Worcester County names two finalists for next superintendent of schools. Meet them here.

The Worcester County Board of Education has announced the names of the two finalists for the next Worcester County Superintendent of Schools. Each finalist will participate in a “Day in the District” experience later this month.

Here are the finalists, in alphabetical order, and their biographies provided by Worcester County Public Schools.

The two finalists for Worcester County superintendent of schools

• Annette Wallace – A graduate of Worcester County Public Schools, Annette Wallace currently serves as WCPS Chief Safety Officer and Academic Officer for grades 9-12. With a history of impactful leadership, Wallace served as principal of Pocomoke High School from 2012-2018, where she doubled AP enrollment while significantly improving student pass rates and launched Project 100 to increase access to post-secondary education, all of which led to the school becoming the district’s highest performing. Since her appointment to Chief Operating Officer in 2018, Wallace has demonstrated leadership in school construction, food services, technology, special education, all academic content areas, human resources, and student services. She holds degrees in Mathematics, School Leadership, and Educational Leadership, is actively involved in her community, and has presented as a thought leader at local, state, and national education conferences.

• Monique Wheatley-Phillip – Monique Wheatley-Phillip brings over 30 years of experience in education, including 17 years in Title I schools as a classroom and special education resource teacher. She has led medium and large sized schools and annually supervised over 30 principals who served in diverse communities. As the Baltimore County Public Schools Division Chief of Research, Accountability, and Assessment, she supervised the development of the eight-year strategic plan, which identified annual goals and specific targets for the system. A strategic thinker and planner who understands the importance of collaboration and gaining consensus, Wheatley-Phillip’s expertise in the use of evidence-based instructional practices and data analytics narrowed achievement gaps and increased performance across student groups. In her current role as a Consulting Administrator, School Operations, Wheatley-Phillip supports schools by managing the utilization of $11 million dollars of extracurricular and co-curricular activity funds. Additionally, she manages seven million dollars in Title II grant funds that support educator development. She holds degrees in education as well as certificates in Leadership and Reading.

“The search process to find a new educational leader in Worcester County has been a top priority for this Board. We are pleased with our progress in the search so far, and we are excited to announce our two highly qualified finalists,” Board of Education President Todd Ferrante said. “We greatly appreciate the investment our community is making by participating in the upcoming focus groups and providing input to the Board. We look forward to making a final decision soon and helping our new Superintendent create a vision and plan for transitioning into this leadership role.”

The Board’s goal is to choose the top candidate for superintendent this month and vote to appoint the chosen candidate in May. The new superintendent would begin on July 1, 2025.

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Lou Taylor announced retirement as Worcester County superintendent

In January, Superintendent Lou Taylor announced he would not seek another reappointment to another four-year term, choosing instead to retire after his 41 years of service to the school system. Following Taylor’s announcement, the Board of Education contracted with the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) to conduct the search process. Public input was gathered in February to inform the search process for a new superintendent. Participants were asked to describe the characteristics they sought in a new Superintendent. This Superintendent profile was used when reviewing candidate qualifications.

In March, the superintendent opening was posted widely so that qualified local, state, and national candidates could apply, with the first consideration of applications on March 26. The Board conducted interviews to select the finalists who will participate in the extensive interviews April 22 – 23, with various stakeholder groups. These groups will provide input to the Board as it prepares to choose a new superintendent.

Each of the finalists’ “Day in the District” will include time to meet with local officials; interviews with panels of CentralOffice leaders, principals, teachers, support staff, business leaders, parents and community leaders; lunch with students;time to meet with members of the media; and dinner and discussion with the Board of Education.

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This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Meet Worcester’s two finalists for next superintendent of schools