Deputy superintendent of FCPS steps down after close to 20 years of service
After dedicating nearly two decades to Frederick County Public Schools, former Deputy Superintendent Michael Markoe has left the school district.
Markoe grew up in the county and attended New Market Elementary, New Market Middle and Linganore High School. He returned to the school district in 1995 as a special education teacher.
In 2002, Markoe left the school district to work in Washington County Public Schools, where held several roles, including as a principal and associate superintendent.
Additionally, his father previously served as the associate superintendent for FCPS, as well as a teacher, assistant principal and principal in the school district.
'It's a lot of time investing in the community that we love,' he said. My dad grew up in Frederick, my mom grew up in Frederick and I grew up in Frederick, so it very much has a family feel for me, and it always will.'
Markoe, as deputy superintendent, oversaw FCPS' response to a federal investigation into the district's use of seclusion and restraint.
In October 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division opened an investigation against the school district that examined FCPS' discriminatory use of seclusion and restraint against students living with disabilities.
The investigation found that FCPS unnecessarily and repeatedly secluded and restrained students, finding more than 7,200 documented incidents of seclusion and restraint in two and a half school years.
The incidents almost exclusively affected students living with disabilities.
FCPS and the Department of Justice reached a settlement agreement in 2021 to end the use of seclusion, examine and change its restraint practices, and train staff members on the appropriate interventions for students living with disabilities.
Markoe was serving as FCPS' deputy superintendent.
The former superintendent for the school district, Terry Alban, who had served in the role since 2011, mutually agreed with the Frederick County Board of Education to part ways.
Markoe stepped in as interim superintendent for six months until Cheryl Dyson, the current superintendent, was appointed in April 2022. He returned to his position as deputy superintendent.
Markoe said it was 'very much a challenging time' for the school district.
'There was significant pain in our community, and I really felt that it would be super important for me to be visible and also to just get out and talk to our educators, our parents and our students to see where they were,' he said.
Markoe said the investigation was compounded by the fact that it occurred 'at the tail end of COVID.'
'But, I think we steered through it and came out better,' he said.
Markoe said having experience as a special education teacher 'helped me understand the complexities associated with special education, and do my very best to lead us forward.'
He said he was humbled by the opportunity to lead FCPS as interim superintendent, and 'I thought it was very, very important that I serve our students, our parents and our educators the very best I could during that six months.'
County Council President Brad Young, who was the school board president at the time of the investigation, said 'there was nobody better for us to pick' for the interim position than Markoe.
'We put him in the position of guiding FCPS through that tumultuous time with the DOJ,' he said. 'He was the steady hand that kept things going and really got us back on an even keel.'
Young said the school board members at the time had to make a quick decision, but they knew Markoe 'was the right choice.'
'We wanted to make sure that we were putting a leader in place that had respect within the system so that when changes were made, they would be respected and implemented knowing that somebody was putting them in place that had FCPS and the students' best interest at heart,' he said. 'That's never been a question with Mike.'
Markoe said while the investigation 'was very painful in our community, we have emerged as a stronger school system, particularly for our students with disabilities, which I'm proud of.'
Following his FCPS career, he said, he is exploring future possibilities in the area of coaching and developing leaders.
Markoe said throughout his time at FCPS, he has 'just been honored to work with great people' in the school district.
'I am particularly proud of always leading with the best interests of students in mind,' he said. 'I'm proud of our systemic focus on service leadership, and I'm proud of our continued pursuit of student achievement and student outcomes, which has always been a focal point for me as a leader.'
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