Big changes at the Rhode Island Department of Education

Drew Echelson, pictured, will replace Kelvin Roldán, who for five years has served as Rhode Island deputy education commissioner. Echelson previously worked as chief of schools and accountability for Boston Public Schools and was briefly acting superintendent of that district.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff

There’s a big shakeup at the Rhode Island Department of Education, with one of Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green’s top deputies stepping away and a prominent Boston-based school administrator joining the team.

Kelvin Roldán, a former Connecticut state lawmaker who has been Rhode Island’s deputy education commissioner for system transformation, is leaving after five years on the job. He currently lives in Connecticut, and is expected to remain based there.

Roldán’s role wasn’t front-facing — he rarely interacted with the media — but he was viewed as a reasonable, thoughtful leader who took on a lot of responsibilities. 

Roldán is being replaced by Drew Echelson, who previously worked as chief of schools and accountability for Boston Public Schools and was briefly acting superintendent of that district. 

Echelson’s name has been floating around Rhode Island for years as Infante-Green tried to recruit him away from Massachusetts. He even got a shoutout in the acknowledgements section of Providence’s Turnaround Action Plan (he was part of the writing team for the document, which has faced considerable scrutiny lately).

There was a bunch of speculation last school year that Echelson could be in line to oversee Providence schools, and there’s at least some fire to go with that smoke. While he’s not coming in as superintendent, the state-run school district will be part of his portfolio.

The changes have been in the works for a few months, and are not related to last week’s SchoolWorks report on the state of the takeover of Providence schools. But Echelson’s enhanced role in the city signals that Infante-Green believes the department is entering a new phase of the takeover.

Echelson’s first day is Sept. 3.

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