Chesterfield schools chief James F. Lane has been named Virginia's Superintendent of Public Instruction.
He succeeds Steven R. Staples, an appointee of former Gov. Terry McAuliffe who held the post from March 2014 until his retirement, which was effective Jan. 1.
Lane came to Chesterfield in 2016 at age 38 after spending 4 years at the helm of Goochland County Public Schools.
Steve Constantino, a former Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools superintendent, served as acting state superintendent after Staples' departure.
In a call with reporters after his retirement was announced, Staples said choosing to step down was a family decision. His wife is retired, and Staples is a grandfather. Staples said he does not have any plans to consult, but added that “it will be difficult to get away from education entirely.”
Lane has worked as an assistant principal, middle school principal and assistant superintendent in Virginia and North Carolina. He started as a band teacher in North Carolina in 2001. Before arriving in Goochland in 2012, he served as assistant superintendent in Middlesex County.
He received his doctorate in education from the University of Virginia and has two master’s degrees, one from North Carolina State University and one from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he also earned his bachelor’s.
Along with being superintendent, he has worked as an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, James Madison University and the University of Richmond.
He and his wife, Sarah, have a son, Charlie, and a daughter, Kerrington.