Deputy Superintendent

Dr. Sonya White is the West Virginia Department of Education Deputy Superintendent. She served as the Department’s Instructional Leadership and School Improvement Officer prior to being named Deputy. She is a 36-year veteran of education, having served as a high school mathematics and chemistry teacher in Ohio and West Virginia. Additionally in the Mountain State, she was a mathematics coach and elementary school principal.

Dr. White has served in the critical areas of statewide assessment, accountability, and on the math4life implementation team at the WVDE. She was a National Board Certified teacher and former Jackson County Schools (West Virginia) teacher of the year.

Her guidance during the pandemic was instrumental in supporting counties through the complete shutdown of in-person learning, and the transition through various remote learning and hybrid instructional models. This allowed schools and families the flexibility to acclimate to the new learning environments ushered in by the global pandemic. Her leadership and insights provided stability and consistency as schools returned to full in-person instruction to best support the academic, social emotional, and developmental needs of the state’s public school children.

Dr. White earned a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from West Virginia State University, a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Coppin State University, and both an Education Specialist degree in Leadership Studies and doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from Marshall University.