Sean Bulson

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Superintendent, Harford County Public Schools

Dr. Sean Bulson, superintendent of Harford County Public Schools, is passionate about ensuring that all students achieve their highest potential, especially those from groups who traditionally underperform when compared to their peers.

“No two students are alike and we need to ensure all students receive the unique support they require to be successful while also removing any barriers to their potential success,” Bulson said. “One-size-fits-all has never and will never work in education.”

To that end, he focuses on fostering an environment where staff can perform their best work, ultimately benefiting students and the community – a mission that was tested during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Constantly confronting choices with no opportunity for a win-win was the hardest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” he said. “It was hard to come to terms with the reality that there was no best decision to help students be successful – everything had the potential to do harm. Our job was to mitigate harm as best we could without an existing playbook under constantly changing circumstances.”

Bulson launched the North Star initiative in Harford County, which has resulted in many students earning industry-recognized credentials. Bulson also established an early college high school program focused on cybersecurity, a JROTC program and a computer science magnet. Harford County has one of the top three strongest student internship programs, with 210 students enrolled at the end of the last school year.

At the state and national levels, Bulson has been an active advocate for public school students. He has served on the executive committee of the Maryland superintendents association and the national superintendents’ association, focusing on legislative advocacy. He is involved in numerous professional and business organizations.