Alachua County Public Schools Superintendent Karen Clarke (pictured right) has announced that she will be stepping down next summer, effective June 30, 2021.

Clarke has lead ACPS since the beginning of the 2017-18 school year, and most notably she has led the county through challenges like Hurricane Irma and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“She also highlighted a number of accomplishments during her tenure. Those include: the district raising its state grade to an ‘A’ for the first time in four years; an overall graduation rate increase from 83% to 88% and an increase from 68% to 79.9% for African American students, both of which were all-time highs,” just to name a few, according to an ACPS press release.

Clarke notes that her decision to step down was hard, but she wants to give the new school board an opportunity to search for a new Superintendent.

“I am honored to have spent nearly 29 years as an educator with Alachua County Public Schools and am very proud to have led this wonderful district for the past 3 1⁄2 years,” wrote Clarke in a letter to board members, which can be found here. “I am sure that with the support of the Board, the staff and the entire community, this district will continue to achieve great things.”

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