From A&T Student to Superintendent of the Year – Meet Dr. Watlington
Tony B. Watlington, Sr, ‘92, Ed.D., has been named the 2025 Superintendent of the Year by the District Administration Leadership Institute. The District Administration Leadership Institute is a national PreK-12 organization that provides leadership development opportunities for superintendents and senior education leaders across the country.
Tony B. Watlington, Sr, is the proud Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, the 8th largest school district in the nation, serving nearly 200,000 students. Appointed on April 1, 2022, and officially sworn in on June 16, 2022, Watlington wasted no time launching a bold and ambitious Entry Plan designed to transform the district into the fastest improving large, urban school district in the country. Dr. Watlington states, “Our goal — our North Star — is to become the fastest-improving big city, large urban school district in the country, and we are well on our way”.
His three-phase plan started with listening and learning — holding 90 sessions in his first 100 days to hear directly from students, families, educators and community members. In Phase 2, he brought together a Transition Team made up of 100 diverse Philadelphians, along with national K-12 experts, to assess the district’s strengths and challenges. Their work culminated in a formal report filled with short- and long-term recommendations. Now in Phase 3, Watlington and his team are developing a comprehensive five-year strategic plan aimed at driving lasting change.
This collaborative, results-driven approach is already making a difference. Under Watlington’s leadership, Philadelphia’s students are outperforming their peers in other large urban districts across the nation — and in similar districts within Pennsylvania — in math and reading for grades 3-8, according to the Education Recovery Scorecard. This influential report, published by Harvard University’s Center for Education Policy Research and Stanford University’s Educational Opportunity Project, analyzed data from 30 states, covering about 60% of the country’s public-school students.
Watlington’s passion for education is personal. A first-generation college graduate and the youngest of seven children, he grew up in rural Harnett County, North Carolina, after being born at Fort Dix, New Jersey. As the first in his family to attend college, he earned his B.S. in history education from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. He later earned an M.A. in American political history from The Ohio State University, followed by an MSA and Doctor of Education, both in educational leadership from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a North Carolina Principal Fellow.
In addition to his academic credentials, Watlington has completed executive leadership training at both Harvard and Yale, and he is a member of the National Urban Superintendent’s Academy, a prestigious program sponsored by Howard University and The School Superintendents Association.
Throughout his career, Watlington has remained a fierce advocate for educational equity. He believes every child — no matter their background, ZIP code, or circumstances — deserves a world-class education. His work is driven by a clear and unwavering mission: to build collaborative school and community teams that deliver life-changing opportunities for all students, while closing achievement and opportunity gaps once and for all. Dr. Watlington states, “I wanted to go on and make a difference in these United States. In particular, I wanted to make a difference for Black and Brown children — children who are so important, yet too often the furthest from justice”.
With deep experience, bold vision and an unshakable commitment to students, Watlington is leading the School District of Philadelphia into a new era of progress, equity and excellence.
Media contact information: dhuggins2@ncat.edu
