Commissioner's Corner

Commissioner Infante-Green has built her career around expanding educational opportunity for children.

Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green has served as the Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education since April 29, 2019. During her first year as Commissioner, she instituted several major efforts to improve K-12 education across the state, most notably leading a comprehensive review of the Providence Public School District. She is now leading the state intervention in the city schools to overcome decades of neglect and poor performance.

As a first-generation American, Commissioner Infante-Green sees her first day as a teacher as a life-changing moment, when she realized her personal calling. Having herself learned English in school, and as the parent of a child with special needs, she has fought to replace a “deficit” view with an “enrichment” view for students who need more. Indeed, having seen shortfalls in her own child’s special education, she founded the first autism bilingual inclusion special education program in the nation.

Since leaving the classroom, Commissioner Infante-Green has served in a variety of roles focused on improving instruction for all students, particularly for students learning English. Before assuming her current role, she served as the Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Instructional Support P-12. She began work in New York State in 2013. Her portfolio included overseeing the Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages; the Data Systems and Educational Technology Office; the Office of Assessment, Standards, and Curriculum; the Office of Special Education; and the Office of District and School Review.

In her previous role as the Associate Commissioner for Bilingual Education and World Languages, she spearheaded the release of the nationally-recognized Blueprint for English Language Learners’ Success, a statewide framework that establishes clear expectations for administrators, policymakers, and practitioners to prepare English Language Learners (ELLs) for academic success. In addition, while she was leading this work, the Board of Regents adopted Commissioner’s Regulations Part 154, the foundation for progressive statewide policies governing ELL education.

Prior to her position with the New York State Education Department, she was the Chief Executive Officer of the New York City Department of Education’s Office of English Language Learners in the Division of Students with Disabilities and ELLs, setting policies and implementing programs that have an impact on more than 150,000 ELLs each year. She also served the Department in a variety of instructional leadership positions, including Deputy Director in the Office of ELLs and Region 10 ELL Regional Instructional Specialist in professional development, instruction, and compliance. Under her leadership, more than 100 bilingual programs were opened in New York City.

Commissioner Infante-Green began her career as a bilingual classroom teacher in the South Bronx where she was a Teach For America corps member before moving to Community School District 6 in the heart of Washington Heights in 1995. As a Dual Language Program teacher, she worked to maintain and expand students’ native language and culture. As a Dual Language Program project director, she worked to create a curriculum in two languages that met the specialized learning needs of the Dominican community. She also served as Director of the Early Childhood Center located at The George Washington High School Campus, where she was also Assistant Principal and Bilingual Coordinator.

Commissioner Infante-Green has also served as an adjunct professor, and she also holds an M.A. in Education and in School Administration & Supervision from Mercy College. She currently serves on Stanford University’s Understanding Language Committee. Understanding Language aims to heighten educator awareness of the critical role that language plays in the State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards. She is a member of the first cohort of the Chiefs for Change Future Chiefs program. She is married with a son and daughter.