Meet Our Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Antonio Burt is an education reformer devoted to closing the academic achievement gap for all children. Dr. Burt currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer for KIPP Memphis. In this role, he is responsible for setting the vision around school performance and student achievement, building and managing high-performing teams, engaging and leveraging key constituents, and fostering a culture of accountability and high expectations for schools and communities across the network.

Throughout his career, Dr. Burt has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to removing educational barriers for all children. Dr. Burt earned national acclaim during his time as a school leader, which resulted in two Memphis schools becoming examples of what excellence looks like in public schools. One of those schools, Ford Road Elementary, was named a “Reward School” (performing in the top 5%) by the state of Tennessee after having been performing in the bottom 5% of all schools in the state. Ford Road achieved this honor for two consecutive years (2012-2014). 

To further his work in school turnaround models, Dr. Burt became the lead strategist in the controversial reform efforts in Pinellas County, Florida serving as the Director of School Transformation. In that role, Dr. Burt oversaw and managed eight (8) of the lowest performing schools in the state.

Upon his return to Memphis, Dr. Burt was named Assistant Superintendent of the Memphis Innovation Zone (i-Zone), a turnaround program for schools performing in the state of Tennessee’s bottom five-percent. In this role, Dr. Burt developed areas in need of change, which led to his appointment as Chief Academic Officer of Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) where he specifically was responsible for overseeing curriculum and instruction, professional development, early childhood development and career and technical education. Dr. Burt was named Chief of Schools at MSCS before transitioning to the CEO role at KIPP Memphis.

Dr. Burt also leverages his leadership success and insight mentoring and developing school leaders and serving as a consultant for districts in turnaround environments.

A native of Alabama, Dr. Burt enjoys traveling, exercising, reading, golfing, and attending athletic events.

Antonio M. Burt, Ed.D.
Chief Executive Officer