Ann Blakeney Clark

Ann Blakeney Clark brings a deep institutional knowledge to her role as superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. She has held a variety of teaching and administrative positions in CMS since joining the district in 1983 as a teacher of behaviorally and emotionally handicapped children at Devonshire Elementary. “I know that every child can learn,” Clark says. “Teaching every child effectively is the responsibility and the privilege of public education.” Clark’s extensive education background includes time as a principal at elementary, middle and high schools. She most recently served as chief academic officer, overseeing the district’s curriculum, professional development, classroom instruction and learning communities. After five years in the classroom, she moved into administration when she was named an assistant principal at Montclaire Elementary in 1987. A year later, she was named principal at Shamrock Gardens Elementary, where she was principal for two years before moving to Alexander Graham Middle for six years. In 1996, Clark became the first principal at the newly opened Vance High School. She became assistant superintendent for high school curriculum and instruction, then regional superintendent for high schools and associate superintendent of education services. She served as the district’s chief academic officer, then deputy superintendent before being named superintendent in January 2015. Her teaching career began at North Landing Elementary in Virginia Beach, Virginia, after she graduated from Davidson College with a B.A. in English and earned a master’s degree in special education from the University of Virginia. She also holds an administrator certification from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In addition to her work with CMS, Clark serves on multiple boards, including Communities in Schools, the Davidson College Board of Visitors and Levine Museum of the New South. She has been named a Broad Fellowship finalist, a First Lady of Charlotte, a Thomas Jefferson Distinguished Alumnae by U.Va. and National Principal of the Year (1994) by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. She is a native of Greensboro, North Carolina.

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