Resource Title:
2006: Nancy S. Grasmick

Under Nancy Grasmick’s leadership over the past 15 years, Maryland has been a trailblazer and a top performer in areas ranging from standards-based school improvement to strategic planning to the education of children with disabilities. She is nationally respected for her leadership in building consensus among parents and educators on issues and programs for special education. These collaborations have led to an innovative model of funding for special education in Maryland that is systematically integrated with the state accountability system. Among her many accomplishments as superintendent are the establishment of a statewide Parent Advisory Council and the creation of a program that brings high-performing principals from other school districts into Baltimore City to run schools and train new leaders. She is a member of the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education and is the only K-12 education representative on the Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the 21st Century. She also served on a 20-member panel appointed by the National Academies that last fall issued the influential report Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. Over the years, Grasmick has served ECS with distinction as a member of the Steering Committee and various standing committees and as an ECS officer.