Barbara Jenkins

Dr. Barbara Jenkins has been dedicated to serving the needs of students and families for over 30 years. After serving as superintendent for ten years, she retired in December 2022 from Orange County Public Schools, the eighth largest district in the nation, proudly serving 209,000 students. Under Jenkins' leadership, the district won the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education; the Governor’s Sterling Award; and Sustained Excellence Award for exemplary performance using research-based best practices in business. District Accreditation from AdvancED was achieved for best practices in the education field.  OCPS passed a second half-penny sales tax referendum for capital projects totaling $2.4 billion and two property tax referenda for operations projected at $1.2 billion to support a $5.5 billion annual budget.  Most importantly, the district reached an unprecedented graduation rate of 97% during her tenure. A highly recognized education leader, Jenkins received a presidential appointment as a director of the National Board of Education Sciences in 2017 and received the Baldridge Foundation Award for Leadership Excellence in 2022.  She has served as chairman of the board for the Council of Great City Schools and president of the Florida association for superintendents.  Jenkins is currently a Chief in Residence and directs the Women in Leadership initiative of Chiefs for Change. She also serves on the board of trustees for Education Testing Services.