Dr. Carol R. Johnson named “Superintendent of the Year” by the National Alliance of Black School Educators

BOSTON – The National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) recently honored Boston Public Schools (BPS) Superintendent Carol R. Johnson with its Joseph E. Hill Superintendent of the Year Award.  Dr. Johnson was recognized at the 36th annual NABSE conference, held last month in Atlanta.

The Joseph E. Hill Superintendent of the Year Award is given annually to a superintendent who has demonstrated a quality of leadership that resulted in significant positive outcomes for student achievement.

“We were very pleased to have selected Dr. Carol Johnson as the recipient of the Joseph E. Hill Superintendent of the Year Award, and we knew we were on the right track when we saw all of the recognition she has received throughout her career,” said Quentin R. Lawson, Executive Director of NABSE. “In fact, we were just as proud to have her as the recipient as she was to receive the award.”

Dr. Johnson has been Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools since August 2007. During her first year, Dr. Johnson presented her Acceleration Agenda, a set of recommendations to improve the academic achievement of all students and to strengthen operations to support the academic priorities of the district.

More recently, the Superintendent presented Pathways to Excellence, a set of proposals to strengthen and consolidate the Boston Public Schools in order to carry out the district’s ambitious academic agenda. Adopted by the Boston School Committee in November, Pathways to Excellence includes a variety of strategies to ensure high-quality schools throughout the city that prepare all children for academic and career success. The plan also addresses changing demographic and economic realities, including a decline in the school-age population as well as decreasing state, federal and private resources.

Dr. Johnson has a wealth of experience in public education as a teacher, principal, and administrator. She previously served as Superintendent of the Memphis City Schools in Memphis, Tennessee. During her tenure, she successfully removed more than 100 Memphis City Schools from the state’s No Child Left Behind “high priority” list, reducing the number of schools on the list by more than half. In 2007, the Tennessee Parent Teacher Association named Dr. Johnson the Tennessee Superintendent of the Year.  Prior to her appointment in Memphis in 2003, Dr. Johnson had been Superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools, where she was named Minnesota Superintendent of the Year.

The National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) is a national non-profit organization devoted to furthering the academic success for the nation’s children - particularly children of African descent. Founded in 1970, by Dr. Charles D. Moody, Sr., NABSE is dedicated to improving both the educational experiences and accomplishments of African American youth through the development and use of instructional and motivational methods that increase levels of inspiration, attendance and overall achievement. For more information, visit www.nabse.org.