Mary Stafford

Chief Operating Officer, Distinctive Schools
Mary Stafford’s career experience has spanned higher education, traditional K-12 public education, and charter schools. She has a well-documented career of demonstrating powerful results over time in charter school settings. Mary’s most recent position involved managing educational partnerships in seven states ranging from charter school to traditional settings as well as drop-out recovery centers. Schools she has most recently served are located in major urban settings including Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Davenport, Milwaukee, Dayton, Cleveland, Columbus, Duluth, Peoria, Rockford, and St. Louis, serving in excess of 10,000 students. In this role she acted as the leader of achievement, client relations and operations for sites within the Midwest. The schools Stafford was responsible for are some of the most successful in the organization’s portfolio. She consistently demonstrated results via dramatically improved test scores, high satisfaction among clients and long-term relationships. Her region had a strong record of academic growth across the Midwest, with a range of student populations, including improved academic outcomes in schools where the majority students were members of historically underserved, minority communities and where a high percentage of students received free and reduced lunch. Stafford’s prior experience includes positions as Superintendent and Associate Superintendent, Dean in Higher Education, Human Resources and Organizational Development Consultant, Charter School founding Principal, instructor at the college level and teaching at the pre-school and kindergarten level. Her recognized strength’s include charter school start up and talent identification and development. Stafford has started a dozen charter schools in as many years. She has been at the forefront of the educational reform movement for over a decade.