by Alex Nnabue ‘18

Jack Smith, who began his term in July as the new superintendent of MCPS, has staked the success of his tenure on shrinking the county’s achievement gap, or “opportunity” gap, as he refers to it.

MCPS’s previous core strategies for addressing the gap include academic rigor, proper funding, qualified employees, community engagement, and continuous dedication to improvement. However, the county has not seen much progress in fixing the disparities in academic performance between whites and Asians compared to blacks and Hispanics. Also, wealthier schools continue to lead impoverished schools in performance, creating a school system with glaring inequalities based on socio-economic class and race.

During an August interview with MCPS Board of Education President Michael Durso, Smith commented that when his term is over, he would like to see MCPS, “maintain the excellent levels of achievement … then increase the equity and excellence for all students.”

He proposed many ways the county can reach these goals and improvement already by the end of this school year. This includes a wide range of internal assessments or quizzes that check classrooms and schools, along with external assessments such as AP, PARCC, and SATs. Smith also discussed ways that faculty can adjust their approach to teaching in order for all students to benefit and participate while decreasing class sizes in areas suffering from poverty. Smith, who is pushing towards increased graduation rates, believes it is critical for elementary and middle school students to get the foundation they need in order to be successful in high school and life after graduation.

The opportunity gap is a nationwide issue and Smith hopes MCPS and other counties will effectively tackle it this year. MCPS was granted a $2.5 billion budget for the school year with about $38 million going towards closing the gap and reducing class sizes.

Smith began his term July 1 and was appointed to be the new superintendent in February. This ended the year-long search and Larry Bower’s position as interim superintendent after Joshua Starr resigned. Smith is very experienced, as he was most recently Maryland’s superintendent of schools. In addition, he is a former teacher, principal, and superintendent of Calvert County Schools. During August and September, Smith traveled in MCPS delivery trucks to see schools and introduce himself to the community.