In assuming the superintendency

of Baltimore County Public

Schools, I established the goal of

taking this already strong school

system and working in concert

with staff, students, parents, and

the community to make it the best

school system in the nation.

Everything I have learned during

my first 100 days has reassured

me that reaching this goal is

within our collective power. We

have already made tremendous

strides forward.

S. Dallas Dance

Superintendent

First steps: Entry and transition plans

Two of the first steps Dr. Dance took after being appointed

superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools were

to establish a Transition Team and to craft an entry plan.

The Superintendent’s Transition Team

Two renowned educational leaders — Dr. Nancy

Grasmick and Dr. Bill Bosher, both former state

superintendents of schools — accepted Dr. Dance’s

request to serve as co-chairs of his Transition Team.

Nineteen other team members, a mix of outside education

experts and BCPS staff and stakeholders, were assembled.

Dr. Dance asked this team to conduct a thorough review of

the school system to highlight its strengths and identify

areas where additional focus is needed. The team spent

three months studying past school system audits and

reports and meeting with focus groups of school system

employees, students, parents, business leaders, faith

leaders, and retired BCPS employees.

In its final report, presented to the superintendent in late

September 2012, the Transition Team’s four

subcommittees — Organizational Efficiency and

Effectiveness; Teaching and Learning; Culture and

Context; and Operations and Finance — offered

short-term and long-range recommendations for the

superintendent’s consideration. The final report has been

made available on the BCPS Web site, www.bcps.org.

The Entry Plan

As the Transition Team did its work, the superintendent

engaged in his own proactive and strategic process of

investigation, study, and planning. The entry plan he

created, which was made available on the BCPS Web

site, was designed to guide his first three months of work

and focused on comprehensively assessing the school

system by identifying areas needing immediate change as

well as those requiring intense focus; leveraging

momentum to build a network of contacts and resources;

and energizing the community in committing to the

vision of becoming the best school system in the nation.

THE FIRST 100 A Report on Dr. S. Dallas Dance’s first 100 days as

Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools

The Superintendent’s Transition Team.

Chairs Dr. Nancy Grasmick, Presidential Scholar for Innovation in

Teacher and Leader Education, Towson University; Former Maryland State Superintendent

Dr. William (Bill) Bosher, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Education, Virginia Commonwealth University; Former Virginia State Superintendent

Members Michele Prumo, Chief of Staff, BCPS Dr. Anthony (Tony) Marchione, Former Superintendent, BCPS Dr. Marcus Newsome, Superintendent of Schools,

Chesterfield County, Virginia Dr. Shawn Joseph, Superintendent of Schools, Seaford

School District, Delaware Abby Beytin, President, Teachers Association of Baltimore

County (TABCO) John Desmone, Executive Director, Baltimore County Council

of Administrative and Supervisory Employees (CASE) Dr. Cathy Gantz, 2011–2012 President, Association for

Elementary School Principals; Principal, Hernwood Elementary School, BCPS

Sandra Reid, Principal, Pine Grove Middle School, BCPS

Tom Evans, 2011–2012 President of Secondary School Administrators Association; Principal, Eastern Technical High School, BCPS

Keith Dorsey, Director of Budget and Finance, Baltimore County

Nancy Ostrow, 2011–2012 President, PTA Council of Baltimore County

Dr. Michael Hickey, Professor and Director of the Center for Leadership in Education, Towson University; Former Superintendent, Howard County Public Schools

Dr. Diane Lee, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education, University of Maryland Baltimore County

Lora Williams, President, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

Joe Coughlin, President, Educational Support Professionals of Baltimore County (ESPBC)

Donald Arnold, Chair, BCPS Education Foundation Michael Sines, Chief Operations Officer, BCPS Joshua Parker, 2012 Maryland Teacher of the Year; 2011–

2012 BCPS Teacher of the Year Logan McNaney, 2011–2012 Student Board Member, Board of

Education of Baltimore County

THE TRANSITION

REPORT

The Transition Report was presented to the

Baltimore County Board of Education in October

2012. The Transition Team began the report with

an overview of the school system’s status in

student achievement, talent recruitment and

retention, budget, resource maximization, facilities,

management, and operations.

After describing Dr. Dance’s initial focus areas

(Blueprint 2.0, Common Core, professional

development, and communications) in the report,

the Transition Team outlined its investigative

process and then offered its findings and

recommendations in 10 areas:

Organization

Communication

Teaching and Learning

Program Evaluation and Effectiveness

Recruiting, Retaining, Growing, and

Developing Excellent Employees

Equity

Budget Development

Technology

Strategic Planning

Creating Healthy, Safe, and Orderly

Environments

2

Next step: Building Blueprint 2.0

For the past 12 years, Baltimore County Public

Schools has made progress with the Blueprint for

Progress as its foundational document.

