Governor Swears in Brad Bryant as State Superintendent of Schools

ATLANTA – Governor Sonny Perdue today administered the oath of office to Brad Bryant, swearing him in as Georgia State Superintendent of Schools.  Bryant was appointed to fill the term of Superintendent Kathy Cox who resigned to lead an education think tank in Washington, D.C.  Bryant will run for election in November as an independent.

            “Brad has a wealth of experience as a parent, local school board member and State School Board member,” said Governor Perdue.  “He has done the big picture work and, on the other end of the spectrum, he understands what must take place in individual schools across the state to help students be successful.  He understands the blocking and tackling that has to happen to increase learning.”

            “It’s an honor to be asked to serve as State School Superintendent,” said Bryant.  “As a parent who had children in public schools and whose wife continues to work in one, I know the challenges we face and how important a quality education is to our state’s future.”

            Bryant recently resigned as the 4th District representative on the State Board of Education, where he has served since 2003.  He is the past President of the National Association of State Boards of Education and worked as a Special Liason to the Clayton County and Warren County school systems to help them regain their accreditation.  Bryant served on the DeKalb County Board of Education for twelve years, including seven years as its Chair.

A complete biography of Bryant is below:

            Brad Bryant knows Georgia’s educational landscape better than anyone in the state.  Raised in a family of educators, having served on both the DeKalb County school board and State Board of Education, and as the husband to a special education paraprofessional, he has done the big picture work and he understands what must take place in individual schools across the state to help students succeed.

            Born in DeKalb County, Brad was surrounded by teachers, from his grandmother who has been his inspiration – a teacher at Rehoboth Elementary School, which is now named for Brad - to his sister, cousins and extended family. Brad progressed through the DeKalb County Public Schools system, graduating from Henderson High School in 1972. Brad then attended Presbyterian College in South Carolina, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business. He returned to his Georgia roots after graduation, earning a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Georgia and a Juris Doctorate from Mercer University.

            Brad returned to DeKalb County, and has invested the last 29 years using his legal background in the education and community building setting. His interest in bettering

both his community and the educational opportunities available to his children compelled Brad to run for a seat on the DeKalb County Board of Education in 1990. Winning a majority of the vote from his fellow DeKalb citizens, Brad joined the Board.

            During his 12 years on the DeKalb County Board of Education, seven of which he served as Board Chair, Brad and his fellow board members led the DeKalb County Public Schools out of a decades-old desegregation order that had splintered the community. Brad and the Board took their case all the way to the United States Supreme Court and won. After the Court decision, Brad showed his true ability to mend fences for the greater good, convincing the Board’s opposing stakeholders that they could work out their differences. The case was settled without further appeal. Additionally, Brad won respect from local board members around the state and nation, serving as President of the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA) and President of the National School Boards Association Southern Region.

            It was the outstanding achievements made in DeKalb and Brad’s stellar reputation in the community focusing on student achievement and building consensus that led Governor Perdue to appoint Brad to represent the 4th Congressional District on the State Board of Education in 2003. At that time, many viewed the Georgia Department of Education as too broken to be fixed. Brad and his fellow board members went to work transforming a Department with a culture of corruption and mistrust into one that is now recognized nationally for their strategically-driven efforts to improve student learning.

            In his seven years on the State Board of Education, Brad has served as President of the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) and as Southern Director and Governmental Affairs Committee Member for NASBE.

            In 2008, when the Clayton County Public Schools system became the first school system in the nation to lose accreditation in 40 years due to a dysfunctional local school board, Governor Perdue turned to Brad and his fellow board member Jim Bostic and asked them to serve as Special Liaisons to Clayton to help the system regain accreditation. Brad went to work with key partners in Clayton County and the State and helped put in place an entirely new board that regained accreditation. Brad served in the same capacity in 2009, helping the Warren County School System regain their footing.

            Those achievements coupled with the respect Brad has won in the education community, led Governor Perdue to appoint Brad when the Superintendency was left vacant by Kathy Cox’s resignation.

            Brad is actively involved in many other state and local initiatives. He is currently on the Georgia Drivers Education Commission and has served on the Governor’s Office of Education Accountability Report Card Committee, the Georgia Closing the Gap Commission and the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education.

            Brad is an elder at Rehoboth Presbyterian Church and a member of the Decatur Rotary Club. He is a long-time member of the State Bar of Georgia and has served as President of the Presbyterian College Alumni Association and its Board of Visitors. Within his community, he has served as a member of the board of directors of the A*R*T Station, the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce, Young Life Northlake and the DeKalb County Development Impact Fee Study Group. He has served as the District Chair of the DeKalb District of the Boy Scouts of America. He is a member of Leadership DeKalb and served for seven years as its Chair. He is a Life Member of the Georgia and the National PTA and received the Georgia Department of Education 1990 Positive Parenting Award for Henderson Mill Elementary School where he and his wife served as co-presidents of the PTA.

            Not surprisingly, Brad chose to share his life with an individual who shares his passion for education and student success. His wife Kay, a DeKalb County special education paraprofessional, hails from a long line of educators. Their two children, Benjamin and Katherine were educated in the DeKalb County Public School system. Ben Bryant earned a Bachelor’s degree from Washington & Lee University, a Master’s degree from George Washington University and a Juris Doctor from Mercer University. An associate with Alston & Bird, Ben and his wife Kristen, a nonprofit fundraiser, have one young son, Michael. Following in her parents’ footsteps, Katherine Bryant earned her Bachelor’s degree from Presbyterian College and recently earned a double Masters’ in natural resources & sustainability and international relations from The American University. Brad and Kay celebrated 35 years of marriage together this June

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