Cecilia J. Roe, M.S.

Ms. Roe currently serves as the director of the Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) National Literacy Center at Synergy, where she leads national technical assistance and strategic support for CLSD grantees on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education. In this role, she provides leadership to states in the implementation of high-quality, evidence-based literacy initiatives from birth to grade 12. She oversees the development of national resources, communities of practice, national meetings and convenings, and cross-state collaboration structures designed to strengthen state literacy systems, build sustainable infrastructure, and improve outcomes for students. Through close partnership with Federal staff and state education agencies, Ms. Roe ensures that CLSD grantees receive targeted, responsive support aligned with federal priorities and state needs.

Prior to joining Synergy, Ms. Roe served for 13 years as the director of instructional assessment, professional learning, Title II-A, and English language arts at the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). At MSDE, Ms. Roe oversaw several Federal grants, including Title II and the Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Grant. She also managed multiple projects under the Federal State Longitudinal Data Systems Grant Program and three Maryland Race to the Top projects. Ms. Roe coordinated and oversaw the state professional learning rollout of the Maryland State College and Career Readiness Standards to all Maryland schools under Race to the Top. Additionally, she directed the coordination and implementation of statewide professional learning initiatives, instructional assessment, college and career readiness programs, curricular implementation, state assessment development, and Maryland graduation requirements, including College and Career Readiness Standards and the Maryland Bridge Plan for Academic Validation, a project-based alternative assessment system. Ms. Roe also has an extensive background with Baltimore County Public Schools, where she served for 34 years in various roles, including as the coordinator for the Office of Secondary English Language Arts (ELA), a reading specialist, an ELA teacher, and in school-based leadership positions. She also spent 8 years as an adjunct instructor for graduate programs in the Education Division of Goucher College.