Statement by Scott Pearson, Executive Director, on selection of Abigail Smith as DC Deputy Mayor for Education

Contact: Theola Labbé-DeBose, 202-579-9385 cell/text

Today Mayor Vincent C. Gray named Abigail Smith as the new Deputy Mayor for Education. We cannot think of a better person to step into this position. Abigail has tremendous leadership experience in her previous role at DCPS. She has served as Board Chair of E.L. Haynes Public Charter School. She worked closely with DC charter schools in the last six months as a consultant to facilitate Your Charters, Your Choice . For the first time under this effort, more than 85 charter schools used the same application deadline and lottery timeline. This effort to streamline the application process will continue under new leadership.