Listen 11 min
Share
Comment on this story Comment
Maryland Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury is withdrawing his request for a second term after a problem-plagued two-year tenure, and the state Board of Education will embark on a national search for a successor to lead the Education Department and shepherd a historic $3.8 billion program to transform Maryland’s public education system, the board and Choudhury said in a joint statement on Friday.
Fast, informative and written just for locals. Get The 7 DMV newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. ArrowRight
Gov. Wes Moore (D) on Friday thanked Choudhury for his service to Maryland schools and said in an interview with The Post that the superintendent has done an “admirable job” given the challenging time in which he served. But, the governor added, “We all can agree we need better results for our kids.” Of Choudhury’s withdrawal, he said, “While I admire his service, this is the right time for us to move faster as a state.” In Maryland, the state Board of Education hires the superintendent, but the governor appoints members. So far, Moore has appointed six of the 14 voting members.
The announcement — which surprised Maryland’s education and legislative establishment — said that Choudhury would “pursue other opportunities.” But several people with knowledge of the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly, said there were no longer enough votes on the Board of Education to renew Choudhury’s contract because of growing concern about his ability to lead the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future reform program.
Advertisement
The Post chronicled allegations against Choudhury in a major investigation this past summer that cited a “toxic” work environment, a pattern of micromanagement that held up important work until he could approve it, an inability to communicate with legislators and others in Maryland’s education world, late grant payments and agency mismanagement. School district leaders had quietly expressed confusion about Blueprint and other guidance coming from the department, which had seen the departure of dozens of veterans who said their jobs had become untenable under Choudhury — and some said they were bullied by top department leaders. Choudhury said the departed officials could not embrace change.
Maryland schools chief criticized for ‘toxic’ work style, management
Leaders of the Board of Education did not respond to queries about reasons for Choudhury’s withdrawal, nor did Choudhury. The superintendent’s contract is due to expire on June 30, 2024. The board was not under any statutory obligation to complete a new contract this year, but board policy calls for negotiations to be completed by Oct. 1.
The board did not say when Choudhury would leave the department, but its statement said it “intends to present plans for transition and a national search by its upcoming September 26th State Board meeting.” The announcement praised Choudhury, saying, “Over the past two years, he rebuilt the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) for the Blueprint era, centered the focus of the State Board and MSDE on comprehensive educational equity, led the charge to build a Strategic Plan, prioritized improving reading proficiency rates which recently improved to their highest level in nearly a decade, and developed innovative programs such as Maryland Leads, Maryland Works, and the Maryland Tutoring Corps initiative. Superintendent Choudhury has also strengthened MSDE staffing infrastructure, resulting in the lowest vacancy rate in a decade while recruiting top tier talent and elevating current employees.”
Advertisement
Choudhury was hired by the board in 2021 to finish the term of a superintendent who left early. He was tasked with implementing a massive overhaul of the state’s public schools. At the time, he was the chief innovation officer in the San Antonio Independent School District and had never been a district or state superintendent. His admirers praised him at the time for possessing a strong intellect and a deep commitment to equity for underserved children, and board President Clarence Crawford said then that “we are completely confident that we have hired the right person, one who deeply cares about children.” He called Choudhury “an empathetic and collaborative leader and hard-working person who values input and diverse perspectives.”
Several lawmakers said Friday that they were stunned by Choudhury’s decision, given his public and private comments about a desire to continue leading the school system that serves 900,000 students. In May, Choudhury told The Post that he was committed to being state superintendent for 10 years to oversee the implementation of the Blueprint. He notified the board of his interest in renewing his contract before a July 1 deadline this summer. Earlier this week, he was optimistic that a vote on his contract was forthcoming. “I am hopeful and optimistic that Maryland sees that it is getting exactly what it wanted from its state superintendent, to shake it up,” Choudhury told Maryland Matters. “And with that comes some noise.”
House Ways and Means Chairwoman Vanessa E. Atterbeary (D-Howard) said she had spoken to Choudhury earlier this week, and he had expressed an interest in raising his family in Howard County. A week earlier, she said, the two met to discuss bills he wanted to push in the 2024 legislative session, including an effort to address the teacher shortage. “He thought and believed that he was going to be voted favorably upon and he was going to be staying once they just worked out these last-minute details related to his contract,” Atterbeary said.
Advertisement
Choudhury in recent weeks had been on what one legislator called an “apology tour” to repair relations with lawmakers who had found him abrasive, and he had released a nine-page letter on June 30 acknowledging “missteps in proactively communicating changes.” On Sept. 1, the board sent a statement to The Post expressing support for his leadership, saying in part: “The State Board has charged the State Superintendent with reforming core functions at MSDE in a manner that ultimately improves outcomes for children by enhancing processes, experiences, and effectiveness … we expect and embrace challenges associated with these fundamental reforms at MSDE within a process of continuous improvement.”
