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.
Maryland
Carey Wright will continue to lead Maryland schools, state board announces
“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.
The state said the five recently traveled together to “a location in the U.S. experiencing an active measles outbreak.”
Maryland health officials confirmed five more measles cases, all in Carroll County.
“These individuals recently traveled together to a location in the U.S. experiencing an active measles outbreak,” the state Department of Health said in a release.
The agency said others may have been exposed on the afternoon of July 13 in the emergency department waiting room at Carroll Hospital Center in Westminster.
Another measles case recently prompted warnings from health officials in Maryland, Virginia and the District. On June 17, a Maryland resident traveled through Dulles International Airport and visited a D.C. urgent care clinic.
Measles is highly contagious. It can spread through the air through coughs, breathing, and sneezes. Early symptoms can include fevers of over 101 degrees, coughs, runny noses, watery eyes and face or body rashes.
It can take up to 21 days after exposure for the first symptoms to appear, and those who are not fully vaccinated or otherwise immune to measles are especially vulnerable.
The five new measles cases in Maryland bring the state’s year-to-date total to nine. The state health department confirmed three cases in 2025, and one in each of the previous two years.
“All Marylanders should review potential exposure times, watch for symptoms, and confirm they are up to date on their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations,” the health department said.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
Baltimore may be under an extreme heat alert, but residents can dream about autumn, as tickets are now on sale for the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show returning to the Maryland State Fairgrounds in October.
This three-day celebration of home and garden takes place from Friday, Oct. 16 through Sunday, Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Expect hundreds of exhibitors, local makers, home improvement experts, family-friendly experiences and celebrity guests. The show offers everyone the chance to explore the very latest in home improvement, landscaping, outdoor living and decor, the chance to take part in hands-on experiences, and do some holiday shopping all under one roof.
This year’s show will have more than 300 exhibitors, including more than 100 crafters from around Maryland in the Makers Market. There will be unique exhibits, stage presentations and a special appearance by Chase Morrill, Ashley Morrill-Eldridge and Ryan Eldridge from Magnolia Network’s hit series “Maine Cabin Masters.” The three will have two Main Stage appearances, one on Friday, Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. and the second on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 12 p.m.
“As temperatures start to drop and the holiday season comes into view, the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show is a place to gather ideas, meet local experts and get inspired before the busy season begins,” said Dave Paul, show manager, in a statement. “Whether attendees are planning a home project, looking for outdoor living ideas or getting a head start on holiday shopping, the show brings together resources and experiences for every kind of homeowner, maker and DIY enthusiast.”
In addition to the Makers Market and stars of “Maine Cabin Masters”, the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show will have a petting zoo, a Kids Market where attendees can shop from local children, and much more.
Tickets are available online and at the door. Prices are as follows:
Online:
- Adults: $8
- Senior Citizens (60+): $6
- Children (ages 6-12): $4
- 4-Pack Online: $30 for four tickets, valid for one admission each and one day only
At the door:
- Adults: $10
- Senior Citizens (60+): $8
- Children (ages 6-12): $4
- Friday & Saturday: $4 after 4 p.m. at the door only
Special Offers:
- Active and retired military personnel, veterans, firefighters and police officers receive free admission all weekend, along with one guest, with valid ID at the box office.
- Attendees who show a CharmPass app, Light RailLink ticket or eligible transit pass at the box office receive free admission any day of the show. One admission is available per pass.
The Maryland State Fairgrounds is located at 2200 York Road in Lutherville-Timonium.
Related
Maryland
Maryland police arrest alleged bank robber wielding stolen cat: ‘Tried to use her as an accessory’
Law enforcement agencies are accustomed to dealing with cat burglars – but now a Maryland police department is saying it grappled with a cat-wielding bank robber.
The Prince George’s county police department said its officers arrested a man suspected of stealing a cat and then taking the animal with him to a PNC bank branch in the local community of Beltsville to rob the establishment on Monday morning.
“The cat was returned” after the suspect was arrested, the police department said in a statement to the Guardian on Tuesday. The agency said no injuries were reported, and it declined to name the suspect or release additional details, saying the case – bound for a spot in the annals of bizarre reported US crimes – remained under investigation.
Nonetheless, a social media post from rescue shelter Beltsville Community Cats provided more information.
A Beltsville Community Cats Facebook page post on Monday identified the cat at the center of the alleged botched caper as Magnolia, a three-and-a-half-month-old tuxedo kitten. The shelter recounted how the suspect first snatched Magnolia from her “adoption habitat” at Beltsville’s Pet Supplies Plus store, took her across the parking lot to a PNC branch, and “tried to use her as an accessory in [an] attempted robbery”.
“He asked the bank manager to hold the kitten while he wrote a note, then handed the note to a teller demanding all the cash,” the post continued. “Thankfully, the robbery was unsuccessful, the suspect was arrested, and Magnolia was found safe and sound in the bank manager’s office, where the two had bonded over their shared ordeal.”
Pet Supplies Plus store employees told the NBC affiliate in nearby Washington DC that Magnolia’s cat napper had come in daily for about two weeks and focused on the kitten each time.
Finally, on Monday, he managed to use a key to open a cat adoption area and whisked Magnolia away, store employees said to the outlet, WRC.
Store manager Aaron Kurkowski told WRC that Magnolia’s thief “came in and saw none of my team was nearby the front – and he just went right to her and ran right on out”.
According to WRC, Stephanie Stullich of Beltsville Community Cats then received a call from a pet store employee who alerted her to Magnolia’s plight.
That prompted Stullich to run over to the store, where she said to WRC that she “immediately saw all of these police cars and … thought, ‘Wow, that’s a heck of a response for a stolen cat’.”
“But then I realized they all were going down to the bank,” Stullich recalled to WRC. “They came back out a few minutes later and said, ‘Yes, there is a cat inside the bank.’”
Two days before her catnapping, Magnolia was the subject of a Beltsville Community Cats Facebook post inviting people to see her at Pet Supplies Plus and consider adopting her.
Magnolia as of Monday was still waiting to be adopted, Beltsville Community Cats said in its post detailing the bank robbery.
The non-profit organization offered members of the public the opportunity to apply to adopt Magnolia by emailing rescue@beltsvillecats.net.
Beltsville Community Cats’ post also joked that Magnolia’s “brief ‘life of crime’ is behind her” – except for undoubtedly “stealing” hearts, treats, toys and cuddles wherever her forever home may be.
-
Movie Reviews6 minutes agoMovie Review: “The Odyssey”
-
World17 minutes agoUS military says it completed latest strikes on Iran, targets included Bandar Abbas
-
Politics30 minutes agoInside Trump’s Swift Construction of a White House Helipad
-
Science42 minutes agoThe Wildfire Researchers Who Burn Houses Down on Purpose
-
Lifestyle1 hour ago
Apache chef Nephi Craig says cooking Native food saved his life
-
Technology1 hour agoGoogle is better at playing the AI regulations game
-
World1 hour agoIran calls on Houthis to prepare to cut off Red Sea gateway — can the terror group do it?
-
Politics1 hour agoTodd Blanche roasts Adam Schiff in heated hearing: ‘You’re a lawyer, you know the rules’
