A high-ranking administrator in the Chicago school district has been named superintendent of the Prince William County (Va.) district.
The Prince William Times reports that LaTanya McDade, 47, chief education officer of Chicago Public Schools, will be the first woman and the first African American to lead the 90,000-student Prince William County school system.
McDade is a native of Chicago and a mother of two grown sons who has worked 23 years with Chicago schools, serving as a teaching assistant, teacher, assistant principal, principal, head of teaching and learning and finally as the chief education officer of the 340,000-student school division.
“What I see in Prince William County is a school division that is rightly proud of its schools. I see a school division that values and celebrates diversity, but I also see a school division that will not settle for anything less than a world-class education for every student,” McDade said.
“I see that equity is a moral imperative. That is the kind of district that I want to be a part of,” she added. “That's the kind of district that my career has prepared me to lead.”
In her role as chief education officer i Chicago, McDade oversees all academic offices and is responsible for all aspects of teaching and learning, including curriculum development and instructional policy, while managing a $3.4 billion budget.
School Board Chairman Babur Lateef said the school board considered applications from 48 candidates from 16 states before interviewing five candidates through a combination of in-person and Zoom meetings.
McDade will begin her new job on July 1.
She has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Chicago State University and a master’s degree in leadership and administration from Loyola University. She is pursuing her doctoral degree at Lewis University, according to a news release
