ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 2, 1996 TAG: 9605020069
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
State Superintendent of Public Instruction William Bosher Jr., who led a move toward tougher academic standards, resigned Wednesday to become Chesterfield County school superintendent.
Bosher will begin his new duties July 1, when Thomas Fulghum retires as head of the suburban Richmond school district.
Before being appointed by Republican Gov. George Allen in January 1994, Bosher spent 13 years as superintendent of schools in Henrico County, another Richmond suburb. He is the third high-ranking Allen administration official to resign in recent months.
Allen credited Bosher with helping shift debate ``from a simple hue and cry for more money to a well-focused plan for accountability that links our increasing investment with measurable high academic standards.''
The state Board of Education approved tougher academic standards in English, math, science, history and social studies last year. The board is developing student tests based on the new standards.
Bosher said he does not view moving from the state position back to a local job as a step backward.
``It's a significant responsibility in its own right,'' he said of the new job. ``The state offers a different perspective and a different responsibility no more or no less important than this one.''
He said he considers the more rigorous academic standards, improved classroom technology and more help for children at risk of failure as the most significant accomplishments of his tenure.
LENGTH: Short : 38 linesby CNB