Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman has appointed Columbus Education Association President Rhonda Johnson as the city's education director.
Johnson - a teacher in Columbus City Schools since 1978 and CEA president since 2004 - will formally assume the role in June. Coleman says Johnson will be the city's fulltime point person on education policy and investments. She will also have a formal, recognized role at Columbus school board meetings. Johnson also served on the mayor's education commission, which recommended improvements for Columbus schools. Johnson says she appreciates the opportunity and looks forward to implementing the commission's guidelines, which include more attention on student achievement and policy changes in how the school board governs.