Dr. Kelly L. Griffith has been honored by her peers as Maryland Superintendent of the Year. She holds a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Innovation from Wilmington University and has been superintendent of Talbot County Public Schools for nine years. She will represent Maryland in the 2022 National Superintendents of the Year Program.
In accepting the honor from the Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), she credited the commitment and collaborative spirit of her team, saying, “Every individual who has worked on behalf of the children of Talbot County deserves our appreciation now more than ever. Teachers, bus drivers, administrators, custodians, and support staff, along with our very supportive Board of Education, have all made essential contributions to our school district.”
Dr. Griffith led educators and community stakeholders in the district’s first five-year comprehensive strategic plan, 2020 Vision, which focused on three goals with measurable outcomes: academic excellence, partnerships, and organizational resources. Accomplishments included new elementary and secondary curricula, additional Advanced Placement and Technical Education opportunities, and expanded social and emotional learning services. In addition, she engaged the community to establish an education foundation that has raised more than $570,000 to support grants for teachers, student scholarships, student internet access, and mental health services in schools.
Susan Delean-Botkin, Talbot County Board of Education president, praised Dr. Griffith for leading the school system through the challenges of the pandemic. “Pivot was our word of the year, and Dr. Griffith excelled at getting the entire system to pivot our way to a 96-percent graduation rate and a 2-percent drop out rate,” she says.