Press Release from St. Mary’s County Public Schools: The Board of Education of St. Mary’s County announces that Dr. Michael J. Martirano, Superintendent of Schools, has accepted an offer to serve as the State Superintendent of Schools for the State of West Virginia, and will be departing from his position as Superintendent of the St. Mary’s County Public Schools effective this fall. Dr. Martirano has served as Superintendent of Schools for St. Mary’s County since July 2005, which makes him the longest serving superintendent in St. Mary’s County since 1978, and the longest current serving superintendent in the State of Maryland. During his tenure, Dr. Martirano has led the following academic achievements:

•          An all-time high in the 2013 Four-Year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate of 91.5 percent

•          Increases to the average score on the SAT for St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS) students to 1548 – well above the national and state average – all while increasing participation

•          Increases in the number of SMCPS public high school students taking challenging Advanced Placement classes – with 1653 exams taken in 2013 and two-thirds of all students scoring a three or better

•          SMCPS Class of 2013 offered more than $34 million in scholarships

These successes came from a systematic approach to encourage excellence, raise expectations, support innovation, and efficiently allocate available resources.  Dr. Martirano has successfully led the school system through a period of noteworthy national, state and local transitions and initiatives in public education, and challenges to educational funding during recessionary times:

•          Implemented Educational Pathways, including the establishment of STEM Academies at all three levels that provide a rigorous curriculum focused on mathematics and science with an infusion of technology and engineering; an Academy of Finance; the Academy of Global and International Studies; and the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts

•          Created alternative pathways to high school success, including the Fairlead Academy I and II programs, all geared toward keeping students engaged in their education and supported through their four years of high school to decrease the dropout rate

•          Implemented and accelerated the state-mandated full-day kindergarten at all elementary schools and coupled this with the Judy Center and Head Start to offer a comprehensive pre-K program

•          Led system-wide efforts to integrate instructional technologies and supports to enhance instruction (such as interactive tablets, whiteboards and wireless technologies) and provide alternative learning opportunities for students to recover and advance learning (such as the APEX learning program)

•