By Sanjana Jain, Staff Writer
On December 14, 2023, Mr. William J. Barnes was appointed as HCPSS Acting Superintendent by the Howard County Board of Education during a public meeting.
His appointment followed the retirement of HCPSS’ previous Superintendent, Dr. Michael J. Martirano, who served in this position for nearly the past seven years. While Dr. Martirano announced his retirement on November 17, 2023, it officially went into effect on January 10, 2024.
Although Mr. Barnes is currently just the Acting Superintendent, he is prioritizing visiting all 78 HCPSS schools as early as possible. He explained that since “the most important work in this, or any school system, occurs in schools,” he would “prefer to hear from students, staff, and school leaders as to how I might best lead them in the coming months.” He explained how “each HCPSS school has its own vibe, and I experience a great deal of joy when I see that ‘vibe’ in action.”
Mr. Barnes is a longtime HCPSS educator. In 2008, he served as the Coordinator of Secondary Mathematics, where he was largely responsible for “providing curriculum resources, designing and leading professional learning, supporting school-day, beyond school-day, and beyond-school-year learning opportunities,” among other things.
Additionally, he “[led] the district through the adoption of the Common Core State Standards,” which is a nationwide initiative to improve the United States’ mathematics curriculum. Due to his nature, Mr. Barnes “would visit all secondary schools to work with teachers and to provide feedback on lessons.”
Since 2017, Mr. Barnes served as the Chief Academic Officer, where he was responsible for “[overseeing] the departments of Special Education, Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, and Program Innovation and Student Well-Being,” as stated in an article by HCPSS.
While discussing the purpose of his visiting each school, Mr. Barnes highlighted that “the strengths and needs of each school are different.” Usually, no two schools are the same. Supporting the individualized needs of a school community is essential for its students and staff to be able to flourish without having to accommodate to a “one size fits all” educational and social model.
Understandingly, his commitment is not unusual. “I have always been a hands-on leader,” he stated
While it is currently undecided if Mr. Barnes will officially be appointed as the new Superintendent, he remains passionate about supporting the HCPSS community. In terms of the students, he is determined to ensure they “leave each day, year, and then graduate with their dream intact.”
To further emphasize his dedication, he clarified that although Superintendents are the executive officers of a school system, he “[considers] the 57,000+ students of HCPSS [his] bosses,” while clearly stating: “I work for you.”
As he begins his tenure, he faces a daunting obstacle – budget cuts. In collaboration with the Board of Education, “I will also be working to lead a very difficult budget season,” he said. But, Mr. Barnes expressed his commitment to “always leading with dignity, compassion, and respect as we make the tough decision related to balancing the budget.” Until now, the school system has decided to eliminate at least 348 positions across the county.
On January 12, Mr. Barnes visited River Hill. As it happened to be the beginning of 3rd period, Mr. Motley ushered Mr. Barnes onto HawkTalk – River Hill’s own morning announcements radio show – to give a brief speech regarding his appointment. While he said he does not remember his exact words, “I do remember sharing that I am humbled to serve students in this new role,” he recalled.
River Hill students easily picked up on Mr. Barnes’ enthusiasm. “I thought it was a good step forward for Howard County administration and what they’re looking to do in terms of connecting with the members of each school,” said senior Sapna Joy.
As an example of understanding each school’s needs, Mr. Barnes and Mr. Motley “spent some time brainstorming how we could work together to make sure school leaders receive the professional learning that they want and that we all need.” The school leaders he referred to are “Principals and Assistant Principals primarily.”
Mr. Barnes spent the rest of his time visiting classrooms and interacting with students. He stopped by Dr. Demaree’s Differential Equations class and “took some questions too after introducing himself,” senior Grace Li said. “I remember Athena asked about if AP exams would interfere with graduation dates,” she elaborated.
Over the past year, there have been several administrative changes made across HCPSS. Similarly to Mr. Barnes, Mr. Motley – River Hill’s current principal – found himself in a new position after dedicating years at Atholton High School.
Unsurprisingly, the two educators have worked together on prior occasions. “When I first met him, he was Principal at Patuxent Valley Middle before moving on to Atholton High,” Mr. Barnes said.
Regardless, Mr. Barnes is keen to nurture their relationship. “It was important for me to get a real sense of the celebrations, innovations, and challenges students and staff are experiencing at RHHS,” Mr. Barnes explained. “Mr. Motley is also the President of the Howard County Association of Supervisors and Administrators (HCASA). So, I wanted to learn about how I can partner with that association to best serve its members,” he continued.
Due to his history as a mathematics teacher, Mr. Barnes has a long-standing relationship with River Hill. Several years later, he still holds his opinion that “RHHS is a school community made up of amazingly talented students and incredibly dedicated teachers.”
While River Hill was not the first school Mr. Barnes was scheduled to visit, he ended up doing so due to the “weather-related school delays,” which “interrupted my scheduled visits on the first two days of my tenure,” he explained.
The official search for HCPSS’ new Superintendent will be conducted later this year “by a search firm that the Board of Education contracted,” Mr. Barnes explained. Until then, he will remain Acting Superintendent.