HCPS 411 Update

What an honor to represent my colleagues during National Principal’s month! Harford County Public Schools has quality public schools led by incredible principals.

I am the proud principal of Red Pump Elementary. A career highlight was opening this school in 2011, developing Red Pump from the ground up alongside many talented people in this school system and community. My love for this profession began in 2005 when I was placed at Meadowvale as principal. Prior to my role as principal, I was a school counselor at Joppatowne Elementary and assistant principal at both Prospect Mill and Youth’s Benefit. I also taught PreK/K before coming to Harford County 27 years ago. Each of these roles has helped to prepare me for the amazing position of principal. Also critical to my success is the continued support of my family throughout the years and their understanding of my strong belief in education and the children I serve. My husband (also an educator) and I raised two incredible young women who have not followed their parents into education, but are in equally important professions, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy.

As a principal, I am honored to be part of the remarkable work our teachers and staff do each day to support the children in our schools. It is a true community approach focused on educating the whole child. That is what positively impacts student achievement. I have been fortunate to foster that experience in the five school communities I have served over my 27 years in Harford County. What better way to be part of student growth academically and developmentally, as well as experience the joyful exuberance of children every day as a career! Supporting children as they learn valuable lifelong lessons and witnessing their realization of their own self growth is rewarding and fuels my passion for being a school administrator.

I strive to remain current in best practices and model lifelong learning. I am actively involved in and held leadership positions in the Maryland Association of Elementary Principals (MAESP) and the National Association of Elementary Principals (NAESP). This involvement continues to build my capacity as a school leader and expands my network allowing me to learn about elementary schools throughout our country and world. These experiences continue to grow my appreciation for our school system and the quality education we provide our students.

I believe that one needs to lead with heart, listen fully and understand their community of learners. In a school, we are all in this together to build relationships and provide quality instruction to meet the individual needs of our learners. We have an awesome job to prepare our students for life. At the elementary level, we are fortunate to positively impact and build a well-rounded foundation that prepares our students to be lifelong learners.

United Way directly benefits the students and families in Harford County. Take a moment to hear about just a few of the ways your contribution to this year's United Way campaign can truly make a difference in the lives of those in need. TOMORROW is the last day to donate! Check your emails from Monday, October 21, for an email from United Way containing your personal donation link.

This week we are celebrating National School Bus Safety Week! Our Transportation Department would like to remind everyone how critical bus safety is to transporting our students each day. We encourage our school community to take a moment to thank a bus driver this week for their commitment to school bus safety.

Fountain Green Elementary School Art Teacher, Luzmaria Vignola submitted beautiful artwork from her students for the National School Bus Safety Art Contest. Pictured above is the work of Jamar Torres, Grade 4, who was named one of the contest finalists.

The Department of Special Education is excited to once again offer a one day mini-conference for all paraeducators and inclusion helpers on November 4, 2019, at Bel Air High School.

This conference is a mandatory professional development day. It is a full work day, and participants are expected to attend all four sessions. Any absences must follow the standard absence policy and procedures for HCPS and your school.

A tentative schedule is posted to SharePoint. At this time, it is 90% finalized. There may be some final changes, so please check back closer to the event.

Registration will begin on Monday, October 28, 2019, at 7:30 a.m. through HECTOR, under Special Education Workshops and Trainings, and will continue through November 3, 2019. All sessions will be on a first come, first served registration system. Any sessions that do not appear on HECTOR when you log in are full and can no longer be accessed.

Full-day sessions are available on this day in courses that allow for certification in Youth Mental Health First Aid. The Youth Mental Health First Aid course is a seven-hour course, so participants are asked to bring lunch and eat at the school, in order to complete the full training.

Questions regarding this information should be directed to Pauline Timmons, in Special Education, at Pauline.Timmons@hcps.org or x5246.

• Secondary Content Professional Learning - November 4, 2019: Secondary teachers are scheduled for professional learning on Monday, November 4, 2019. A chart listing the locations for the professional learning sessions can be accessed on the Professional Development SharePoint site – PD Location Chart. Questions regarding this information should be forwarded to Jackie Tarbert, coordinator of Leadership and Professional Development, at x5621 or Jacqueline.Tarbert@hcps.org.
  

