Dr. Carol R. Johnson

Dr. Carol R. Johnson

The National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) honored Boston Public Schools (BPS) Superintendent Dr. Carol R. Johnson with its Joseph E. Hill Superintendent of the Year Award at the alliance’s 36th annual conference, held in Atlanta.

The award is given annually to a superintendent who has demonstrated a quality of leadership that resulted in significant positive outcomes for student achievement.

“We were very pleased to have selected Dr. Carol Johnson as the recipient of the Joseph E. Hill Superintendent of the Year Award, and we knew we were on the right track when we saw all of the recognition she has received throughout her career,” said NABSE Executive Director Quentin R. Lawson. “In fact, we were just as proud to have her as the recipient as she was to receive the award.”

Johnson was named BPS superintendent in August 2007. During her first year, she presented an “Acceleration Agenda,” a set of recommendations to improve the academic achievement of all students and to strengthen operations to support the academic priorities of the district. Later, Johnson introduced “Pathways to Excellence,” a set of proposals adopted by the Boston School Committee in November designed to consolidate the BPS in order to carry out the district’s academic agenda.

Johnson previously served as superintendent of the Memphis City Schools in Memphis, Tenn. During her tenure, she successfully removed more than 100 Memphis schools from the state’s No Child Left Behind “high priority” list, reducing the number of schools on the list by more than half.

The Boston school chief is no stranger to such honors. In 2007, the Tennessee Parent Teacher Association named her the Tennessee Superintendent of the Year. Prior to her appointment in Memphis in 2003, Johnson was superintendent of the Minneapolis Public Schools, where she was named Minnesota Superintendent of the Year.