The federal government is calling for a forensic audit — an effort to look for potential fraud — of two of the Mississippi Department of Education’s programs, according to State Auditor Stacey Pickering’s office.
Read more at: https://www.oxfordeagle.com/2017/04/27/feds-seek-fraud-probe-of-state-education-department-programs/
A joint statement released Friday from the board and Choudhury explains that he will provide “expert-level advice, guidance and recommendations” on education policies, strategies and priorities, such as the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plan.
Sylvia Lawson, deputy state superintendent for organizational effectiveness, will serve as acting superintendent upon Choudhury’s resignation until an interim superintendent is appointed.
According to a transition agreement between the board and Choudhury, he will “maintain current knowledge of contemporary trends and development to ensure the State Board maintains an understanding of issues in a rapidly evolving environment.”
A main job requirement in the agreement: he must report “directly to the President [Clarence Crawford] and Vice President [Joshua Michael] of the State Board of Education.”
If Choudhury wants to meet with legislators and other public officials, he needs to obtain approval with board leadership...
Now, some lawmakers are calling for a special hearing in Annapolis to learn more about what Fox45 News has exposed.
“It's potentially a crime that has been committed for willfully deleting public records,” said Ryan Nawrocki, a Republican state delegate representing Baltimore County. “I'm extremely concerned. Some of my other colleagues are also very concerned.”
The Baltimore County representative, over the past few months, has been watching Project Baltimore’s investigation into Maryland State Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury. Project Baltimore discovered that text messages on the superintendent’s state-issued cell phone were deleted, even after we filed a public record request to see them, which could be a violation of state law...
San Antonio, Texas
Mohammed Choudhury grew up in Los Angeles, “a minority amongst minorities.” His parents emigrated from Bangladesh in the 1980s, a moment he sees in retrospect as an easier time for immigrants to establish themselves. His parents saved up, opened a restaurant in West Hollywood, and worked their way into the middle class.
They sent their kids to the neighborhood school, which had students from all over the world, something Choudhury loved. He knows now, as a rising star in education leadership, that it was academically lackluster. But from his parents’ perspective, the school was the gateway to the self-determination they came to the U.S. seeking...
...Fast-forward not so many years, and Choudhury, 34, is leading a closely watched effort by the San Antonio Independent School District to open dozens of innovative new, diverse-by-design schools. Because virtually all of the district’s 50,000 students are impoverished, to create that diversity he must both attract affluent families from outside the district and ensure that children from the most isolated, destitute families within it are represented in these exciting new schools...
...“One of the things that we told ourselves is we’re not going to do school choice … in a way that exacerbates segregation,” he says. “We’re not going to create a system [that has] our hands and fingerprints on it that allows a few winners and lots of losers.”..
...Three elements are indispensable in creating a system of schools that’s equitable and sustainable, in Choudhury’s view. The first is schools with attractive themes or instructional models, such as Montessori or dual language, in accessible locations. Then there’s transportation; without busing, the most desirable schools will fill up with families that can transport their own kids.
Finally, districts should create one unified enrollment system and use it to weight enrollment at each school for diversity. Families that don’t get their first choice in a computerized lottery should get help finding the next-best fit for their child, and the admissions process should include equity audits to ensure that the most isolated students are adequately represented...
...All of this means Choudhury will need not just to conduct an admissions lottery for each school where there are more applicants than seats, but also to control for other student socioeconomic factors, depending on each school’s desired makeup. Like other districts with centralized admissions systems, his office uses a computer algorithm to run lotteries...
BALTIMORE, MD (May 27, 2021) – In a unanimous vote today, the Maryland State Board of Education (State Board) has appointed Mr. Mohammed Choudhury as the next Maryland State Superintendent of Schools. Mr. Choudhury’s selection follows a rigorous and multi-phased national search, closely guided by community and stakeholder input.
“When we set out on our search for Maryland’s next superintendent, our goal was to identify and hire the highest caliber candidate to build the future of education for all Maryland children. Considering Mr. Choudhury’s outstanding transformative accomplishments, we are completely confident that we have hired the right person, one who deeply cares about children,” said Board President Clarence Crawford. “Mr. Choudhury distinguished himself by providing a fresh perspective, and his engaging high-energy approach brings the best out of the people he serves. He is a bold pioneer in the educational community, and we are fortunate to have secured his leadership as Maryland’s chief education officer as we continue to recover from the devastating impacts of COVID-19 and seek to implement the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. Mr. Choudhury is an empathetic and collaborative leader and hard-working person who values input and diverse perspectives.”
Relentlessly committed to narrowing historical opportunity and achievement gaps and improving student achievement and outcomes, Choudhury is credited for helping to lead a transformation of San Antonio’s large school system, where 90% of students are economically-disadvantaged. Before he arrived in San Antonio, the district had an F-rating. Today, it is the fastest-improving large district in all of Texas.
Choudhury cites the following initiatives as the driving forces for this success: implementing an innovative poverty tracker to assess and address student needs in the district’s poorest communities; expanding options for families by launching innovative, high-performing school models that serve all students; and recruiting and retaining master teachers at chronically underperforming schools. San Antonio’s success has helped transform the way Texas examines poverty and funds public schools with Choudhury’s work scaled to benefit more than 5.4 million students across the state.
