Maryland School Chief Carey Wright Has Advice for Parents

"My daughters have told me that I failed at retirement. I initially decided to retire and move back [to Maryland] because I've got a grandson here. So I did that, but I really wasn't done working, so I started a consulting firm. I was mentoring new state chiefs, working with school districts and legislatures, and I was really loving it. But I also knew things were going south in the state. Maryland was looking at a decade of decline in student achievement, which was just heartbreaking because I was a principal for many years here in Maryland, and in any given year we were bumping heads with Massachusetts as to who was going to be number one. The state"

"Wright had been in charge of the Mississippi schools from 2013 to 2022, during a period some now call the “Mississippi miracle.” Under Wright's watch, one of the worst-ranked systems in the nation became, by some metrics, among the best-a particularly startling result since Mississippi has the most entrenched child poverty of any state. Now that Wright is superintendent of Maryland's schools, the hope is that scores will rise there, too."

"Wright herself is a product of Maryland's public-education system. She moved to Prince George's County when she was 11-first to New Carrollton and then to Lanham-and began her career there as a fifth-grade teacher in 1972. Quickly, she became an assistant principal, then a principal, then a district-level administrator in Howard and Montgomery counties. For a time, she was the chief academic officer of DC public schools under Michelle Rhee."

"Now that she's back in Maryland, Wright's goal is to revive the state's schools from a decade-long slump, to “restore Maryland as an education destination that is top ten in the nation.”"

Carey Wright came out of retirement to run Maryland’s public schools in 2023. Her return was viewed as a major win for the state. Wright previously led Mississippi schools from 2013 to 2022 during a period often called the “Mississippi miracle,” when a low-ranked system improved to among the best by some measures despite high child poverty. Wright is a Maryland public-education product who began her career in Prince George’s County as a fifth-grade teacher in 1972, later becoming assistant principal, principal, and district-level administrator. She also served as chief academic officer of DC public schools under Michelle Rhee. Her goal in Maryland is to reverse declining student achievement and restore the state as a top-ten education destination.

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