In Search Of: Superintendent – Rockville, MD

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is one of the largest school systems in the country serving 160,000 students speaking up to 158 languages. The school district has more than 24,000 employees with an annual operating budget of $2.8 billion. The Board oversees the work of the superintendent and the school system. Comprising eight members, the Board is the policy-making body responsible for the operation and general strategic direction of the school system. The Superintendent is appointed by the Board and serves as its executive officer and secretary-treasurer. The Superintendent is responsible for the overall administration of the school system and recommends appropriate action to the Board. Information about the school system is available on the MCPS website at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org.

During the past 4 years with MCPS, outgoing Superintendent Jack R. Smith, Ph.D., working with the Board has been a steadfast champion for excellence and opportunity for all students. MCPS is committed to an All Means All approach to ensuring student success. While many of MCPS students achieve at the highest levels, not all have had access, opportunities, and resources needed to meet their full potential. MCPS is committed to addressing disparities in student outcomes by closing gaps in opportunity and achievement for all students, in all classrooms, in all of our schools. The MCPS All In: Equity and Achievement Framework provides the purpose, path, and plan to ensure success for all students. The Board commissioned a number of important studies such as the Metis Report and the Education Resources Strategies Report (ERS) to examine and provide data on equitable resource and program allocation to support the vision outlined in the Equity and Achievement Framework. The Board has emphasized a research-based approach to decision making with a commitment to using an equity lens. Some of MCPS’ accomplishments in recent years include the following:

• Four MCPS high schools made the top 500 in the 2019 U.S. News & World Report list of Best High Schools. MCPS had three of the top five high schools in the State of Maryland.

• In 2018, MCPS students took more than 40,000 Advanced Placement exams. Students earned a college-ready score (3 or higher) on 70.8 percent of those exams.
• In 2018, the percentage of AP exams taken by MCPS African American students (47.1 percent) that earned college-ready scores of 3 or higher is significantly higher than the percentage of exams for African American students in the nation (29.9 percent).
• In 2018, the percentage of AP exams taken by Hispanic students that earned college-ready scores of 3 or higher (55.2 percent) was greater than the percentage of exams for Hispanic students in the nation (42.5 percent).
• More than two-thirds (67.5 percent) of graduates from the Class of 2018 took at least one AP exam, compared with 49.1 percent in Maryland.
• More than half (53.1) of the Class of 2018 scored a 3 or higher on at least one AP exam while in high school—significantly higher than the state average of 31.6 percent.
•  In 2018, the percentage of MCPS African American and Hispanic graduates earning a 3 or higher on at least one AP exam surpassed the state average.
• The Class of 2019 earned an 1,119 average combined SAT score, surpassing both national and state averages. More than 75 percent of graduates took the SAT and MCPS Hispanic and African American students outperformed their peers across the nation.
• More than $393.0 million in scholarships was awarded to students in the Class of 2019.
• Forty-one schools received the National Blue Ribbon Schools Awards.
• Nine schools received the National Green Ribbon Schools Organizational Excellence.
• MCPS was the recipient of the 2010 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the highest presidential honor given to American organizations for performance excellence. The award recognizes performance excellence through innovation, improvement, and visionary leadership. MCPS is only the sixth school system to receive this award and is the largest, by far. In 2006, MCPS won Maryland’s most prestigious award for performance excellence—the U.S. Senate Productivity Award—for implementation of the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, a management philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement in the constant pursuit of excellence.
• MCPS was named a 2010 finalist for the $1.0 million Broad Prize for Urban Education, qualifying MCPS graduates in the Class of 2011 for $250,000 in college scholarships. MCPS is the first district in Maryland and the Washington region to be named a finalist for this prestigious award.
• MCPS leads the state with more than 690 teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, a national recognition of professional excellence.
• MCPS was named a Gold Medal school system for 15 consecutive years by Expansion Management magazine as a measure of the attractiveness of the school system to the business community.
• MCPS was nationally recognized for the professional development program for administrators, teachers, and supporting services staff. The program was featured in a 2010 case study by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.

The start date for the Superintendent is to begin on July 1, 2022. A slate of applicants will be presented to the Board in early January.  Please submit your application as soon as possible.    

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