Dr. Carey Wright, praised for turning around Mississippi public schools, will become interim State Superintendent.
The State Board of Education voted unanimously on October 4 to appoint Dr. Carey Wright as the interim State Superintendent of Schools for the remainder of the current term through June 30, 2024. Dr. Wright will begin her service as State Superintendent by October 23, 2023, pending the completion of onboarding logistics.
Most recently, Dr. Wright served for nine years as the State Superintendent of Schools in Mississippi leading successful educational reform efforts that guided Mississippi to lead the nation in improving student achievement outcomes. She has consistently demonstrated an ability to build consensus by developing critical relationships with key stakeholders to achieve results. Under Dr. Wright’s leadership, Mississippi’s Quality Counts grade for education improved from an F to a C, improving its ranking from 50th to 35th. Her work reform efforts to improve literacy instruction for children Pre-K through third grade produced significant improvements in literacy rates in Mississippi, with the largest gains in 4th grade literacy on the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP).
A press release states:
Dr. Wright has long been an enthusiastic advocate for early childhood education and in Mississippi implemented the first publicly funded Early Learning Collaborative program, which earned the state recognition from the National Institute for Early Education Research as one of only seven states in the nation that meet all or most quality standards for early childhood education.
She also brings to the position decades of service as a Maryland educator with stints in Prince George’s, Howard, and Montgomery County Public Schools as a teacher, principal, director of special education, and associate superintendent. Prior to serving as Superintendent in Mississippi, Dr. Wright served as the Chief Academic Officer in DC Public Schools. Dr. Wright obtained her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Dr. Wright proceeds current State Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury. Choudhury was appointed State Superintendent of Schools in May 2021 following a national search. He came to Maryland from Texas, where he served as the Associate Superintendent and Chief Strategy, Talent, and Innovation Officer for the San Antonio Independent School District. He started leading Maryland’s schools on July 1, 2021.
On September 15, the Maryland State Board of Education released a statement saying that “Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury informed the State Board that he is withdrawing his request for a second term to pursue other opportunities.”