• Concordia University: Why Concordia University? If teaching is your passion, this is your university. You'll learn from an engaging faculty that includes teachers, superintendents, and principals in the field, and you'll graduate with the skills, integrity, and compassion to meet evolving, complex student needs. As a partner of Concordia University-Portland, you have exclusive access to pursue a 100% online Doctorate of Education (EdD) with scholarships up to $10,000, or a Master of Education (MEd) with scholarships up to $4,000 and up to 20% off our certificate programs. Click here to learn more about programs offered or to request information.

• Towson University: Towson University is now offering the traditional Master of Science Degree with a Concentration in School Library media fully online. This new mode of delivery now permits the Towson University School Library Media Program to be fully accessible to educators and other potential applicants throughout the state of Maryland. Teachers who have interest in earning the Master of Science Degree with a Concentration in School Library (with concurrent MSDE library media specialist certification), may find more information via the program website at https://www.towson.edu/coe/departments/edtech/grad/instructiontechms/. All are welcome to attend an online information session on November 13, 2019, at 8:00 p.m. using this link to join: http://bit.ly/istcsclm. Please see the flier with program information. Potential applicants may contact Towson’s Program Director, David Robinson, at derobins@towson.edu.

Austin Hill, Academy of Finance coordinator at Edgewood High School, was featured in the I95 Business magazine (October 2019) for his efforts to expand workforce development and education in the Edgewood area. Dr. Hill also serves as a high school-to-college bridge navigator and adjunct professor at Harford Community College. Dr. Hill talks about the opportunities the Academy of Finance offers, as well as the budding apprenticeship program with Thompson Automotive for body shop workers. Read the entire article here: https://i95business.com/articles/986.

Thanks so much for a job well done, representing HCPS and the Office of Technology at the annual College and Career Fair on October 16. You made us proud!

Please help us welcome the following new employees to our HCPS family:

• Lauri Bailey, inclusion helper, Emmorton Elementary School
• James Bell, school safety liaison, Joppatowne High School
• Denise Bon, inclusion helper, North Bend Elementary School
• Romy Cantwell-Kokaly, inclusion helper, Roye-Williams Elementary School
• Megan Connelly, Paraeducator, North Harford Middle School
• Nika Corwin, English teacher, Aberdeen Middle School
• Samantha Gamble, administrative support assistant, Deerfield Elementary School
• Sara Harvey, purchasing agent I, Central Office
• Susan Hofmeister, paraeducator, William S. James Elementary School
• Kelly Kelahan, inclusion helper, Meadowvale Elementary School
• Kathleen Mattox, special education teacher, Prospect Mill Elementary School
• Allison Reichart, inclusion helper, Fallston Middle School

• "Drew [Moore] and his team have been working with one of our pupil personnel workers (PPW) to develop a parent portal to ease the burden of registration on parents. This is a great example of customer service and will be really appreciated by many of our parents." -Buck Hennigan, executive director of Student Support Services

• "I'd like to give a shout-out to my Fine Arts Supervisor, Jeffrey Winfield, for his great customer service last week! I was slated to teach a mini-workshop for music teachers at another school, and I needed 25 bell sets for the session. Jeff offered to pick them up at my school and take them personally to the other school, which he did in the pouring rain last Wednesday! What a huge help." -Kristina Nastari, Bel Air Elementary School

• "Shout out to Helen Miller, assistant principal at Bel Air High School, who stepped up to enhance the student ACRT materials. Knowing that we have students in our schools who may need videos with closed-captioning or transcript, Ms. Miller transcribed the HCPS videos used in the secondary student lesson. She has shared them to be a help to others. The Office of Safety and Security and the Office of Professional Development appreciate Ms. Miller’s work." -Jackie Tarbert, coordinator of Leadership and Professional Development

  
  

#HCPScustomerservice

Editor: Lindsay Bilodeau, communications specialist

To submit an HCPS Shout Out or recognize a colleague in the Spotlight on Customer Service, please email the information and photo (if available) to HCPS.411@hcps.org.

Email: HCPS.411@hcps.org
Website: www.hcps.org
Location: 102 South Hickory Avenue, Bel Air, MD, USA
Phone: 410-588-5213