An ambitious systems leader and innovator for change, Dr. Angela Chapman was recently appointed Superintendent/CEO of Columbus City Schools.

With more than 25 years of experience in public education, she credits her success to a strong belief that all students can and want to succeed and to the strategic work of building a team of educators, students, families, and community members who believe the same.

Dr. Chapman joined CCS in June of 2019 as the Chief of Transformation and Leadership, where she served on the Superintendent’s Cabinet in charge of principal leadership and the regional support of school communities. This work included prioritizing school improvement, principal supervision, leadership development, and the administration of grant funds to support effective teaching and learning.

Upon her arrival, she also led the implementation of a new regional model that divided the District into six distinct regions, each led by an Area Superintendent, to provide an intentional focus on school leadership development and targeted regional support.

In partnership with the Ohio Department of Education, Ashland University, The Ohio State University, and the Columbus Urban League, Dr. Chapman led the implementation of an $8 million Wallace Equity-Centered Principal Pipeline grant to support redesigning a principal pipeline, ensuring an equity-centered focus. This included creating a vision and a logic model for the principal pipeline aligned with the CCS Portrait of a Graduate and establishing a Wallace Principal Pipeline Committee to serve as a district-wide steering committee for the initiative, in efforts to recruit, select, develop, and retain school leaders.

A longtime champion of supporting school leaders and communities, Dr. Chapman has been instrumental in the implementation of the District’s Strategic Plan, leading Priority #3: Strong Learning Communities in Every Region. From addressing inequitable staffing to launching a Principal Coaching Model in 2020, she has provided strategic guidance through the lens of a school leader.

Dr. Chapman has vast experience building and leading district-wide school improvement efforts as a Principal, Principal Supervisor, and Chief of Schools. Throughout her career in administration, she has been instrumental in launching several innovative district-wide programs such as Reading Recovery, Single Gender Schools, Dual Language Programming, Montessori Programming, Blended Learning, Departmentalization, and Response to Intervention which have led to increases in academic outcomes, staff retention, and student satisfaction.

Prior to CCS, she spent five years in the District of Columbia Public Schools as an Instructional Superintendent and Interim Chief of Elementary, where she was responsible for leading and managing 78 elementary schools and the Early Childhood Education Division. She also helped to implement trauma-informed practices, restorative practices, and programs to increase access to college and career readiness resources.

Prior to her tenure in DCPS, she served as the Director of Curriculum for Massillon City Schools, as a principal in Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools and in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, and as an assistant principal in Euclid City Schools.

Dr. Chapman began her career in education as an elementary school teacher for five years in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from University of Akron and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Ashland University. She also holds a doctorate of education (Ed.D.) in curriculum and instruction from Tennessee State University.

Dr. Chapman is the proud parent of a current Columbus City Schools student.