20 Facts About Glenda Ritz

Glenda Ritz was born on 1954 and is the former Superintendent of Public Instruction for Indiana.

Glenda Ritz was elected November 6,2012, defeating incumbent Superintendent Tony Bennett in an upset election, and she took office with a state government dominated by Republicans who opposed her agenda and could block it.

On June 4,2015, Ritz declared she would run for governor in 2016.

Glenda Ritz graduated with the class of '72 at Jefferson High School.

Glenda Ritz has been married to Gary Ritz of Pendleton, Indiana, since 1977, and he is a partner at Paragus, which operates in real estate development, construction and property management.

Glenda Ritz won teacher of the year awards at two different schools, and in 2012 she was one of 155 nationally board certified teachers in the state of Indiana.

Glenda Ritz served as a member of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, a board member of the Indiana State Teachers Association and president of the Washington Township local ISTA union, and president of the Washington Township Education Association for 15 years.

Originally a registered Republican, Glenda Ritz switched party registration in 2008 and ran as the Democratic nominee against first-term incumbent Tony Bennett to become the next Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2012.

Glenda Ritz was seen as an underdog with Bennett enjoying a substantial fundraising advantage and support of many prominent Republican officials.

Glenda Ritz called the election a "referendum" on Bennett's reforms during his first term in office, which included grading schools A-F, closing failed schools, merit pay, employing standardized test results as a form of teacher evaluation, using pass-fail standardized reading tests, supporting Common Core, developing charter schools, and giving out vouchers that could be used at private schools.

Glenda Ritz was endorsed by Democratic gubernatorial candidate John R Gregg.

Bennett won the counties around Marion County, but Glenda Ritz took the larger Marion and Madison counties by a landslide.

Glenda Ritz won the election in an upset, capturing 52 percent of the vote.

Glenda Ritz was defeated in the 2016 general election by Jennifer McCormick.

Pence and Glenda Ritz were able to agree on the new standards.

In 2014, Glenda Ritz opposed the Republicans push to create a fast track for teacher certification saying that the standards for licensing should be kept rigorous.

At the time, Glenda Ritz refused to speculate whether she would remain chair but expressed that the electorate gave her a mandate to do that job.

Glenda Ritz launched her gubernatorial race on June 4,2015, following the announcements of John Gregg and Karen Tallian.

At her announcement, Glenda Ritz said that education and the economy would be the centerpiece of her campaign platform.

Glenda Ritz was expected to get the support of the ISTA, which is the teachers' union.