SAUK CITY — Encouraged by teachers and administrators across the state who are calling for new leadership at the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), Jeff Wright, a lifelong educator and advocate for public schools, has officially filed to run for Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction in the April 2025 election.
Dr. Jill Underly, formerly the Pecatonica School District Superintendent, was elected by Wisconsin voters to run the DPI in 2020.
“I am excited to officially begin this journey and am eager to serve all of Wisconsin’s students, educators, and families,” Wright said. “I’ve spent my career bringing people together to strengthen schools and communities, and I look forward to working with Wisconsinites from across the state to ensure a strong future for our schools.”
Wright, originally from Stevens Point and now Superintendent of the Sauk Prairie School District, plans to make an official campaign announcement after the November election. His announcement comes after receiving the recommendation of the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) Political Action Committee, which chose to throw their support behind new leadership at the DPI. Wright sees this next month as a time to listen to students, educators, parents, and community leaders across Wisconsin and discuss the challenges facing the state’s education system.
“Public education works best when it rises above politics. We all know that. Our schools thrive as our communities thrive. I look forward to continued conversations with the people who are most invested in our schools to discuss how those schools and their communities can be even better places to live and learn,” Wright said.
Wright has earned recognition throughout his career for his excellence in teaching and leadership, including winning Disney’s American Teacher Award, the Governor’s Financial Literacy Award, and more recently, being named the Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance Administrator of the Year. His experience also includes nine years as a high school administrator on the South Side of Chicago. Jeff and his wife, Emily Benz, live on a farm in rural Sauk County with their two children.
In 2018, Wright lost a tightly contested race against Todd Novak of Dodgeville in the Wisconsin Assembly District 51 race, losing by just 332 votes out of more than 24,500, a margin of about 1.3%.
For more information, contact press@
jeffwrightforwisconsin.com.
