Cheri Pierson Yecke on Friday eased some educators' fears that school vouchers are on the horizon, promised to be more of a service-oriented commissioner, and occasionally digressed to talk about one of her passions: history.

Named Thursday by Gov. Tim Pawlenty as the new Minnesota education commissioner, Yecke spoke to superintendents and school board members at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Friday morning. Then she headed for scheduled meetings with legislators at the Capitol and briefings at the state Department of Children, Families and Learning.

The former history teacher and Virginia state education official peppered her talks with references to Virginia historical sites such as Williamsburg, Yorktown and Mount Vernon, and ancient philosophers Plato and Aristotle.

Yecke, 47, was a U.S. Department of Education official before her appointment Thursday. Before that, she was heavily involved in formulating academic standards for Virginia students, and she cited her disillusionment with what was being taught before the standards were put in place.

"I was very concerned, because public school kids were learning about the mailman and the fireman, and this was their history from grades K through 3," she said. "The private school kids were learning about mummies and Egypt and the pyramids and the Mayans, and I said, 'Why in the world shouldn't our public school students have the same level of curriculum richness as these kids?' "

'Focus on children'

Yecke fielded questions about teacher pay, the Profile of Learning, school funding and testing. She emphasized that she intended to be a listener and a collaborator in pushing for education reform, and that Children, Families and Learning, which Pawlenty will push to rename the Department of Education, will refocus on helping schools educate children.

"My focus is on children," she said. "My focus is on education excellence. Perhaps there's been too much of an emphasis on monitoring and compliance."

On the subject of vouchers, which are controversial payments to parents for private schools, Yecke said, "I think we have to have all the options on the table."

Vouchers could work for parents of students in schools "that have dreadful student performance," she said. But such an option is not likely to be pursued any time soon by the Pawlenty administration.

"At this time in the state, we're not pursuing vouchers," she said.

As far as changing the way teachers are paid, Yecke said she wants districts to develop their own alternative pay plans, potentially using some of the federal funds she said are available to pay for things such as bonuses.

"You certainly don't want to mandate from the top down how this is going to be," she said.

Reaction to Yecke among superintendents was generally favorable, although some are withholding judgment. Stan Mack, superintendent of Robbinsdale schools, said he was relieved to hear Yecke say that school vouchers aren't on the new governor's school-change agenda. Mary Ann Nelson, Fridley superintendent, was enthusiastic about the new commissioner.

"She did incredibly well," Nelson said. "She demonstrated that she is an educator at heart and understands what the hot-button issues are. And her federal background is going to help us, too. . . . She's going to be a savvy leader."

Bloomington Superintendent Gary Prest was more guarded.

"Right now, most of what we know about her comes from her résumé and what we read in the press," he said. "It's early."

-- Norman Draper is at

>ndraper@startribune.com .