S. Dallas Dance

S. Dallas Dance
Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools
Incumbent
Assumed office July 1, 2012
Personal details
Nationality	American
Children	Myles Dallas Dance
Alma mater	Virginia Union University, Virginia Commonwealth University
Profession	Educational administrator

S. Dallas Dance is the superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools. He was elected unanimously by the Baltimore County Board of Education,^[1] and his tenure began in 2012, becoming responsible for overseeing 110,000 students,^[2] leading more than 170 schools, and working with a 1.7 billion dollar budget. During his leadership, Dance began the S.T.A.T program (Students and Teachers Accessing Tomorrow), designed to create a digital learning environment for all students.^[3] In 2014, Dr. Dance was selected by President Barack Obama as one of 10 national "Connected Educator Champions of Change",^[4][5][6] as well as being appointed to the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans.^[3][7] In March 2015, Dance was named a "20 to Watch" honoree by the International Society for Technology in Education.^[8]

Early career

From 2008 to 2010, Dance was a University of Richmond adjunct assistant professor. He taught graduate level courses in foundations of education, communication and leadership, legal and political issues in education, and violence in schools. Dance, from 2011 to 2012, was an adjunct professor at the University of Houston. There, he taught in the Department of Curriculum Instruction and Leadership Studies, and taught graduate level courses in the school superintendency and school/community relations.^[9]

Before becoming a CSO in Houston, Dance worked as an executive school and district leader in Virginia that improved his experience in curriculum, instruction, assessment, school improvement, and strategic planning. Prior to Dance's appointment as BCPS superintendent, he served as one of three chief school officers responsible for the administration of 300 schools in the Houston Independent School District, the seventh largest school system in the nation. Dance played a significant role in improving Houston student academic performance and launching several administrative programs, including two single-gender college preparatory academies and the redesign of a school to accelerate at-risk students.^[10]

BCPS tenure

Following his induction as BCPS' superintendent, Dance made several executive changes to the BCPS school system. Dance initiated Team BCPS, a connected network of BCPS educators, students, administrators and community leaders. Dance initiated the program to expand volunteering and partnership within the district's school system.^[11] Dance also initiated S.T.A.T (Students and Teachers Accessing Tomorrow), which "is the multi-year transformation of BCPS into a complete 21st century technology learning environment to prepare globally-competitive graduates." Executive actions taken under S.T.A.T included the addition of personalized computer tablets for every student,^[12] the addition of ELMO projectors in every BCPS classroom, and use of social media and technology in learning curriculum, including the use of Snapchat in physical education classes. Dance, in 2016, proposed for an expansion of the BCPS budget from 1.5 billion USD to 1.8 billion USD to the Baltimore County Board of Education in preparation for the 2017 fiscal year. Student enrollment in BCPS has grown 5.4 percent from the 2011 fiscal year to 2015.^[13]

Dance's contract is set to end in June 2016 and he has expressed strong interest in a renewal of the contract.^[14]

Education

Dance earned a doctorate degree in educational leadership and a master’s degree in administration and supervision from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a bachelor's degree in English from Virginia Union University.^[15]

References

External links

• S. Dallas Dance's Twitter account