While there is no such thing as the perfect candidate, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s nomination of Dr. Dianna R. Wentzell as the state’s next education commissioner comes close.

Dr. Wentzell, 50, has experience as a teacher, starting at Farmington High School in 1988 and later moving to Irving A. Robbins Middle School in that town, teaching political science, history and social studies.

The unions representing teachers in the state had placed a high priority in the naming of someone who came from their own ranks.

“It doesn’t matter where she taught, the fact that she taught is huge,” said Melodie Peters, president of the American Federation of Teachers-Connecticut, and a former state senator from this area.

“I think it’s a wonderful appointment. It’s a wise decision,” Sheila Cohen, president of the Connecticut Education Association, told The Connecticut Mirror.

The unions were not happy with Gov. Malloy’s prior choice for commissioner, Stefan Pryor, a lawyer with a resume in economic development. His education background centered on his support for charter school development, yet Mr. Pryor deserves credit for helping aggressively push the governor’s education reform proposals, even when meeting resistance from labor.

Dr. Wentzell seems uniquely suited to implement those reforms in coordination with teachers and administrators. Joining the Department of Education in early 2013, she led the office responsible for creation and application of the Connecticut Common Core Standards and the standardized testing that will help evaluate the job educators are doing.

In voicing his support for the nomination, State Board of Education Chairman Allan Taylor pointed to Dr. Wentzell’s “management acumen and collaborative approach.” That’s good to hear because a lack of collaboration during Mr. Pryor’s tenure created friction where it could have been avoided.

Dr. Wentzell knows the struggles of urban schools, having worked two years in the Hartford Public Schools, first as deputy chief academic officer and executive director of professional and learning, and then as assistant superintendent.

Her five children attended public schools, with two attending magnet schools, a familiarity that New London will welcome as it pursues plans to become Connecticut’s first all-magnet-schools district.

Acting commissioner since January, Gov. Malloy credited her with “doing a remarkable job.”

The legislature should act quickly on her nomination.