Meet John King Jr.: The Democratic Candidate For Maryland Governor

John King Jr. is an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party, born on January 5, 1975, in Flatlands, Brooklyn, the son of John B. King Sr. and Adalinda King. His father was a retired public school teacher and administrator, whereas his mother served as a school guidance counselor.

King is of African-American and Puerto Rican heritage. His father had been Brooklyn's first black principal and became New York's executive deputy superintendent of schools. His mother, Adalinda, sadly died of a heart attack when he was only eight years old.

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His father, John, suffered Alzheimer's disease and later passed away when King was 12 years old. Later, he moved to Long Island, where his 24-year-old half-brother lived. He joined Phillips Andover; however, he rebelled against its rules and got expelled in his junior year.

King moved in with his uncle, a Tuskegee Airman, who lived in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. There he was accepted to Harvard University. He gained a Bachelor of Arts in government at Harvard. Being a 1995 Truman Scholar, he earned the James Madison Memorial Fellowship for secondary-level teaching of American Government, American history, and social studies.

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John King is a Democratic Party candidate running for election for Governor of Maryland. The politician is on the ballot in the Democratic primary on July 19, 2022. He is the former U.S. Secretary of Education who assumed office in 2016 and left office in 2017.

Maryland is holding an election for governor and lieutenant governor on November 8, 2022, and the primary is set for July 19, 2022. The filing deadline was set for April 15, 2022. 

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King earned his master of arts in the teaching of social studies from Columbia University's Teachers College. Moreover, he obtained a J.D. from Yale Law School and attended Columbia University's Teachers College, where he received a doctor of education degree in educational administrative practice.

King co-founded Roxbury Preparatory Charter School and served as co-director for five years. Under his leadership, the school's students attained the highest state exam scores of any urban middle school in Massachusetts.

He guided in ending the racial achievement gap and outperformed Roxbury Prep's students in Boston Districts as well as the city's affluent suburbs. King became a managing director for Uncommon Schools, a non-profit charter public school organization that runs several highest-performing urban public schools in New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts.

John King Jr. is happily married to his beloved wife, Melissa Steel King, a senior associate partner at Bellwether Education Partners. 

She started her career as a kindergarten and first-grade teacher. The happy couple is the glad occupant of Silver Spring, Maryland.

A former teacher and researcher, Melissa currently focuses on public policy at Bellwether Education Partners. The pair are enormously accomplished education professionals and have been together for quite a long time; however, the exact particulars of their marriage details are unknown.

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Mellissa graduated from elite Williams College in Massachusetts and has excellent credentials. She attended Columbia Teacher College and earned a master's degree in elementary education and a doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Before joining Bellwether, she served at SUNY Albany's Center for Human Services Research. There Melissa conducted evaluations of programs, including the school district's federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant and a local parenting education workshop series.

Melissa also conducted effective research on pre-K from 12 curricula in the Research and Validation Department at Scholastic Inc. She worked as an evaluator and trainer for a social and ethical awareness program in Boston Public Schools. She began her teaching career as an elementary school teacher in Boston and New York City.

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John King Jr. and his wife Melissa King are blessed with two children, daughters Amina King and Mireya King, who attended local public schools. The pair are loving parents trying to find the best path for their children.

Like many other educators who are also parents, John and Melissa find themselves wearing two hats, one on their day job, when they find themselves responsible for the success of other people's kids, and one at home, where they are only accountable for their own.

King stated in an interview that their daughters are fortunate to attend schools where their teachers present learning as fun and involving. And as a result, they think of school as very interesting. Amina and Mireya both had a wonderful experience in Montgomery County, Maryland, public schools.

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As parents, King and Melissa partnered with their daughter's teachers and celebrated their girl's achievements. They worked along with their daughters on areas where there is room to grow and build on their skills and knowledge. Both have been teachers and are well aware of children's behavior at home and school.

King and his wife are two of the most committed, brilliant, honest, and sweet parents who are always willing to share how they approach the hard work of parenting. Both of their daughters are independent, thoughtful, curious, and all-around-wonderful.

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