Dear Parents/Guardians, Students, and Staff:

This year with President Obama’s Race to the Top initiative, NBC-TV’s historic Education Nation Summit, and the popular documentary “Waiting for Superman,” public education has been at the forefront of the national agenda.

This heightened attention can only benefit our schools as more individuals and institutions better appreciate the role and value of public education and particularly of neighborhood-based schools as essential equalizing forces in our democracy.

In Baltimore County Public Schools, as we follow our Blueprint for Progress, our most important principle is that “all means all.” It reflects our commitment to ensuring that all students receive high-quality education that prepares them for success in college, careers, and life. Our success as a community, state, and nation requires that we embrace all students. To do otherwise means losing potential and productivity that we cannot afford to squander.

Rather than waiting for Superman, let us recognize the superhero potential of all of our young people and work as hard as we can to nurture them.

Sincerely,

Joe A. Hairston, Ed.D.
Superintendent

Dr. Joe A. Hairston
Superintendent, Baltimore County Public Schools

Dr. Joe A. Hairston has served since 2000 as Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools, the 26th largest school system in the nation. His results-based leadership has yielded rising student academic achievement throughout his tenure.

Many of the strategies Dr. Hairston employs in Baltimore County – including development of a “blueprint” for school system progress, effective use of technology to support student achievement, and key partnerships with the College Board and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) to promote college attendance – evolved over the course of his noteworthy career.

In 2007, the Horace Mann League of the USA elected Dr. Hairston to its 12-member Board of Directors, and in 2011, his fellow Board members elected him Vice President. The League is comprised of 1,000 renowned educators who share the belief that public schools are the cornerstone of democracy.

Recognized by presidents and the national media, Dr. Hairston has been honored with dozens of honors, including The Washington Post’s Distinguished Educational Leadership Award, the Maryland State Department of Education Vanguard Award, and the 2006 Virginia Tech Graduate Alumni Achievement Award. In 2005, Dr. Hairston received local, national, and international honors for his leadership in educational technology, including an Outstanding Leadership Award from the International Society for Technology in Education. Dr. Hairston has been recognized as Superintendent of the Year by The Fullwood Foundation and has been profiled in District Administration, Christian Science Monitor, and Scholastic Administr@tor magazines.

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