Superintendent LaTanya D. McDade

About LaTanya D. McDade, Ed.D.

Dr. LaTanya D. McDade was appointed July 1, 2021, as the Superintendent for Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS), which is the second-largest division in Virginia and serves approximately 90,000 students. She is the first woman and first African American to serve as superintendent of the school division. She is a proven leader and passionate advocate for students. A lifelong educator, Dr. McDade is a former teacher, principal, chief schools officer, and district leader.

Within her first year as Superintendent of PWCS, Dr. McDade launched an ambitious four-year strategic plan, Vision 2025: Launching Thriving Futures, which solidified our core commitments of: Learning and Achievement for All, Positive Climate and Culture, Family and Community Engagement, and Organizational Coherence. The school division’s new PWCS Elevate 2030 Strategic Plan was approved on February 4, 2026. Elevate 2030 builds on the strong foundation and accomplishments of the past four years while positioning PWCS to elevate our work and achieve even greater outcomes, including universal pre-kindergarten access for every 4-year-old by 2030, strengthening college and career ready pathways, mobile science labs, several school-based health clinics, continued growth of school-based food pantries, and much more.

Under Dr. McDade’s leadership, PWCS achieved a record high on-time graduation rate of 95.7% for the 2025-26 school year. From 2021-26, the division also reduced its chronic absenteeism by 9.5% and joined the National Attendance and Engagement Meta Network to help solve chronic absenteeism nationwide. Over the past five years, PWCS has demonstrated sustained academic growth, with student performance increasing by 6.2 percentage points in math, 7.5 percentage points in science, and 7.7 percentage points in writing on state standardized assessments.

Dr. McDade has championed a transformative vision for career-connected learning in PWCS by expanding access to high-quality Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs aligned with the school division’s strategic plan and Virginia’s 3E Readiness Framework. Under her leadership, PWCS has developed a career-connected learning ecosystem that prepares students for lifelong success in college, careers, and military service. PWCS has expanded workforce credential attainment with students earning more than 36,000 credentials between 2021-26.

Dr. McDade has strengthened partnerships with business and industry, growing PWCS’ network to more than 300 active partners that support career exploration, work-based learning, internships, apprenticeships, and employment opportunities for students. She has also expanded early career exploration opportunities for elementary and middle school students, launched innovative college-to-career pathways in education, cybersecurity, and mechatronics, and established a comprehensive educator workforce pipeline that connects high school coursework, dual enrollment, career studies certificates, and teacher apprenticeship programs.

Dr. McDade has removed barriers for equitable access to advanced courses for all students, leading to a more than 10% improvement in equitable access to AP, IB, Cambridge, and dual enrollment classes. Dr. McDade knows that representation matters and has increased the diversity of staff to reflect the 159 countries and 174 languages represented in PWCS classrooms. She has secured $39.9 million in philanthropic support and ensured 100% of high schools have a college and career counselor, and 100% of graduates have a concrete postsecondary plan. PWCS students are excelling, with students earning more than $685 million in verified, self-reported scholarships from 2022-26.

Dr. McDade joined PWCS with 23 years of experience at Chicago Public Schools, the third-largest district in the nation. She previously served as the Chief Education Officer at Chicago Public Schools, charged with overseeing all academic offices and supporting over 340,000 students across 638 schools, while managing a $3.4 billion budget. Under her leadership, Chicago Public Schools increased academic achievement, expanded academic programming, increased graduation rates and college enrollment, and reached record low drop-out, suspension, and expulsion rates.

In 2024, Dr. McDade was unanimously nominated by her Northern Virginia school division colleagues and received the Region IV Superintendent of the Year Award. Her leadership has earned widespread recognition, including the Northern Virginia Kappa Achievement Foundation’s 2024 Women of Achievement Award, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc.’s 2024 Courageous Generational Women’s Leadership Award, the Pi Lambda Lambda Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.’s 2022 Citizen of the Year Award, and recognition by Northern Virginia Magazine as one of the 50 Most Influential People in both 2024 and 2025.

In 2025, she was also named one of District Administration’s Top 100 Influencers in Education and received the Virginia Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) Association’s School Administrator Award, the Epsilon Sigma Boulé Foundation Community Partner Award, and the Recognition in Science Education (RISE) Award from the Virginia Association of Science Teachers (VAST). Earlier, in 2021, Washingtonian Magazine honored her as one of Washington, D.C.’s 150 Most Powerful Women.

Dr. McDade completed her doctorate in educational leadership and supervision from Lewis University. She holds a master’s degree in leadership and administration from Loyola University and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Chicago State University. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Foundation First, Heart of America, and Women Leading Ed. She is also a member of the UVA K-12 Advisory Council and Northern Virginia’s Regional Public School Leaders Network. Additionally, Dr. McDade serves as chair of the American Heart Association’s Eastern States Superintendent Council, aimed at improving the health and well-being of students, families, and educators.

Dr. McDade deeply understands school communities and knows how to support their academic, social, and emotional growth. She is dedicated to education and passionate about improving the quality of life for all children through an equity lens. Her mantra, Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. – John Dewey.

Assistant

Jessica Beverley
Executive Assistant / Administrative Coordinator
703-791-8712

Weekly Messages from Dr. McDade

• September 11, 2026
• September 3, 2026
• August 28, 2026
• August 21, 2026
• August 14, 2026