Dr. Michael Cormack is the Deputy Superintendent for Jackson Public Schools
In this role, Michael directs and oversees the academic programs for students in the district and works in collaboration with leaders and administrators to develop and lead the implementation plan for meaningful and relevant professional development for teachers, principals, and staff. He also executes the district’s strategic plan Excellence of All and manages the work of several key departments including Teaching & Learning, Exceptional Education, Innovative Strategy, School Support, & Athletics. Some notable recent accomplishments include the expansion to universal prekindergarten access through a competitive $9.1 million grant and improving the district’s accountability rating during the coronavirus pandemic.
Prior to his work in JPS, Michael served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Barksdale Reading Institute, a statewide organization dedicated to improving early literacy and teacher development outcomes in Mississippi and widely credited with helping to move the state’s reading achievement on the NAEP exam from 50th to national average in 2019. The BRI provides teacher and principal literacy professional development and partners with Mississippi school districts and parents to improve kindergarten readiness. Additionally, Michael served as the principal of Quitman County Elementary School in the Mississippi Delta. Working as a team, QCES teachers, students, and parents have dramatically raised student achievement at the school from an “At Risk of Failing” status to “Successful” designation. His transformative work as principal is profiled in the New York Times bestselling memoir Dispatches from Pluto by Richard Grant. Michael has also worked as a classroom teacher and has served in a variety of staff roles with Teach For America - Mississippi. He also is the voice for several education workout videos in the Move to Learn series.
Michael studied philosophy and political science at Boston College. He holds master's degrees in education from Delta State University and Teachers College, Columbia University and completed his doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy at Vanderbilt University.
