Mary-Dean Barringer

Mary-Dean Barringer has served struggling learners through various roles in education since 1975. She retired from the Council of Chief State School Officers’ (CCSSO) in 2017 after managing the organization’s portfolio supporting the transformation of states education workforce systems. Notable was the launch of CCSSO’s Network for Transforming Educator Preparation (NTEP), supporting the work of a growing number of states and over two dozen national partners in their efforts to implement policy recommendations to create performance-based systems of educator preparation. Prior to joining CCSSO in December 2011, Mary-Dean held the position of Chief Executive Officer of the All Kinds of Minds Institute (North Carolina), an organization formed to translate research from neuroscience and other disciplines to help educators, parents and clinicians better understand how children vary in learning. She was a founding board member and then Vice President for Mobilization and Outreach (1990-2000) at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Mary-Dean started her career as a special education teacher in Detroit for 13 years, recognized at Council for Exceptional Children’s national teacher of the year in 1985.