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Superintendent
Dr.
Sydney L. Cousin
Howard County's Superintendent of Schools, Sydney Cousin, began his career in education in 1967 as a history teacher at Lombard Junior High School in Baltimore, a position he held for three years. After receiving his master's degree in City and Regional Planning, he spent a year as a Capital Planner for the Baltimore City Department of Planning. He rejoined the Baltimore City school system in 1973 as a Long-Range Planner in the Division of Physical Plant Planning and Programming, and was promoted to Staff Director of the Division in 1977.
In 1987, the Howard County Public School System was fortunate to hire Dr. Cousin as the Director of School Construction and Planning. He was promoted to Associate Superintendent of Finance and Operations two years later, and remained in this position until 2001 when he was appointed Deputy Superintendent/Chief Operating Officer.
In July 2003, Dr. Cousin “retired” from the Howard County Public School System and joined the Washington, DC Public School System as an Associate Superintendent, where he remained till February 2004.
In March 2004, at the request of the Howard County Board of Education, Dr. Cousin accepted the position of Interim Superintendent of Schools. In July 2004, he was awarded a four-year contract to serve as Superintendent. In June 2008, he was reappointed for another four-year term. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the school system with an enrollment of 49,748 students in 73 schools, 7,852 employees, and an operating budget of $656.7 million.
Dr. Cousin is a graduate of Morgan State University (1967). He received his master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972, and his Doctorate in Education from Temple University in 1986.
He has served on numerous boards and committees over the years, and currently serves on the Maryland Partnership for Children in Nature, the Nonprofit Resource Development Council, and the boards of The Horizon Foundation, the Bright Minds Foundation (Howard County Public Schools' Educational Foundation, Inc.) and the African-American Culture Center.
Superintendent's 2010-11 Goals
On Thursday, October 21, 2010, Superintendent Sydney Cousin reported on four goals that will serve as his focus for the 2010-11 school year. The Superintendent’s goals are tied directly to Goal 1 and 2 of the school system's goals and are designed to position the HCPSS for Race to the Top accountability and mandates. The four goals are listed below:
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To develop an evaluation tool for teachers and administrators that meets the criteria of state and federal mandates and which emphasizes the importance of student achievement.
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To ensure that every racial/ethnic group is on track to reach the 100 percent proficiency rate expected for 2014 and thus eliminating the achievement gap.
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To implement a comprehensive leadership development program and succession planning for all system leaders.
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To develop a long-range plan for offering World Languages at the elementary level.
For more information about the Superintendent's 2010-11 goals, click here.
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