The Board of Education announced current interim state superintendent Dr. Jack R. Smith as the new MCPS superintendent, who will begin his term in July.

The Board, along with press, students, teachers and parents, gathered at the Carver Educational Services Center in Rockville where Smith spoke about his future as superintendent.

Smith emphasized that he must first create logical and lasting solutions for pressing challenges in order to promote countywide growth.

“I think there are few superintendents who don’t want to see students do better and have better opportunities,” Smith said. “But I think lots of times it’s in the approach that you take where you get the growth or not. And so my approach is very common sense: it’s very much based on hard work, and working together, and thinking through problems, and then implementing solutions that really can be successful.”

Major issues Smith plans to confront include fostering motivation in the classroom and individualizing education to specific student needs.

With considerable experience in both administrative positions and in the classroom, Smith will bring a wide range of skills to his new position. He worked in the Maryland State Department of Education, as well as schools and central offices in both the United States and Asia.

“Since the inception of the search for a new superintendent for MCPS, the Board has met with several very impressive candidates from all over the nation,” said Board president Michael Durso in Smith’s finalist letter. “After a rigorous process, the Board is excited about working with Dr. Smith as the next superintendent of schools. He comes to us with extensive experience in K-12 education and new insights on delivering instruction to today’s classrooms.”

The Board is excited to work with Smith, citing his innovative ideas to improve the county’s quality of education.

“Dr. Smith is a renowned educational leader throughout the state of Maryland who knows a lot about education and is very committed to engaging our student body with discussions about the issues that are facing students today,” SMOB Eric Guerci said. “Often, before I would even ask him about engaging students he was talking about the importance of the student voice and engaging students.”

Looking to his future with MCPS, Smith highlighted the importance of directly impacting a student’s educational experiences.

“I’m going to work really, really hard on behalf of the students and adults in this community,” Smith said. “I hope it impacts their daily lives in that they continue to get a very high quality education in this community and if they haven’t got everything they needed that we work together to continue to give them what they need.”