Arkansas Department of Education Commissioner Johnny Key has appointed T. Mark Gotcher as a new deputy commissioner, the department said Friday.
Gotcher, who currently serves as the Atkins School District superintendent, will join the agency July 1, state Department of Education spokesman Kimberly Friedman said in a news release.
Gotcher replaces Mike Hernandez, who was hired as the new superintendent for the Hot Springs School District, and Tony Wood, who is leaving the agency to lead the new Jacksonville-North Pulaski School District, the release states.
Gotcher will work with other department staff on education issues affecting the state, including finance and legislation, Friedman said.
The new deputy commissioner has lead the Atkins district since 2013, the department said. He served from 2007-2013 as the Crawford Elementary Principal in Russellville, as Russellville Junior High principal from 2005-2007 and as the Russellville Middle School assistant principal from 2001-2005.
Gotcher started his education career in 1988 as the districtwide music teacher for Hector schools, Friedman said. He moved on to Dardanelle High School in 1991 as the choir director for grades six through 12 before becoming the Center Valley Elementary School music teacher in Russellvile in 1993.
Gotcher earned a bachelor's degree in music education, a master's degree in educational leadership and an educator specialist degree from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, the department said. He earned a doctoral degree in educational leadership from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, in 2015.
