Shanine Coats, M.Ed.

Biography

Shanine Coats began serving as the Sacramento County Office of Education’s Director of Strategic Initiatives in August 2021. In her role, she manages key initiatives of the County Superintendent of Schools, including the development of career pipelines in the education and mental health professions. Coats is a Sacramento native with over 20 years in the field of education. She attended California State University, Sacramento where she earned a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential; Administrative Credential; and Master of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.

She began her career as an elementary school teacher and previously worked at the California Department of Education (CDE), where she served as Director of the Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division. In that role, she oversaw the development of the State Board of Education’s curriculum frameworks and instructional materials. Prior to that, Coats served as CDE’s Federal Policy Liaison, providing statewide guidance and support on federal programs under the Every Student Succeeds Act. In this role she served as an advisor and advocate, on behalf of the State Superintendent of Instruction, communicating key initiatives to members of the U.S. Congress and their staff and working collaboratively with the U.S. Department of Education on programmatic and policy issues. Coats also served as an Education Administrator at CDE, supporting innovation and student achievement in the areas of statewide student assessment, California’s system of support, and state and federal accountability.

At the heart of her “why” is the desire to ensure that creative and innovative strategies and programs are designed to meet the unique needs of all learners and to eliminate opportunity, access, and achievement gaps. She and her husband have three daughters.