UW–Madison alumna Carolyn Stanford Taylor, the former state superintendent of public instruction, is joining the leadership team of the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD).
Stanford Taylor will serve as MMSD’s interim assistant superintendent for engagement, diversity, equity and inclusion, the district announced in a news release Wednesday, Dec. 15.
Stanford Taylor most recently served as Wisconsin’s state superintend of public instruction from January 2019 until her term ended in July of this year, after she decided not to run for reelection. She had previously spent more than two decades in various roles with MMSD.
Stanford Taylor earned her undergraduate degree in elementary education from UW–Madison’s School of Education in 1978 and earned her master’s from the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis in 1979. She also currently serves on the School of Education’s Board of Visitors.
“I spent the first 21 years of my career working in MMSD, and I have great love for the district and community,” Stanford Taylor said in the release. “Although there are many challenges we face as a school community, Superintendent Jenkins and the MMSD leadership team have put the district on an exciting course of change. I am very excited to be a part of this new MMSD story, to engage with families and community, and contribute to making MMSD a national model for engagement, diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Stanford Taylor’s career in education spans 42 years, 21 of which she spent at MMSD serving as a teacher, principal, and district administrator. She joined Wisconsin’s DPI in 2001, and spent the last 21 years as assistant superintendent of the Division for Learning Support before her appointment as state superintendent.
“Ms. Stanford Taylor is among the most experienced, knowledgeable, and accomplished educators in Wisconsin and the country,” MMSD Superintendent Carlton Jenkins said in the release. “We are thrilled to have her come home to MMSD, and are looking forward to her leadership in this very important role.”