{"id":68360,"date":"2021-07-01T16:49:51","date_gmt":"2021-07-01T20:49:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/?p=68360"},"modified":"2021-07-01T16:51:08","modified_gmt":"2021-07-01T20:51:08","slug":"maryland-state-department-of-education-welcomes-new-superintendent-of-schools-mohammed-choudhury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/maryland-state-department-of-education-welcomes-new-superintendent-of-schools-mohammed-choudhury\/","title":{"rendered":"MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WELCOMES NEW SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS MOHAMMED CHOUDHURY\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

CONTACT:\u00a0 <\/strong>lora.rakowski@maryland.gov

<\/p>\n

MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WELCOMES NEW
<\/strong>SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS MOHAMMED CHOUDHURY<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Choudhury Celebrates First Day on the Job;
Continues MSDE\u2019s Focus on Equity<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

BALTIMORE, MD (July 1, 2021) <\/strong>– Today, Mr. Mohammed Choudhury officially assumed the office of Maryland State \"Mohammed<\/a>Superintendent of Schools, responsible for leading the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and the State\u2019s education policy through the implementation of the Blueprint for Education and emergence from the Covid-19 pandemic. Previously serving as Associate Superintendent and Chief Strategy, Talent and Innovation Officer for the San Antonio Independent School District, he brings his steadfast commitment to equity, innovation and excellence in public education to Maryland. During his initial transition period, Mr. Choudhury plans to build upon the solid foundation established by his predecessor Dr. Karen B. Salmon and the MSDE team through engagement, listening and learning.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaryland\u2019s admirable dedication and foundation for ensuring the success of every student and bridging gaps in education are initiatives that I am excited to spearhead. With MSDE\u2019s Blueprint for Maryland\u2019s Future, the unwavering commitment of the state\u2019s leaders and an innovative mindset, we can continue to build upon a resilient foundation to achieve these goals and more. I am thrilled to officially embrace the role of State Superintendent of Schools today and our collective good work ahead,\u201d said Mr. Choudhury.<\/p>\n

On May 27, the Maryland State Board of Education (Board) unanimously appointed Mr. Mohammed Choudhury as the next Maryland State Superintendent of Schools. The appointment occurred following a rigorous and multi-phased national search, closely guided by community and stakeholder input. Mr. Choudhury\u2019s visionary leadership, and experience integrating transformative policies and groundbreaking practices, which have surpassed expectations and raised the national standard, distinguished him from other solid leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cMohammed Choudhury is nationally recognized for his groundbreaking work and leadership on education reform. We welcome him to our State and look forward to working with him to ensure that every Maryland child has access to a world class education,\u201d said Governor Larry Hogan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring our search for Maryland\u2019s next Superintendent of Schools, the ideal candidate was someone who was passionate not only about education, but children. It was someone who could build on Maryland\u2019s past successes and boldly transform Maryland education to meet the challenges of the future,\u201d said Board President Clarence Crawford. \u201cMr. Choudhury encompasses those traits and more with his refreshing ideas, unique perspective, and his engaging high-energy approach. We are fortunate to have Maryland\u2019s chief education officer be someone who prioritizes diversity and values the input of others. I am confident in Mr. Choudhury\u2019s ability to elevate the Maryland school experience for all students and continue the state\u2019s national impact on education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tirelessly working to increase opportunities and improve achievement rates for students disproportionately affected by systemic barriers, Choudhury is recognized for co-leading the transformation of San Antonio\u2019s large school system, where 90% of students are economically-disadvantaged. He developed a new system to combat inequity in the San Antonio Independent School district \u2013 boosting the district from one of the lowest performing to the fastest-improving in Texas.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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\u2019s success has helped transform the way Texas examines poverty and funds public schools with Choudhury\u2019s work scaled to benefit more than 5.4 million students across the state.<\/p>\n

Warm welcomes to Mr. Choudhury include:<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Maryland embarks on the ten-year journey to implement the Blueprint for Maryland\u2019s Future, we need a transformational leader at the helm of MSDE, and I am hopeful we have found that in Superintendent Choudhury. His experience advancing educational equity and school integration efforts is the type of innovation that Maryland\u2019s students deserve,\u201d said Senate President Bill Ferguson.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPSSAM has always had a strong partnership with the State Superintendent and we are eager to begin our work with Mr. Choudhury as we face a challenging, but exciting year ahead. We are encouraged by Mr. Choudhury\u2019s reputation as a creative and innovative leader, and on behalf of Maryland\u2019s 24 superintendents we look forward to supporting his vision for our public schools,\u201d said Dr. Patricia Saelens, Public Schools Superintendents\u2019\u00a0Association of Maryland President.<\/p>\n

“I join my Maryland public education colleagues in extending a warm welcome to Superintendent Choudhury,\u201d noted Tammy Fraley, president of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE). “We look forward to working collaboratively with him and the State Board as the state recovers from the pandemic and the educational challenges it has brought about. Combining our member school districts\u2019 commitment to excellence in education with Mr. Choudhury’s abilities as a groundbreaking leader known for his innovation, transformative initiatives, and commitment to equity, we, as a team, will make what seems impossible possible across the state of Maryland for years to come.”<\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n

Welcome Superintendent Choudhury Press Release 7.1.21<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\nCONTACT:\u00a0 lora.rakowski@maryland.gov
\nMARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WELCOMES NEW SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS MOHAMMED CHOUDHURY
\nChoudhury Celebrates First Day on   …Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,5,9,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mediaalert","category-news","category-newsreleases","category-overview"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68360"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68380,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68360\/revisions\/68380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}