Maryland schools chief seeks to heal relations with state legislature
But board support had been crumbling for Choudhury, people familiar with the situation said, for reasons including stories in The Post and in the Baltimore media, including one by Fox45 News on Choudhury’s use of an encryption app to message staff and others even though he said publicly he did not use one. In the last week, Moore had made public comments saying he was not satisfied with the results of Choudhury’s tenure so far.
Share this article Share
Choudhury’s temper was on display at a Sept. 8 meeting to discuss the Blueprint. In attendance were Crawford and two other board members, as well as top leaders of Maryland’s Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB), which oversees the work of the Maryland Education Department, and department leaders who work under Choudhury. According to three people with knowledge of the proceedings, it was clear Choudhury had not personally worked with members of the AIB on a particular project, as he had promised.
Advertisement
Later in the meeting, he raised his voice and started a “heated” exchange with AIB member William “Brit” Kirwan, chancellor emeritus of the University System of Maryland who led the committee that created the Blueprint, according to those present. The exchange was about how the department and AIB could work together to move forward on the Blueprint, which had been briefly delayed earlier this year because of tension between the two agencies. One participant who said he could not be named commented, “His bosses got to see what other people had been talking about” regarding his temperament.
Moore said he was less concerned about Choudhury’s personality, which was seen by many as abrasive, and more concerned about the performance of students during his tenure. “This is a time our state has got to move faster, that our state has got to be innovative,” he said. “We need an education system that is going to support our ambitions and we’ve got work to do in order to get there. We needed a greater level of accountability. We needed a greater level of transparency. We need higher performance and a higher benchmark.”
State test scores released last month, for instance, showed that 19 percent of sixth-graders last school year were proficient in math and 17 percent were proficient in Algebra I.
Advertisement
Moore also noted that Choudhury had taken the leadership of the department “under extremely difficult circumstances,” referring to the coronavirus pandemic and the start of the Blueprint — which had been approved by the Democratic-controlled legislature but not supported by Larry Hogan, the Republican governor at the time. Moore said Hogan’s administration was “actively working against making it happen.”
Sen. Mary Washington (D-Baltimore County), who chairs the education subcommittee of the Senate Education, Energy and Environment Committee, said she had high hopes in Choudhury but — like many of her colleagues — had been disappointed.
“I think he’s a good scientist and a good analyst, but we need more than that,” she said. “We need a good manager, a visionary, someone who builds. We’ve seen department and agencies dismantled and disempowered. We need our educational leaders, from local school boards to state agencies, to be empowered and that’s not the case.”
Advertisement
Atterbeary said that earlier this summer, the board president and vice chair requested a meeting with her to discuss Choudhury. She said they raved about him and said they were 100 percent behind his work. “It’s undeniable that he’s incredibly smart and he’s incredibly passionate. … It’s very clear that equity and bridging the gap, particularly for Black students and Brown students, was his No. 1 priority and he’s not bashful or shy about saying that,” Atterbeary said.
“Where the disagreement comes is how he goes about doing things and working with others,” she said.
House Minority Leader Jason C. Buckel (R-Allegany) said in a statement: “The next superintendent needs to work closer with local leaders to make our schools safer, improve educational outcomes, meaningfully address failing schools, and be accountable and transparent with parents and key stakeholders. Superintendent Choudhury was not getting the job done. It is time to do better.”
Advertisement
Isiah Leggett, who heads the AIB, said after the announcement, “I would say that: I’m disappointed that we are at this stage; we have very important initiatives to implement; that is the blueprint for the state of Maryland; this probably would not help in terms of the immediate continuity, but it is not something that would be a major distraction.”
Many educators and lawmakers heaped praise on Choudhury as they looked toward the coming search for his replacement. Cheryl Bost, president of the Maryland State Education Association, said in a statement that she appreciated Choudhury’s “open door” to educators and “his data-driven decision-making to help our most challenged students and schools.” House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) applauded “his dedication to educational equity.” And Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said it was “vital that Maryland’s next superintendent of schools embody the same commitment to improving educational outcomes for all students.” Jones added, in a statement, that “there is no more important task in state government” than finding the right person to implement the Blueprint.
Robert Eccles, a former department staff member who left and later testified to the state board about what he said was “a climate of disrespect, discrimination and dishonesty” at the Choudhury-led agency, said Friday: “This is a new day and the right move for everyone involved. We all want our education system to meet this moment with the Blueprint, and I have full confidence that the board will select an exceptional leader for this important work.”
correction
A earlier version of this article said Gov. Wes Moore had appointed five members of the state Board of Education. He has appointed six. The article has been corrected.
Share
Comments
Loading...
View more