Current Role: Education Policy professor at American University
Fellowship Role: Director of Educator Talent Acquisition and Effectiveness, Mississippi Department of Education (Jackson, MI)
Phelton “Cortez” Moss currently serves as an Education Policy professor at American University
Previously, he was the State Director of Educator Talent, Acquisition, and Effectiveness for the Mississippi Department of Education. In this role, he oversaw teacher and leader evaluations, state-wide pipeline strategies, and teacher and leader recognition programs for the state of Mississippi.
Prior to joining the Mississippi Department of Education, Moss served as the turnaround Principal of Quitman County Middle School in Marks, MS. Under his leadership, in two years, Quitman County Middle School moved off the state’s list of failing schools. Starting in 2012, Moss taught High School English in Greenwood, MS, as a Teach For America Corps member. For two consecutive years, he earned the distinction of Teacher of the Year. During the summer of 2013, he served as Teacher in Residence at the Mississippi Department of Education, working on Innovative High Schools and the Third Grade Gate Exam. In 2014, he joined the Clarksdale Municipal School District as a Literacy and Data specialist, serving Kirkpatrick Health and Medical Science Magnet Elementary School, before assuming the role as Assistant Principal at Clarksdale High School.
Moss attended Arkansas State University for graduate studies in Educational Leadership and Supervision and earned a B.S. in Public Policy and English from the University of Mississippi. He is completing a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Mississippi.