Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett (born 1960) is an American educator and former government official. A member of the Republican Party, Bennett was elected Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2008. He lost reelection to Democrat Glenda Ritz in the 2012 election. Bennett was later appointed Florida Commissioner of Education in 2012, a position he held until 2013. Early life Tony Bennett was born in Jeffersonville, Indiana in 1960, and grew up in the neighboring town of Clarksville. As a child, Bennett attended St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School before attending and graduating from Our Lady of Providence Junior-Senior High School in his teenage years. Though Bennett later became a Republican, he grew up in a Democratic household, as his father was a blue-collar Democrat while his mother was a Kennedy Democrat from New England. Education and career Bennett received his Doctor of Education and Indiana Superintendent's License from Spalding University in 2005; his Certification in Secondary Administration and Supervision from Indiana University Southeast in 1994; his Master of Science in Secondary Education from Indiana University Southeast in 1988; and his Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education from Indiana University Southeast in 1984. Bennett served as a teacher, coach and administrator. 2001–2007: New Albany, Indiana – Floyd County Consolidated Schools – assistant superintendent for administration and operations Greater Clark County Schools - superintendent 1999–2001: NAFCCS – principal of Charles Allen Prosser School of Technology 1997–1999: Scott County School District 2 – principal of Scottsburg High School 1993–1997: SCSD2 – assistant principal of SHS/ basketball coach 1992–1993: SCSD2 – assistant to the superintendent/ basketball coach 1991–1992: SCSD2 – biology teacher/basketball coach 1990–1991: Mohawk Local Schools (Sycamore, Ohio) – biology teacher/basketball coach 1983–1990: Providence High School – biology/science teacher (basketball coach 1987–1990)