Faced with a set of new challenges and realities,

Dr. Dance has appointed a leadership planning

team to develop Blueprint 2.0, a strategic plan to

establish goals and measurable objectives for the

school system for the next five years. The four key

areas of focus for Blueprint 2.0 are: Academics,

Safety, Communication, and Organizational

Effectiveness.

With the goal of completing the framework for

Blueprint 2.0 by January 2013, Dr. Dance held a

series of staff and community meetings to gain

input into the plan’s development; appointed a staff

person to oversee the plan’s development and

production; and created a mechanism for the

community to submit insights and ideas via the

school system’s Web site.

Blueprint 2.0 Timeline 9/9/2012

Draft strategic framework. 10/19/2012

Conclude gathering initial stakeholder input.

11/30/2012 Draft strategic initiatives. Align action plans with FY14 budget.

12/12/2012 Complete draft of strategic plan framework.

1/2013 Release strategic plan framework.

3

4

Participated in a board retreat to enhance staff and

board’s working relationship.

Charged new deputy superintendent with taking

leadership for supervising and evaluating assistant

superintendents and academic offices.

Appointed chief operations officer to lead the operations

of the school system.

Appointed chief academic officer to be responsible for all

aspects of teaching and learning.

Established direction for the Office of Communications

by charging new chief communications officer with

developing a communications strategic plan.

Restructured support for schools, including creating

additional assistant superintendent positions and creating

a new structure for determining how much support and

autonomy each school needs.

Received report from superintendent’s Transition Team

Actions taken

Following is a partial list of the actions the superintendent took during his first 100 days, in accordance with

his entry plan and in acknowledgment of pressing concerns and immediate opportunities:

Superintendent Dance had the pleasure

of visiting the following schools:

Elementary

Bear Creek

Cedarmere

Chapel Hill

Colgate

Cromwell Magnet

Deer Park

Eastwood

Edmondson Heights

Fort Garrison

Franklin

Hampton

Jacksonville

Kingsville

Lansdowne

New Town

Owings Mills

Padonia

Pine Grove

Relay

Riderwood

Scotts Branch

Seven Oaks

Stoneleigh

Warren

West Towson

Westowne

Woodholme

Middle

Cockeysville

Deer Park

Dundalk

Hereford

Lansdowne

Perry Hall

Pine Grove

Ridgely

Stemmers Run

Sudbrook Magnet

Windsor Mill

Woodlawn

Special Education

Ridge Ruxton

White Oak

High

Chesapeake

Dundalk

Eastern Technical

Franklin

George Washington Carver Center

Hereford

Kenwood

Lansdowne

Loch Raven

Overlea

Patapsco

Perry Hall

Milford Mill Academy

New Town

Randallstown

Sparrows Point

Towson

Woodlawn

Charter

Imagine Discovery

SCHOOLS

VISITED

and began reviewing its recommendations.

Established staff committee to review and make recommendations

regarding magnet schools admission (Superintendent’s Rule 6400).

Expanded AdvancePath Academies to two additional schools to

support credit recovery.

Announced consolidation of office campuses, expected to yield $1.5

million annually in office rental savings.

Hosted 14 staff and community meetings throughout the county.

Launched audit of special education services and effectiveness.

Met with disengaged students, including students who have dropped

out, returned, or are in danger of dropping out of BCPS.

Expanded existing Office of Security into new Office of Safety and

Security to enhance school system’s safety operations.

Revised systemwide crisis plan to address a variety of potential school

emergencies.

Developed parent resource directory for Web site to make key

information and phone numbers easier to access.

Established BCPS blog, www.deliberateexcellence.wordpress.com.

Launched superintendent’s Twitter feed.

Posted link to send e-mail to superintendent on Web site home page.

Posted more information and documents on Web site, e.g., building

plans and the superintendent’s contract.

Increased use of video messages distributed to schools and offices via

Safari Montage and to the public via the Web site and BCPS-TV.

Presented to Towson University College of Education on the

importance of teacher preparation.

More than 700 BCPS administrators and

stakeholders gathered in late August to hear the

superintendent’s back-to-school address at the

annual Administrative and Supervisory Meeting, held

this year at Loch Raven High School.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

presented a major policy address before

850 BCPS language arts teachers on

August 22 at Perry Hall High School.

U.S. Dept. of Education photo

Kevin Liles, a Woodlawn High School

graduate and well-known music executive and

talent manager, sponsored a large back-to-

school festival in late August for Baltimore

County Public Schools’ students and families.