“For years, Maryland Public Schools have been a model for other states and there is an incredibly strong foundation to build upon to ensure that every Maryland student has the opportunity to build a great future. But being one of the top states for education doesn’t mean there aren’t gaps in the system, and it certainly doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement,” said Mohammed Choudhury. “With the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future as a guide for MSDE and every district in the state, the state’s leaders have shown a remarkable commitment to the hard work that’s necessary to bridge gaps and ensure every student has the tools and supports needed to be successful. I am honored by the board’s selection and look forward to hitting the ground running as Maryland’s next State Superintendent of Schools.”
Prior to his appointment in San Antonio, Choudhury led transformation and innovation efforts for the Dallas Independent School District which has been recognized as a national model for launching and scaling transformation initiatives. He started his career as a classroom teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District where he earned accolades for his innovative work to partner with non-profit organizations to provide students with additional support in middle school. Beyond the classroom, Mr. Choudhury also built extensive experience and expertise in program and policy development as a senior leader with the Future is Now Schools Network.
In 2018, Education Week profiled Choudhury as a “Leader to Learn From,” one of 12 exceptional school system leaders recognized nationally for impacting student and teacher success. Mr. Choudhury is a member of the Chiefs for Change Future Chief program, a highly selective, nationally-based leadership development program that prepares the next generation of state and district education leaders. Mr. Choudhury completed his undergraduate work at California State University in Northridge and earned an M.Ed. from UCLA.
Mr. Choudhury will replace Dr. Karen B. Salmon who will retire on June 30 after an education career spanning more than 45 years, including five years leading the Maryland State Department of Education.
“We are thankful for Dr. Salmon’s leadership, deep knowledge of Maryland’s education system and her unparalleled commitment to all Maryland children as part of her dedication to equity and excellence,” said President Crawford. “As a result of her guidance, we are well-poised to deliver the future of Maryland education.”
Last fall, the Maryland State Board of Education announced that it had retained Greenwood/Asher & Associates to lead the global search for the next Maryland State Superintendent of Schools. The extensive, multi-phased search process included planning, community outreach, and a national recruitment strategy. The firm conducted multiple stakeholder meetings, three public Town Hall meetings, and a survey to solicit public input to inform the Superintendent recruitment profile.
Led by the superintendent selection team, all Board members screened and narrowed 55 applicants to 11. Eleven candidates were researched and interviewed, with four exceptional finalists.
Mr. Choudhury will begin his term as Maryland State Superintendent of Schools effective July 1, 2021.
# # #
Superintendent Karen Salmon’s contract expires at the end of June, and the Maryland State Board of Education — which meets Tuesday — must choose a replacement by July.
But because the state board was having difficulty picking a superintendent at the onset of the pandemic last spring, the board decided to delay the process and asked Salmon to stay an extra year after she had completed a four-year term. She got a $40,000 pay raise on July 1 and her salary rose to $275,000.
The board then restarted its national search this year hoping it would be able to offer the new leader a traditional contract, which by law is four years beginning on July 1. But in an opinion issued last month, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said the new contract must be only three years because the new superintendent will be completing what is actually Karen Salmon’s second four-year term...
The Maryland State Board of Education has launched a national search for the next State Superintendent of Schools. They are soliciting input to assist in the search process.
The Maryland State Board of Education (State Board) has scheduled virtual community forums to gather public input regarding the next State Superintendent. Working with search firm Greenwood/Asher & Associates the State Board of Education is seeking public input to help identify a leadership profile and characteristics necessary to help lead the State’s education system.
A copy of the guidelines and procedures for the public comments can be found here.
The Board of Education and Greenwood/Asher have also provided an online survey to receive feedback. The survey will take no longer than fifteen minutes to complete. Click here to complete the survey.
The forums will be facilitated by Greenwood/Asher & Associates virtually via Zoom on:
If you would like to make public comments for Day 3 please register here.
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| https://news.maryland.gov/msde/state-superintendent-search-community-forums-scheduled/ |
A number of observers say that it would be best if the next superintendent is from Maryland but that it is more important to have a great leader who is a quick study. They also listed a set of priorities that include focusing on reducing the achievement gap of students of color and low-income students, figuring out ways to be innovative within the constraints of tight economic times, working collaboratively with the teachers unions and higher education, and making science and math a priority.and:
Robert C. Embry, president of the Abell Foundation, said the state board will have to first decide what their agenda will be for the coming years. It may be, he said, that Marylanders are happy with the status quo and will not want to embrace a more radical agenda that might lead to a change in the often-criticized charter school law or the practice of getting rid of teachers based on seniority. "I don't know what the present school board has as its priorities. There are a lot of very controversial issues nationally," he said.
But more importantly, experts also said, the state school board should focus on the next superintendent's personality and background as much as the agenda.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller would like to see that in the next superintendent. "We need someone with a great deal of teaching experience and supervisory experience," he said, adding that the next leader also must place children first and draw authority from the assumption that student needs are behind all of their actions.To read the full story, go here.
"She transcended politics. Her loyalty was always to the students," Miller said of Grasmick.
