April Lewis

Dr. April Lewis retired in August 2024 as Executive Director of the Department of School Safety for Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS), ending 44 years of full-time service in education. Her responsibilities included developing and managing a comprehensive safety plan; responding to emergencies; coordinating active assailant training; implementing safety and security technology; providing safety-related professional learning for staff; collecting, reporting, and analyzing safety related data; and writing and managing grants.

Before joining BCPS, April served for over 32 years with Baltimore City Public Schools where she began her career as a health education teacher. As director of Safe and Supportive Schools, she secured millions of dollars in grants to procure resources for safety and student support initiatives.

Interagency collaboration is among April’s strengths. She garnered the respect of agency partners while serving as chair, co-chair, or a member of numerous committees and workgroups. She also worked across departments and divisions in BCPS to secure collaboration on safety and security initiatives.

April is passionate about building organizational capacity through mentoring and coaching staff, particularly women. She has been honored with gubernatorial, mayoral, senatorial, county executive, and county council citations and awards from the National Association of School Resource Officers and the Maryland Center for School Safety.

April has a bachelor’s degree in School and Community Health from Towson University, a master’s degree in Adult Education: Supervision and Administration from Coppin University, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the American College of Education. She is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., serves on the Integrity Institute board, is an active member of her church, and is a consultant to Access411 based in Pennsylvania.