Dr. Smith Honored at NAACP Membership Gala

MOUNT VERNON – Dr. K. Veronica Smith, Acting Superintendent for the Mount Vernon City School District, was honored by the Mount Vernon branch of the NAACP with a Leadership Award for her extensive work in the community as an administrator and now acting superintendent for the Mount Vernon City School District. Dr. Smith received this recognition at the Mount Vernon NAACP 2023 Membership Gala on Thursday, November 2, 2023.

Over the last nine months, Dr. Smith has served as the acting superintendent of the District and has spent her time working to improve education for all scholars. To do this, she has focused on improving instruction and scores for reading, arithmetic and writing.

“It has been an honor to serve the community of Mount Vernon, and I would rather be nowhere else,” said Dr. Smith. “My life’s dream is to continue the work of serving my community and nurturing its youth. Providing students with a safe and enriching environment to learn is the greatest reward I could imagine.”

In her mission to serve all Mount Vernon students, she has also put an emphasis on making learning fun for students and leading children to becoming lifelong learners. She has put a strong emphasis on phonics and math manipulatives, or demonstrations, for more visual and hands-on learners.

Dr. Smith served as assistant superintendent of Pupil Personnel Services until 2023 and was responsible for the oversight of all services provided for students and ensuring that all students were adequately served. She was also the associate superintendent of Student Services and Guidance from 2019 to 2021.

She began her career in Mount Vernon as a Special Education Department supervisor in 2001 and still puts a heavy emphasis on making sure Special Education students graduate and excel. Her approach of bringing education in Mount Vernon back to the basics allows for more students to grasp key concepts and excel beyond the classroom. Dr. Smith was born and raised in Mount Vernon and now has spent the majority of her career serving her hometown and its children.