Today, the Maryland State Board of Education voted to appoint Mohammed Choudhury as the new Maryland State Superintendent of Schools.
Following a national search to replace current superintendent Dr. Karen Salmon, the State Board voted unanimously to appoint Mohammed Choudhury.
“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.
Choudhury currently serves as the Associate Superintendent and Chief Strategy, Talent and Innovation Officer for the San Antonio Independent School District where he gained national recognition for his work to narrow historical opportunity and achievement gaps, making San Antonio the fastest-improving large district in all of Texas.
From the press release:
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.”
Choudhury will start July 1, 2021.
View the full press release.