In just a few months Montgomery County Schools will have a new Superintendent, Dr. Jack Smith, selected by the MCPS Board of Education to take the position on July 1. Ever since February of 2015, when Dr. Joshua Starr left the position, there has been an intensive search for a new leader. Now, over a year later the search has finally come to an end.

Smith has more than thirty years of teaching experience in his home state of Washington and overseas in Japan as well. He has also served as Superintendent for Calvert County, Maryland. He will leave his current position as interim superintendent of Maryland schools when he arrives in Montgomery County this summer.

“I’ve decided I’d rather work in a local school system” Smith said in a recent interview. The more direct task of supervising one county appealed more than spreading across the whole state. Here he can be more effective and hands on with his work, Still with a student population of 150,000 it is no easy job.

RM principal Mr. Monteleone, noted Smith’s “years as a principal and educator, both inside and outside of the United States,” as an important quality in superintendents. “I know how this perspective shapes one’s approach to working with all students and seeking to understand them.”

With kids of his own, Smith feels it is important for educators always to have the best interest of kids in their minds. As the soon to be superintendent of Montgomery County he wants all students to leave the school system “knowing the school has been really been a champion, an advocate,” for them.

He stresses the importance of learning the processes of reading, writing and mathematics as the foundation for all studies including arts. He feels that these disciplines will turn into “opportunities in work, in higher education and in life.”

Living in Tokyo from 1992 to 1998, Smith has had to deal with dangerous events such as the Kobin earthquakes and Sarin gas attacks. This experience will help him deal with similar problems here like snow days, lockdowns, and possible storms.

Be on the lookout for opportunities to meet and hear from Dr. Smith multiple times over the next few months as he will be trying to learn as about the community and its residents as much as possible.“There are a lot of different opinions but the more I can hear those opinions…the more I will be well prepared to do the work of the school system.”