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Profile: MARK BEDELL

When Mark Bedell became superintendent of Anne Arundel County Public Schools in 2022, he was primed to tackle big challenges in the 85,000-student district.

He had spent six years as CEO and superintendent of Kansas City Public Schools, where he worked tirelessly to get the district鈥檚 accreditation restored. His decisive and forward-thinking leadership is exactly what Anne Arundel needed, supporters say.

鈥淗e鈥檚 not afraid to name long-standing challenges and push for changes that better reflect the realities students and families face today,鈥� says Dawn Gile, who represents the county as a Maryland state senator.

One of Bedell鈥檚 earliest goals: im颅pro颅v颅ing student access to Advancement Placement classes. But when he began talking about enrolling more students in advanced courses during a series of community meetings, he encountered pushback. One man asked publicly, 鈥淒o you really believe all of these kids can take those kinds of courses?鈥�

Bedell answered with an emphatic yes. He raised AP course enrollment from 5,300 students in 2022 to nearly 8,000 today. And with the district paying for the AP exams, more students began taking them  and scoring higher.

鈥淲e鈥檝e just got a lot of academically talented kids here who weren鈥檛 allowed to have access,鈥� he says.

Bedell might just as well been referring to himself as a teenager who was temporarily a ward of the state in New York.

鈥淥ne thing that stands out about Dr. Bedell is how deeply personal this work is for him,鈥� Gile says. 鈥淗e鈥檚 not a distant bureaucrat. On the contrary, he shows up.鈥�

He tackled other big issues, including raising teacher salaries and adding additional resources for special education students, including a new assistant superintendent to focus on specialized services and instruction. The district plans to integrate special education students back into comprehensive high schools with a school-within-a-school model launching in 2026-27.

That wasn鈥檛 enoough for Bedell. He also took on middle school reform. Enrollment has been on the rise in the district 鈥� except in the 23 middle schools. He convened a task force in May and asked the participants, 鈥淚f we had to do middle school differently, what should it look like?鈥� Among other changes, parents told him they missed middle school sports, so he鈥檚 bringing them back. Soccer launched in the spring, and basketball this fall.

Bedell鈥檚 communication skills were recognized this summer when he received the 2025 Bob Grossman Leadership in School Communications Award from the National School Public Relations Association.

Bedell speaks openly about tough issues. He鈥檚 had hard conversations with confrontational groups like Moms for Liberty. He鈥檚 navigated contentious community issues, such as the 2023 conflict over a school board member鈥檚 proposal to ban all flags that don鈥檛 represent the U.S., state, or local government. Most recently, Bedell has focused on redistricting, a lengthy process that can be divisive.

Sean Bulson, superintendent in nearby Harford County, Md., praises Bedell for being a collaborative leader who listens well before acting decisively and moving ahead with a plan.

鈥淚 think he鈥檚 on a mission and he doesn鈥檛 have any time to waste,鈥� Bulson says.

Bedell is pleased with the district鈥檚 progress under his leadership so far.

鈥淲hat we鈥檙e doing is working. I鈥檓 happy about it, but I鈥檓 a realistic guy,鈥� he says. 鈥淎t some point, things have to level off a bit, but right now, we鈥檙e on a good run, and I want to continue it as long as I can.鈥�

Jennifer Larson is a freelance writer in Nashville, Tenn.