Jermall Wright

Since building makeshift blackboards and teaching neighborhood children in the backyard of his childhood home in Florida, Dr. Jermall Wright knew from an early age that teaching and education were his passion and calling. From 1997, when he began his professional career, through 2001, Wright served as a 5th grade and middle school social studies teacher in Jacksonville, FL. He transitioned to an administrative role as assistant principal with Alachua County Public Schools (Gainesville, FL) before establishing a ten-year track record as elementary and secondary school principals with The Potter’s House Christian Academy (Jacksonville, FL), Duval County Public Schools (Jacksonville, FL), and the District of Columbia Public Schools (Washington, D.C.).

Successfully establishing himself as an experienced turnaround school principal, Dr. Wright led two elementary schools out of turnaround status through strategic partnerships, community and parental engagement, data-driven instruction, student and adult culture, and a focus on early literacy. In 2013, he joined Denver Public Schools as an Instructional Superintendent responsible for leading the turnaround efforts of chronically underperforming elementary schools. By 2016, 75% of Denver’s turnaround schools under Dr. Wright’s leadership improved by at least two performance tiers, moving off the district’s intervention list.

In 2017, Dr. Wright joined the Birmingham (AL) City School District as the Chief Academic and Accountability Officer, where he led the school improvement process. Under his leadership, the system decreased the number of “F” rated schools from 22 to six and increased the number of schools rated “C” or above from six to 17. On April 11, 2019, the Mississippi State Board of Education appointed Dr. Wright as the Founding Superintendent of the Mississippi Achievement School District, serving Yazoo City and Humphreys County. In three years, graduation rates improved from 67% to 85% in Yazoo City and from 78% to 91% in Humphreys County. Additionally, state accreditation violations were cleared, restoring accreditation for both districts. In 2023, the Mississippi Achievement School District will graduate the first group of students in the Mississippi Delta who will earn both their high school diploma and their Associate of Arts degree from Mississippi Delta Community College.