Dr. Karen Salmon Named Superintendent of Maryland Schools (PHOTO)
The Maryland State Board of Education has announced Dr. Karen Salmon as the next state superintendent of Maryland schools, effective July 1.
According to a news release, Dr. Salmon will begin serving as Acting Superintendent on June 1, and take the helm as State Superintendent one month later. She will succeed Interim State Superintendent Jack Smith, who earlier this year was named the next Superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools.
The State Board voted unanimously to elevate Dr. Salmon to the State Superintendent position, pending final contract negotiations.
“I am committed to collaborating with all of our stakeholders to ensure a world-class education for every Maryland public school student,” Salmon said. “I want to build on Maryland’s past accomplishments, streamline programs at the Maryland State Department of Education, and articulate a shared vision for educational excellence.”
State Board President Guffrie M. Smith, Jr., said Dr. Salmon comes to the position well prepared to lead the State’s system to continued improvement.
“Dr. Salmon knows our State, understands our challenges, and has a track record of developing effective solutions to educational issues through collaboration,” Smith said. “The Board looks forward with great confidence to working alongside Dr. Salmon as we move our schools and our students toward new levels of success.”
Salmon has spent the vast majority of her career in Maryland public education. She joined the Maryland State Department of Education last August as Assistant State Superintendent for College and Career Readiness before taking over as Interim Deputy Superintendent for School Effectiveness earlier this year.
Prior to joining the MSDE staff, Dr. Salmon served as Superintendent of the Bay Shore Union Free School District in Bay Shore, NY. She moved to New York after ten years as Superintendent of the high-performing Talbot County Public School System. She spent more than 30 years as an educator on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, beginning her career as a special education teacher in the Caroline County Public Schools. She later became a vocational coordinator and an assistant principal in the Caroline schools before moving to Talbot County as Coordinator of Services f
Betty Weller
or Exceptional Children. Dr. Salmon became Assistant Superintendent of the Talbot County schools in 1997 and Superintendent in 2003.
Named the Maryland Superintendent of the Year in 2012, Dr. Salmon is the recipient of numerous awards and honors throughout her educational career. Dr. Salmon holds a Ph.D. in Special Education/Administration from the University of Maryland College Park, as well as a Masters in Special Education from the same institution. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication from the University of Delaware.
A native of Harford County and the daughter of an educator, Dr. Salmon and her husband John reside in Bozman, Maryland. They are the parents of two grown daughters: Lauren, an oncologist living in Virginia, and Rachael, a student at the University of Maryland College Park. Both children graduated from Talbot County public schools.
After the announcement, Maryland State Education Association President Betty Weller released the following statement:
“The Maryland State Education Association congratulates Karen Salmon on her selection as Maryland’s next state superintendent of schools. Maryland’s teachers and education support professionals look forward to working closely with Dr. Salmon to improve resource equity, close opportunity gaps, and reduce and improve standardized testing so that all of our students have a chance at a great public education.
“We hope that Dr. Salmon will serve as an independent, apolitical voice for research-based solutions that help all students rather than reinforce the narrow policy focus of the Hogan administration and his State Board on charter schools and private schools.”
Dr Karen Salmon selected as Maryland’s State Superintendent of Schools. To her right is acting State Sup Jack Smith. pic.twitter.com/UJ61CjyCnk
— MdPublicSchools (@MdPublicSchools) May 24, 2016
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