County Executive Aisha Braveboy names Dr. Sean Joseph as Prince George's County superintendent

County Executive Aisha Braveboy announced her selection and nomination of Dr. Sean Joseph as the next superintendent of Prince George's County Public Schools, saying the decision followed a comprehensive national search and input from more than 4,200 stakeholders.

Braveboy cited the search process conducted "pursuant to Maryland Education Article, section 4-2011," thanked a committee appointed by Governor Wes Moore, and said the panel rated Dr. Joseph highest among three finalists. "He received overwhelmingly positive recommendations, including multiple strongly recommended ratings from evaluators representing parents, community stakeholders, and special education advocates," she said.

Dr. Joseph, who has served as interim superintendent, accepted the nomination and framed leadership as stewardship. "I accept this responsibility with total humility and gratitude and with a deep awareness that leadership is stewardship," he said. He told attendees the district must "raise achievement," "strengthen literacy and math," and "improve outcomes for students receiving special education services and multilingual services." He described a vision that centers equity and measurable classroom results.

Supporters from the education and county leadership community praised the pick. Dr. Donna Christie, president of the Prince George's County Educators Association, said unions were included in the selection this year and credited Dr. Joseph with a collaborative approach that helped the district and labor find solutions. "We're going to solve these problems and we're going to solve them together," Christie said.

Council Chair Krystal Oriadha, representing District 7, said she had discussed special education with Dr. Joseph and described him as someone "who has a heart for that community and understand[s] that they don't need to be pushed aside." Councilmember Burroughs recounted a case in which Dr. Joseph's team helped a student access immediate mental health treatment and said the superintendent had helped unite the school board.

State Sen. Alonzo Washington (District 22) emphasized the transparency of the selection process. "This appointment did not happen in the back room. It happened through a public process that the state legislature voted on," he said, and outlined three priorities families need from the new superintendent: safe, orderly schools; visible academic results beginning with early literacy; and strong special education services.

Braveboy and others highlighted a set of numerical accomplishments and efforts tied to Dr. Joseph's interim tenure: more than 4,200 stakeholders contributed to the search, parents and evaluators reportedly gave Dr. Joseph top ratings, the county said teacher vacancies declined by 52%, the administration cited a $150 million set of budget savings achieved without layoffs, and Dr. Joseph noted the district's graduating seniors had collectively earned more than $729 million in scholarships. These figures were presented by speakers during the announcement and characterized as results of the interim leadership and the search process.

Betsy Ramirez, the county liaison for the education initiative, described the expansion of tuition-free dual enrollment to every county high school as an equity measure and thanked partners in the county and at Prince George's County Public Schools for their work to implement it.

The announcement was framed as the start of a transition rather than a finished governance change: Braveboy said the superintendent operates the school system independently, while the county office and PGCPS will continue to work together. Dr. Joseph closed by calling on educators, families and residents to hold leaders accountable and to partner in the work ahead.

No formal vote or council action was recorded in the transcript excerpt provided; the event presented the county executive's nomination and public remarks from supporters and stakeholders. The next procedural steps for the nomination (for example, any board confirmation or effective start date) were not specified in the provided remarks.