Hartford - The state Department of Education will be overhauled over the next several months under a plan intended to make the agency more responsive to local districts and, by extension, to better serve Connecticut's half-million public school students and their families, Commissioner Stefan Pryor announced Wednesday.

Pryor, who became commissioner last fall, proposed the plan to the state Board of Education, which unanimously endorsed it. The board also approved his recommendation to appoint Charlene Russell-Tucker, a 25-year veteran of the agency and one of its associate commissioners, to the new position of chief operating officer.

The reorganization comes as Pryor, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, various professional and education groups, and Connecticut lawmakers prepare for the 2012 General Assembly session, which starts in February. The session will focus on improving the state's public schools.

Malloy and board members said Wednesday they considered the reorganization necessary if education reform is to be successful. State Board of Education Chairman Allan Taylor called the overhaul "the right framework for progress."

Pryor said that overhauling the agency is critical because even the best plans can stall if the department isn't set up to provide enough support for superintendents, principals and others on the front lines.

The reorganization is being done within the agency's current operating budget of $2.79 billion.

Russell-Tucker will be charged with overseeing many of the state's education reform projects, making sure the agency is in communication with other state agencies and cutting bureaucratic red tape that some districts say is making it harder for them to launch their own local improvement plans.

Although the chief operating officer spot is new in Connecticut, it's not a first nationwide. Pryor said Nevada, Ohio, and South Carolina, and other states have them. He said the position is a key part of the overhaul.

In addition, four other high-level management positions are being created to consolidate responsibilities in particular areas that reflect Malloy's education priorities.

They are: chief academic officer for curriculum and related work; chief talent officer to work with districts on issues such as teacher evaluation and professional development; chief performance officer to assess the progress and needs of each district and school; and chief turnaround officer to work specifically with troubled schools.

The pay for each position will range from about $112,000 to $143,600, depending on the person's experience. Pryor said the jobs will be posted.

The overhaul also calls for housing the state Early Childhood Office, which is overseen by the Office of Policy and Management, at the education department to improve coordination with the K-12 programs.

Pryor said the agency's reorganization is not an indictment of its employees. Instead, he said, it reflects the reality that many responsibilities are now scattered piecemeal across various offices and supervisors.

"No individual, no bureau can operate effectively if the overall organizational strategy is dysfunctional or is sub-optimal, and I think that's the situation we aim to remedy," he said.

Pryor said comments from teachers, superintendents, parents and others helped him shape the plan, along with a survey of public school superintendents, many of whom said the education department's structure wasn't clear to them and wasn't adequately helping close the achievement gap between wealthy and poor students.