Ivey appoints new secretary for early childhood education department

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Gov. Kay Ivey has chosen a new leader for the state’s Department of Early Childhood Education. Dr. Barbara Cooper will become the DECE’s new secretary, effective immediately.

Cooper, who has more than 30 years of experience, has been with the department since 2018. She was previously DECE’s Director of the Office of School Readiness and the Birth to Grade 12 Advisor for the Alabama Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation.

She was also appointed by the Alabama State Board of Education to serve as the Chief Administrative Officer during the state’s intervention of the Montgomery Public Schools system. In that role, she worked to improve leadership and governance at MPS.

“Dr. Barbara Cooper has spent her professional career dedicated to helping students achieve their greatest potential. She and I share the same goal, and that is to make Alabama a better place, which begins with our youngest citizens,” Gov. Ivey said.

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