In the 9 years since Carey Wright took on the role of State Superintendent of Education, students have seen markedly large gains in education. Experts say the state rose from being ranked 50th in the quality counts index, to 35th, and graduation rates have exceeded the national average. Carey Wright says one of the most recent benchmarks for the state was ranking top in scores for the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Superintendent Wright says “If there’s one area that I would push for us to continue and expand would be our coaching strategy. We’ve got coaches in literacy, mathematics, special education, school improvement, digital learning and early childhood. And that’s all out there to benefit teachers, build their capacity, in order to make their instruction that much stronger for children.”
When the coronavirus pandemic began in Mississippi more than two years ago, many districts had to adjust to distance learning options. Superintendent Wright says teachers and students across the state faced various challenges making this shift, but continued to see growth. She says whoever takes her place may continue to face challenges that became apparent throughout the pandemic.
“The one issue that I think that the next chief is gonna face, and that is the overall mental health of our students and our teachers and our leaders,” says Wright. “So we have already started down our path of professional development for our teachers to train them, working with our counselors on how they help children while they’re in school, and now with our money, we are going to be expanding telehealth and teletherapy statewide.”
Superintendent Wright says her decision to step down was based on spending more time with her family who lives out of state.
