Tessa Michaelson Schmidt - WI's New Assistant State Superintendent-Designee!!!

 

It is with real excitement and pleasure that we at YSS congratulate Tessa Michaelson Schmidt, longtime Youth and Inclusive Services Consultant for DPI's Division of Libraries and Technology, on her appointment as Assistant State Superintendent-designee for DPI's Division of Libraries and Technology.  In July, Tessa will be assuming the position held by Kurt Kiefer, a fierce advocate for libraries and technology, who will be retiring.

It is a wonderful honor for Tessa who has been an amazing leader in her work as State Consultant for Youth and Inclusive Services for librarians in our state. And it a wonderful moment for youth librarians in Wisconsin to have one of our own  - a mighty leader - step up to this prestigious position. Congratulations Tessa! We are proud of you.

According to the official DPI press release of Tuesday June 8: State Superintendent-elect Jill Underly announced today her final appointments to her Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) leadership team. 

“This group embodies a deep well of expertise and a fierce commitment to education,” said Dr. Underly. “They bring with them a vast diversity of personal and professional experience at a critical time as our communities, schools, kids and families continue to face the lingering challenges from the pandemic. This team is built to listen, collaborate with stakeholders, and get to work to build a public education system where every child gets what they need to succeed, every day.” 

The press release goes on to introduce Tessa as well as other assistant superintendent-designee colleagues. Here is Tessa's information included in the press release:

Tessa Michaelson Schmidt has been named Assistant State Superintendent-designate for the Division for Libraries and Technology. She has been a public library consultant with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for nearly ten years, specializing in library youth services and inclusive services for all library users. Throughout her career, Tessa has had one foot in education and the other in libraries. Prior to DPI, she was a third-grade teacher and K-8 school library media specialist, as well as a director and librarian at a public library, and a librarian for the UW’s Cooperative Children’s Book Center. While at DPI, Tessa led Growing Wisconsin Readers, an early literacy initiative based in public libraries. She also developed the Inclusive Services Assessment and Guide, a nationally recognized inventory and reflection tool for libraries to evaluate accessibility, equity, and barriers to services. 

Tessa earned her undergraduate and masters degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is married and has two children, one of whom recently finished public school four-year-old kindergarten. Her husband is an Army Reservist currently on active duty. Tessa and her family are outdoor enthusiasts working to visit all of the Wisconsin State Parks.