Stacy Smith began serving as deputy commissioner for DESE in December 2020. Smith served as a former assistant commissioner of Learning Services from March 2016 to July 2020, when she assumed the position as the director of OCSS. She previously served as the DESE Director of Curriculum and Instruction from July 2014 to March 2016 and has been a principal at Hill Farm Elementary School in the Bryant School District and Fountain Lake Elementary School in the Fountain Lake School District. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a Master's in Educational Leadership from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and an Educational Specialist in Educational Leadership from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville.