to the full Senate for confirmation, but Delisle doesn’t know how long the process will take.
“It may take two months, but I’ll be doing paperwork for the next two weeks,” she said. “It’s overwhelming; there’s no stone left unturned.”
Delisle and her husband, Jim Delisle, are both educators who have had their home in Cherry Grove for almost 25 years, but their jobs haven’t allowed them to be there together for a lengthy chunk of time.
Jim Delisle, a retired distinguished professor of education from Kent State University, moved south about three years ago, while Deb Delisle stayed in Ohio to finish a term as state superintendent of public instruction for the Ohio Department of Education. She moved down in July and has been working as an educational consultant, but if confirmed, the two will be headed to Washington, D.C., for an undetermined amount of time.
“The duration could be until December, or it can continue on through [President Obama’s] next term if he wins,” Deb Delisle said.
Jim Delisle said his wife will be great in the job because she “walks the walk” and says what she means.
“People who know her professionally realize that Deb has never lost the focus on individual kids and families,” said Jim Delisle, who took time from his job in 1998 and 2006 to work with students at Horry County’s Daisy Elementary School and Loris middle and elementary schools.
“She wants what’s basically right for every kid, whether they come from a very nice house or from a trailer.”
Deb Delisle began her career as an elementary school teacher in Connecticut, but moved to Ohio, where she held a variety of educational leadership positions.
If confirmed, she will oversee what is the largest area of the federal education department – kindergarten through 12th-grade education and Title I.
“I never want to forget where I’ve come from,” Deb Delisle said, adding that she has done a lot of her work in urban centers. “I’m very sensitive to achievement-gap issues, and I want to make sure that a zip code doesn’t predetermine a child’s education.”
Deb Delisle said she hasn’t worked with Horry County Schools, but she is going to meet with district Superintendent Cindy Elsberry. She said there is a lot of innovation going on in the school district and that it is important for people in the community to know what is going on in the schools.
“My biggest aha moment was seeing the really good work going on in schools,” she said. “An investment in education is an investment in the community and in the state.”
Deb Delisle said she’s never been one to think about her career in terms of what is the next step, but that this move presents a welcome challenge.
As Jim Delisle said, “When the White House calls, it’s pretty cool.”
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