Clearance Crawford was unanimously re-elected as president of the Maryland State Board of Education, and Dr. Joshua Michael as vice president for the 2023-24 school year.
At its July 25 meeting, the State Board of Education unanimously re-elected Clearance Crawford to serve as president of the board for the 2023-2024 school year term. This will be Crawford’s fourth and final term as president. Crawford was first appointed as a member of the State Board in 2018. At the same meeting, Dr. Joshua Michael was elected vice president, replacing Dr. Susan Getty.
A press release from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) provides a short biography of each. On Crawford, it reads:
He currently serves as an adjunct professor in the American University’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program where he teaches Federal budgeting, ethical leadership, and enterprise risk management (ERM). Mr. Crawford is the founder and president of the Teach ‘em to Fish CDC. He is also a member of GAO’s Center for Audit Excellence Advisory Board and OPM’s Presidential Rank Review Panel.
Beginning as a GS-1, Mr. Crawford learned how to progress through the ranks and how to become a strong leader, enabling him to become a senior executive, ES-6 (i.e., four-star general equivalent) chief operating officer and chief financial officer. He used innovative approaches to lead successful transformations. Mr. Crawford specialized in starting up new functions and creating high performance organizations. He earned his M.P.A. in Finance and B.S. in Administration of Justice from the American University.
On Dr. Michael, it says:
Dr. Michael brings a volume of experience to his service as Vice President of the State Board. He currently serves as the Executive Director of the Sherman Family Foundation, which provides grants to non-profit organizations to promote education and opportunities for young people in Baltimore focusing on early childhood and K12 education.
Dr. Michael began his career as a middle school math teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools. Previously, Dr. Michael served as the Director of Baltimore School Partnerships at UMBC with the Sherman Scholars Program where he cultivated a pipeline of STEM educators and oversaw several signature partnership programs with Baltimore City schools including the UMBC-Lakeland partnership. As a high school student in 2005-06, he served as the student member of the State Board.
Dr. Michael received his Ph.D. from the UMBC School of Public Policy, and currently resides in Baltimore City with his wife, Leslie, and their three children. This will be the first term that Dr. Michael will serve as Vice President of the State Board.
Their re-election and election come as MSDE and local school districts ramp up implementation and spending of the state’s groundbreaking education reform law, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future (“The Blueprint”).
Read the full press release.