Govenor Kevin Stitt Announces New State Superintendent Lindel Fields

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt announced today the appointment of Lindel Fields of Tulsa as the new State Superintendent to complete the term of former State Superintendent Ryan Walters, who officially stepped down on Sept. 30. 

Fields has more than 30 years of experience in education. He served as the superintendent for Tri-County Tech, a public sector educational institution, from 2009 to 2021. 

Fields has a B.S. in Trade and Industrial Teacher Education from Oklahoma State University and an M.A. in Education Leadership from Southern Nazarene University. 

Fields is also the CEO of “Your Culture Coach,” an organization whose vision is to “elevate leaders and transform cultures to recruit and retain passionate and loyal team members through world-class training.” 

During the announcement, Gov. Stitt said, “I want us to be top ten in everything we do, and we need a top ten education system to achieve that. Lindel will give the agency a fresh start and get it back to its mission of producing top-tier students.” 

Fields stated his top three priorities as the new State Superintendent are teacher recruitment and retention, reading proficiency, and creating career pathways. 

During Fields’ introductory conference, he stated, “In the next 15 months, we can calm the waters, rebuild trust and lay a strong foundation for the future of Oklahoma schools.”

Stitt also announced that the new secretary of education for Oklahoma will be Dan Hamlin, who will replace Nellie Sanders, as she has stepped away from her position to serve students in the private sector. 

Two other board members of the Oklahoma Department of Education, Zach Archer and Sarah Lepeak, will have Brian Bobeck and Wes Nofire fill their vacant positions as well. 

Said Stitt, “This Board will continue to make transparency, accountability, and excellence its top priority.”