Nevada Department of Education Announces Dr. Torrey Palmer as Deputy Superintendent

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Nevada Department of Education Announces New Deputy Superintendent

March 3, 2026

CARSON CITY, Nev. – The Nevada Department of Education is excited to announce that Dr. Torrey Palmer will become Deputy Superintendent for Academics & Student Achievement beginning March 30.

Dr. Palmer will serve as the chief architect of Nevada’s instructional system, aligning standards, curriculum, and assessment so that every student experiences excellent instruction every day.

“Dr. Palmer brings deep district-level expertise and broad Nevada and national exposure to her new role,” said Dr. Victor Wakefield, Superintendent of Public Instruction. “She has a strong background in academics and is dedicated to expanding opportunities for Nevada’s learners.”

Dr. Palmer brings experience with leading a national portfolio of partnerships and with impactful change across Nevada at the district and school level.

“I am thrilled to join the NDE team as we advance a bold vision for student achievement and ensure we are improving outcomes for all students,” said Dr. Palmer. “We will work together -building on the commitment of our teachers and leaders across the state - to ensure every student has access to rigorous, standards-aligned instruction supported by high-quality materials.”

Dr. Palmer deeply understands Nevada’s school system, beginning her career as a sixth-grade teacher in Washoe County School District.

As the district’s K-6 literacy coordinator from 2010-2014, she co-founded the Core Task Project, a nationally recognized model for college and career ready standards implementation in literacy. This early work with the Nevada Academic Content Standards helped her see the possibilities of leveraging and aligning the standards to yield measurable gains in student learning.

In 2014, Dr. Palmer joined the national nonprofit organization TNTP as a Director and then Partner, leading much of the organization’s early academic strategy. She led, developed, and facilitated curriculum review processes and professional learning around standards-aligned materials and instruction.

At TNTP, Dr. Palmer worked with partners across the country, including a network of Florida’s five largest districts around continuous improvement cycles in middle schools and developing and rolling out asynchronous Science of Reading training across California.

However, the most meaningful work for Dr. Palmer is her partnerships across Nevada. This includes leading teachers and leaders in Clark, Elko, Storey, and Washoe counties in refining teaching and learning aligned with the Nevada Academic Content Standards, curriculum, and assessment.

Most recently, Dr. Palmer served as an assistant principal at Mater Academy of Northern Nevada, a K-8 public charter school. With an outstanding staff, English Language Arts proficiency grew by 15 percentage points and math proficiency by 8 percentage points from 2024 to 2025.

Dr. Palmer earned her doctorate in educational specialties from the University of Nevada, Reno. She is a Student Achievement Partners fellow, served on the ELA content advisory board for EdReports, and is a founding member of the Knowledge Matters Campaign.

She has presented nationally at conferences hosted by the International Reading Association, WestEd, Council of Chief State School Officers, and the Yale Education School of Management.

Prior to her work in education, Dr. Palmer was a two-time silver medalist at the World Rowing Championships and competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

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• Dr. Torrey Palmer’s photo About the Nevada Department of Education

The Nevada Department of Education (NDE) leads and collaborates with Nevada’s 17 school districts and the State Public Charter School Authority to advance educational equity Statewide. With offices in Carson City and Las Vegas, NDE oversees all pre-K-12 education in the State, working to achieve its mission to improve student achievement and educator effectiveness by ensuring opportunities, facilitating learning, and promoting excellence. Under the leadership of the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, NDE impacts the achievement of nearly half a million children and 30,000 educators. Learn more at https://doe.nv.gov/ and join us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram.

Julie Wootton-Greener Public Information Officer

702-486-6602