Search for superintendent: Dr. Lorenzo L. Hughes

Ready for college and ready for a career: these are the goals Dr. Lorenzo L. Hughes says he has for every student.

“A lot of our students don’t even understand and realize where it is they want to go and research lets us know the jobs and the careers they want to go into…have not even been developed yet.” Says Dr. Hughes, “So again, giving them access the most rigorous academic course load.”

Dr. Hughes currently serves as Assistant Superintendent for Instruction for Dorchester County Public Schools. He is one of three candidates being considered for Superintendent of public schools in Wicomico County.

Between 2005 and 2010, Dr. Hughes served as principal of Wicomico High School. When his tenure there started, the school had already been designated a school “in need of local attention” by the Maryland Department of Education based on high drop-out rates.

Dr. Hughes says after his first year, that designation was gone.

“We were able to increase the scholarship dollars that were awarded when i was principal of Wicomico High.” Explains Dr. Hughes, “After the first year, it was 787,000 and when I left in 2010, my students had amassed 1.9 million dollars in scholarships.”

Meanwhile in Dorchester County, he says a major marker of success has been bridging a gap in graduation rates between white and black students.

According to Dr. Hughes, white students were out-graduating black students by more than 16 percent in 2011. As of 2014, the gap had narrowed to just under three percent.

“I’m committed to making sure kids have education, because I do that think that is the mechanism by which they can level the playing field.” He says.

Wednesday will be the third day in the district for the last finalist, where Dr. Donna Hanlin will be touring schools and meeting with panels.