Nancy S. Grasmick, Ph.D.
MSA SC 3520-11439
State Superintendent of Schools, 1991-
Extended Biography:
While Nancy S. Grasmick has come a long way from her early start teaching deaf students, she has remained focused on the children who need her most. As Maryland's Superintendent of Schools, Grasmick concentrates on the real reason for her job: "I want to be remembered as one who always advocated for the students. I would like to be remembered as one who saw the future of children as unlimited and believed that we have the obligation to provide them with the best education. When I get tired or stressed on the job, I see the faces of those children before me and that energizes me to keep going."1
A life-long Maryland resident, Nancy was born in Baltimore in 1939 and attended Baltimore City's Windsor Hills Elementary and Western High School. She became interested in teaching students with special needs after she experienced a temporary hearing loss as a child. After graduating from Towson University (then the State Teachers College at Towson) in 1961 with a degree in elementary education, Nancy began teaching deaf children at the William S. Baer School. While teaching, she went on to earn a M.S. in deaf education at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. She also taught at the Woodvale School for four years. Nancy soon became more involved in administrative duties, and by 1968 she became the supervisor for the Office of Special Education for Baltimore County Public Schools.
In 1974, Nancy became the principal of the Chatsworth School, a school for children with severe emotional difficulties. She also pursued a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in communicative sciences with a focus on speech and language disorders. She received her Ph.D. in 1979, graduating with distinction. Meanwhile, Dr. Grasmick had become the assistant superintendent for the Baltimore County Public School; she soon advanced to associate superintendent. After her long involvement with the Baltimore schools, Dr. Grasmick became involved with education across Maryland, first as the Secretary for Juvenile Services and then as the Special Secretary for Children, Youth and Families, a cabinet-level post that she held from 1989 to 1994. During this time, she also married Lou Grasmick, a lumber contractor and political fund-raiser.2
In 1991, Nancy Grasmick was appointed by Governor William Donald Schaefer to the post of State Superintendent of Schools. The first woman to hold the post in Maryland, Dr. Grasmick was also the first person to hold two cabinet level-positions at the same time until her term as Special Secretary ran out. However, Dr. Grasmick viewed the overlap as a positive, explaining that her background gave her a unique perspective on how to forge partnerships between state services and Maryland's schools.3 Responsible for major initiatives in Maryland's education and overseeing a budget of $4 billion, Dr. Grasmick soon gained a reputation for her hard work and long hours. According to one interview, she could often be seen "leaving her north Baltimore County home before the morning newspaper delivery and returning home late in the evening."4 Her stamina is inspiring. She has now held her office for thirteen years, longer than any other head of education in the country.
Such a long tenure has allowed Dr. Grasmick to shepherd several major initiatives for Maryland schools. In 1992, Maryland became to first state in the nation to require community service by all students by the end of high school. Local school districts could develop programs that included a service-learning component or allow students to complete seventy-five hours of community service by graduation. In an editorial in Education Week, the leading newspaper for the education community, Dr. Grasmick emphasizes how service learning provides the opportunity for students to apply what they learn in school while contributing to the larger community.5 Along with service learning, Dr. Grasmick has improved accountability for Maryland public schools. She spearheaded the effort to develop the Maryland State Performance Assessment Program (MSPSP) in order to make schools more accountable to their tax base. Now all parents are mailed annual reports on their school's results and how it compares to other districts in the state. Dr. Grasmick often tells audiences that "No child should have to continue to attend a failing school by accident of where he or she lives."6 Maryland's initiative has been praised nationally; one survey ranks the state first in standards and accountability.7 As a long-time Baltimore resident who came through the school system, Dr. Grasmick has been especially sensitive to the needs of that city's troubled schools. In 1997, Maryland began a federal suit against Baltimore's city schools in order to provided better funding. The district's shrinking tax base severely impacted efforts to improve the schools, so the lawsuit allowed the state to develop a partial takeover and infuse the district with $300 million to help the poorest schools.8 While Dr. Grasmick received some recent criticism over budget management, she can boast that the state's influence in Baltimore has improved academic performance.
