Maryland

Carey Wright will continue to lead Maryland schools, state board announces

Published

2 years ago

April 24, 2024

Carey Wright will continue to lead Maryland schools, state board announces

The Maryland State Board of Education on Wednesday appointed Carey Wright, a former Mississippi schools chief who started her career in the D.C. region, to serve as the next state superintendent of schools.

Wright, the current interim state superintendent, will be charged with steering the department of education as it implements the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a landmark education law that funnels billions into public schools in hopes of making the state’s education system one of the best in the nation.

“Growing up in Maryland and spending a majority of my career in Maryland, I knew how good our schools were, and I also know how much better we can be,” Wright said after the vote.

In Maryland, the State Board of Education hires the superintendent, and the governor appoints members to that board. Gov. Wes Moore (D) has so far appointed six people to the 14-member board. Wright was unanimously approved by the state board members present; one member was absent.

Wright was named interim state superintendent in October, after former state superintendent of schools Mohammed Choudhury lost support from the board.

An investigation by The Washington Post last year found that several former staffers alleged that Choudhury created a “toxic” work environment that drove out his former lieutenants and dozens of veterans in the education agency. Former employees alleged that he had a pattern of micromanagement that held up important work, and several district leaders quietly expressed confusion about the Blueprintand other guidance from the department. Choudhury said the former employees could not embrace change.

Since Choudhury’s departure, Wright has been guiding the state’s education department, which oversees 24 school districts with about 890,000 students enrolled. She was tasked by the state board with developing a literacy policy that would incorporate more elements of the “science of reading,” a methodology that places an emphasis on phonics while teaching kids how to read. The board set a goal of getting Maryland to place among the top 10 states in reading on the fourth- and eighth-grade National Assessment for Educational Progress, or NAEP — a standardized test sometimes called “the gold standard” of student assessment — by 2027.

The state ranked 40th in the nation in fourth grade reading on the most recent NAEP assessment. It ranked 25th for eighth graders.

Wright has had success boosting performance. She is known in the education world as the Mississippi superintendent who raised student reading and math performance in a state that for decades received low scores on the NAEP.

Wright is a homegrown Maryland educator. She started her career in Prince George’s County Public Schools — the state’s second largest school system. She also served stints within the Howard and Montgomery county school systems, before becoming the chief academic officer and deputy chief for the D.C. Public Schools’ Office of Teaching and Learning.

In 2013, she was named Mississippi’s state superintendent of education. She retired from that post in 2022.

She will start her four-year term in Maryland on July 1.

This story will be updated.

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Maryland

Attempted traffic stop leads to arrest of Maryland man wanted for kidnapping

Published

7 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Attempted traffic stop leads to arrest of Maryland man wanted for kidnapping

Frederick County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) announced the arrest of a man wanted for kidnapping on Thursday afternoon.

Suba Washington Jr., 27, of Williamsport, Maryland, was apprehended in Frederick after an attempted traffic stop early Thursday morning, according to deputies.

The pursuit

When officers tried to pull over a Hyundai Elantra in the 7300 block of Crestwood Blvd., the driver, later identified as Washington, refused to stop.

Deputies were later notified that Washington was wanted on charges of kidnapping, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment in Washington County, Maryland.

As Washington fled northbound on Route 85, he struck a car near Crestwood Blvd. and Buckeystown Pike; however, the driver of the vehicle was unharmed as the suspect continued onto northbound I-270 and then westbound I-70.

Washington’s tires were eventually flattened after deputies deployed stop sticks near the Middletown exit.

Though the pursuit still wasn’t over, as the vehicle managed to cross over into Washington County, where the Washington County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) and Maryland State Police (MSP) aided in apprehension.

Washington was taken into custody after his vehicle approached the Route 40 exit, coming to a full stop on the highway.

The charges

A 17-year-old in the passenger seat was found with Washington during the pursuit. The teenager was released to WSCO.

According to FCSO, Washington Jr. was taken to the Frederick County Adult Detention Center and charged with numerous traffic citations, including reckless driving, negligent driving, and two counts of attempting to elude law enforcement.

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Maryland

Maryland to launch study on economic impacts of climate change

Published

19 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Maryland to launch study on economic impacts of climate change

Maryland will launch a study to analyze the economic impacts of climate change to determine the costs associated with storm damage and health outcomes.

The move is part of the Moore-Miller administration’s strategic approach to investing in a clean energy economy and modernizing the state’s energy infrastructure.

“While the federal government has spent the past year rolling back climate protections and driving up energy costs, Maryland is taking a responsible step toward understanding the true price tag of climate change,” Gov. Wes Moore said in a statement. “This study will give us a clear, data-driven look at the real burden taxpayers are shouldering as climate change drives more extreme and costly weather events.”

The RENEW Act Study will be funded by investments and state sources, including $30,000 from philanthropic funding and $470,000 from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund, to assess the burden that Marylanders are paying due to intense weather events and environmental shifts.

Marylanders on climate change

The announcement comes months after Maryland lawmakers opposed a proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to recind its 2009 endangerment finding, which determined that greenhouse gases were a danger to public health.

Lawmakers raised concerns that the move would mean engine and vehicle manufacturers would not be required to measure, control or report greenhouse gas emissions. They also raised concerns that the decision could impact climate change and harm local communities.

The EPA said it intended to retain regulations for pollutant and toxic air measurement and standards. In September, the agency initiated the formal process to reconsider the finding.

In March, a Johns Hopkins University poll found that nearly 73% of surveyed Baltimore City and County residents were concerned that climate change would affect them.

According to the study, city residents were more concerned about personal harm from climate change than county residents. However, county residents expected to see higher costs in the next five years due to climate change.

About 70% of Baltimore area residents believe climate change will increase costs for homeowners and businesses in the next five years, the study found.

An April report ranked the Washington/Baltimore/Arlington region as the 36th worst in the country and second worst in the mid-Atlantic region for ozone smog. The report graded Baltimore County an “F” for ozone smog.

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