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Rafael Heller (left) and Teresa Preston take on new roles at Kappan magazine.

A new team of editors will take the helm at Kappan, effective with the March issue of the magazine.

Rafael Heller, who has been managing editor/content, becomes Kappan’s newest editor-in-chief, and Teresa Preston replaces him as managing editor. Carol Bucheri remains at Kappan as managing editor/design and production.

Heller follows Joan Richardson, who had been Kappan’s editor-in-chief since 2008. Richardson remains with PDK and moves into a new position as director of the annual PDK Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools.

“PDK members are incredibly lucky to have had 10 years of Joan’s extraordinary leadership at Kappan, and they’re equally lucky to see the magazine pass into such capable hands. Rafael and Teresa each bring with them a great blend of practical experience, talent, creativity, and a passion for K-12 education. I’m excited to have them both on board and look forward to outstanding work from them for years to come,” said Joshua P. Starr, CEO of PDK International.

Heller, a longtime educator, researcher, and writer based in Washington, D.C., joined the Kappan staff in December 2016. Previously, he had been principal policy analyst at Jobs for the Future. He is coeditor of Rethinking Readiness: Deeper Learning for College, Work, and Life (Harvard Education Press, 2017).

Heller has a bachelor’s degree in English from Oberlin College, a master’s degree in teaching and curriculum from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a Ph.D. in English and education from the University of Michigan.

He becomes the publication’s editor as the magazine prepares to celebrate its 100th year of publication in 2018. Among Heller’s early plans for the magazine is a significant expansion of kappanonline.org, a change that readers can expect to see in the next several months.

Preston comes to PDK from the Association for Talent Development, where she had been managing editor for TD at Work and, earlier, managing editor for The Public Manager. Previously, she had been associate editor for Educational Leadership for 10 years and before that an editor for the Music Educators Journal, which is published by the National Association for Music Education, for several years. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from the College of William and Mary. Since 2008, Preston has been blogging regularly about books at http://shelflove.wordpress.com