Dr. Grasmick now has an impressive roster of awards and honors for her commitment to the state's education. In 2000, the Daily Record inducted Dr. Grasmick into their "Circle of Excellence" which is only given to women who are included on the paper's "Maryland's Top 100 Women" list in at least three separate years.9 Dr. Grasmick was also given the prestigious Harold W. McGraw Jr. award for her work. The award came with a $25,000 cash prize, and Dr. Grasmick felt like the honor was "a validation of the very difficult reform journey that we've been on in Maryland."10 The next year, 2003, the Education Commission of the States presented Maryland with its "State Innovation Award" in recognition of new policy development. Dr. Grasmick was also named to the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education in 2003. The Commission recommended special education policy and was responsible for how the $8 billion annual budget for special education was allotted. Dr. Grasmick then received two special awards in 2003, one from the Ronald McDonald Foundation which honored her "advocacy and support for young children." The other came from the American Lung Association; they awarded Dr. Grasmick with the Breath of Life Award for her support of children with asthma. According to Dr. Grasmick, "Children miss more school because of asthma than any other chronic illness, collectively, about 10 million days each year. . . That's why children's lung health is a fight the education community must embrace just as much as the health community."11 In 2004, Dr. Grasmick was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame, and the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association named her the recipient of the Woodrow Wilson Award for Distinguished Government Service. Previous honorees included Madeline Albright and Kweisi Mfume, the president of the NAACP. In addition to these honors, Dr. Grasmick has received honorary degrees from Towson University, Goucher College, Villa Julie and the University of Baltimore. Along with her work as State Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Grasmick has found time to be on numerous boards including the Sheppard Pratt Hospital, the Towson Sate University Alumni Association, the Maryland Humanities Council, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Grasmick is well-respected for her leadership and poise; she has
even been considered for a larger role in Maryland's politics. When
he began is run for the governorship, Bob Ehrlich approached Dr. Grasmick
for the position of lieutenant governor. She considered briefly,
but decided: "My whole career, I've resisted the interference of politicians
in education. If I'd become lieutant governor, I'd have violated
my own principles. I'd be trying to run the schools from a position
of politics."12 Her
principles have served her well. William J. Moloney, Colorado's commissioner
of education and a former Maryland administrator, knows Dr. Grasmick's
work well. He believes she had truly contributed to the lives of
Maryland children: "It's been a remarkable tenure. [Nationally] Dr.
Grasmick is one of the top two names that come up most consistently for
what's she's doing for education in her state."13
Endnotes:
1. "People Who Make Things Happen: Nancy Grasmick," Baltimore Times, 26 February 1996. return to text
2. Olesker, Michael. "For Grasmick, Decision Boiled Down to Kids," The Baltimore Sun, 18 June 2002. return to text
3. "Q & A: Maryland State Chief, With Two Hats, Aims at Collaboration," Education Week, 18 September 1991. return to text
4. Libit, Howard. "A Decade of Juggling Education and Politics," The Baltimore Sun, 2 September 2001. return to text
5. Grasmick, Nancy S. "Learning Through Service," Education Week, 7 April 1993. return to text
6. Libit. return to text
7. "Alumni News." Johns Hopkins Magazine. February 2002. http://www.jhu.edu/~jhumag/0202web/alumnews.html. return to text
8. Ibid. return to text
9. Maryland State Department of Education. "Superintendent's Biography." May 17, 2001. http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/divisions/superintendent/SuptBio.htm. return to text
10. Reeves, Tracy A. "First the Reforms, and then the Award," The Washington Post, 21 September 2000. return to text
11. Maryland State Department of Education. "American Lung Association of Maryland to Honor Superintendent Grasmick Advocacy." Press Releases and Media Alerts. April 3, 2003. http://www.msde.state.md.us/pressreleases/2003/april/2003_0403.htm. return to text
12. Olesker. return to text
13. Libit. return to text
Extendend biography written by 2004 summer intern Amy Hobbs.
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