To build a shared vision of what BCPS can

become through collective action, Dr. Dance has

met with hundreds of area citizens and

community leaders. Following is a partial list of

groups with whom he has met:

Area Educational Advisory Committees

Association of Elementary School Administrators

The BCPS Education Foundation

Baltimore County Association of School

Counselors

Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce

Baltimore County Commission on Disabilities

Baltimore County Congressional Delegation

Baltimore County Council

Baltimore County Court System

Baltimore County Fire Department

Baltimore County Police Department

Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office

Baltimore County Student Councils

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Baltimore Ravens

Boy Scouts of Central Maryland

Business leaders

Central Scholarship

Chesapeake Gateway Chamber of Commerce

Citizens Advisory Councils

Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC)

Council of Administrative & Supervisory Employees

Deans of Colleges of Education from local

colleges and universities

Education Support Professionals of Baltimore

County (ESPBC)

Faith community

Former BCPS superintendents

Kids Helping Hopkins

Leadership Baltimore County

Liberty Road Community Council

Maryland Association of Elementary School Principals

The Board of Education

of Baltimore County

Officers

Lawrence E. Schmidt, President

Valerie A. Roddy, Vice President

S. Dallas Dance, Ph.D.,

Secretary-Treasurer

Members

Olivia Adams, Student Member

Michael H. Bowler

James E. Coleman

Michael J. Collins

Cornelia Bright Gordon

Rodger C. Janssen

Ramona N. Johnson

George J. Moniodis

H. Edward Parker

David Uhlfelder

Maryland Business Roundtable for Education

Maryland Comptroller’s Office

Maryland PTA

Maryland State Department of Education

Maryland State Legislature

Maryland State Superintendent of Schools

Presidents of local colleges and universities

Public Schools Superintendents Association

Secondary School Administrators’ Association

Superintendents of local school districts

Teachers Association of Baltimore County (TABCO)

Towson Chamber of Commerce

Towson Families United

Towson University, College of Education

United States Department of Education

University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)

Virginia Commonwealth University, School of

Education

Photo by Erica Brown, Carver Center student

Photo by Joaquina Braithwaite, Distinct Images

The new $57 million

building for the

nationally recognized

George Washington

Carver Center for Arts

and Technology

opened in time for the

new school year.

5

6

Moving forward: Building structures and pathways to maximize performance

To increase support for teaching and learning, Dr.

Dance created more structure in how the assistant

superintendents interact with the schools.

As a team, the assistant superintendents generated a

model that assigned each school to one of three

tiers based on an objective review of school data

and specific criteria for assignment to each tier.

Schools that meet or exceed academic standards for

all student subgroups are placed in Tier 1. These

schools receive support to encourage their

continuous development and growth. Tier II

schools are those with achievement needs for

targeted subgroups, and they receive support

focused on accelerating the progress of those

subgroups.

Finally, Tier III schools are those with intensive

needs for multiple subgroups not meeting

standards. The superintendent and assistant

superintendents intervene with these schools,

supporting the principals to conduct a school–wide

needs assessment and to improve overall student

performance.

DIFFERENTIATED TIERED SUPPORT MODEL

More central staff-directed Less self-directed

More self-directed Less central staff-directed

Tier I

Tier II

Tier III

}

}

}

BCPS COLLEGE/WORKFORCE-READY PATHWAY

Grade 10 PSAT Combined Score of 145

Advanced on MSA in Reading or Mathematics in one or more grades

Grade 8 Mathematics final grade of ―B‖ (Algebra I or Algebraic Thinking Part II)

Pass one AP Exam

Grade 9 GPA of 2.8

SAT Combined Score of 1650 or ACT Score of 24

Under Dr. Dance’s direction, school system

leaders have also developed a series of

benchmarks to ensure that students are

making adequate progress toward college and

career readiness. The pathway diagram shows

minimum standards students should meet as

they move throughout Baltimore County Public

Schools.

Fostering open, two-way internal and external communications quickly emerged as a hallmark of

Dr. Dance’s new administration. Meeting with disengaged students on his first day, hosting a series

of community town hall meetings, expanding the size of the Superintendent’s Student Advisory

Board, and increasing use of video and ConnectED to deliver messages are just some of the ways

that communications have been enhanced in the first 100 days.

This screen shot illustrates some of the improvements to the school system’s Web site that have

been made under Dr. Dance’s direction.

Steps toward timely, transparent, and clear communications

The school system has established a blog,

www.deliberateexcellence.wordpress.com,

to promote further exploration and discus-

sion of education issues.

The community can now quickly access

status reports on issues of interest — like

air conditioning and school construction —

directly from the homepage.

Finding information has become easier for

parents and other stakeholders with the

creation of directories of frequently needed

offices, telephone numbers, and Web pages.

The public can now e-mail Dr. Dance from

a link on the homepage and can follow him

on Twitter.

Public input is continually

sought. Here, the public is

invited to contribute to

Blueprint 2.0 either by

attending meetings or

commenting online.

Superintendent Dance

made his transition process

transparent by posting

Transition Team updates

and his entry plan.

7

6901 Charles Street

Towson, MD 21204

410-887-4554

www.bcps.org

www.deliberateexcellence.wordpress.com

BCPS-TV — Channel 73/Comcast &

Channel 34/Verizon FiOS