Pa. education secretary Khalid Mumin is resigning

Pennsylvania’s education secretary, Khalid Mumin, is stepping down.

Mumin announced Friday that he would be leaving the education department in two weeks — telling colleagues in an email that “effective Dec. 7, I will transition into a new role outside of the Pennsylvania Department of Education.” He will be working for the Goldie Hawn Foundation, according to multiple sources. The foundation supplies MindUP, a social and emotional learning program, to schools.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said Friday that the department’s executive secretary, Angela Fitterer, would serve as interim acting secretary.

“Dr. Mumin has dedicated his life and career to ensuring Pennsylvania children have real opportunity through a quality education that sets them up for success in life,” Shapiro said in a statement. “He has led the Pennsylvania Department of Education with passion and integrity. I am grateful for his service to Pennsylvania’s students and educators and wish him great success in his future endeavors.”

A former superintendent of the Reading School District, Mumin served for a little more than a year as Lower Merion’s superintendent before Shapiro named him education secretary in January 2023.

Shapiro noted that during that time, Pennsylvania has “made historic investments in K-12 public education.” Following a February 2023 court ruling that found Pennsylvania’s school funding unconstitutional, the state this year adopted a new formula that drives more money toward the least adequately funded school districts.

The Democratic governor also cited investments in universal free breakfast, career and technical education, and student mental health, as well as efforts to rebuild the teacher pipeline.

Mumin, in the statement released by Shapiro’s office, said serving as education secretary was “the honor of a lifetime,” and that early experiences as a teacher had inspired him to climb the ranks “so I could continue to fight for those students to get more support and more opportunities.”

Mumin is a child of Philadelphia: He grew up in the city’s Logan section and attended Olney High, where, he has said, he was a struggling student who had to repeat ninth grade.

He said he was galvanized in part by former Philadelphia Superintendent Constance Clayton, who gave a speech to young athletes at a church breakfast in the city.

”She basically told us to get off the sidelines and do something,” Mumin said in 2023, when he spoke at Clayton’s funeral. He took that sentiment to heart and decided to become an educator.

Mumin’s wife, Latrice Mumin, was named superintendent of the Chester Upland School District — which is controlled by a court-appointed receiver — in September 2023.

In his email to colleagues, Mumin said Fitterer, a state government veteran who previously served as former Gov. Tom Wolf’s deputy chief of staff, would serve until Shapiro selected his successor.

“It has been my distinct honor and privilege to serve alongside … you over the past two years to tirelessly champion Pennsylvania’s schools, learners, educators, libraries, postsecondary institutions, preschools, and communities,” he said.

Staff writer Gillian McGoldrick contributed to this article.